CA Code Update for EV Charging Infrastructure

On December 16, 2020, the Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS) submitted comments on the proposed changes to Title 24, Part 11 of the 2022 CALGreen Building Code for the 2021 Triennial Code Adoption Cycle.

In our letter, we recommended that the code update include this:

A working and signed Level 1 outlet (110–120 V) shall be installed at each parking space associated with new residential construction.

This simple provision would provide low-cost infrastructure that works for any EV. It would ensure that Californians living in any type of new housing – low-income, high-income, mixeduse, multifamily, single-family — have convenient access to EV battery charging.

Click here to view our letter.

Photo: Mariordo (Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sac County Climate Emergency Declaration

December 17, 2020 Update: we are happy to report that the County of Sacramento has passed the declaration!

December 15, 2020

ECOS has submitted a letter asking the Sacramento Board of Supervisors to vote in support of declaring a Climate Emergency. The item is on the agenda for their December 16, 2020 meeting.

From our letter:

The Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS) supports the County’s proposed Climate Emergency Declaration. As Greta Thunberg has told us,
“Humans are very adaptable: we can still fix this. But the opportunity to do so will not last for long. We must start today. We have no more excuses. We cannot solve a crisis without treating it as a crisis. And if solutions within the system are so impossible to find, then maybe we should change the system itself.”
Please demonstrate that our County’s system is up to the task!

Click here to read our letter in full.

Click here to add your voice!

Photo credit: Anders Hellberg, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Important Sac County Decisions Dec 15/16

On December 15th and 16th, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors will be making some important decisions about local actions to save the planet.

The following agenda items are on the consent calendar:

Approve Authority To Apply For Grant Funding From The Sacramento Area Council Of Governments 2021 Funding Round And The Caltrans Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant Program
Zoning Ordinance Amendments Related To Accessory Dwelling Unit Standards. Request To Amend Chapter 1, Chapter 3, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, And Chapter 7 Of The Zoning Code Related To Accessory Dwelling Units
General Plan Amendment to Adopt SMAQMD Thresholds of Significance for CEQA Analyses of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Declaration Of A Climate Emergency

Click here to view the agendas

Climate Emergency Declaration

Our partners at 350 Sacramento have created a handy letter-writing tool for anyone to use to send a message to the Board of Supervisors expressing your support for the declaration of a Climate Emergency. Please use to button below to help Sacramento county make the right choice.

Click here to send message

Support ECOS Through AmazonSmile

When you do your Christmas shopping online, shop at AmazonSmile and you can support the Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS) at the same time. AmazonSmile is a simple and easy way to support ECOS when you shop for Christmas gifts, at no cost to you.

What is AmazonSmile?

AmazonSmile is a simple way for you to support the Environmental Council of Sacramento every time you use Amazon, at no cost to you. AmazonSmile is available at smile.amazon.com on your web browser and can be activated in the Amazon Shopping app for iOS and Android phones. When you shop at AmazonSmile, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added benefit that AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% of your eligible purchases to the charitable organization of your choice. You can choose from over one million organizations to support.

How do I shop at AmazonSmile?

To shop at AmazonSmile simply go to smile.amazon.com on your web browser or activate AmazonSmile on your Amazon Shopping app on your iOS or Android phone (found under settings on your app). On your browser, you may also want to add a bookmark to smile.amazon.com to make it even easier to return and start your shopping at AmazonSmile. When you’re using the app, always check for the “AmazonSmile” logo to ensure you’re activated for AmazonSmile.

Please choose Environmental Council of Sacramento Inc. as your nonprofit of choice. Thank you from all of us at ECOS.

Go to AmazonSmile

Request for Nominations

Since 1973, ECOS has honored local persons, groups, businesses and innovations with the Environmentalist of the Year awards. Although we won’t host an in-person event this year, we feel it’s important to honor those worthy. Please take some time and recall an event – in the past year or so – which you were taken with. Then think of the people or group which made that positive impact. If you thought this important, here is your opportunity to have that recognized. Please submit your nomination using the nomination form by Monday, December 21st, 2020.

We appreciate and will consider all nominations. We hope to host an online celebration of the awardees in the coming months. Thank you in advance for your time and effort.

Click here to view past Environmentalists of the Year.

Climate Action Plan Presentations

Climate Action Plans: What’s the Latest? How Can We Help?

At the ECOS board meeting on Tuesday, Nov 24 at 6pm, we heard the latest about the Climate Action Plans of Sacramento City, West Sacramento City, and the County of Sacramento.

Click here to download a recording of this meeting.

Cities of Sacramento and West Sacramento

How has Sacramento been following up on these recommendations?

Anne Stausboll, Chair of the Mayors’ Commission on Climate Change, presented. The Commission presented its recommendations to Sacramento and West Sacramento this summer.

Resources from Anne

Mayors’ Commission on Climate Change Report, and the supporting Technical report, are both here: https://www.lgc.org/climatecommission/

Sacramento City Council voted on ten preliminary “first year” actions: https://engagesac.org/blog-civic-engagement/2020/8/26/sacramento-city-council-embraces-slow-streets-electrified-buildings-to-fight-climate-change

Sacramento City staff update on Nov 10 to Council on the “first year” actions: https://sacramento.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=22&clip_id=4764&meta_id=605234

Sacramento City staff update on the city CAP to the Planning Commission on Nov 12: https://sacramento.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=34&clip_id=4765&meta_id=605782

County of Sacramento

Todd Smith, Principal Planner, Sacramento County, discussed the status of the County’s Community-wide Climate Action Plan. This month, the County’s Stakeholder Committee heard a presentation on an early draft.

Presentations were followed by a Questions and Answer session.

Join us at our next board meeting!

Board Meetings of the Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS) happen at 6:00 pm on the 4th Tuesday of odd-numbered months.
Zoom Meeting ID: 818 6537 7865
Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81865377865
Call-in: 1-669-900-6833 | Same Zoom info every board meeting

Click here for the agenda, and links to the supplemental materials for this meeting.

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels