You have the power to make a difference for our planet DONATE ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ Register now Think You Can't Afford an EV? Think Again! Saturday, April 17 @ 10 am PT Electric vehicles are not only clean and green — they're affordable, too. At this virtual clinic you'll learn about the many financial assistance programs and grants available to income-qualifying consumers. Afterwards, receive one-on-one consultations for more help completing your applications. Spanish interpretation available. Sponsored by Electrify America. Register now Spring Forum on Organizational Climate Action Thursday, April 22 @ 1 pm PT Turn Earth Day into a day of impact for your organization by delving into a proven framework for driving climate change action. A panel of experts from Plan C Advisors, including CEO/Founder Amanda North, will share their best practices based on working with industry-leading companies to embed climate preparedness for the biggest impact. Breakout sessions will generate idea-sharing with fellow Bay Area sustainability professionals. Register now Virtual Coffee with Lauren Weston Wednesday, April 28 @ 11 am PT Join us for a chat with Executive Director Lauren Weston and this month's guest, Bee Hui Yeh. Her diverse background has included strategizing, marketing, and leading smart-city, green-mobility, decentralized-generation, zero-carbon, project finance, and sustainable business solutions. Her expertise extends to such topics as gender equality and climate justice. Register now EV Charging: Steps to Electrify the Home Tuesday, May 11@ 2 pm PT Getting ready to "Go EV"? Learn all about electric vehicle charging at the fourth and final workshop in our Green@Home series. Guest Barry Cinnamon from Cinnamon Energy will cover what you need to know in a variety of settings. A PG&E representative will join at the close to discuss Time-of-Use plans. Register Now The theme of the Spring 2021 Lectures is Climate Solutions: Scaling Impacts, featuring Bay Area leaders and thinkers whose work has regional and even global importance. Nitesh Dullabh May 26, 2021 4:30 pm PT Join us for "Sustainability and Accelerating Organizational Purpose, Performance and Impact with the UN SDGs and ESGs." Nitesh Dullabh joined South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry and served as South Africa’s economic attaché in Beijing and Shanghai for almost 4 years. His talk will address the themes of Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the context of implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He has worked with numerous local and international entities, assisting them in prioritizing the SDG goals and developing ESG specific programs. Meatless May: Less Meat, More Plants Meat and dairy production releases a lot of greenhouse gases: more than 178 million metric tons per year in the U.S. alone. That's the power of what you put on your plate each day. Now turn that power to doing good for your body and the planet. Choose "less meat, more plants" by signing up for our fun challenge today at acterra.org/meatless-may! Click to View Brand-New Event Videos! On March 26, Acterra's community came together in full force for "Promise to Our Planet" — 460 households joined us for this virtual celebration of climate leaders and Bay Area award winners — including Silicon Valley Clean Energy and Peninsula Clean Energy, the joint recipients of the Bay Area Air District-sponsored Spare the Air Leadership Award (as part of Acterra's Business Environmental Awards). The benefit was emceed by Ousman Jobe and featured many notable speakers, including activist Bill McKibben, California's Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot, and award-winning chef and author Bryant Terry. Visit the webpage for all the details, and watch the video here: [link removed]. (Tip: Expand the video description to show timestamps for each segment like Keynote, Breakout Sessions, After Party, etc.) On March 31, the Karl Knapp GoEV Program hosted "Meet the EVengers" to showcase our team of EV superheroes. The EVengers crew swapped amazing stories — how they decided to go electric, when they’ve left like real superheroes in their EVs, the craziest places they’ve charged their cars, the pros / cons of owning versus leasing an EV, the future of EVs, and more! Special thanks to our moderator and digital artist, Aspen Stuart-Cunningham, for putting it all together. Catch the recording at [link removed] In his April 2 presentation "A New Day, from Surviving to Thriving," Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali walked us through the long and turbulent history of environmental and racial injustices, then turned his attention to the upturn in federal investment in green infrastructure, as well as innovative programs to empower local communities. Watch the video: [link removed] May Cooking Classes Now Open Register now for May’s induction cooking classes, which will be held on Thursdays, 5/13 and 5/27, at 6:30 pm PDT (please commit to both dates). From the comfort of home, you'll cook alongside Chef Kelvin (who has gotten top marks from past class attendees)! Dive into plant-based recipes and cultural cuisines while navigating with ease through induction cooking. Early registrants will be able to check out a loaner induction hob from Acterra. Sign up: bit.ly/MayCookingKelvin. Acterra Welcomes Julian Carroll on Staff Acterra's Karl Knapp GoEV program welcomes new staff member Julian Carroll in the role of EV Access Specialist, prioritizing equitable access to clean energy technologies. He is a retired Chief Transportation Planner with over 30 years of experience in city planning and zoning and has contributed significantly to the development of many bicycle/pedestrian paths on California trails. He installed some of the first residential electric vehicle chargers in the Bay Area and has worked with local companies on boosting EV charging infrastructure. Julian also has a deep background of partnerships with governments at the Federal, state, regional, and local levels. Julian