Menlo Spark

Menlo Spark Menlo Spark is a nonprofit organization joining together businesses, residents and government to achieve a climate neutral community within ten years.

Menlo Spark began when a small group of community members with diverse interests and experience joined together to explore opportunities to promote long-term economic vitality, equity, and quality of life in Menlo Park while addressing the urgent threat of climate change. We believe that Menlo Park, with its highly engaged citizenry and unique resources in the heart of Silicon Valley, can be a nat

ional leader in sustainability and climate action, generating massive local benefits while serving as an example to similar cities and towns across the country. Menlo Spark is a nonprofit initiative that collaborates with the city government, businesses, and residents to ensure the success of the community’s efforts on climate and sustainability-related issues. By helping to weave together the network of projects and initiatives in the city that may contribute to sustainability, Menlo Spark actively works towards a more unified strategy for progress towards the ultimate goal of climate neutrality.

Read our Executive Director’s letter to the editor! Bay Area residents are being fed misinformation for clean air rules ...
06/12/2026

Read our Executive Director’s letter to the editor!

Bay Area residents are being fed misinformation for clean air rules that phase our existing gas appliances. In this letter to the editor, Menlo Spark’s Executive Director Brian Schmidt reminds readers what these clean air rules really are about: public health, affordability, and equity.

Read the full LTE here: bit.ly/airdistrictLTE

Cool air. Hot showers. Lower bills. Peace of mind. These are the benefits renters at our latest electrification buildin...
05/20/2026

Cool air. Hot showers. Lower bills. Peace of mind.

These are the benefits renters at our latest electrification building project in Berkeley now enjoy after their gas appliances for space and water heating were replaced with electric heat pumps.

What makes the addition of heat pump water heaters and HVAC systems so special? It’s not just about reducing climate pollution in our communities. It means:
💡 residents now pay less in energy bills
💡 coming home to consistent hot water
💡 tenants with asthma face lower risk of asthma attacks on high-pollution days
💡 tenants previously displaced by gas leaks can breathe easy in their homes again.

We brought together policymakers, building owners, contractors, and clean air advocates to walk through this 65-year-old building and see how it was done. The takeaway was clear: everyone is happier with heat pumps.

Our homes’ appliances shouldn’t hurt our health or our wallets, and we’re showing how welcoming heat pump technology is the right move for our homes.

Thank you to our incredible partners, GLD Green Energy and the building owner for developing this project with us. And thank you to the city staff and leaders who joined us on this tour.

Polluters want to delay clean air protections. Yesterday, Menlo Spark joined 99 Bay Area community members to tell the ...
05/07/2026

Polluters want to delay clean air protections. Yesterday, Menlo Spark joined 99 Bay Area community members to tell the meeting to say NO to big polluters. 🚫

Yesterday’s Bay Area Air District board meeting had a broad coalition backing up clean air standards for water heaters. Youth activists spoke about the future they deserve. Physicians described the patients they see suffering from pollution-related illness. Contractors talked about the jobs and opportunities that come with the clean energy transition.

The message was consistent: the Bay Area is ready for clean air standards that will help households upgrade to efficient electric appliances that cost less to run and keep families healthier.

Menlo Spark supports these standards that help households upgrade to cleaner, more efficient electric appliances. They’re better for our health, and better for our energy bills.

No delays. Tell Bay Area Air District: implement these rules with common-sense flexibility measures on time.

The smog isn’t just coming from traffic. It’s coming from our homes.Gas-burning water heaters and furnaces produce more ...
05/05/2026

The smog isn’t just coming from traffic. It’s coming from our homes.

Gas-burning water heaters and furnaces produce more smog-forming pollution than all passenger cars in the Bay Area combined.

We already have clean air standards that can save lives. Now they need to be implemented.

Today, this message is featured in a full-page San Francisco Chronicle ad from the Bay Area Clean Air Coalition.

Tell Bay Area Air District: don’t delay. Protect our air. Implement Rule 9-6. Take a look at the ad and help amplify!

