Vol.9 No. 1
December 17, 2003
«>EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Ageticy
HIRI NEWS
Heat Island Reduction
INITIATIVE
The Great European Heat Wave of 2003, Sacramento
Municipal Utility District's Heat Island Reduction Activities,
Supplemental Environmental Projects, and More!
Call participants
Drew Ballensky, Duro-last
Roofing
drewballenskv@hotmail.com
Ryan Bell, ICLEI
rbell@iclei.org
David Brosch, Baltimore WAP
David.Brosch@baltimorecitv.gov
Kathy Diehl, EPA R9
diehl.kathv@epa.gov
Niko Dietsch, EPA
dietsch.nikolaas@epa.gov
Maury Estes, NASA
Maurv.Estes@msfc.nasa.gov
Larry Falbe, Wildman Harrold
Law Firm
falbe@wildmanharrold.com
Gary Gero, City of LA
GGERO@mailbox.lacitv.org
Gordon Heisler, USDA Forest
Service
gheisler@fs.fed.us
Karen Higgins, City of LA
khiggins@mailbox.lacitv.org
David Hitchcock, HARC
dhitchcock@harc.edu
Bailey Hudson,
unceuchudson@utech.net
Larry Kalkstein, U of Delaware
larrvk@udel.edu
Gordon Kenna, Resource
Communications
gkenna@mindspring.com
Kris Kiehne,
kriskiehne@vahoo.com
Michelle Knapik, City of
Philadelphia
Michelle.Knapik@phila.gov
Megan Lewis, American Planning
Association
MLewis@planning.org
Ron Lorenzon,
rlorenzen@BSS.LACITY.ORG
Melissa Muroff,
mel.muroff@verizon.net
Lorraine Ross, Solar Smart Roof
Alliance
intech.la@worldnet.att.net
Julie Magee, EPA R5
magee.iulie@epa.gov
Craig Muccio, FL Power & Light
C V Craig Muccio@fpl.com
Bob Newport, EPA R5
newport.bob@epa.gov
Hyatt Nolan, EPA
nolan.hvatt@epa.gov
Karl Pepple, Houston COG
kpepple@hgac.cog.tx.us
Mel Pomerantz, LBNL
M Pomerantz@lbl.gov
Liz Robinson, Energy Coordinating
Agency
lizr@ecasavesenergy.org
Joyce Rosenthal, Columbia
University
ir438@columbia.edu
Jason Samenow, EPA
samenow.iason@.epa.qov
Misha Sarkovich. SMUD
MSarkov@smud.org
Fran Stewart. LA DEQ
fran s@ldeg.org
John Sullivan, PCA
isullivan@cement.org
Harold Taft, AL Forestry
Commission
TaftH@forestrv.state ,al .us
Haider Taha, Altostratus
haider@altostratus.com
Ben Taube, City of Atlanta
btaube@ci.atlanta.ga.us
Ray Tretheway, Sacramento Tree
Foundation
rav@sactree.com
Ashwani Vasishth, SCAG
Vasishth@scag.gov
Eva Wong, EPA
wong.eva@epa.gov
Barry Zalph, Louisville AQMD
Bzalph@co.iefferson.kv.us
European Heatwave
Larry described last summer's heat
wave in Europe as its worst ever.
In western Europe - and France in
particular - mortality reached
massive proportions and prompted
a breakdown in some of the world's
top health systems.

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The results of Larry's analysis,
which he completed for the HIRI
call, focused on four key findings:
The heat wave was much
more severe in western
Europe than in countries to
the east
Deviations were generally
higher for maximum,
rather than minimum,
temperatures
Of major European cities,
Paris exhibited the
greatest deviations (up to
+30 degrees F). Rome,
however, exhibited more
continuous anomalous
conditions
A heat wave of similar
magnitude in the eastern
U.S. would be, by far, the
worst experienced in
recorded history (Larry is
interested in developing a
comparative extreme
temperature scenario for
the U.S.)
From HIRI-sponsored work at the
University of Delaware and Johns
Hopkins University's School of
Public Health, we know that
anomalous heat spikes can lead to
above-average mortality levels,
particularly in areas unaccustomed
to hot weather. In August 2003,
this is exactly what happened in
Paris and other western European
cities.
Preliminary mortality figures from
France alone indicate that 11,435
died in the heatwave. The City of
Paris has yet to compile a final
death toll from the heat wave,
where record-high temperatures
reached 104 degrees F. News
accounts suggest that the country
is far from fully understanding why
so many died, but early
assessments point to several
factors: a rapidly aging society, a
health care system short on care
for the elderly, and low awareness
of heat health hazards.
Eric Klinenberg, in his book, "Heat
Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster
in Chicago" states that such
circumstances can go unnoticed for
long periods of time until a crisis
strikes. He recently told a news
agency that, "Heat waves are
important precisely because they
help us understand everyday
conditions that always affect the
society but are difficult to see."
