Dear %%[ if not empty(FirstName) then ]%%%%FirstName%%%%[ else ]%%Friend%%[ endif ]%%
|
Thank You to All Who Wrote to the San Jose City Council to Oppose the San Jose Light Tower Corporation's Project in Arena Green Park
At the Mar 12th City Council Meeting, we received assurance that there will be no light tower and that Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter will have a seat on the competition jury in order to ensure that environmental concerns are considered. |
Coyote Valley Development Deterred
Last month Loma Prieta Chapter activist were notified that San Jose had received a proposal to build an energy storage facility in North Coyote Valley. While the facility itself is supported by Sierra Club, the location was not. Loma Prieta Chapter Open Space Committee Chair Dave Poeschel contacted the company, explained our concerns, proposed alternate sites, spoke with elected officials, and just this week the company withdrew their proposal to build in Coyote Valley. Thanks again to a Loma Prieta conservation super hero! Would you like to be part of the important and effective work of the Loma Prieta Chapter's Conservation Committee, then contact a Committee Chair directly or your Chapter Director. |
Save Palo Alto’s Groundwater and the City of Palo Alto are pleased to present Planning for Rising Waters: Sea Level, Groundwater and the Bay Edge by Dr. Kristina Hill Assoc. Professor, Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning and Urban Design, U.C. Berkeley April 24, 2019, 7 – 8:30 pm. Doors open at 6:30 pm Mitchell Park Community Center, El Palo Alto Room 3700 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. Free Admission; please register here |
10th Annual Active San Mateo Conference: Migrating Through Change
Hosted by San Mateo County Supervisor Carole Groom
Friday, March 29, 2019, 8:30 a.m.—12:30 p.m.
Belmont Library, 1110 Alameda de las Pulgas, Belmont
MIGRATING THROUGH CHANGE will explore how five major migrations that touch San Mateo County are being impacting by climate change, human behaviors and technology. Learn how simple steps that you can take will help preserve these migratory routes.
RSVP by March 26th to scastoria@smcgov.org
Registration & Breakfast at 8:30 a.m. Program begins at 9:00 a.m. Seating limited. For more information, contact (650) 363-4568. |
Photo above: thanks to the Loma Prieta Chapter's Gay and Lesbian section for hosting their chapter director on their Mar 17 hike in Big Basin Redwood State Park: 12.7 miles, 1194 ft elevation gain.
San Jose: Diridon Integrated Station Concept Plan Community Meeting
Come learn about progress on the Concept Plan since the kick-off Community Meeting in December 2018, share your feedback, and ask questions! Your input will be summarized and posted online. The Partner Agencies will consider the input while preparing the Concept Plan. Details here.
At this meeting, we will offer light refreshments, Spanish and Vietnamese interpretation, and supervised activities for children (ages 3+). |
Thank You Jackie for your Floor Speech on the Redwood City Salt Ponds
Local Congresswoman Jackie Speier stood on the House floor and read portions of the Region 9 report, previously withheld from the public, which clearly contradicts the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s determination under the Trump Administration that the Redwood City Salt Ponds are exempt from the Clean Water Act (CWA).
Speier refused to allow the President to quietly manipulate science and facts to undermine environmental protections in her district. You can watch her floor speech here. |
Backpacking Courses, Sierra Club - Loma Prieta - Backpacking Section
Basic Backpacking. April 17- June 5, 2019. Cost $125.
Lightweight Backpacking: A class in advanced skills and gear for low-impact, long-distance wilderness travel. March 30 - 31, 2019 and April 20 - 21, 2019 |
Loma Prieta Chapter Saved Butano for State Park
Did you know that your Loma Prieta Chapter was involved with the establishment of Butano State Park? The Parks official website states “Efforts were again made to purchase the Butano beginning in the late 1940s. Many private groups (perhaps foremost among them the Loma Prieta Chapter of the Sierra Club) sought the establishment of a state park in the area. The State Park Commission was apparently convinced, and planned to acquire 4,500 acres encompassing Butano and Little Butano valleys.”
If such actions are important to you, then find a place to help protect our local environment; contact your chapter's Conservation Committee, or your Chapter Director at james.eggers@sierraclub.org |
Looking for 3-4 Volunteers to promote the Sierra Club, Loma Prieta Chapter at the Sunnyvale Fit and Fun Fair. Please help us reach out and spread the word about all the good work our local Sierra Club Chapter does. The Sierra Club offers many opportunities to make a difference and we need to let people know how they can help. Please contact John Cordes, email john.cordes@lomaprieta.sierraclub.org to volunteer. With 4 volunteers we would each work a 2 hr shift (11-1 or 1-3). Saturday, April 27 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Columbia Neighborhood Center, 785 Morse Ave. |
Reach Codes For New Construction
In November 2018, Peninsula Clean Energy (PCE) and Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) began collaborating on a new program to help new buildings and vehicles go zero carbon with electric power instead of fossil fuels. The “Building Electrification and Electric Vehicle (EV) Infrastructure reach code program” would serve all 32 PCE and SVCE member cities to help them update local building codes for all new residential and commercial construction. To find out more or to join the CALT campaign for reach codes in your city contact Gladwyn d’Souza, godsouza@outlook.com, Co-Chair of Loma Prieta Conservation Committee.
One of the biggest threats facing the natural gas industry is inside the house
|
2018 Guardians of Nature Benefit: US Congresswoman Eshoo (center) with Loma Prieta Chapter members.
Do you like organizing parties?
