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Bay Area League Day – January 30, 2010

Almost 200 League members from the nine Bay Area counties gathered in Oakland on January 30, 2010 for the regional meeting on “Big Steps, Little Steps to Addressing Climate Change.” The keynote speaker was LaRonda Bowen of the California Air Resources Board. She explained that the Air Resources Board is the Board responsible for several initiatives that will affect climate change.

One of their important current responsibilities is to reduce sprawl and congestion as mandated in SB375 Redesigning Communities to Reduce Greenhouse Gases. This bill has started to help shape local jurisdictions reflecting more attention to global warming. Countries all over the world are lining up to take advantage of chances to make a cleaner more efficient future. SB375 was passed to ensure that Californian would plan for the future. The Air Resource Board is responsible for setting the targets. A first draft will be available by April and another draft in June and by September the proposals for adoption will be announced. So far the process is working, but there is a long way to go. When the draft document comes out in June, League members should use the Air Resource Board website to give feedback.

What most is significant in this initiative? The higher level of coordination among state, regional, local government. People have to change their minds and change their hearts so they will change their actions. Government agencies need the League to help in educating people about the actions they can take that make a difference. Cool California provides a toolkit that gives local communities ideas for reducing energy use. The one thing we cannot afford is to do nothing.

Steve Henninger of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission was the second speaker. He emphasized the importance of planning cleaner transportation. Transportation emissions are 14 percent of world total emissions. In the Bay Area, they are 41 percent. Tight emission standards are necessary but not sufficient. More dense development in our communities will reduce emissions because there will be less driving, but this is a slow process. Changes can be made by influencing the price of driving; this will get people to adjust their driving habits. The cost of gas and of tolls make people decrease their driving. Differential pricing of tolls during rush hours may encourage public transit.

Other speakers included representatives from the Governor’s Office of Planning & Research, Greenbelt Alliance, Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and the California Department of Housing and Community Development. During the afternoon session speakers representing local initiatives from San Jose, Berkeley, Sonoma County and San Francisco talked about what their local communities are doing. Papers from the session will be available on the website of the Bay Area League of Women Voters.

The urgency and importance of planning for climate change was summed up by Jeremy Madsen of the Greenbelt Alliance who noted that the Bay Area has 7 million people now and by 2035 will have at least 9 million. Growth has to be done right. Livable and sustainable communities mean that individuals across the social sectors must be able to lead healthy, active lives and have safe streets and strong local economies. We can choose to grow smart.  

Important California Legislation on Climate Change

AB 32 – Outlines major initiatives for reducing climate change or greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Learn More about greenhouse emissions>

SB375 – Redesigning Communities to Reduce Greenhouse Gases. Learn More about redesigning communities>

For further information about Climate Change Legislation, check the Air Resources Board website page on their Climate Change Program>

Discussion on the Health Care Crisis -

"IS THERE A CRISIS IN HEALTH CARE IN THE BAY AREA?"

The League forum “Is There a Crisis in Health Care in the Bay Area” provided a great deal of insight into the current state of health care in California, including the work being done on the bill SB810, which proposes a single payer system for California and is currently being promoted by Mark Leno’s office.

The 35 attendees heard the viewpoints of Patricia McGuiness, the co-founder and Executive Director of California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (http://www.canhr.org), Dan Hodges, the chair of Health Care for All-California (http://www.healthcareforall.org), Sara Elizabeth Rogers, a legislative consultant on health care policy for the California State Senate, and Richard Rubinstein, the General Consul for the San Francisco Health Plan (http://www.sfhp.org).

The forum was moderated by Roma Guy, a member of the Board of Directors of Health Access (http://health-access.org). The Education Committee will soon start planning their next event which will continue with the Health Care theme.