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Have your chickens featured in the first annual Tour de Coop The tour is designed to educate visitors about keeping hens, inspire the bicyclist and gardner in all of us, and build community. Open to adults and children, the tour will feature various hen houses and breeds. Coop owners are expected to be on hand at each location to discuss the how-tos of chicken keeping. The tour is seeking a wide variety of coop styles as well as surrounding back yard gardens for added interest. If interested, send your information to: SVTourdeCoop@gmail.com. For more information, visit Silicon Valley Tour de Coop. GreenTown Los Altos is a proud sponsor of the Silicon Valley Tour de Coop. #chickens #localfood #SlowFood

By Peg Champion, GreenTown Correspondent “It’s a win-win situation – good for our bottom line and for the environment,” says Ron Piazza, store manager of Draeger’s Market in Los Altos, describing the store’s waste-reduction program. “While garbage pickups cost us money, composting and recycling are free.” Albert Deras, Draeger’s receiving clerk, checks the recycling and compost bins before pickup by Mission Trail. Deras leads Draeger’s waste reduction training program, that teaches staff how to use the bins and properly dispose of its waste. Photo credit: Mission Trail Waste Systems The downtown grocery store is just one of the Los Altos businesses that has joined the city’s model waste-reduction program. The goal is to reduce the amount of trash that is hauled to the landfill by composting organic food and yard wastes and increasing recycling.  Following a two-year effort by Los Altos City Council, the Environmental Commission, city staff, consultants and the GreenTown Los Altos Waste Management Committee, the council unanimously voted on March 23, 2010, to award a 10-year waste management contract to Mission Trail Waste Systems.  Mission Trail launched the program — including expanded recycling, organics and household hazardous waste collection, plus a public-education effort — two years ago, in September 2010. Piazza described the transition process as surprisingly smooth. “Honestly? I was skeptical,” says Piazza. “I worried about training employees in a new system and how difficult the learning curve would be.” In fact, “it was easy,” says Albert Deras, Draeger’s receiving clerk. “Once you learn what to do, it becomes automatic.”  Mission Trail representatives came to the store to conduct a free waste assessment and provided composting and recycling bins.  As staff was trained in the new system and the store’s recycling and composting ramped up, Mission Trail supplied more bins and the store’s garbage disposal was reduced accordingly.  “We went from three or four garbage dumpsters a week to just one.  The cost savings and positive environmental impact made it well worth our effort.” According to a February 2012 report provided to the Los Altos Environmental Commission by Mission Trail, the city’s 2011 overall landfill diversion rate was 71 percent, beating Mission Trail’s own 2012 target of 69 percent. “It is my hope that we will achieve a 75 percent diversion rate for this year and 78 percent (required by the city agreement) by the end of 2013,” says Teresa Montgomery, Mission Trail public relations manager. Montgomery says the residential program in Los Altos is working extremely well, with many families down to using a single 20-gallon garbage cart.  “I anticipate that waste reduction and recycling efforts will increase over the next few years, with California’s mandatory recycling law for businesses and apartment complexes, plus several Bay Area single-use plastic bag and Styrofoam bans in effect.  Continuing outreach efforts also will help to increase recycling and composting and reduce waste.” While participation in recycling/organics collection programs is a vast improvement over simply throwing everything in the garbage to be landfilled, it’s even better to implement policy and programs that eliminate waste, says Montgomery.  For example, many local grocery stores reward shoppers for bringing their own bags rather than using disposable plastic or paper bags; incentives include weekly drawings for store gift cards, five-cent bag rebates or donations to local non-profits.  The State of California also is investigating product stewardship, or Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), which places the responsibility for “end-of-life” product disposal on the manufacturers. Disposal and reclamation expenses would be incorporated into the final product price, better reflecting true environmental costs and shifting disposal costs to a product’s user and producer, instead of to the general public.  