Empowering the Bay Area
Toward Locally Resilient, Socially Just Communities

This summer has been a watershed period of growth and recognition of our localization work in the Bay Area.

As the need for localization becomes more pressing, we are working ever-more-closely with our allies to rise to the challenge. We've initiated new programs, and advanced current programs to dynamically engage and empower local residents. And we've strengthened our relationships with community groups and elected officials to organize more effectively. As we band together to prepare for the challenges of peak oil and climate change, we are encouraged by the wealth of intelligence, resources, and possibilities this region holds.

We invite you to partner with us as we continue on this important path of community-building, ecological healing, and economic transformation!

Together for the future,

- Aaron, Allyse, Dave, Ingrid, Kirsten, and Nile

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TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• Rooftop Revolutionaries Take Action, 'Use Your Roof' Guidebook Released
• Bay Area 2020 Program Launched!
• Localization News from Around the Bay
• Local Clean Energy Alliance East Bay Update
• Chevron Refinery Expansion Approved
• Fire in the Belly: A Self-Sufficient Vallejo
• Events Roundup: Upcoming and Recent
• Support Bay Localize!

Rooftop Revolutionaries Take Action, Use Your Roof Guidebook Released!

The rooftop revolution is here! Rooftops are gaining recognition as functional spaces for regenerative resource development, and as summer heats up people throughout the Bay Area are busy preparing to capture fall rains and the season's abundant harvest.

In East Oakland, the E.C. Reems Academy of Technology and Arts roof garden now boasts a full harvest of broccoli, squash, greens and other veggies (see photo at right). This school garden project, led by the Oakland Food Connection in collaboration with Bay Localize, has been moving ahead with great strides and stands as an affordable and attractive model for high performance roof gardening. Many thanks to the volunteers who came out for the community work days in June!

In other news, Maya Donelson has been busy taking the Graze the Roof project from design to implementation. The rooftop garden at Glide Church in San Francisco features hydroponic veggie beds, supplied by General Hydroponics; Earthboxes, a type of self watering container; and customized, lightweight garden beds made from shipping pallets and milk crates. These beds have all been hand built from local materials and are a closed loop system in which leftover water from the irrigation system is collected and recycled back through a wick. A women's consulting group, Six Degrees of Sustainability, is leading an educational rooftop mural for the garden walls. The Glide church may easily be one of the most innovative, soulful and beautiful roof gardens in the Bay Area.

We have the date for our opening reception at the end of September! Regular community work days will continue through August and September and culminate in a grand opening celebration on Friday, September 26th from 4:30 to 7:00 at Glide Memorial Church, 330 Ellis St. in San Francisco, CA. Please RSVP for this event. Contact Maya for more details and check out the Cliff-Mojo Blog.

New Bay Localize Release! Use Your Roof Guidebook

Rooftop revolutionaries rejoice! And check out Bay Localize's long-awaited new publication, Use Your Roof Guidebook: Resources and Considerations for Rainwater Catchment, Living Roofs and Solar Power. The booklet draws from the groundbreaking research of Tapping the Potential of Urban Rooftops, as well as other research findings from the field, and offers guidelines for selecting an appropriate rooftop system and embarking on the design and implementation process. Download the Use Your Guidebook from our website, or support our work by donating $6 for your own soft cover copy of the booklet. Contact Ingrid for further details.

Catch Rainwater, Prevent Runoff, Get Money

The California Proposition 84 water resources improvement bond includes a 84 million dollar grant program for stormwater management improvements. Bay Localize is advocating for this funding to go toward regional rebate programs for living roofs and rainwater catchment. This is an opportunity for creek restoration groups to coordinate with stormwater management utilities in applying for the grant program. Several government agencies are preparing to apply and are welcoming collaboration. Contact Ingrid for more information.

At our June General Meeting, we were proud to have launched our newest program, Bay Area 2020: Clear Vision for the Future. Bay Area 2020 offers a clear-eyed view of the key challenges we face as a region and an action plan to address them. The cornerstone of the program is the Community Resilience Toolkit, offering a thought-provoking assessment and action steps to build more resilient communities in the face of climate change and rising energy prices. We have been piloting the toolkit with diverse communities throughout the Bay Area, and look forward to releasing the complete version this fall.

Bay Area 2020 is also co-hosting a series of localization forums and caucuses to bring together Bay Area change makers to chart a course for localizing food, water, energy, jobs and economy, and civic preparedness. This October we are hosting a food caucus as part of Local Food Month in collaboration with the Community Alliance with Family Farmers and California Food and Justice Coalition. The Local Clean Energy Alliance of the East Bay is hosting a Local Clean Energy Caucus on November 13th as part of the San Francisco Green Festival. See Upcoming Events for more details! If you are interested in helping to organize these and future events, write volunteer@baylocalize.org.

