Election 2022: South Tahoe High Climate Crew and Key Club ask city council candidates questions

The South Tahoe High Climate Crew Club and Key Club asked questions of this year's candidates for South Lake Tahoe city council. Not all candidates replied and there are no responses from Brad Jacobson, Tamara Wallace or Sherry Eddy.

Due to the length of the questions and answers (there are seven of them) they will be split up over the next few days.

1. Do you attribute the worsening seasonal wildfire situation to climate change? If so, do you have any proposals to better protect against this danger?

SCOTT ROBBINS - Absolutely. But for the efforts of our firefighters and a last-minute change in the winds, the Caldor fire would have destroyed our community. Less than a year later, the north shore was similarly threatened with a similar fate from the Mosquito fire. Many other communities, including several close by, have not been spared.

The consequences of our changing climate are no longer relegated to the future, we live them in our present. We can choose to wait, and let this be the problem of others, or lead. I choose the latter. South Lake Tahoe’s recent commitment to a 100% carbon-free electric supply by 2030 is the right goal and the right motivation. Now that pledge must be met with actions. We must be willing to make investments now that demonstrate solutions to a crisis that we are otherwise leaving to the next generation to clean up.

DAVID JINKENS - Climate change is real as it has been for several millennia and it has certainly contributed to conditions that are making the dangers of fire worse in our State and our City. In the City of South Lake Tahoe, we can and should do more to ensure that a large number of poorly maintained and fire-prone parcels owned by the Federal government and State governments are made more fire-safe so that we minimize, to the greatest degree possible, the risk of fire inside the City. City government must be a leader in ensuring that these government lands are made safe by whatever means it takes to do so. We must protect our City, environment, Lake, water supply, habitat, and local economy by making certain that these lands are made more fire safe. In addition, we need to seek Federal and State funds to offer grants to private parties and low-income families to make their property fire safe too. There is no bigger threat to Lake Tahoe than the threat of fire, and City government must be the leader in ensuring that this does not happen. We must become a Fire Safe City. I hope as well that County officials consider similar measures to protect our County neighbors.

NICOLE RAMIREZ THOMAS - Short Answer: Yes, I think the worsening wildfire situation is part of climate change. My number one proposal to better protect us would be to increase education efforts. Retention of trained firefighters is important as well. See the long answer below.

I do attribute the worsening seasonal wildfire situation to climate change. It is undeniable.

I do not mean to be pessimistic about this, but I think it is a situation that we will need to mitigate and not one we can prevent. We need to acknowledge the situation, work to mitigate our concerns and the damage of fires, and look to the future for how we might improve our situation.

All of my life (I am 46) climate change has been discussed. Unfortunately, we haven't done enough to prevent this cycle of change so now we need to figure out how we will minimize the impacts in meaningful ways, manage the challenges that come with wildfires occurring, and consider how we might work to prevent other climate challenges going into the future. I think that this approach is proactive. It is not proactive to try and turn back the clock; we need to recognize and face the current challenges at this moment.

In considering how to better protect against this danger, let's think of wildfire not just as something that we in South Lake Tahoe are dealing with but consider that this is a global issue. We can see wildfires occur in many places around the world. It is important that we understand that what we do as individuals and as a community are part of a global trend and consider how we can as individuals and as a community contributes to bettering the climate situation through forward thinking and innovation. How will our small steps make an impact by influencing other communities and improving our situation locally?

So, how do we start to tackle this on our local level? Think even from your home, to your campus, to the extent of the city limits. This is how we start to figure out how to tackle problems. What is needed? Education? Policies? Volunteership on the part of community members? Money? What are the things we can fix and what are the things we cannot fix? This helps us develop some parameters on our situation.

To me, things that we can fix are associated with education. According to the National Parks Service, 85% of wildfires are caused by humans (numbers from other sources come in between 84% and 89%). Human causes include poorly managed fires at campsites (not putting fires out completely, having an open fire when it is allowed, etc.), and not understanding what starts fires (gunfire in dry forests, driving off-road on dry brush, etc.). Non-human causes include lightning and other natural causes. Education isn't something that is just a one-time or occasional thing; it needs to be persistent. People need to hear about fire safety more and realize they do have some control in helping to prevent fire.

The California State Parks (and others) do offer campers some education, but public messaging, learning throughout our schooling, and other ways would be good to keep fire safety on peoples' minds.

