MCF Unveils Five-Year, $10 Million Initiative to Spur Local Efforts Addressing Climate Change

October 28, 2009

contact: Fred Silverman (415.464.2527 or via email)

Under a Marin Community Foundation (MCF) initiative to reduce the impact of climate change, the rangelands of West Marin have become the epicenter of research to explore the land's ability to absorb carbon from the atmosphere.

This innovative approach to decreasing levels of greenhouse gases, called carbon sequestration, is one of several efforts that the Foundation will fund over the next five years as part of a $10 million investment to increase the public's awareness of and response to climate change.

"We want Marin to do more than just play its part," said MCF President Thomas Peters in announcing the initiative. "We want to spur Marin residents to set the standard for how an entire community rallies around a global issue. In doing so, we'll be building on decades of world-renowned environmental stewardship in the County."

Research being overseen by the Marin Carbon Project — a collaboration of scientists, local ranchers, County agencies, nonprofit organizations, and others — is exploring ways to increase rangelands' natural ability to absorb carbon dioxide. "By exploring the use of compost, different grazing patterns, and even different kinds of plows, scientists are finding the potential to permanently remove hundreds of thousands of tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere," Peters explained.

Thus far, the Marin Carbon Project has received $240,000 in funding from the Foundation.

"Our preliminary results from the first year of research suggest that there is significant potential to sequester carbon in Marin's rangeland soils," said Dr. Whendee Silver, co-founder and lead scientist of the Marin Carbon Project and Professor of Ecosystem Ecology in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at the University of California, Berkeley.

"If this strategy is successful, Marin will be exporting it widely," added Peters. "It could be a real source of pride that key research and early adoption of this technique took place in our own backyard."

In addition to the carbon sequestration project, the Foundation's support will focus on energy and water efficiency, as well as ways to reduce vehicular traffic in Marin, the single largest source of carbon emissions in the County.

"We'll be investing directly in projects to improve the energy efficiency of schools, nonprofit agencies, and affordable housing projects," explained Peters.

MCF also plans to work with local municipal and County agencies to increase public awareness of water and energy efficiency in schools, businesses, and homes, with an emphasis on older buildings that can be made more energy-efficient through simple and affordable methods. "We want to make it easier for local residents to find out about sources of financing, access technical help, and learn about successful projects in order to move ahead on their own efforts. And those projects can bring about more jobs," Peters added.

The Foundation will also increase its support of existing efforts to cut down on vehicular traffic. Safe Routes to Schools, a project of the Transportation Authority of Marin, has been highly successful in encouraging elementary school students to walk, bike, and use public transportation, thereby reducing car trips to and from schools. Under this initiative, MCF intends to support efforts to expand its reach into middle and high schools.

Cumulatively, the Foundation hopes that as a result of the programs it will fund over the five years of this initiative, there will be a reduction in carbon emissions of over 2 million metric tons, the equivalent of taking over 326,000 cars off the road.

"As we move forward with this initiative, we will also look at ways to implement long-term solutions to energy use in Marin, such as land use policies that allow for higher density of housing close to public transportation," stated Peters. "These are complicated issues with deeply held points of view, but when it comes to such a challenging and urgent issue as climate change, no approach can be overlooked."

This initiative is one of four the Foundation is implementing under its new Strategic Plan. The other three focus on closing the educational achievement gap, ending the cycle of poverty for low-income families, and developing more affordable housing.