Two environmental ideas, one classic and one new, collide in a new city program.
The city's environmental programs division will plant a grove of 33 Coastal Live Oak trees that residents can sponsor by purchasing "carbon offsets" to balance their activities that produce carbon dioxide emissions.
The Morgan Hill City Council OKd the $24,000 program in a 4-1 vote at a recent meeting. Councilwoman Marby Lee dissented, saying it wasn't something she could support in these tight economic times.
Each tree can absorb about 275 pounds of the climate change-inducing toxin each year, according to environmental programs coordinator Rebecca Fotu.
"The trees' purpose is to pay X amount to offset Y amount of carbon," Fotu explained.
The grove will be located on the east side of Butterfield Boulevard between Diana and Dunne avenues, Fotu said. The city's next step is to rezone this land from residential to open space, she said.
"A carbon offset allows individuals or organizations to invest in carbon reduction projects (solar power or tree planting) that would essentially "cancel out" their extra polluting activities, like air travel, and help them reduce carbon dioxide emission further or become carbon neutral," Fotu said in an e-mail. They became popular recently along with the rise in awareness of climate change, which most scientists say is caused by carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere through the burning of gasoline, coal, oil and natural gas, she said. The typical American household generates 55,000 pounds of carbon dioxide annually, according to Fotu. People are reducing the amount of carbon they produce by driving less and turning down their thermostats, but there are still some lifestyle activities that result in carbon dioxide emitted, like flying.
With these trees, residents could offset a flight from San Jose to Los Angeles, which results in half a ton of carbon dioxide emissions, with a $26.67 offset purchase. The offset will come from the carbon dioxide absorbed by the trees.
Lee said she was "kind of concerned about how much it will help.
"It would be nice to have a lot more trees," she said.
Councilman Mark Grzan said this small city effort seeds a larger effort.
"We need to be doing as much as we can locally to avert a catastrophe," Grzan said.
Councilman Larry Carr, who serves on the city's Utilities and Environmental Council Sub-committee and suggested the city come up with an environmental agenda, pointed out that the money was just a transfer from within the Environmental Programs Division, not new money being moved from elsewhere in the city budget.
While the $24,000 city investment in the trees will pay for the initial grove, Fotu said the money coming in from carbon offsets purchased will be used for future tree planting in the city, similar to a revolving loan fund.
Just $10,600 of the seed money will be used to establish the trees in the first year, Fotu said. She said the trees will likely not be planted until the spring. In the meantime, the zone changing can take between eight and 12 weeks to process, she said.
Natalie Everett
Natalie Everett Natalie Everett is the education and city reporter for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106, ext. 201, or neverett@morganhilltimes.com.
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