EPR programs implemented elsewhere have resulted in a significant reduction in packaging. Chart credit: Information provided by Mission Trail. Graphic by Champion Organic Communications © 2012 “We’re delighted with Mission Trail – they’ve managed a significant program conversion and made excellent progress in the past two years,” says Don Bray, chair of the environmental commission and former co-chair of the GreenTown Waste Management Committee.  “The commission will continue to work closely with Mission Trail to understand and define how the processes work.”  To keep the city on track for its 2013 diversion goal, he noted an opportunity for further business engagement with the waste program. For Passerelle Investment Company, a real estate development company in downtown Los Altos, sustainability is a guiding principle.  Brooke Ray Smith, Passerelle’s planning analyst, says the company likes to “lead by example.”  It has a sustainability education program for both its employees and its tenants.  “Mission Trail has made it so easy!  Free composting and recycling saves businesses money, thus improving their bottom line,” says Smith.  Passerelle tenants Peet’s Coffee & Tea and Bumble are two food-service businesses that are successfully participating in the composting and recycling waste initiative. Margie Suozzo, GreenTown Los Altos chair, commended the city council and environmental commission for their decision to expand recycling and composting in Los Altos. “Thanks to Mission Trail’s single-stream recycling and food waste composting, we saw an immediate and significant increase in Los Altos’ diversion rate.  As a result, we extend the life of our landfills, generate less methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and create a useful product that can improve our soil.  Everyone who participates is ensuring the health of our community today and for future generations.“ Peg Champion is a member of GreenTown Los Altos and the principal of Champion Organic Communications.  She helps businesses tell their sustainability stories (and she always composts her organics.)  For more information visit: http://ChampionOrganic.com. Mission Trail’s Cleanup Program (bulky Items, e-waste, etc.) http://www.missiontrail.com/LosAltos/residential-cleanup.html Hazardous Waste Hazardous waste like paint, oil, batteries, fluorescent bulbs, toxic cleaners, poisons and sharps require special handling. For information on proper disposal of these items visit: Mission Trail Waste Systems: http://www.missiontrail.com/LosAltos/residential-hazardous.html County of Santa Clara Department of Environmental Health, Household Hazardous Waste Program http://www.hhw.org Electronic Waste (E-Waste) E-Waste can be recycled through Mission Trail’s Cleanup Program or at approved recycling facilities and drop-off events. http://www.sccgov.org/sites/deh/Hazardous Materials Compliance Division/Household Hazardous Waste Home/Pages/HHW-E-Waste-Page.aspx Further Information: Zero Waste: http://www.sierraclub.org/committees/zerowaste/climatechange/ EPR: http://www.sierraclub.org/committees/zerowaste/producerresponsibility/ Recycling Anything! http://www.recyclestuff.org/ What Happens to My Recycling? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CJNQctcswo&noredirect=1 #Environment #MissionTrailWasteSystems #GreenTownLosAltos #Waste #LosAltos #GreenTownWasteManagementCommittee #Reducewaste

Pssshhhh. Between 50 and 80% of household water in Los Altos and Los Altos Hills is used outdoors, principally for irrigation.  According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program, much of this water is wasted: “Up to 50 percent of irrigation water use goes to waste due to evaporation, wind, improper system design, or overwatering.” But the program notes that there are simple solutions to reduce water waste: Are you overwatering? Many people water their lawns too often and for too long, oversaturating plants. Test your lawn by stepping on a patch of grass; if it springs back, it doesn’t need water. Water in the early morning to avoid losing as much as 30 percent of water to evaporation by watering mid-day. Try a water-efficient landscape. Through proper choice of plants and careful design, you can reduce outdoor water use by 20 to 50 percent. Santa Clara Valley Water District offers a rebate for converting from turf to water-wise plants of $0.75 per square foot. Call first for a Free Water Wise House Call. For more information on native and drought-tolerant plants for our region visit: