Sign up your household, answer a few questions, and earn points for Davis. Record your home energy bills from your PG&E bills in April and May (your March and April usage) and your vehicle use (year/model/make/license plate number and current odometer reading) to earn even more points.

“Signing up is a breeze,” reports Kristin Heinemeier. “It only took me 10 minutes since I knew to have my PG&E bills and odometer reading handy. Right off, I earned 181 points with my PG&E data, and I can’t wait to earn more points in the coming months.”

Remember the holiday lights competition in January? Citizens rallied to vote online every day for nine days to keep Davis in the lead. In this simple and fun competition, Cool Davis has a chance of winning $10,000 in this first phase. Then we go on to compete for the title of California’s Coolest City and an even larger prize. More importantly it will allow us to assess how Davis is doing in attempts to reduce our community carbon footprint.

May is Bike Month. The weather is finally perfect for leaving the car in the driveway and biking on errands and pleasure trips. Add a picture of yourself riding a bike to your Cool California profile and earn an extra 100 points for Davis.

In Davis, our transportation footprint is the real culprit, making up more than 50 percent of our carbon emissions. While we bike 22 percent of our trips, at this time of year there’s no reason not to double the number of bike trips.

In addition to earning points by lowering your vehicle miles driven in the Cool California Challenge, you can log on to www.mayisbikemonth.org and get credit for your biking miles plus chances to win prizes. It’s not too late to go back to May 1 and record miles biked so far this month. It’s healthy for you, it’s good for the air quality, it lowers our greenhouse gas emissions and it’s fun.

Meanwhile, join Cool Davis members at the Farmers Market on Wednesday evenings near the oak tree stage and Saturdays near the Farmers Market office for conversation about climate change and actions to take.

John Mott-Smith Credit: Davis Enterprise

This fortnightly column by John Mott-Smith is cross-posted from Davis Enterprise.

About a month ago, there was an article in the paper about the high temperatures in March in the United States. Of course, the usual disclaimer is still necessary: It’s not possible to draw a straight line between climate change and any one weather event. However, scientists have been warning from quite early on that one of the first observable effects of increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere would be “weird weather” characterized by more frequent extreme weather events, and, whether we “connect the dots” between them or not, we’re certainly seeing some humdingers.

Consider some of the following from a recent AP article about weather in the lower 48 states in March.

* Normally, the average temperature in the U.S. in March is 42.5 degrees; this year it was 51.1 degrees, almost 9 degrees above “normal.”

* More than 7,000 weather stations broke all-time high temperature records, and about an equal number broke overnight temperature records.

* Average January-through-March temperature records were 10 times higher than the “normal” fluctuation going back more than 100 years.

It’s fair to note that not everywhere in the world was as hot as the U.S. was in March, but I can feel my own temperature rising in the face of a report by the International Energy Agency that indicates the world is making poor progress toward the technology changes (primarily shifting away from coal) necessary to avoid the predicted 3- to 4-degrees Fahrenheit increase.

The report says we are increasing automobile fuel economy at only about half the rate necessary, there are as yet no “clean coal” plants operating anywhere in the world, new coal plants being built don’t even measure up to current efficiency standards, instead of doubling energy from nuclear power the world is producing less and we are not spending nearly enough on retrofitting existing buildings to be more energy-efficient.

Average January-through-March temperature records were 10 times higher than the “normal” fluctuation going back more than 100 years.

The only bright spot is that energy from renewable sources (wind, solar, etc.) is growing nearly 30 percent per year and is on track to meet its part of the IEA’s scenario for a solution.

But the reason I’m getting steamed is that there is a significant disconnect between the real world and the imaginary world of conspiracy theorists. On the one hand, the U.S. military, a conservative organization if ever there was one, is acknowledging and planning for the reality of climate change.

As an example, the arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet and the military task force on climate change has prepared an “Arctic Roadmap” that anticipates potential opportunities as well as security issues of an ice-free arctic.

Meanwhile, the state of Arizona is considering legislation (its state Senate has passed it and the bill is now in its House of Representatives) to confront what it perceives as a United Nations plot to “take away our rights as Americans by allowing the U.N. to mandate laws on our soil.”

