Morgan Hill Times Features Mayoral Candidates on Climate Change
Larry Carr was recently featured on The Morgan Hill Times article regarding mayoral candidates and their thoughts on climate change.
Cities can ‘do their part’
Candidate and former City Council Member Larry Carr straightforwardly stated the need to address climate change “as a crisis.” He noted that while big action on climate may generally be state level, smaller towns can “do their part.”
In an interview, Carr highlighted avenues that he would pursue to limit climate change and be ready for its impacts, concentrating on transportation as a significant opportunity for lowering emissions. He brought up his endorsement by the League of Conservation Voters and his experience on the Board of Directors for the Valley Transportation Authority as evidence of his commitment to doing so.
His view focuses on getting people “out of cars” by providing “better public transit in South County.” This would involve forming coalitions to get more buses moving people around town and to nearby areas, like San Jose. He also emphasized electrification: making sure that Caltrain electrification extends through Morgan Hill and transitioning the city’s fleet of vehicles from gas-powered to electric.
On dealing with the effects of climate change, Carr noted that Morgan Hill residents are already doing a good job at conserving water—but, he remarked, we “can’t conserve past zero.” He talked about plans to build a water reclamation plant and to focus on water recycling as the next move past conservation.
To address wildfires, Carr said he would aim to build another fire station equipped with evacuation measures to help the town in case of any future encroaching wildfires.
Carr concluded with a plan to “advocate to fund” the implementation of the city’s new Climate Action Plan (CAP) and move toward establishing more community efforts to reach climate goals, noting the success of Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) and his role as a past council member who voted to form the agency.