february 2024 newsletter
FERTILE GROUND FOR THE GRASSROOTS
Greetings Friends! You are invited to engage! Do you ask yourself: “What can I do to combat climate change?” Here’s some good news: There is plenty you can do!
Sustainable Marin is the environmental guardian of Marin County.
Sustainable Marin is the environmental guardian of Marin County. SM supports and catalyzes local Marin climate-focused projects and the local chapters of Sustainable Mill Valley, Sustainable Novato and Sustainable San Rafael.
Sustainable Marin also sponsors engaging and impactful programs like Resilient Neighborhoods, Marin Green Home Tours, Green Change, Lead on Climate Marin, Painted Bins and ecodads. These programs provide activities, events and education to empower communities to take action aligned with living more sustainably.
Sustainable Marin’s monthly newsletter is to showcase ideas for what you can enact today. You’ll also find real-life stories of how your neighbors are already enacting sustainable adjustments that you, too, can make in your daily life, in your community and in your town.
If you are a Marin County resident who wants to be more actively involved with Sustainable Marin, please sign up to participate in our Climate Rapid Response Network or reach out to learn how to create your own local chapter - one powerful step you can take to activate your town to collaboratively influence local policy to reduce your town’s carbon footprint.
If you aren’t already, please subscribe to Sustainable Marin’s newsletter. You can help Sustainable Marin expand its reach by remembering to share this newsletter with your social groups and neighbors and encouraging them to subscribe and share, as well! Together, we CAN make a difference.
MEREDITH SIMPSON’S RESILIENT NEIGHBORHOOD STORY
Lose 13 Pounds (of Carbon Emissions) in 6 Weeks
Photo: Katelyn Simpson (L) and Meredith Simpson, LMFT (R)
Meredith Simpson is a licensed family therapist and single mom. While she always had an interest in taking care of the earth, she didn't know what she could do. Then a friend recommended that she take the Resilient Neighborhoods workshop. She was inspired, not just because it might provide her with some tools but also because it was a way to bond with her teenage daughter, Katelyn, who was getting ready to go to college and was interested in environmental studies and climate change. “I saw it as a really cool way to connect with her, and do the program together,” she said.
Meredith couldn’t have been happier. “The trainings were really informative. The instruction, over Zoom, was well paced and easy to attend. All the people in the group shared lots of ideas; simple, easy ways they were able to be greener at home.” Meredith learned about composting - something she had never done before. One participant gave the group this tip: Put your compost bin in the freezer so it doesn’t smell or take up room on your counter. “We also learned about proper recycling,” she added. “I thought I was recycling but I was not doing it properly. I learned what can and cannot be recycled. This changed how I buy products in the store. Now I choose things that have minimal waste.”
Each week the families set small, achievable goals to minimize carbon emissions in their households to conserve energy. The workshop provided options which made it all easy.
“I learned a lot about food consumption and waste. We used to eat chicken or meat every night. We switched to two days a week to be vegetarian.” Now we are primarily vegetarian with a little chicken or meat. We really changed our food consumption habits. Through another participant Meredith found out about Imperfect Foods, an online store that delivers fresh, organic food that wouldn’t sell in the grocery store, as it is slightly damaged, but is otherwise good. “We get a box once a week. It’s fresh, healthy and you choose what goes in the box,” she explains. “It’s farmers market type produce that would normally go to waste. So not only do we get great food, but we’re keeping it out of the land fill.”
{Note: According to Drawdown Paul Hawkin’s book that evaluates different strategies for reducing carbon emissions worldwide, reducing food waste is ranked as #3 reducing 71 gigatons of CO2}
At the end of the class the group set a 6-month future goal of what they wanted to work on; recognizing that some things take time. Meredith’s first goal was to replace her 20-year-old gas furnace. “My PG&E bill was ridiculously high. I replaced my furnace with a heat pump system and also installed attic insulation. I have had the coziest winter ever. I didn’t even know what a heat pump was. Now I’m on the electric plan and I reduced my bill significantly.” Her thermostat is now set on a timer so it goes on when it is needed. {Note: new Federal rules aim to phase out gas furnaces by 2029.}
Resilient Neighborhoods equips their graduates with great resources such as companies like Quit Carbon, which makes recommendations about rebates and credits. Quit Carbon provides an online toolkit that you can use to claim your carbon tax credits and rebates.
Meredith made it her 6-month goal to replace her gas heater. She and her daughter reduced 13 pounds of carbon in their home over 6 weeks. She has more plans, as well. “As soon as my [current] car goes, I’ll replace it with a Prius or an electric vehicle. I’m also looking into a heat-pump water heater and potentially [going] solar.”
Her enthusiasm for the program is infectious. Meredith donates to the program and recommends it to all her friends. “In just six weeks, this easy, free class will teach you how to make a significant impact [positive] on climate change.”