According to supporters, the United Nations has “enlisted the support of numerous independent shadow organizations to surreptitiously implement this agenda around the world.” What are they talking about? A recent article summarized Agenda 21, the source of the conspiracy in questions, as a set of non-binding principles calling for “sustainable development, environmental protection, eradicating poverty, eliminating unsustainable production and consumption patterns, economic growth, and the participation of women in government decisions.”

Arizona is Arizona and seems quite far away. But a planning consultant friend of mine, who works on sustainability issues for communities throughout California, recently told me his experience: Conspiracy theory adherents are showing up at planning commission meetings, city council meetings and public forums all over California and they appear to be organized, funded, loud and disruptive.

We, as a country and a species, are not putting our best effort into protecting the future for the unborn generations that will come after us.

As my temperature rises I retreat to my own back yard where our maple tree is sending out its helicopter seeds like never before; the seeds have literally covered the ground. Botanists say that when plants are stressed (too cold, too hot or dry) they put all their resources into reproduction to ensure future survival.

Maybe that’s what is happening with our tree; maybe not. But it sparked a thought that we, as a country and a species, are not putting our best effort into protecting the future for the unborn generations that will come after us. A cautious, conservative, practical, pragmatic, common-sense approach would, I think, listen to the advice of the vast majority of scientists and even if harboring some skepticism would acknowledge the risks and the need for action.

I’d like to think we are at least as smart as a tree.

Protestors on the levees threatened by climate change. Credit: Sac Bee

Davis proudly took part in a powerful and moving global event that US environmental journalist Bill McKibben called “one of the last best chances to educate our civilization about climate change.”

With thousands of communities worldwide, Davis joined Climate Impacts Day to draw attention to the impacts that are already taking place because of climate change, and to connect the dots between climate change and extreme weather.

Demonstrators on top of the 100+ year-old levee of packed earth that is subject to overflowing and failure in the kinds of heavy rainfall anticipated with climate change for this region. Credit: Rik Keller Photography

Between 40 and 50 Davisites of all ages met in the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area at the base of the levee this morning at 9:00 a.m. dressed in raingear with umbrellas and carrying signs such as “Don’t flood our future,” “Slow Climate Change Now,”  “Climate Change = More rain = failed levees = Flooding,” and many more. Rik Keller, a local professional photographer captured the event: see all the photos on his website: rikkeller.com

Dr. Howard Spero, chair of the Department of Geology speaking at the levee event. Credit: Rik Keller Photography

Two speakers addressed the crowd:  Dr. Howard Spero, chair of the Department of Geology, spoke of the serious threat of climate change in broad terms, and the need to reduce our Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere back to 350 parts per million.  Then Don Saylor, Yolo County Supervisor pointed out that we were standing at ground zero for our area at the levee and went on to discuss the imminent dangers we face with potential levee failure and plans to make improvements.

High winds ripped the three 8-foot long wave murals with bright orange dots in the center of each as participants moved up the levee to the top.  The murals were designed by and created under the guidance of  local muralist Danielle Fodor.

The Davis event was just one of thousands of events that took place on May 5 2012. It is worth visiting www.climatedots.org to see the moving and powerful testimony of how climate change is already affecting our planet and those of every creed and colour who are standing up and demanding action.

TANDO ALLAH YAR, PAKISTAN -- Women hold a dot outside of the temporary structure that they have been living in since the devastating 2010 floods destroyed their home. Photo: International Organization for Migration (IOM) Pakistan

The Davis event was covered by lots of the local media including:

• Sacramento Bee which did a story and a photo-gallery
• News10
• Capital Radio

You can see a full photogallery at rikkeller.com and video clips of the event on youtube

Davis climate rally in October 2009

At 9:30am on Saturday May 5, a Flash Flood Mob will converge on top of the levee at the Yolo causeway with umbrellas, a banner of lapping waves and orange dots symbolizing heavy rain storms and flooding.

Please come and connect the dots between climate change and extreme weather! And be part of a global “Climate Impacts Day,” an effort led by international climate campaign 350.org that will bring together over 1,000 events in 150 countries

Come along and make your voice heard

To join the Flash Flood, meet on the top of the levee on the south side of I-80 at the entrance to Yolo Basin Wildlife Area at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 5.  From Davis take the frontage road along I-80 heading east toward Sacramento to the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area (the last exit heading east before entering the causeway, 6.25 miles from downtown Davis).  Bikes and carpools recommended.  See www.yolobasin.org for map and directions.  Photo at 9:30 a.m. sharp!

