The Loma Prietan - November/December 2009

The bike-to-school program is one facet of a larger effort to green Los Altos's schools. An affiliate program, Living Classrooms, is a collaboration with parents and school administrators to broaden environmental education into all aspects of the school community. Among the goals are installing solar energy using free financing through state renewable-energy bonds, establishing campus gardens, and making compostable lunches available to students.

In addition to schools, GreenTown Los Altos is focusing on small businesses. Plans are in the works for a business co-op, which will have an early emphasis on restaurants and their take-out packaging. Landuse and housing density working groups are drafting a vision for a sustainable downtown. The Waste Reduction Initiative has resulted in several community events — such as Fine Art in the Park, in May — diverting up to 80 percent of their waste. The group has also had a chance to discuss waste policy with city staff. The city's public works director remarked that GreenTown Los Altos's research and expertise saved him $200,000 in payments that would have gone to a consultant, according to executive director Kacey Fitzpatrick.

All of these efforts come on the heels of some major steps the city has taken in recent years. Los Altos was one of the first cities in the Bay Area to pass a green building ordinance in 2007. And it is one of the signatories of the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. The city has just completed its baseline inventory of greenhouse gas emissions for municipal operations, and this report will soon be public.