San Jose's Green Plan
Click here for the San Jose Green Vision website
Last year, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed launched a 15-year Green Vision plan for San Jose - to make his city of one million a world model for urban sustainable development.
"And you can have a green economy that is stronger and more vibrant than anything we've seen in 100 years."
He said San Jose supports clean technology companies through co-operative efforts like working with community colleges and companies to set up programs to train people for the green economy, "so as companies grow, residents will be willing and able to fill the job.
"We're anticipating the population to grow by three or four hundred thousand people over the next 30 years, and we hope a lot of that economic opportunity will come from green technologies."
San Jose's Green Vision plan sets out 10 goals to meet within 15 years:
1. Create 25,000 clean-tech jobs as the world centre of clean-tech innovation.
2. Reduce per capita energy use by 50 per cent.
3. Receive 100 per cent of its electrical power from clean renewable sources.
4. Build or retrofit 50 million square feet of green buildings.
5. Divert 100 per cent of the waste from its landfill and convert waste to energy.
6. Recycle or reuse 100 per cent of its waste water (380 million litres per day) by delivering it to major businesses, city parks and landscaping, and school grounds.
7. Adopt a General Plan with measurable standards for sustainable development. (This plan includes the development of high-density housing and public transit.)
8. Ensure that 100 per cent of public fleet vehicles run on alternative fuels.
9. Plant 100,000 new trees and replace 100 per cent of the city's streetlights with smart, zero-emission lighting.
10. Create more than 160 kilometres of interconnected trails that will allow residents to travel more easily by bicycle or on foot.
