Taking the Climate Fight to the Streets

As governors across the country set ambitious goals for greenhouse gas reductions, county and regional task forces are emerging to take the challenge to the streets.

Counties have unique advantages when it comes to dealing with the effects of climate change. They have regional jurisdiction over policies for air quality, water conservation, land use, transportation, zoning and waste management – all of which can be used to pressure businesses to reduce harmful emissions. They also have the local connections to coordinate cost-sharing measures among communities and to closely monitor their progress.

But spurring action isn't as simple as it sounds. These task forces have to make the leap from action plans to real action – largely using diplomacy.

As newly developing climate task forces such as Skagit County, Wash.’s, start the process, they can learn from some of the boldest experiments already under way, starting with one of the most progressive, found in California’s Silicon Valley.

California: Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley’s technology industry is heavily dependent on electricity for its computers. Since some of its cities hug the coast and the bay, a sea level rise could be devastating; because the area is already built up, all energy efficient measures and infrastructure must be retrofitted; and public transportation is fairly minimal.

These common concerns inspired three counties, two special districts and 39 cities to create the Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network in 1992, and the Joint Venture Climate Protection Task Force in 2007.

The task force issued its latest climate action plan on Friday – Climate Prosperity: A Greenprint for Silicon Valley. In the plan, Joint Venture explores how America’s technology capital can expand its partnership of public and private forces to deal with climate change and take advantage of its challenges to grow the economy.

All of Joint Venture’s cities and counties are in the process of inventorying their GHG emissions, while their vast brainpower is working on high-performance batteries, biotechnology, nanotechnology, instruments for measuring energy, and software for feedback on energy usage.

Drawing on this brainpower, the Greenprint proposes innovative pilot projects that will be tracked for their GHG savings, number of jobs created and amount of money saved. The Greenprint envisions expanding renewable energy by simplifying permit processes and encouraging financing for renewables; increasing building efficiency with stronger codes and energy audits; supporting clean transportation, including mass transit and charging stations to support home-grown electric vehicle companies Tesla Motors and Better Place; and creating a showcase for the Valley's own green technology.

To help make those visions a reality, Joint Venture tapped into foundations and area businesses. Its Climate Prosperity Council recently secured $300,000 in grants from Applied Materials and backing from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Global Urban Development, which chose Silicon Valley last year as one of seven pilot regions for the national Climate Prosperity Project.

Joint Venture can already tout numerous successful projects:

When Portola Valley residents wanted solar panels, Joint Venture persuaded installer Solar City to offer discounts of 20-30 percent if a certain number of homes got involved. Now people are installing solar panels throughout the valley, and benefiting from the economies of scale.

The Santa Clara County city Morgan Hill is conserving water by offering rebates of $1.50 per square inch to residents who uproot regular lawns and replace them with water-conserving alternatives.

In San Mateo County’s Foster City, “fully actuated” traffic signals maximize traffic flow and minimize idling at intersections.