Everyone attending is invited to bring signs such as “Slow climate change!” and “Less CO2 = less flooding risk,” they will connect climate change to the very real local threat of flooding if our 100-year-old earth levees overflow or fail in increasingly strong storms.

Be part of a global action

The creative demonstration will be part of a global attempt to “connect the dots” between local changes, like extreme weather events, and the broader climate crisis.  The events will dramatize that climate change is no longer a problem for the future, but an immediate crisis that is already effecting millions of people around the world.

Climate Impacts Day is hosted by 350.org, an international grassroots climate campaign. Visit www.climatedots.org for more information.

The more we can do to slow climate change by reducing our carbon footprint and to prepare for the likely impacts of extreme weather, the better. (Lynne Nittler)

“We hope lots of concerned people turn out,”  said Lynne Nittler, organizer of the Flash Flood and member of the Cool Davis Initiative, a group dedicated to lowering the greenhouse gas emissions of Davis.  “We’ve been fortunate so far to escape any disastrous local effects of climate change, but the one degree warmer global temperature holds 4% more moisture.  That leads to more heavy deluges that increase our risk of flooding.  The more we can do to slow climate change by reducing our carbon footprint and to prepare for the likely impacts of extreme weather, the better.”

The real and present danger of climate change for  Davis

In his 2011 book Hot:  Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth, northern California journalist Mark Hertsgaard devotes a section to the Sacramento region.  He writes, “Many places in California are also very susceptible to flooding, starting with the state capital itself, Sacramento.  Stein Buer, the executive director of the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency, told me Sacramento was even less protected than New Orleans had been before Katrina.”

The runoff water from the 27,000–square-mile watershed of the Sierra Neveda must squeeze by Sacramento on its way to the sea, and only packed earth levees built over 100 years ago protect the city against flooding.   The Yolo Bypass spillway, the site of the Davis climate action, allows an excess flow of up to 500,000 cubic feet per second from the flood-prone Sacramento River to be diverted when necessary, significantly lowering the risk of downstream damage.

Over the last year, heat waves, flooding, drought and other extreme weather events have helped raise awareness of climate change around the world. From torrential rains in Central America, to terrible drought in the United States and Russia, to devastating flooding in much of Asia, millions of people are already feeling the effects of the climate crisis.

Tell politicians to kick the fossil fuel habit

People everywhere are saying the same thing: our tragedy is not some isolated trauma, it’s part of a pattern. It’s time for the fossil fuel industry to take responsibility for the damage its carbon is causing, by cleaning up its act before this spreads any more widely.” (Bill McKibben)

Author Bill McKibben, the co-founder of 350.org who spoke at UC Davis recently, wrote The End of Nature, the first book about global warming for a general audience in 1989.  Even then, he contends, we knew enough to stop adding more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, but instead, we increased emissions.

“We just celebrated Earth Day. May 5 is more like Broken Earth Day, a worldwide witness to the destruction global warming is already causing,” said McKibben. “People everywhere are saying the same thing: our tragedy is not some isolated trauma, it’s part of a pattern. It’s time for the fossil fuel industry to take responsibility for the damage its carbon is causing, by cleaning up its act before this spreads any more widely.”

Solar panels — similar to this array in Solano County — would be used along with wind power sources to provide customers with a new ‘Green Option’ for an additional “modest” premium. Courtesy photo

Reposted from Davis Enterprise

PG&E may soon make “going green” a little easier for its customers.

On Tuesday, the utility went before the California Public Utilities Commission to formally propose a “Green Option” program that, if approved, would allow PG&E to offer 100 percent renewable energy to its customers for an additional “modest” premium added on to their monthly energy bill.

“On behalf of our customers, PG&E is already one of the largest suppliers of renewable energy in the country,” said Helen Burt, PG&E senior vice president and chief customer officer in a news release.

“We have heard from many of our customers, however, who want to do even more to support clean energy and the green economy. Our Green Option, backed by an independent third-party’s environmental certification, will give them that choice.”

PG&E hopes the CPUC will rule on the proposal by early 2013, so that it may roll out the program as soon as possible.

