The Valley Go Green (VGG) Summit is a valley-wide event focused on identifying creative solutions for a sustainable future in the San Joaquin Valley.  

The San Joaquin Valley officially shares the distinction of having the worst air quality in the nation with the Los Angeles region. Poor air quality is affecting the region's residents, public health, and the economy. Without further action, the problem will only get worse. The population of the region is growing more rapidly than in any other air basin in the state. This growth brings with it increases in vehicle miles traveled and urbanization, both of which counteract progress in emission reductions.  Residents of the San Joaquin Valley are particularly vulnerable to the effects of air pollution. Rates of asthma, lack of insurance, and childhood poverty are higher in the region than in the state as a whole. (www.uscusa.org)

Valley Go Green will provide information, education, and brainstorming on the following topics:

ü  Lifecycle Costing: Investing in High performance upgrades in a down economy

ü  Funding Commercial Energy Projects

ü  Designing the Net Zero Building

ü  CalGreen and LEED

ü  Funding Residential Green Energy Projects

ü  Commercial Utility Incentive and Rebate Programs

ü  Solar: Rebates and Financing Options

ü  Integrating Sustainability and Education

ü  Sustainable/Renewable Energy: The unusual suspects

VGG includes a lunch panel regarding “Getting Started with Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency”.  The panel includes:

§  Jeanne Clinton, Special Advisor to the Governor for Energy Efficiency

§  Tom Jordan, Senior Policy Advisor at the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District

§  Commissioner Karen Douglas, California Energy Commission

§  Steve Rapada, San Joaquin Valley College

VGG will also feature keynote speaker Terry Tamminen.   In 1993, Terry founded the Santa Monica BayKeeper. He later served as the Executive Director of the Environment Now Foundation in Santa Monica, CA and co-founded the Frank G. Wells Environmental Law Clinic at the School of Law, University of California Los Angeles.

In November 2003, Terry was appointed as the Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and was later appointed Cabinet Secretary, the Chief Policy Advisor to the Governor.

In February 2007, Tamminen founded the non-profit organization Seventh Generation Advisors. That year he was also appointed as an Operating Advisor to Pegasus Capital Advisors, a private equity fund that provides capital to middle market companies specializing in resource efficiency and sustainable technologies. In 2011 Terry was appointed as Strategic Advisor to the Founding Chair of the R20 Regions of Climate Action, created in 2010 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and other sub-national leaders.

An accomplished author, Terry's latest book is Watercolors: How JJ the Whale Saved Us.  His previous books include Cracking the Carbon Code: The Keys to Sustainable Profits in the New Economy and Lives Per Gallon: The True Cost of Our Oil Addiction