WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.000 [Alex Pharmakis] Hi, everybody. My name is Alex Pharmakis 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:05.000 and I'm a Senior Sustainability Coordinator with the City of Plano. 00:00:05.000 --> 00:00:07.000 Happy Earth Day. 00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:10.000 So, on a day that's like today, it's really pretty outside, 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:12.000 nice and sunny, you can hear some nature. 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:15.000 We can hear some city noises too. 00:00:15.000 --> 00:00:17.000 You know, it's not something we normally think about 00:00:17.000 --> 00:00:19.000 our air quality or maybe the emissions 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:22.000 that are being released into the atmosphere. 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:25.000 They're a little hard to see, but it's really important. 00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:28.000 So today we'll talk a little bit about cleaner air and reduced emissions 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:31.000 and why you should C.A.R.E. -to figure out the acronym. 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:36.000 At the City of Plano we're working on a strategy for cleaner air and reduced emissions. 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:40.000 So why is this necessary? 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:43.000 So we know that our actions have an impact. 00:00:43.000 --> 00:00:46.000 Community-wide, all the residents, all the businesses, everyone in the city, 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:48.000 we use over 4 billion kilowatt hours of electricity. 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:50.000 Just the city fleet alone, 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:54.000 which is our fire trucks, our police vehicles, our trash trucks, 00:00:54.000 --> 00:00:58.000 we know that we use over 1 million gallons of gasoline and other fuels. 00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:03.000 And we know that the DFW region doesn't meet air quality standards for ground level ozone. 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:07.000 So what we did is we took an inventory of our energy use 00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:10.000 and did a greenhouse gas emissions inventory. 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:14.000 You can see the results of that here. 00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:18.000 The metric tons of CO2 equivalent that just the city operations emits 00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:19.000 and the categories 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:21.000 and then the much larger number on the right 00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:23.000 is the total community emissions 00:01:23.000 --> 00:01:25.000 and so you can see the different sectors 00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:30.000 that are the biggest slice of the pie of emissions. 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:34.000 So transportation, commercial, and residential energy are way up there. 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:38.000 So you can get an idea of where our emissions are coming from. 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:40.000 What you might have seen too is that the municipal emissions, 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:44.000 which is the city operations, 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:48.000 is a very, very small percentage of the entire emissions of the community. 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:51.000 And so it's not just something that the City of Plano 00:01:51.000 --> 00:01:53.000 and its employees are having to work on. 00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:55.000 This is an entire community thing 00:01:55.000 --> 00:02:00.000 that's going to engage businesses, residents, all people in our city. 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:05.000 And we also know that if we do nothing, if we don't take bold action, 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:08.000 we have an idea of what our emissions are going to look like. 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:11.000 So this is a business-as-usual forecast going up to 2050. 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:15.000 So you can see those different sectors of where emissions will come from. 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:18.000 and you'll see that we won't experience a drop in emissions 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:22.000 that we will need, that the science tells us we need, 00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:27.000 without taking initiative and bold steps to reduce our emissions. 00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:32.000 So I mentioned that a large portion of this is the community, 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:34.000 the people in our community, our businesses. 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:37.000 And so since it's Earth Day, it's a great way to think about 00:02:37.000 --> 00:02:39.000 what's an individual action that you can do 00:02:39.000 --> 00:02:40.000 that'll make a difference. 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:43.000 So I have three right here for you. 00:02:43.000 --> 00:02:48.000 First is to travel sustainably. That can be a lot of different things: 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:52.000 That can be using mass transit, taking the bus. 00:02:52.000 --> 00:02:53.000 That can be carpooling. 00:02:53.000 --> 00:02:58.000 Really anything to take single-occupancy vehicles off the road: 00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:00.000 Riding your bike, walking when possible; 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:04.000 And then we know that sometimes it's unavoidable that you have to get in the car by yourself. 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:07.000 So what we recommend too is to try and reduce idling, 00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:12.000 whether that's just idling for some reason to keep your car on 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:17.000 or if you're driving in rush hour, you're going to really be idling a lot, 00:03:17.000 --> 00:03:21.000 so if you can try and make your trips outside of that rush hour, limit your idling, 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:24.000 limit the pollution and the emissions that you're emitting. 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:26.000 #2 is to switch to renewable electricity. 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:29.000 So a lot of people don't know that you can actually choose 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:31.000 where your electricity is going to come from. 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:32.000 So as you're choosing a plan, 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:34.000 an electricity plan or a contract, 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:37.000 you can actually find one that is 100% renewable. 00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:40.000 This doesn't mean that you have to install solar on your house. 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:43.000 But just as you're picking a plan, you can prioritize this. 00:03:43.000 --> 00:03:46.000 And what you'll find is that it's cost competitive. 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:48.000 Some days it's cheaper, some days it's a little bit more. 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:50.000 It kind of depends on the market, 00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:54.000 but it can be a really great way to lower your carbon footprint of your home. 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:56.000 Think about the electricity you use 00:03:56.000 --> 00:03:57.000 when you're looking at your electricity bill, 00:03:57.000 --> 00:04:02.000 that can actually be sourced from a renewable source like wind or solar. 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:06.000 And if you're curious or you want to learn some more information on how to do this 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:07.000 we have a really good resource. 00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:10.000 We have a how-to video on how to choose a renewable power plan. 00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:11.000 So visit the website 00:04:11.000 --> 00:04:14.000 Plano.gov/RenewableEnergy 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:16.000 And then the last thing I mentioned 00:04:16.000 --> 00:04:18.000 easy step that you can do is choose the right light. 00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:22.000 So I'm not very handy of a person, 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:24.000 I'm not really good at home DIY projects, 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:25.000 but I can change a light bulb 00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:28.000 and so that's something that almost everyone can do. 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:30.000 And so when you're going to change a light bulb, 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:34.000 when it gets burned out, I highly recommend going with an LED light bulb 00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:37.000 because not only does it use significantly less electricity 00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:40.000 than the predecessors, the old incandescent bulbs, 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:42.000 but they last a lot longer. 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:45.000 So that's less times that you're having to climb up and change out a light bulb. 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:48.000 And with the price per bulb being 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:49.000 just a little bit more expensive, 00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:51.000 you're going to make that money back 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:54.000 with your energy savings. 00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:57.000 So those are three ways that you can take an individual action 00:04:57.000 --> 00:05:00.000 to reduce your emissions. 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:02.000 and therefore help clean our air. 00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:05.000 So if you have any questions, feel free to reach out. 00:05:05.000 --> 00:05:08.000 My contact information is there. 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:11.000 Whether you're curious about other actions that you can take as a person 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:15.000 or to work with a group in any kind of capacity, 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:19.000 or if you're curious about what the City of Plano itself is doing, 00:05:19.000 --> 00:05:20.000 feel free to reach out. 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:21.000 I'm happy to answer any questions. 00:05:21.000 --> 00:05:23.000 Happy Earth Day, everyone. Thanks.