Marin Clean Energy 101: Intro
Welcome to the story of Marin Clean Energy, our pioneering initiative to deliver renewable electricity to every business, residence, and government agency in our county. MarinCommunityEnergy.org is designed to complement and extend the efforts of the people in our government agencies, and our citizen activists, who have devoted so much of themselves to making clean, renewable energy a reality in Marin.
The intense combustion of fossil fuels by our species during the last two hundred years has given Planet Earth a rising fever, with no relief in sight. Unless reversed, this fever will continue to destabilize earth’s climate at an accelerating rate, creating what NASA scientist James Hansen calls “A different planet.” There’s a world of tragic implications in this statement.
But, here's some very good news. In Marin County, CA, thanks to the tremendous foresight of our elected officials, government staff, and dedicated citizen activists, we are on the verge of implementing an extraordinary local initiative for clean-green electrical power. It's call Marin Clean Energy, and it will lower our greenhouse gas emissions by up to 17%, across the board, within just a few years! As soon as it's implemented in 2009, Marin Clean Energy, according to its business plan, will provide electrical power to its customers from 25% renewable resources. This will quickly advance to 51%, at or below current utility prices. Customers will also be offered a 100% green power option for a small additional premium.
Marin Clean Energy is grounded in a 2002 California law (AB117), popularly known as Community Choice for Local Power. A number of other communities in our state are also well along in implementation plans for similar programs. It's looking increasingly likely that the Marin County model can serve as a template for other communities in California, and around the country. Marin Clean Energy is an organizing principle that can, in a relatively short time, bring democratic localization to energy production and distribution, electrical power price stability, provide clean energy for sustainable transportation projects, and dramatically increase our experience of community.
If you'd like to know more about Marin Clean Energy, and take an active part in Community Choice for Local Power, please start here. This Website provides much of the information you'll need, including official documentation of the Marin Clean Energy Initiative and other points of view, schedules of upcoming events, forums, blogs, calendars, links to other sites, and much more. Marin is doing something serious to preserve the planet we all love.
If fossil fuels are the metaphorical "Black Apple," here is a real break-through in policy and process for taking a huge bite out of it--quickly. Don't forget to spit!
