Gainesville residents are looking at how they will use their energy 26 years in the future.
At 7 p.m. tonight, the Suwannee-St.Johns Group Sierra Club, a nonprofit environmental organization, will kick off its 2019 Clean Energy Campaign at the Civic Media Center, at 433 S Main St., said Roberta Gastmeyer, the club’s treasurer.
The resolution, titled “Ready for 100,” was unanimously passed in October and aims to have Gainesville running on 100 percent renewable energy by 2045, Gastmeyer said.
The Sierra Club has been working with groups such as the local chapters of the NAACP, Citizens’ Climate Lobby and the Women’s March, a social organization, to help make this resolution a reality, she said.
Thirty to 50 people are expected to attend. Gastmeyer said she is hoping UF and Santa Fe College students will attend.
About 100 U.S. cities have committed to using 100 percent renewable energy in the future, Gastmeyer said. Gainesville city commissioners, such as Adrian Hayes-Santos, have been vocal about the “Ready for 100" resolution.
“He has been instrumental in getting it passed and making sure the city follows through,” Gastmeyer said.
Besides the long term 2045 goal, Hayes-Santos said he is working on short-term goals such as a two-year city pilot program that utilizes electric cars.
“You can’t just do it overnight,” Hayes-Santos said. “You have to continually make progress.”
As part of the event, a video shot by Patrick Gilmartin, a 19-year-old UF finance sophomore and member of the Sierra Club, will explain the resolution and will be followed by an open discussion.
“I wanted to make a call to action to the regular citizens of Gainesville,” he said.
Contact Kyle Wood at kwood@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @Kkylewood.
