The Sunset over the Bay Sustainability Summit presented by the League of Women Voters at the FWC Florida Fish and Wildlife Institute brought about 200 guests in attendance last Saturday. The workshop presented information on solar co-ops, actions by the City of St Pete Department of Sustainability and Resilience or ISAP and Pinellas County, who are united in support of clean and renewable energy, and community solar and efficiency opportunities. The greening of our roadways, the implementation of LED city lights and the potential for solar powered street lights in our area, were all discussed to detail the positive initiatives our area is taking.

Florida Solar Corp presented new resources on solar energy on the affordability of solar power installation on residential property and the financing options available to all homeowners and renters.

A key message of the summit is how the community communicates, acknowledges and responds to coastal vulnerabilities in an effort to support of our economic and environmental interests in our ability to achieve resilience and adaptation to climate change.

An integral portion of the presentation, guest speakers, presented insights about wastewater planning, and data from beach nourishment. The beach nourishment data included the duration timeline of beach sand replenishment as part of the conversation about the conservation in mitigating and adapting to climate change to drive the awareness and action of residents to make sustainable choices and decisions. Resilience is the goal to achieve when planning and developing the community we love so much in the face of climate change’s Sea Level Rise Projections for our area.

The key message of the summit is how the community communicates, acknowledges and responds to coastal vulnerabilities in an effort to support of our economic and environmental interests in our ability to achieve resilience and adaptation to climate change. St Petersburg and all of Pinellas County will continue to thrive from the implementation of clean energy and clean water.

To become involved with the League of Woman Voters activities, please visit their website. League of Women Voters of the St. Petersburg Area

Article written by Evika Grant and Libby Carnahan, Florida Sea Grant.

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