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Putting this in context, if everyone in the world consumed like the caused by the oil industry in Ecuador would never be tolerated in average person in Sonoma County, we would need about four more California . Earths . In France , the average person consumes 55 percent of the energy we do, suggesting that we can both reduce our energy con - Security impacts sumption and preserve or improve our quality . of life . The U . S . dependency on foreign oil is immense; we consume 25 percent of the world 's oil while owning only 3 percent of global re - r : To me the question of the environ - serves . Reducing our dependency will increase our security. w ment is more ominous than that of F peace and war. . . l 'm more worried Although California produces oil—about 300 million barrels per < " ear—our supply does not keep ace with our appetite . In just a k y , about global warming than I am Y PP Y P P PP decade California has increased its reliance on foreign oil from 6 of any major military conflict. g —Hans Blix, former U. N. Inspector' in Iraq, March 13, 2003 percent to 31 percent. Of the foreign oil California imported in 2001 , more than a quarter of it—approximately 15 million barrels--came Our oil imports cause us to export ecological damage elsewhere . As from Iraq . Between 1980 and 2002 , Californians increased their ve- an example, California receives from 20 to 40 million barrels of oil hicle miles driven from 88 billion to 173 billion per year. By 2020, per year from Ecuador. Ironically, the scale of pollution and misery Californian 's demand for oil is expected to increase by 38 percent . 1 HOW ARE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS CALCULATED ? ome people suppose we take air samples to measure green - Caveat house gas (GHG) emissions . In fact, cities ' GHG estimates are This is the first time Sonoma cities have calculated their GHG emis- derived from two main calculations . We total the various sions . The project team relentlessly pursued data to produce solid forms of energy used to support city operations , either di - results . However, sometimes data was simply unavailable . Cities ' rectly or indirectly, and convert fuel totals to GHG emissions . We record keeping differed , making cross-city comparisons problem - ; also estimate any carbon that is sequestered—kept or taken out of atic . If anything , these GHG emission estimates are conservative be - the atmosphere—by city operations . For municipalities, sequestration cause not all municipal activities were included, for example, travel primarily occurs when their solid waste is landfilled . to conferences . We aimed for accuracy, but still expect some errors . As accounting for energy and GHG emission improves, GHG inven - We selected fiscal year 2000-2001 and fiscal year 2001 -2002 for our in- tory results will also improve . ventories . We wanted to use the same year—FY 2000- 2001 —as the County of Sonoma and Santa Rosa used for their inventories . We added Converting energy usage to GHG emissions the second year to capture the most recent full year of data available . To determine the amount of GHG emissions from electricity, we first compiled the number of kilowatt- hours ( KWH ) consumed by each We took several steps to assure the quality of our work . city. Then we multiplied the KWH by an emissions coefficient, a meal- * We followed the protocols, used the software, and received tech - ure of the GHG produced when electricity is generated . We used the nical assistance from ICLEI 's Cities for Climate Protection . U . S . Department of Energy 's emissions coefficient specific for Cali - * Experienced project consultants oversaw and /or implemented in - fornia 's electricity. The result of the multiplication is the pounds equiv- ventory protocol , data collection, analyses, and report generation , alent carbon dioxide ( lbs eCO2), the standard measure for GHG . and reviewed each other's work . Both consultants who performed the inventories for the County of Sonoma and the City of Santa California 's emissions coefficient for our base years was 0 . 73 lbs Rosa were on our project team . Our SSU interns were very consci - eCO2/KWH , low relative to the rest of the nation because our power entious . We sought and received advice from SSU professors re - plants use little coal and oil , the fuels that emit the most GHG pol - garding technical questions . lution . The coefficient for the City of Healdsburg is lower still because * Accounting staff in the subject cities checked the results of the elec- most of its power comes from the local geothermal source known tricity and natural gas analyses for their cities . as the Geysers, and from hydroelectric sources . The emission coeffi - * We compared cities ' results to each other to reveal and correct cient for Healdsburg 's electricity is about 0 . 3 lbs eCO2 / KWH , a data anomalies . continued on page 8 7 _ . I