Customers on regular PG&E plans already receive more than 50 percent of their energy through renewable sources, free of greenhouse gas emissions, said Jan Berman, PG&E senior director in customer energy solutions Tuesday.

The new program would draw energy primarily from wind and solar sources.

“Customers will be able to sign up immediately through our call center or other options,” Berman explained. “As soon as they sign up they will see about another $6 a month (on their bills).”

Though, that $6 charge is an estimated average premium for the service. The cost depends on the customer’s kilowatt usage per month.

PG&E also believes that the program makes “going green” affordable for those who don’t have the means to reconfigure their homes to accommodate renewable energy technology, but that are mindful of the environment.

“Over time, PG&E is committed to acquiring renewable energy for all its customers,” Berman added.

PG&E also has been working with municipalities throughout California to garner support and to collaborate with city leaders, including Davis Mayor Joe Krovoza, in order to make the program a success.

“The PG&E Green Option will empower citizens to participate in California’s low-carbon energy future,” Krovoza added in the news release.

“Consumer engagement in renewable energy moves us one step closer to stabilizing the Earth’s climate — which will require an 80 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2050. Consumer investment in clean energy supplies will accelerate their interest in the equally important need for demand reduction and the overall efficient use of our limited low-carbon energy supplies.”

To ensure customers that they are receiving 100 percent renewable energy, PG&E says it will buy “renewable energy certificates” to match the portion of each participating electric customer’s energy that is not already covered by PG&E’s eligible renewable energy deliveries.

“These certificates represent proof that specific quantities of electricity were generated from renewable sources such as wind and solar,” the news release said. “PG&E will take steps to certify the Green Option through Green-e Energy, a program of the nonprofit Center for Resource Solutions in San Francisco. It is the leading certifier of voluntary renewable energy programs in the United States.”

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corp., is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States.

John Mott-Smith Credit: Davis Enterprise

This regular column by John Mott-Smith, a member of Cool Davis, is reposted from the Davis Enterprise

Bill McKibben, founder of the 350.org movement, spoke at the university on Monday. The place was packed, with all 400 seats full. McKibben is a writer and author of “The End of Nature” one of the first, if not the first, book warning about climate change.

As I took my seat, I noticed a mom with her young daughter on her lap, their attentive profiles a picture capturing the generational significance of what McKibben was there to talk about: the urgency for action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This problem affects all of us.

I looked around some more; the audience was young, mostly college students taking time from their class schedule to hear a powerful message. This is encouraging to an old goat like me. As McKibben pointed out, the climate change issue is not simple; fossil fuels are at the very root of our economy and culture and change will not be easy.

And then McKibben started to talk. He made several points, some of which I summarize here, and he addressed a couple of key questions that I have about how to address global warming but upon which I remain unresolved. I found his comments sobering but realistic, not offering a guarantee of success for efforts to keep greenhouse gases in the atmosphere below dangerous levels but promising a good fight.

He pointed out that the picture of the Earth that we all have in our heads, the photograph taken from space by astronauts, is as out of date as his (or my — 1967) high school yearbook picture. We live on a different planet, one with much more acidic oceans and a very much more turbulent atmosphere where weird weather is becoming the norm.

One open question for me is whether it’s more important (effective?) to approach the issue at the grassroots level or from the top down; encourage individual action or, for example, require higher mpg standards for cars? He indicated that efforts on the individual and community scale are very important but they are not enough.

McKibben gave a lot of credit to Davis and its residents for the Cool Davis Initiative and for the political leadership to champion bike lanes, climate action plans and renewable energy. But, again, he said these are not enough.

In his view, the problem is bigger, time is short and we also need action at the national and international levels, two policy arenas where the fossil fuel industry appears to have stymied action. In short, keep doing what you are doing in Davis, but organize for the bigger picture.

He argues for the creation of a “movement” that encourages more individuals to make changes in their lives and in their communities, but also multiplies the effectiveness of this more widespread participation through focused political influence.

His 350.org activities over the past few years have been targeting that goal, and this year, on May 5, the effort will continue with events planned in communities around the world on the theme of “Connecting the Dots”; encouraging people to not view their weird local weather in isolation, but to see it as a pattern of global change.

It is those in the fossil fuel industry who are changing the chemical composition of the atmosphere who are the radicals.

