From Hektor Calderon the organizer for Safe Ag Safe Schools

SASS is concerned about the phrase “a 3-year transition to go from conventional to regenerative.” in that the term Regenerative doesn’t have any official meaning with respect to pesticides. Our intention is to encourage methods which incorporate pesticide free organic methods and go further to enhance soil carbon sequestration.

From Rick Hyman, Campaign for Sustainable Transportation

More incentives for bike riders:

  • free or reduced prices for all types of bicycles;
  • payments for commuters who cycle;
  • safe and convenient bike parking;
  • concerted, supported bicycle-riding campaigns with prizes.

Support for improved infrastructure:

  • completing the bikeway system (there are still arterial and collector streets that lack continuous bike lanes)
  • making intersections bicycle- (and pedestrian-) friendly (more collisions occur at intersections than elsewhere).
  • support bicycle riding education

Building Energy programs should include:

  • solar conversion for existing buildings
  • better net metering rates
  • encouragements for the local solar industry
  • financial support for battery back-ups.

From Nancy Faulstich, Regeneration

Human Rights:

Compensation for farmworkers on high heat days or poor air quality days and/or ensure sufficient PPE, water stations, shade , etc

Food:

Programs to convert lawns into gardens, where a group does the work and gives homeowner percent of crop.

Promotion of home fruit tree harvesting  – again where group does work and homeowner gets part.

Schools:

Paper – reduce paper use in schools

Miscellany:

Adding a category about having information more readily available, accessible in different languages – fact sheets and action ideas?

Green teams at all companies

From James Mulherrin

Food:
Meat free Mondays.   Reason. LULAC j(League of Latin American Citizens) has called for it as a way of doing a partial boycott of the meat industry in the time of the virus for not adequately protecting slaughterhouse workers, and for embedding in the wider culture the practicality of all people being able to cut back on just one day of week from damaging the planet.


Buildings:
  The language now says “set existing thermostats to 67 in winter, 73 on warmer summer days.”  I suggest a small change of “set existing thermostats to less than or equal to 67 in winter, 73 or higher on warmer summer days if personal health can tolerate more extreme temperatures by use of sweaters and light clothing.” 
(We will need heat pumps and maybe even cooling centers like Chicago and Paris have created as the climate changes heat levels along with humidity rise beyond human tolerance, but not for a long time that badly here, I hope.) Scotts Valley and other inland areas may need extra resources.


Human Rights:
The language now says “Provide homes to the homeless and health care for all.”  I suggest making two statements  “Provide homes to all as a human right. The virus has shown that inadequate housing policy exposes everyone to risk”  “Provide healthcare to all as a human right. The virus has shown that tying access to health care to employment is a mistake that breeds insecurity.”
The language now says “Plant “food forests” where family supplies of food can be grown.”I suggest a longer range view that involves removing certain urban lands from the real estate market and making them part of a socially managed commons along with building capacity to manage them well. It may require a long transition with tax and other trade-offs.”Inventory City and County land to identify parcels suitable for creating urban “food forests” that are managed directly or by contract and overseen by the City and County for equitable access, return on investment, best practices, adequacy, rodent and pest management, etc.”

Land Use:

The current language reads “Incentives for extensive tree planting, especially coast redwoods, with funding to cover watering in the first 3 summers as needed.”  I suggest for discussion “Incentives for extensive tree planting in suitable areas, especially of coast redwoods, disease tolerant native oaks, etc, with funding to cover at least watering in the first 3 summers as needed.”

Similarly to the above item on food forests, I think it can be refined and may need input from agro-ecology experts and insight into the rapidity of climate change in our region. Just like in the Amazon, and perhaps in the Sierras we are at risk of having our tree canopy at some point going from a carbon sink to a carbon source so the issue of adequate hydrology may become important if we are likely to face a mega-drought.

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