Title
Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan - "Private Fundraising to Support Gainesville's Efforts to Address Climate Change" (B)
Explanation
In late 2008, The Climate Communities (www.climatecommunities.us
) invited Gainesville to take a leadership role in a new organization intended to bring all types of local governments together to advocate for climate change legislation and funding in Washington. Mayor Hanrahan participated in a summit at the Rockefeller Estate in Tarrytown, NY in November, 2008, using private funding, where a Climate Blueprint was developed and adopted. That blueprint has since been endorsed by over 400 local government officials, including Mayor Hanrahan and all five Alachua County Commissioners. Members of the Gainesville City Commission were also invited to endorse the blueprint late last year, and are again encouraged to do so. Because of our excellent progress toward our climate change goals, and the fact that we are on track to meet the Kyoto protocol standard of reducing greenhouse gases to 7% b elow 1990 levels by 2013, Gainesville was also asked to present part of the blueprint to the Obama transition team during a January conference call, and Mayor Hanrahan was invited to introduce President Obama's Climate Director, Carol Browner, during recent meetings in Washington.
In 2008, using private funding provided by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Mayor Hanrahan helped to organize two Florida local government workshops on addressing climate change at the local level. These were held in Doral at the annual meeting of the Florida Association of Counties and in Tampa at the annual meeting of the Florida League of Mayors and Florida League of Cities. Altogether approximately 150 local officials, staff and citizens participated, and Gainesville's progress was again highlighted. Gainesville was also just one of three local governments invited to present at Governor Crist's Climate Change Summit last summer, to an ...
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