The elderly are especially
vulnerable in a heat wave because
they are physically susceptible to
heat-related illnesses, and may
take medicines which make them
even more sensitive to rising
temperatures. Those problems are
compounded because elderly
people in Paris (and in U.S. cities)
are often isolated in small
apartments with few friends or
relatives to look after them.
According to France's National
Institute for Statistics and Economic
Studies, the percentage of citizens
60 or older is expected to rise from
20.6 percent in 2000 to 35 percent
in 2050.
In his presentation, Larry showed a
series of analytical graphs to
contrast normal temperatures and
conditions in western Europe with
those experienced during the heat
wave. He demonstrated that the
frequency of days above 95 and
100 degrees F was unprecedented
in France's history (the average
summertime temperature in Paris
ranges between 50-76 degrees F).
Larry's actual v. normal minimum
temperature analysis provides
particularly important insight into the
root-cause of the tragedy. Actual
minimum temperatures were up to
20 degrees F above normal
throughout the June-August interval,
with the exception of a brief period
in July. Because many western
Europeans do not have air-
conditioning, extreme nighttime
temperatures meant relief was not
available.
Larry concluded by suggesting that
the consequences of an analogous
heat event in Washington D.C. - or
other major U.S. city - could
produce similarly devastating
results.
SMUD's UHI Programs
Dr.Misha Sarkovich, of the
Sacramento Municipal Utility District
(SMUD) joined the call to discuss
the utility's well-established urban
heat island related (UHI) initiatives.
The SMUD strategy emphasizes
both shade tree planting and
increasing roof albedo, and
achieves these goals through their
SacShade (initiated 1990) and Cool
Roofs (initiated 2001) programs.
SMUD has also made progess on
increasing the penetration of cool
paving materials, with an emphasis
on parking lots.
Misha said there are several
reasons for the Utility District's
long-term commitment to cool
communities and UHI mitigation.
Primarily, SMUD views its
programs an opportunity to reduce
peak electricity demand and air
conditioning energy load during the
summer months.
Another objective, viewed from a
long-term perspective, is UHI
mitigation. SMUD believes heat
island reduction strategies can
reduce ambient temperature 1 to 2
degrees F thereby indirectly
lowering air conditioning
requirements. An additional and
long-term goal is market
transformation. Other benefits of
the Shade Tree and Cool Roof
Programs are improvements in the
region's air quality, enhancing local
aesthetics, and promoting a sense

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of community spirit and
cooperation.
The Shade Tree Program started
in 1990 as a collaboration with the
non-profit, community-based
organization, Sacramento Tree
Foundation, acting as a contractor.
SMUD provides free 5-gallon
deciduous trees (maximum 10 per
household), ties, stakes, fertilizers
and expert advice on tree planting
and care. The Program is funded
entirely by SMUD, which has
served over 120,000 customers
and planted more than 350,000
trees. An annual budget over $1.5
million means that since 1990,
over $20 million has been invested.
The Program's incentive for
purchasing a cool roof is $0.10 per
square foot (decreased from
$0.20 in 2002 and 2001) paid to
the contractors, who then pass the
benefit to building owners. The
Program thus has the effect of
lowering total project cost for the
consumer.
Next, Misha discussed eligibility for
the cool roof incentive. He said
participating buildings must be
either commercial or multi-family,
and must have a flat roof. SMUD
also stipulates that contractors
install only cool roof products that
meet or exceed EPA's Energy
Star specifications.
With respect to program
administration, Misha says funding
after 1996 comes primarily from
public goods mandates. For
example, in 2001, SMUD received
a grant from the California Energy
Commission for $2,000,000 to
fund cool roof incentives. SMUD
used the CEC funding to leverage
its funding for the rebates (15
cents from CEC and 5 cents from
SMUD).
Both cool communities offerings
deliver impressive results. The
Shade Tree Program's average
energy cooling load savings is 153
kWh/year per mature tree, while
average demand savings is 0.056
kW per mature tree. On the cool
roofs side, average energy cooling
load savings is 20%, average
energy cooling load savings is 0.15
kWh/year/sq. ft., and average
demand savings is 0.25 W/sq. ft.
Misha noted that one reason for
SMUD's success with cool roofs is
that the program is contractor
driven: contractors market the
program, screen potential
candidates, process the
paperwork, and receive the rebate.
Other lessons learned from both
programs are that:
Cool roofs and shade trees
are cost-effective and
highly valued by utility
customers
Continuous refinement of
program design and
operation has proven
effective
A long-term commitment to
UHI efforts by the SMUD
Board and Management
has been crucial
The involvement of local
trade allies (roofing
contractors, urban forestry
organizations) has paid off
SMUD intends to continue both
award-winning programs in 2003.