McKibben advocates that every person participating in a public demonstration “wear a necktie or a dress” to convey that this is not a radical movement; rather, it is those in the fossil fuel industry who are changing the chemical composition of the atmosphere who are the radicals.

He advocates for a creative and fun approach to public events that makes a point and captures the public’s (and media’s) imagination. For example, taking a page from NASCAR where drivers wear suits with labels identifying their sponsors, his group is sewing coats and jackets with logos of fossil fuel companies and presenting them to members of Congress who don’t support efforts to reduce emissions.

Overall, McKibben painted an exceedingly bleak picture and called for urgent action, but not all actions. He addressed the second of my unresolved issues in response to a question about whether nuclear power should be a part of the answer to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

He basically said the question is moot; nuclear power is too expensive (“it’s like burning $10 bills to produce electricity”) and is not a realistic choice. Instead, he argued for energy efficiency, saying this should be easy for us in the U.S. because we waste so much it wouldn’t require much sacrifice to use less.

Once we’ve reduced energy consumption to a more reasonable level, McKibben thinks we should greatly increase “solar thermal” for our hot water needs. He pointed out this is not new, technically difficult, or expensive and that Jimmy Carter had installed a solar hot water system on the White House when he was president (removed by President Reagan).

Most importantly, we should pursue “distributed generation,” a wonkish term for rooftop or community-scale solar for our electricity needs. In his view, larger-scale projects that are “too big to fail” are really just too big. Their size creates vulnerability by essentially elevating a problem (failure of a solar panel on a roof top) to a catastrophe (a nuclear plant melting down or even just going off-line).

• Launch of Cool California challenge
• Welcome to new partner: I-House Davis
• Report on YERT film night
• List of latest Cool Davis partners

>Download your copy here (PDF)

Davis mayor Joe Krovoza speaking at the launch of Cool California Credit: Allison Thompson

This edited article appeared in Sacramento Press and covers the launch on April 3 2012 of the Cool California challenge and the participation of Davis, Sacramento and Citrus Heights

Mayor Kevin Johnson spoke at his weekly press conference on Sacramento’s commitment to the Cool California Challenge and the 30,000 Trees in 30 Days campaign. Both of these commitments, he said, go toward his vision of turning Sacramento into “Emerald Valley,” the greenest region in the country.

The Cool California Challenge is a competition between cities in California. Residents of participating cities sign up online to track their carbon footprints. Signing up earns 100 points, and every energy-saving activity tracked earns additional points.

Johnson said that Sacramento needs 1,000 residents to pledge because he wants to win the challenge.

The mayor of Davis, Joe Krovoza, and the mayor of Citrus Heights, Jess Slowey, spoke at Johnson’s weekly press conference.The three cities are working together in the Cool California Challenge.

Krovoza said that Davis, Citrus Heights and Sacramento are going to lead the way in the challenge.

Slowey said, “One of the things we’ve always struggled with in Citrus Heights is how to engage the community.”

He said the city just recently went through a general plan update and put its greenhouse gas component in that plan, but that the plan didn’t excite people.

“This challenge will bring out necessary means to get folks involved,” Slowey said.

Johnson said that Sacramento doesn’t care who wins the 12-month Cool California Campaign but that, “we want to make sure northern California certainly has one of the top cities.”

The 30,000 Trees in 30 Days campaign began on March 7 and ends on Sunday. The campaign is in celebration of the Sacramento Tree Foundation’s 30th anniversary.

Sacramento residents can log onto the website to donate money, pledge to plant trees and get information about planting trees. Approximately 27,000 trees have been pledged so far.

PG&E donated $25,000 to the campaign to go toward the purchasing and planting of trees in Sacramento.

Jimmy Harris, a manager for PG&E, spoke at the press conference about PG&E’s commitment to the campaign.

John Mott-Smith Credit: Davis Enterprise

John Mott-Smith is a member of the Cool Davis Initiative core group. This article is cross-posted from the Davis Enterprise

I really appreciate readers sending ideas for columns. Other ideas come from meetings, talks, conversations on the street and out of thin air. Although it may not be obvious from the columns I write, many take some thinking about, and I keep these ideas in mind for the future.

