After voting in favor 4-1, the Nevada City Council has made the town the 41st city nationwide to establish a goal that all energy sources be renewable by 2050. Don Rivenes, with the Nevada County Climate Change Coalition, says 14 of the 15 hottest years on record, globally, have occurred since the beginning of the century, and 2017 is predicted to be the second warmest on record. He says homeowners can reduce their dependence on fossil fuels by installing solar panels…

click to listen to Don Rivenes

Rivenes says the community can also take more action by expanding what’s called “aggregation”…

click to listen to Don Rivenes

The Council also approved having the city’s electricity come entirely from renewable sources by 2030. Rivenes says Nevada City has an existing Energy Action Plan, with a goal of a 28% reduction in electricity use by 2020. California has a goal of an 80% reduction by 2045. Similar pledges have already been made by South Lake Tahoe.