Wildfires, health and money: How to talk about climate change with skeptics

By Mila Jasper | August 11, 2021 | The Sacramento Bee

Monday marked a major day in climate change news. The United Nations published a new report that found global warming will likely rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius in the next two decades, a level that will bring more instances of extreme weather.
…
There’s a lot to process in the report, which runs many thousands of pages. But critically, it suggests that humans still have a chance to put the brakes on and stop warming from going beyond that 1.5 degree increase. Here’s how to understand the report – and how to talk about it with skeptics – according to an expert on communicating climate science.
…
David Colgan is an environmental writer and the director of communications at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability…“What you need is kind of a balance, they need to see a problem and they need to see a potential way out of it,” Colgan said.

Slow and Active Streets

Ralph Propper, board president of the Environmental Council of Sacramento, mentioned one community-level solution that people can focus on: Sacramento’s “slow and active streets” initiative, instituted during the pandemic, was a great way to reduce emissions in the community. But that pilot program ended in July.
https://www.sacbee.com/news/california/article253398155.html

Click here to read the article in full.

Photo from https://www.pexels.com/photo/backlit-breathing-apparatus-danger-dangerous-279979/

Sacramento County declared a climate emergency. Its action plan should take that seriously.

By The Sacramento Bee Editorial Board | July 18, 2021 | The Sacramento Bee

Sacramento County is still drafting its long-overdue climate action plan, which could have decades-long impacts on how we care for our environment. A favorable outcome will depend on the seriousness of county officials to act in its best interests.
California is in the midst of a rough summer. Sacramento saw surprisingly early 100-degree days in May, and climate experts say the brutal heat waves across the West Coast that have killed hundreds of people and devastated shellfish will become a recurring summer norm. We’re also facing a severe drought of historic proportions. Oh, and did we mention the wildfires that are outpacing last year’s record season?
Depending on the willingness of Sacramento County officials to commit to significant mitigation strategies, it’s no hyperbole to say the county’s climate plan will determine how long Sacramento will remain habitable in the face of impending climate catastrophe.
https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/editorials/article252761058.html

Click here to read the article in full.

Photo by Marta Dzedyshko from Pexels

Climate Rally at Sac City Hall on June 25

ECOS encourages your participation in this rally (with safe distancing).

From the Sacramento Climate Coalition:

The heat this year has already been another brutal reminder that our planet is heating up. The current heatwave, like last summer’s, is worse because of climate change, and is just a foretaste of what the weather will bring going forward. The climate emergency requires an immediate response from our government officials!

Join us Friday, June 25 at 10:30 am to 11:30 am on the patio in front of City Hall, 915 I Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 to demand our elected officials and city staffers use 2030 as their goal for eliminating GHG emissions, as they committed to in 2019 when they adopted the Climate Emergency Declaration. Unfortunately when staff make presentations, and when the Mayor made a recent commitment to start the process of planning for electrification of existing buildings: they use 2045 as the goal. As scientists tell us this is simply not fast enough to avoid the worst of what climate change has in store.

We will have signs and banners and maintain social distancing. But of course you can bring your own signs if you wish. You can learn more about this campaign to get the City to join SMUD and the County for a Carbon Free 2030 at our website’s Take Action page.

Photo by Markus Spiske from Pexels

Developers funded Sacramento County climate action plan

Environmentalists see a conflict.

By Michael Finch II | June 10, 2021, Updated JUNE 11, 2021 | The Sacramento Bee

Sacramento County leaned on developers last year to help fund its long-delayed climate action plan, raising conflict of interest concerns among environmentalists who say the early drafts do not have enough detail to be an effective blueprint for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

…

In the eyes of some environmentalists, the financial arrangement suggests a conflict of interest. Each of the five firms wants the Board of Supervisors to expand the boundaries of where new development is allowed to include their projects. And that decision is in conflict with the aims of the climate plan.
“I know some environmentalists were concerned that the county’s staff was compromised in this way,” said Ralph Propper, president of the Environmental Council of Sacramento. “There were a lot of concerns about that but the county was pleading poverty.”
https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article252009793.html

Click here to read the full article.

Photo by Pok Rie from Pexels

City of Sac’s New Building Electrification Ordinance

On May 31, 2021, ECOS submitted our letter of support for the proposed Sacramento City Council New Construction Electrification Ordinance.

The Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS) urges the Sacramento City Council to support the New Construction Electrification Ordinance. This ordinance is an important first step in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and its passage would show we are serious in adopting the unanimous recommendations of the Mayors’ Commission on Climate Change.

Click here to read the letter in full.

City Council Votes June 1

The New Building Electrification Ordinance will be presented at an upcoming City Council meeting.

Date: Tuesday, June 1, 2021 (see the agenda and staff report here*)
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Location: Video Conference (see the meetings page for the link to eComment once the agenda is posted)
Hearing Title: An Ordinance Adding to and Amending Various Provisions of Title 15 of the Sacramento City Code and Adopting Local Amendments to the California Building Standards Code, Relating to Green Building Standards Including Electrification

Comments can be provided via eComment before or during the meeting. You may also call directly into the meeting to provide comments.

What is the New Building Electrification Ordinance?

The City of Sacramento is considering a reach code known as the “New Building Electrification Ordinance” that would establish phased requirements for new construction to be all-electric. A “reach code” is a local code that “reaches” beyond the state minimum requirements for energy use in building design and construction. The Ordinance would make changes to Title 15 (Buildings and Construction Code) of City Code to require all-electric new construction for new buildings that are 1-3 stories when building permits are filed on or after January 1, 2023, and for buildings that are four stories or more when building permits are filed after on or after January 1, 2026. With a few exceptions, new buildings would not include natural gas or propane plumbing and would use only electricity as the sole source of energy.

Consistent with the recommendations of the Mayors’ Commission on Climate Change and in response to stakeholder feedback on the feasibility of certain project types, the New Building Electrification Ordinance includes provisions for an infeasibility waiver for the portions of the project where all electric is demonstrated by the project applicant to be infeasible. In addition, the Ordinance includes limited exemptions for cooking equipment in commercial food establishments, for process loads in manufacturing and industrial facilities, and for water heating systems in regulated affordable housing (when virtual net energy metering is not available). The staff report and presentation will also address related key issues, including next steps to develop a strategy for decarbonizing existing buildings.

You are invited to participate in the upcoming public hearing.

Any Questions?

Please visit http://www.cityofsacramento.org/SacElectrificationOrdinance to review a summary of the project, community and stakeholder engagement (including videos of eight informational webinars), the Final New Building Electrification Ordinance for City Council’s consideration on June 1, and answers to questions that city staff have heard from the community and stakeholders over the course of the project.

If you have any questions please contact Helen Selph at (916) 808-7852 or HSelph[at]cityofsacramento[dot]org

Climate Action Plans in CA: ECOS Board Meeting Presentations

We had two very informative presentations at our ECOS board meeting on May 25, 2021.

Our presenters included George Courser, Chair of San Diego Sierra Club’s Conservation Committee, and Erik de Kok of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research and former Climate Action Planner.

Thank you to our presenters and everyone who attended!

Below are a few slides from Erik de Kok’s presentation.

Download a Recording of the Meeting

To download a recording of the meeting from Google Drive, click here.