California Native Plant Society Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency Cal Water Manage your irrigation system. Adjust your water with the seasons. In our area, July is the month of maximum water use. The typical percentage of maximum water needed in other months can be seen in the following table. Ratchet down your irrigation in other months, accordingly. Typical Monthly Percentage (Source: Cal Water) JanFebMarAprMayJuneJulyAugSeptOctNovDec00530609010090603050 Check your irrigation system monthly. Inspect for leaks, broken or clogged heads, and other problems, or engage an irrigation professional to regularly check your system. Clean micro-irrigation filters as needed. Correct obstructions in sprinkler heads that prevent sprinklers from distributing water evenly. Keep water off pavement and structures. Install a rain sensor. Rain shutoff switches, required by law in many states, turn off your system in rainy weather and help compensate for natural rainfall. This inexpensive device can be retrofitted to almost any system. Santa Clara Valley Water District offers rebates irrigation hardware upgrades, such as rain sensors, efficient nozzles, and weather-based controllers. Install low-volume irrigation for gardens, trees and shrubs. These include drip irrigation, micro-sprayers and bubblers to minimize evaporation, runoff and overspray. Find a local WaterSense professional. If homeowners with irrigation systems hired WaterSense irrigation partners to perform regular maintenance, each household could reduce irrigation water by 15 percent or about 9,000 gallons annually—or the amount of water that would flow from a garden hose nonstop for nearly a whole day. For San Francisco Bay area WaterSense approved professionals, see: California Landscape Contractor’s Association Certified Water Managers

Trouble parking at the Art and Wine Festival? Next year, bring your bike! “What a great idea to include an attended bike parking space at the Art and Wine Festival in Los Altos! This service made it a pleasure to come by bicycle. Thanks to the GreenTown Los Altos volunteers who very graciously manned the space.” – Curtis Abbott On July 14 and 15, GreenTown hosted a bike valet for festival attendees, making bike parking easy and convenient. Seventeen smiling volunteers parked 320 bikes, skateboards, strollers and scooters, during the two-day festival, up 17% from last year. Six parking spaces were occupied by the booth and the bike parking. A shout out goes to Bicycle Outfitter for lending us bike racks and thanks to the Los Altos Village Association for offering this service at the Festival. Just two weeks prior, GreenTown supported Los Altos Stride and Ride with a bike valet, parking 51 bicycles. Easy bike parking at events shifts the convenience balance between taking the car and taking the bike. Our next event is the Fall Festival. Consider taking your bike and parking it at the GreenTown bike valet. [slideshow] #bike #BikeValet #LosAltosArtampWineFestival

In just one month, the kids will be back in school. As we plan for the upcoming year’s Walk or Wheel (WoW!) program, which encourages kids to walk or bike more, notes from the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition’s (SVBC’s) Bicycle Advocacy Summit in April provide useful guidance on policies to help make our streets safer and practices that get kids (and commuters) excited about biking. Thanks to Katie Stern from Passerelle Investments for sharing her excellent notes! Most Important Take-Away Messages Be part of the bicycle advocacy movement – join  SVBC Start with fast, light and quick opportunities for change in bicycle infrastructure trim hedges to make it easier to see children at cross walks add green paint to bike lanes and bike boxes at stop lights add sharrows in the middle of the road take the street back for bicyclists and have messages like “bikes may use entire lane” add wayfinding to show the safest routes to school and downtowns place maps in strategic locations with bike parking and bike routes clearly shown change speed limits based on fast or slow (18 or less mph and 33 mph) that way drivers can easily gauge if their speed is appropriate drastically reduce downtown and neighborhood speed limits Make cyclists feel welcome in your community – Bicycle Oriented Development (BOD) put in covered/secure bike parking add sharrows and painted bike lanes make sure there is signage for bike paths and bike parking Start bicycle education when children are 10 years old make bicycling fun and safe bike rodeos, bike nights, helmet checks, bike maintenance, bike trains and walking buses, Walk Wednesdays or Foot Powered Fridays, Pedal for Prizes, etc. get children involved with the safe route design process (they know if they feel safe or not) Use social shaming or peer pressure to encourage friends, family and community members to ride their bike pick a few days a week or a few errands a day to use your bike start with the daily decision that you want to make a difference #BikingtoSchool #WOWWalkorWheel

