Peter Drekmeier, a long-time environmentalist and Palo Alto’s mayor in 2009, will discuss the Palo Alto Green Energy and Compost Initiative. The initiative aims to bring an anaerobic digestion facility to Palo Alto that would utilize microorganisms in enclosed containers to convert the city’s 60,000 tons per year of organic waste (yard trimmings, food scraps and sewage sludge) into clean, renewable energy and high quality compost. The facility would produce enough biogas to power 1,400 homes, and would reduce Palo Alto’s greenhouse gas emissions by 20,000 tons per year. It also would save the city $1 million per year.