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We are excited to announce our 2020 Guardians of Nature Benefit for the Loma Prieta Chapter, this year celebrating former California Senator Byron Sher for his decades of exemplary environmental leadership, including authoring many critical environmental protections.
This year's event will be like none before; it will be all on-line using Zoom. We promise to evoke the spirit and excitement of past galas while protecting the health of our guests.
You can find more details about the 2020 Guardians of Nature Benefit on the event's webpage or contact our Chapter Development Coordinator, Justyna Guterman at justyna.guterman@sierraclub.org.
We hope you will join us! |
Above image of the Menlo Park Civic Center by jmkeegan.
Breaking News: Menlo Park Passes Ambitious Climate Action Plan of "Zero Carbon by 2030"
On July 14th, Menlo Park became the first city in the U.S. to adopt a goal of "Zero Carbon by 2030." This goal of carbon neutrality would be achieved by slashing greenhouse gas emissions 90% and using carbon removal for the remaining 10%.
Officials noted concern that sea level rise from climate change threatens a historically disadvantaged part of the community.
Thank you to the Menlo Park Environmental Quality Commission for their leadership and bold vision, and to the local advocates who supported them, including Menlo Park residents, members of your Loma Prieta Chapter and the Fossil Free Buildings Silicon Valley Campaign.
Article: Menlo Park becomes first U.S. city to set goal to be carbon neutral by 2030
Article: Historic moment for climate! Menlo Park is going for zero carbon by 2030! |
Above photo of Salt Flats in Redwood City by Jitze Couperus
LTE: Local Government Must Protect Water After Federal Rollbacks
Conservation Committee Co-Chair Gladwyn d'Souza authored a letter to the editor in the San Jose Mercury News in response to the Trump administration's attacks on the Mirgratory BIrd Treaty Act and the Clean Water Act:
"California responded last week with a state law enshrining protection for migratory birds and a new state regulation setting definitions that expand protection to smaller wetlands and seasonal waterways.
Now we need local jurisdictions like Redwood City to take similar charge of shoreline protection including bird nesting habitat. Please save the salt ponds in Redwood City for open space."
Read the SJ Merc LTE here.
Read the full, expanded LTE here. |
Loma Prieta Chapter and Allies Push for Climate Adaptation in Redwood City
Your Chapter, joined by Redwood City Neighbors United, Save the Bay, and Green Foothills, urged Redwood City’s Environmental Initiatives Committee to take a two-pronged approach in its 2030 Climate Action Plan (CAP), including ambitious greenhouse gas reductions to slow the pace of climate change AND adaptation planning to protect the community and natural ecosystems from known climate change impacts.
The Committee directed staff to consider our input and return to the Committee with a revised draft in coming weeks before submitting the CAP Update to the full City Council (tentatively scheduled for September 21). Stay tuned! |
Help maintain protection of the Peninsula Watershed’s drinking water quality and habitats for special status butterflies (Mission Blue), reptiles (San Francisco garter snake) and amphibians (California red-legged frog) while improving the existing public access programs on Fifield Cahill Ridge in the Watershed (photo above). Please write to the San Francisco Planning Department and PUC in support of “Alternative B” in the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Southern Skyline Boulevard Ridge Trail Extension Project. Here’s what’s happening The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) proposes to improve and develop recreational trails in the 23,000-acre Peninsula Watershed lands, owned by the City and County of San Francisco. The project area includes watershed lands along the existing Fifield-Cahill Ridge trail north of Highway 92, and a new six-mile long trail along the east side of Skyline Boulevard extending south from Highway 92 to the Phleger Estate (GGNRA) in Woodside. The Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the proposed project has selected Alternative B, as the “Environmentally Superior Alternative” for the Alternative B maintains and improves the existing docent program for hikers, cyclists, and equestrians on Fifield-Cahill Ridge. Alternative B also proposes to allow unsupervised access along the new six-mile trail segment south of Highway 92, as this area is not as environmentally sensitive as the Fifield Cahill Ridge segment. Loma Prieta and Bay Chapters, Sierra Club, along with Golden Gate Audubon, Sequoia Audubon, Santa Clara Valley Audubon, Yerba Buena and Santa Clara Valley Chapters, California Native Plant Society, and Green Foothills have all supported increased public access through an improved and expanded docent program on Fifield Cahill Ridge. We are pleased that the EIR has also determined that this is the Environmentally Superior Alternative. What you can do Email Timothy Johnston <timothy.johnston@sfgov.org> in support of Alternative B for the Southern Skyline Boulevard Ridge Trail Extension Project. If you prefer, write to Timothy Johnston at: San Francisco Planning Department 1650 Mission Street, Suite 400 San Francisco, CA 94103. Written comments on the EIR will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. on August 10, 2020. For more information: The Draft EIR for the Southern Skyline Boulevard Ridge Trail Extension Project is available for public review here. |
Above photo of an electronic billboard at night by Conservation Committee Co-Chair Katja Irvin
Dozens of Electronic Billboards are Set to Flood San Jose's Night Sky with Light Pollution
Please join these public meetings and say NO to light pollution:
Stakeholder Meetings are scheduled: 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Monday, July 27,2020, ZOOM
Thursday, July 30, 2020, ZOOM
After a 30-year ban on new billboards, the City of San Jose wants to allow electronic billboards on private property. These billboards may advertise anything - from Vegas to accident injury attorneys! Most identified sites are along Highways 237 and 87, including several sites adjacent to the Guadalupe River Park.
