Examples of Public Comment

We all know there is a human-made climate crisis in the world.  Every day, we hear evidence to support the facts:  hottest five years on record, excessive rain and flooding, fires, extra-strong hurricanes, drought, extinction of species, melting glaciers, melting Arctic Sea ice, sea level rise, climate crisis refugees. And more.  We must do all we are able both personally and with our government to mitigate its effects and hopefully, turn it around.

I was at the September 23 City Council meeting and listened to the discussion and responses and questions about reach codes. It appeared to me that the council members are well aware of the climate crisis and are trying to weave sustainability into their decision making. Thank you for that.

I want Redwood City to join with 1,119 jurisdictions around the world in 20 countries that have already signed the Climate Emergency Declaration. This number includes Alameda, Berkeley, Cupertino, Davis, El Cerrito, Hayward, San Francisco, Richmond, San Jose City Council, Santa Clara County Council, and our own San Mateo County Council. You can do this by voting to sign the Declaration and going to their website at:  climateemergencydeclaration.org  to add our name. This will show intention and be an umbrella for all our actions regarding the climate crisis.

We need to move forward limiting as much as possible the use of fossil fuels. Most residential and commercial buildings here use electricity that is at least 90% carbon free but most homes and businesses also use natural gas.  

Our city needs to continue to increase city owned EV infrastructure with revenues returning to the city as is done in the city of Alameda. We must continue to encourage bicycle use and to provide public transport that is affordable, convenient, frequent and doesn’t rely on fossil fuels.

Transportation and housing are large contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.

I am a Redwood City resident, a retired public school teacher and am fortunate to own my own home.  I have a deep concern for the environment and am active in various community organizations, including CityTrees and Fossil Free Mid-Peninsula.  My family also lives in the Bay Area and for my 16 year old granddaughter, my son, and daughter-in-law and for all of our families and friends and neighbors, we must act now. Scientists predict that we may only have 12 years to act before we go beyond the tipping point and will be unable to reverse the effects of the climate crisis. Let’s work together to make it happen. 

Please take a vote to sign the Climate Emergency Declaration.

Thank you.

Statement on Reach Codes

From the FFMP archive of statements to Redwood City Council Members, January 13th, 2020. This statement was originally made by Jim Ilnicki.

The report is now out: 2019 was the hottest year world-wide on record.

The permafrost is melting 95 years earlier than scientists predicted.

The Himalayan glacier is melting twice as fast as predicted.

The world news just tonight reported that the oceans are absorbing the heat of the equivalent of three atomic bombs every second.

60 Minutes yesterday reported on the flooding in Venice in November, and that it will cost a billion dollars to repair.  Cities all over the world, including the United States, will be facing similar costs in the future.

As one of the students so eloquently stated earlier, the climate crisis is here, now.

I urge you to approve the Reach Code proposal, granting only those exemptions that are absolutely necessary, and even on those, to approve them with the specific goal of finding solutions to those to apply to future similar projects.

I have worked with architects, engineers, contractors, and developers in the past and they are smart. They are problem solvers and they are innovators.  I urge them to take the lead in solving these issues so that we can all move forward together.