It was Arnold Schwarzenegger who originally convinced then-manufacturer AM General to make a version of the Humvee for the civilian market named the Hummer. He is credited with popularizing the iconic vehicles, and collected a total of eight. But, to groom his image as the climate-conscious Greenerator, Gov. Schwarzenegger has sacrificed by selling over half his Hummer fleet.

Hummer-bashing aside, the Schwarzenegger administration is making truly significant headway on the climate change challenge, namely by signing California AB 32 and demonstrating readiness to hold agencies and institutions responsible to its dictates.

AB 32 is the Global Warming Solutions Control Act, signed into law in 2006. It sets greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets of 1990 levels by 2020 and 80% below that by 2050. The California Air Resources Board (ARB) and legislature are developing regulations and market mechanisms to achieve these ambitious goals, but one community in particular has already felt the effects of AB 32.

Last September, Attorney General Jerry Brown successfully sued San Bernardino County under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for failing to include analysis of climate change within the county’s General Plan Update and failing to explain how population growth predicted under the plan would impact the State’s ability to attain the GHG reduction targets mandated by AB32.

Because transportation is about 40% of the state’s GHG emissions, emission reductions from transportation will necessarily play the most important role in achieving the state reduction targets. Reductions will likely have to be achieved with efficient land use and walkable, bikeable, and transit-oriented development that reduces vehicle miles traveled (VMT). These changes also have the ancillary benefits of improving health through more use of active transportation modes, reducing injuries and deaths from vehicle collisions, and reducing transportation costs to provide more equitable access to jobs, healthcare, goods and services.

In Humboldt County, transportation likely accounts for about 50% of our greenhouse gas emissions. San Bernardino’s experience provides an important lesson for us as we consider how to accommodate new growth and plan infrastructure in both the County General Plan and Regional Transportation Plan (page 4).

We’re already on the right track. In December, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to join the Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) program (www.iclei.org/ccp), which is a 5-step plan to inventory emissions, set reduction targets, and develop, implement and monitor a GHG reduction plan. Our opportunity and challenge is to comply with and take advantage of state requirements in a way that will create affordable, safe, livable communities that promote health through walking and biking.

Jennifer Berman is a volunteer with Redwood Alliance (www.redwoodalliance.org) and active with the Climate Action Project, which works for creating a new energy future. Aaron Antrim is a Green Wheels volunteer and Principal of Trillium Transit Internet Solutions (www.trilliumtransit.com).