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
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
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Funding
Our Town Grants-National Endowment for the Arts - Up to $200,000
Application deadline: January 14, 2013. The National Endowment for the Arts has announced the next round of Our Town grants. The grants will be invested in creative and innovative projects in which communities improve their quality of life, encourage greater creative activity, foster stronger community identity and a sense of place, and revitalize economic development. Grants ranging from $25,000 to $200,000 will be available to support creative placemaking projects. Click here for more information.
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation WaterSMART: Water and Energy Efficiency Grants - $21 million Application Due: January 17, 2013 Eligible Entities: State, Indian tribe, irrigation district, water district, or other organization with water or power delivery authority. Applicants must also be located in the western United States or Territories. This grant program provides funding to communities in the western United States to conserve and use water more efficiently, increase the use of renewable energy and improve energy efficiency, benefit endangered and threatened species, facilitate water markets, and carry out activities to address climate-related impacts on water. For more information, visit the grant opportunity webpage.
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Local City News
Free work parking drives solo driver rate. Residents of Contra Costa County have the longest commute times in California and spend an average of 32.2 minutes traveling to work. In the county, 7 in 10 drove alone, 11.8 percent carpooled and 8.8 percent took public transit. View the Full Article.
Walnut Creek BART Transit Village Project Moves Forward. The City Council voted unanimously to move the BART Transit Village apartment-and-retail project toward its first construction phase. During Phase I, a new BART parking structure that includes BART Police offices and a bus facility on the ground floor will be constructed on the existing parking lot. Residential units and mixed residential and commercial space is planned during Phases II and III, along with a underground parking structures for residents and patrons of the businesses. View the Full Article.
Help Your Community Prepare for the Local Impacts of Climate Change by Answering this Quick Survey. By participating you will give important and needed direction to our local governments. Plans to prevent and prepare for the local impacts of climate change are being crafted now. Your input will help your community receive the necessary support. Some ways climate change is expected to impact the Bay Area include:
* Increased temperatures and more frequent heat waves posing many health problems
* Droughts which could impact our drinking water and food supplies
* Increases in food, water, energy, and housing prices, creating new hardships for low- income households
* Sea level rise causing bay or coastal flooding and damage to infrastructure and low- lying areas
* More extreme weather, storms and heavy rain with flooding, landslide damage, and power outages
* Wild fires damaging housing, businesses and creating hazardous air pollution
* Loss of natural lands, plants and animals loved by those who call the Bay Area home
Take the Survey.
Green Belt Alliance Working For Contra Costa County. Greenbelt Alliance is the champion of the places that make the Bay Area special from defending the Bay Area's natural and agricultural landscape from development - the hills that offer stunning views, the valleys and streams that provide clean water, the farms and ranches that give us fresh, local food to helping to create great cities and neighborhoods - healthy places where people can walk and bike, communities with parks and shops, transportation options, and homes that are affordable. Click to view the November 2012 Newsletter. |
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Other City News
County Creates Sonoma Clean Power. The Board of the Sonoma County Water Agency and the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors created a joint powers authority to oversee Sonoma Clean Power, a proposed local program to buy and generate electricity for residents and businesses. If implemented well, Sonoma Clean Power will not only help Sonoma County reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase renewable energy, but will also have very positive consequences for the local economy by creating local jobs, stimulating business investment, and stabilizing energy costs. View the Full Article.
Looking to Cities, in Search of Global Warming's Silver Lining. Heat, carbon dioxide and air pollution are already having significant effects on trees, plants and crops, and for most plant scientists, the debate over climate change ended long before the arrival of extreme weather like Hurricane Sandy. Now, some of those scientists have moved beyond political questions to explore how rising levels of heat and emissions might provide at least some benefits for the planet. Still, some emissions are not helpful to plants. And so far, the long-term effects on plant life on a heated planet are unclear. View the Full Report.
Recorded Webcast on Community Shared Solar Success Stories. On November 28th, ICLEI-USA sponsored a webcast on community-shared solar energy. Community-shared solar can allow individuals and organizations unable to take advantage of on-site renewable generation to participate in distributed generation and support the development of renewable energy. Community facilities can also take advantage of economies of scale in a way that on-site generation often cannot, resulting in lower prices for participants. View the Recorded Webinar.
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Legislation
California Tries Again For A "Community Clean Power' Bill. Senator Lois Wolk introduced a bill, a second attempt by her and solar energy proponents to pass renewable energy sharing legislation. SB 43 will allow renters, along with homeowners who don't have good enough credit or have roofs that aren't suitable for solar panels, for example, to sign contracts with owners of solar power generation projects for a portion of the electricity produced. The amount they pay for will show up as credits on their utility bills. Businesses that lease office space will be able to do the same. View the Full Article.
