Since submitting a detailed list of climate-related recommendations to the City Council a year ago, the Menlo Park Green Ribbon Citizens’ Committee (GRCC) has set out in a new direction, according to Mitch Slomiak, who co-chairs the committee with Carol McClelland.
While the group originally saw itself in the role of a policy advocate, it is now focused on reaching out to a variety of community organizations and helping them take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Mr. Slomiak said in an interview.
“As we put together our recommendations (to the council), we realized that we could play a key role in the city to do outreach and start initiatives in all sectors of the community,” Mr. Slomiak said. “We couldn’t ask the city government to do it all.”
Menlo Park Mayor Heyward Robinson sees the group as an essential player in the city’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint. He said that he hopes it will take recommendations in the city’s forthcoming climate action plan and spread them through the community.
“The GRCC will help us to implement the plan,” Mr. Robinson said. “We need to go out and sell it — to reach out to the business community, residential groups, whoever, to get people on board.”
The group plans to channel its efforts through five distinct community groups: schools, businesses, faith-based groups, building professionals, and neighborhood organizations. It hopes to recruit new volunteers to work on conceptual issues, such as waste reduction, energy and water use.
The group’s education and implementation efforts go hand in hand, according to Mr. Slomiak. For instance, he views the group’s plan to help schools conserve energy and reduce waste as an education opportunity, enabling teachers to use those efforts as a jumping-off point for broader conversations with students about sustainability.
Bob Barrett, who heads up the GRCC’s school-outreach program, said the group was in the preliminary stages in that sector: contacting schools to see what measures they have already been taking to promote sustainability, and finding out whether they would be interested in working with the committee. The representatives he’s talked to so far have been receptive to the idea, Mr. Barrett said, noting that many schools already have “green” programs in place.
Mr. Barrett emphasized that schools can save money on the use of electricity, fuels and paper supplies in the process of reducing their carbon footprint. Eventually, he said, he hopes to establish a framework for faculty and administrators to share “best practice” ideas with their peers, whether through an online network or in conferences.
Mr. Slomiak emphasized the importance of selling the idea that sustainable methods can be cost-effective, as well. He said that Kepler’s bookstore — Mr. Slomiak is the company’s chief financial officer — recently retrofitted its lighting system, saving an average of $1,000 per month in electricity bills over the past year and a half.
The group’s efforts are limited only by volunteer participation, Mr. Slomiak said. He said that the organization had room for people with a wide range of skills, including research, writing and Web design.
“Every level of the citizenry and local government has a role to play” in combating climate change, he said. “No matter how great the Obama administration or the state of California is, government efforts won’t be enough. We’re hoping that others learn from us.”
A newsletter the committee recently released, detailing its efforts thus far, is available on its Web site: www.greenmenlopark.org.
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