Nothing to Fear From ICLEI Says RC Clear Chairperson

A local homeowner undergoes an energy audit last year.

by Gene Marrano

By the narrowest of votes (3-2), the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors voted last week to continue its membership in ICLEI (the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives), despite opposition from some local residents. Roanoke County spends $1200 a year for its ICLEI membership, which gives the locality access to software programs that can help analyze the reduction of carbon emissions, and enables it to network with other ICLEI localities about their success stories.

“RC Clear,” Roanoke County’s local citizen-led committee that is affiliated with ICLEI, has launched a “Save A Ton” campaign, urging every household and local business to do their part by reducing carbon emissions – the carbon footprint – by one ton a year. That’s about 26 cubic feet, or almost as large as a small home. Those who object to ICLEI, RC Clear or even its Roanoke City counterpart, the Clean & Green committee, suspect ties to the United Nations or “Agenda 21,” an international planning document that calls for clustered housing.

No one will mandate when you can turn on a light or where you must live assures Nell Boyle, the chairperson for RC Clear.  “There’s no association that reflects anything [about] our work,” said Boyle. Indeed, RC Clear has focused on promoting homeowner energy audits, working with TAP contractors to visit a hundred homes, showing people how they can lower energy costs using simple methods like additional insulation, caulking, plugging air leaks, etc. A round of free energy audits for local businesses is now underway. A small federal grant helped launch the audits and RC Clear.

“What we’re trying to do is educate as many people as we can that there is a real important need for us to monitor our use of energy and natural resources,” said Boyle, who now works part time for Roanoke City, helping businesses do just that. “Its really education as far as I am concerned. We also want to positively affect the greenhouse gas emissions. We live in a very beautiful area. That’s why I [want] to protect the environment. The members of RC Clear support that.” The Roanoke Valley’s air quality however has long been known as poor, with many calling for ways to reduce the carbon emissions that help degrade it.

Two Republicans on the Board of Supervisors – citing a lack of facts for any claim of U.N. dominance – voted with independent Charlotte Moore to keep the county’s ICLEI membership in place. Independents Butch Church and Ed Elswick voted against the membership. Moore has long championed ICLEI and RC Clear, and has made the environment a centerpiece of both of her runs for Cave Spring district supervisor.

RC Clear has appeared at several energy expos and has produced a list of ways to save on energy, starting with the use of compact fluorescent light bulbs, doing some weatherizing on the house, suggestions about making fewer car trips, etc. A modest marketing campaign and a new website (saveaton.org) has recently been rolled out. There is also a tool online to help homeowners calculate the carbon footprint reductions associated with changes they make. The Roanoke Regional Commission will help oversee the Save a Ton website, which spans several localities, including Roanoke City and Salem. “We think there are a lot of good success stories out there,” said Boyle; “we just feel like this is a really important community message.”

There are no mentions of United Nations mandates or mandatory cluster housing, although Roanoke County’s community plan has long called for “in fill” of areas already developed and planned housing developments as a way to reduce urban sprawl – which also leads to poorer air quality from longer commutes.

“We have to think about future generations,” said Boyle, who wants to assure residents that there is no ulterior motive attached to RC Clear or the ICLEI membership. “The whole idea is to make people more aware of their choices [concerning energy]. Nobody is mandating anything there. We’re all protective of our rights, and that’s a good thing. In terms of anybody mandating any type of behavior change- that’s just not what we’re talking about here.”

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5 COMMENTS

  1. Conservation does not equal ICLEI. Anti ICLEI is NOT ant-conservation. Socialism confuses the distinction between government and society. As a result of this, every time we object to a thing being done by government, the socialists conclude that we object to its being done at all. We disapprove of state education. Then the socialists say that we are opposed to any education. We object to a state religion. Then the socialists say that we want no religion at all. We oppose state mandated Urban develpment areas and taxes imposed to control the population with Agenda 21. The statists say we are opposed to conservation.

  2. Fools. Ignorance is bliss and if they are a member of ICLE, it is very easy to make the U.N Connection in three clicks. To prove ICLEI=Agenda 21:

    1. http://www.iclei.org
    2.Programs.
    3.Agenda 21.

    Also see: http://www.democratsagainstunagenda21.com/iclei-when-they-say-local-they-mean-it.html
    http://sovereignty.net/
    http://green-agenda.com/sustainabledevelopment.html
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzEEgtOFFlM
    http://www.crossroad.to/text/articles/la21_198.html

    At the opening session of the Rio Earth Summit Maurice Strong, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Secretary-General, bemoaned the world’s “explosive increase in Population” and warned “we have been the most successful species ever; we are now a species out of control. Population must be stabilized and rapidly.” His speech also stated that “current lifestyles and consumption patterns of the affluent middle class – involving high meat intake use of fossil fuels, appliances, home and work-place air-conditioning, and suburban housing – are not sustainable. A shift is necessary which will require a vast strengthening of the multilateral system, including the United Nations.”

