Developing A Common Sense Progressive 21st Century Blueprint for Mendocino County
At the October 2, 2021 Grassroots Institute - Climate Crisis Workgroup meeting, the group brainstormed ideas about what the elements of a blueprint would include. Here are the initial elements that emerged from that discussion.
At the October 7, 2021 Grassroots Institute meeting a workgroup was proposed to explore the development of a “Common Sense Progressive 21st Century Blueprint for Mendocino County.” Hopefully, the conversations at the October meetings will serve as a starting point to develop a broader community discussion about what Mendocino’s Progressive Blueprint needs to include: - Mendocino needs smart, efficient and effective progressive governance.
Strong progressive community organizations are needed to empower bottom up responsive democratic representative local government. Capable progressives should be encouraged and supported to run for and hold local elected office.
Local government must embrace open and transparent processes that enable the public to set government outcome goals, monitor the actions of local government to implement those goals and hold public official accountable for performance.
Local government needs to attract and retain the best talented and skilled people to operate local government.
Local government needs to utilize technology effectively and utilize proven best government practices to deliver the highest quality service, at the most economical cost to meet or surpass public needs.
Create a countywide Climate Change Resilience Agency with the authority and responsibility to initiate and implement coordinated effective climate action and to capture and deploy federal, state and other funding to facilitate such climate actions.
- Protect and promote Mendocino Forests to Mitigate Carbon Emissions.
Change Jackson State Demonstration Forest’s purpose from being a test site for lumber harvest practices to a research forest for green house gas sequestration and climate change mitigation practices.
Demand statewide legislation to tax corporate polluters sufficiently to pay the costs to economically sustain and restore forests for green house gas mitigation. (There are a host of policy options - carbon cap & trade, carbon tax, carbon fee and dividend, etc., - which could be used to dis-incentivize carbon emissions and promote zero or low emission alternatives.)
- Increase renewable non-polluting distributive electricity by expanding environmentally sustainable solar, wind and geothermal locally sourced generation and by building secure & reliable micro grid electrical distribution systems in Mendocino.
Enact policies that incentivize construction of solar & wind generator and battery storage systems. Tap local geothermal energy sources where environmentally appropriate.
Develop local micro grids that support distributive electricity generation using solar, wind and geothermal systems and battery storage.
Require local government to reduce carbon emissions to net zero.
Encourage businesses and consumers to reduce carbon emissions to net zero.
- Mendocino must become a substantially electric vehicle (EV) county over the next 15 years. To accomplish this task the county, cities and districts within the county must:
Install and maintain sufficient EV chargers distributed through out the county to provide adequate charging access to local residents, visitors and commercial EV users to economically charge their vehicles quickly and easily. The number and capacity of chargers should be sufficient to assure an EV recharge time of less than 20 minutes for a 100 miles of battery recharge.
Create polices and incentives for the purchase of EVs for personal, commercial and government use within the county.
Embrace policies that incentivize new businesses and the expansion of existing businesses to service and maintain EVs and EV chargers within
Mendocino county’s economy. Resist corporate monopolies that stifle local green economy innovation and growth needed to support EVs. - The county needs environmentally sound water management governance that insures residents have secure and adequate water supplies.
Inland farmer and ranching communities have already developed numerous local water districts that are already planning and implementing sophisticated water management strategies to overcome the challenges of climate change and to insure sustainable water supplies. Environmentally and socially equitable local initiatives should be supported.
Coastal communities and eco-systems are unique and require local water management strategies. Coastal water transportation, storage, treatment and recycling infrastructure investments have been severely under capitalized for decades. The coast needs its own regional water management agency to insure environmentally sustainable and socially equitable water supplies are adequate and economically affordable for all coast communities.
- Communities not corporations should drive the development of a green environmentally sustainable economy in Mendocino county.
Public infrastructure investments need to foster new local startups and expand existing green businesses that provide secure living wage and benefit jobs to all county residents equitably.
Communities must develop and support local workforce training for residents to acquire the skills needed in green industries locating and expanding in their communities.
Economic development initiatives must be tied to environmentally sustainable outcomes and pay prevailing wage rate or better compensation. Public infrastructure construction contact awards must require local workers get as many of the jobs as possible and that workforces reflect the demographics of the community.
- Protect and preserve Mendocino’s natural resources and eco-systems:
Promote eco-friendly tourism that insures public access to forests, headlands and beaches, but also protect the environment from damage and exploitation by users.
Plan and execute environmentally smart mitigation and remediation to confront the challenge of sea level rise.
Demand eco responsible waste management, recycling and reuse of all commercial and consumer goods and packaging.
Demand corporate polluters pay the full costs of cleaning up toxic sites and environments damaged by their use. This especially includes the Mill Site headlands in Fort Bragg.
Increase renewable non-polluting distributive electricity by expanding environmentally sustainable solar, wind and geothermal locally sourced generation and by building secure & reliable micro grid electrical distribution systems in Mendocino.
Enact policies that incentivize construction of solar & wind generator and battery storage systems. Tap local geothermal energy sources where environmentally appropriate.
Develop local micro grids that support distributive electricity generation using solar, wind and geothermal systems and battery storage.
Require local government to reduce carbon emissions to net zero.
Encourage businesses and consumers to reduce carbon emissions to net zero.
- Mendocino must become a substantially electric vehicle (EV) county over the next 15 years. To accomplish this task the county, cities and districts within the county must:
Install and maintain sufficient EV chargers distributed through out the county to provide adequate charging access to local residents, visitors and commercial EV users to economically charge their vehicles quickly and easily. The number and capacity of chargers should be sufficient to assure an EV recharge time of less than 20 minutes for a 100 miles of battery recharge.
Create polices and incentives for the purchase of EVs for personal, commercial and government use within the county.
Embrace policies that incentivize new businesses and the expansion of existing businesses to service and maintain EVs and EV chargers within