Judge Rules San Diego's SB 375 Transportation Plan Violates State Environmental Law. San Diego Superior Court Judge Timothy Taylor ruled that the San Diego Association of Government's (SANDAG) regional transportation plan, with a sustainability chapter as required by SB 375, violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Judge Taylor concluded that the environmental review accompanying the plan, as required by CEQA, did not sufficiently analyze the greenhouse gas impacts of the plan through 2050. View the Full Article.
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Impacts
EPA Directories of Adaptation Tools and Resources for Public Officials. EPA's State and Local Climate and Energy site has a topic page on impacts and adaptation that includes links to state adaptation plans, guidebooks, programs, and tools. EPA's Climate Change Site includes a list of adaptation-related tools, guidebooks, clearinghouses, and other resources for public officials. View the Website.
Adapting to Urban Heat: A Tool Kit for Local Governments. In August 2012, the Georgetown Law Center released a toolkit to help local governments reduce the effects of increased heat on their communities and citizens. It provides an analytic tool for policy makers to consider a combination of four built-environment changes (cool roofs, green roofs, cool pavements, and urban forestry), providing criteria for selecting among these approaches. It also examines the roles that governments can play in pursuing these changes: shaping their own operations, mandating or providing incentives for private choices, and engaging in public education. Download the Toolkit.
New Guide on Improving Travel Efficiency at the Local Level.
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) has released a new local guide to help municipalities and metropolitan regions identify policies to expand transportation choices and improve transportation system efficiency. The toolkit is targeted at local policymakers and stakeholders interested in reducing transportation-related fuel consumption in their communities. Policies addressed in the toolkit are divided into four key categories. To read a blog post summarizing the toolkit policies visit ACEEE's blog.
Senator Boxer's Message on the UN Climate Change Conference in Doha, Qatar. Senator Boxer sent a message to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Doha, Qatar, expressing her strong support for advancing the international effort to address climate change. View the Full Message and Video.
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Economics
Boulderites Vote to Keep Carbon Tax. 82% of Boulder Colorado residents participating in a referendum decided to keep the city's landmark carbon tax for another five years. Proposed in 2006, the Climate Action Plan became the nation's first municipality-level carbon tax. The CAP allows the Boulder government to tax electricity consumption, and use those proceeds to offset carbon emissions through the use of energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. So far, the city has received between $600,000 and $1.8 million a year from the tax. The overall goal of the CAP is to achieve emissions reductions targets in line with the internationally approved Kyoto Protocol. View the Full Article.
Cyclists and Pedestrians Can End Up Spending More Each Month Than Drivers.
According to a new report, bicyclists and other nonmotorists out-consumed drivers over the course of a month than drivers at stores other than supermarkets. Although bikers and pedestrians often spent less per visit, they made more frequent trips to restaurants, bars and convenience stores. This finding is logical: It's a lot easier to make an impulse pizza stop if you're passing by an aromatic restaurant on foot or bike instead of in a passing car at 35 miles an hour. Walkable (and bikeable) communities by definition facilitate a more frequent interaction between patrons and businesses. View the Full Article.
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Science
New York's Carbon Emissions - In Real Time. In 2010 New York City added 54 million metric tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere (75% from buildings, the bulk of the rest from transport) but that number means little to most people because few of us have a sense of scale for atmospheric pollution. Carbon Visuals, supported by Environmental Defense Fund, have created a film that makes those emissions feel more real - the total emissions and the rate of emission. Designed to engage the 'person on the street', this version is exploratory and still work in progress. View the Film.
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Upcoming Events
Community Preparedness Workshop. Contra Costa Climate Leaders (4CL) will hold a workshop on community preparedness in January 2013. Date and location to be announced.
13th National Conference on Science, Policy, and the Environment: Disasters and Environment - Science, Preparedness, and Resilience. January 15, 2013, Washington, DC. Resilience and sustainability are key considerations in the planning for disasters. This national conference, sponsored by the National Council for Science and the Environment, will explore issues including transportation, land use, infrastructure, energy and water supply, waste management, local commerce, job creation, poverty alleviation, and emergency preparedness. A symposium during the conference will highlight EPA's unique role in the disaster area, and will focus in part on several EPA research projects aimed at strengthening community resilience. To register and for more information, visit the conference home page.
2013 Climate Leadership Conference. February 27 to March 1, Washington, DC. An annual exchange for addressing global climate change through policy, innovation, and business solutions. Register now to join forward-thinking leaders from business, government, academia, and the non-profit community as they discuss best practices for integrating climate change strategies while improving the bottom line. Click Here to Register. |
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