Check out this fascinating video showing the deconstruction of the buildings that formerly occupied this space as well as the construction of the new building.  95% of the materials from the demolished buildings were recycled or reused.  All the materials for the construction of the new building were sourced from within a 500-mile radius of the site.  All the interior doors were created from the eucalyptus trees that were downed during the rebuilding of Doyle Drive leading up to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.  Most other materials used in the building contained recycled content. The Packard Foundation will be providing additional information on their 343 Second St. website, including — I am told — a list of the plants they have carefully selected for their native, water-conserving characteristics and beauty. For a quick overview of some of the design principles, take a look at Margie Suozzo’s blog post from last October and check out this diagram created by the architect, EHDD Architecture, showing the building’s role in fulfilling Packard Foundation’s sustainability goals. I hope this beautiful, functional and sustainable building will be an inspiration to other builders in our town and elsewhere. [slideshow] #LeadershipinEnergyandEnvironmentalDesign #PackardFoundation #LEED #GreenBuildingCouncil #LosAltos

By Gary Hedden Volunteer – GreenTown Los Altos A shot of the bridge over Highway 85. The Stevens Creek Trail now crosses Highway 85.  The bridge was opened to foot and bike traffic Saturday morning, June 23.  Several hundred people showed up for the Dedication Ceremony and to see the new bridge and the new landscaping along the trail. The crowd lined up to try the bridge. Over 100 trees and 1600 shrubs native to the Stevens Creek watershed were planted.  The bridge connects areas that were divided by Highway 85 and now makes it possible to hike or bike from near the Mountain View/Sunnyvale border all the way to Palo Alto without any contact with automobile traffic.  It makes for a wonderful, safe bike ride.  The connection for Los Altos residents is at the end of Sleeper Ave. in Mt. View. #bikeorhike #bridge #StevensCreek

On Monday, June 4, Gil Penalosa, Executive Director of the non-profit 8-80: Cities for All, and a key player in fostering healthy communities, spoke at Cubberly Community Center in Palo Alto. The talk was sponsored by the Sierra Club’s Loma Prieta Chapter and Sustainable San Mateo County. Several GreenTown members attended. Here, Joe Eyre shares his notes from the presentation. Gil Penalosa’s work, which focuses on pedestrian, bicycle, and transit access and transforming cities to be more livable, was very inspirational and complementary to what the Project for Public Spaces (PPS) is doing. (GreenTown will be posting shortly on a June 16 Los Altos Forward Workshop with Fred Kent and Kathy Madden of Project for Public Spaces). Monday’s talk was not recorded though you can see Penalosa recorded here in a 2011 Tedx talk. Gil Penalosa, Exec. Dir. 8-80 Cities and expert on healthy communities, spoke at Cubberly Community Center in Palo Alto on June 4. Promote Health and Quality of Life. The evening began with a brief talk by a local health professional. She made the point that we need to encourage biking, walking and transit as ways to solve the twin challenges to health and quality of life of climate change and obesity. These are being “fueled” by our petroleum-based culture.  We need to provide “sustainable mobility”. Make City Safe and Accessible from 8 to 80. Penalosa began his presentation by pointing out that cities should be built to be safe and accessible for an 8 year old and an 80 year old. Access is a matter of equality and should be treated as a right. He stated that “quality of life is a tool of economic competitiveness.” Four Ingredients for Liveable Cities: Pedestrian-friendly streets that allow people to get to their destinations, to their bikes, to transit, and to their parked cars Cyclist-friendly access in town and and a network of bike routes throughout the city.  Bike lanes should be physically separated from cars and from pedestrians.  