If Copenhagen can do it, we can do it -- with a tropical twist

Dear Mayor Diaz: Heading to Copenhagen this year for the most important climate change summit ever? As the former head of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, your participation is crucial. We Americans are primarily urban creatures, and our cities are where the battle over energy use will be won or lost.

Arriving in Denmark, you will see rows of white windmills on the water (clean energy, check). Stepping out of the train station from the airport, you’ll be run over by bicycles (human-powered transport, check). Bicycles are everywhere. Taxis carry bike racks. Single women cycle at 3:00 a.m. or 3:00 p.m. It doesn’t matter in Copenhagen -- day or night -- bicycles rule the road.

Take a look at the construction of streets there. The bike lane is slightly elevated, thereby separating cyclists from cars and buses. Traffic lights are timed for cyclists instead of cars. Walking is encouraged by huge pedestrian-only zones -- imagine Lincoln Road times ten and you start to get the picture.

Could Miami ever be a Copenhagen or an Amsterdam? All three are flat cities with large waterfronts, where sustainable, healthy lifestyles are encouraged. Unless things change, all of them will be underwater by the next century, as result of global warming causing sea levels to rise.

Certainly the American way out of this crisis will be unique, but we can take cues from nations with a higher standard of living than ours, but lower levels of consumption. My recent excursion to Copenhagen has inspired me to propose the following eight targets for a healthier Miami within 40 years. By 2050, Miami can achieve these goals:

An aware, educated public Nothing changes in a democracy without education. But schools alone cannot bear this burden, as Miami attracts immense numbers of visitors and immigrants who need constant educating. Do not let anyone trash our city, and give multiple opportunities to recycle on the street. Take actions that send the right messages to everyone.

Healthier lifestyles People who care for their personal health are more likely to care about nature’s health, too. Human-powered transportation (walking, cycling) promotes health at both levels. Eating local produce is better for you and for the earth. Health is a global concept that we can experience locally.

Integrated transportation Human-powered transport must assume its rightful place in front of all others. Walkable communities. Bikeable streets. A user-friendly train systems that repurposes existing tracks. We can do this.

Greener and bluer spaces The tree-canopy goals and master park plans are already in place. Do not allow unbridled development to crush our plans. With property values dropping, now is the time to acquire more greenways and park space.

Streets of white gold The idea to paint all roofs and streets white (or at least light instead of dark) is being promoted by Steven Chu, the U.S. Energy Secretary. Blacktop becomes whitetop. It makes perfect sense in our climate and can be encouraged with a simple discount on white paint. And it adds a little more “magic” to our Magic City.

Recycled water Miami has decided that we must reuse our wastewater, and that change should come quickly. Clean water is always number-one. Then promote other reuse strategies. Compost more. Recycle more. Please make it easier for everyone to recycle. You can start by placing recycling bins in all city and county parks.

Be pleased with 80 degrees Come on, folks. We live in a warm, lovely climate, and we need to embrace it indoors and out. No school should set its air conditioning below 78 degrees. Open windows and turn off the A/C in the winter. Get more fresh air. Sweat a little. Wear lighter clothing. Heat is cool.

Wind and solar energy leadership Where is Miami going to find any sun and wind? Someone is going to become very rich if they can discover it. When they figure out how to harvest clean energy here, they can teach the entire hurricane-prone world how to do it. Miami can lead the way.

Northern European cities like Copenhagen may have thousands of years of history, but Miami has something else. It has the opportunity to stop the madness of “fast” cities and replace it with the languid, tropical sway of a palm tree in the breeze. In other words, Miami cannot become Copenhagen or any other city for that matter. We can and should borrow the best ideas from the entire world.

Sustainable living shares the common goal worldwide of living within the earth’s means. But each place must follow the edict of thinking globally while acting locally, which will differ from place to place.

Mayor Diaz, please take our wishes and ideas along to the international community meeting in Copenhagen this December. Even though you’ll no longer be mayor, keep bringing back the best ideas for our city. We need you. The world needs you. As you know, Miami’s future is the world’s future, and vice versa. Don’t let us drown.

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