350 East Bay
has have been meeting with representatives to push for smart climate solutions and have been well received.
- We met with Assemblymember Mia Bonta’s staff to prepare her to push CARB to do more after the state emissions report comes out later this year.
- Oakland City Council Member Janani Ramachandran, offered her “wholehearted support” for all the items on our health checklist, a project we’ve been developing to green our cities over the last two years.
- Last week we met with Oakland City Council Member Dan Kalb, who also liked our suggestions to promote electrification of residences and encourage EV charging stations in new buildings. Dan agreed to set up meetings with appropriate city staff to get their commitment to taking action
350 East Bay also participated in a rally July 22 urging the city of Oakland to stand strong against coal. The Stop Coal in Oakland case is now in the judge’s hands. We are cautiously optimistic.
350Marin
is continuing to push our cities and county to electrify as much as possible, as quickly as possible, through their committees and workshops. Multiple jurisdictions have either adopted or are considering adopting the Countywide Electric Vehicle Acceleration Strategy, and five of Marin’s twelve jurisdictions have adopted the “All-Electric for New Construction” reach code!
Costco’s Mega Gas Station was on hold after No New Gas Novato members sued the city for not adequately addressing air quality and health concerns of the project, but now, it is moving. The City of Novato is currently preparing a Draft Environmental Report to comply with the Marin Court’s order, making the next few months a pivotal time for action. As such we’re holding another march and rally on Saturday, November 4th from 2-4pm to let Novato and Costco know that the last thing we need amidst worsening climate change is to add more “fuel to the fire” with massive fossil fuel infrastructure!
350 Contra Costa
Earlier this year the Brentwood City Council voted unanimously to extend the city’s moratorium on oil and gas drilling for another year. The temporary ban applies to drilling within 3200 feet of “sensitive areas” such as schools and hospitals. While it’s in effect, city staff are crafting ordinances that would permanently ban oil and gas drilling. Yay!
We also recently hosted a conference regarding the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) – Opportunities for Contra Costa. The IRA is landmark legislation which includes $369 billion for energy security and climate programs over a ten-year period. More than 125 attendees learned about the many resource opportunities that IRA offers and brainstormed ways to collaborate with local governments and community organizations for maximum benefit. Now, videos and slide decks from the conference are available on our website here.
350 San Francisco
With our allies, we won funding for the Climate Hub, a place to get advice on removing methane (“natural” gas) and electrifying, and funds for phasing out gas-powered outdoor appliances. In our ongoing campaign to get SF funds for electrifying buildings, with our allies we are lobbying the city to include funds for electrification of existing buildings in its upcoming housing bond.
A few other things we’ve been up to:
- In appreciation of their support for the climate, we also presented Supervisors Melgar, Mar and Mandelman with Climate Hero Awards.
- We helped organize the 3/21 Fossil Fuels Day of action, which closed the block of Montgomery Street around the Wells Fargo offices- in a bomb cyclone.
- We worked to support public transit: one of our members participated in a panel on “The Climate Case for Public Transit”; and we handed out “I Ride Public Transit” stickers at the Lunar New Year parade, which this year happened on Rosa Park’s birthday. Photo below.
- We have continued to participate in the SF Bay Shoreline Contamination Cleanup Coalition, to fight the environmental racism, biodiversity loss, and global heating that threaten the Bay.
350 Silicon Valley
350 SV includes our robust city teams (San Mateo, Menlo Park, Palo Alto) that have been taking climate action through advocacy, outreach, and community! We’ve been making public comments, collecting signatures, and knocking on doors to push our jurisdictions to transition to electric, and get alternatives to gas appliances like heat pumps and induction stoves into homes in our community. And we’ve been hosting events all about Transit and Electrification to mobilize Silicon Valley into a swifter, greener transition.
We’ve also been tabling at farmers markets and several EV expos. Each conversation, comment, and event helps build the momentum for climate action in our community – when we organize from the grassroots up, we win!
Napa Climate NOW!
been working with the city on an ordinance to ban gas leafblowers. An important aspect we have considered is how such a ban would hurt Latino businesses and other landscaping companies in the city. To address this, we wrote a grant application and successfully secured money from the government so they could offer a rebate and get the costs of transitioning almost or completely covered!
We are now doing significant community outreach to let people know about the electric leafblower program, including ads in Spanish on the local stations and tabling at Landscaping and Gardening events – and it seems to be really working! So in the next year when they may consider a ban, most of the local businesses will have already transitioned. Here are not just one, but two articles about it. Next up: reusable food ware and waste reduction ordinances and bans on new gas stations – stay tuned.
Thanks for being part of 350 Bay Area!