Where driveways cross a bike lane, do a big hump so the vehicle is forced to slow down before crossing the bike lane. Public transit Parks and public spaces, the glue that links a community together. Specific Policies for Achieving Livability: Lower Car Speeds. For livability, it is very important to bring car speeds down.  He suggested 20 mph max.  Drivers can see pedestrians and if they hit pedestrians the chance of injury is much lower. Higher Density. He is into higher density as a sustainable way of supporting more population.  He cited a rule of thumb that buildings can be as high as the width of the road. Parking Meters. He supported parking meters.  “Why should the public’s tax money pay for the privilege of parking?  The person wanting to park should pay for this.  Public money spent for parking is a waste and does not facilitate livability.” Road Closures. He applauded San Francisco for closing certain roads on Sundays.  He claims that the merchants on these streets are actually doing better on street closure Sundays compared to when the streets were not closed on Sundays. Keys to Creating Change: Sense of urgency Political will (it is not a financial issue) Leadership Doers Public engagement (mentioned SFBike.org as a great example) There is a three-legged stool of making things happen:  Community, the elected officials, and the city staff.  (I would also add property owners to this mix). Further Info: 8-80cities.org openstreetsproject.org

Freestyle Academy graduate, Ellie Vanderlip, presented her documentary, The Human Motor, at the June GreenTown Community Meeting and Social, held at Neutra House.  The short film focused on the genesis of Critical Mass — a monthly group bicycle ride that started in the early 1990s in San Francisco, and has since spread to more than 300 cities.  In the film, Ellie interviewed the founders and early participants of San Francisco Critical Mass and explored political motivations and challenges that the culture has faced.  The film won first place in the Bay Area Social Issues Documentary Film Festival in the flex category.  Ellie heads to University of San Francisco in the Fall to study film. The Human Motor A Documentary on the San Francisco Critical Mass Bike Ride Directed, Shot, and Edited by Ellie Vanderlip (c) 2011 Won 1st place in Bay Area SIDOC film fest in the flex category. #BayAreaSocialIssuesDocumentaryFilmFestival #CriticalMass #EllieVanderlip #FreestyleAcademy

By Maggie Kristian Junior, Los Altos High School As a member of the Los Altos High School (LAHS) Green Team, I can say that our school has accomplished a lot, from recycling to solar panels.  In fact, at one of the recent workshops I attended as a member of our Green Team, we were actually out of project ideas, and turned to the leaders of the workshop for help. Maggie Kristian, LAHS Junior, near the Egan Junior High School site where rainwater harvesting barrels will be installed. The Stanford students gave me a whole new spectrum of ideas with just one word; outreach.  A member of the Egan Green Team while I was in junior high school, I had given Egan little thought since I moved on to high school, but it seemed time for me to return to my green roots. To reach out to Egan, I decided to propose a project similar to one we had recently completed at LAHS: rainwater harvesting.  A rainwater harvesting system is an effective way to reduce runoff (especially important at Egan, given its large expanses of flat pavement) and reduce the use of treated water.  1,000 sq ft of roofing will actually yield 600 gallons of rainwater per inch of rain.  The rainwater harvesting system we designed consisted of two barrels of 55 gallons each.  This type of system takes about 5-6 hours to install.  At LAHS, we spread these sessions out over several lunch periods. At Egan, we began organizing to install a rainwater system fairly late in the school year, and so several conflicts arose with planning due to finals, sports, and Egan graduation.  We plan to schedule an assembly near the beginning of the next school year to allow Egan students to participate in installing the rain barrels.  I have been working with Egan science teacher and head of Green Team, Gina Moore, to get the project rolling and get kids interested in continuing with Green Team through high school.  As of now, we have narrowed down our choice of buildings on campus, and decided that the water should be used on another one of Egan’s recent projects, the native garden.  I have also identified individual and industrial suppliers for the parts needed.  A huge wave of moral (and financial) support has been offered by GreenTown Los Altos, for which I am extremely appreciative.  Essentially, all we need to do is meet with administration at Egan to get the go-ahead for modifying a building on campus, and then we’ll be off and running! #LosAltosHighSchool #recycling #solarpanels #GreenTownLosAltos #Eganschool #RainwaterHarvesting