Last Saturday, Menlo Spark celebrated Earth Day the best way we know how: By joining our communities to celebrate our pl...
05/04/2026

Last Saturday, Menlo Spark celebrated Earth Day the best way we know how: By joining our communities to celebrate our planet at the Love Our Earth Festival 🌎🌟

It was a day of art, environmental education, and community joy. It was wonderful to see our Menlo Park and East Palo Alto communities come together to plant trees, make Earth Altars, and enjoy some Bad Bunny tunes while we visited over 50 local vendors, nonprofits, and public agencies 🤝

We appreciate to the 400+ community members who attended the Love Our Earth Festival. A special thank you to our incredible volunteers who helped run the event and ensure all attendees could enjoy 🙌

Thank you to our incredible partners who hosted and sponsored this event: City of Menlo Park Government, City of East Palo Alto - Government, 350 Silicon Valley, Acterra: Action for a Healthy Planet, Peninsula Clean Energy, and Ravenswood Middle School.

It was a delight to co-sponsor this wonderful event promoting awareness, joy, and most importantly, hope!

Can’t wait for next year’s festival! 🎉

Photo Credit: ProBono Photo/Alfred Leung

05/04/2026

🏘️Join the City of Menlo Park and the San Mateo County RICAPS Climate Collaborative for an engaging in-person luncheon May 19 from 11 a.m.–3 p.m., tailored specifically for multifamily property owners across San Mateo County at the Chan Zuckerberg Community Space (801 Jefferson Avenue, 100, Redwood City).

The event will bring together industry experts, fellow property owners and local energy program leaders to help community members confidently move toward modern, energy-efficient building upgrades.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4w31DQE

04/28/2026

On May 6, raise your voice 📣 to reduce emissions and improve air quality. Click the link in comments to learn how you can support Bay Area Air District Appliance rules that protect our public health and fight against climate change.

04/14/2026

⭐ You’re invited to join Menlo Park in celebrating the first-ever Heat Pump Week, April 11–19, a statewide effort to highlight energy-efficient electric appliances that can heat and cool your home while reducing greenhouse gas emissions!

ℹ️ This week will feature educational events, product demonstrations and workforce trainings across the Bay Area.

✅ Menlo Park residents may also be eligible for no-cost upgrades or rebates through the City's Home Upgrade Services program. Apply and learn more at menlopark.gov/homeupgrade.

Learn more and find local Heat Pump Week events at https://www.menlopark.gov/News-articles/Sustainability-news/20260406Celebrate-Heat-Pump-Week-April-11%E2%80%9319?transfer=b331a240-561a-4de0-aaef-e95cd8ff6067.

The Bay Area has some of the worst air quality in the nation. For many of our communities, pollution and smog isn’t jus...
04/13/2026

The Bay Area has some of the worst air quality in the nation.

For many of our communities, pollution and smog isn’t just uncomfortable. It’s life-threatening. And a huge source of it comes from the gas appliances inside our own homes. That’s why the clean air rules known as Rules 9-4 and 9-6, matter.

By speeding up the transition to energy-efficient in-home appliances, these rules will cut 15,000 asthma attacks annually, prevent $890M in annual healthcare costs, and alleviate the dangerous smog present in disadvantaged communities in California.

Now is the time to speak out and protect our clean air. In this major decision about our public health, our voices need to be louder than the profit-driven opposition.

Join Menlo Spark and the Bay Area Clean Air Coalition at the May 6 Bay Area Air District Board of Directors meeting and give a public comment in support of these zero-emission appliances rules known as Rules 9-4 and 9-6.

🗓 Wednesday, May 6, 2026
⏰ 10:00 AM
📍 375 Beale St Suite 800, San Francisco, CA 94105, USA

Don’t forget to sign our petition in support of these rules at bit.ly/protectbayareaair.

Our air, our choice.

Heat pumps are a critical part of California’s clean energy future.⚡The California Heat Pump Partnership is hosting fr...
04/07/2026

Heat pumps are a critical part of California’s clean energy future.⚡

The California Heat Pump Partnership is hosting from April 11–19, 2026, a statewide celebration of the skilled workforce, local expertise, and modern, highly efficient electric appliances bringing clean heating and cooling to our communities year-round. We are proud to be a part of it!

During Heat Pump Week, Californians will have an opportunity to:
✔️ Connect with local contractors and installers
✔️ Explore all-electric appliances, including heat pumps
✔️ Discover incentives and rebates
✔️ Hear from community members who have made the switch
Don’t miss it! Visit https://bit.ly/4k3wOWl

California Energy Commission California Public Utilities Commission California Air Resources Board The Switch Is On

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