Category Archives: Climate action

Benicia City Council, Climate action, Climate Emergency Declaration, Uncategorized

Benicia City Council to consider Climate Emergency Resolution Tuesday, Feb 4, 4pm

Quarterly Study Session to discuss five requests made by Council members

From the Benicia Independent

You may want to attend!  Benicia’s City Council will meet with staff and the public on Wednesday, to consider five action items requested previously, in context of overall Council priorities.  See complete list with links more below.

Of particular interest will be item 4, “Two-Step Request from Mayor Patterson on adopting a Climate Emergency Resolution“.  Mayor Patterson submitted this request last summer, with a requested Initial Council Meeting date of July 16, 2019.  The “Emergency” request was not brought for Council’s First Step consideration until September 3, 2019.  At that meeting, after hearing support from residents Constance Beutel, Marilyn Bardet, Gretchen Burgess, Steve Goetz, Pat Toth-Smith and Kathy Kerridge, Council discussed the request and recommended that it be brought forward for further study “at a future workshop”.  (see item 14.B in the 9/3/19 minutes).  So that next step is this Tuesday.

(Editor’s note: I am not sure, but my review of the Staff Report and Rules of Procedure seem to suggest that Tuesday’s Study Workshop is NOT to be considered the Second Step in our Two-Step procedure.  A Council member’s request for DISCUSSION and action on a City “policy matter” requires two yes votes at Council.)

For more on Climate Emergency, including background on Benicia’s consideration, see Benicia Independent on climate emergency.   Also see Mayor Patterson’s highly informative E-Alert from September 4, 2019.

From the 1/4/2020 agenda on the City website:

10.A – QUARTERLY POLICY ISSUES STUDY SESSION (City Manager) 

The City Council has agreed to discuss various “Two-Step” requests made by individual members of the City Council at the Quarterly Policy Issues Study Session described in the City Council Rules of Procedure (Attachment 1).

To assist with Council deliberations, staff has included an updated copy of the Council’s priorities for the current fiscal year as summarized in the Work Plan 2019-20 (Attachment 2).

Five topics have been approved by the Council for further discussion and are presented in this report (Attachments 3-7); they follow:

    1. Penalties for Excessive Residential Water Use;
    2. Adoption of a Climate Emergency Resolution;
    3. Preparation of an Advisory Measure related to Cannabis Dispensaries for the November 2020 ballot;
    4. Installation of Rainbow Crosswalks; and
    5. A request to Repurpose and Update the Traffic, Bicycle & Pedestrian Safety Committee. 

Recommendation: Review the two-step process and the updated Work Plan 2019-20, and then discuss each of the five topics described (Attachments 3-7) and provide direction to staff. 

Staff Report – Quarterly Policy Issues Study Session 

  1. City Council Rules of Procedure 
  2. Updated Council Work Plan 2019-20 
  3. Two-Step Request from Councilmember Campbell on Penalties for Excessive Residential Water Use 
  4. Two-Step Request from Mayor Patterson on adopting a Climate Emergency Resolution 
  5. Two-Step Request from Councilmember Campbell on drafting an advisory measure related to cannabis dispensaries for the November 2020 ballot 
  6. Two-Step Request from Councilmember Campbell to install Rainbow Crosswalks 
  7. Two-Step Request from Mayor Patterson to repurpose and update the Traffic, Bicycle & Pedestrian Safety Committee
350 Bay Area, Climate action, Climate change, Fossil fuels, Legislative Action

Letter from PDB Chair Ralph Dennis – Support Assembly Bill 40 on fossil fuel phase out

Dear PDB members and friends –

Ralph Dennis, PDB Chair

I received the notice below from 350 BayArea regarding this proposed legislation.  PDB is working with 350 BayArea Action to track climate-change-related bills in the current CA Legislative Session.  AB 40 is one of the bills we support and here we are asking for your letters of support to our Assemblymember, Tim Grayson.  See more and take action below.

Ralph Dennis, Chair, PDB

From 350 Bay Area Action:

We are all in a key position to make a big difference in fighting climate chaos, because we live in the Assembly district of Tim Grayson – who sits on the Assembly Transportation Committee. The Transportation Committee will be hearing testimony on AB40 very soon.

Please send him this letter urging him to vote yes on AB40 asap!

AB40 would require the State of California Air Resources Board (CARB) to draw up a plan to phase out fossil fuel vehicles by 2040.

AB40 is the successor to AB1745, which came before the Assembly Transportation Committee in 2018, but did not have the votes to move on. AB1745 called for phasing out fossil fuel vehicles by 2040. AB40 takes a two-step approach—first have the CARB develop a feasible plan, and then vote on that plan in 2021.

Show your support for the transition to clean energy here.

As climate activists we understand that climate science is telling us that we have to move even faster than the dates that these bills dictate. However, AB40 would give us a foot in the door, and set a clear market signal that we have to eliminate fossil fuel vehicles. Hopefully, this will stimulate automakers to move quickly into making zero emission vehicles (electric or fuel cell).

We hope you send this letter! Assemblymembers really pay attention to letters from their constituents!

You can read the full text of AB40 here. Please let us know if you have any questions about AB40 or other ways we can cut greenhouse gases from transportation.

Thanks for your support,

Jack Fleck and Elena Engel

350 Bay Area Transportation Campaign

[email protected]

350 Bay Area, California Legislature, Climate action, Progressive Democrats of Benicia

Getting smart about upcoming CA State legislative session

From 350 Bay Area – EVENTS
[Message from PDB Chair Ralph Dennis: “Anyone interested in going to the meeting with me, Sat. Jan. 26, 2:00 to 4:00?”  Reply to Ralph at redennis5156 at att dot net.]

2019 MEETING  –  350 BAY AREA ACTION LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE
JANUARY 26 @ 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

350 Bay Area is convening its first Legislative Action Committee meeting for 2019, and is inviting climate activists interested in working on state climate legislation to attend. Legislative issues expected to be discussed include electrifying transportation, pushing smart growth while preserving low income housing, protecting community choice energy, stopping fracking, and closing down California’s existing oil production.

In addition, the meeting will also focus on lobbying bills, working with our legislators, and partnering with allies.

Where:
Sierra Club Bay Chapter Office
2530 San Pablo Ave., Unit 1
Berkeley

350 Bay Area works to stop climate chaos by supporting clean energy and eliminating fossil fuels. Its mission is building a grassroots climate movement in the Bay Area and beyond that achieves deep reductions in carbon pollution and presses for socially equitable solutions and a just transition to clean energy. Its vision is that all who live in the Bay Area equitably share clean air, water and soil in a healthy, thriving and stable post-carbon future, benefiting all life.