Check out past Cool Davis newsletters!
Cool Davis issues a general newsletter every other month beginning with the January/February issue each year. We also issue a special Earth Day newsletter in April and a special Welcome Back in October. If you're interested in writing a piece for us, contact newseditor@cooldavis.org. We welcome community volunteers!
2024
Jan/Feb 2024
Thank you from the Cool Davis board!
- Your Bank Account Could Be Your Biggest Footprint (video)
- Green Investing
- Yolo CAAP Workshops Excitement
- Opportunity in the Eye of the Storm
- Are you ready? Chat with the Chief (video)
- I-80 Teach-In Next Steps (video)
- Reducing Building Energy
- Yolo Commute
- MORE COOL STUFF
March 2024
Extreme Climate Temps Reveal Inequities for Unhoused Pet Owners
- Make a Plan: Zinsco Electrical Panels Must Go
- Portable Backup Batteries
- Green Investing Strategies
- New (Used) EV Rebate
- Atlantic Current Nearing Collapse
- Climate Anxiety to Action
- MORE COOL STUFF
2023
Nov/Dec 2023
EVs@thePavilion Another Roaring Success
- Variety Spices Electric Vehicle Life follow up article
- EVs@thePavilion by the Numbers follow up article
- SacEVs support of California Prop 30
- MORE COOL STUFF
Sept/Oct 2023
Yolo Earth Day Pledge Getting Busy!
- National Drive Electric Week Coming Up
- Barbie Movie: Don't Expect Perfection
- Natural Building Holds Huge Potential
- Global Action: Strike Sept 15
- Yolo County CAAP Survey
- Home Energy: Solar Tubes Brighten Rooms
- Back to School with Bikes
- Spin Bike Share Launched
- Emergency Preparedness: Listos CA Resource Hub
- UC Davis Fossil Fuel Free Plan
- Coastal Cleanup Day
- Inflation Reduction Act
- MORE COOL STUFF
July/Aug 2023
3 Weeks to Pledge & Online Share
- 3 Weeks to Pledge & Online Share
- Emergency Preparedness Mini Fair at Rancho Yolo
- New Energy Incentives
- Greening Finances
- Documentary: "To the End"
- Electric Transportation: DEVA Meeting Video
- Girl Scouts Climate Action Day
- DIY Air Cleaner
- MORE
May/June 2023
Pledge Launch Fun and Poetry: Photos and Videos from Earth Day Weekend
- Embrace the Pledge Challenge
- David Henry Breaux Rest in Peace
- Environmental Award Winners
- Did You Catch the Bus?
- Big Day of Giving May 4
- Climate Movie Circle "Landfall"
- Council Approves CAAP
- GM Shifts: Chevy Bolt to Be Replaced by Equinox
- Grannies Recruiting
- Ujamaa Farmer Collective
- Climate Review No. 8
- MORE COOL STUFF
- CORRECTION: The Ujamaa Farmer Collective is not a partnership of City, County, and UC but ... Core project partners include Kitchen Table Advisors, Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF), Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, the Center for Land-Based Learning, and the People’s Land Fund.
Special Edition Earth Day 2023
Earth Day Pledge: Embrace the Challenge
- Embrace the Pledge
- Earth Month Goings On
- Generosity
- Home Electrification
- Climate Movie Circle
- Bike the Loop
- New Board Member: Rekha Vaitla
- Not Too Late: Dr. Eric Chu
- Banking on Our Future
- Hate Free Together
- Vegan Chef Challenge
- MORE COOL STUFF
March 2023
Slow but Steady: The Transition to an All-Electric Home
- Rising Bills: Understand Your Bill
- Climate Movie Circle: "What the Health"
- Trash Talk: New Organics Rules
- Autumn Bernstein: Our Regional Transit Future
- Eco-Friendly Air Travel Options
- Cell Phone Life: Everything Has a Price
- Climate Strike: Youth Activists Lead the Way
- Banking on Climate Chaos
- Climate Review no. 7
- MORE COOL STUFF
