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
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Protect California Campaign: Restoring Environmental Strength Since the mortgage markets collapsed in 2008, attacks on environmental policy have been strong at the legislature and at state agencies responsible for protecting the environment. Opportunists who have never supported environmental protection have used the down economy to lash out. They’ve used economic uncertainty to attack environmental protections they couldn’t defeat in the past during public regulatory and law-making sessions. Meanwhile, lawmakers have been anxious to show they are acting to stop job . . . → Read More Reading legislative tea leaves will be more challenging this year than most. First, it’s an election year, but not just any election year. This year there are new district lines and a number of incumbents are facing a new electorate as a result. Second, the state’s primary election system shifts to an open system that means that the top two vote getters will go to the general. We could see Democrats challenging Democrats and Republicans challenging Republicans in . . . → Read More Governor Jerry Brown is hosting his first significant event related to climate change this week. On December 15, he’s holding a day-long, invitation-only conference about the effects of extreme weather events and what the state needs to do to prepare. That is, the topic is climate adaptation. You can participate in the event even if you’re not there. It will be webcast and the link to sign on will be available at the governor’s main website (http://www.gov.ca.gov) on the . . . → Read More For Immediate Release: November 11, 2011 SACRAMENTO—California Congressman Darrell Issa this week levied an attack on California’s historic authority to reduce air pollution from automobiles. Through the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which he chairs, Rep. Issa expanded his investigation into development of new federal auto fuel economy standards to include the California Air Resources Board. In a letter dated November 9, Congressman Issa implies that California’s clean air . . . → 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 SACRAMENTO – Most California Democratic legislators voted consistently to protect our air, water and wild places, while the vast majority of their Republican counterparts continued to be obstacles to environmental progress, Sierra Club California’s annual Legislative Report Card finds. Sierra Club California tracked the votes of California’s Assemblymembers and Senators, recording each Earth-friendly vote as a positive score. From clean energy to water conservation to protecting state parks, the measures addressed many of California’s most urgent 2011 environmental priorities. “Overall, . . . → 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 On Thursday, October 6, the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) voted unanimously to adopt an amendment to the San Francisco Bay Plan to specifically address the impacts of climate change. The vote marks the first time that a California regulatory agency has adopted policies that specifically plan for climate change impacts such as sea level rise. Sierra Club California responded to the decision with a press release; “the vote is a step in the right direction,” but “planning . . . → Read More |
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