Santa Cruz locals and UCSC students met up on a rainy day at San Lorenzo Park to talk about ways to reduce our impact

Santa Cruz locals and UCSC students met up on a rainy day at San Lorenzo Park to talk about ways to reduce our impact

Santa Cruz locals and UCSC students met up on a rainy day at San Lorenzo Park to talk about ways to reduce our impact

A student from the Education for Sustainable Living program at the Agroecology program at University of California at Santa Cruz moderated a program featuring the Santa Cruz Mayor and city employees telling about Santa Cruz' program to cut global warming emissions. There was also a speaker who talked about the defunct electric car models and the need for plug-in hybrids; and the student organizer gave us homely advice to turn down our thermostats etc., concluding by asking the Mayor for a city job! He did not allow questions, comments, announcements, or any kind of meaningful participation by the people who came, during the program. When at last all the speeches were done and he let some announcements be made, he first suggested that the small crowd might want to leave, as this was not part of the program.

The county government wasn't in on this event; there was misinformation and lack of information on electric cars--some are available now and I drove to the event in mine--and the same speaker who failed to mention currently available electric autos, also said that ethanol is not sustainable, which is false. Dave Blume, a distinguished researcher, has published a terrific book on the subject, Alcohol Can Be a Gas, and we are in the process of establishing an ethanol station in Santa Cruz. Biodiesel proponents and suppliers also were not represented at the event.

You need to tell organizers that the people who come are not an audience to be lectured but concerned citizens who are taking action. The people are the leaders! The organizers are just the ones who provided the venue and they should be listening to and asking us what to do next!

Time to lose the negativity, the patriarchy, and the elitism. Thanks. Carol Long