Localization News from Around the Bay

Localization is picking up steam around the Bay Area! Here are a few examples of great programs that can serve as models for other communities. If you know a model program in your community, contact Allyse.

South Bay
In San Jose, the Downtown San Jose Solar Project, a grassroots neighborhood endeavor to make solar panels more affordable through bulk purchasing, has wrapped up with a total of 34 systems creating 136.5 kW of capacity on residential rooftops. Neighbors in west San Jose and Campbell picked up their model to form the Greater Cambrian Area Community Solar Initiative as well. For more information and a calendar of upcoming meetings, see http://sanjosesolar.blogspot.com.

East Bay
The Oakland City Council approved $250,000 to launch the Oakland Green Jobs Corps this year, which will provide training for low-income young adults to take on green-collar jobs such as energy efficiency upgrades and solar panel installation. Congratulations to the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and the Oakland Apollo Alliance for moving this forward. For more information, visit the Ella Baker Center website.

North Bay
Marin County released its implementation plan for Community Choice Energy, including a tiered pricing system that would offer a "dark green" option of 100% renewable energy and a "light green" option also with a significant portion of renewable energy for a lower price. Marin and Sonoma counties are in conversation about working together on implementing community choice. For more information see http://www.marincleanenergy.info.

"West" Bay
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors recently voted to place the San Francisco Clean Energy Act (Proposition H) on the November ballot. Endorsed by Bay Localize and a broad coalition of groups around the Bay Area, Proposition H is a charter amendment that sets ambitious goals for renewable energy generation and opens the door for public power. The measure also reiterates the benchmarks currently set forth by the city's Community Choice Energy plan: 51 percent renewable generation by 2017, 75 percent by 2030, and 100 percent, "or the greatest amount technologically feasible or practicable," by 2040. The measure promises a loud and messy fight come November, with PG&E already blanketing San Francisco with misinformation, disingenously saying the Act is a "blank check."

Local Clean Energy Alliance East Bay Update

This spring the Local Clean Energy Alliance (LCEA) released its policy platform document The 21st Century Energy Greenprint for the East Bay at the Berkeley Ecology Center. "Community Choice Aggregation is one of the most important initiatives that the city of Berkeley is working on," said Berkeley City Council Member Kriss Worthington to the packed crowd. A number of people stayed after the presentation to plug into our organizing, business outreach, and policy analysis activities. Read the Energy Greenprint.

Community Choice and Energy Planning for the East Bay

The Community Choice business plan for Oakland, Berkeley, and Emeryville still has not been released by the cities. According to Oakland staff, they are planning for an October release. Perhaps coincidentally, Oakland will be embarking on an unprecedented process to get community input on their Energy Action plan, which is supposed to be comprehensive with respect to energy efficiency, but may or may not address Community Choice. Community Choice should be addressed in any energy plan, as it has the potential to bring much greater oversight and control to the use of energy efficiency funds collected within the city on utility bills.

The Berkeley Energy Commission has Community Choice on the agenda for its September 24th meeting. Dawn Weisz of Marin Clean Energy and the LCEA's Dave Room will speak on regional cooperation among Community Choice programs. The informal discussion on CCA will begin at 7 pm at 1901 Hearst Avenue in the North Berkeley Senior Center.

We are finishing up a brochure for outreach to businesses, with the goal of recruiting one hundred East Bay businesses to endorse Community Choice. We could use some help distributing brochures and following up with targeted businesses. Contact Dave for more information about volunteering.

Solar Richmond and Hayward's Citizens Against Pollution

At July's LCEA general meeting, Michele McGeoy of Solar Richmond spoke about workforce development to a packed crowd. Solar Richmond has partnered with Richmond BUILD to add solar education to its 9-week pre-apprenticeship construction-training program. This collaboration focuses on green-collar job skills that include classroom training on solar technology and installation, hands-on experience with installation teams, and potential connections to employment with solar contractors. Graduates of the program are Richmond residents and have trained side-by-side with solar contractors to successfully install residential and commercial solar systems. Michele also described their new Solar Bid Evaluation program, which conducts preliminary property assessments, coordinates and compares bids, and provides the customer with options and recommendations.

Also in attendance were four activists from Hayward representing Citizen's Against Pollution and the Hayward Demos Democratic Club, which oppose two natural gas power plants that are proposed for Hayward. In late July, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rescinded a pollution permit issued for Calpine Corp.'s Russell City Energy Center by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and ordered the district to re-notice and re-open a public comment period before it makes a new decision on the permit. The 42-page remand order delivered a stern rebuke to the air district over the way it failed to comply with public notice and outreach regulations for the Hayward plant's pollution permit, known as a Prevention of Significant Deterioration, or PSD, permit. This delay is an opportunity to for activists to pressure the Hayward City Councilors to reopen the issue for public comment and to make it clear that Hayward residents do not want polluting fossil fuel plants.

