Thinking Sustainably

The Daily Journal is featuring out relatively new sustainability director, Sigalle Michael, in an article here.  Sigalle notes that

One of the initiatives Michael said she would like to see expanded is the Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE, program which offers financing incentives to homeowners hoping to install sustainable improvements such as water conservation or renewable energy systems.

“I think there is a lot of potential in the home energy audit world, and that’s where I’m targeting my research right now,” she said.

The piece also notes that "She was hired in December, after spending eight previous years with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, also known as the company that promotes the Spare The Air Days across the region."  More recently the Air Quality Management District became known for a controversial plan to force homeowners to modify or brick over their existing fireplaces before they could be sold or rented out.  That initiative hit the press along side the chart showing a steady decline in the number of Spare The Air Days in the last 15 years and all of 33 violations in San Mateo County last year.  Sounds like the Air Quality District could use a lesson in Cost Benefit analysis. We have some Voice bloggers who know a thing or two about that.

In any case, welcome Sigalle.  I think you will find B'game receptive to things that make sense.

Comments

[Bruce Dickinson]

So, I click on the fireplace link above and read the article and not even two postings below the Comments section, Bruce Dickinson see a user with the handle "Captain USA" with the following post:

"State by State, County by County behind a Green Mask they bring Tyranny. If you do not know what Agenda 21 is Please Learn! For all of US."

Ok, Captain dumb-&ss, I swear I think literally these paranoid tea-partiers are so single minded that they can't even come up with anything approaching originality even in their comments, yet another example of cutting and pasting from the favorite not-so-smart ranter du jour with the same recycled crap playing like a broken record over and over and over in my noggin. You pick the blog, and there is always "that person" ranting about how liberties are being eschewed, blah blah blah, vote for Rand, blah blah blah, you have no liberties, blah blah blah.... Seriously, folks, some of these people need to be put right smack in the middle of a REAL communist country or dictatorship and see how their tune will change faster than Phil Collins churns out uninspiring singles. I've experienced this 'innocence' before, no pun intended, until I started traveling the globe and seeing what the world was really like. Try being questioned by the Stasi while recording in East Berlin. My friends, after that session, I gotta tell ya, I'd take 20 rectal exams over that whole mind-fu&k... Seriously folks, you have no idea.

Anyway, back to Joe's post, Bruce Dickinson cannot help but wonder whether Burlingame coffers are bursting, as we seem to be on a hiring spree. Let's hope that this new sustainability person can bring some fresh blood and fresh thinking to City Hall, as from my perspective, I ain't seein' a whole lotta common sense contagion happening round these parts..you know what I mean?

[Bruce Dickinson]

By the way, Bruce Dickinson believes that ratting on others for their fireplace usage is a terrible idea. Sometimes I think the intellectual and cultural snobbery (by those who actually have very little to contribute to culture) is the real reason for banning fireplaces, as fire is what "cavemen" used. No, we are too cultured to use such barbaric means of heating. So why don't we consume coal and natural gas instead.

If you ask me, Bruce Dickinson thinks you wanna pay for sustainability, you stick it to the developers, as every tear down involves the destruction of history, of an existing building and in its place is something put with a much, much larger carbon footprint and probably 5x the water faucets and sewage. Oh, but the new place has a gas fireplace..mission accomplished!

I'll give this new green Burlingame employee one recommendation: a $50k tear-down fee for every developer that takes out an old house and puts a new one it its place. Will not be overly prohibitive for them and that money can be used for real sustainability initiatives including giving people breaks for installing solar, chargers, tax breaks, and what not. The question is, does the City bite the hand that feeds them, you know what I mean?

[Whooo are you, who, who, who, who?]

With all due respect to the person who you really are, Big Daddy, why do you keep pretending that you have all sorts of amazing experiences in the music industry?

Didn't I clear that up, for good?

You replied that indeed you weren't actually either of the famous Bruce Dickinson's from the music industry, so why continue to try to use your stale fake character?

Could you please tell us who you actually are?

[hillsider]

Will Alex Kent ever be able to stay on topic or has his Ritalin prescription expired?

[Jennifer]

I actually thought this was a joke, when I first read it here a number of days ago, but sadly, it isn't. The Chron has an extensive article today.

As owners of a (very old model) of a wood insert installed after Loma Prieta nearly knocked down our vintage chimney stack in '89- (though alas, that unit is surely too "old" to pass the new state standards) something in the text caught my eye...

The air district wants homeowners to REGISTER their new or upgraded units with the State. Does this ring a bell ?!?! (and I don't mean a cowbell)!

