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“Change is in the Air – Toronto’s Commitment to an Environmentally Sustainable Future”.  March 2007. 
• Slideshow of Toronto’s action plan to improve air quality and decrease greenhouse gas emission.   

Speakers

John Bailey is a senior researcher with the Minneapolis and Washington, DC–based Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Bailey has been with ILSR since 1992 and has been primarily focused on energy policy research and advocacy.  He's authored reports covering local road financing in Minneapolis, wind energy taxation and the impacts of ecological tax reform. Most recently he has authored two reports on climate change policy. Bailey is also ILSR's webrarian and his online bulletin, Democratic Energy, reports on innovative developments and public policies that support community based energy development and distributed generation. 

Scott Bernstein is President of the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) which develops resources to promote healthy, sustainable communities. Mr. Bernstein has been a Visiting Lecturer at UCLA, an Environmental Fellow of the Institute for Transportation Studies at UC-Davis, a Trustee of the Institute for the Regional Community, and a Board Member of the Brookings Institution Center for Urban and Metropolitan Policy. Mr. Bernstein was appointed by President Clinton to the President's Council for Sustainable Development, on which body he served as the Co-chair of its task forces on State, Local and Regional Initiatives, and it’s Metropolitan Strategies Working Group.  Bernstein studied engineering and political science at Northwestern University.

Garrett Fitzgerald, Director of Programs, manages technical and policy assistance and remote and on-site software training for local governments participating in ICLEI’s Cities for Climate Protection campaign in the United States. Garrett also oversees the development of ICLEI’s programs and software tools for inventorying greenhouse gas and criteria air pollutant emissions and developing emissions reduction plans.  Prior to joining ICLEI, Garrett served as a consultant to the City of Berkeley's Office of Energy and Sustainability, as a staff researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and as an analyst at ICF Consulting. He has numerous publications in the areas of sustainability indicators, renewable energy and clean energy funds. He also chaired the sub-committee on assessment for the UC Berkeley Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Sustainability and managed the development of UC Berkeley’s first campus sustainability assessment. Garrett holds a master’s degree in energy and resources from the University of California at Berkeley, and a Bachelor of Philosophy in environmental energy engineering from The Pennsylvania State University.
 

Amanda Eichel serves as Climate Protection Advisor within the City of Seattle’s Office of Sustainability and Environment, the City entity charged with implementation of Mayor Nickel’s Climate Action Plan.  In addition to working on the City’s own climate action initiatives, she serves as a liaison between the City and the US Conference of Mayors to support efforts related to the U.S. Mayors' Climate Protection Agreement.  She holds a Master of Environmental Science & Management degree from the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Prior to her current position with the City, she worked within California State government on sustainability, environmental justice, and green government issues.

Michael Armstrong manages energy-conservation programs for the City of Portland Office of Sustainable Development.  He works on issues related to energy policy, climate change, green building, and sustainable food systems. Michael coordinated the public process that led to Portland's Local Action Plan on Global Warming and tracks the implementation of local emission-reduction efforts.  Michael received an MPA from Indiana University's School of Public Environmental Affairs and attended Deep Springs College.

Romel Pascual serves as the Associate Director for Environment for Los Angeles Mayor, Antonio R. Villaraigosa.  In this capacity, Romel provides policy direction on a number of key environmental priorities for the City, including climate change, environmental justice, open space, brownfields redevelopment, and sustainability.  From 2001-2004, Romel served as California’s first Assistant Secretary for Environmental Justice for California Environmental Protection Agency where led the Agency efforts in developing the state’s first environmental justice program. Between 1999-2004, the State of California passed 10 pieces of environmental justice legislation.

Romel's involvement with environmental issues began in community organizations and grassroots leadership. He has over a decade of experience in the environmental and environmental justice fields.  Prior to joining the Mayor’s Office, Romel headed the environmental justice program for the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9. His work focused on national environmental policy and program development. 

Romel also worked with the Urban Habitat Program, a non-profit organization based in San Francisco whose focus is to build multicultural urban environmental leadership. He was the Project Coordinator of the Brownfields Leadership and Community Revitalization Project. He also worked with the Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN) where he conducted research on the impacts of environmental pollution on communities. 

He has a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA, and Masters in City and Regional Planning from UC Berkeley.  He currently serves on the board of Urban Habitat.