Jan Feb 2023
Saving the Planet by Changing Where You Bank
- Climate Movie Circle: "Eating Our Way to Extinction"
- Cold Weather and EVs
- New UC Davis OLLI Class
- CPUC Slashes Solar
- We're Hiring
- Gratitude for Volunteers, Partners, Supporters
- Yolo County Climate Commission
- CARB Scoping Plan
- Climate Review no. 5
- MORE COOL STUFF
2022
Nov Dec 2022
Volunteers Making It Happen
- EVs@thePavilion was another roaring success
- Climate Movie Circle: "Gather"
- Davis Restaurants with Vegan Options: Update
- Why We Have to Electrify
- Rooftop Solar Tax Credit Boosted to 30%
- Welcome Sac Valley Climate Corps Fellows Welcome
- Treehouse Climate Action Poetry Prize
- Youth Activism
- Urban Forestry Plan
- Community Mercantile Grand Opening
- Biogas at the Yolo Co. Landfill
- Climate Review no. 5
- MORE COOL STUFF
Sept Oct 2022
Electric Trucks and Motorcyles
- EVs@thePavilion (electric trucks and motorcycles)
- Local Bike Touring with Michael Kluk
- Climate Movie Circle Launch
- Smart Electric Panels
- CAAP and Downtown Plan EIR Comment Periods
- East Coast Car Free
- Urban Forestry Webinar
- Extreme Heat
- Pakistan Floods
- Wastewater Hunt
- New Organics Rules
- Cartober
- Russell Blvd
- Climate Review no. 4
- MORE COOL STUFF
July Aug 2022
Serious about Bulk Products
- FREE Energy Upgrades w CHOC
- Talking Climate
- Divestment Update on SB1173
- Davis Picks It Up (Litter)
- SCOTUS Ruling
- EV Splitters
- Menstrual Cups
- The Night Market
- Per Capita Davis
- Ice Cream Ride
- Carbon savings graphic
- MORE COOL STUFF
May June 2022
Supercharging Highway
- Julie and Bill's Big Cross Country EV Adventure
- Swerve with Ellery Akers
- Ways to Save
- Electric Vehicle Fair at Methodist Church
- Stories: The Hot April Sun
- Big Day of Giving Reaches Goal
- Solar Celebration
- Loopalooza
- Drought
- CAAP Update
- MORE COOL STUFF
Earth Day 2022
Events and Generosity
- Earth Month Goings On
- Big Day of Giving
- Loopalooza
- Yolo Federal Credit Union
- EVs: DEVA meeting, Methodists EVs Show and Tell
- "Swerve" with Ellery Akers and Julia B. Levine
- Sustainability Stories (Jenny Zhong, Cameron Bonnell)
- Environmental Recognition Awards
- Chase Bank Action
- Resilient Communities
- MORE COOL STUFF
Mar / Early Apr 2022
Heat Pumps and Three Wishes
- Jenny Zhong Writing Intern Sustainability Stories
- Utility Rates Climbing
- Heat Pump Basics, FAQs, All-Electric Story
- Johan Makes National News
- Climate Review (no. 2)
- MORE COOL STUFF
Jan / Feb 2022
Clean Energy Homes
- Clean Energy Home Workshop video, incentives, resources
- Renter's Guide
- Solar Decision
- COP26, Cool Davis Coalition (Megan Phelps, Dan Sperling, Juliette Beck, Nick Buxton)
- e-bikes and EVs (DEVA meeting)
- Cool Davis Is Hiring!
- COOL STUFF
2021
Nov / Dec 2021
Movements Rising
- COP26 Change Happens When Movements Rise
- COP26 Coalition People's Summit
- Gov Newsom Climate Budget
- How to Decarbonize the Grid and Our Homes
- City of Davis CAAP Workshop
- Youth Climate Strike
- Chase Bank
- Fossil Free UC Davis
- Compassion and Courage from Board President
- National Drive Electric Week 2021 Follow Up
- NEM 3.0 Proposed Regulations Make Solar Less Financially Attractive
- Watering Restrictions
- Cool Davis Is Hiring!
- COOL STUFF
Sept / Oct 2021
EVs@thePavilion
- EVs@thePavilion
- Placemaking and Community Resilience: Mark Lakeman and Sascha von Meier present
- Bolt EUV Test Drive & Recall: EVs Still Safer
- Climate Strike: Fridays for Future
- Cool Davis Is Hiring!
