November 11, 2005

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Palo Alto Online

News Digest

Only one application has so far been filed for three openings on the Palo Alto Parks & Recreation Commission, according to commission Chair Anne Cribbs.

"I'm wondering why only one person has applied," Cribbs said of the looming 5 p.m. Tuesday deadline to file with the city clerk's office. None of commissioners whose terms are up have so far filed for re-appointment: Jennifer Hagan, Edie Keating and Ellie Gioumosis. Cribbs said she does not know the name of the lone applicant so far, but "we need to have some good people" on the commission if it is to have an effective voice in the community.

She said it is "especially important for young families with kids in school" to be represented on the commission, someone who is familiar with today's challenges of raising a family is the high-speed Palo Alto culture.

Palo Alto helps Silicon Valley cut 'greenhouse gases'

An odd-bedfellows coalition of Silicon Valley government agencies, businesses and organizations -- from major corporations to the local Sierra Club chapter -- has reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 744 million pounds in the past year, according to a new report to be released Wednesday.

The energy saved in the process is enough to heat 233,500 homes, according to an early summary of the "Sustainable Silicon Valley," a 19-partner effort with offices in San Jose at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group headquarters.

The effort -- launched in partial response to a perceived vacuum of leadership at the state and federal level in "greenhouse gas" emissions -- is the first-ever combined local effort to respond directly to global-warming concerns.

The CO2 reduction initiative aims to cut emissions by 20 percent from 1990 levels within the next five years.

In addition to the City of Palo Alto, organizations based in or near Palo Alto include the environmental group Acterra, ALZA Corporation, Roche Palo Alto, Hewlett-Packard Company, Agilent Technologies and the Loma Prieta Chapter of the Sierra Club. NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View also is part of the coalition, along with several regional and countywide agencies and PG&E. :Lockheed Martin and Oracle.

The annual report detailing savings in CO2, energy use and money saved is scheduled for unveiling at an 11 a.m. meeting Wednesday at De Anza College in Cupertino.

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