What's going up -- greenhouse gas emissions -- isn't coming down without our help. Marin residents are trying to do their part; so are the people we entrust with keeping our communities up and running: local government.

Like any property or business owner, but on a greater scale, government operations support buildings that suck up energy and vehicles that soak up fuel oil. And just as residents have to comply with green building ordinances, for example, local government also deals with what a higher authority has to say, notably the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32), which calls for statewide reductions in greenhouse gas emissions beginning in 2012.

Aside from what is required now under AB 32 and what could be required tomorrow, going the extra mile is the tack that Marin's government agencies are taking today.

"Local cities, the County of Marin, and the State of California are to be commended for their leadership in addressing climate change," says U.S. Representative Lynn Woolsey (D-6th District). "The thermal clock is ticking, and the time to act is yesterday, so we have a lot of work to do."

The Issue Is Clear

That needed work is moving forward, reports Carol Misseldine, sustainability coordinator for the City of Mill Valley. "We have to roll up our sleeves and get to work," she says, adding, "I'm so proud, because we are rolling up our sleeves, we are getting to work."

Misseldine, most recently sustainability director for the City of Oakland under the Jerry Brown administration, has worked in the sustainability field for 30 years. "I have never seen this level of interest," she says. "Everyone is clear: Climate protection is the No. 1 issue."

Like neighboring towns, cities, and the county itself, Mill Valley is stepping up to the plate, hiring Misseldine to work part time as a consultant for the City Green committee. Established last April, made up of representatives from city departments, the committee is looking at ways to lighten Mill Valley's footprint, including solutions such as solar energy for city buildings and alternative fuels for its vehicle fleet.

Joining Mill Valley is San Rafael, which in February announced the Climate Change Action Plan to help identify ways to track, and reduce, the carbon footprint of city operations. San Rafael is also looking at other sustainability solutions, such as adding hybrid and other fuel-efficient vehicles to its fleet.

Finding Funding

Going green may be an imperative, but doing so costs money, and here too government and local residents share realities: Where will the funds come from?

For cities like Mill Valley and San Anselmo, going solar is one of the most popular clean-energy solutions, and right now they're basking in the glow of what the County of Marin Sustainability Team secured for Marin's local governments: an amazing 11 percent of the national allocation of Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs), which can be used to fund solar, wind, geothermal, and other renewable energy generation projects.

Established by the Energy Tax Incentives Act of 2005, these zero-interest bonds give public institutions access to the same tax benefits afforded the private sector for renewable energy projects. One hurdle, however, is getting the bonds financed, a challenge that county and city teams are currently tackling.

Still, through CREBs, San Anselmo will be installing solar panels as part of the remodel of the downtown Ross Valley Fire Station 19, with station 20 on Butterfield Road next on the wish list. "It's an exciting thing," Town Manager Debbie Stutsman says of what CREBs allow the town to do: both respond to the community's call for the town to "get green" and do so by paying off the principal using what solar provides -- savings on electrical bills.

Cities Without Borders

For a small town like San Anselmo, with a population of less than 15,000, making changes on any scale is tough when resources, human and financial, are tight. What climate change is fostering, however, is teamwork across city and county borders, says Stutsman. "We're in this together."

Larger cities like Novato, the first city in the county to adopt green building standards, and San Rafael share information with their smaller neighbors, she says. "That means we don't have to reinvent the wheel. We are so short-staffed, we don't have the capability to dedicate a person to do the research," says Stutsman of the town that has seen nature out of control up close during downtown floods.

Helping with the research that's needed to put sustainability action plans in motion is the goal of the Marin Climate & Energy Partnership. Made up of Marin's 10 municipalities and the County, the partnership received a $75,000 grant from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to hire a climate action director to serve as a cross-border consultant on solutions such as building energy efficiency and waste reduction.

"Marin is made up of cities that work together well," says Stutsman.

And the Oscar Goes to . . .

The County of Marin is no Johnny-come-lately to climate change efforts, with sustainability embedded within the countywide plan and a Sustainability Team that is working with both residents and local governments on the nuts and bolts of solutions. The team also helped the County win the Oscar of the planning world: the National Planning Association's 2008 National Planning Excellence Award, specifically for its contributions to sustainable living.

The County is walking the talk, says Supervisor Susan Adams (District 1), by providing what residents need to help lessen their own carbon footprints -- not the least of which, for this avid bicycler, is $25 million in federal funds to build a cross-county bikeway -- and also by what it is doing internally to reduce carbon emissions.

Last summer, using CREBs, a $1.3 million solar energy system was installed at the Marin Exhibit Hall and Showcase Theater; a solar installation at the General Services Building on Redwood Highway was completed in 2004. The Throckmorton Fire Station serving Mount Tamalpais is solarized -- and the building itself meets the high standards set by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. The County, says Adams, is working to curtail its use of "gas-guzzling motor vehicles" by adding hybrid vehicles to the motor pool; heavy-duty maintenance vehicles are using biodiesel. It also offers employees a few extra dollars in their paychecks for carpooling, walking, or riding bikes to work.

"On nice days, you can't find a space to park your bike," says Adams, who practices what she supports by riding her bike to work -- and scheduling "office hours" on the Marin Transit bus serving her Marinwood-Miller Creek neighborhood, which she hopes will encourage people to take mass transportation.

Every action we take toward sustainability, says Adams, is a step in the right direction. "One person can make a difference, and we can do anything if we put our minds to it," she assures, adding of the effort, "The human race depends on it."

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Marin County Sustainability Team > www.marinsustainability.org

Marin Countywide Plan > www.future-marin.org

Mill Valley City Green > www.cityofmillvalley.org/Index.aspx?page=676

San Rafael Climate Change Action Plan > www.cityofsanrafael.org