A Brief History of Communities for Sustainable Monterey County (CSMC). CSMC began as discussions among a small group of people concerned about the impacts of the unsustainable use of fossil fuels. That initial concern broadened to include the related dangers posed by climate change and the decline of our natural resources. Those discussions led to a desire to share information about these issues a
nd to promote change. That took the form of publishing a newsletter and organizing groups in various communities that shared the goals of raising community consciousness and promoting projects designed to make our communities more sustainable with respect to food, energy, transportation, etc. CSMC is currently constituted of the following groups:
Sustainable Pacific Grove – Spring 2006
Sustainable Monterey (formerly Monterey Green Action) – Winter 2007
Sustainable Carmel Valley – Winter 2007
Sustainable Seaside – Spring 2008
Sustainable Salinas – Winter 2008
Citizens for Sustainable Marina – Spring 2009
Big Sur Advocates for a Green Environment (formerly Big Sur Powerdown) – Winter 2010
Sustainable Carmel – Winter 2011. Beginning of 2012, two regional projects, Sustainable Monterey County Community Gardens and hOURbank (time banking) joined CSMC. While the local groups’ action is focused on their own community, the regional projects’ work expands its reach across city boundaries to act at the county level. CSMC became a non-profit corporation in 2007. The originating group, now with some different members, became a Board of Directors and began to take its current form as an administrative “umbrella” for Local Groups working toward the goal of sustainability in their own communities. CSMC’s non-profit status permits the Local Groups to accept tax-deductible donations for their own projects, apply for grants, and to make use of public meeting spaces. A major part of CSMC’s role has become the coordination of activities that cross-community lines, such as regional environmental initiatives. That has been aided by CSMC’s website, sustainablemontereycounty.org, and its Facebook presence. These have replaced the functions of the original newsletter. The current Board of Directors includes 12 members elected from the Local Action Groups and the two regional projects. The Board meets quarterly, with frequent electronic communication between Board meetings. Day-to-day operations are handled by a Steering Committee that consists of the Officers of the Board and others whose schedule permits regular attendance, with an open invitation to all Board members to attend as their time permits. The Agenda and Notes of the Steering Committee meetings are copied on the CSMC Google Group page to encourage awareness of, and input on, the items under discussion. Other committees are formed as needed. CSMC encourages all the Local Action Groups to press their community’s governing body to implement progressive environmental initiatives. CSMC is also part of the global Transitions movement with which it shares long-term goals.