For more information, see:
http://www.smud.org/residential/sav
ina/trees/index.html
and:
http://www.smud.Org/commercial/s
aving/service/roof.html
Supplemental
Environmental Projects
Hyatt Nolan, of EPA's Office of
Policy and Innovation, joined the call
to discuss Supplemental
Environmental Projects, or SEPs,
as well as EPA's new "SEP Toolkit"
for renewable energy (RE) and
energy efficiency (EE).
She informed the group that SEPs
are environmentally beneficial
projects that improve, protect, or
reduce risks to public health and the
environment. SEPs can include a
wide range of environmental
projects, including energy
efficiency, renewable energy, and
heat island reduction.
EPA's new Toolkit is aimed most
immediately at government officials,
but will be a valuable resource for
other interested and affected
parties. These include state and
local air and energy officials, EPA
Regional and Headquarters
compliance offices, EPA program
and policy staff, DOE program
offices and DOE's National
Renewable Laboratory, universities,
environmental foundations, the
regulated community, and, of
course, the affected neighborhoods
The goal of the Toolkit is to
educate policymakers and impacted
parties about the environmental and
economic benefits of SEPs. Hyatt
indicated this could help funnel
compliance dollars into projects that
maximize the environmental benefit
of enforcement actions.
In a nutshell, EPA's Toolkit will
provide practical guidance, project
examples and ideas, sample
documents, peer contact
information, references to model
policies, and related information.
Hyatt believes the Toolkit will also
foster a peer exchange network to
share technical information and to

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answer regional, state, and local
regulators' requests for help.
On-the-ground examples of SEPs
that increase vegetation include
urban airshed reforestation and
roof gardens. In one recent case,
a New Jersey utility paid $1 million
to plant neighborhood trees.
Realworld examples of EE SEPs
include investments in sustainable,
or "green" buildings such as
hospitals and schools, as well as
lighting change-outs. In Colorado,
as the result of a 1999 settlement,
a manufacturing firm performed an
EE assessment at one of its
facilities, and subsequently
installed motion light detectors and
energy efficient lights.
An example of a RE Wind Power
SEP is a 5-year wind power
purchase in Colorado paid for by a
manufacturing firm. Another is
solar power (photovoltaic)
installation for $75,000 in the State
of Maryland. In this case, a utility
installed small PV systems on
three public buildings, including two
schools and an environmental
center (a 2002 settlement).
Hyatt said that in all cases, SEPs
are undertaken as part of an
enforcement action, but stressed
they are strictly voluntarily on the
part of the violator. (However, the
regulator typically determines the
scope of the project). Other take-
away points are that SEP projects
may not be underway before a
regulator has identified the
violation, and that SEPs are
usually implemented in addition to
a penalty, which is mitigated on
the basis of project costs and local
guidelines.
For more information, see:
http://cfpub.epa.gov/compliance/re
sources/policies/civil/seps/
Additional News
Joyce Rosenthal of Columbia
University talked briefly about the
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Conference, which was held in San
Francisco December 8-12, 2003.
Several papers and posters
covered heat island related topics.
Joyce presented a poster, "One
hundred years of New York City's
Urban Heat Island: Temperature
Trends and Public Health Impacts",
which can be found under the
Program Selection, U01: Health,
Air Pollution, and Climate.
Dr. Bob Bornstein also presented
his research, which focused on how
urban heat islands impact
precipitation. And Dr. Marshall
Shepherd and Dr. Menglin Jin led
sessions on "Human-Induced
Climate Variations Linked to
Urbanization: From Observations to
Modeling". Information on the
conference including abstracts can
be found at:
http://www.agu.org/meetings/fm03/
fm03glan.shtml
Next, Eva Wong of the HIRI
Program informed call participants
that EPA and NASA air quality
modelers and researchers met in
North Carolina on December 16,
2003 to exchange information on
heat island modeling efforts in
Atlanta and Houston, and also to
discuss assimilating satellite data
into air quality models. Issues such
as using remote sensing products
for land-use classifications, using
satellite data in Regional-scale
models to improve the physical
atmosphere, and assimilation
strategies in CMAQ were
discussed.
David Hitchcock of the Houston
Advanced Research Center briefly
mentioned that Bill White, a
supporter of heat island reduction
activities, has been elected Mayor
of Houston. White will appear in an
upcoming's Wedge Group offices
for a docu-news television piece
describing how the city can lower
its ambient temperature two
degrees F through modest changes
in building practices and tree
planting. Previously, White's
"Wedge Group" was involved in
financing research in this area.
The next conference call
is TBD. Stay tuned for
the date, call-in number,
and access code.
NASA plans to have additional
results on their work in Atlanta out
in the next few months. All agreed
that a broader meeting - in terms
of scope and participation - should
be held in the Spring or Summer of
2004.

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