The climate conference with hope
7-minute read
This Week
The climate conference with hope
City of Santa Cruz 30-year shoreline plan
West Cliff Drive coastal management update
Large solar and battery project approved over local opposition
Federal courts allowing local natural gas bans
Solar panel testing over canals
Brief climate news
Climate jargon explained
Contacts for Santa Cruz County
Unrelated advice
Click on the underlined links to learn more.
About me
I’m Rex Sanders, a science writer who’s lived in Santa Cruz County more than 20 years. Each week I check dozens of reliable sources for climate news that affects our County. Focused on how we can create a better future together.
The climate conference with hope
Conference leaders, from the website
Analysis: The first Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels conference just finished in Columbia. More than 50 nations attended, along with many other groups, including Indigenous people. The U.S., Russia, and other nations were not invited, because they won’t support phasing out dirty fuels. But an official from California was there.
This conference came out of frustration with 30 years of UN climate change conferences. That’s where dirty fuel countries and companies blocked talking about phase-outs. And kept that topic out of final reports.
All the nations at this conference want to get away from dirty fuels because of high prices, insecurity, and climate change. Most want to develop a clear plan or “roadmap” for their country. The roadmaps should include a fast and complete switch to clean energy. France released the first version of their roadmap at the conference, getting rid of coal by 2030, oil by 2045, and natural gas by 2050.
The Transitioning conference focused on trusting the science. It launched a science panel to help countries develop roadmaps. Another group of researchers released a report with 12 high-level actions for nations to phase out dirty fuels. Like banning new exploration, extraction, and refining. Removing tax breaks. And adding incentives for clean energy.
Indigenous peoples worried that their deep local knowledge would be overlooked again. For the first time at this conference, they wrote proposals in their own sessions. And they were part of the high-level talks.
Quotes: “Let this conference be the moment when ambition becomes action,” said Colombia’s environment minister Irene Vélez Torres. “Let’s make this a turning point in history.”
“After years stuck in endless debates about whether to phase out fossil fuels, finally we are focusing on how,” said Tzeporah Berman of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative. “The hope is contagious.”
Limitations: While not much climate action has come out yet, this conference was a critical first step. Let’s hope the Transitioning conference next year makes much more progress.
Actions: Vote for climate friendly politicians at every level of government, from school boards to President. Ask everyone you know to do the same. And here’s a far more detailed article on why you should vote for Tom Steyer for Governor.
Sources: AP News, Carbon Brief, The Guardian April 30, The Guardian May 1, Inside Climate News, NPR, and Scientific American
City of Santa Cruz 30-year shoreline plan
Dr. Tiffany Wise West, from the video
On April 2, Jonathan Hicken of the Seymour Marine Discovery Center, interviewed Dr. Tiffany Wise West, the sustainability and resiliency officer for Santa Cruz. They focused on the City’s 30-year Shoreline Plan, which will prepare for worse coastal erosion, flooding, and rising seas caused by climate change.
A few highlights:
Santa Cruz is a leader in this state-required planning. They are lucky to have lots of local experts. And the city relies on local, state, and federal partners to build a good plan that meets all their requirements. Other cities and counties probably will follow their lead. Including Capitola and Santa Cruz County.
The plan includes projects and policies for three areas: West Cliff, Main and Cowell beaches, and Seabright plus East Cliff.
Use measured triggers to start preventing problems, instead of reacting to a crisis. Those triggers might include a certain amount of rising seas, or coastal erosion, that’s specific to each area. Predicting exact years for problems is still very hard, and they can happen suddenly. The big storms in 2023 passed 4 out of 6 triggers. And the trigger values could change as the science gets better.
The city doesn’t have millions of dollars to fix problems. So part of the planning is to find sources of money, and list the most important projects first.
The plan isn’t finished. More public meetings should happen this summer, then more changes. The final plan should go to the City Council next year.
Communicate simply and clearly. The public can’t use book-length reports full of technical jargon. So they are working on short reports that most people can understand.
“I encourage folks to sign up for the city manager’s newsletter, and go to our website,” said Dr. Wise West. “You can provide comments on anything related to [this plan.] We’ll respond to it.”
To learn a lot more about how Santa Cruz is developing the plan, watch the whole video.
Jonathan Hicken, Seymour Marine Discovery Center, 50-minute video
West Cliff Drive coastal management update
Left: Erosion near Lighthouse Field. Right: Finished culvert repairs at Bethany Curve, from the article
Every year, the City of Santa Cruz publishes an update on their coastal management projects along West Cliff Drive. Highlights this year include:
Finished repairs to the road and culvert (large pipe) carrying water underneath Bethany Curve.
Completed new seawalls and repairs of the roadway and walking/bicycle paths along West Cliff Drive.
Inspected the stairs at Cowells and Indicators, with minor repairs scheduled for next year.
Progress on planning, coordination, design, and review of many other projects, including moving the road inland along Lighthouse Field.
Managing coastal erosion will get harder as climate change creates bigger storms with stronger waves.
City of Santa Cruz, 6-minute read
Large solar and battery project approved over local opposition
Finished solar farm with big utility batteries in California, Wikimedia
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The California Energy Commission just approved building a solar farm with big utility batteries over the objections of San Bernardino County in Southern California. This is the first time the Commission said OK to a project like this, which should set an example for others.
