Solana Beach, it's Time to Throw the Switch!
Op-Ed by Lane Sharman, Co-Founder, San Diego Energy District
The City of Solana Beach - its leaders and engaged citizens - are the first to get real things done in San Diego County. The first to ban single use plastic bags. The first to produce a Greenhouse Gas Inventory report. The first to adopt a Vision Statement of Zero Waste, Zero Emissions and Water Governance. So, it should come as no surprise that the City will become the first in San Diego County to enact a Community Energy Program - If it takes action soon.
Here’s the roadmap:
There are tons of explanations for why San Diego is stuck in the mud while the rest of the State is surging ahead -- including the Counties of Marin, Sonoma, Napa, San Francisco, Contra Costa, Humboldt, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, Yolo, Lake, Los Angeles, and a slew of small cities including Lancaster. Many of these explanations can be traced to the outsized influence of the San Diego Gas & Electric monopoly on politics in and around San Diego. It’s time for SDG&E to embrace a new business model with a future of innovation and clean energy, instead of working backroom deals to thwart the public’s desire to adopt a Community Energy Program in order to walk the talk about Zero Emissions. It’s time to throw the switch. In Solana Beach. Time and a rising tide wait (literally) for no man, woman or community! Lane Sharman Founder, Borrego Water Exchange Co-Founder and Board Chair, San Diego Energy District Author, Environmental Vision Statement of the City of Solana Beach Past Chair, Solana Beach Clean and Green Committee Member, Solana Beach Presbyterian Creation Care Team Member, Citizens Against Freeway Expansion CFO, Transform Realty Partners |