Yep, 'sounds just like our Backflow Device on the sprinklers, that has to be tested each year, since we made the mistake of being law abiding citizens and registering it. This is probably one of the biggest reasons why people don't get permits for landscape work. It costs a fortune to test the device each year $45-$100 depending on how honest the plumber is, and oh, yes, that plumber has to be certified by the State, too, which I imagine costs money.

When our back flow device was installed at least a decade ago, my husband called it state-sponsored extortion. I thought he was nuts. He's not. Register the unit, and then the next thing will surely be the requirement to "Test" the gas or wood burning unit regularly for "safety". This will create a whole new crop of certified "air testers" and the need to develop small handy devices that test for particulate matter, so that property owners can earn certified approval each period.

Unreal. Is it Pat Giorni who frequently calls California The Nanny State? Well, Pat, I'm with you on this one. And the Nanny is getting abusive.

[resident]

Amen.

[April's Fool]

GUESS WHAT?!?? I got a FEVER! and the only prescription is more RITALIN

[Russ]

I could;t agree more with Bruce D. I have suggested on this blog and publicly that if the city wants tone more sustainable and make a little moola, they ought to institute a tear down tax. Say $20K if you want to tear down your home. This, by the way, is not a new idea. I wish I could say I came up with it, but it exists in other parts of the country and has for years now. The most environmentally friendly thing you can do is keep what you have. Moreover, Burlingame has no requirement to ask those who are doing a major remodel or teardown to sell the reusable materials ala Driftwood Salvage does. End of rant.

[Bruce Dickinson]

So, guys, listen. What do you do when you suspect an abusive Nanny? Simple, you get a Nanny-Cam! No one wants to do it, it takes time and effort and feels a little sleazy, but sometimes you gotta get to the bottom of the truth. And the answer, as Jack Nicholson famously said in character is a resounding "you can't handle the truth!!!"

Let Bruce Dickinson elaborate. Folks, you know why we don't really want to watch our government (via the "nanny cam" as it were)? It's because it makes us upset and powerless, and we ain't gonna like what we're gonna see, you know what I mean? Who wants to feel that? out of sight, out of mind, ignorance is bliss, etc etc, and so you get people focusing on other things, like job, family, extra-cirrucular activities and what not. The bottom line is, we have grown complacent with democratic government, because it worked for so long, that we get lazy and civic engagement declines and the minute we start looking at it, we get disgusted and distracted by something else, because while it makes us angry, it's not bad enough to get us really riled up.

I tell tales of my world travels, and one of my favorite cities, that has literally transformed before my eyes, is Berlin. Once completely leveled, it became ground zero for the cold war, with tanks facing off each other and the western part was an island in the middle of East Germany. It has a rugged survivor counter-culture that builds things over and over again, reinventing buildings, neighborhoods, art, music, always at the center of change and the crossroads of Old and New Europe. Yes, some of my favorite days in my career were in the famous grand ballroom of Hansa-Ton studios "standing by the wall" (so goes it by one of my favorite lyricist "Heroes" if you catch my double-entendre). Alas, I digress. If and when you ever get to Berlin, a must see is the Reichstag, where atop the famous building, that was beautifully restored, is a glass cupola. In this cupola, you can look down through mirrors and glass to see the legislators below, working. This cupola was built purposefully to have the general public "keep an eye" on the government, "from above", so as to never let a Fascist Germany ever exist again.

What a chilling, but brilliant, symbolic work of art and a good reminder that for one, things are pretty damn good in the USA, we never had a dictator and thus don't have a huge distrust of government like the Germans...BUT, this does not mean that we should not wince away from having the Nanny-Cam on the government, as while it is not a fun activity, becoming actively involved in your local government is a great check to politicians, both local and national and keeps things a little more honest and accountable. Remember, Hitler was 100% democratically elected and absolute power was given to him by the legislature. Ironically, one of the ways he achieved this was his henchmen stage a false-flag burning of the Reichstag, which he blamed on the Bolsheviks/Communists. Sound familiar?

[How about paying down debt and unfunded pension liabilities across all these towns and our country instead of sustainability chairs?]

Funny how "Sigalle" sounds like Sieg Heil!

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Sieg_Heil

B.D., you do know what NAZI stands for, correct?

"Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei"

That translates to National Socialist German Workers' Party.

Sustainability is a positive thing to make an effort on. Hiring a Dictocrat to come in and force everyone to brick over their fire place is not welcomed by me or most people.

I appreciate Russ's proposed tax however. I studied and stated Burlingame tear-downs in BurlingameLinked last year. People were paying about $9M per acre for their teardowns.

However, a lot of the old houses are obsolete in lay out and houses aren't actually designed to last forever. If it's historic in some legitimate way, great. If not, corrupt gov't de jour - step aside.

As one of the most active writers on this blog for the last couple years, I've been on topic 98% of the time, H.S. At least I contribute significant primary information, vs. info-less quips.