“Today’s approval shows we can move projects forward with urgency and efficiency while preserving the values that matter most to Californians,” said Commission Chair David Hochschild. State requirements include:
Top safety standards, including the latest California Fire Code and National Fire Protection Association
Cooperation with local fire departments, so they are fully equipped to handle problems
A command and control center away from the project for safe problem management
Continuous monitoring of air quality and water quality
Special battery container panels to safely vent gases and minimize fire hazards
Continuous infrared cameras for detecting fires
Developers of the Seahawk battery storage project near Watsonville might use the same state process. Partly because Santa Cruz County is taking so long to pass new rules. Just a coincidence that County supervisors can blame the state if they approve the battery project instead.
Ryan Kennedy, PV magazine, 2-minute read
Federal courts allowing local natural gas bans
All-electric apartment building under construction in New York state, from the article
Several years ago the City of Santa Cruz and Santa Cruz County passed laws that banned natural gas hookups to new homes and buildings. So new construction must be all-electric. But they stopped enforcing those laws after Berkeley lost a controversial Federal court case over the same law.
Since then, federal judges have ruled in favor of similar laws 6 times. Including judges in Southern California. And legal experts say the U.S. Supreme Court is very unlikely to take on these cases.
“There is a clear consensus among the courts that have ruled on the issue that the [Berkeley] decision was wrong,” said Daniel Carpenter-Gold at the Public Health Law Center. “These governments are just trying to help people live healthier lives.”
We must stop burning natural gas to reduce air pollution and climate pollution. Tell your city and county politicians to try again. See Contacts for Santa Cruz County below.
Alison F. Takemura, Canary Media, 6-minute read
Solar panel testing over canals
Solar panels built over a wide irrigation canal, from the article
A cooperative project in the Central Valley recently built solar panels over canals for testing. Including:
Solar panels over a narrow canal
Solar panels over a wide canal
Vertical solar panels right next to a canal
Canals under solar panels show much less weed growth, reducing removal and improving water quality. Evaporation under the panels is less, but complicated by wind and other factors.
The project already found areas for improvement and more testing. Including cheaper, lighter, lower support frames, with hinged solar panels for repairs. And they are getting visitors from around the world that want to install solar panels over their canals.
If all 4,000 miles of California canals were covered with solar panels, they would generate enough clean electricity for all of Santa Cruz County. Plus all our neighbor counties of Monterey, San Mateo, and Santa Clara. Without using other land.
In a few years we should know more about putting solar panels over canals. Then it’s time to start building while creating lots of jobs.
Kelley Pickerel, Solar Power World, 3-minute read
Also a very good 7-minute video
Brief climate news
Uber, Lyft, and other ridesharing companies must reduce climate pollution. That means more electric cars after you tap that app. California PUC, 4-minute read
Fewer but much bigger and more damaging wildfires in the Western U.S. since 1992. Global overheating causes the bigger fires. AGU, 5-minute read
PG&E “climate credit” rebates for electricity moving to August and September, natural gas to February. California PUC, 3-minute read
Climate jargon explained
Big utility battery: Utility-sized rechargeable battery that stores clean electricity for later use, also called a battery energy storage system or BESS
Clean energy: Cheaper energy from the sun, wind, dams, or underground heat, that creates very little air pollution or climate pollution
Climate action: Any action that helps reduce climate change or adapts to it
Climate friendly: Better for our climate than other choices
Climate change: Long-term changes to Earth’s weather caused by climate pollution, including global overheating and too much ocean acid
Climate pollution: Gases in the air that trap the Sun’s heat and cause climate change, mainly carbon dioxide and methane, also called greenhouse gases or carbon pollution
Coal: Fuel from underground rocks that adds climate pollution when it’s mined, and when it’s burned for power or heat
Electric car: Car that runs on an electric motor and a large rechargeable battery
Global overheating: Rapid increase in worldwide temperatures starting around 1970, also called global warming
Methane: Climate pollution gas 80 times worse than carbon dioxide, second-worst cause of climate change, but it doesn’t last as long
Natural gas: Fuel pumped from underground, almost all methane, that adds climate pollution when it leaks, and when it’s burned for power or heat
Rising seas: Increase in sea level caused by global overheating that melts glaciers and expands seawater, also called sea level rise
Roadmap: Clear plan for a country to switch quickly and completely to clean energy
Solar farm: Large land area covered with solar panels
Solar panel: Panel that turns sunlight into electricity
More at climatejargon.com
Contacts for Santa Cruz County
City council: Watsonville, Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz, or Capitola, depending on where you live
County supervisors
County Resource Conservation District
Regional Transportation Commission (SCCRTC)
Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) and PG&E
State Assembly: Gail Pellerin, Dawn Addis, or Robert Rivas, depending on where you live
State Senate: John Laird
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), Air Resources Board (CARB), and Energy Commission (CEC)
Governor Gavin Newsom
U.S. Congress: Jimmy Panetta or Zoe Lofgren, depending on where you live
U.S. Senate: Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff.
Unrelated advice
Whatever you do may seem insignificant to you, but it is most important that you do it.
Mahatma Gandhi