SUPPLEMENTAL REPORTS & COMMUNICATIONS I
Office of the City Clerk
City Council of the City of Napa
Regular Meeting
January 4, 2022
FOR THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NAPA:
AFTERNOON SESSION:
3. SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
3.A. Napa Schools for Climate Action (Napa S4CA) Presentation • PowerPoint Presentation from Students Emily Bit and Alisa Karesh of Napa S4CA. 1) Email from John Pearson received on January 4, 2022. 2) Email from Susan Crosby received on January 4, 2022. 3) Email from Jim Wilson on behalf of Napa Climate Now! received on January 4, 2022.
Napa
Schools for
Climate Action
Emily Bit and Alisa Karesh
Who are we?
Senior - American
Canyon High School
Emily Bit
Senior - Napa High
School
Alisa Karesh
Introduction
What is Napa Schools for
Climate Action?
● Composed of students,
teachers, local leaders,
and concerned citizens
● Working towards a goal of
reducing Napa County’s
emissions to net zero by or
before 2030
“No school should be
a silent witness to
the climate crisis.”
Our Mission
Fossil Free Future
1. Reduce Napa County’s reliance
on the fossil fuel industry
a. Corporate/societal issue not
a consumer one
2. Stop wrongdoing before we can
progress
3. No new gas stations - restrictions
on fossil fuel related development
Fossil Free Future
S4CA Assisted
Production
Are we losing faster than we are
gaining?
Therefore, be it resolved: that the Napa
City Council adopts a resolution
ordering a temporary moratorium on
approving any forest and woodland
removal until such time as the county
strengthens the water quality & tree
protection ordinance.
The Resolution
Not solutions, but
next steps towards a
brighter future.
Our Asks
Be conscious of our climate and our
youth (who will inherit this climate +
Earth) when making decisions.
Adopt a Resolution declaring a
Climate Emergency in Napa,
pledging to decrease emissions to
Net Zero by or before the year
2030.
Pledge your support to/adopt the
Resolution on Protecting Napa’s
Forests and Woodlands to Combat
Climate Change.
Implement a ban on new Gas
Station permits/development in
Napa.
[email protected]
[email protected]
Thank you for
your time!
@napas4ca
From:
Mary Luros
To:
Clerk
Subject:
Fwd: Please Support Schools 4 Climate Action Requests
Date:
Tuesday, January 04, 2022 7:23:23 AM
Mary Luros
Begin forwarded message:
From:
Lori Stelling <
>
Date:
January 3, 2022 at 11:54:11 PM PST
To:
Scott Sedgley <[email protected]>, Liz Alessio
<[email protected]>, Mary Luros <[email protected]>, Beth Painter <[email protected]>, Bernie Narvaez <[email protected]> Subject:
Please Support Schools 4 Climate Action Requests
[EXTERNAL]
Dear Napa City Council Members,
As I’m not currently attending public meetings in-person due to COVID, I just wanted to take a quick moment tonight to encourage you to support and take action on the requests that the students from Schools 4 Climate Action will present to you tomorrow. The time is now to quicken policy implementation on declaring a climate emergency and taking immediate and steady action to stabilize warming and give our children the chance at a livable future.
As I’ve shared in previous public meetings, I view the S4CA presentation, and similar presentations and demonstrations taking place in cities and towns across the world, as a “last ditch effort” by our youth to save their future. They understand what is at stake, that our time is up, and we must take smart, swift action now.
I urge you to meet this moment and make real climate policy change your legacy as public leaders. From my view, addressing our climate emergency is deeply intertwined with addressing issues of racial and social inequality. The most vulnerable on Earth are already experiencing the greatest climate impacts.
Please give our youth a glimpse of hope by taking real climate policy action in 2022.
Thank you for all you do to support our children and protect your community.
Lori Stelling
20+ year Napa Resident
Item 3A. Special Presentations
Item 3A. Special Presentations
From: Jim Wilson
To: Scott Sedgley; Mary Luros; Liz Alessio; Beth Painter; Bernie Narvaez Cc: Steve Potter; Tiffany Carranza; Alisa Karesh; Emily Bit; Lynne Baker; Marilyn Knight-Mendelson; Linda Brown; Chris Benz; Jim Wilson
Subject: Napa Climate NOW! support of Schools for Climate Action asks Date: Tuesday, January 04, 2022 1:08:35 PM
Attachments: NCN Letter to Napa CC for S4CA.docx
[EXTERNAL]
January 4, 2022
Dear Mayor Sedgley and City Councilmembers Alessio, Luros, Painter and Narvaez,
We are writing to you on behalf of Napa Climate NOW!, an organization of concerned citizens in Napa County, to urge you to adopt a Climate Emergency Resolution.
Such a resolution will put the city of Napa in good company with more than 2,000 cities and counties in the Bay Area, California, and around the world who now recognize that the pace of climate change is accelerating, posing a major threat to our homes, lives, and livelihoods. For instance, the City of Calistoga’s Climate Emergency Resolution, passed in August, calls for "immediate climate emergency action at all levels of government" and commits to joining "a growing list of communities committed to a goal of net zero climate pollution, measured in terms of net contribution to excess trapped heat, by or before 2030."
As you are aware, last summer, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change declared in its Sixth Assessment Report that it is “unequivocal” that humans have caused climate change, and reaffirmed that we are rapidly approaching the point of no return as global temperatures continue to rise and the earth’s natural systems which buffer the planet against further warming break down. UN Secretary-General António Guterres referred to the report as a “code red for humanity.” This is a true emergency that impacts every jurisdiction, large and small, at every level of operations – housing, air quality, health care, infrastructure, social and environmental justice, open space, industry, and of course, operating revenues.
There is nothing comfortable about confronting this challenge, and it will take courageous action to reverse course. This means making a meaningful commitment to doing no more harm, and to achieving net zero climate pollution by 2030. Climate change should now be one of the filters through which all policy decisions going forward are considered. It is, in short, a true emergency.
Our kids get it. Their entire lives are being shaped by it. Indeed, as the increasing wildfires, intensifying storms, deepening droughts, and unparalleled die-offs of ocean and land species are signaling, all of our lives are being shaped by it, even as we wake up, go to work, and go about each day as if things were normal. The problem with exponential change is that it is difficult to see day-to-day, but it means that yesterday is no longer a good indicator of what’s coming tomorrow.
There is particular power in declaring this as an “emergency.” All of the other jurisdictions that have wrestled with this language and its implications have come to the same conclusion.
The city of Calistoga is a case in point, providing for specific goals and actions within its resolution. By taking the lead on this important issue, the City Council of Napa will further empower the business community and its citizens to take the necessary steps forward.
In conclusion, we strongly endorse the Schools for Climate Action in its request for Napa to pass a Climate Emergency Resolution. NVUSD has already done so, and the science supporting urgent action with a goal of net zero climate pollution by 2030 is clearly on their side. Please take this step to reassure our next generation that Napa respects their right to inherit a livable world. We stand ready to assist you in any way we can to implement such a resolution in a way that benefits the residents of Napa.
Sincerely,
Lynne Baker, Co-Chair, retired nurse and grandmother
Marilyn Knight-Mendelson, Co-Chair, retired teacher and mother Jim Wilson, Steering Committee Member, retired quality assurance manager and grandfather Linda Brown, Steering Committee Member, third-party sustainability certification executive and mother
Chris Benz, Steering Committee Member, retired wine maker and grandmother