CORRESPONDENCE
. PASADENA
CITY COLLEGE
January 25, 2023
Mr. Miguel Márquez
City Manager
City of Pasadena
100 N Garfield Ave. Room S228
Pasadena, CA 91101
Via electronic mail
Dear Mr. Márquez:
Enclosed please find a resolution passed by the Board of Trustees of the Pasadena Area Community College District during its regular business meeting on January 18, 2023.
Please take whatever steps may be necessary to transmit this resolution to members of the City Council of the City of Pasadena.
Thank you,
Eita Endy
Erika Endrijonas, Ph.D.
Superintendent/President
Cc: Sidney Jackson, General Manager, Pasadena Department of Water and Power Laarni Daza, Senior Executive Assistant, Office of the City Manager Susanna Castro, Executive Assistant, Office of the General Manager, Pasadena Department of Water and Power
1570 East Colorado Boulevard • Pasadena, California 91106-2003 • (626) 585-7201 RESOLUTION NO. 753
PASADENA AREA COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
PASADENA CITY COLLEGE
RECOGNITION OF GLOBAL CLIMATE EMERGENCY AND URGENCY TO
TAKE LOCAL ACTION TO SOURCE 100% CARBON-FREE ENERGY BY 2030 WHEREAS, according to the United Nations, the primary driver of climate change and air pollution is the burning of fossil fuels; and
WHEREAS, according to the World Health Organization, children are at higher risk to climate- related harm from poor air quality, heat, water unavailability, and mental illness; and WHEREAS, according to the American Psychological Association, poor air quality has a correlation with lowered intelligence and cognitive skills, such as memory and attention, and is linked to lower academic performance among children; and WHEREAS, a 2009 study from the University of Southern California reports that communities of color are more adversely affected by climate change because incidents including extreme heat, devastating floods, and air pollution result in higher rates of death for African American and people of low-income neighborhoods compared to white and wealthier neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, if the current trend of fossil fuel use continues beyond 2030, students in the Pasadena Area Community College District (PACCD) will not only experience significantly increased risk of air pollution, but also water insecurity, food insecurity, extreme heat, habitat loss, drought, and poverty within their lifetimes; and
WHEREAS, PACCD facilities are supplied electricity by Pasadena Water and Power (PWP), a public utility, which in 2021 sourced 53.5% of its electricity from burning fossil fuels and plans to continue burning fossil fuels until 2045; and WHEREAS, other publicly-owned energy utilities in California, such as the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), have declared a climate emergency and have committed to 100% carbon free energy generation by 2030;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Trustees of the Pasadena Area Community College District hereby recognizes that there exists a state of climate emergency that threatens the health, safety, and well-being of the students and families of our region; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Trustees of the Pasadena Area Community College District urges Pasadena City Council, as well as Pasadena Water and Power, Southern California Edison, and other California utilities, to commit to sourcing 100% of their energy from carbon-free sources by 2030; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Trustees of the Pasadena Area Community College District recognizes the leadership of the Pasadena Unified School District Board of Education in unanimously adopting and championing this cause.
Passed and adopted this January 18, 2023.
Aye:
No:
Abstain:
Absent:
can
Sandra Chen Lau
President, Board of Trustees
Pasadena Area Community College District
Erika Endrijonas, Ph.D.
Secretary to the Board of Trustees
Pasadena Area Community College District, and
Superintendent/President, Pasadena City College