The state of California has required that every County, every Town create a climate action plan driving towards the State's Climate goals. 

The town of Fairfax one-upped the state by declaring a Climate Emergency and setting its own goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030. 

The Climate Action Committee has a subcommittee, ably chaired by Jody Timms, working on our 2020-2030 CAP. Our plan is creating the Roadmap that we must follow to achieve our Council-mandated goals. 

These plans are important - just yesterday, a California Court rejected the CAP for San Diego County for using strategies they did not agree with. These plans must be real, and they must be effective, and they must be followed.  

But at the end of the day, we cannot complete this plan without the input of the people of this Town. It is we, the people, who will need to come together to agree upon our vision, and to develop strategies that will be required to move us. 

We are starting to plan a series of virtual events to bring the people of this Town together to just talk about what we must do. 

It's so easy to talk about all the reasons this will be hard. Let's talk about all the things we will do to get it done. 

One of our initiatives for this year is to work with Sustainable Fairfax and MCE to double Fairfax's participation in the MCE Deep Green program. 

One thing we are going to do immediately is to get the list of businesses who participate in the program posted to our website including businesses who have become Champions in the program. 

These companies have chosen to get all of their electricity from renewable sources, thus greatly reducing our overall climate footprint. 

Please patronize these vendors, as they are showing us committed to protecting the health of the planet, the health of all of us. And, let's all follow their lead and make sure all of us, and all of our friends are following their example. 

It's easy. It's important Please help. 

My son, who lives in San Rafael, likes to tell me he thinks of Fairfax as a place where old hippies like to live. 

GUILTY! 

A few weeks ago, I was listening to the radio and I heard them talking about the New Orleans Jazz Fest. I have attended this event in the past and found it quite wonderful. Well, because of the virus, this year, they cancelled the live event and instead, hosted what they called something like Festing at Home, with broadcasts of many of their old performances. One of them really struck me at the time, and even more so today. 

That performance was a 90-year old Pete Seeger singing several songs. One that I had not heard before was based on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King. In that song, Pete sings:

"Don't say it can't be done, 
The battle's just begun.
Take it from Dr. King
You too can learn to sing
so drop the gun!

We sang about Alabama 1955
But since 9-11 we wonder will this world survive
The world learned a lesson from Dr. King
We can survive, we can, we will
And so we sing - "

(Ok, in truth, I can't really learn to sing, or at least, not in tune, but I am howling every evening!)

Anyway, I loved that song so much that I made it my ringtone. 

Now, here we are in a week of such strife that indeed it recalls those days in the 60s. We are beset with plagues, with institutional racism, and the the spectre of imminent climate change. Sometimes, it can seem so overwhelming. 

So, when my phone rings, it reminds me to not say it can't be done, but to stand up and fight. And sing, and howl. 

Join MCE Deep Green. Recruit a friend to read this blog. Be kind to everyone you meet, especially those of opposing political views. And sing.