    Mr Strong has since stated that “The United States is the greatest threat to the global environment. It is guilty of environmental aggression against the planet” and “Isn’t the only hope for the planet that the industrialized civilizations collapse? Isn’t it our responsiblity to bring that about?”

    THIS IS WHAT IS BEHIND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT! Abolition of our Liberty, Freedom, and Property Rights.

  3. Lack of understanding from this writer is so familiar. ICLEI’s Agenda 21 Trojan Horse of deception CO2 is such a silly one. Either they believe We The People are so ignorant we will not notice their deception or they just enjoy drinking The European Socialist Kool-aid. ICLEI choses to build a foundation on so called global warming. Reputable Scientist indicate in fact The Globe has in fact cooled in the last 10-15 yrs.. Last NASA info indicates that also.
    In my research I am, always, looking for the truth. So, It is true we are a carbon life form. Carbon is good. Our footprints will always be of carbon. Carbon is very strong.
    My High School chemistry education showed Carbon just like us likes O2. “WoW”. Then I found out that the food crops I liked to eat loves the combo Carbon and Oxygen. Thus CO2. Excellent. I am not exhaling all of the CO2 I can, “It is healthy”. Especially when I go for a long run. The food crops appreciate it. I love the CO2 in my sodas.
    Atmospheric CO2 is about 350 now. If, “We could” double that, “WE CANNOT” food crop yields would be increased by 30%. Greenhouse farmers, “CAN”. They have been pumping CO2 into their greenhouses for many years to increase yields. “WALAH” Abundances of flowers for loved ones, winter vegetables(do you like tomatoes), fruits, etc.. “IT IS SAFE”. Mine “SAFETY” is 5000.
    One can see they picked a very bad deception. Want the truth go ask our food crops. They do not lie, Politicians of all sorts, “DO”.
    Our food crops say, “Want us to feed you, More CO2, Please”. We now have appx seven billion people on the planet. ICLEI presses lower CO2. “What”? Are they trying to starve The People into population control.
    This deception all started when in 1987 The Vice-President of The World Socialist Party, Gru Halem Bruntian presented a report concerning what is called sustainability. Like as if We The People weren’t already self sufficient conservative sustainabilist. 1992 it was Official United Nation Policy called United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda 21. From this Socialist foundation an NGO(non-governmental organization) called The “International” Council for Local Environmental Initiatives “ICLEI” has been adopted as part of Local Governments through Our Country.
    Agenda 21 seeks to inform us, we are bad for the planet and need all aspects of our lives controlled, their way, by taking our land away from us(The American Dream) and move us, one way or the other, into tightly quartered UDA(urban developments areas). Where, “These Worthies” can control us better.
    The truth is Folks, This is the socialist engineering of Agenda 21 ICLEI.

  4. ICLEI claimed responsibility for saving 400 + tons of carbon emissions savings. Without getting into the value of reduced carbon emissions (which is a joke) do you know how they measured that savings? They gave themselves 200 tons of credit for handing out informational flyers. (Those must have been some flyers)

    The rest was based on the assumption that the recipients of energy audits took all of their advise and handing out lightbulbs and night lights at events. No follow up was done, no studies conducted. Just some made up numbers and voila….400 tons saved. It feels good to be green, even if it doesn’t impact anything.

    Gene, if you were doing your job as a journalist you would know that, but since your idea of journalist rigor is vomiting back what an ICLEI rep tells you, I’m not surprised by the tenor of this article. It’s OK Gene, we will do your work for you. That information was derived from a FOIA request to the county. If you would like to actually do a news story on this, we’d be happy to share this and other information on the nature of this organization. No one says this group is immediately implementing UN goals. But have you asked them if they reject LA21? They probably won’t.

    The long term goal of LA21 is all of the scary stuff you hear about from us…now they just hope to convince enough gullible people to swallow this where they can move towards a sustainable future (ie ICLEI villages, massive restrictions on travel and property rights) while we meekly acquiesce.

    They should thank you for being a useful idiot…or at least not doing any rudimentary research. Not sure which…but in the end it doesn’t really matter.

  5. Perhaps your article would have been more balanced had you also interviewed people on the opposite side of this issue to refute most everything stated by Boyle and yourself. You are a member RC CLEAR so it would appear to me you have a vested interest in only getting one side of the story to your readers.

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