Come celebrate Earth Day and share your story with us Saturday April 13 from 10:00am to 12:30pm at the Mary L. Stephens Davis Branch Yolo County Library at 315 East 14th Street in Davis in the Blanchard Room! We are excited to welcome the community to join in the fun with displays, games, experts, and sharing focusing on the year of climate action. Test your speed with the Hang Dry Challenge or the Windshield Shade Twist.

We will also honor pledgers, volunteers, and experts who made the Yolo Earth Day Pledge successful. Representatives from the Yolo County Sustainability Team and Office of Emergency Services will be on hand with games and information. Special thanks to the Yolo County Library for providing our venue and carnival popcorn. EVERYONE IS WELCOME! Learning and fun for adults and kids.

Email coolsolutions@cooldavis.org for more information.

Drop in or RSVP

PLEDGE SURVEY RESULTS AS OF DECEMBER

 89% made progress on their pledges

26% finished all pledges for the year

 DIVERSIFY YOUR RIDE

43% fully incorporated

46% still working on it

11% having lots of emotions

GET AN ENERGY BOOST

46% fully incorporated

37% still working on it

4% having lots of emotions

EAT THOUGHTFULLY

54% fully incorporated

54% still working on it

0% having lots of emotions

GET INVOLVED

36% fully incorporated

46% still working on it

BUILD RESILIENCE

29% fully incorporated

57% still working on it

GREEN FINANCES

21% fully incorporated

50% still working on it

4% having lots of emotions

ADDITIONAL ACTIONS

  • Electric scooter incorporated into family members transportation options
  • Paid to plant trees and tried planting 2 on property
  • Replaced 2nd story windows reducing heat/cold loss
  • Trying to use bikes more often again, like I used to but weather is more challenging now. Did succeed sometimes though!
  • Thermostat turned down low. We wear sweaters, sit with blankets, wear knitted hats indoors, save ‘used’ water from rinsing dishes and use that water on plants.

Support Docs

46% Very helpful or Helpful

25% Somewhat helpful

Email tips and resources

18% Excellent or Very helpful

32% Helpful or somewhat helpful

Barriers

  • Options are not all readily practical nor cost effective as offered.
  • Between homes, visiting family, missed my chance to look through things
  • Cold weather makes it hard for me to get on my bike
  • Just generally swamped and worn out with work and kids.
  • Having meatless dinners was hard until I discovered the veggie egg scramble!
  • Other members of family might not be as enthusiastic.
  • Coordinating with my spouse on things like greening our finances and making large green energy purchases.
  • Financial – a lot of these actions require having funds to make changes
  • Mostly time. For example, committing to walk, bus or bike to errands means allowing more time.
  • Remembering my pledges? 😆
  • Heat pump conversion is expensive even after accounting for rebates and credits.
  • Was going to be fully electric by the end of this week, but contractor postponed, costing me incentives and extra cost to finance.
  • I’ve been working at these things for a long time, so finding ways to make more improvements can be tough and incremental.
  • Health issues of family arose that impacted meals
  • Financial is the most burdensome. Lack of financial resources for home transitions to electric and solar – and need more options for seniors to get around.

Benefits

  • Better home insulation
  • I feel happy whenever I do make progress.
  • inner encouragement to do more
  • Keep energy use pretty low in the home
  • Met some nice people at the Fridays For Future Climate Strike.
  • The progress I’ve made has contributed positively to my health through exercise and eating habits.
  • Very happy with my small electric car – I’m saving on gas money while helping lower emissions.
  • The benefit I notice most is using my e-bike instead of my car. It feels good for the environment, and also means my old car will last longer.
  • I’m eating better by reducing the high impact foods. (I switched to this from my initial pledge of going meatless 3x per week.) I feel really good about greening my finances and moving out of some of my investments.
  • Reduced energy bill this summer.
  • Walking more (now that I have mostly recovered from my hip replacements) has been really healthy for me.
  • Better energy usage.
  • Am getting a bit more exercise and have found younger neighbors who are willing to drive.

Future guidance

  • Guidance on replacing gas cooktop with electric induction stovetop.
  • More info on electric cars and heat pumps.
  • Information and grants for the area to help defray cost of making some big changes.
  • Get the city to be proactive in electrification of buildings.
  • Any kind of unusual hints for reducing driving or gas usage in the home (since I’m in an apartment, I can’t just switch to electric).
  • More options for seniors for transportation and help with funding and getting permits for going all electric and to get solar.
  • Computer based training
  • Send me more reminders

MEET MARK

THE PLEDGE MENU

PLEDGE MENU

  1. Diversify your ride

Transportation accounts for about 70% of fossil fuel emissions regionally and most of that is from combustion cars. Air travel emissions aren’t fully included in that pie!

  • Encourage 1x month at least 1 person to ride a bike, bus, or walk
  • Bike, bus, or walk to work, school, or errands 3x per week (or more)
  • Reduce air travel emissions
  • Buy and use an electric vehicle, ebike, or e-scooter as your primary mode of transport
  1. Get an energy boost

Increasing temperatures and more frequent extreme heat events are leading to even more critical demand for space cooling, resulting in outages and other related stresses.

  • Pre-cool your home during summer to avoid peak usage and rates
  • Open windows to cool your home at night during summer months
  • Hang your clothes to dry instead of using a dryer for 3 weeks of the month
  • Install a whole house fan
  • Get your attic insulated
  • Get rooftop solar with battery storage
  • Make a plan to electrify your home
  1. Eat thoughtfully

Simply reducing the quantity of meat you consume can have a huge impact. Animal agriculture contributes significantly to biodiversity loss, land deforestation, and land degradation globally. Food waste is also a serious problem.

  • Watch a documentary about plant based eating from our series or choose your own
  • Set up a monthly plant-based meal or potluck with friends or family
  • Eat a meatless meal 3 times per week
  • Avoid palm oil starting with reading labels
  • Strategize to minimize food waste
  • Give up or significantly reduce high impact foods like beef, pork, lamb, or dairy
  • Switch to a vegetarian or plant-based diet
  1. Get involved

Getting involved means a better future for everyone. Extend your impact and enrich your life!

  • Share about your pledge with 5 friends or family every month (talk about it!)
  • Start or join a neighborhood connecting, sharing, or safety group
  • Host a connecting event for your friends, family, neighborhood, church, or school
  • Volunteer with a climate or resilience organization, community garden, or school environmental club
  • Attend City Council and/or City Commission meetings for agenda topics related to climate and resilience
  1. Green your finances

Many commercial banks, companies, and funds perpetuate climate chaos by lending, investing, or engaging in new infrastructure projects or other environmentally damaging activities.

  • Learn about greening your finances and why it’s important
  • Move your money to an ethical and fossil-free bank or credit union
  • Open a credit card with an ethical institution and select an organization to support
  • Make a (significant-for-you) donation to a climate organization
  • Change your investments to be socially responsible and fossil free
  1. Build resilience

Resilience is the ability to persevere in the face of severe climate impacts and other societal disruptions and redefinitions. Resilient people and communities meet challenges with openness and turn them into opportunities.

  • Make a household emergency plan and kit
  • Make a commitment to learn about and act on climate injustices
  • Offer or ask for assistance from a neighbor
  • Begin a new self-care routine
  • Plant or adopt a fruit producing or climate ready shade tree
  • Replace grass with drought tolerant plants and drip irrigation

More information: www.cooldavis.org/pledge