On the Road to Gas-free Driving By Peg Champion GreenTown Los Altos Correspondent “I’ve been driving on sunshine for more than 10 years,” says Waidy Lee, a retired engineer who lives in Los Altos Hills.  An ardent environmentalist, she purchased her first all-electric vehicle (EV) in 2000. Waidy Lee’s EVs get their power from the sun, thanks to the solar panels she has installed on the roof of her home. “By using alternative energy for your electric vehicle, you create zero emissions.” In 2012, PG&E expects to source 20 percent of its electricity from renewable generation; California’s renewable energy goal is 33 percent by 2020. Photo: Peg Champion For Lee, buying an electric vehicle was a “no-brainer.” With an electric car, she knew she would eliminate climate-warming CO2 emissions, and she’d also save money.  Lee currently owns two EVs – a 2011 Nissan Leaf and a 2002 Toyota RAV4 EV.  She saved about $10,000 per vehicle on the purchase cost, thanks to federal and state tax incentives. “It costs about $2.64 to completely charge my Leaf’s 24 kWh battery, based on my PG&E rate,” Lee explains. “The range of its fully charged battery is about 100 miles, depending on road conditions and speed, so I can go anywhere I need to go without stopping for a charge.”  The cost of maintenance is also minimal, says Lee, since the motor is much more efficient than an internal combustion engine and doesn’t require oil changes, tune-ups or other mechanical system maintenance. About 60 percent of Bay Area greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions comes from transportation, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Most of the electricity that powers Lee’s vehicles comes from solar panels installed on her home so, based on PG&E net metering, her GHG emissions register as zero. “An EV is better for the environment, and it suits my lifestyle,” says Lee. Ending “Range Anxiety” There’s a malady particular to some EV owners: range anxiety.  It’s the fear that your vehicle will run out of “juice” before you reach your destination.  Most EV owners have installed a dedicated charger at home, but longer drives do require a network of charging stations.  Range anxiety is one of the major barriers to the wide adoption of electric vehicles, even though, according to the non-profit Electrification Coalition, 90 percent of US vehicle trips are less than 30 miles.  Leaf-owner Maddy McBirney agrees, “Most of my trips are short range – and perfect for an EV.” Los Altos Hills Mayor Rich Larsen, a member of the GreenTown PEV team, has created a Google map of potential locations for charging stations in downtown Los Altos that could be phased in as the number of EVs increase. To avoid expensive trenching fees, Larsen recommends dropping power lines from existing utility poles or connecting chargers close to a building’s electrical panel. A single dual-headed charger strategically placed could accommodate two EVs from four different parking spaces. As drivers become aware of Los Altos as an EV-friendly town and demand increases, additional charging stations could be added. There is a cure for range anxiety – more public electric-vehicle charging stations.  McBirney serves on the GreenTown PEV (plug-in electric vehicle) team, which is working to get chargers installed in downtown Los Altos.  As a result of the team’s efforts in coordination with Kathy Kleinbaum, economic development manager for the City of Los Altos, EV charging stations have been included in the city’s parking management plan RFP.  Another member of the PEV team is Los Altos Hills Mayor Rich Larsen.  Larsen’s business, New Power Technologies, focuses on EV energy management.  “Los Altos could become an EV ‘oasis’ near I-280.  Charging stations, combined with shopping and dining affinity programs, will attract EV drivers to the village’s downtown.” In Silicon Valley, a center for electric vehicle manufacturing and technology, local companies support EV owners.  Adobe, HP and VMware, among others, offer perks such as free charging and dedicated parking spaces to employees who drive the cars.  Google provides a “GFleet” – electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles – for employee use during business hours. Looking to the Future Electricity-fueled transportation has numerous advantages.  