Honorable Mayor and City Council members,
I am a longtime resident of Menlo Park and serve on the EQC. Today I am writing in my personal capacity to urge you step up your commitment to Menlo Park's Climate Action Plan.
Currently our city is not on track to hit any of our climate goals. Much like the members of the United Nations failing on commitments to the Paris Agreement, we are mostly talk and not action.
Getting serious about climate means allocating sufficient staff to achieve the CAP goals. We need more headcount working on climate. It's an enormous undertaking and deserves adequate resources.
The longer we wait to cut fossil fuel use in our city (primarily from our vehicles, homes and businesses), the more expensive it will become to do so.
Who will suffer the most if we fail to act on climate? Our Belle Haven residents, whose homes will be flooded. Our lower income residents who can't afford to live near where they work, who spend long hours breathing toxic fumes while stuck in traffic, who spend up to 25% of their household income on gasoline. Our residents who live near busy roads, especially our residents of color, whose risk of asthma, heart and lung disease from tailpipe emissions is on the rise.
This is a matter of equity and a fight for the future of our city.
I beg you to prioritize the climate action plan, publicize widely our progress towards our goals, and allocate sufficient resources to get the job done.
Thank you for your leadership on climate.
Sincerely,
Janelle London
