In no particular order here are ten green benchmarks in Sacramento during 2008:

The City Council voted in August to allocate $650,000 to count trees in the city as well as to gauge the health of our conifers. TV's CBS 13 assigned an "outrage alert" to the move inferring it was misuse of precious funds. Mayoral candidate (now Mayor) Kevin Johnson echoed similar sentiment. BTW a tree limb did fall on a campaign party in June for then-incumbent mayor Heather Fargo causing some injuries.

Sacramento lost its only progressive talk commercial radio station in June as Talk City 1240 became Rejoice 1240 KRJY with a format known as hip-hop gospel. This reporter read some of the newscasts for a time on the station and was surprised to learn that I knew more gospel trivia than I would like to admit. Best selling gospel artist of all-time? Shirley Caesar. By the way the only regular green feature on Talk City was a green minute called Planet Check.

Sacramentans elected Kevin Johnson, hometown hero, former NBA-star and local businessman to the Mayor's seat. Is he progressive, liberal, conservative, status-quo; will he defy definition? Mr. Johnson did provoke comment when said during a debate he thought Sacramento should be more like Phoenex. Those of us on "sprawl watch" raised our hackles. But my mayor's got a better jumper than your mayor.

The California State Fair featured the first cow-powered amusement ride as Pacific, Gas and Electric Company and BioEnergy Solutions sponsored Ray Cammack Shows' "Barnyard Animal Train" during the fair. "Powering a children's ride at the state fair with biogas is a celebration of the great efforts of California's dairy farmers to help us meet our energy needs," quoth PG&E Vice President of Gas Transmission and Distribution Robert T. Howard. "We're proud to partner with these innovative dairy farmers and demonstrate the potential for the state's agriculture and power sectors to work together to meet California's climate goals." Didn't get any quotes from patrons of the ride.

Big year for RT (Regional Transit) as there were service cuts early in 2008 to address the budget crisis; record ridership on the entire system during the Bush gas price-gouging, talks of cutting more service during fall and finally congratulations to RT for 25 years of pioneering restoration of light-rail transit in the Capitol City. There are serious public safety concerns on light rail, however. One rider told me he "wouldn't ride past 29th Street" on RT. Oh, and financial good news: RT is getting $4 million dollars for system-wide projects from the latest round of Proposition 1B disbursements.

An on-going squabble that kept on giving in 2008 was the fight over delta-water projects in the Central Valley and southward. A federal judge ordered a halt to water shipments south saying they posed a danger to salmon and other species. Other side(s): Tag; you're it!

We don't know if 2008 was a "record" year for allergies, but the sniffling and sneezing among the populace this June did make more news than usual. The conditions were attributed to an abnormally high pollen count. The SacBee even noted that dogs and cats in the City of Trees were miserable.

The state adopted what are generally agreed to be the nation's first green building standards code. This reaction from the California Retailers Association, "We commend California for continuing its diligence in creating a healthier environment for its residents. Energy efficiency and water conservation are important aspects to protecting the environment, and the new code ensures that both will occur in buildings statewide.” The California Retailers Association is a trade association representing major California department stores, mass merchandisers, supermarkets, chain drug and convenience stores, as well as specialty retailers such as auto, book and home improvement stores. CRA members have more than 9,000 stores in California and account for more than $100 billion in sales annually. We'll hold them to their words.

May is designated Bike-to-Work Month in Sacramento. In line with that, the City of Sacramento added two miles of on-street bikelanes and bikeway signage in 2008. My personal observation is that cyclists and motorists more honestly share the road in Sacramento as compared to other cities such as San Francisco.

The Sacramento Air District is in its second season of the program Check Before You Burn. Residential wood burning is restricted or prohibited on days when particulate matter pollution is forecast to be high. The season runs through February 28th of 2009. Some take restrictions on wood smoke burning as a needless government power grab. On the other hand wood smoke pollution contributes to the deaths and illness of many residents. You can get more information from my friends at Breathe California.

Tim Castleman founded drive55.org as a response to the need to conserve fuel and improve on-road safety.

Gee, that's eleven stories.