Global warming has been a topic of concern for quite a while now and I think it’s time we get more serious about what to do about it as individuals and as a community. The scientists have finally come to a consensus that we are in a warming trend and that this warming has been magnified by greenhouse gases.
We have seen enough danger signs with the melting ice caps and weather extremes to recognize that we do have a problem. I believe the City has a responsibility to be an example to our residents by being more energy efficient and creating policies that will bring more awareness of this issue and reduce “greenhouse” effects.
Last week I had the pleasure of hosting a class of 3rd grade students from Foster City School. They walked to City Hall on a mission to share their concerns about global warming with me. They gave a brief presentation about this very serious issue and offered some very common sense suggestions for all of us.
Some of their thoughts were: Create car pools to reduce the number of autos on the road, have more bike to school /work days, encourage solar power in our homes, have alternative water sources, plant more trees and do more recycling to name just a few. It was obvious they had done significant research and were aware of the global warming effects and their impacts on the future. These children are definitely concerned about the world we are going to leave to them.
In addition to some of our existing policies we have set forward, I believe we can still do more. Foster City should join the trend towards more “green building” polices. With new development projects on the horizon, the green building approach will minimize environmental impacts by using less energy and water.
Last year the Council began taking steps in this global effort by reducing the fees for installing solar panels and requiring staff to replace city vehicles (when necessary) with hybrid cars. Foster City is already investigating alternative water sources and working on more recycling programs.
Global warming is real and if there are things we can do to minimize the problem then let’s do it! Let’s listen to our children. After all, the future is theirs. I will be bringing some of the students’ suggestions in front of the rest of the Council for consideration. I want to publicly thank Mrs. Wong’s third grade class for their research on global warming. A job well done !
Please contact me with your comments on this or other issues of interest. lkoelling@fostercity.org.
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