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With the economy still dwelling in the dirt, the last thing we need to worry about is something else that can poison us and our children. Mercury is one of those things and it is a very toxic metal that can affect brain and nerve function that can potentially impair the way we see, hear, walk and talk. Sierra Club California played a vital role in passing the Mercury Thermostat Collection Act of 2008, which requires manufacturers to create . . . → Read More Sierra Club California, along with allied organizations, has launched a new campaign to proactively challenge the strong anti-environment rhetoric that is pushed on Sacramento by heavily-funded special interest groups. We know that a healthy, clean environment is vital to the success of our community & economy. ”Protect California – A No-Regrets Campaign” is working to educate & encourage both government & community leaders to protect our environment. To find out more, visit the new website here. Last weekend, Sierra Club California members took part in a statewide effort to document extreme high tides along California’s coast, known as King Tides. As part of the California King Tides Initiative, activists took to the beaches to snap pictures of the coastal erosion, flooded beaches and streets, and property damage that often accompany these high tides. The photographs from the King Tides Initiative help us visualize the impact of rising waters on California’s coast. While the high waters last weekend were associated with seasonal high tide event, they offer us a sneak peak into the future where higher water levels could become our new normal. . . . → Read More SCCA Director Kathryn Phillips has sent a letter to the HSRA outlining our concerns with the California High-Speed Rail Program Draft 2012 Business Plan, released November 1, 2011. In the letter, she explains that while “in general, Sierra Club California supports transportation projects and systems that will help Californians reduce environmental impacts as we achieve mobility and access to work, school and services,” Sierra Club CA urges the HSRA to reconsider the Draft 2012 Business Plan because “as currently proposed, the . . . → Read More A few months ago, the California Department of Toxics and Substance Control (DTSC) released draft regulations on the Green Chemistry Initiative, which was passed in 2008 to identify toxic chemicals in consumer products and analyze alternatives. Sierra Club California has been working diligently since its passage to ensure proper enforcement of the law that aimed to put safer consumer products on the market. Our goals are to make manufacturers responsible for eliminating chemicals that are harmful to humans and environment . . . → Read More Roseville Becomes Fully Metered City by Jim Metropulos Roseville, a fast-growing city outside of Sacramento entered a new era in water conservation last month. On October 18, the city installed the last water meter to complete its 10-year water meter retrofit program to help customers track their water use and save water on their utility bills. Since 2001, Roseville has installed 16,000 water meters on residences through its retrofit program. That program was given a . . . → Read More Sierra Club members can show support for California’s state parks system next Tuesday, November 1, by attending a joint Assembly hearing on the status and impacts of pending state parks closures. The California State Parks Foundation will hold a march and rally before the hearing. The march begins at 8 a.m. at the Leland Stanford Mansion SHP, which is planned for closure, and will end at the Capitol Building a few blocks away. After a rally, the hearing will begin . . . → Read More Point Reyes National Seashore north of San Francisco is a beautiful stretch of undeveloped coastline, rocky headlands, sandy beaches, grasslands, and forests. It is home to the only marine wilderness on the West Coast, Drakes Estero. The commercial shellfish operation in Drakes Estero, with millions of non-native oysters, noisy motorboats, and thousands of plastic mesh oyster bags on wildlife habitat, is the only thing that stands in the way of Drakes Estero receiving the full benefits of wilderness protection. Now the oyster company is trying to continue these disruptive operations past its end date of 2012 — this would continue to undermine Drakes Estero’s protections and harm the beauty of this special place. . . . → Read More
As part of the North Richmond Shoreline Festival on October 8, 2011, the Sierra Club California’s California Coast Resilient Habitats Campaign took part in “Boat the Bay,” which provided kayaking tours free of charge. Community members took to the San Pablo Bay, paddles in hand, and got a fresh look at the wetlands and other habitat that is threatened by encroaching development at . . . → Read More I’ve been thinking a lot about the endangered California desert tortoises and wondering what lessons they might reveal. These very private creatures have been making news lately even though their natural approach to attention is more in tune with Greta Garbo’s. First there was the revelation that construction of the Ivanpah large-scale solar plant proposed in the Mojave Desert would wipe out nearly 550 juvenile tortoises. Then there was Governor Brown’s wink-wink quip to a Fresno audience that, by siding with large-scale solar development, he planned to take care of the tortoise. “We’re going to give it a lot of shade,” Brown said, according to press reports. California desert tortoises have managed to adapt to some of the most brutal summer conditions on the continent and survive as a species for eons. Human activities ranging from off-road vehicles to mining and development have carved away their quiet home and their numbers have dwindled. Large-scale solar development, and a governor who seems bent on crushing environmental review, are just their latest challenges. . . . → Read More |
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