Improve Buildings- Get Engaged
Improve Buildings- Get Engaged
Why?
When you are starting a new topic, it's great to find fun, informative, and impactful ways to get engaged.
If you are leading a Team, this is a great place to start when planning your Team Gathering.
Review your current energy usage
Here’s one way to find this information:
Go to your account on the PG&E website.
Click on “Energy Usage.”
Click on “Energy Usage Details” for an overview of your gas and electricity use. Click on the “Green Button” to download your data.
Then click on “Home Energy Checkup” and answer a few questions, and you’ll get a clearer breakdown on your top energy uses, as well as energy-saving tips.Map your most frequent destinations
Thinking about the trips you take frequently can help you figure out how to do them more efficiently. If you often drive a few blocks to meet friends downtown, maybe you can walk or bike instead. Or, if you have regular appointments in Marin, for example, you might check out the SMART train as your mode of transportation.
And, whether to fly or to drive – now, that is (often) the question! For shorter distances, driving makes more sense, especially if you’re traveling with others. That’s because during shorter flights a lot of fuel is spent while reaching altitude and descending. But for longer distances, flying actually has a slightly smaller carbon footprint per mile than driving, especially when traveling solo.
Our World in Data: Which form of transport has the smallest carbon footprint?
Get a home energy audit
To get an even better idea of your energy use, it may be worth getting a home energy audit. An independent Home Energy Score assessor, qualified by the US Department of Energy, collects information about your home during an inspection walk-through and scores your home on a scale of 1 to 10, providing you with information about the improvements you could make. This could be anything from adding insulation and sealing ducts to replacing outdated, inefficient appliances. Go here or here to learn more.
Make an electrification plan
Making an individualized electrification plan may seem daunting at first. How should you begin, especially since every home (and homeowner or renter) is unique? Fortunately, you have access to some great resources to help sort out the options, prioritize, and find trustworthy contractors and financial support.
Spend some time doing research, get acquainted with the lingo, and check out resources like the ones below. They may just help you take the plunge:
XeroHome. (Because Petaluma is a pilot city for the program, residents within city limits can get customized clean energy upgrade recommendations, as well as information about rebates for the maximum cost savings.)
Rewiring America: Electrify Everything in Your Home
Rewiring America: Go electric! (Now): Rewriting America’s Guide to the Inflation Reduction Act
Redwood Energy: A Pocket Guide to All Electric Retrofits of Single Family Homes
Watch/read/listen to learn more
DOCUSERIES: Home: Where Dreams Grow Like Grass
Home is a series about experimental ways of building homes and community spaces. Each of the homes highlighted in the nine episodes encompasses ideas that could benefit many people, save resources, and improve the environment. Available on Apple TV+.
VIDEOS: Reimagine Buildings
Are you interested in sustainable living, energy efficiency, and innovative building techniques? Reimagine Buildings offers a wealth of information and inspiration for anyone looking to build or renovate a home with the Passive House standard in mind. Passive House is a science-based design approach to energy efficiency in buildings, resulting in healthy, resilient, and clean buildings that require little energy for space heating or cooling. This channel provides a comprehensive overview of Passive House principles, as well as practical tips and advice for incorporating these principles into your own building projects. Available on YouTube.
MOVIE: Jonathan Scott’s Power Trip
Property Brothers co-host and home-renovation expert Jonathan Scott journeys all across the U.S. to uncover why clean, renewable energy isn’t available to all. His film illuminates the obstacles and opportunities that exist in creating a system that gives the public a wider choice when it comes to sourcing energy. Available on iTunes and AppleTV+.
MOVIE: The Water Crisis / National Geographic
Actor Adrian Grenier and National Geographic Explorer Shannon Switzer Swanson, explore the growing problem of water scarcity in the US. Are we running out of water? Shannon heads to the Colorado River to uncover solutions for the problems facing the region, while Adrian challenges himself to reduce his water use at home by an ambitious 30 percent. Available on YouTube.
MOVIE: Brave Blue World: Racing to Solve Our Water Crisis
Brave Blue World documentary paints an optimistic picture of how humanity is adopting new technologies and innovations to rethink how we manage water. From reuse to energy generation, innovations across five continents are explored in this documentary about building a future for sustainable water.
Individual/Family/Team Field Trip: Tour the Advanced Energy Center
Sonoma Clean Power’s Advanced Energy Center is a community-centric demonstration hub for learning about clean energy. Here you can see and learn about everything from induction cooktops to heat pump water heaters and more. Once you’ve taken a tour, check out their recorded workshops and articles in the Education Hub. And did you know that you can check out equipment and try it out for free? To sign up for a tour, go here.
Resource: Sonoma Clean Power: Education Hub or for tours Contact Us
Use your voice
Visit the Advanced Energy Center
You’ll find a wealth of information about clean energy at the Sonoma Clean Power website – recordings of past events and notices about upcoming webinars and classes as well as scores of articles and news reports about a variety of topics. In addition, you can use SCP Electrify! to figure out where to begin electrifying your home and how much you can save.
Sonoma Clean Power: Education Hub
VOTE! PLEASE, VOTE!
Tired of year after year of firestorms, atmospheric rivers, heat domes, polar vortexes, and megadroughts? THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO IS MAKE CLIMATE A TOP VOTING ISSUE!!! Tell your representatives that this is not an acceptable future for our children and grandchildren. Vote like the lives of everyone you love are at risk, because they are.
Write letters
We can't prevent all emergencies. But our local, state, and federal officials can take steps to minimize risks and come to the aid of residents after an emergency. For example, allowing building in floodplains doesn’t make sense for many reasons. Know who your representatives are and don’t be shy about letting them know what you expect from them.
And remember to also lead with gratitude, sending words of encouragement and thanks to representatives who have done good things. This is just as important.
Here is contact information for your government officials:
Assembly Member Damon Connolly
California Senator Alex Padilla
California Senator Dianne Feinstein
Talk to friends & family
Use the things you are doing and learning in this program as conversation starters. Even a little small talk around the water cooler at work might influence someone to follow your lead and do something to prepare for emergencies.
Help others take action
Not everyone has the resources or ability to take key emergency prep steps. Offer a helping hand by gathering supplies, assembling go bags, or sharing contact information, for example. After all, we are stronger together, Sonoma County! We have learned this the hard way, through fires and floods.