Education is also about defensible space and enforcement of it. It's also about water conservation and innovations (the monikers of humans are technology and innovation to adapt to an environment or situation). I would think about how we could incorporate these things into our city policies and culture.

Retention of trained firefighters is important as well. In speaking with a few of the firefighters, keeping trained firefighters is challenging. We need to consider how to retain trained professionals. This comes down to a budgetary consideration that includes increased wages and other things that would foster retention.

JOBY CEFALU - Climate change is a real part of the issue but in speaking with fire experts it is truly a multi faceted issue. Fuel reductions and collaboration is the key to prevent and avoid major catastrophic events in the future. The city has a defensible space expert on staff working within the city limits. I mention collaboration, and will in most of my answers, as the entire basin and state need to work towards a sustainable action plan as well a funding source to provide the necessary change moving forward. This outreach needs to include water providers to increase capacities in the case of fire. My goals above are important as well an emergency action plan in the case of needed evacuation.

KEVIN BRUNNER - I do think climate change is affecting our forest, and the science has proven it. More drought means stressed trees that are more susceptible to infestations – All that means fuel for fires. Our Forest Service is actively working to thin out some one our more dense and dangerous areas. But as much as we can try and prevent fires, they are going to be more and more common.

My proposal is to get the local neighborhoods more in touch with fire danger and evacuation and safety procedures. We have a current program in the City called STAT (South Tahoe Action Team) that offers first responder training and education for community members. These people will be called on by our Emergency Agencies to assist in times of need. I would like to see more folks involved in this program, and a way to organize these neighborhood teams to do drills and evacuation scenarios to be better prepared.

NICK SPEAL - Every year around the world and locally in South Lake Tahoe, we are seeing record- breaking weather events and natural disasters. There is widespread scientific consensus that carbon emissions are warming the climate and are a significant contributor towards droughts and wildfires that are more intense than ever. Last year was the first time a wildfire ever crossed the Sierra crest, and it happened twice!

On top of climate change, state and federal forest management has played a major role in the fires we have seen. Half a century of aggressive fire suppression has led to an accumulation of dry plant matter that has fueled super-fires beyond any chance of control.

The most urgent thing the City can do is make sure we are prepared for when the next one hits. We can inspect yards and support residents with clearing defensible space, and we can invest in our communication and evacuation infrastructure.

For the long-term, we need to take aggressive action to stop making climate change worse. One idea I’m especially excited about is the development of a biomass power generation facility that could provide nighttime renewable electricity, replacing natural gas and providing revenue to support forest thinning efforts nearby.

CHANTELLE SCHELLIING - Yes, I do believe climate change is a contributing factor. We also cannot ignore our roles as individuals and a collective community. Climate change is an existential threat that impacts everyone around the globe, and we need community-level and global solutions to curb its harmful effects. Because of my background in healthcare, I am a strong supporter of scientific, evidence-based solutions. As a City Council member, I would review data from community organizations, public databases, and intergovernmental agencies to analyze trends and advocate for strategies to get our local climate back on track. We need short term, mid-term, and long-term goals for climate change. It is great to dream big, but we also must be pragmatic.

Some of ideas might include:
-Immediate Action: I am endorsed by the South Lake Tahoe Firefighters Association. During a recent meeting with them, I learned about the challenges with retention, affordable housing for our first responders, and low wages. We need to better fund and support our firefighters.
- Short Term: Allocating resources to better care for and maintenance of our parks, including by ensuring appropriate clearance of dead vegetation and litter, creation of defensible space. Regulating sales of firewood and charcoal to prevent fires from starting.
- Mid & Longer Term: Fines or incentives for large corporations to engage more in preventing pollution and protecting against wildfires. Improving our energy use through promoting energy efficiency, electric vehicle infrastructure, and renewable energy sources. We can also leverage case studies from other cities, states, and countries for implementation ideas.

We can leverage state and federal funding to support many solutions especially long-term, higher cost ideas.

CODY BASS - Yes I believe Climate Change has contributed to the increase in wildfires over the past decade. The city must lead our community in efforts to reduce the impacts of climate change. I have supported and will always vote to protect our earth through progressive policies to replace our fleet and bring our facilities to net zero. We have committed to become 100% carbon neutral by 2030, with continued leadership that truly believes we have a responsibility to be part of the global solution to protect our planet, we can meet our Climate Action Plan goals.