Silicon Valley - Palo Alto - California

As a guest of the city of Palo Alto, one can only marvel at the level of intellectual capital in a city founded on the academic excellence of Stanford University and the home of HP, Facebook, and Tesla.

With the average house price being over $2,000,000, I was surprised that rather than Palo Alto being an opulent bastion of capitalism, it was the level of community engagement in local concerns and politics that impressed upon me the most Yes to "waste to energy", No to "loosing park land", Yes to "responsible fiscal policy", Yes to "green energy" etc etc...all views clearly posted in residents gardens, often with neighbours sitting on opposite sides of the fence on important issues.

Each person I have met has been exceedingly polite, even the drivers appear to have a understanding of pedestrian and cyclists needs. The cycling infrastructure has been exceptional, the footpaths well signed and the whole experience of using the public transport a real pleasure. Trains, trams, light rail, ferries...all clean, well maintained and on time.

So the take aways from California, is that it is very advanced in sustainable practices and thinking. Climate change mitigation is well covered with over 1000 electric vehicle already on the roads, green energy offered to residents, Platinum LEEDS buildings, organic supermarkets, Prius everywhere...

However, while Palo Alto has done some significant modeling on Sea level rises, there does appear to be less focus on climate change adaption. What is planned to save the 2,700 homes that could flood with a 19 inch rise in sea levels?

I would like to thank DVD, Tommy, Greg, Tom, Pam and Jim, and Iris for a wonderful stay in Palo Alto. It was a joy to have dinner, attend meetings and general have great conversations on all topics. Big thanks to DVD for arranging such a busy and well planned structured "taste" of the city. Tommy's  tour of Amber Ridge was a highlight, along with flooring the Tesla Roadster 0-60 in 3.7 seconds.

Highlights of the visit also included a workshop on electric vehicles in San Jose, and three days at the GreenBiz conference in San Francisco.

 

GreenBiz conference in San Francisco