State of the County 2019
Goal: A Sustainable Future
"We can't sustain the current state of things. We really need to be innovative, and we really need to think about what are the solutions, and the key projects, and the initiatives that we need to take on to form a regenerative economy and make things better."-Alex Porteshawver, Marin County Sustainability Team Senior Program Coordinator
Drawdown: Marin
Drawdown: Marin is a community-driven campaign to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for climate change impacts. Our goal: Marin reverses its impact on the climate, sequestering more greenhouse gases than it emits as residents transition to a thriving, resilient, and equitable future. Drawdown organizers will promote understanding of what is already happening in the county and region and develop and implement bold solutions.
Who We Are
A division of the Community Development Agency, the Sustainability Team works to support healthy, safe and sustainable communities while preserving Marin’s unique environmental heritage. It promotes renewable energy, addresses climate change, encourages green building, recognizes green businesses and implements energy efficiency projects. Drawdown: Marin is an important new facet of this work.
What We're Doing
In November 2014, the Board of Supervisors adopted its Climate Action Plan Update 2015. The goals included an updated community emissions target of reducing emissions to 30 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. Through a lot of hard work, that goal was achieved by 2012, eight years ahead of schedule, exceeding lofty targets set by the State of California. Climate change is an emergency, and reversing its effects starts at home.
What You Can Do
Marin-based Resilient Neighborhoods started as a pilot program in 2012 and helped 100 local households prevent 500,000 pounds of carbon from being released to the atmosphere. The program has blossomed and is up to more than 6 million pounds of carbon lost, often by people changing a few simple daily habits. It's spreading throughout Marin - including to the County of Marin workforce. Anyone may join a team and take up the challenge. It's free!
Assisting Businesses
Assisting Residents
In April 2002, the Board of Supervisors signed a resolution recognizing the threat that climate change poses to our global community and pledging to take steps locally to address greenhouse gas emissions.
Wait a sec ... What's the difference between Drawdown: Marin and the Climate Action Plan?
The County Climate Action Plan (CAP) guides the County’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by making its buildings and operations more efficient and by developing programs that reduce emissions throughout the County. The CAP only goes until 2020 and will then have to be updated. Drawdown: Marin is intended to inform that update and develop a community-driven vision for an equitable and resilient future. We will work with the entire community to identify existing successes that can be expanded and new bold solutions that dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Drawdown: Marin aims to be a resource for the County and all cities and towns in the County as we work to reverse the impacts of climate change.
Our Street Fleet
Can't be Beat
The County’s carbon footprint saw a big reduction in summer 2018 when it added 41 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to the Civic Center campus in San Rafael. Of those, 31 were for public use. The County's fleet of vehicles includes 80 hybrids and 12 EVs. The County garage, which has used solar power since 2003, has 18 charging stations - including one powered by solar energy.
Encouraging Our Employees
Land Preservation
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