Visit us on the web! You'll find case studies, issues of the month, workshop materials, archived newsletters and updates on local government activities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Contra Costa County
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Join Our Mailing list!
info@cccclimateleaders.org
Contact us:
925.631.0597
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The 4CL Program offers:
Quarterly workshops for education and networking opportunities
Monthly newsletters for environmental updates, pertinent local information, and interesting upcoming events
Ongoing website containing the CCC city environmental developments, archived newsletters, and other educational resources
www.cccclimateleaders.org
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Thank you to our sponsors!
PG&E
QUEST
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Newsletter Contributors:
Content:
Anne Cavazos
4CL Consultant
Christina Bay
4CL Contributor
Sarah Noorbakhsh
4CL Contributor
Carla Dowell
QuEST Contributor
Editor:
Katherine Bracken
4CL Volunteer
Contributing editors:
Lynda Deschambault
Executive Director 4CL
Newsletter articles are collected from a variety of sources and are cited via a website reference when applicable
To add content or events to our next monthly newsletter, please send an email to
info@cccclimateleaders.org
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East Bay Energy Watch (EBEW) News
July Energy Benchmarking Workshop for Municipalities a Success. In collaboration with Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) and the Association of Bay Area Governments, Quantum Energy Services & Technologies, Inc. (QuEST) and Contra Costa County Climate Leaders held a Benchmarking Building Energy workshop. Participants included the City of Hercules, the City of Pleasant Hill, and Contra Costa County. Sixteen CCC municipalities have now been trained and are eligible for benchmarking assistance from QuEST which helps municipalities understand their current energy use and will also meet the requirements of AB 1103 (See LEGISLATION below).
PG&E Rebate Assistance Available for CCC Municipalities. QuEST presented the Hercules-Rodeo Fire District with a PG&E rebate check for $477 for their water heater replacements and vending miser installations at each of the fire stations. QuEST is in the process of working on a rebate for their window film installations.
Energy Audit Assistance for CCC Municipalities. QuEST audited the Moraga Library and Police Station in June 2012 and KEMA is in the process of setting up an audit for the lighting in Moraga. The estimated energy savings for the Moraga Library is approximately 20,000 kWh and 2,200 therms equivalent to a cost savings of $5,100 per year. The Moraga Police Department estimated energy savings is 9,896 kWh and 1,664 therms equivalent to a cost savings of $2,654.
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Funding
California Energy Commission Energy Efficiency Financing. Projects with proven energy and/or capacity savings are eligible for 3% Interest Loans, provided they meet the eligibility requirements. Examples of projects include: lighting systems, pumps and motors, streetlights and LED traffic signals, automated energy management systems/controls, building insulation, energy generation including renewable and combined heat and power projects, heating and air conditioning modifications, waste water treatment equipment. Approximately $25 million is currently available. The maximum loan amount is $3 million per application. For more information, Click Here.
EPA Financing Program Decision Tool This tool is for state and local governments interested in developing a financing program to support energy efficiency and clean energy improvements for large numbers of buildings within their jurisdiction. In order to use the tool, please Click Here.
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Local City News
Contra Costa County preparing a Community-Wide Climate Action Plan. Unincorporated communities in Contra Costa County can submit feedback using the on-line form. Three open-houses were held in June and July 2012. The draft plan will include a draft set of green house gas mitigation measures and is scheduled to be released for public review in Fall 2012. A series of public outreach workshops are tentatively scheduled for September 2012 pending the release of the draft plan. To check on-going efforts, Click Here.
Pinole City Hall Completed Retrocommissioning Measures. Retrocommissioning measures completed in June 2012 produced a verified annual energy savings of 23,000 kWh and 4,100 therms and $7,653. For more on retrocommissioning, Click Here.
Fremont Considers Sustainability Commission. On July 17 Fremont's City Council unanimously approved a referral from Mayor Gus Morrison establishing a new Fremont Sustainability Commission. Morrison said the new commission's first order of business, if approved, could be to develop a Climate Action Plan (CAP) for Fremont. The CAP is a complementary document to the city's General Plan 2030 aimed at helping Fremont reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020. View the Full Article.
Lafayette Library and Learning Center's (LLLC's) Green Features. LLLC opened in 2009 and is still a top-notch example of a municipal green building construction in Contra Costa County. Several features include a transportation-friendly location (walking distance to BART), water-conserving landscaping, and an energy efficient building constructed with green and low-toxicity materials. For more information Click Here.
Contra Costa County has the Most Acres at High Risk of Development of Any County in the Bay Area-over 18,000. Fortunately 119,000 acres have been permanently protected, providing a strong foundation to continue the fight against sprawl. At Risk: The Bay Area Greenbelt 2012, prepared by Greenbelt Alliance, provides a snapshot of working farms and natural areas facing sprawl development pressure in the nine Bay Area counties. Greenbelt Mapper, an interactive online map, showcases where land is zoned for development, where growth management measures are in place, and the many values open space provides. If you are a city staffer or a GIS enthusiast, sign up for a webinar on the Greenbelt Mapper.
San Francisco tops the US Canada Green Cities Index. San Francisco has been named the greenest city in the United States and Canada in a study commissioned by Siemens. For more Click Here.
