San Jose leading the U.S. in sustainable city living

San José likes to be the center of innovation. You’d almost think the city craves it, considering the latest vision set forth by city officials.

Last October, Mayor Chuck Reed announced San José’s Green Vision, a quest to be a sustainable city thriving on 100% renewable energy and clean living.

And it’s looking to accomplish this through a set of 10 goals to be achieved by 2023.

Green Vision goals
Within 15 years, the City of San José, in tandem with its residents and businesses, will:

1. Create 25,000 clean tech jobs as the "World Center of Clean Tech Innovation."
2. Reduce per capita energy use by 50 percent.
3. Receive 100 percent of its electrical power from clean renewable sources.
4. Build or retrofit 50 million square feet of green buildings.
5. Divert 100 percent of the waste from its landfill and convert waste to energy.
6. Recycle or beneficially reuse 100 percent of its waste-water (100 million gallons per day).
7. Adopt a General Plan with measurable standards for sustainable development.
8. Ensure that 100 percent of public fleet vehicles run on alternative fuels.
9. Plant 100,000 new trees and replace 100 percent of the streetlights with smart, zero-emission lighting.
10. Create 100 miles of interconnected trails.

At first glance, these objectives make it look like San José is taking one of those publicity dives in which lofty goals are set and somewhat worked towards, but at each annual review the due dates are pushed farther and farther back.

However, after reading the Green Vision plan and learning more about what San José has already accomplished, it seems that the city is truly going to be a mover and shaker in making sustainability not just a reality, but the norm among Americans.

Colin O’Mara, the city's Clean Technology Officer, took the time to talk with me more about the Green Vision, and after our conversation, I’m more excited than ever to live a short three hours from what is possibly going to be the historic city where global warming shifted from “eminent doom” to “that scary thing that almost happened, but we learned better just in time.”