Scientific American ran an interesting piece today. The article discusses the fact that the world is not moving fast enough to electrify our vehicle fleet. 

The transportation sector creates more greenhouse gas emissions than any other sector in the world. We are now on track to have 30% of cars on the road to be electric by 2050. We need to have that number at 60%. HERE. 

The Town of Fairfax has approved a Climate Action Plan that commits us to being 100% carbon free in our Town Transportation by 2030; we will walk the talk. 

I have written before about this topic, and many folks point out, rightly, that the cost of a new electric vehicle is prohivbitive for people on fixed income, and that we need to find a way to help people make this needed transition. 

Help is on the way. 

Last night, Jody Timms spoke at the Town Council meeting about a new cash for clunkers program now available in the Bay Area (details on the home page of this website). 

Tantalizing - Even better for the world, but, unfortunately, not for Fairfax at this point, the Bay Area Air Quality District yesterday announced another new program to help people of limited means to buy electric vehicles. This program is called Clean Cars for All and it was funded as part of the State's new allocation of money to fight climate change. The program will pay a GRANT of up to $9,500 for the purchase of an EV, a plug-in hybrid, or a fuel cell car - even used ones. This is kind of painful for those of us in Fairfax, but we can console ourselves, I guess, with the knowledge that the government is making good use of its Cap and Trade dollars (this is where the funding is coming from) and it will accelerate the uptake of these vehicles, which will ultimately lower their costs and make more used vehicles available - even in Marin. 

The good news, of course, is that there ARE considerable financial incentives available to all of us, and many are targeted at purchase of used vehicles, and for people of lower incomes. 

Here in Fairfax, we can benefit from:

Federal EV Tax Credit - up to $7,500, depending on car's battery capacity; 
Federal Fuel Cell tax credit - up to $8,000.
California Clean Vehicle Rebate Project - up to $4,500 for qualified vehicles, with more available for low-income applicants. 
California Fuel Award - Up to $1,500.
MCE Vehicle Rebate Program - up to $3,500 for low-income customers.
Community Housing Development Corp Incentive - up to $5,000, and including used cars. 
Drive Clean Discounts. 

You can learn more about all of these programs HERE. 

Fairfax has been a leader in uptake for MCE Deep Green in the County. Fairfax has been the first Town in the County to Declare a Climate Emergency. Fairfax has been a leader in adopting the ONLY Climate Action Plan aiming at Carbon Neutrality by 2030. Fairfax has been a leader in passing the first and only all-electric new buildings code in the County. 

Let's show the Town and the world that we, the people will be the leaders in getting to zero with our cars. 

Police departments need cars that will perform. 

Famously, there was an incident in San Francisco where an experimental Electric Police vehicle almost ran out of battery during a high-speed chase. HERE. 

Fortunately, the number of high-speed chases in Fairfax California is not so high. 

And, more and more police departments in California, across the country, and around the world are finding that All-electric vehicles more than satisfy their needs for reliable, cost-effective duty. 

Close to home, the Fremont Police Department ran a pilot program in which they bought a used, 2014 Tesla, and put it into service as a police car. In addition to its excellent performance (even this old one can go two shifts on a single charge), it saves them money. On an annual basis, the Tesla cost them about $3,000 less per year to operate than a NEW gas-powered car. (e.g. if they had tested a new EV, the maintenance costs would have been far less, such that the annual savings would have been more). The Tesla needed much LESS time to be serviced, meaning it was more available than comparable gas-powered cars. And, because it was more reliable, the Tesla is projected to be able to have longer service life than a fossil-fuel powered car, so that its costs can be amortized over more years, making it even more economical. Fremont projects that they will save more than $2M over the next 20 years by shifting to All-Electric Police Vehicles. HERE. 

Westport Connecticut bought a 2020 Tesla 3 for its most recent police car. In addition the advantages discovered by Fremont, they found that the All-Electric vehicle offered "superior performance, 5-star crash ratings, and industry-leading collision avoidance technology." The Tesla also has an additional trunk where an engine would be, allowing the officers to carry needed emergency equipment. The Tesla comes with many standard features that a department would otherwise need to add at additional costs. HERE. 
Hyattsville, Maryland, a small community, was one of the first communities to use an All-Electric police car, in this case, the Chevy Bolt. According to Police Sergeant Harnett of the Hyattsville PD, "when I’m patrolling in the Bolt EV, I’m out there doing all of the things that other officers do,” says Hartnett. “But I’m not polluting the air, and I don’t have any of the other problems that gas-burning vehicles do. It’s clear to me that EVs like the Bolt EV certainly have a place in law enforcement.”