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Other City News
Simi Valley Honored for Sustainable Activities. The City of Simi Valley has achieved "Silver" status as a California Green Community for its commitment to sustainability. Simi Valley is only the fifth city - the first and only city in Ventura County - to be honored by California Green Communities for its efforts. View the Full Article. City of Houston Received $15 million Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for Regional Multimodal Connections Project. In addition to creating jobs, it aids in making Houston a more accessible and sustainable place to live. The project includes building 7.5 miles of off-street shared-use paths, 2.8 miles of sidewalks, and 7.9 miles of on-street bikeways. View the Full Article. Boulder to Launch Pilot Energy-Tracking Program for Commercial Buildings. A consultant has recommended that the city put more than half of the $1.8 million it gets each year from the Climate Action Plan tax toward incentivizing private-sector energy-efficiency investments, should voters choose to renew the tax in November. View the Full Article. The U.S. Scores Low on Energy Efficiency Among the World's Largest Economies. The "International Energy Efficiency Scorecard" looked at 12 nations representing 78% of global GDP, 63% of global energy consumption, and 62% of global emissions. Scoring was based on 27 metrics regarding buildings, industry, transportation, and efforts at the national level. The U.S. ranks 9th out of 12 in a new report from the nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). View the Full Article. |
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Legislation
California AB 1103 and Portfolio Manager. AB 1103 requires electric or gas utilities in California to maintain their customer's energy use data in a format compatible for uploading into Portfolio Manager, for at least the most recent 12 months. The major utilities have worked with ENERGY STAR to automate the uploading process once they've received permission from the account owner. View the Full Article.
California AB 1103 2012 Update. Under Assembly Bill 1103, owners and operators of nonresidential buildings are required to disclose energy benchmarking data and ratings for a 12-month period to prospective buyers, lenders, and lessees of an entire building. Under the March 2012 draft regulations, the energy benchmarking disclosure requirements for non-residential buildings, including municipalities, will take effect in three phases between January 1, 2013 and January 1, 2014 and will depend on the square footage of the building's total floor area.
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Impacts
Dangers Of Climate Change Extend To Fire Control. Cal Fire officials said that firefighters are battling more wild fires than ever and that the fires are growing more intense. The newly released climate assessment attributes the increase to climate change-rising temperatures, drier conditions, and a longer fire season. Is your city prepared and have an evacuation plan? View the Video.
Many U.S. Cities Unprepared For Future Heat Waves. What's the deadliest natural disaster? In the United States, it's heat. Between 1979 and 2003, heat waves killed at least 8,015 Americans A new study in the journal Landscape and Research Planning finds that many large U.S. cities are warming twice as fast as the rest of the country thanks in part to increased sprawl. View the Full Article.
Weather Extremes Leave Parts of U.S. Grid Buckling. From highways in Texas to nuclear power plants in Illinois, the concrete, steel and sophisticated engineering that undergird the nation's infrastructure are being taxed to worrisome degrees by heat, drought and vicious storms. Adaptation efforts are taking place nationwide. View the Full Article.
US Urban Areas Are Heating Up Faster Than Rest Of World. Most talk of climate change is about effects on the entire planet, rather than on individual cities or regions. But in addition to global warming due to greenhouse gas emissions, cities experience what's known as the "urban heat island effect": the tendency for surfaces such as asphalt to capture and emit heat. View the Full Article.
White Roofs Substantially Cut Down on Heat Island Effect. Contra Costa County has mild winters and warmer summers. By changing to cool roofs, the energy costs in our county could be drastically reduced during those warm weather months. Read more on the Contra Costa Climate Leaders Website.
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Economics
Public Willing To Pay More for Green Energy. The average U.S. citizen is willing to pay $162 a year more to support a national policy requiring 80 percent 'clean' energies by 2035. Nationwide that would represent a 13 percent increase in electric bills. View the Full Article.
How City-Level Innovation Is Creating Business Opportunities. As urbanization accelerates, cities are poised to play a crucial role in fostering innovation; swelling populations and sometimes-creaky infrastructure create a massive business opportunity for the corporate sector. "Cities have become a learning laboratory of innovation and new kinds of capabilities," said GreenBiz chairman Joel Makower. What are the opportunities for business to partner with cities in pursuit of a more sustainable future? View the Full Article.
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Science
Why We Need To Pay More Attention To The Role Of Landfills In Global Warming. Technical experts determined that landfills were responsible for almost five times more GHG emissions than previously understood. Methane is so potent a greenhouse gas, even small leaks from major generators of methane are a huge concern - depending how much escapes. It is important to cities to have robust recycling programs to keep city waste out of the landfill. Encouraging homeowners to compost in their backyards can also divert significant waste from landfills. View the Full Article. California Climate Change Center's Third Assessment on Global Warming Released. The assessment summarizes findings of multiple California researchers and the many ways climate change is impacting our communities, from public health to energy supply to our ecosystems, and the factors responsible for the increase in temperatures. It is no longer about preventing global warming, but about adapting. View the Full Report. Richard Muller, U.C. Berkeley Physics Professor and Skeptic of Global Warming Changes His Opinion on Climate Change. Muller, also a co-founder of a project (name?), funded by the Charles Koch Charitable Foundation, which gives money to groups that deny climate change, recently announced that he now believes global warming is a real phenomenon. View the Full Article.
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Upcoming Events
Basics of Benchmarking in Portfolio Manager. August 21, 2:00-3:00 PM (EDT) - Learn the basics of benchmarking using Portfolio Manager, EPA's ENERGY STAR measurement and tracking tool. Portfolio Manager enables you to track the progress of energy and water efficiency efforts and compare the energy use of your buildings with that of similar buildings nationwide. This session will show you how easy it is to get started by providing an introduction to ENERGY STAR and walking you through setting up a building in Portfolio Manager. Webcast registration.
Energy Efficiency/Renewable Energy Manual. August 27, 1:30-3:00 PM (EDT) - EPA is starting a new initiative to encourage state, tribal, and local agencies to incorporate energy efficiency and renewable energy policies and programs in their State and Tribal Implementation Plans. This initiative includes a manual, training, tools, and technical assistance. The webinar will provide an overview of the manual, tools, and technical assistance. The primary audience for this webinar is state, tribal, and local air agencies that develop air quality plans. Webcast registration.
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