How about paying down debt and unfunded pension liabilities across all these towns and our country instead of sustainability chairs?

[hollyrollerhotwire.com]

Hi Jennifer.
This comment is about Sustainably.
You are the Tree Expert here on this site. I wanted to ask you about the City of Burlingame Tree Service Program.
Obviously, lawns have to go-die first during a drought-though you would not know there was a drought looking at the lawns, private and public.
I may have mentioned in the past that my neighbor is an employee in Public Works-Park Dept.
So this info is an OK source.
Margaret Glomstead-The Park& Rec Director recently decided that the need for an official Public Works Tree Service is not needed anymore. The end.
Trees are the reason this City is what it is. Not Soccer fields.
My understanding is that Director Glomstead was "Officially dressed down" when this site, "Burlingame Voice," published her direction, funding, and vision, regarding the installation of a New City Park, on the Bayfront.
Real lawn,-never mind the daily 30-40mph winds, drought and rising bay/salt water table. Director Glomstead was going full steam ahead. That is until the Burlingame Voice shared that with us, the taxpayer/logical citizens.
Now, Director Glomstead is removing the City of Burlingame Tree Service.
I hate to bring this up over and over, but something is very wrong with the management at Burlingame City Hall.
The City Elders are sitting on their collective hands and not addressing the person who has the final say on all issues, financial, and basic management of day to day operations.
I hate to ask you for conformation regarding these continued short sighted decisions regarding all the crazy things that have happened at the Park and Rec Dept. ie
-City Arborist allowing the chopping down of oak trees in Mills Canyon.
-The Natural Grass park-right on the SF Bay ledge
-Now and most disturbing, the Public Works Dept. Tree Service, the reason this City of Burlingame is so special, being replaced by regular Park Dept. Gardeners.
They do a great job with the restrooms, garbage collection,mowing lawns, and maintaining baseball fields.
If you can Jennifer, just ask why?
Share the answer with us.
In fact ask the City Manager.
Thank you Jennifer.
Director Glomstead may have sent you a "Pink Slip" too.

[hollyrollerhotwire.com]

Dear "Mr. Sigalle"
I have missed the point you are making.
That is my fault. I read this site often and did not know you are as prolific as you state.
It sounds like you have an important point to make. I missed it completely.
When you have the time please summarize you point again.
Thank you.

[How about paying down debt and unfunded pension liabilities across all these towns and our country instead of sustainability chairs?]

Hollyroller, you love me.

1) I was retorting Bruce's point:

"Remember, Hitler was 100% democratically elected and absolute power was given to him by the legislature. Ironically, one of the ways he achieved this was his henchmen stage a false-flag burning of the Reichstag, which he blamed on the Bolsheviks/Communists. Sound familiar?

Posted by: Bruce Dickinson | April 01, 2015 at 06:36 PM"

2) Then, I commented on Russ's desire for more taxes to slightly discourage tear-downs because he's a strong preservationist.

3) Then, I retorted Hillsider's slight.

4) Then, I ended with my new point about the topic:

"How about paying down debt and unfunded pension liabilities across all these towns and our country instead of sustainability chairs?"

[hollyrollerhotwire.com]

Didn't Hitler win by one vote?
Regarding paying down debt..
Are you aware that throughout the United States, the first day of the month is called "Mother's Day?
Today, like every other first day of the month, welfare, food stamps, section 8 money goes out to all the illegals, there 3-4 children, while the father-god bless him works his butt off. For cash, or using someone else's Social Security Card Number.
The Driver License Debacle is also a problem because now more people drive without basic car insurance than ever before.
The people you talk about are doing a job, paying taxes, paying taxes that go to the schools. As opposed to the undocs, getting free medical care for their 3-4 children, and themselves, free public transportation, on and on. I understand your frustration, but just because you are afraid and terrified of addressing the politically incorrect reality of Undocs sucking the State of California's, health, education, public transit, and lets not forget the legal, and Prison system, do not pick on the people who pay their taxes, food bill, car insurance, and stop having children when they know they can not afford to do so because they will not be able to provide for the ones they already have.
But the State of CA gives even more money to the Undocs the more babies they have.
Get your priorities straight.
You seem to not be afraid to complain about people who do their jobs, and pay their taxes.
However, you are afraid to death that you might be labeled a racist for speaking the truth.

[Jennifer]

Dear Holly, I am sorry you are upset at what you believe or have heard is happening in the Parks/ Rec, Dept. specifically the Tree division. I have not heard anything like that, but I am not an employee of the city, nor a council person, so perhaps I am out of the loop.

Also, I am appreciative of the complements you've showered me with in regard to the trees over the years. I love our trees, but I am not an arborist or even close to that.

