House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is among several notable government leaders and environmental experts slated to talk about green transportation at a Sept. 10 environmental summit hosted by local Rotary groups.
The summit is set for 8 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors chambers, located at 70 W. Hedding St. in San Jose. Residents can also access the event virtually.
Nuria Fernandez, current federal transit administrator in the U.S. Department of Transportation and former general manager and CEO of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), will also give a keynote speech. Both keynote speakers will present their material virtually, as their schedules allow, or their remarks may be pre-taped.
Rod Diridon, Sr., executive director emeritus of the Mineta Transportation Institute, will act as host of the summit. San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and Santa Clara County District 2 Supervisor Cindy Chavez will also be presenting.
Panelists will discuss the present and future of green transportation, such as the need to shift from carbon-based energy, in addition to discussing clean energy solutions, how to develop healthy and sustainable communities, and how to mitigate the climate crisis using policy, technology, practice and equity.
“Transportation and energy create over 60% of California’s global warming gasses that create climate change,” Diridon said. “This summit will provide important information and resources for us all to use to assure a more sustainable future.”
A panel discussion on “Green Transportation Solutions and Livable Cities” starts at 9:30 a.m. and will be moderated by Serena Alexander, a research associate with the Mineta Transportation Institute. Panelists include Diridon; DZE Global president Oscar E. Diaz; Carlos Moreno, a professor at Paris IAE – Panthéon, Sorbonne University; and Andrew Kunz, founder and president of the U.S. High Speed Rail Association.
A “Clean Energy Solutions: Generation and Delivery, Present and Future” panel begins at 11 a.m. and will be moderated by NBC meteorologist Kari Hall. Panelists include Daniel Kammen, director of UC-Berkeley’s Energy and Resources Group; Lewis Ames from UC-Berkeley’s Enviro-Policy Transformation; Alicia Eastman, president of Intercontinental Energy; and Jasneet Sharma, director of Sustainability Energy, Santa Clara County.
After the summit, guided tours of the VTA’s new Berryessa BART station and the new overhead catenary system for electric trains at the San Jose Diridon Station will be given. Buses will leave at 2 p.m. and return by approximately 5 p.m. Attendees of the in-person event can sign up for a tour when they register; space is limited.
The summit will be hosted by the Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group and Rotary District 5170, a collection of 61 community clubs located in Santa Clara, Alameda, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties.
The event is free for virtual attendees; registration for the in-person summit is $20 and includes access to exhibits, vendor presentations, refreshments and lunch. Register at https://events.humanitix.com/2022environmentsummit
Source: www.mercurynews.com