Monthly Archives: November 2022

The Exceptionally American Problem of Rising Roadway Deaths

By Emily Badger and Alicia Parlapiano | November 27, 2022 | The New York Times

The U.S. has diverged over the past decade from other comparably developed countries, where traffic fatalities have been falling. This American exception became even starker during the pandemic. In 2020, as car travel plummeted around the world, traffic fatalities broadly fell as well. But in the U.S., the opposite happened. Travel declined, and deaths still went up. Preliminary federal data suggests road fatalities rose again in 2021.

Click here to read the article.

ECOS MTG/Board – Nov. 29, 6-8 pm

BOARD MEETING 6:00 – 7:15

6:00 – 6:10 Welcome, introductions, minutes, agenda

6:10 – 6:15 Board plan for 2023 – Susan Herre

6:15 – 6:35 Committee updates, plans for 2023

  • Climate — Ralph Propper
  • Habitat — Sean Wirth/Rob Burness
  • Water — Ted Rauh
  • Organizational Development–Nancy Hughett

6:35 – 7:00 Elections – Jon Ellison
7:00 – 7:05 Treasurer’s report – Earl Withycombe
7:05 – 7:10 Recognitions

NATOMAS PROJECTS 7:15 – 8:00 pm
Heather Fargo, Natomas resident, ECOS Board member, and former City mayor, will facilitate a discussion about projects proposed in agriculturally-zoned areas of Natomas: Airport South Industrial, Upper Westside (formerly “The Boot”), and Grand Park (formerly “North Precinct”). These are outside both the City of Sacramento and the County’s Urban Services Boundary. What is the approval process, and what approach will ECOS take to influence this?

Next ECOS MTG/Board – Jan 25 (Wed, not Tues) at 6 pm

LINK to join: ECOS ZOOM 6656164155

or call: 1 669 900 6833, Mtg ID: 665 616 4155

New Building Electrification Ordinance – City Council Meeting Nov 29, 2022

On November 28, 2022, the Environmental Council of Sacramento submitted a comment letter on City Council Meeting Nov 29, 2022 Agenda Item 25: New Building Electrification Ordinance, ID: 2022-01920.

Below is the content of the letter.

ECOS supports the proposed New Building Electrification Ordinance and urges the Council to vote for it.

  • The first phase of this ordinance (for newly constructed buildings that are three stories or less) will take effect on January 1, 2023, and second phase (for newly constructed buildings that are four stories or more) will take effect on January 1, 2026.
  • The New Building Electrification Ordinance will be a local amendment to the 2022 California Building Standards Code.

As SMUD moves toward its 2030 zero-carbon goal, electrification of buildings will increasingly help city residents reduce their carbon footprint. We look forward to working with City staff on the development of a building electrification ordinance for existing buildings.

Click here to view the letter.

Essay: Sacramento voters rejected Measure A’s giveaways and political patronage for a reason

ECOS Board Member Brad Banan wrote the following article published in the Sacramento News and Review on November 18, 2022.

By standard political measures, a proposed Sacramento County transportation tax should have won approval in this month’s election. Supporters had a truckload of campaign cash and the backing of the political establishment, among other things.

They spent more than $4 million on Measure A. Opponents spent less than $7,000.

And yet, just like voters nationwide rejected the narrative of an impending “red wave,” so it appears that local voters bucked conventional wisdom and nixed Measure A. As of Nov. 15, 54 percent of voters were opposed to the measure, leading by a margin of 22,000 votes. The measure would have added a half percent to the county’s sales tax for 40 years, raising it to 9.25 percent in Sacramento.

So why did the transportation tax fail?

Click here to keep reading.

Give to ECOS for GivingTuesday

GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of radical generosity. GivingTuesday was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Since then, it has grown into a year-round global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.

Join the movement and give to ECOS – each Tuesday and every day – whether it’s some of your time, a donation, or the power of your voice in your local community.

It’s a simple idea: whether it’s making someone smile, helping a neighbor or stranger out, showing up for an issue or people we care about, or giving some of what we have to those who need our help, every act of generosity counts and everyone has something to contribute toward building the better world we all want to live in.

Here’s a year-end letter and report on our activities for 2022.