Since the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation, it stands to reason that reducing fossil-fuel powered transportation will go a long way toward meeting climate goals. But Oregon is still off track in getting there, so the state is moving toward implementation of the Climate-Friendly and Equitable Communities program.
The basic idea is to create parts of Oregon cities that do not require people to own cars to get to work and school and shopping. The current vision calls for big changes in relatively small cities, like pushing apartment buildings higher and closer together.
James Schireman is part of the team working on climate-friendly communities through his job at Rogue Valley Council of Governments. He stops by with details of the overall vision, and the steps to implement.