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Basics of the Sustainability Initiative

2008 September October Sustainable Blueprint

September 10, 2009

The Sonoma County Sustainability Initiative has two broad objectives: establish the county as a landscape-scale laboratory to test greenhouse gas reduction strategies, and greatly reduce carbon emissions within the county. These are the working goals of the initiative:

Adopt practices in agriculture, forestry, and land-use that will sequester carbon equal to half the county’s transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions.
Measure the carbon footprint of all county wineries by 2010.
Increase local food production.
Establish reliable methods for measuring progress in emission reduction.
Develop effective educational programs to support goals.
Improve shipping strategies so more goods are delivered using less packaging and fuel.
Create a county fleet of 5,000 plug-in hybrid or electric vehicles by 2012.
Create a “zero net carbon” water supply by 2015.
Reduce emissions from vineyard farm equipment 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2015, and 50 percent by 2030.
Develop a decentralized network supplying at least 250 megawatts of renewable energy by 2030 (equivalent to half the electrical power currently consumed in the county).
Restore 100 percent of the native riparian vegetation on county streams by 2030 to improve fish habitat.

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