Supervisors are set to vote Tuesday on a plan that maps out how the county would reduce its contribution to global climate change.
The EnergyWise Plan focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and ways to prepare for the anticipated effects of climate change. Greenhouse gases are emissions such as carbon dioxide that tend to trap the heat from the sun near the Earth’s surface.
In San Luis Obispo County, the bulk of these emissions comes from vehicles, industry and homes. The plan calls for emissions in the county to be cut to 15 percent below the level of those emissions in 2006.
James Caruso, the senior county planner in charge of the plan, said about half of these reductions would come from newly enacted state rules and regulations. These include mandated increases in auto mileage and a requirement that fuel burn 10 percent cleaner.
The other half would come from county policies that would over time make homes and buildings more energy efficient and plan communities in ways that reduce the need for commuting and other car trips.
“This is not a regulatory document,” Caruso said. “It mostly addresses things we are already doing.”
Examples of additional steps that can be taken include offering loans and grants to homeowners interested in energy retrofits or requiring such retrofits if a home undergoes a major upgrade. Such policies would likely target homes built before 1990, which tend to be much less energy efficient than modern homes.
The policy originally had a requirement that all homes have an energy audit and retrofit performed at the time of sale. However, the Planning Commission dropped that requirement at the behest of the real estate industry.
All of these steps would have the benefit of saving on energy costs for homes, businesses and government buildings. But another main goal is slowing the effects of global climate change.
Locally, rising temperatures are expected to increase sea levels and the wildfire danger as well as increase the severity of floods and droughts, reduce agricultural productivity and water supplies and increase heat-related illnesses.
The county’s EnergyWise plan was funded by a $167,000 stimulus grant from the federal Department of Energy.
SanLuisObispo.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. See our full terms of service here.
Here are some rules of the road:
You should also know that The Tribune does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at webmaster@thetribunenews.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the username of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to webmaster@thetribunenews.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.
Be the first to know what's going on in San Luis Obispo County. Just tell us how you want to find out — we'll take care of the rest.
Sign up for breaking news alerts from SanLuisObispo.com and get the latest news sent to your cell phone via text message.
By signing up for alerts from this site, you are signing up for a program that may include up to 5 SMS text alert(s) per alert category per day. There is no service fee charged per month but your carrier's standard text messaging and other charges may apply. You may stop this subscription service at any time by sending the text message "STOP" to 72737. You must be at least thirteen (13) years of age to use our alert services. If you are between 13 and 17 years old, you agree that you have received parental permission both to complete the registration process and to receive SMS content on your cell phone. For help, send the text message "HELP" to 72737. This service will work with ATT, Verizon, Sprint, Nextel, Alltell, US Cellular, Cincinnati Bell, Boost, Virgin Mobile USA, Celluar South, Telos, Centennial, East Kentucky Network, Cellcom, Immix and Rural Celluar.
E-mail »
Twitter »
Facebook »
iTribune »
Subscribe »
RSS »
About comments
Reader comments on SanLuisObispo.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Tribune. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.