- Greywater for Trees: Don Shor and Leslie Crenna
- Watering with Limited Supply
- New Board Member: Bapu Vaitla
- Tocando (Touching) by Harry Eldredge
- COOL STUFF
July / Aug 2021
Clean Energy Homes and More
- Clean Energy Homes Workshop
- Greywater Showcase 2021
- CAAP Workshops
- EVs Restart
- Drought
- Weave Your Braid
- BDOG Success
- Lisa Baker: New Board Member
- Extreme Heat Resources
- COOL STUFF
May / June 2021
Green Moo DealWatch the video
- Green Moo Deal
- NEM 3.0 - Rooftop Solar Challenge
- CAAP Update: Resilience and Equity Workshop
- Master Gardeners Tackle Climate
- Ken Kirsch New Board Member
Earth Day 2021
- eXCITING Earth Day 2021
- EV Incentives Shifting
- Cool Congregations
- Fire Ecology
- CAAP Update First Workshop
March 2021
Kim Stanley RobinsonWatch the video
Kim Stanley Robinson, affordable electric trucks on the way, be prepared: tap into your "Practical Prepper," time for a public bank, awesome volunteers
Jan/Feb 2021
Gratitude for incentives, donors, volunteers, warm homes, safe EVs, a resilient community, and naturalists.
2020
Nov Dec 2020
Facing the future with fierce determination, induction cooktops, resilience, and sunshine.
Sept Oct 2020
Driving on Sunshine is a week-long series of online, from-home events with community sharing opportunities slated for the week of September 26 to October 4, 2020, hosted by Cool Davis, the Cool Davis solar task force, the City of Davis, SacEv, and the Davis Electric Vehicle Association (DEVA).
Summer 2020
Cool Davis shares in the grief and anger of the black community at the ongoing institutional racism, implicit bias, and explicit racism that continues to perpetrate violence and injustice in our communities across our nation. We are here to listen, engage, and act. Please read our pledge to re-evaluate our practices and create a more inclusive movement. #blacklivesmatter
Earth Day 2020
Under the shelter-in-place directive, many of us are coming to grips with what it means to live, learn, and work at home. We are cooking more (hooray!), using more lights, and keeping ourselves cozy and comfortable for many more hours than usual.
March 2020
Used EVs are now widely available and a new grant makes them even more accessible! Scroll down to our new Cool Stuff section for details. Read more about Ken Beck's used 2016 Chevy Spark, too!
Jan/Feb 2020
One environmentally positive lifestyle change is simple, cheap, and constructive: reducing consumption of animal products. Engage in a discussion about the benefits of moving towards a plant-based diet and reap the rewards of scores of quality resources.
2019
Nov/Dec 2019
There are so many ways to make change. Everyone’s actions are needed! There’s no time like the present to get busy removing the fossil fuels from your life, your organization, and your community.
Youth and young adult leaders are bringing a new urgency and energy to climate action in Davis and across the globe.
New Staff: Welcome to Chrissy Backman!
"As Energy Campaign Field Coordinator, I'll be planning and facilitating activities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in our community."
Electric Vehicle Popularity Growing in Davis
More than 80 percent of participants reported their intention to buy an electric vehicle after the EVs@theMarket event this year. What a "great opportunity" one shared; it "should happen more often."
Sept/Oct 2019
Last year’s EVs@theMarket event logged 256 test drives of 10 new dealer vehicles, and 1078 conversations with 27 electric vehicle owners.
Welcome Erin Reddy!
Cool Davis is pleased to introduce Erin Reddy, our new Campaign Manager! Erin will be responsible for overall development, planning, and implementation of campaign strategy.
Girl Scouts Taking Action
After sending a request to the Davis School Board to develop their own resolution, Girl Scouts Troop 199 came to the Davis School Board meeting to voice their support.
July/Aug 2019
The work of several Cool Davis interns, expert reviewers and contributors, and dedicated staff has finally culminated in the posting of two new Cool Davis web pages. The Climate Change Impacts page, easily accessible from the home page, summarizes global and regional impacts down to one of the very specific, and very local impacts expected to hit our community the hardest: extreme heat.
Data around extreme heat in Davis paints the picture of a shifting climate from our current conditions to a local environment more akin to what we expect for Phoenix or Tucson, Arizona. The Climate Basics page provides an overview of some of the key points and data that indicate the atmosphere is changing and temperatures are rising as a result.
May/June 2019
Green Reach Code Milestone
The City of Davis announced May 20 that it is now requiring solar photovoltaics on all new non-residential buildings and any proposed high-rise, multi-family dwellings. This is the latest initiative taken by the City to keep Davis in a leadership position as a resilient, adaptive, and economically vibrant City.
Link to residential solar article: "Want to Add Solar Panels to Your New Home?" Before adding solar to your recently purchased home, here are five considerations. REMEMBER: Solar tax credits begin to sunset at the end of 2019. [Newsletter link was bad.]
Earth Day 2019
Burger Battle Surpasses Goal of 5000 Burgers Sold
The COOL Cuisine Burger Battle energized the Davis dining scene with some Earth Day friendly food this past March when downtown and UC Davis campus restaurants sold over 5,000 planet-friendly burgers to enthusiastic locals and a surprising number of out-of-town visitors.
