Menlo Park Becomes First U.S. City to Set Goal to be Carbon Neutral by 2030

The new climate action plan would call on Menlo Park to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90% of 2005 levels by 2030, to about 34,900 tons down from 349,000 tons in 2005. This would be done by dramatically cutting the amount of greenhouse gases being generated from vehicles, natural gas and waste, and completely eliminating the amount of greenhouse gases from generating electricity.

Great American Outdoors Act Passes Congress

Congress shed its partisan colors to pass a bill, named the Great American Outdoors Act, that will invest nearly a billion dollars a year to create new local, state and national parks and natural areas where families can safely get outside together. It will also finally fix up thousands of run-down roads, trails and visitor facilities that are being loved to death through heavy and growing use of our public lands.

Caltrain Considers Unprecedented Commitments to Equity and Connectivity

Caltrain has historically been run in the US tradition of commuter rail, which has historically been whiter and wealthier than the community it traverses, and has been managed as a single-purpose, standalone service intended to move suburban white-collar commuters from their homes in affluent suburbs to jobs in the urban downtown.

“A Better Caltrain is One That Exists”

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors punted making a decision on Caltrain’s sales tax funding proposal on Tuesday.

One of the issues: questions about the legality of a modified version of the bill that’s now being floated by San Francisco Supervisors Aaron Peskin and Shamann Walton that aims to wrestle more control of how the money is spent away from SamTrans, which manages Caltrain.

San Jose Produces Less Waste under COVID-19. But it is  Not All Good News

COVID-19 has produced more complications for professionals in local waste and recycling collection.

While the job has become all the more important with greater waste generation in residential areas of San Jose, waste hauling companies have felt the financial squeeze of suspended and terminated pickups by businesses plus a lapse in recycling etiquette from locals.

The Great Climate Migration

Pulling Down Our Monuments

The Sierra Club is a 128-year-old organization with a complex history, some of which has caused significant and immeasurable harm. As defenders of Black life pull down Confederate monuments across the country, we must also take this moment to reexamine our past and our substantial role in perpetuating white supremacy.

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A Toxic Relationship

California should begin gradually reducing output from its oil refineries in order to avoid climate catastrophe and to make the transition to clean energy as equitable as possible. That's the conclusion of a major new report released July 6 by Communities for a Better Environment (CBE), endorsed by more than 40 environmental and social justice organizations.

Tues, July 28th 
NASA Scientists Present “Why Our Future Depends on the Arctic”

Join SSV Board Member Dr. Anthony Strawa and Dr. Steve Zornetzer for an inspirational discussion about the Arctic and why it's key to the survival of every living thing on our planet.  

Wed, July 29th 
Energy, Climate and Sustainability: The Defining Issue of the 21st Century

The energy sector is undergoing a once-in-a-century shift to chart a sustainable course. Will this happen sufficiently fast to address climate change? This presentation is by Dr. Arun Majumdar, the Jay Precourt Provostial Chair Professor at Stanford University.