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This is our project idea funnel. This is where we collect ideas, vet ideas, and convert those ideas into active projects.
https://code4sac.github.io/projects/
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Climate Action Plan Ed/Outreach & Tracking/Monitoring App #11

Open aplodontia opened 8 years ago

aplodontia commented 8 years ago

I wandered into GitHub and Code4Sac recently with an idea. I don't write code but I'm interested in public access to government information. I'm looking for ideas, advice, examples and possible tools to initiate the following:

My idea is to increase public interest and action addressing climate change at the local level. Locally, we have city and county action plans. These documents are largely static and don't foster effective citizen participation & implementation.

I would like to deliver an app like "311" that would break these plans down for education and outreach, identify performance criteria and collect and report data based on public observations that feeds into monitoring and improving the effectiveness of these action plans. Ideally this would be a mobile app with desktop capabilities to best provide for citizen involvement with city and county climate action plan related activities.

I'm connected with 350Sacramento, a local non-profit organization which has held several town halls and other public events to increase public awareness and motivate citizens on climate change. This organization would seek sponsorship at local government, foundation, and private level to allow the completion of this project after the idea is better described based on existing examples and tools that demonstrate how this can be done. Based on preliminary review work these references appear to support and possibly fill some or all of the elements of this proposal. Contact has been made with several of the references below (SEEC) to find out if local government here participates in these efforts. There is no indication yet that is the case.

The Local Government Commission recommends ClearPath to local governments for conducting greenhouse gas and climate action plan progress tracking/monitoring. ClearPath does not have capabilities to facilitate engagement with community members and they haven't come across anything like I'm looking for. Palo Alto partnered with Opower to help residents reduce and track energy consumption - that's the closest app they were aware of.

I will next share the idea with the Capital Region Climate Readiness Collaborative for consideration and a broader discussion on this subject later.

ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability ClearPath & World’s Community Inventory Tool

Lisa Altieri, 350 Bay Area, is working on something I contacted her but not heard back: http://www.goco2free.org/

Local Government Actions for Climate Change

Statewide Energy Efficiency Collaborative (SEEC) Supporting California local governments ClearPath California

California State Profile and Energy Estimates (US Energy Information Administration)

joelrip commented 8 years ago

@aplodontia : Thanks for the idea and for finding us! Would you be interested in coming out on Wednesday night (or any Wednesday night) and talking to us more about what you're thinking? We've recently had some interest from another local environmental group (http://www.sacramentoccl.org/) as well. Perhaps you could find a joint project that would be beneficial to you both? If you're interested in coming out, you can RSVP for one of our meetups here: http://www.meetup.com/Code4Sac/

aplodontia commented 8 years ago

Thanks! I know SacCCL and am checking in to learn more about their idea. I'm also checking on some other leads. I'd like to pull more together before before pitching it to the group but may be able to come tomorrow.

craigm26 commented 8 years ago

@aplodontia did anything come from this?

aplodontia commented 8 years ago

Nothing yet. I reached out to a developer in the bay area that seemed to overlap with the idea but nothing happened. Still have interest in seeing this go forward and am now giving thought to options that might develop with new city grant funding for innovation. The regional climate readiness collaborative is also a likely next step.

Thanks

laltieri commented 6 years ago

Hi, Lisa Altieri here, I just found this randomly on a web search. Somehow I missed your email before, I would be happy to talk! We are launching our platform now in a number of cities. Please let me know the best way to reach you. Thanks!

aplodontia commented 6 years ago

Hi Lisa, Good to hear from you. I just got back from a long trip out of country and need a few days to regroup. I think we might have a couple of folks who could participate in a discussion soon. I'll send contact info here or maybe you can share your email address for followup soon. Good to hear your platform is rolling out. Thanks, Dale