Under former Mayor Helen Berg, Corvallis became one of the first four cities in Oregon to sign onto the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement (there are now ten signatoree cities in Oregon).  By signing this historic Agreement, the city committed to reducing global warming pollutants, and also urged the federal government to take strong action against climate change. 

After doing some research, I learned this year that Helen Berg is no longer in office - she resigned after serving Corvallis for many years, and the post of mayor was taken over by Charles Tomlinson.  This called into question whether Corvallis would continue to be a participant in the Mayors Agreement, and I sent an email to Mayor Tomlinson to ask if the city intended to continue upholding its commitment; the mayor said he would pass my message on to the current city council.  I am happy to report that I received another email from Charles Tomlinson yesterday, stating that the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement had been re-ratified in Corvallis; this means the city intends to continue working toward environmental solutions.

Signing the Mayors Agreement is a good way for a city to publicly state its intention of reducing greenhouse emissions.  The Agreement is, however, non-binding.  It will be important to monitor the current city government, and make sure that it follows through with the commitment stated in the Agreement.  Corvallis also has a city-wide sustainability policy, and a sustainability coordinator to oversee environmental projects.  However, it is no Ecotopia, as yet.  The approval this spring of the Witham Oaks development project, which plopped over 200 suburban houses onto what had formerly been a unique oak savanna, cast a shadow over Corvallis' pledge to become sustainable. 

The Witham Oaks project added to urban sprawl, and doomed a valuable ecosystem unnecessarily.  It remains to be seen whether the future of Corvallis will be dominated by destructive projects like this, or by sustainable development and environmentally sound practices.  The re-ratification of the Mayors Agreement is an encouraging sign, but there are still many questions to be answered.  Feel free to contact Mayor Tomlinson at mayor@council.ci.corvallis.or.us to let him know your thoughts.  And if you do contact the mayor, please let be know in a reply to this post.