English
Spanish
Vietnamese
By the end of 2021, thousands of San Jose homes will be powered by renewable wind energy — generated by a fleet of turbines 1,000 miles away in New Mexico. Since its launch in 2019, San Jose Clean Energy, the city’s electricity supplier, has invested in renewable energy such as solar and battery storage but the new...
San Jose considers gas ban for new commercial buildings
In its next phase toward a gas-free future, San Jose will soon consider whether to require all new commercial buildings to be powered entirely by electricity. “We need to move all of our energy to renewable energy,” said Kerrie Romanow, San Jose’s chief sustainability officer. “We want to stop the problem.” Expanding the gas prohibition...
Young South Bay activists mobilize to fight for climate justice
Marching down a narrow neighborhood street with signs reading “Green New Deal Now” and “We Can’t Breathe,” about 20 youth climate activists sought to surprise San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo with an early morning protest outside his home. “No justice, no sleep,” one of the protesters chanted through a megaphone while cars squeezed between the...
San Jose moves to preserve undeveloped land in Coyote Valley
San Jose’s General Plan task force this week overwhelmingly voted to preserve Coyote Valley as open space for wildlife and limited agricultural use. More than 160 letters were submitted ahead of a meeting Oct. 29, including 116 with the subject “Please Protect Coyote Valley” asking task force members to preserve the land as agricultural and...
Steep discounts to install charging stations coming soon to San Jose
This winter, businesses, commercial property owners and multi-family residences in San Jose can apply for steep discounts on electric vehicle charging stations as a result of an energy partnership’s efforts to bolster green infrastructure in the city. San Jose Clean Energy (SJCE) and the California Energy Commission’s California Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Project (CALeVIP) committed $14...
Silicon Valley lawmaker examines links between racism, the environment and COVID-19
WASHINGTON, D.C. — During a congressional committee hearing this week, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) said the coronavirus pandemic has clearly exposed systemic racism in the United States. “It didn’t create it, but it revealed the divisions,” she said. “We have an opportunity now to examine the broad scope of that and to come up...
San Jose fire station at risk of erosion from Coyote Creek
While the risk of Coyote Creek flooding is always present for San Joseans living near the creek, a more insidious threat is creeping steadily to undermine the stability of homes and properties in the area: The gradual erosion of soil along the river. Now, the city of San Jose is relocating Fire Station No. 8...
How a seven year fight to save a San Jose trestle ended
A steel bridge stored in Colorado may soon cross over Los Gatos Creek in San Jose’s Willow Glen neighborhood, replacing the nearly 100-year-old railroad structure a crew began demolishing this week. “It will be connected by fall – even if it is not paved,” said Councilmember Dev Davis. A band of preservationists fought for seven...
Silicon Valley economic slowdown brings positive news for environment, safety
With more than 2,800 cases of COVID-19 in Santa Clara County resulting in 144 deaths, and unemployment at almost 12 percent, a source of positive news can be found in the effects of quarantine on the environment and traffic safety. Significant decreases in travel by car should prove advantageous for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in...
San Jose produces less waste under COVID-19. But it’s not all good news.
COVID-19 has produced more complications for professionals in local waste and recycling collection. While the job has become all the more important with greater waste generation in residential areas of San Jose, waste hauling companies have felt the financial squeeze of suspended and terminated pickups by businesses plus a lapse in recycling etiquette from locals....