Residents are on the edge of their seats as the cities of Claremont and Riverside compete neck-and-neck, logging points at a steady rate to take first place in the 2014 CoolCalifornia City Challenge.
As of Thursday, September 18, Claremonters participating in the challenge have racked up 1,708,102 points while Riverside maintains its first-place status and continues to lead the pack with 1,765,712 points.
Now only 57,610 behind Riverside, Claremont is closing in fast and with your continued help, the city could take the win!
This Saturday, September 20, Sustainable Claremont will be hosting a CoolCalifornia City Challenge Party at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden.
The day will feature free admission for Claremont residents between 10 a.m. and  4 p.m. who bring a recent Southern California Edison electric bill or Southern California Gas Company bill and present it to the admission kiosk. Sustainable Claremont will be on hand to assist you in getting signed up—or making progress on your entries
The party will feature complimentary refreshments on the Garden Shop patio, music, the chance to get registered on the spot if you’re not already (they’ll have laptops available and support standing by), as well as opportunities to learn more about the CoolCalifornia City Challenge and other local sustainability efforts, including representatives from local utilities.
For more information on Saturday’s event, please contact Eric Garton at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden at  (909) 625-8767 ext. 251.
Residents have until Monday, September 29 at 11:59 p.m. to log on and earn points towards winning a portion of the $50,000 to be distributed between cities based on the number of points accumulated. This will be the last opportunity to enter energy and vehicle data for August.
Claremont has traded the top spot with Riverside several times over the course of the challenge despite the fact that Riverside has more than twice the number of residents participating in the program. Now with 399 participants, Claremont is closing the gap fast!
The CoolCalifornia Challenge was created to encourage voluntary carbon footprint reductions throughout the state and to track household greenhouse gas emissions reductions from city to city. Since April 1, participating households have been encouraged to track their energy and household vehicle emissions and join EcoTeams, groups of households working together to reduce their carbon footprints, and earn points in the program.
The city with the most points at the end of the five-month challenge period will be crowned the “Coolest California City” for 2014 at an awards ceremony at the Air Resources Board meeting in October. In addition, two runner-up cities will each earn the title of “Cool California City,” and be awarded second- and third-place prizes. All cities will receive prize money based on the percentage of overall points earned by participants in their city during the competition.
For more details about how to log and calculate points, log on to: https://coolclimate.berkeley.edu/challenge/how-do-we-calculate-points-for-the-challenge.php
—Angela Bailey
news@claremont-couri