Some folks offer an interesting factoid, or short news item, not enough for a column. This last group I collect and periodically string together into a single column, like today’s, generally around something approaching a theme, in the hope others might find them as interesting as I do.

* Bike facts: At a recent talk, Bob Androsca, executive director of the Yolo Transportation Management Association, let fly a few startling facts. One, with direct relevance to recent events in Davis, is that a single automobile parking space can accommodate roughly a dozen bicycles.

A single automobile parking space can accommodate roughly a dozen bicycles.

The city has been taking this to heart in our downtown, converting a few car parking spaces to bike parking. This seems like a win-win idea, and I notice that almost all the bike parking stations are full during the day, and many in the evening, which must mean that people are finding it easier to visit downtown on a bike and businesses are seeing more customers.

Other interesting statistics from Androsca’s talk indicate some of the advantages that could accrue from implementing on-street bike parking, including: It’s possible to manufacture 100 bicycles with the energy required to produce one mid-size automobile and, the obvious, riding a bike creates zero greenhouse gas emissions, compared to about 20 pounds for every gallon of gasoline used by an average car.

* Sidebar: Speaking of average cars, the new mpg standards appear to be working: Fuel economy of new cars purchased nationwide in 2011 improved from 21.7 mpg to 22.2 mpg. This may seem like a small improvement, but there is more to come as the standards increase.

Still, even this small improvement of a half-mile per gallon translates into a reduction of gasoline consumption of an estimated 215 million gallons which, at today’s prices at the pump, saves motorists about a billion dollars.

* Back to bikes: Before Androsca’s talk, I didn’t really know much about the Yolo Transportation Management Association or the work it does to encourage employers to encourage employees to commute by bicycle. For example, it turns out more than half of all American workers live within 5 miles of their workplace and the IRS provides a tax incentive for employers who help employees purchase, maintain, repair and store bikes for the purpose of commuting.

And, because sometimes it rains, or is too hot, or the employee has to stay late, or for some reason it just wasn’t convenient to bike to work that day, workers whose employers participate in YTMA programs are eligible for free taxi or rental car rides up to six times a year. YTMA also distributes (free) bike baskets through participating employers.

For more information, contact Androsca at (530) 554-9400 or bob@yolotma.org.

* Speaking of parking: A couple of days ago I was driving in downtown Davis at my usual snail’s pace when I had to swerve suddenly to avoid a car backing out of a parking space. The driver wasn’t doing anything wrong: He or she (I didn’t have time to look) just couldn’t see oncoming traffic without getting his/her car almost halfway out of the parking space. It was an accident narrowly averted and made me wish the city would, once again, consider “reverse diagonal parking” as an option for downtown.

The title sounds weird and different, and change is always somewhat difficult. But once you try it you can’t help but be impressed by its elegant simplicity, and wonder why this hadn’t been implemented before. It just makes common sense. It’s safer for bicycles and cars and is calculated to actually increase the number of parking spaces in the downtown.

* The last bit (for now) on bikes: One of our intrepid county supervisors, Don Saylor, included a message about “Bikes for Wellness” in his regular newsletter. This program collects bikes from people who no longer want or need them, fixes them up and provides them, along with a helmet and a lock, to people with mental illness so that they have a source of independent transportation to and from activities.

As Saylor states in his newsletter: “If you want to volunteer, donate, get more information or are someone living with mental illness who could use a bike, please phone the Yolo National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) helpline at (530) 756-8181 or visit www.namiyolo.org.”

* End note: I have a “Careful Reader” who is an excellent reviewer of my articles, pointing out errors, omissions and occasionally offering perspective. He isn’t a natural-born bike rider; in fact, he much prefers a car, and often makes gentle fun of my focus on bikes as some sort of silver bullet for greenhouse gas emissions reduction. But, he is pragmatic.

Perhaps the best news of the month was that, due to an upcoming change in his commute, he’s looking for a foldable bike to combine with his train ride.

Alan Pryor has solved the problem of an exposed southwest wall with a customized shade he devised himself. He puts it up in the summer and takes it down in the winter when he wants the sun's warmth on the building.

The CoolCalifornia Challenge began today on April 2 2012. In the next few months, we’ll find out just how cool we really are in Davis, one household at a time.

“It’s a fun competition,” says Chris Granger, one of the key Cool Davis organizers. “Every individual or household can sign up online now. Over the next few months, they will record their household energy use and transportation practices. It’s like taking your temperature.

