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 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.

Sacramento Climate Action Plan: draft ready for public review!

March 12, 2021

Sacramento County’s draft Communitywide Climate Action Plan (CAP), which addresses greenhouse gas reductions and climate change adaptation, is now available for public review.

An online workshop on the draft CAP will take place via Zoom at the Sacramento County Environmental Commission (SEC) meeting on Monday, March 15, at 6 p.m. The workshop will be an opportunity for the public and the SEC to provide feedback on the draft CAP.

Learn more


Photo by Yulia from Pexels

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:

  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. General Plan Amendment to Adopt SMAQMD Thresholds of Significance for CEQA Analyses of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
  4. Declaration Of A Climate Emergency

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.