Solar Redevelopment Update

On July 3rd, the Local Clean Energy Alliance (LCEA) convened a meeting with energy efficiency experts, nonprofits, activists, and Oakland city officials and staff to discuss using redevelopment agency funds for energy efficiency improvements, solar, and other sustainability projects on low-income homes. In May, Aaron Reaven (Project Area Committee member of Broadway/MacArthur/San Pablo Redevelopment Project Area and LCEA steering committee member) successfully directed $20,000 in redevelopment funds toward a pilot project that will install photovoltaics on two homes in his redevelopment district. The goal is to increase the affordability of low-income housing in redevelopment areas by lowering the utility bills of residents and/or owners.

Solar redevelopment programs would include a variety of sustainability measures that lower utility bills, including solar thermal and photovoltaics, energy efficiency and conservation, and water efficiency and conservation. As the oil, energy, and water crises of our time intensify in coming years, it is likely that these systems will provide ever more valuable economic benefit to the low-income residents using them. The July meeting provided a lively discussion about existing energy efficiency programs and how sustainable energy redevelopment programs could produce significant workforce development opportunities and green collar jobs.

The final decision came seven hours after more than five hundred Bay Area residents, Richmond residents and community groups attended the public hearing advocating for a "comprehensive crude cap" to restrict Chevron from processing dirtier, heavier crude oil that could pose additional threats to the health of the community. The residents of Richmond and their allies were devastated by the City Council's decision. With no cap on dirtier crude, the plant expansion places a greater environmental burden on a community that has fought hard to reduce pollution-related health risks, consumption of fossil fuels, and the effects of climate change in Richmond and the Bay Area.

Two days before the decision, Chevron locked in City Council approval for the refinery expansion by presenting the City of Richmond with a $61 million dollar Community Benefit Agreement (CBA) for over 10 years. The CBA, submitted to the council in a closed session immediately before the public council hearing, would reportedly include $6.75 million for jobs and education programs, $6 million for community health programs, and a requirement for the City Council's approval of the expansion project.

"Chevron's pay-off is an insult to the residents of Richmond," said Dr. Henry Clark of the West County Toxics Coalition. "Chevron should pay more than $61 million for decades of poisoning our communities."

Chevron's Richmond refinery is the largest in Northern California and provides about 25 percent of all the gasoline in Northern California. The new equipment will allow it to process heavier crude and about 1,000 more barrels of gasoline a day. A 2007 report issued by Contra Costa County Health Services shows that Richmond has significantly higher rates of cancer and asthma hospitalizations than any other city in the county due to many polluting facilities in the region, including Chevron.

The Richmond Alliance for Environmental Justice, a coalition of community groups that represent thousands of Richmond families, will keep the pressure on Chevron. "We still believe there's going to be a huge increase in pollution. We still have to stop this project, and we're now looking at all our legal options," said Greg Karras, senior scientist for Communities for a Better Environment, one of the groups opposing the plan. "This fight is only getting started."

On November 4th, the City of Richmond will have elections for two council seats. Many green groups in Richmond are gearing up for an electoral campaign to ensure that the new appointed city council members will be in favor of the community. Other groups will continue to do voter education in support the A Fair Share for Richmond ballot initiative. Also known as Measure T, the initiative would require large manufacturers like Chevron to pay a fair share for a business license. As of now, it is speculated that Chevron pays less than $1,000 dollars for its annual business license. Manufacturing businesses would be taxed under a new formula that would require them to pay a flat fee of one fourth of one percent (0.250%) of the value of the raw materials used in the manufacturing process.

There is a lot of hope and promise for this ballot initiative for putting resources in green initiatives, creating more jobs, and giving the City of Richmond an opportunity to determine the conditions under which companies may operate within city limits.

For more information and/or to get involved, contact Nile Malloy.

The Fire in the Belly
Toward an Economically Self-Sufficient Vallejo

The ancient Greek model of citizenship is one of devotion to the community. My community is Vallejo, which has been suffering a "great depression" since 1996, when 10,000 jobs were lost with the closure of Mare Island Naval Base. President Clinton did not offer money to develop alternative industry, and the general plan was manipulated to convert the industrial areas into tract housing and retail, forfeiting the potential for high-paying union jobs in the long-term. Schools went bankrupt, youth activities were stifled, and gangs expanded to fill in the void, providing alienated youth with a way to belong.

Unless Vallejoans begin to educate themselves on the principles of economic self-sufficiency promoted by groups such as Bay Localize, the community may run the risk of deteriorating conditions leading to an economic "ghost town."

As a Vallejo citizen, I feel that I have a duty to consider options about how I can effect intelligent social change. To this end, I have been training myself to think in terms of the community, to let go of personal concerns, and to embrace the idea of being an agent of change.

