Gore praises Seattle's efforts in combating global warming

Mayor Greg Nickels' campaign to get hundreds of other mayors to commit to the Kyoto Protocol has put Seattle at the forefront of U.S. efforts to confront global warming, one of the most pressing environmental challenges, former Vice President Al Gore told a cheering crowd at Seattle City Hall on Friday.

"I'm here to applaud and publicly recognize an act of extraordinary leadership by this city," said Gore, who was vice president when the Kyoto agreement was reached in 1997.

Gore spoke as Nickels officially unveiled a proposed plan to get the city to meet the treaty's goal of cutting climate-changing gases such as carbon dioxide to 7 percent below 1990 levels.

The former vice president and presidential candidate, who has been an architect of international efforts to fight global warming, cautioned that Seattle's efforts are far short of what's ultimately needed.

But he predicted these first steps could galvanize people and industries to make further progress by changing how they live and work. He likened it to the effect Rosa Parks had on the civil-rights movement in 1955, when she refused to give up her bus seat to a white man.

Nickels praised the work of an 18-person commission he named to come up with the proposal. He hasn't committed to the recommendations yet, but he reiterated his commitment to the Kyoto goals.

"Seattle has an opportunity to make a huge difference for this country and indeed for the world," Nickels said.

The commission plan aims at cutting greenhouse-gas emissions in the city in an amount equivalent to taking more than 148,000 cars off the road.

The proposals include more bus service, denser housing, better energy efficiency, shifting from fossil fuels to more renewable resources, and making it more expensive for people to drive cars in the city.

Nickels also announced a new coalition of local employers who commit to cutting their production of greenhouse gases in Seattle. So far, the group includes the University of Washington, the Port of Seattle, Starbucks, REI, cement maker Lafarge North America, and development company Urban Visions.

But Nickels has gained national attention for his efforts to recruit other U.S. cities to join in meeting the Kyoto accords and to pressure the federal government to embrace the treaty. So far, 219 cities have signed on.

The Bush administration has declined to sign the treaty, saying it could hurt the economy.

Gore urged members of the crowd to make global warming a reason to change their lifestyles. And those who spoke at the event offered a look at the widely varying ways that people get around in Seattle.

Nickels came to work Friday in a city-issued Cadillac DTS because his police security team requires him to ride in a large and powerful car, said his spokesman, Marty McOmber. Nickels' personal car is a Toyota Camry.

Commission co-chairman Denis Hayes, a leading local environmentalist, drove a Toyota Prius, a gas-electric hybrid, to his office, then walked to the event.

Yalonda Sindé, executive director of the Community Coalition for Environmental Justice, drove her 1990 Honda Civic to her office in Seattle's Central District, then caught a bus downtown.

Congressman Jay Inslee, D-Bainbridge Island, walked from his home to the Winslow ferry dock, rode to Seattle, then carpooled with a staff member to the event.

Gore was driven to the event from his hotel in downtown Seattle, McOmber said.

Warren Cornwall: 206-464-2311 or wcornwall@seattletimes.com