In March, during a Jefferson Area Tea Party (JATP) forum titled "The Deceptive Agenda of Sustainability in Local Government," Supervisor Ken Boyd told C-VILLE he was concerned about Albemarle’s Cool Counties resolution. The resolution, backed by the Sierra Club, committed Albemarle to reducing carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050. Albemarle County also joined the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives—ICLEI, later rebranded "Local Governments for Sustainability"—to monitor its greenhouse gas emissions, at an annual cost of $1,200.
“I don’t think that big government should dictate [energy consumption] to our citizens,” said Boyd. “Or regulate it, for that matter.” Local Tea Party members claim that groups like ICLEI use global warming as rationale to assert internatinal control over energy consumption and personal property rights.
Now, Boyd has aligned himself with the JATP’s stance, and asked Albemarle to both drop its ICLEI membership and its Cool Counties commitment. Boyd told Charlottesville Tomorrow that Albemarle is "being infiltrated…by an agenda that is set by this international organization"—a marked departure from 2007, when he voted to pass the Cool Counties initiative and reportedly expressed concern that a resolution wouldn’t accomplish goals on its own. Albemarle included its ICLEI membership cost in its budget for Fiscal Year 2012.
Albemarle isn’t the only county facing some debate over the merits of Cool Counties and ICLEI. Take a look at Carroll County, Maryland. And then weigh in: Should Albemarle remain a Cool County?