I could go on and on. A simple google search turns up many many jurisdictions successfully making the switch to all-electric police cars - and saving money and getting better performance. 

I am not a police officer. I honor and respect the work our officers do on our behalf. 

Wednesday night, the Town Council will consider a consent item to purchase new HYBRID police vehicles. While hybrid vehicles are certainly better than gas-burning cars, they are not as good - in performance or cost or environmentally - as all-electric vehicles now available. 

The Town of Fairfax has declared a climate emergency. The Town of Fairfax has set a goal to be carbon neutral by 2030. 

Should we begin to walk the car talk?

Whether the Town makes this decision or not, as citizens, we can all make, for ourselves, the determination that we will never buy another vehicle that burns gas. All of us are likely to have to replace our vehicles over the next ten years. There are more and more incentives for going all-electric, and there are more and more options for used cars. 

Let's all Walk the Car Talk. Together, we can do what we must do for the climate and for the world we will leave to our kids. 

A couple of weeks ago, I needed to attend a meeting for work in New Mexico. 

The people of New Mexico, we now know, have been dealing with droughts for literally thousands of years; maybe we can learn from them. 

Being recently obsessed with helping OUR community to save our dwindling resource, I had water very much on my mind, as I spent time there. 

One person told me about something the local newspaper there does. Apparently, every year, they publish the names, and the consumption of the biggest water users in the City. I have no idea whether this makes a difference to that community (example HERE). I do think that paying attention matters. We have talked, here, about how people can use Flume to watch their water consumption every day, every minute. 

Better than public shaming; let's all do the right thing; let's all get our water consumption as low as we possibly can. Even IF we can, individually, afford to use more. The alternatives are not something any of us want. 

Together, we can do what needs to be done!

This weekend, we are fortunate to have Drive Clean Marin hosting an EV show at the College of Marin. They will feature all kinds of Electric Vehicles, and E-Bikes. 

Fairfax's very own Mitch Greer will be there demonstrating a Trek E-bike. 

Each one of us needs to commit to never buying another fossil-fueled vehicle. My go-to vehicle now is an e-bike, followed by a zero emission car. I still have a 4WD Subaru, and, when it is time to replace it, I will replace it with an electric vehicle. 

The Drive Clean folks will have discounts for cars, and information on the various incentives and tax rebates to help make them affordable. Even if you can't afford it now (I can't), it will be fun to learn more about them, and about the new e-bike opportunity. 

​Join us!

I think we all know that we are now in a megadrought worse than anything in recorded history. HERE. 

In July, the Governor passed an Executive Order asking the people of the state to reduce our water consumption by 15%. HERE. 

Because of the unique circumstances in OUR county, Marin Water District (MWD) asked those of us in Marin to reduce our water consumption by 40%. HERE. 

In a recent meeting of the Fairfax Town Council, one resident asked, "If I am using 100 gallons per day per person, is that ok?" The answer, at that time, was yes, that was a reasonable number. 

But yesterday, the California Water Resources Control Board released data that shows us that we are not meeting ANY of the needed reductions, as a state, or as a County. HERE. Even if we are using only 100 gallons per day per person. 

Some of us may not believe that the climate is changing. But, go look at our reservoirs; your eyes will show you that we are in a water crisis. 

Friends and neighbors, we are running out of water. We are not doing what we need to do to make the needed difference. 

Maybe it will rain a lot this year, and all of this will, temporarily, recede from view. And maybe not. And, even if we do get some rain, it will take about 140% of normal rainfall to get us back to "normal." And, all signs point to the fact that dryness will be our new norm. And, pressures for the town population to grow are mounting. 

Let's not put our heads in the sand.

Let's take a clear-eyed view of our reality, and let's accept our responsibility to do what is right for our community, for our County, for our state, for our world. And, unfair as it might be, there are going to be people who won't stop watering their lawns, and who think they can afford to pay for more water, so they will not heed the call; putting an even greater burden on the rest of us. 

I am using about 100 gallons per per day. I am going to heed the call of MWD, the call of the state, the call of nature, the call to serve all of you, my friends and neighbors; I am going to try to get my consumption down by 40% - more, if I can, to make up for people who refuse to do so. 

So, let's all work to cut our consumption as low as we can. Let's also urge the Town Council to use 10% of our ARPA money to help us. Together we can do what we must do.

Thank you.   

Last week, Time Magazine ran an article titled "We're in a Water Crisis: We need to act like it." 

You can find the excellent article HERE. 

And, last night, the Fairfax Climate Action Committee spent two hours working, with the public, on a proposal to take a small (about 10%) portion of the ARPA funds allocated to the Town to use to help the people of this Town make needed progress towards protecting our dwindling and most precious of resources. 