With regard to your comments, the only thing I know generally is that we are one of the only municipalities left around here that cares "in-house" for our trees, rather than outsourcing, and it shows. Outsourcing may or may not save money, I have no idea, but if there is savings there, it may be negated in the degree of separation from the trees in the outsourcer's custody. I am always amazed at the knowledge about, and attachment to the trees that our very small Parks crew has. I'm saying that as a person who pays a lot of attention to the trees, probably more than most. The crew knows what is dead or dying, who has neglected what, if particular homeowners are, or are not watering their trees. There is a sycamore (sapling) in front of Washington School that I know has been replaced at least 6 times, and it is not for these folks trying. The school cannot get it together to have a teaching moment with the kids, have them collect water from their lunch boxes or fountains, or painting projects or whatever and give the poor tree some water. It makes me just shake my head. The same thing happened at McKinley when 3 or 4 brand new trees, easily accessible to the school, were neglected. A neighbor (someone who cares like I do) badgered the district for about 6 months to get those trees watered, and at least that might have stuck, after one or two sets of replacements. This is pure waste. And imagine, before the saplings even arrive at their planting sites, they have consumed lots of water in the nurseries.

I think it would not make sense to cease watering new trees because of the (sometimes years worth) investment of time and resources (human and water) that go into each tree in this city. It is all cumulative- Unless that tree matures, it cannot offer all the benefits trees give us, either, and there are so many--

As an aside and fyi for those unaware, the benefits of trees are very impressive and reading about them may be a revelation to those who consider trees only as maintenance or a 'waste' of water. A list of benefits are can be found on the city website, - link to Parks.Rec. Dept. click the link to "Trees".

Now, if one or the other season of new tree plantings has to be delayed or left out, because there isn't enough water to go around to keep the last few seasons alive, then that probably makes sense to me. Keep alive what is already planted. The lawn question is obvious. Lawns are not trees. Let the birds go nuts pecking around the weeds. It is better than plastic lawn where living creatures have no benefit at all.

At the end of the day, I'd like to believe that anyone employed by this city whether in the Parks Dept., or other, be it management or crew, knows the importance of maintaining our image as Burlingame, The City of Trees. It is not only aesthetic, but makes sense economically, too.

[Bruce Dickinson]

10 Cowbell rings for Jennifer and her thoughtful response! Bruce Dickinson agrees, the tree caring is NOT something for Burlingame to outsource. Guys, it's plain and simple brand/identity management 101: you do not outsource things that define you, whether that be a person, a company, or a city. Burlingame is defined by trees and no one will know them better than the guys and gals who know this town inside and out some of whom have worked for this city for many years. If Burlingame were forced to downsize, I'd put nearly every department on the chopping block before the Parks & Rec folks.

The trees, as I've said before, probably add at least $100k thousand dollars to property values, probably more, collectively. You only have to look within Burlingame's own neighborhoods to see that the larger/older the trees, the more valuable the real estate.

The State is only requiring a 25% reduction. If Bruce Dickinson recalls correctly, Burlingame had a 17% reduction last year without really trying too hard. There are a lot of things that can be cut prior to watering trees. For example, while I have a pool and jacuzzi, I'll probably just empty the jacuzzi for the summer, as more evaporation happens with the heat turned on fever-pitch during the Dickinson parties! Also, my groundskeepers will aerate my lawn, and there are various additives to plants that can help retain water. Also, for drinking water, I may have my staff purchase bottled water (I drink the fantastic Burlingame tap, but we all know that is drought-affected water coming from the Hetch-Hetchy). Maybe I'll time my showers and then set a stopwatch for 25% less time to force me to be quick. Folks, there's lots of stuff that one can do without letting your trees, plants, and grass die completely. Simply being conscious of the problem is probably good for a 10%-15% reduction alone.

[hollyrollerhotwire.com]

The best thing to do would be to ask Park and Recreation Director Margaret Glomstead what here plans are.
Dear Margaret Glomstead are you reducing the City of Burlingame Tree Crew?
Are you outsourcing the Tree maintenance program?
Are you replacing the gentleman who retired as Tree Crew Foreman?
Why not?
There it is folks.
We know that this site is monitored by City Elders, and City Management.
Please respond Director Glomstead.

Will she or won't she?

Are there restrictions regarding a response, City Manager?
I remember the Public Works Director-Mr. Sied was "counseled" about his "off the cuff" response @ a year ago.
Is the Public Works Burlingame Tree Service being reduced, and "remanaged" into a Park Maintenance mow, blow, and go?

[Expensive solution]

This new position seems awefully expensive for what we could ever get from it. I would like sustainability to be evryone's job not limited or pointed at one person on the city payroll. I think this is the wrong way to go forward and I would ask the city to rethink this, please.