Atherton Town Council Member and former mayor Charles Marsala just informed us that
at last night's Atherton Town Council meeting the Council approved the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement.
The Climate Action Plan will be developed by the Town's Environmental Programs Committee, which was also expanded by the Council.
Good news from Julio!
Buildings are a big part of the opportunity for energy improvements.
Per GreenBiz:
Buildings consume approximately 37% of the energy and 68% of the electricity produced in the United States annually, according to the U.S. Department of Energy
It's of critical importance that builders are educated and held accountable to meaningful, achievable standards -- so that sustainable buildings doesn't become another undefined slogan
Redwood City takes another step. Here's the report from Rick, the team lead there:
The RWC council added Climate Protection to their priority list at the Priority Setting session on February 12th!!
Representatives from the League of Women Voters, the Friends of RWC, and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of RWC addressed the council on Climate Change in addition to the Sierra Club.
In talking to the City Manager, Ed Everett, it looks like the staff will try and bring the Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement to the council in late March or early April. They would like to bring it to council prior to the March 18 Kickoff event, but the calendar is already full with other pressing topics.
Nearly 1,000 teachers gathered in San Francisco this weekend to learn about the climate crisis.
Teachers with their students, parents with their children and others wanting to learn more about what causes global warming lined up at the Hilton San Francisco and Towers to attend a free public meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
"The evidence is clear," the statement says in part. "Global climate change caused by human activities is occurring now and is a growing threat to society.''
Sunday's four-hour event was organized in collaboration with three teacher groups, including the National Science Teachers Association.
Climate change was a hot topic at the Menlo Park City Council meeting last Tuesday. During a 2-hour-long discussion, the Council took several bold steps towards prioritizing climate change as an important issue for the city. Among the meeting's big wins:
1. The staff will prepare a resolution endorsing the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement.
2. Mayor Fergusson gained approval to establish an informal Green Ribbon Task Force (GRTF) to recommend climate change actions for Menlo Park.
3. Staff will solicit the help of an experienced party (for example, ICLEI) in estimating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for Menlo Park.
More than 220 people showed up for a meeting earlier this month about going solar. Area resident Bruce Karney was thrilled by the diverse turnout in Mountain View.
To address the growing interest, a repeat information session (same content) is scheduled for those who could not attend the last meeting. Event details are below:
Mountain View High School Theater
Tuesday, February 27 at 7 p.m.
If you need little convincing about the benefits of solar power, consider a free on-site home evaluation from SolarCity. Still have questions? Contact Bruce at bkarney AT aol.com.
Unite to Fight Global Warming Rally in Redwood City
This is going to be big. Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope and Silicon Valley Leadership Group Executive Director Carl Guardino are among the speakers.
Event is cosponsored by the Sierra Club, SVLG, Council of Churches, League of Women Voters of Santa Clara County and others.
Show your local leaders YOU want action on global warming!
Learn how YOU can take action on this historic challenge
Sunday March 18, 2007
2:30 PM – 4:30 PM
Historic Carrington Hall
Sequoia High School
1201 Brewster Avenue
Redwood City, CA
Two blocks from Caltrain Station
Free and open to the public
Come and be counted!
Palo Alto makes climate change top priority as reported in the Palo Alto Daily News.
Climate protection headed the list of the top four priorities the council set for 2007, receiving unanimous support from the nine council members. Creating a "sustainable budget," working with the community to prepare for emergencies and developing plans for city libraries and a public safety building rounded out the list of council commitments.
"I am thrilled that the city and community are taking leadership on climate action," Mayor Yoriko Kishimoto said at the retreat. "It will become the banner agenda for the city."
For the City Council and staff, the climate protection priority largely means figuring out ways to implement the 240 recommendations made by the city's Green Ribbon Task Force.
Jerry Hill, San Mateo County Supervisor, along with Daniel Sperling were appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger to the state Air Resources Board reported the Sacramento Bee. This is a hugely important appointment.
Jerry Hill is well known locally and has a strong reputation.
Daniel Sperling is the founding director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis.
The Air Resources Board is responsible for implementing the landmark law signed last year, AB32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act.
With these appointments Schwartzenegger is showing that he's serious about doing the right thing. Good news indeed!
Area resident Bruce Karney is urging home owners in nearby Mountain View to join forces in going solar. Last December, 68 households in Portola Valley received bulk rates on energy-efficient solar arrays from Foster City-based solar company, SolarCity. SolarCity marketing director Nicole Ratner expects to offer Mountain View residents a 20 to 30 percent discount if they reach an electricity "threshold" of 175-kilowatt-hours. In other words, with an average electricity consumption of 4 kilowatt-hours per home, about 44 households will need to participate for reduced program pricing, the Mountain View Voice reported.
Karney is organizing a meeting this Saturday for all interested residents. Speakers will include representatives from SolarCity, possibly some residents from Portola Valley, and Karney himself. For more information, contact Bruce at bkarney AT aol.com.
Mountain View Senior Center, Social Hall
Saturday, February 10
3 to 5 p.m.
Northeast Stunned By Freak January Snowfall!
Gotta love the Onion:
"Look, you can almost make a snowball," said 17-year-old Theo Baldesseri in Pittsburgh's Riverview Park. "My older cousin told me about stuff like this happening when he was a kid, but I always thought he was just making it up."
Mountain View's staff put together a report on looking at various programs relevant to the cities with regards to climate change. The doc is mostly addendums with overviews, including California's very important "Global Warming Solutions Act" (AB32).
Turns out AB32 will require that cities set emissions baselines and targets. In other words cities will need to start measuring their emissions anyway - details still forthcoming - but the sooner we start the better.
Irrespective of the specific model used cities need to:
* establish a measurement approach and begin measuring
* set a baseline (1990 is the most widely used)
* set a target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions
* put a plan in place for doing so
And very important for the ultimate success of emissions reductions, the plan needs to apply to the city as a whole - not just its own operations!
Former VP Al Gore was in our neck of the woods yesterday speaking before 1,400 business and community leaders at the Silicon Valley Network's annual conference. While he reiterated the severity of the climate crisis, Gore also appeared optimistic that Silicon Valley would lead the way in innovating and growing the clean tech industry, according to the SJ Mercury News. The SJ Mercury also reported some promising numbers from conference panelist and venture capitalist John Doerr: green tech projects and programs in the Valley received nearly $1 billion in investment funding during the third quarter of 2006. Going green-- good for the environment, good for the economy.
Can it be done? Can the worst effects of climate change be averted? The answer in this important new report by the American Solar Energy Society is a strong yes.
No surprise but efficiency is the key - 57% of the carbon savings (which interestingly parallels the Lawrence Livermore study of energy use and waste).
Calvin at Climate Change Action provides a good summary (forgive the wonkish numbers):
The key findings are:
Efficiency can stabilise energy consumption up to 2030. Under these circumstances ever greater penertration of renewable energy can lead to significant decarbonisation and lower greenhouse gas emissions.
In quantitative terms, emissions reductions from the energy system of 40% by 2030 are shown to be entirely feasible. The research finds that savings in MtC per year by 2030 could feasibly come from:
Energy efficiency 688MtC 57% of savings.
All generation technologies 512MtC 43% of savings.
Concentrating solar power 63MtC
Photovoltaics 63MtC
Wind 181MtC
Biofuels 58MtC
Biomass 75MtC
Geothermal 83MtC