In the end, the CAC voted to recommend that the Town Council move forward with this ambitious proposal. 

It is important to note that, while the money is from Fairfax's allocation of ARPA, and while the program is directly targeted to help the people of Fairfax with their water consumption, the CAC designed the program to be able to link with other jurisdictions and to share strategies, materials, efforts. A gallon saved anywhere in the County is a gallon available to all of us. 

As one member of the CAC said during the meeting, "Nothing is more important than this; no other use of the money is as important; in truth, we can't do too much to deal with this crisis."

While we wait to see what the Town Council will do, please continue to do all that you can to reduce your consumption. Our reservoirs are less than half of normal for this point in a year. We have less than one year of capacity in the reservoirs. They are less than 35% full. 

Don't flush. Take short showers. Stop irrigating. Stop washing cars. Join us. 

We're in a Water Crisis; We need to act like it. 

Thank you, CAC, thank you, Fairfax. 

Tonight, the Town of Fairfax Climate Action Committee will consider two proposals to use small portions of the money given to the Town of Fairfax through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. 

ARPA has very narrow limits for what the money can be used for, and that constrains us a lot. One of the things the money is permitted to be used for is to help with water systems, both supply and effluent.

So, we are proposing to use slightly more than 10% of the total given to the Town to help us reduce our water consumption. Doing this will help all of us in the middle of this historic drought, and, those who actually do reduce their consumption, will also save money. 

A second thing that can be done with the money is to provide utility assistance to people of low- to moderate- income. Our second proposal, therefore, is to use less than 10% of the total money to help low- and moderate- income people to install solar systems on their homes. 

Together, these two proposals, if enacted, would use only 20% of the total ARPA money, leaving all of the rest for other uses. It would help us to work together to save the water on which we all depend. It would help those of us on fixed incomes or with low incomes to reduce their climate footprint and to save money over time in reduced energy costs. 

Climate Justice. 

Save the watershed.

Save money. 

Most of the money for other purposes.

What's not to like?

Join us tonight to talk through the ideas and get them into what WE, the people, want and need from the Town Council. 

Together, we can come together and make needed change happen. 

Join us. 

​https://www.townoffairfax.org/meetings/climate-action-committee-september-21-2021/#/tab-agenda 

Yesterday, Fairfax held our summer picnic. 

The Climate Action Committee shared a table with Sustainable Fairfax and Marin Water District, and we were very happy at the opportunity to help so many people with a special emphasis on giving out a wide variety of water-saving devices. 

One thing we did was to ask people about the idea of the Town's using ARPA money to support the Town Residents in implementing water-saving strategies. You told us overwhelmingly that this was a great idea, and we will try to work with the Town Council and others to make this happen. 

Another thing that came out of your feedback was the idea that we would start to create a mailing list so that folks can be more informed on what is going on from an environmental perspective for our people. 

This environmental crisis is here and it is serious. We are all working hard to do what we must do to address it. 

Together, we can. 

Join us Tuesday night, and help us. Our agenda and meeting logistics are HERE. 

Thank you. 

Tomorrow, representatives from the Climate Action Committee will be at the Fairfax Town Picnic, together with folks from Sustainable Fairfax.

We would LOVE to talk with you all about our ARPA proposals, and anything else. We will have a demo of the Flume water meter, we will have the ability to help you sign up for MCE Deep Green, we will have water-saving devices from Marin Water District. 

It will be great to see you all; please join us!!

See you there! 

Yesterday, I came across an article in Environmental Forum magazine. This magazine is the Journal of the Environmental Law Institute, focused on advancing legal structures to support improved environmental outcomes. 

​This article, titled "Building Social Justice," notes that most of our incentives for helping people install Solar energy are tax-focused. So, you have to be paying big tax bills for these incentives to make sense. And, these incentives are not relevant to lower-income people. 

The article describes a few programs from around the country trying to start addressing this gap. It talks about Community Solar as one pathway towards doing so. 

The Fairfax Climate Action Committee has proposed to the Fairfax Town Council that we launch a kind of Community Solar program, with seed money from the ARPA grant we will be getting. The idea behind this program is that we can spend a small amount of money (about 9% of the total grant to the Town) to create such a program targeted at beginning to address this challenge for our people. 

We will be discussing this proposal, as well as a companion proposal regarding a similar amount, partially matched by Marin Water District, to help our people reduce their water consumption through various upgrades and other behavioral interventions. 

We will be discussing these proposals at our next CAC meeting, next Tuesday evening. 

Come let us hear from you!