holds a BA in Geography from CSU-Sacramento. Welcome, Julian! Catch the Clean Vehicle Rebate Before It Expires California's Clean Vehicle Rebate Program will soon reach its funding limit and stop accepting applications. The end date is likely less than 30 days away, with no replacement planned. To receive this incentive before it disappears, you'll need to purchase / lease your EV and apply for your rebate now. Note: the typical rebate for a 100% electric vehicle is $2000, or $4500 for income-qualifying applicants. See website for eligibility requirements. Middle Schoolers: Join You(th) Be the Change Spread the word: Acterra's You(th) Be the Change program seeks 7th and 8th graders who are ready to become the next climate leaders in your community! There are six two-hour sessions in this self-paced virtual educational program. Students will learn to advocate for themselves and their community in confronting the climate crisis and envisioning local solutions. Visit acterra.org/ybtc to sign up. Clean Energy Spotlight: All-Electric Buildings and Time of Use Thanks to both early adopters and policy shifts like reach codes, all-electric buildings are growing in popularity and number. Our Executive Director, Lauren Weston, has spent the last year working to make her new home all-electric. "More energy-efficient heating / cooling, and greater home comfort: both factors helped motivate my decision," Lauren reports. "And little things help — unplugging devices, switching to renewable energy sources via your provider, and changing when you use the energy you consume to spare the grid." We can all act to keep California's energy use cleaner by conserving energy, especially during the critical peak demand period of 4-9pm. By timing EV charging, appliance use, and heating/cooling to take place outside the 4-9pm window (when electricity rates are lower), and by powering down (turning off lights and devices when not in use), our energy supply will be better able to run on the cleanest sources possible. Remember, Santa Clara County PG&E customers will transition to Time of Use electricity plans in June 2021, and San Francisco PG&E customers will make the switch in July 2021. Learn more. Local Update by Jared Johnson Recently, Menlo Park’s City Council voted to continue its core Climate Action Plan measures. These measures include exploring options to convert 95% of existing buildings to all-electric by 2030, setting a goal to reduce gasoline sales, expanding access to EV charging to apartments and commercial buildings, reducing vehicle miles potentially by 25%, and eliminating fossil fuel use from municipal operations. They also instituted a “Replace on Burnout” ordinance which would require retired or malfunctioning gas appliances like hot water heaters and gas stoves to be replaced with zero emissions electric alternatives like heat pumps and induction stoves. This measure passed by a slim 3-2 majority. For others in the region itching to make progress, the Bay Area Air District is planning to vote on a rule that would institute a zero-NOx emissions rules for heaters & appliances. Similar to a Replace on Burnout ordinance, high emitting appliances would be targeted; this regulation would also affect new appliances. Action Alert: Please make a public comment at the upcoming Stationary Source and Climate Impacts Committee meeting on 4/19, where the gas appliance emissions rules will be considered. If you plan to comment, send an email to [email protected]. Contact your legislators: State Senator Josh Becker (District 13) (650) 212-3313 (San Mateo) State Senator Dave Cortese (District 15) (408) 286-8318 (San Jose) Assemblymember Evan Low (District 28) (408) 446-2810 (Cupertino) Assemblymember Marc Berman (District 24) (650) 691-2121 (Los Altos) Assemblymember Kevin Mullin (District 22) (650) 349-2200 (San Mateo) U.S. Representative Anna Eshoo (CA-18) (202) 225-8104 U.S. Representative Jackie Speier (CA-14) (202) 225-3531 U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (202) 224-3841 U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (202) 224-3553 Tuesdays in April, 9 am - 12:30 pm. Water Conservation Showcase LINK One of the most highly regarded water conservation events in the state, this free showcase is open to anyone interested in the water issues of our day. Apr 15, 5:30 pm. SSMC's April Happy Hour on Sustainable Transportation LINK Featuring speakers from Peninsula Clean Energy, Commute.org, and Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition. Apr 22, 5 pm. Zero Wasty, Very Tasty Cook-Along LINK City of Sunnyvale presents a cook-along event with zero waste blogger and chef Anne-Marie Bonneau. Apr 24, 5 pm. Drive Clean-A-Thon LINK When you switch to an EV or e-bike, it’s a BIG action that improves air quality and cools the planet. At this event, EV and e-bike experts will share unbiased expertise to help you learn how to save time, money, and the planet Apr 28, 10-11:30 am. Driving to 2030 with Speed and Equity LINK Fourth in The Climate Center's "Climate-Safe CA" webinar series. May 14, 5:30 - 6:30 pm. Sustainable San Mateo County's Annual Award Celebration LINK Event includes annual Auction (April 30 kick-off) and award presentations featuring sustainability leaders in San Mateo County. May 19-20 (save the date) Sustain-a-Palooza LINK Presented by Sustainable Silicon Valley. Celebrate sustainable Bay Area living with an array of news you can use to negotiate the next new normal: returning to buildings, growing (and taking out) food, tracing good fish, discovering new water and electric programs, and more. ACTERRA: ACTION FOR A HEALTHY PLANET 3921 E Bayshore Road, Suite 208, Palo Alto, CA 94303, 650-962-9876, www.acterra.org Acterra brings people together to create local solutions for a healthy planet. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. © 2021 Acterra | 3921 East Bayshore Rd., Palo Alto, CA 94303 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Customer Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected] powered by Try email marketing for free today!