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It isn’t easy being green, but Nevada City is going to give it a try.
More than 100 residents, city officials, environmental activists and a facilitator from Sacramento converged at the city’s first Community Congress, designed to set an agenda for reducing the city’s carbon footprint and reliance on fossil fuels. The Community Congress was organized primarily by Power-Up NC, a group dedicated to finding ways to create a sustainable living community.
“The issues we’re looking at are so challenging and so daunting, that the best thing we can do is tap into the collective brilliance of the people,” said Power-UP NC’s co-founder Reinette Senum, who hopes to make the event at the Miners Foundry a twice-yearly affair.
The group spent a morning detailing areas they’d like to focus on, including:
•Lessen dependence on fossil fuels by promoting more biking and walking trails.
•Creation of a local rideshare network.
•Establishing a “localized food network” of local produce growers and purveyors.
•Increasing awareness of energy scarcity among students in schools.
•Emphasizing and recruiting “green” companies to create jobs in those sectors.
Participants were asked to draft a list of top priorities, which will be revisited and reviewed every six months for the next four years.
Though Senum is Nevada City’s vice mayor, the Community Congress received no funding or endorsement from the city of Nevada City. Sponsors of the event included Power-UP NC, SPD supermarkets, Telestream and Plan It Solar and the Outside Inn of Nevada City. Senum said the event cost about $8,000 to stage, and the money came from grants and sponsors.
“My feeling is that we do something exponential, or I will walk away and enjoy the rest of my life,” Senum said.
After a morning of describing the roadblocks to creating an environmentally friendly community, the collective broke up into small groups to present solutions.
“When things get tough, when resources get scarce, a lot of communities will no longer be viable places to live,” said participant Mike Thompson. “We’re going to have to evolve into a world that can sustain itself for thousands and thousands of years.”
The city is already starting to do its part by installing solar panels on City Hall and other environmentally friendly ideas, said Nevada City Engineer Bill Falconi.
“If everyone does a little, everyone does their part, it can amount to a lot,” Falconi said.
The problem, Falconi said, is money. “If you can get by those hurdles, you can accomplish a lot,” he said.
To contact Staff Writer David Mirhadi, e-mail dmirhadi@theunion.com or call 477-4239.
More than 100 residents, city officials, environmental activists and a facilitator from Sacramento converged at the city’s first Community Congress, designed to set an agenda for reducing the city’s carbon footprint and reliance on fossil fuels. The Community Congress was organized primarily by Power-Up NC, a group dedicated to finding ways to create a sustainable living community.
“The issues we’re looking at are so challenging and so daunting, that the best thing we can do is tap into the collective brilliance of the people,” said Power-UP NC’s co-founder Reinette Senum, who hopes to make the event at the Miners Foundry a twice-yearly affair.
The group spent a morning detailing areas they’d like to focus on, including:
•Lessen dependence on fossil fuels by promoting more biking and walking trails.
•Creation of a local rideshare network.
•Establishing a “localized food network” of local produce growers and purveyors.
•Increasing awareness of energy scarcity among students in schools.
•Emphasizing and recruiting “green” companies to create jobs in those sectors.
Participants were asked to draft a list of top priorities, which will be revisited and reviewed every six months for the next four years.
Though Senum is Nevada City’s vice mayor, the Community Congress received no funding or endorsement from the city of Nevada City. Sponsors of the event included Power-UP NC, SPD supermarkets, Telestream and Plan It Solar and the Outside Inn of Nevada City. Senum said the event cost about $8,000 to stage, and the money came from grants and sponsors.
“My feeling is that we do something exponential, or I will walk away and enjoy the rest of my life,” Senum said.
After a morning of describing the roadblocks to creating an environmentally friendly community, the collective broke up into small groups to present solutions.
“When things get tough, when resources get scarce, a lot of communities will no longer be viable places to live,” said participant Mike Thompson. “We’re going to have to evolve into a world that can sustain itself for thousands and thousands of years.”
The city is already starting to do its part by installing solar panels on City Hall and other environmentally friendly ideas, said Nevada City Engineer Bill Falconi.
“If everyone does a little, everyone does their part, it can amount to a lot,” Falconi said.
The problem, Falconi said, is money. “If you can get by those hurdles, you can accomplish a lot,” he said.
To contact Staff Writer David Mirhadi, e-mail dmirhadi@theunion.com or call 477-4239.
