Jun 10, 2008

City rides a green wave in building

Guest Opinion

By Rafael Reyes

Kudos to the San Mateo City Council. Last week, the Council formally accepted and put into motion initial elements of the sustainable initiatives plan. In this time of soaring fuel costs and a challenged economy, the council's steps show precisely the kind of leadership required to move to abundant renewable energy, stimulate job-building technologies and protect essential resources for the future of our families.

The sustainable initiatives plan was developed over months of intensive work last year by the council-appointed sustainability advisory committee. The committee, under the leadership of Council Member Brandt Grotte, worked with broad representation including business representatives, the environmental community, and other community leaders. It created a plan that is aggressive and achievable and brings real benefits to the community.

The reality is that climate change is upon us. This step by the council comes just as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a drought in the state. Smarter use of energy and water are called for in the plan. These are the essential twin pillars of a forward-looking policy. The initial steps set new goals for expanding the use of solar power - a 10 percent increase in the rate of installations each year for the next three years and then 25 percent per year thereafter. And solar is now easier than ever with no-up-front-cost financing that can immediately lower energy bills.

Already a leader in putting homes near the train, the city will build on that by developing improvements to bike and pedestrian pathways and work with schools to promote alternatives to auto drop-offs and pickups such as "walking buses." The city is improving city operations with more efficient lighting in buildings and streetlights, biofuel for vehicles and other valuable measures. Finally, it will also explore appropriate use of recycled water, develop new green building standards and pursue assessment of existing buildings to develop retrofit programs.

These initiatives not only will save the city and residents money in the long run, but they will stimulate key businesses. In San Mateo alone we already have innovative businesses such as eMeter, which develops "smart meters" to more efficiently track and manage electrical use, Owens Electric and Solar, which just installed solar panels at Hillsdale High School, and Autopia Biofuels, which sells biodiesel, an alternative to petroleum. These are the businesses of this new day. Providing them the foundation for growth and developing the skills to support and create more of them are exactly what we need. Even in the economic downturn, these kinds of green economy companies are among the few still growing and hiring.

And San Mateo's leadership is also reflected in the fact that neighboring cities are now following suit. Belmont, Burlingame and Foster City have all recently established task forces to develop similar plans for their respective cities - promoting renewable energy, becoming smarter about energy and water use and reducing global warming pollution. The cities of San Bruno and Los Altos, along with San Mateo County, have even implemented steps like green building standards but San Mateo is setting the example of comprehensive action for the region.

San Mateo can continue in the right direction by making sure the green building standards are strong. The city should implement the recommended targets from the sustainable initiatives plan, including good standards for residential and commercial construction. These standards will ensure things like good insulation, greater use of natural lighting, improved heating and cooling systems and other steps that make the buildings healthier, more comfortable and more efficient. The recommended standards are meaningful and achievable targets that were fully supported by the advisory committee and community.

The San Mateo City Council deserves our thanks and support for its tremendous leadership. The city is rising to the challenges of soaring fuel costs and climate change by protecting our natural resources and stimulating the growing green economy. Let's keep up the progress with strong green building standards. Current and future generations will benefit from San Mateo's continued leadership.



Rafael Reyes lives in San Mateo and is a member of the Sierra Club board of directors.