Greenpeace

 Chairman Tom Brian, of the Washington County Board of Commissioners, has so far not responded to my emails urging the county to pass the US Cool Counties Climate Stabilization Declaration.  Though Washington County likes to present itself as "green," it has so far shown remarkably little interest in joining in the Cool Counties movement.  Today, however, I made sure the county will know that there is support for passing the Declaration in the local activist community.  At the County Administrative Office in Hillsboro, I hand-delivered a petition signed by 44 attendees of the Washington County Peace Vigil, asking the Board of Commissioners to pass the Cool Counties Declaration.  The petition was accompanied by a letter to Chairman Brian, asking that I be able to meet with someone from the Board of Commissioners to discuss this issue.

After riding the bus to downtown Hillsboro, I asked a couple of police officers for directions, and soon was on my way to the Washington County Public Services Building.  I skirted around several sprinklers (pictured below) that had been left running in the heat of afternoon, and which were now merrily spraying half their water onto the sidewalk - not great for your environmental image, Chairman Brian.  I then entered the rather imposing Public Services Building, and navigated endless hallways and lobby areas until I found the County Administrative Office.  There I was greeted by a receptionist at a neat-looking desk, and I handed her the package containing the 44 signatures and my letter, explaining that it was for Chairman Brian - she assured me that it would reach his hands.  Now it's time to wait and see if he responds; if not, it will be time to ramp up the Cool Washington County campaign even further, until the Board of Commissioners cannot continue to ignore it.

PLEASE HELP BY SIGNING THE ON-LINE PETITION TO THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS!

The Peace Vigil petition should arrive on Chairman Brian's desk hot on the heals of another envelope, which I sent by snail-mail several days ago.  That envelope contains detailed information about the Cool Counties Climate Stabilization Initiative, including a copy of the helpful "roadmap" put together by commissioners from Fairfax County, VA, which explains just what sorts of steps US counties can take to reduce their contributions to global warming.  The "roadmap" proves that solutions to our energy problems do exist; the goals of the Declaration are attainable, and there is no reason Washington County cannot reach them.  There is no excuse for not acting; we need to demand action from all our officials at ever level of government, and we need to demand it now.