Do you enjoy planning and have great attention to detail?
If your answers are “yes,” then join our 2019 Benefit team and help us put together our best annual fundraiser yet!
We seek a Signature Event Assistant Volunteer
Find out more here <https://www.sierraclub.org/loma-prieta/volunteer> |
National Sierra Club Elections are Underway – VOTE!
Voting Online is Quick and Easy!
A Democratic Sierra Club Demands Grassroots Participation. Your participation is critical for a Strong Sierra Club.
Those eligible to vote in the national Sierra Club election will receive in the mail (or by Internet if you chose the electronic delivery option) your national Sierra Club ballot in early March. This will include information on the candidates and where you can find additional information on the Club's web site.
The Sierra Club is a democratically structured organization at all levels. The Club requires the regular flow of views on policy and priorities from its grassroots membership in order to function well.
You can learn about the candidate here.
Please note your ballots must be received by no later than Election Day, April 24, 2019. |
The Sierra Club has layers, which helps make us powerful!
Sierra Club National, which promotes and organizes national campaigns,
Sierra Club California, which organizes CA legislative initiatives, and
Your local Loma Prieta Chapter, which does all the local conservation work, but receives less than 20% of the membership dues which you pay to Sierra Club National, so your local donations are critical to support our effective local work in conservation, public education, environmental politics, and outings.
|
Photo above: thanks to the Loma Prieta Chapter's 20s - 30s outing section for hosting their Chapter Director on their Feb 24th hike in the Windy Hill Open Space Preserve.
Did you join the Sierra Club to make a difference for our environment?
So what are you doing?
There are many ways to become a local environmental hero!
1. Support financial: Join/Renew Membership,
Shop thru Amazon, Legacy/Planned Giving, Employer Matching, One Time Gift for our Education Programs, Donate a vehicle, Gifts of Stock
2. Volunteer by joining one our local conservation teams, or political action teams, or environmental education teams, or outings teams.
3. Volunteer as an Environmental Writer/Reporter
Commitment is 5 - 10 hours per week.
The Loma Prieta Chapter has done and is doing an incredible amount of conservation work, but while our conservation activist are busy doing the work, we need reporters to write about it. If you are interested in this impactful opportunity to investigate and explain local conservation, write to chapter.director@lomaprieta.sierraclub.org.
4. Volunteer as a Social Media Coordinator
You don't need to be an expert. You'll be provided all content and only need to post on a regular basis. Commitment is 2-3 hrs per week.
See all our channels and opportunities listed below.
|
| For more information, contact Chapter Development Coordinator Justyna Guterman at justyna.guterman@sierraclub.org or (650) 390-8411, or Chapter Director James Eggers at james.eggers@sierraclub.org or (650) 390-9604. |
Social Media Channels for the Loma Prieta Chapter
See the many Loma Prieta Chapter social media channels that can give you the first (and often exclusive) information about local conservation, political action, environmental education and outings opportunities.
Spotify: your Loma Prieta Chapter is the first in the Sierra Club to have a Spotify music channel, featuring modern music about environmental protection. Do you know of (1) songs produced since 2000 and (2) about environmental conservation? Send recommendations to chapter.director@lomaprieta.sierraclub.org. Meetups: Chapter (2438 members), Hiking (4804 members), Day Hiking (1401 members), Singleaires (1289 members), Guadalupe Regional Group (450 members), Peak Climbing (365 members), Gay & Lesbian Sierrans (202 members), Black Mountain Hiking section (184 members), YouTube videos about Loma Prieta Chapter events. Four videos just added:
Tomales Point 1 & 2, Henry Coe State Park, Almaden Quicksilver County Park
facebook: chapter's main page, 20s – 30s outing section page twitter instagram
Social Media volunteers needed. Contact James.Eggers@sierraclub.org |
Ways to Add Healthy Years to Your Life (from AARP Bulletin, Feb 2019)
- Increase your “Aging Advantage”: Regular physical exercise can slow the aging process and prevent disease
- If you exercise already, keep at it. People age 80+ who continue to exercise have a lower death rate than those who quit.
- Do something, anything. Even a little activity goes a long way. Studies show that those who moved from inactive to moderately inactive had a 16 – 30% decrease in death risk.
- Join a team/group. Although all activities offer health benefits, an analysis of 1.2 million adults found that group exercise offered the highest mental health benefits.
- Throw a party. A review published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that strong social relationships had positive physiological benefits.
Define what drives you. Research has shown that purposeful people live longer.
- Raise your hand. A Carnegie Mellon University study revealed that folks over 50 who volunteer at least 200 hours in the past year experienced mental health benefits but were also less likely to develop hypertension.
Take a bath in the woods. The Japanese call it shinrinyoku – forest bathing, or taking in the natural world through your senses. This kind of nature therapy can relieve stress and improve immune system function.
- Kick around a bucket list. One study showed that having a bucket list isn't just for kicks; it can make end-of-life planning easier, as all parties, including family and physicians, will be on the same page about your life's priorities.
- Find your bridge. A new part-time or “bridge” job in retirement, either in or out of your field, has bee associated with fewer major diseases and physical limitations, as well as better mental health.
Easy Option: look for volunteer opportunities is this newsletter, join chapter outings and/or volunteer with our Conservation Committee, Political Committee or a Regional Group. |
Adventure is worthwhile in itself. ~ Amelia Earhart |
Happy trails to you,
James Eggers, Director
Sierra Club, Loma Prieta Chapter |
|
|
|