Eventually I hope to effect change through networking like-minded citizens into a model of collaboration, cohesiveness and cooperation in a multicultural setting. We are conditioned to believe that our cultural differences separate us, but when we overcome this conditioning we can accomplish miracles.

In this sense, Vallejo is a microcosm of the Bay Area, and if we are successful we can provide a model for the Bay Area at large. The Bay Area is a world-class metropolis. If the People of the Bay Area continue to collaborate towards the goal of economic and energy self-reliance, our example will serve as a beacon of freedom ? meaning self-sufficiency and autonomy ? for the rest of the world.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Look for announcements of other upcoming gatherings on our website.

RECENT EVENTS:

Summer has been another active season of event-going and organizing for Bay Localize!

In June, Bay Localize hosted our first General Meeting where we launched our new program, Bay Area 2020: Clear Vision for the Future. Dozens of concerned residents from throughout the Bay Area came together to share ideas on the most effective ways to prepare our communities for climate change and rising energy prices. At the gathering, we released our Community Resilience Toolkit, which assists changemakers in building resilient communities based on essential criteria like social equity, quality of life, sustainability, and ownership.

In July, Bay Localize hosted an exclusive presentation of the popular cult classic Repo Man at the Parkway Theater in Oakland. We marked the occasion with a mock funeral commemorating the imminent death of American car culture and the birth of something new ? the growing movement for a renewable-energy powered, transit-centered, and locally resilient Bay Area.

In August, Bay Localize played a central role in the San Francisco Coro Leadership team's "The Energy Divide" event. Rooftop Resources Project Organizer Ingrid Severson introduced Bay Localize to an audience of students, parents, and teachers, and outlined opportunities for young people to get involved in our programs. As a keynote speaker, Local Clean Energy Coordinator Dave Room gave a rousing talk rich in visual imagery about reframing our energy crisis. "If we think of our predicament as a cultural problem rather than a resource problem, new solutions become available to us. We become the resources. And guess what, we're renewable," Room said. He urged the students to hold his generation accountable: "You can't vote yet, so you've got make sure that we vote for your future." With the guidance of the Sierra Club, the students wrote letters to the Mayor of San Francisco and the supervisors in support of the San Francisco Clean Energy Act (Proposition H), which Bay Localize also endorses.

Bay Localize also played a major role at this year's SolFest in Hopland. Hosted by the Solar Living Institute, this premier celebration of renewable energy and sustainable living brought together thousands of activists, experts, and leaders from around the West Coast and beyond. Dave Room presented on how people can bring local clean energy to their communities and Aaron Lehmer presented on how to build strong coalitions for green energy and green jobs. Many of our key allies also gave inspiring presentations, including the Urban Permaculture Guild's Kat Steele, the Regenerative Design Institute's Penny Livingston-Stark, and Dig Coop's Babak Tondre.

Are you interested in donating your time to your community and the environment in a meaningful way? Bay Localize needs steady, dedicated volunteers to help with office work and other projects. Come join us in our lively, friendly office in downtown Oakland right next to BART, to make the world a better place for future generations. We welcome seniors! Afternoon hours preferred. Please send your letter of interest and resume to kirsten@baylocalize.org with "Volunteer Application" in the subject line, or call us at (510) 318-0610.

Have a Computer to Donate?

Reuse is even better than recycling, and we can offer your old computer a good home! Pentium 4 processors and newer, receipts for tax write-offs available. Contact kirsten@baylocalize.org or call (510) 318-0160. We are interested in laser printers, LCD monitors, fax machines, and photocopiers as well. Thank you for your generosity!

Invest in Bay Localize!
We would be honored to count you among our growing range of supporters. Your contribution will help us to forward localization projects and initiatives in the Bay Area. Each donor of $35 or more receives a one-year subscription to the award-winning quarterly publication, the Earth Island Journal.

To make a tax-deductible contribution, please click on the online donation link below, or write a check or money order made payable to Earth Island Institute (our fiscal sponsor) with "Bay Localize" in the memo and mail it to:

Bay Localize
436 14th Street, Suite 1127
Oakland, CA 94612

Donate online!
https://www.earthislandprojects.org/bayLocalize/donate.html

Thanks for your support!

About Bay Localize News
Bay Localize News features regular news and updates from Bay Localize, a growing network of nonprofits, businesses, and municipal leaders working to build a more self-reliant, sustainable, and socially just Bay Area.

EDITORS: Allyse Heartwell, Aaron Lehmer

CONTRIBUTORS: Allyse Heartwell, Aaron Lehmer, Nile Malloy, Guillermo Richerson-Herrera, Dave Room, Kirsten Schwind, Ingrid Severson

For more about Bay Localize, please visit our website at http://www.baylocalize.org.