Santa Cruz is probably in the "early adopter" category when it comes to reducing fossil fuel use, and the changes are visible all over town. The City of Santa Cruz parking lot has been generating electricity since 2002 with its solar carports (right).
Last year, the Trader Joe's parking lot got a row of electric vehicle charging stations (left), joining a number of other locations.
And this week saw a "ribbon cutting" on the return of an electric bikeshare program. The new white bikes don't stand out like the red ones did a few years ago, but the city promises that the new system will correct the problems that doomed the red bikes.
More changes: internal-combustion Metro buses are gradually being replaced with natural-gas and electric models. As electric vehicle technology continues to improve, I expect electric power to replace natural gas.
p.s. Cabrillo (or whatever its new name will be) College is just finishing up a huge parking-lot solar installation.
