Earth Day Challenge to Sunnyvale City Council: Pls. Lead on Community GHG reductions

The Sunnyvale Cool Cities Team joins Council in expressing our appreciation to Sunnyvale’s Green Businesses for their responsible, earth-friendly practices. We also wish to thank our city government for the reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from city government operations and facilities. The efficiencies the City has implemented over the years--for example, converting landfill gas to energy, stop-lights to LED's, and computer monitors to flat screens--have saved energy and dollars and shrunk our city's carbon footprint. Council and staff should be proud that our municipal government now produces 17% less greenhouse gas pollution than it did in 1990 and plans for further reductions! Our city government has proved that it is possible to roll back carbon emissions.

The challenge Sunnyvale now faces is that 95% of greenhouse gases emitted within our city limits come not from city government, but from the community-at-large--from our homes, schools, businesses, and from transportation. How will we organize to slash our community's greenhouse gas emissions in the limited time available?

On this Earth Day 2008, we challenge Council to lead a community effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from local buildings and transportation. We understand that the individual actions of our residents are not under Council's control in the way that city government operations and facilities are. We understand that protecting the environment is not a traditional focus of city governments as are public safety and public works.

However, in these times, organizing our community to reduce greenhouse gas pollution needs to be a top priority of city government. City Council has the power and scope to efficiently and urgently lead, inspire, educate, and set the table for a concerted community-wide effort to reduce greenhouse gases.

We will be talking about specific actions in coming weeks. For now, we hope you agree that in these times in which a host of environmental problems are coming home to roost

• that protecting the environment needs to be a high priority of all levels of government;
• that addressing the community piece of greenhouse gas emissions is essential; and
• that city government has a vital role to play in reducing our entire community’s carbon footprint.

Thank you.