The Resilient Neighborhoods project is sponsored by Sustainable Marin
REDUCE YOUR ENERGY COSTS - GET AN ENERGY AUDIT
by: Wendi Kallins, President, Sustainable Marin
I live in an older home built in the late fifties. Needless to say, it lacks the energy efficiency of newer homes. As a low-income senior, I have to choose wisely if I am to reduce my carbon consumption and also my energy bills. The first step was to get an energy audit. I got this free through the Bay Area Regional Energy Network or BayRen.
A local certified inspector inspected my home and then sent me a score. My house scored a 2 out of 10 – way below average. Not the example I want to give as President of Sustainable Marin. But even with that information, I still didn’t know where to start.
Fortunately, Sustainable Marin board member, Peter Waring is an energy specialist by trade and gave me some specific recommendations: what to do first that would give me the biggest bang for my buck. That was roof insulation. Without an attic, that meant replacing my roof. “But, but, my roof doesn’t leak!” I thought. The gods decided otherwise. My roof started leaking for the first time with the first rains. A sign! I’m now embarking on getting my new roof with insulation.
The next step will be replacing my furnace with a heat pump system. With the rebates, I’ll get the heat pump almost for free!
Want to find out how to get an energy audit? Check out Green Change’s page on Energy Audits. There you will find a step by step process - with recommendations - for who you can call to get started.
The Green Change program is sponsored by Sustainable Marin.
GREEN HOME TOURS NEEDS VOLUNTEERS
The Marin Green Home Tour had a successful second season, touring six Marin homes that demonstrate creative and cost-effective energy and water efficiency solutions, reduce dependence on fossil fuels and improve local resilience. The video tours were showcased in a 2.5-hour Zoom event on October 26, 2023 that included presentations by experts on resources and rebates available to begin home electrification upgrades. The tours showcased a range of innovative green building and landscape improvements including new homes, major and incremental remodels, as well as low cost, low-tech, do-it-yourself solutions for both homeowners and renters.
The Marin Green Home Tour website (MarinGreenHomeTour.org) has both the 2022 and 2023 tours posted and so far, has been visited by over 6,000 viewers.
To preregister for the 2024 Marin Green Home Tour which will take place in October, visit MarinGreenHomeTour.org.
The Marin Green Home Tour coordinating committee is in need of volunteers. If you would like to be part of the planning for the 2024 Tour or if you know of any homes that you think would be suitable for the Tour, please email Bob Brown at sustainablebob@gmail.com.
Marin Green Home Tour is a project of Sustainable Marin.
IN THE NEWS:
FEDERAL COURT OVERTURNS BERKELEY GAS BAN - WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
A three-judge panel of the federal appeals court struck down Berkeley’s ordinance in April, agreeing with California restaurant owners that the city overstepped the federal Energy and Policy Conservation Act when it passed the ban in 2019.
The decision led other jurisdictions in the region to reconsider their own building electrification rules to avoid legal threats, with Eugene, Oregon, reversing its gas ban altogether and Washington state changing recently adopted building codes that would have mandated electric heat pumps in new buildings. Some building electrification advocates worried the court’s decision would chill decarbonization efforts as local and state governments face down lawsuits often led by the well-funded gas industry.
There are a variety of policy options right now. The Statewide Codes and Standards Team put on a great presentation September last year regarding the history of Reach Codes and approaches moving forward.
At the state level, there are a number of efforts underway to strongly encourage or require zero-emission buildings.
a. On November 3, the CEC released its draft express terms for the 2025 Building Code setting heat pump space and water heating as the new construction baseline in single- and multi-family buildings. The proposal also requires heat pumps when an AC is replaced in all Climate Zones, sized to meet the larger of the heating or cooling load, unless a panel upgrade is required or it increases the load by 1 ton or more.
b. As a direct result of local leaders' efforts calling on the Governor to support a zero-emission building code, CARB is recommending mandatory zero-emission residential new construction standards in the 2024 triennial CALGreen code cycle. (California Air Resources Board)
CALIFORNIA’S NEW LAW: COMPANIES NEED TO INTEGRATE CLIMATE REPORTING
California has enacted the first mandatory Climate Corporate Accountability Act, compelling companies to disclose and report their emissions - (Watch Video HERE).
California’s new climate disclosure laws, coming into force in 2026, have put companies in the state under pressure to ensure they have clear accountability roles for climate reporting and create cross-functional teams within their finance, legal, and other units. Perhaps the greatest challenge will come in meeting Scope 3 reporting requirements, experts said. The State will now have to fend off a lawsuit from agriculture and business interests. (Source: Reuters)
FEATURED EVENT
(SAVE THE DATE!)
TRASH BASH - a Painted Bins' Fundraiser
OTHER EVENTS
Saturday, Feb 10 9-11am - Beyond Plastics - Two grassroots organizing meetings more
Wednesday, Feb. 21 10am-12pm - Is Marin Ready for No-Gas Buildings? Hear from two experts - Register (on Zoom, or in person at Marin Conservation League - San Rafael) - (Directions)
Sunday, April 21 - 11am-2pm - Earth Day Mill Valley - Mill Valley Community Center - (Directions)
Sunday, April 21 - 12-4pm - Earth Day Novato - Unity in Marin - (Directions) -
For more events, see the Green Change Calendar