August 19, 2024
San Rafael City Council
1400 Fifth Avenue
San Rafael, CA 94901
RE: Grand Jury Report on Sea Level Rise (Item 6a)
Honorable Mayor and Council Members,
Sustainable San Rafael acknowledges and applauds the City's leadership in initiating responses to sea level rise, starting with the highly vulnerable Canal neighborhood. We look
forward to these efforts being expanded to other portions of San Rafael's shoreline and to additional climate impacts.
The staff report on the recent Grand Jury Report notes the City's intention to continue collaborating with County-led efforts to study and pursue countywide action on sea level rise. We urge your follow-up on this commitment when the current study phase is completed early next year.
In all these efforts, it's crucial to recognize that sea level rise and other climate impacts will only be curbed by transitioning off tfossil fuels and by capturing excess atmospheric carbon.
For San Rafael, that means cutting greenhouse gas by
accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles, replacing gas furnaces and water heaters with electric heat pumps,
diverting organic material from the landfill, and increasing carbon sequestration in Marin's grasslands and urban forests.
In short, addressing the causes of climate change must be integral to any effort to address the impacts of climate change, be they sea level rise, wildfire, drought, or increasingly deadly heat waves.
Thank you for recognizing this critical nexus of cause and effect as you continue to address our climate emergency.
Sincerely,
William Carney,
Vice President
CC: Dana Armanino, Marin County Sustainability Team
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Annika Osborn, Co-President
Howard Schwartz, Co-President
William Carney, Vice President
Miles Smith, Secretary
Greg Brockbank
Kay Karchevski
Kiki La Porta
Phil Muller
Stuart Siegel
415.302.0110