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Palo Alto, Calif., Experiences Congress of Cities From Home
by Cherie Duvall
 Council Member Sid Espinosa of Palo Alto, Calif., was so inspired by Author Thomas L. Friedman’s speech on the need for a “green” revolution at NLC’s recent Congress of Cities and Exposition in Orlando, Fla., that he took it home for others to hear — by way of the World Wide Web.
“Here is a speech that resonated well with so many people,” emphasized Espinosa. “Thankfully NLC TV put it up on its website for people to view, so why not share it?”
NLC TV (www.nlctv.org) provided a platform for Espinosa and Palo Alto Mayor Larry Klein to show the speech during their December 8 city council meeting, sharing the message that Friedman, author of “Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution — And How it Can Renew America,” conveyed during a general session at the conference which they attended. In addition to broadcasting Friedman’s speech, the Internet TV channel provided live coverage of general sessions, daily newscasts and interviews that took place during the conference.
In his address, Friedman, a three-time Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, offered his insight on the economy, climate change and potential responses to the high cost of energy. Espinosa and Klein, who had the video downloaded from the NLC TV website and put on CD-ROM for easy access, felt that showing the video of the speech during the study session of their council meeting would be a good way to get the discussion started on how to further Palo Alto’s efforts on climate protection.
“I found the speech informational and inspiring,” said Espinosa. “The point of it was, let’s be realistic about the problems faced by the world and find solutions.”
Not only council members were in attendance at the city council meeting as members of the public were also encouraged to attend through different invitation avenues — from advertising in the newspaper to contacting the city’s youth council. A cross section of approximately 100 people was present, included business owners, chamber of commerce members, senior citizens and youth.
With such positive feedback from the viewers after watching Friedman, people took very different things away from the speech varying from being more educated about the impact of climate change, seeing business potential in going green and learning how to spread the word on climate change. Though showing videos during city council meetings isn’t the norm in Palo Alto, the speech was well received.
“Thank you to the mayor and Council Member Espinosa for bringing this to us,” remarked Council Member John Barton during the meeting. “I was skeptical as to why we were going to watch a video during a council meeting, but I understand the power of it and the value of it now.”
During the conference, the impact of Friedman’s speech was solidified for Klein in the moments after it was over.
“One of the aftermaths in Orlando, where [Friedman] made the speech, was that people in the halls were absolutely fired up,” recalled Klien during the council meeting. “There were people that were saying ‘let’s have a meeting right now to see what we can do.’ We certainly need that kind of enthusiasm day in and day out starting now.”
Espinosa is proud of the enthusiasm Palo Alto has had thus far in taking an aggressive approach in environmental stewardship — from creating recycling programs to making citizens and businesses more environmentally aware.
For instance, in October, Palo Alto was recognized by the Department of Energy during the Green Power Leadership Awards for the success of its PaloAltoGreen renewable energy program with participation by local businesses and residents that exceeds 20 percent of utility customers. Palo Alto is also participating in Green Neighbors, a project of Joint Venture Silicon Valley’s Climate Protection Task Force, which helps community-based organizations raise funds for projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support sustainability.
“There are a lot of efforts going on around the country,” said Klien. “Hopefully, we in Palo Alto will participate and do our bit to bring about the green revolution that Tom Friedman so eloquently described.”
Details: To watch coverage of the Congress of Cities, go to www.nlctv.org. To watch the Palo Alto city council’s December 8 meeting, visit www.communitymediacenter.net/watch/pacc_webcast/December/PACC_120808.html.
Options Abound for Viewing, Sharing Congress of Cities Videos
NLC’s Internet TV channel, NLC TV, provides an archive of events, including general sessions, workshops, interviews and daily newscast wrap ups, that took place last month during the Congress of Cities in Orlando, Fla.
Besides viewing videos right on www.nlctv.org, viewers can also download videos, which is a great option if sharing videos at a meeting or to keep in cities’ archives to refer to as needed.
To download video content from the Congress of Cities, go to www.nlctv.org/events/081111/. On the bottom right of the screen, there are category selections to find the video. Click “Play” next to the video of choice and the video will open in the media player. Move the cursor over the top of the video to display a pop up box to “Download This Video.”
Click on the text and the download will begin. When finished, the file will be saved on the computer in a selected folder.
The video can be replayed from the location where it’s saved or copied to a CD-ROM for replay.
There is also an “E-mail Video” link for each video. With this feature, individuals can e-mail a link of the selected video to their choice of recipients for them to view and save.
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