EV owners like the quiet drive and sports car-like acceleration, the reliability and fuel cost savings.  Another bonus is that, in California, EVs are permitted to use the carpool lane.  Electrification Roadmap, a study from the Electrification Coalition, says that an electrified transportation system will reduce dependence on foreign oil, improve national security, propel economic growth and reduce carbon dioxide emissions. A collaborative project to develop EV-ready communities, Ready, Set, Charge, California!, calculated an operating cost comparison of gas and electric-powered vehicles.  The analysis showed savings of more than $13,000 in fuel and $19,000 in maintenance for 108,000 miles over a six-year period.  Ron Freund, chairman of the Electric Auto Association and director of Plug In America says, “The five-year total cost of ownership pencils out at parity to a conventional car, and it gets better thereafter.”  Like most EV-owners, Freund supports alternative energy sources and likes using “domestic” energy. Los Altos resident Joel Bartlett, a member of the GreenTown PEV team, with his 2011 BMW ActiveE. The car is one of 700 in the U.S. leased as a test model. “As electric generation gets greener, your EV gets greener. EVs are fun to drive – electric motors provide high torque at low speeds and fine-grain speed control.” Photo: Wendy Bartlett A report from Deloitte’s global manufacturing industry group says that electric vehicles and green cars will represent up to a third of total global sales by 2020.  Last November, the Bay Area EV Strategic Council launched the building of an infrastructure that will ensure the Bay Area “becomes the EV Capital of the U.S.”  The council’s target is 100,000 EVs by 2020. Laurent Delamare, a software engineer at VMware, has owned his Leaf for a year.  Delemare says, “This is the technology of the future. With EVs, we can change the world.” Information and Resources Electric Auto Association, Silicon Valley Chapter http://eaasv.org Plug In America http://www.pluginamerica.org California Plug-In Electric Vehicle Collaborative http://www.evcollaborative.org Plug-In Bay Area http://pluginbayarea.org Plug-in Cars http://www.plugincars.com EV Tax Credits U.S. Dept. of Energy Federal Tax Credit http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/taxevb.shtml CA Clean Vehicle Rebate Program http://energycenter.org/index.php/incentive-programs/clean-vehicle-rebate-project Peg Champion is a member of GreenTown Los Altos and the principal of Champion Organic Communications. She helps businesses tell their sustainability stories. For more information visit http://ChampionOrganic.com. #AirQuality #Electricityfueledtransportation #Rangeanxiety #Residentialsolar #GreenTownLosAltos #NissanLeaf #EnergyUpgradeCalifornia #allelectric #BMWActiveE

Lehigh Quarry Per Bill Almon of Quarry No. We went to the Planning Commission Hearing on the Lehigh Final EIR and Reclamation Plan Thursday (May 24) and presented our comments which are attached here. The Planning Commission heard the Staff and Public comments and then continued the hearing to a “date certain” which could be 5:30PM May 31, which they have reserved, or sometime a week later. The delay was justified by the additional time required to digest the data delivered by the Staff right before the meeting. The turnout was not as large as anticipated and many Lehigh employees were present to comment Lehigh is a good place to work. We don’t argue that. We argue that expanding mining and cement production in a growing residential area for another 20 years is not wise. The Commissioners appeared to accept the Staff position that the Selenium cannot be removed easily from Permanente Creek, that the scenic easement replacement is too costly, and that the Cement Plant/Trucks do not have to be included in the EIR. We disagreed and in the time remaining we have to reinforce our arguments. In particular, please search for examples of successful selenium water treatment efforts worldwide. The Water Board stated there was a plant in Canada but had no further details. If we can prove there is, the Planning Commission will listen to forcing immediate treatment now rather than in 20 years. We also are examining other actions regarding the exclusion of the Cement Plant and the Trucks in the EIR. Their exclusion is not compliant with CEQA and the Commissioners must certify that the EIR is 100% compliant. Since the hearing was continued rather than being adjourned there should again be comments from the public allowed. We will advise you of the next Hearing as soon as it is scheduled. #LehighReclamationPlan #LehighSWCementCompany #PermanenteCreek