During its Tuesday night meeting, the Davis City Council unanimously agreed to designate the period from Apr. 14 to May 20 as Climate Action Season, a period during which citizens are encouraged to use bike paths, greenbelt pathways and public transportation to minimize the use of motor vehicles.

The proposal, spearheaded by Councilmember Don Saylor, comes in light of a series of events meant to spread awareness about global warming and to reduce carbon emissions, starting with the recognition of Apr. 14 as National Climate Action Day.

Other events include a celebratory program Apr. 14 at the E Street Plaza in honor of the national Stepitup 2007 campaign, which aims to cut U.S. carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050 and the recognition of the month of May as Bike Commute Month. Also included is the Sacramento Valley branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations' declaration of May 18 to 20 as Clean Air Weekend, wherein local places of worship will encourage congregations to carpool and bike to work. Participants include the United Methodist Church, the Davis Community Church and the Islamic Center of Davis.

These events coincide with the birthday of John Muir on Apr. 21, which will be accompanied by a variety show at Davis Senior High School theater at 7 p.m., and Earth Day on Apr. 22, which will be accompanied by a presentation of An Inconvenient Truth at the Veterans Memorial Theatre at 12:30 p.m. Hosting the event will be Carl Zichella, regional director of the Sierra Club.

In reading the proposal, Saylor was joined by a number of supporters, including representatives of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Davis, who said they had been working for more than two years toward a "new level of sustainability."

Saying the issue needed everyone's cooperation, Saylor asked his supporters and the rest of the City Council to assist by taking turns in reading the proclamation, with each individual reading a paragraph.

"Thank you to all of those who are bringing this forward, who are designating this as Climate Action Season," Saylor said.