So, hopefully we are all safely sheltering in place. The Coronavirus continues its march, and I have decided to read Laurie Garrett's book, "The Coming Plague." It can all seem kind of overwhelming, but it is so good to know that each of us has the power to help. We can heed the public health warnings, and we can continue to socially isolate, and, in so doing, we can help to keep ourselves, our families, our communities, and our world safer. 

At the same time, it seems like the Climate News continues to march unabated; the changing climate is NOT socially isolating itself, and we must remain committed to doing what we can, even in these times. 

I read two articles this week worth noting, in this regard. Not to be political, but our current Federal leadership has more or less waived the enforcement, during the current situation, of all environmental laws. And, on the somewhat good news front, the California Public Utilities Commission this week adopted new requirements for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from our electrical grid by 25% over the next decade. Unfortunately, that is not enough. 

So, this is where WE come in. 

Whether it is the virus or the climate it is WE who will lead. It is WE who can, and who must make the difference. So, as we are all sitting at home, wanting to do something, I urge you to do two things NOW that will help. 

First, please forward this post, this site, to everybody you know in the Town of Fairfax. We, the people of Fairfax, are a special community. We have a history of leading in the progressive ways that show others the right path forward. The Climate Action Committee for the Town of Fairfax wants to build momentum to making our world a better place. But it will take all of us, and this little blog will be one way we can connect and collaborate. So, please, forward this email to others, and ask that they sign up here, to join us. 

Second, one of the easiest things we can all do is to go 100% renewable electricity by signing up for MCE Deep Green. We can, and we should, celebrate the CPUC and encourage them to do more. But, again, we can show the way by going to 100% ourselves now. Right now, Fairfax has a higher percentage of households on Deep Green than any other town in Marin. But, even with that, less than 9% of us are buying Deep Green electricity. If we all did this one simple thing, it would make a substantial difference in moving us, and in setting an example for other communities to follow. We are lucky here, because Sustainable Fairfax has already helped to launch a county-wide program in this regard, and we are partnering with them to help us all. 

So, please help. Please sign up for Deep Green. Please send this email to others and ask them to become part of our movement. We will not be beaten by the virus, we will not be beaten by Climate Change. We will be the leaders the world needs. 

Like most of you (I hope), my wife and I are hunkered down doing the social isolation thing. All of us are figuring out how to ride through this, and it is so surreal - and, it seems like there is no way to know when it will end, nor what things will look like on the other side. 

In my professional life, i am helping hospitals around the country to develop and manage their physical infrastructure. Part of that, of course, is to help them manage their environmental footprint towards carbon neutral, just like the rest of us must do. I was talking to one of my colleagues this week, and she said "how can I worry about 2030, when I don't even know if we will make it till 2021?"

I think this kind of total focus on the coronavirus is where many of might be these days. But, of course, this too will pass. 

For those of us concerned about the climate, we got a reminder. On Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said , “It is important that all the attention that needs to be given to fight this disease does not distract us from the need to defeat climate change.”

Yes.

Even as we work together to get through the virus, let’s use the discipline, the determination, and the community we are building to tackle other daunting common challenges. 

I think public health threats and the climate are different manifestations of a similar need. In both cases, taking early action can make the problem much easier to manage down the road. In both cases, NOT taking early action WILL mean catastrophic results. We are showing ourselves now that we can do it; we can see a looming threat and come together to act collectively, even in ways that are not 100% fun, to prevent something worse. 

We can do it. Let's remember that, and let's do it again, this time, for the even bigger issue. We can do it. 

Last night, the CAC held its monthly meeting. We will be posting the official meeting minutes soon, but I thought I would point out a couple of things from the meeting that I think Farifaxians might care about:

Between now and the end of the current fiscal year, the CAC is working on a couple of specific things:

1. Most important, we are working with Sustainable Fairfax to host an OUTDOOR (to prevent coronavirus spread) meeting to promote Earth Day. We are thinking about a number of things we might do, and everything is a bit iffy, but stay tuned, and we will let you know more as it develops. We are hoping to have an overview of the development of our next - now till 2030 - Climate Action Plan. 
2. We are going to be working on the next iteration of the Climate Action Plan. This is extremely important. The Town Council has passed the Climate Emergency Resolution, and our plan is going to focus on things that will be intended to get us from here to there. We very much want to work to learn from the people of this Town as well as from the Town Council and Staff. We will launch this process during the Earth Day event, but we are planning to have more extensive meeting over the course of the year at the library. Please help us! We need as much creativity and innovation as we can muster. 
3. One thing the Town wants to do is to "Walk the Talk" by getting its own operations to Carbon Neutral as fast as possible. Last year, we were able to get a pro bono energy audit performed, and the Town Council budgeted $20,000 towards the first steps of its implementation. Right now, the CAC is working with the staff to figure out the best way to use these funds for upgrades to the Women's Center. In doing this, our goals are to make most effective possible use of our funds; reduce energy costs where-ever possible; improve the indoor environment of the buildings involved; and remove all on-site combustion of natural gas or other fossil fuels. You will be happy to know that the Town already uses 100% renewable energy from MCE Deep Green, so the more we electrify, the more we will be reducing our carbon footprint. 
4. We are working with the Town Council and Staff to align around our budget and our plans for the next fiscal year. 
5. We are starting work on a plan to supplement the existing solar panels for the Town buildings with battery storage systems. This has the opportunity to secure grant funding, reduce our energy costs (by load shifting), reduce our greenhouse gas emissions (by eliminating some amount of diesel generator fuel) and improving our ability to operate during extended power outages, such as those we experienced last summer. 

We are working hard to make Fairfax the leader in saying NO to climate change; and in saying YES to using this crisis to bring us together in service. 

Thank you, and help us where you can. 

​Walt

​At the March 4th Meeting of the Town Council the Climate Action Committee presented our proposed workplan and budget for 2020-2021.
 
The great news is that the Town of Fairfax has met its 2020 Carbon Reduction Goals four years early in 2016. The daunting news is that we have a long way to go, and some of the things that we need to do will be hard.
 
There was one Fairfax person at the meeting who expressed that it would be hard for many people in the town to do some of the things that might be necessary for us to meet this climate crisis. This person noted this could be especially difficult if these things involved ordinances like the natural gas ban in Berkeley. This person also talked about their dissatisfaction with electric stoves.
 
We understand that we have people in Fairfax with varying income levels, and with different abilities (and interest) in taking action on climate. At the end of the day, we must build the Fairfax community, not destroy it. We must bring everyone together to figure out how WE, TOGETHER, can find ways we can overcome our mutual challenges, while helping each of us, and while building our community.
 
To that end, the CAC is going to host a meeting the Sunday before Earth Day to brainstorm. This year is the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day. We want to celebrate that spirit by talking together NOT about why we can’t; but talking together about how we can have a positive impact on the climate crisis.
 
Please join us!

Thank you all,

​Walt Vernon
Chair/Fairfax Climate Action Committee