Tag Archives: Sonoma city council

Climate Activists Keep Sonoma County on Point

By Shoshana Hebshi, Communications Coordinator – Sierra Club Redwood Chapter

When President Trump announced he would pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement May 31, it felt like a national day of mourning to many concerned about the future of the planet. But the conversation quickly shifted to efforts by state, county and city governments, businesses, individuals and organizations to uphold and even go beyond Paris’ carbon-limiting recommendations.

“For every terrible decision Trump makes, grassroots activists, frontline communities, local governments, and concerned people across the country are fighting to make sure clean energy continues to grow by leaps and bounds,” Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune said in a statement following Trump’s announcement.

Sonoma County is no exception. Seven years ago, environmentalists in Sonoma Valley began an initiative to shift their focus from the national to the local level in addressing the growing challenges of climate change, resource depletion and economic instability.

Sonoma resident Tom Conlon joined a handful of other concerned citizens to form Transition Sonoma Valley, a certified local “initiative” of the international, grassroots Transition Movement to organize and prepare local communities for climate change and economic threats ahead. Continue reading Climate Activists Keep Sonoma County on Point

Joint Statement – We Urge the City to Act Now

The following statement of the Sonoma Ecology Center and Transition Sonoma Valley was delivered at the Sonoma City Council meeting on September 7, 2016.

Climate change threatens what we cherish about Sonoma Valley. The initial path for action is clear and urgent. We urge the City to act now.

Our hills, our crops, and our wildlife suffer withering droughts, followed by floods. Wells are drying up. Fresh tragedies in Lake County show how vulnerable we are to wildfire. Our businesses and governments must cope with uncertainties never before contemplated.

It’s urgent that local governments act boldly now to protect a livable future. Sonoma County’s new Climate Action 2020 Plan (CAP) has a menu of climate action measures itemized for each jurisdiction, showing where we must first focus our efforts. We know we need to implement at least these measures as soon as possible.

Continue reading Joint Statement – We Urge the City to Act Now

City Council Tables Climate Action Report

On Monday, August 15th, the Sonoma City Council voted unanimously to table an agenda item to approve the county’s long awaited Climate Action 2020 Plan (CAP). The vote was based on the advice of the City Attorney. He cited too much uncertainty surrounding the plan, now that it has been challenged in Sonoma County Superior Court.

The lawsuit, filed on August 9th by controversial Sebastopol-based non-profit, California River Watch, alleges that the CAP “fails to accurately assess the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with land use activities within county boundaries and which the county and its communities, cities within Sonoma County, can influence and control. The CAP also fails to identify sufficient enforceable mitigation measures…” (emphasis added).

Until the case is resolved, it is likely that elected officials in Healdsburg (on Sept. 6) and other cities throughout the county will also postpone formal adoption of the CAP.

Opinions differ as to whom to blame for this disappointing delay, and whether this legal dispute might have been avoided. However, no one on either side disputes that we need to take bold action NOW to fight climate change.

The CAP already has a menu of climate action measures itemized for each jurisdiction. It shows exactly where we must first focus our efforts. Our initial list was chosen by Sonoma city staff. Then in July at the behest of the Community Service and Environment Commission, Councilmember Hundley, Mayor Gallian, and staff, an additional eight measures were added. While this  increased the City’s commitments by 51%, we still lag far behind every single other jurisdiction in the county.

We know we need to implement at least these 21 Sonoma-specific measures (CAP p. 5-130) as soon as possible. Once started, we can strengthen Sonoma’s GHG emission reduction efforts to the level necessary to meet this challenge.

Climate change won’t wait for lawsuits to be resolved, nor can we.

On August 26, the Sonoma Index Tribune agreed with us: “if the council is truly serious about taking a leadership role in mitigating the effects of global climate change… it should re-agendize the eight Sonoma-specific measures it was set to consider”.

To fail at this puts our common future in grave danger. Continue reading City Council Tables Climate Action Report