Event organizers exceeded their goals for burgers sold (5,115). The percentage of burgers rated (16%) was more than double the percent in the Great Sacramento Vegan Burger Battle last June. Several restaurants more than doubled their sales of similar burgers and the competing burger was among top selling items for them as well.
March 2019
Chefs Feeling Creative and Competitive for COOL Cuisine Burger Battle
Chef Prajwal Bajracharya of Yeti Restaurant and Chef Arturo Gonzalez, of Smokin’ Ewe BBQ (at G St. Wunderbar) sharpen their plant-based cooking skills as part of the 2019 COOL Cuisine Burger Battle.
Ask for the special Burger Battle burger when you order!
RATE EVERY BURGER you taste!
Map of eateries offering burgers
Tasting teams registering all month
January/February 2019
Local Real Estate Agent Outfits Own Home with Energy Efficiency Retrofits
Standing in Claire's living area with the wet nose of the family dog in my hand, I noticed that despite all the windows and light in the room, the house was surprisingly cool. In fact, it felt as though an air conditioner had recently been shut off.
To learn more about how you can retrofit your home, plan to attend a Home Heating and Cooling Make a Plan Workshop on January 27 at the Davis Senior Center. Register now to assist Cool Davis with planning.
2018
November/December 2018
Cool Davis is thankful for the rain that cleared the skies and helped to fully extinguish the Camp Fire this past week. The Thanksgiving holiday was still tempered as Cool Davis volunteers and donors reflected on the impacts of the fire on our neighbors to the north.
Let's Talk About Food: Join the Davis Futures Forum December 5th at 7:00pm at Davis Community Chambers at 23 Russell Blvd to hear Paula Daniels, a pre-eminent expert on food policy, speak about her experience in L.A. as a sustainable and equitable food system leader in and for the City of L.A.
October 2018 SPECIAL
EVs@theMarket a Huge Success!
This year’s EVs@theMarket event far surpassed last year’s event. Conversations with electric vehicles owners numbered 1078. There were 27 owner-volunteers displaying their electric vehicles (three more than planned via a little squeezing-in). By the end of the afternoon, folks had been lining up for a total of 256 test ride and drives with 10 dealer vehicles.
September/October 2018
National Drive Electric Week is back! To celebrate, Cool Davis and DEVA are partnering with SacEV (and many more) to host the second annual EVs@theMarket event adjacent to the Davis Farmers Market. Take a slight detour from your normal market route, and find out what driving electric is all about! (Check us out first, then bag your groceries later.)
July/August 2018
Greywater systems hold immense potential for water savings in our community. Cool Davis working group Water Wise Davis is hosting its second Greywater Showcase this coming July with support from the City of Davis. Participants get a chance to win one of four laundry to landscape parts kits (a $75 dollar value) complete with complimentary professional consultation!
May/June 2018
Most people know that solar panels produce little on a cloudy day. But you may not have heard that even spotty or partial shade can negatively affect solar panel production a surprising amount.
If large trees cast full shade on your house most of the day, solar may not be in the cards. But for the much more common issue of intermittent or partial shade caused by branches, chimneys, or other small obstructions, the future is still bright.
Earth Day 2018
We live in a time of change. The impacts of climate change are affecting populations around the world as well as here at home. Whereas in the past the somewhat singular focus of the environmental community has been on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and sustainability, the spotlight now is on adaption and resilience.
Resilience has become a natural framework for emergency preparedness efforts and more recently for public health agencies. Now environmental and sustainability allies are joining forces in these other arenas to weave together a more comprehensive planning and readiness process.
March 2018
The 6th Annual Interfaith Climate Conference to be held March 10th is devoted to our life-giving trees. The conference – Deepening our Roots: Growing Resilient Forests – will feature two tree experts, one addressing how to create healthy urban Forests and the other examining the challenges facing our Sierra Nevada forests and how to protect them.
January/February 2018
Eighteen plus turned up to share successes as well as plans for the future at the Cool Davis Coalition meeting this past December 20, 2017, at the RepowerYolo office 909 5th Street (Indigo Architects), now the first fully net zero energy structure in Davis. Partner representatives, many of whom wear multiple hats both professionally and personally in our community, reported an impressive range of activities including a notable highlight: Mutual Housing of California’s Spring Lake housing development in Woodland (represented by Anne Marie Flynn, Community Development Officer) won an international award from World Habitat in 2017.