Close to Home: A resilient county needs renewable energy

Being the parent of two young children means being confronted every morning - usually at a too-early hour - with the future. It also means juggling a constant, jarring juxtaposition between childhood delight and doomsday headlines. Each week brings more dire news about the changing climate. Whenever our family explores the beautiful ecosystems of Sonoma County, part of me wonders what we will leave our children. In 30 years, will they be able to visit healthy terrestrial forests, kelp forests and coastlines? Or will they read about these things in books describing what the world used to be like?

We all know too well that our county caught fire on Oct. 8 2017 and burned for 23 days. When we emerged from the catastrophe, we held two records that we never wanted: the most destructive wildfire in state history, and the most expensive wildfire in the U.S. history.

Our records held for 13 months, until Butte County caught on fire - at which point our records were easily and tragically shattered.

Since our fires, we've grown tired of hearing certain words and phrases: “unprecedented,” “record-setting,” “the new (ab)normal.” We've grown tired of living alert to alert, of bracing and rushing to our phones at the sound of sirens. This past year, we experienced red-flag warnings - signifying high-fire danger - right up until we started receiving flash flood warnings. Today's California seems to be comprised of two seasons: fire and flood.

While much of local government's focus has been on resilience and recovery, we can't ignore the fact that we are confronting the realities of a changing climate. Therefore, as we urgently move toward enhanced emergency alert systems, improved vegetation management, home hardening and better firefighting infrastructure, we must also apply the same sense of urgency to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

To treat the symptoms without addressing the underlying disease isn't an effective strategy. We must do both. Which means not just talking about climate change - but taking action.

In March, I will formally ask my colleagues on the Board of Supervisors to consider switching county facilities to 100 percent renewable energy through Sonoma Clean Power's Evergreen program.

In December, as the county's representative on Sonoma Clean Power's board, I asked all of the city representatives on the board - save Sonoma, which is already an Evergreen customer - to consider doing the same. (I was thrilled to read that Healdsburg, the only Sonoma County municipality that isn't part of Sonoma Clean Power, is making a similar commitment.)

Local government making a public commitment to renewable energy is the least we can do for the sake of future generations. Collectively, we need to do much more.

There are things that we, as individuals, can do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Some of these measures actually save money: line-drying clothes, growing your own produce, carpooling, combining errands or taking transit.

Other strategies require a financial investment. You can switch to Evergreen power, which may cost you as little as a few dollars a month. If you have a greater financial capacity, you can consider installing solar panels on your house, or purchasing an electric vehicle. Or even better: Make the decision to live where you work, and commute by foot or bicycle.

Local government needs to do more, too. We need to facilitate more affordable housing near job centers and schools to support live/work or “complete” communities. We need to support bicycle and pedestrian trail projects, which start with planning - like the Russian River Trail feasibility study that's currently underway. We need to enhance transit services, especially in rural areas and make sure that residents can safely access bus stops.

And, of course, we must prepare for the disasters that we know will come. But we can't just put out literal and metaphorical fires while leaving our children to face ever more frequent and more intense disasters. Let's do our part to fight and prepare for fires. But let's also fight the changing climate that we know will result in ever more frequent and severe fires and floods.

I hope you'll consider encouraging your local elected officials - whether it's your supervisor or your city council - to switch to 100 percent renewable energy and implement other climate-friendly policies. And I hope you'll join me in making climate-friendly choices in your own household, too.

Lynda Hopkins is a member of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors.

You can send a letter to the editor at letters@pressdemocrat.com