"President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Agreement is ridiculous and short-sighted, and it moves this country backward as a world leader," Santa Barbara's mayor, Helene Schneider, told The Independent on Monday. "Cities have and will continue to step up and demonstrate how strong environmental policies are good for both the economy and the environment." Schneider is one of 211 U.S. Climate Mayors who vowed to work with the terms of the Paris Agreement, despite the U.S. president's announcement he was withdrawing the country from the accord.
The City of Santa Barbara has put word to action, announcing on Tuesday a pledge of 100 percent renewable energy by 2030. Previously, the city achieved its 1997 Kyoto Protocol goal of 20 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions by 2007.
The city's actions to form bicycle and pedestrian master plans, keep its urban forest healthy during the drought, increase rainfall storage with permeable pavers, and restore wetland and creek habitats, said Matt Fore, who wrangles all things sustainable for the city, are part of the city's focus on its overall climate action plan. In addition to targeting large energy users, like out-of-date HVAC systems and boiler facilities, the city is converting some of its fleet of vehicles to biodiesel and pooling the use of automobiles; about a third of its vehicles don't burn fossil fuels. These measures and more will be needed to offset the desalination plant, which is anticipated to increase electricity usage by 13.8 million kilowatt hours at a cost of $1.75 million annually. "We're looking at every little bit we can reduce to put a dent in that overall additional load," said the city's energy expert, Alelia Parenteau.