Dear Mayor Combs and City Council Members,
I am a resident of Menlo Park and a freshman at Menlo-Atherton High School. On behalf of my generation, I express our strong support for the Environmental Quality Commission’s (EQC) recommendations on phasing out gas in homes and buildings to move forward quickly, which would significantly reduce carbon emissions, helping Menlo Park reach its climate goal.
I am fourteen years old, and my generation will feel the effects of the climate crisis the most. I have always been passionate about sustainability, ever since I was a child. Every year, during fire season, I get anxious about the fires reaching my elderly grandparents' home and that they will need to evacuate like they have for the past five years. I fear that this year they will not have a house to go back to.
The council must adopt the recommendations of the EQC to electrify 95% of Menlo Park’s existing buildings in order to reduce 40% of their greenhouse gas emissions. This issue is important because if we do not make an immediate change, people my age will not be able to live their lives carefree, but instead will need to focus on reversing the almost irreversible damage done to the earth by the generations before us. If we do not make an immediate change to the way we are living now, life will not be the same for the next few generations. Climate change affects everybody, including us in the Bay Area, but especially young people. If you care about the residents of Menlo Park, you would consider adopting these recommendations. In our current state, inaction is the most radical option.
I strongly urge you to approve the EQC’s recommendations to prevent further gas use in the city, as well as the recommended programs and policies to ensure equity, prioritize renter protections, provide education, and ease the transition in Menlo Park.
Thank you,
Waverley Cramer
