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rdifalco

Chico News & Review - Climate on the front burner - Sustainability - Green - May 22, 2014 - 0 views

www.newsreview.com/...content

BEC Butte County chico climate change climate action plan

shared by rdifalco on 22 May 14 - No Cached
  • When the White House recently released its third National Climate Assessment, the basic findings didn’t surprise anyone who’s stepped outside on a regular basis. The Southwest portion of the U.S., including California, has been decreed in the report as “the hottest and driest region.” What isn’t so obvious, of course, is exactly what the future will bring. But the outlook is not positive.
  • Ironically, as officials grapple with storage and shortage issues, they also have to deal with flooding. As Robyn DiFalco, executive director of the Butte Environmental Council, explains, shifts in precipitation patterns throughout the country, but even in California, can mean more intense rain and snow in places not accustomed to such levels, and warmer winters mean greater—and earlier—ice melts in California mountain areas.
  • Water may be a prime concern, but it’s not the only concern. BEC has a three-pronged approach to environmental advocacy: land, air and water, and the interrelationship between the three. As explained by Chico City Councilwoman Tami Ritter, a member of the county’s Air Quality Management District, dry land breeds a greater risk of wildfires, which breeds greater air pollution. As a result, DiFalco says her organization is pushing all three elements as Chico and Butte County implement climate action plans, and the recent reports haven’t shifted BEC’s priorities.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • “We do have a problem that’s human-caused that we need to respond to,” she said. “The question is whether or not we can modify our human behaviors and reduce our carbon emissions—as the [IPCC] report puts it, mitigate—effectively, in time, enough to make a difference.
  • “The studies continue to show: probably we can, [at least] some of what’s needed.”
  • Mitigation has been a longstanding local priority. The city started climate action planning a decade ago, while Butte County and Chico State CAPs have been years in the making.
dnbaxter

Hundreds Join the Global Climate Strike in Downtown Chico - 1 views

theorion.com/...imate-strike-in-downtown-chico

Chico Community BEC Climate Action Resistance Butte County Climate Strike

shared by dnbaxter on 30 Sep 19 - No Cached
  • dnbaxter on 30 Sep 19
     
    Students of all ages and community members gathered for the Chico Climate Strike where they demanded a change in legislation and encouraged others to take action in the fight again our changing climate. At the strike, there were also a variety of tables and booths promoting sustainable practices including the Butte Environmental Council
dnbaxter

Housing and Climate Change forum brings community together - 0 views

www.chicoer.com/...orum-brings-community-together

BEC Butte County Community sustainable affordable housing forum

shared by dnbaxter on 09 Dec 19 - No Cached
  • dnbaxter on 09 Dec 19
     
    The forum on Housing and Climate Change, hosted by BEC, brought together a variety of community members with the goal to talk about housing with a focus on climate change and to brainstorm more creative solutions for housing after the Camp Fire.
rdifalco

Chico News & Review - Haps on the CAP - Feature Story - Local Stories - April 17, 2014 - 0 views

www.newsreview.com/...content

chico BEC climate action plan sustainability task force

shared by rdifalco on 17 Apr 14 - No Cached
  • The city hasn’t forgotten about its Climate Action Plan
  • This article was published on 04.17.14.
  • In November 2012, the Chico City Council put its official stamp on sustainability by adopting a municipal Climate Action Plan. The blueprint, honed by the city’s Sustainability Task Force, laid out a two-stage approach for addressing the impacts of climate change and meeting greenhouse-gas standards established by the state.
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  • STF and CAP have become nearly synonymous acronyms at the direction of City Council, which cut the size of the task force in half—to seven members, officially appointed—and focused the panel on implementing the plan, versus exploring sustainability in general.
  • Mark Stemen, chair of the reincarnated STF, says the city is “on the right track now, and we are making progress” but, in a broader sense, sees the process as “a good five years behind. We lost some momentum; we also lost the opportunity when there was more staff to get things done. But that’s water under the bridge—or carbon in the air, unfortunately.”
  • Flash forward six months and … Pause. Budget woes led to restructuring of city staff. At the same time, the council opted to reconfigure the Sustainability Task Force; the STF wouldn’t meet again until December 2013.
  • A tangible display of that impetus is a joint session of the Planning Commission and the STF next month. Uniting the committees means the STF “is getting more integrated into city processes,” Stemen said, and also “is getting the Climate Action Plan in front of the people who implement the [2030] General Plan.” That is particularly significant for Phase II, which has a series of goals related to construction.
  • solar panels on city structures, which produced 2.2 million kilowatt-hours of electricity in the preceding 12 months and 16 million kwh total. Three years ago, aided by grants, the city installed 1,200 LED streetlights that have translated into annual savings of approximately $67,800 in electrical costs plus $6,000 to $7,000 in maintenance costs, according to city staff.
  • Instead of commissioning another full inventory of greenhouse gas emissions, the city will extrapolate numbers based on readily available information: natural gas usage, electricity usage, waste diversion and vehicle fuel usage.
  • “If we’re not moving in the direction of reducing those emissions, then we’re directly working against our own interests.”
dnbaxter

