Opening Remarks

[an except from Dave Room's opening remarks]

When I leave work, I'm Melia's Papa.
She is my inspiration and the reason I am here today.
Indigenous people all over the world say
"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children"
We owe it to Melia's generation to pass on clean air, clean water. healthy communities,
and an inclusive green economy.

The best time to build a renewable energy economy was thirty years ago.
Three decades ago, California was the world leader in solar and wind solar energy.
Special interests conspired to kill California's nascent renewable energy economy.
The second best time is now. We're not going to let them squash us again.
A local clean energy movement is blossoming here in the Bay Area.

The City of Berkeley developed a financing program
that enables people to pay for clean technologies over time on their property tax bills.
Sonoma County and The City of San Francisco have developed excellent financing programs.
Alameda County and ABAG are helping it spread throughout the region.
Joe Biden is now investigating Property Assessed Clean Energy as a key strategy. Berkeley FIRST.
The New York Time had two articles on Marin's Community Choice program.
Marin Clean Energy just inked a deal to get 50% renewable power by 2014.
The City of San Francisco is following in its footsteps.
Washington School in Berkeley became a Solar school
Green jobs programs are training folks in Richmond, Oakland, Berkeley, SF, Marin and San Jose
Businesses are employing these graduates to install clean energy technologies.
Last July, the City of Oakland with the active support and assistance of the Oakland Climate Action Coalition
passed one of the most aggressive greenhouse gas reduction goals in the nation.
Garrett Fitzgerald, Sustainability Coordinator of the City of Oakland, asked me to tell you
that the first draft of the ECAP for public comment on March 30th

What do all these organizations and institutions have in common?
They are building healthy communities
for today and for tomorrow.

But we're still operating more like isolated cells than a coordinated movement.

We're like a caterpillar part way through its transfromation.
Once the caterpillar is in the cocoon,
new cells begin to appear.
These Imaginal Cells resonate at a different frequency.
They are different enough that caterpillar's immune system attacks them.
But new imaginal cells continue to appear,
overwhelming the caterpillar's immune system.

And then an amazing thing happens!
The individual imaginal cells
start to clump together into groups.
resonating at the same frequency,
passing information from one to another.

That's where we are now.. a nascent movement..
To take it to the next level, we need work together on a regional basis.
Cooperate, coordinate, share, support!
Like we're doing here today.
We'd like to work with you in a regional alliance.
Let's create space for continuing what we start today.
We'll be talking about this possibility as a group
in an organizing session tomorrow afternoon at 2p.
Please do whatever you can
to be back here at 2p tomorrow!

As an ambassador of Transition US, I am required to disclose TUS board membership in related business. And identify the information presented as a TUS position, another organization’s position, or a personal position.

Now, I'm Melia's Papa.

This local clean energy movement is part of a global shift.
It is a shift from believing that we have a resources problem
to acknowledging that we have a cultural problem
and that we need to evolve our culture
so that is economically sustainable, equitable, and in balance with nature.
By embracing the shift,
not only do we evade the noose of a resources problem,
we become the resources.
And we are renewable.

We renew ourselves
by working together
to reduce our collective dependence
on the global, fossil fuel, consumption economy.

We renew ourselves
by working together
to reduce consumption
and meet more of our needs locally.

Here's what comes next for the caterpillar.
After a while,
the groups of imaginal cells
coalesce into a network of imaginal cells,
all resonating at the same frequency,
all passing information from one to another.

At some point,
the entire network of imaginal cells
suddenly realizes all together
that it is Something Different from the caterpillar.
Something New!
Something Wonderful!…
A butterfly!

Here's the best part.
There is a job for every cell,
and every cell is important.
Each cell does what it is most drawn to do.
Every other cell encourages it to do just that.

Folks, we are the imaginal cells of this movement.