GOALS » Conservation & Renewable Energy

To attract and create a diverse and stable economic base, Palm Springs should specifically target for business development industry and business connected with conservation and renewable energy such as solar energy and wind energy.

Our nearly year-round sunshine, the favorable wind conditions, and nearby major regional utility corridors provides a unique opportunity for our City to develop clean, renewable and alternative energy production and distribution industries in Palm Springs.

We should support the development of alternative fuel and generating industries such as co-generation, solar, wind, ethanol and natural gas, fuel-cell technologies and other alternative and sustainable fuel sources and generating industries to provide more reliability in the supply of electricity to the City and to promote development of clean, sustainable and alternative energy industries.

Palm Springs should work with Friends of Palm Springs Mountains and Riverside Land Conservancy on preservation of the Chino Canyon alluvial fan, encouraging the acquisition of hillside parcels by public trusts or other conservation-oriented entities from willing sellers.

Palm Springs should become the conservation leader in the Coachella Valley with respect to water and resource conservation in parks, medians, greenbelts and at public buildings

Palm Springs should seek to develop trails and related limited facilities for horseback riding, hiking and bicycling in the washes that connect with City parks and recreational areas, and provide linkage opportunities between open areas and other desert cities and trail systems.

Palm Springs should encourage preservation of Tahquitz Wash, Whitewater River Wash, Palm Canyon Wash as valuable open spaces and community resources, specifically recognizing these valuable open spaces and community resources, and encouraging the preservation of their recreational trail heritage.

Global warming, rising oil prices, melting ice caps… Many of us are very worried, yet we may think that as individuals living in the Coachella Valley we're too small a community to have much of an impact. But the well-known phrase, "think globally, act locally" takes on new meaning when we focus on our own efforts at conservation. We have more power to effect positive change than we might initially believe.

Several other U.S. cities have already demonstrated how local actions can have vastly beneficial environmental consequences. For example, since the drought of 1987-92, Los Angeles has reduced water consumption by 15 percent, despite a growing population. Eugene, Oregon gets over 85 percent of its power from wind and hydroelectricity. St. Paul, Minnesota devotes almost a quarter of its land to green space.

Closer to home, the Builders Industry Association and the City of Palm Desert have reached agreement on a plan to set conservation goals, which can serve as an example for other valley communities.

But in Palm Springs, despite our ever-present sunshine, only one percent of our energy use comes from solar technology, and only three percent comes from wind energy. And although Palm Springs is fortunate to have a large underground aquifer supplying our water, in recent years, more water has been pumped from the ground than has been replaced, which casts considerable uncertainty over meeting future water needs.

In San Francisco, an average household uses 180 gallons of water per day; but in Palm Springs, a typical single family residence uses 1,400 gallons of water per day, 70 to 80 percent of that on landscaping alone. Clearly, it's time to rethink our usage of water and energy resources. In my view, the City of Palm Springs has a great opportunity to assume a leadership role.

Setting definitive and realistic conservation goals is a start. The Palm Springs Planning Commission, on which I serve, recently unanimously supported my proposal recommending to City Council that the new General Plan include a policy goal of making Palm Springs "the conservation leader in the Coachella Valley with respect to water and resource conservation in parks, medians, greenbelts, and at public buildings."

What a great competition among our Valley cities this would be — each community striving to be more energy efficient, to conserve the most water, to be the most "green" when it comes to new construction! But much work remains to be done.

Despite varying opinions and differences, I believe there exists a broad consensus among our citizens to do what is environmentally right and necessary. In fact, a wide community coalition already exists — it's simply waiting for responsible political leadership to act.

The Palm Springs City Council recently created a long overdue Commission to focus on conservation and energy matters, and also followed two other Coachella Valley communities in supporting California Green Builder standards. But Palm Springs still lags behind other Valley cities.

We can and should take the lead now, because "Palm Springs" is not only a city of 45,000 but is also a worldwide brand, renowned for relaxation, recreation, and rejuvenation. Through legislation and other city measures, Palm Springs can extend its brand also to become a beacon for environmental responsibility.

We must not only encourage our homes and business to conserve energy, we should also work hard to attract solar and wind industries to our area, and increase our reliance on these abundant natural energy resources. Toward that goal, the Palm Springs Planning Commission recently endorsed my proposal that our new General Plan specifically and explicitly target the renewable energy industry for local business growth. I believe such environmental initiatives can go hand-in-hand with preservation of our mountain views, recreational areas and desert landscape.

So I say to Palm Desert, Indio, Rancho Mirage and all our other brother and sister cities — let the competition for leadership in conservation and energy efficiency begin! We all have tremendous assets: tourism, real estate, educational institutions, medical centers, casinos and spectacular mountain and desert beauty.

Now it's time to add to these assets a 21st Century approach to energy and conservation. Our residents will receive lower utility bills, builders will spike demand with green products, graduates will find new jobs… and tourists will find that golf courses are not the only "green" things in Palm Springs.