Chico City Council Making Changes - 0 views

www.newsreview.com/...content

Community Chico Environmentalism Sustainable Future BEC City Council Climate Action Committee

shared by dnbaxter on 30 Sep 19 - No Cached
  • dnbaxter on 30 Sep 19
     
    The council adopted an ordinance to create a Climate Action Commission and also chose to reconsider its usage of pesticides. The commission will be made up of seven council-appointed members, whose main task will be to advise the council on how to best implement the city's Climate Action Plan (CAP). Mark Stemen, the board chair for BEC said, "A lot of people are concerned about climate change and they feel like there's nothing that can be done," he said. "Now, those concerns … have a place and a process to be realized. So we can get to 100 percent renewable energy, we can get to a livable planet."
rdifalco

City of Chico sees progress, setbacks in meeting 2020 targets for greenhouse gas emission - 0 views

www.chicoer.com/...ts-for-greenhouse-gas-emission

BEC chico water energy climate change climate action plan

shared by rdifalco on 16 Jun 15 - No Cached
  • Chico >> With 5 1/2 years left to meet greenhouse gas emission targets, the city of Chico continues to struggle in certain sectors.
  • The draft greenhouse gas emissions inventory, which is expected to be highlighted during the sustainability indicators report at the Chico City Council today, summarizes results of a high-level community-wide inventory that addresses emissions from the transportation, energy and waste sectors within city boundaries from 2005-12. Many external factors, including the economy and government regulations, are to be credited for reductions, and it remains to be seen how well the city is on track to meet its goals, said Principal Planner Brendan Vieg.
  • some of these reductions could be reversed, said Mark Stemen, a member of the Sustainability Task Force, which has been tasked with leading implementation of the Climate Action Plan.
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  • “How do we keep people from getting back into their cars?” he said. “We need to remind people, hey, drive less. It’s good for pollution. It’s good for the planet.”Other areas of success included emissions from commercial electricity, which fell 10.6 percent, and waste to landfill, which dropped by 15.2 percent.
  • “Watching the struggles with water has made me feel a little bit better about our inability to cut back on electricity,” he said. “People are now seeing the effects of the drought and they are acting. It’s important for people to understand they have to do the same thing when it comes to climate change.”
ndcarter

Chico News & Review - Whom to watch in 2017 - Feature Story - Local Stories - January 5... - 0 views

www.newsreview.com/...content

shared by ndcarter on 05 Jan 17 - No Cached
  • In Chico, that means Goldstein is working with nonprofits like Butte Environmental Council and GRID Alternatives as well as city staff and the Sustainability Task Force to implement the city’s Climate Action Plan. That plan calls for a 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gases over 2005 levels by the year 2020.
  • ndcarter on 05 Jan 17
     
    We are excited to be working with Bryce Goldstein, one of 2017's people to watch! Together we are striving for local climate change awareness and real positive change!
rdifalco

Chico City Council: Arts Commission, Sustainability Task Force will continue - Chico En... - 0 views

www.chicoer.com/...sion-sustainability-task-force

BEC chico sustainability climate action plan

shared by rdifalco on 19 Sep 13 - No Cached
  • CHICO — The Arts Commission and Sustainability Task Force will continue as they are, at least for now, the Chico City Council decided last week. As the city faces budget-induced staffing challenges, the council is looking closer at its committees and commissions to find efficiencies while still meeting the city's and public's needs. Several councilors said the Sustainability Task Force, which was put on hold for restructuring earlier this year, is necessary to complete the Climate Action Plan, as required by the General Plan.
  • Mark Stemen of the Butte Environmental Council said the Sustainability Task Force is the best way to complete a climate action plan that identifies necessary action and engages the community. He noted the council promised to address climate change in 2006, with 25 percent target reduction in greenhouse gases by 2020. "To be clear, our efforts so far have not reduced greenhouse production levels in Chico; they have simply slowed the rate of increase," he said. "As a community, we are still producing more and more greenhouse gases each and every year."
dnbaxter

