When Michael Nutter was running for the office of mayor of Philadelphia in 2007, he put together an outline of his plans for the environment called, “The Nutter Plan for a Sustainable Philadelphia Environment: Now and Tomorrow.” As stated in his plan, his “…overall goal is to raise the visibility of energy, natural resources, environmental health, waste management and green building and to place these issues at the center of our plans for the future.”

In September 2007, “the U.S. Geological Survey predicted that two-thirds of the world's polar bear population would likely be extinct by 2050, including all polar bears within the United States.” In November, 2007, Michael Nutter was elected Mayor of Philadelphia. Though saving polar bears may not be at the top of Mayor Nutter’s priority list, addressing climate change is.

To “Create a Sustainability Cabinet of department heads and senior officials responsible for protecting the air, water and land resources of the City and for promoting the sustainable use of those resources to enhance our quality of life and economic development” was one of the first steps he had intended to take “if elected.” Now, a mere six months into his new role, the Mayor has appointed a Director of Sustainability and charged him with the responsibility of giving life to his plan for a sustainable Philadelphia . The expectations will be high for Dr. Mark Alan Hughes as evidenced by the Mayor’s remarks at the press conference announcing the appointment, “If we are going to become the greenest city in the United States, then all of us in Philadelphia need to be working towards that common goal. Whether city government, private industry, non-profit organizations or private citizens, we all need to make every effort to conserve resources, to reduce waste and to promote sustainable methods of living and doing business.” There is much at stake.

A governmental agency, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, set up by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) to provide decision-makers and others interested in climate change with an objective source of information about climate change, released their fourth assessment report in November, 2007 on the status of global warming, its causes and its effects. The “Climate Change 2007” report raises serious concerns of species extinction as well as arguing strongly in favor of stepping up support and action on adaptation to the effects of global warming. Referred to as a “pocket guide for policymakers,” the role of federal, state and local government is made clear and citizens around the world are encouraged to work to engage their local policymakers and authorities in developing plans for action. The report also states that, “There is new and stronger evidence of observed impacts of climate change on unique and vulnerable systems (such as polar and high mountain communities and ecosystems), with increasing levels of adverse impacts as temperatures increase further.”

The problem for polar bears is daunting to say the least, but they are not alone. We too are facing more and more hardships driven by climate change. The difference is that we can stop it which is precisely what Mayor Michael Nutter intends to do.