“As enough citizens sign up, we’ll get a baseline on how we’re doing in Davis.”

At stake is the city of Davis’ chance to earn the coveted title of Coolest California City against the competing cities of Sacramento, Citrus Heights, Arcata, Pittsburg, Pleasanton, San Jose, Santa Cruz, Santa Monica, Chula Vista and Gonzalez. Every household that signs up earns points for Davis in the challenge.

Alan Pryor can’t wait to sign up. He’s done all he can to retrofit his South Davis home and lower his greenhouse gas emissions. Pryor will earn points for converting both lawns to fruit trees and an extensive vegetable garden fed by home-made compost. He grows 100 percent of the household’s annual fruits and vegetables on a timer-controlled drip line system.

He went all out on energy conservation with fluorescent and LED lighting, double-paned windows properly covered, a whole house fan and more before he invested in solar panels and a solar hot water system that cover 100 percent of his electrical and 70 percent of his hot water needs.

“Once I started, I couldn’t stop,” Pryor says modestly, holding up his impressive list of 29 actions in the areas of energy production, energy conservation, toxics and waste reduction, water conservation, food production and transportation energy reduction.

But, he says with a grin, “It wasn’t completely altruism. My investments in energy conservation and sustainability were actually the best guaranteed economic investments I could make. My annual savings on the various improvements in our home were almost always greater than 10 to 20 percent per year based on the installed cost of the improvement.”

Pryor passes the cool test with flying colors.

Mark and Maria Tebbutt enjoy their garden, which includes 30 fruit trees, vegetables and chickens as part of their plan to reduce their energy use. Their landscaping is drought-tolerant to conserve water.

Maria and Mark Tebbutt have enjoyed examining their lives for ways to conserve, too. Like Pryor, they tackled energy conservation first in their early 1970s home by adding ceiling insulation, dual-paned windows, a radiant barrier, a gas fireplace insert, a whole house fan, a portable water air conditioner, a shady grapevine wall on the west side, a removable south-facing shade structure and more.

They removed the lawn in favor of a veggie garden and 30 fruit trees that supply a substantial part of their food, along with fresh eggs from their chickens. Waste for the landfill is minimal as they buy food bulk at the Davis Food Co-op, avoid packaged foods, use cloth bags and compost.

They even adopted a miniature pet to reduce impact on the environment. The photovoltaic system is an added bonus to their energy-efficient household.

Maria Tebbutt claims, “I wouldn’t feel right living any other way. I continue to look for more ways to live sustainably because I want to save resources for my daughter’s generation and those that follow her. Besides, I love the challenge!”

Sharon Hale and Dawn Student share an older home in East Davis, and they’re eager to sign up online to find out how cool they are.

Frugality and the need to tread lightly on the Earth have motivated them to reduce their impact by replacing older appliances with Energy Star models; installing a tankless hot water heater with a recirculation pump; turning off all appliances not in use; lowering the thermostat in winter; composting; adding a whole house fan, a ceiling fan and a solar tube; substituting LED light fixtures and more.

In 2007, their annual carbon footprint was 30,532 pounds of carbon. Thanks to their conservation efforts, it dropped to 21,791 pounds of carbon by 2011, compared to the Davis average of 78,000 pounds. Their PG&E bill now averages $55 per month, down from $76.

Sharon Hale and Dawn Student have taken converted their lawn to drought-tolerant plants. They also drive a Prius, reflecting several steps to reducing their carbon footprint.

“A low carbon life is our way of life now,” says Hale, eager to discover her next step.

Pryor insists, “What produced the largest savings were the easiest, most obvious changes. If everyone in Davis commits to just a few steps, we can make a huge impact.”

Granger adds, “After thoughtful efforts and cost-effective investments over time, these profiles show what is possible once you accept the challenge of reducing your household energy use.

“Moving toward carbon neutrality is a process and the CoolCalifornia Challenge is your opportunity to check in as you are and begin the process of shedding carbon.”

Sign-ups begin Sunday, and every household counts. Visit www.cooldavis.org/challenge for details. Send ideas for future profiles to info@cooldavis.org.

— Lynne Nittler is a Davis resident and an active member of the Cool Davis Initiative.