Forum explores relationship of local housing, climate change - 0 views

theorion.com/...f-local-housing-climate-change

BEC Butte County Chico Community development sustainable housing

shared by dnbaxter on 09 Dec 19 - No Cached
  • dnbaxter on 09 Dec 19
     
    On Wednesday, Butte Environmental Council hosted a listening session designed to educate the community about the role housing plays in climate change, while allowing discussion to examine the possible solutions.
dnbaxter

BEC visits Pleasant Valley students to Talk about Climate Change - 1 views

www.chicoer.com/...-talk-climate-community-action

shared by dnbaxter on 05 Dec 19 - No Cached
  • dnbaxter on 05 Dec 19
     
    Pleasant Valley High School students got to spend a class period in the library talking to BEC board members who helped facilitate conversations about climate action. They were asked to consider actions that could be taken in the community, even at home or in school and how people might get more involved.
dnbaxter

Chico Groups Launch Climate Action Plan Update with Bernie Sanders' visit - 0 views

www.newsreview.com/...content

BEC Chico Butte County Environmentalism Community Sustainable Future

shared by dnbaxter on 30 Sep 19 - No Cached
  • dnbaxter on 30 Sep 19
     
    The effort on the local front was organized by the Butte Environmental Council and members of the city's Sustainability Task Force, who warned of an impending climate disaster in the next decade in the absence of action. Mark Stemen, a professor of geography and planning at Chico State and member of the city's Sustainability Task Force, said he is hopeful that goals can be met to avert disaster. There are signs that change can come quickly in Chico, such as the city and county forming a joint powers authority to purchase and sell energy based on the needs of their residents
dnbaxter

Sunrise Movement Protests Outside the Meriam Library - 0 views

theorion.com/...ent-protests-at-meriam-library

Chico Community BEC Climate Action Sustainable Future

shared by dnbaxter on 30 Sep 19 - No Cached
  • dnbaxter on 30 Sep 19
     
    Students protested Thursday outside Meriam Library, using buckets as drums, smoke masks, and their voices - to raise awareness about climate change. Mark Stemen was protesting alongside the students and said that they wanted to bring attention to the issue to the public.
dnbaxter

Students and community rally for the Chico Green New Deal - 0 views

theorion.com/...y-for-the-chico-green-new-deal

BEC Chico Community environmentalism 'Green New Deal' activism

shared by dnbaxter on 09 Dec 19 - No Cached
  • dnbaxter on 09 Dec 19
     
    The Chico Green New Deal was release: to make sure the city of Chico's grid is 100% clean, electricity-run by 2030 and to be climate neutral by the year 2045, with the intentions of reaching both of those goals earlier…actions will be taken to achieve these efforts by the end of 2026. While the New Deal doesn't do everything that Brown wants it to do for tenants specifically, a listening session making the connection between housing and climate change on Wednesday at the Butte County Oak center hosted by the Butte Environmental Council.
ndcarter

Community resource fairs set in Orland, Durham, Nord - 0 views

www.redbluffdailynews.com/...170919925

BEC energy climate change news

shared by ndcarter on 14 Sep 17 - No Cached
  • North Valley Energy Watch and Butte Environmental Council will be hosting three Community Resource Fairs in Nord, Durham and Orland.
  • These fun events for everyone in the community will give you access to tons of resources and information. Get help finding a job, reduce your energy bill, and meet local non-profits who offer programs for youth and families in your neighborhood.
ndcarter

Chico News & Review - Challenge met, work continues - Sustainability - Green - Septembe... - 0 views

www.newsreview.com/...content

BEC chico water news energy climate change

shared by ndcarter on 08 Sep 17 - No Cached
  • Goldstein reached out to the general public at Chico events such as Thursday Night Market; the homeowner workshops co-sponsored by North Valley Energy Watch and the Butte Environmental Council, nonprofits that put together tool-and-testing kits available through the Chico library; and meetings with business leaders.
  • Molly Marcussen, a recent graduate of Chico State, began her CivicSpark fellowship this week, transitioning into City Hall as Goldstein transitions out. The two met in one of Marcussen’s classes last fall—Community Service Practice in Geography, taught by Sustainability Task Force chair Mark Stemen—but otherwise have not worked together.
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