Letter: Working toward net-zero carbon emissions | Letters to the Editor

We are the administrative team of The Hero Foundation. Thank you for your willingness to hear the message in this letter and for your desire to serve the community.

Along with other local nonprofits, we are deeply concerned with the future of our failing ecosystem, and we greatly appreciate your board’s wise decision to move forward with a County Climate Emergency Resolution. This decision is a critical step to counter the specter of a planet made inhospitable by the shortsighted actions of humans. With our County’s natural and human resources, Napa can and must act as a leader for other counties and their governing bodies as we tackle the climate emergency on an inter-governmental level.

Moving forward, myself, my team, my entire generation, and the ones to follow, are committed to staying the course, no matter the obstacle, toward our collective goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. Given the growing number of California cities adopting similar initiatives, we are clearly not alone in our efforts to protect the world as a sustainable and healthy home for our future generations. The Hero Foundation, our powerful team of volunteers, and administrative team members would like to formally announce our support along with our blood, sweat, and tears to our collective quest to reach net-zero carbon emissions and prevent further harm to our planet. We know we can do this, but time is running out. This work amounts to a truly heroic quest, and we will need all the allies we can find.

Members of The Hero Foundation stand with Napa Climate NOW and Schools for Climate Action. We have been following their collective efforts and want to reiterate the importance of their work and the message they are sharing. It is our hope, as another youth-led Napa organization, that you heed our words, our futures are on the line, and no action is too small to matter; although we could surely use some action on a grand scale, too. What we do in this moment is monumentally important. Without hopeful actions in the present, the sustainable future for our planet will be forfeit.

As we approach the point of no return in the planet’s climate heating crisis, our level of concern is skyrocketing, especially with talks of pushing the goal of zero carbon emissions to 2045. How could we live with the consequences of this? We implore you to stay the course, for anything else will truly be detrimental to the futures of our children and their children. Science tells us no we have no choice. The time for action cannot wait, we no longer have that luxury. Quite simply; everything is at stake. Safe air to breathe. Loss of housing. Food shortages. Environmental and social justice. Health care securities. Sustainable water and resource infrastructure. Reliable weather that doesn’t post-catastrophic level threats to communities. And this may all be just the beginning.

Napa County is in a position of leadership. We have the resources that allow us to make challenging and uncomfortable decisions for the sake of our residents. Globally, the majority of communities lack the resources that would allow them to make these choices, they may need to rely on us to use our profound privilege in the service of the greater good. We call on you to answer this call to action. Any legislative or administrative decision we make should take into consideration our collective goal to reach net-zero emissions within the next eight years.

The Hero Foundation, our many volunteers, and our administrative team stand ready to support you in this work. That is why our organization exists: to help and protect our community, and to leave it better than we found it. Please take us up on our offer to help; Our children, our grandchildren, and all of Earth’s future inhabitants deserve to live in peace on a healthy, vibrant planet, abundant with life, love, and peace. In light of the unfolding climate crisis, it is not overly dramatic to say:

This is our opportunity to do our part in saving the world.

The world is counting on us. The world is counting on you. Never forget it.

We hope to hear back from you with the news that you have passed the Climate Emergency Resolution and the firm goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2030.

Executive Director, The Hero Foundation