Has the City fully considered the aesthetic impacts, the impacts of nighttime lighting on animals (especially birds) and people, the traffic safety impacts and more? Is there analysis showing the benefits to our economy that leaders claim? Do we really need more distractions and hazards in San Jose?
San Jose residents deserve to see the hills from Highway 87 and the beautiful stars in the night sky above 237. The last thing we need is more light pollution that inundates us with commercial advertising pollution. We should expect our elected leaders to stop targeting us as consumers, and respect and protect the residents and wildlife in San Jose.
Contact Katja Irvin for more information, katja.irvin@sbcglobal.net
Read the fact sheet here.
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Use Your Writing Skills to Protect Your Local Bay Ecosystems
The Sierra Club is seeking Peninsula residents who are interested in writing short Letters to the Editor calling for protection of the Bay shoreline as a vital resource for sea level rise resilience and natural ecosystems.
No prior experience or expertise is needed. Our Chapter volunteers will walk you through the process and highlight some key steps cities like Sunnyvale and Redwood City can take right now. All that is needed is your enthusiasm to speak up!
Contact Jennifer Hetterly at jchetterly@gmail.com to get involved |
Above image of clearcutting in Sequoia National Forest, Tulare County CA by Tomas Sennett
Use Your Writing Skills to Stop the Clearcutting of California Forests
Stop forest clearcutting in California starts by creating public demand for an end to this horrid timber industry practice.
Letters to the editor of California newspapers can inform people about how clearcutting forests creates problems for California. Informed citizens can then push their legislators to choose whether they represent us or the timber industry. This is how change happens.
Register here. |
Want a Fun Way to Help the Planet? Join the Guardians of Nature Benefit Team!
Volunteer in the Loma Prieta Chapter's premiere fundraising and community building event. Bring or develop your skills for these opportunities:
Planning Our Silent Auction
Making Creative Content
Designing our Food Delivery Boxes
Marketing the Benefit
Assisting With Phone Banking and Donations
If you are even slightly interested, we recommend that you join our weekly Benefit Committee meetings, where you can meet our team members and learn more about how to get involved.
Contact our Chapter Development Coordinator Justyna Guterman at Justyna.Guterman@SierraClub.org |
Are you a potential candidate for the Loma Prieta Chapter Executive Committee?
Call for Nominations: Loma Prieta Chapter Executive Committee 2-year term 2021-2022
Contact the Nominating Committee at MichaelJFerreira@gmail.com
Did you know that the Sierra Club is the largest nationwide volunteer-driven environmental organization in the United States? To better connect with our grassroots, our Club has been carefully organized into bylaws-governed chapters. The Loma Prieta Chapter is one of 13 Chapters in California, each of which is administered by an elected Executive Committee composed of environmentally conscious Club members willing to provide leadership as we pursue the Club’s goals at the local level.
Executive Committee members should be willing to assist our chapter in various leadership areas. Executive Committee members are expected to spend a minimum of 5-10 hours a month.
- Mike Ferreira
Learn more about our current Executive Committee members here.
Read more about the nominating process here. |
Above Image Source: Sunnyvale Community Workshop Posterboards
Sunnyvale Residents: July 27th Meeting, You Can Improve Your City!
On July 27th at 6 pm, the Sunnyvale Planning Commission will conduct a study session on the Moffett Park Specific Plan, which covers 1,156 acres of industrial land and borders a vital and vulnerable wetland habitat along the San Francisco Bay.
We hope you will attend via zoom and tell Sunnyvale that the Plan must protect and restore ecosystems, while taking into account sea level rise adaptation and resilience. These goals should be necessary for the Plan to proceed in an area this vulnerable.
Your voice is powerful, and even from home you can have a real impact on local policies!
When the zoom link and meeting agenda is made public by the City, you can find it by clicking here.
For information on other future Moffett Park Specific Plan meetings, click here.
Future meetings are anticipated:
Planning Commission Study Session: 9/14
City Council Study Sessions: 8/11 and 9/29 |
Get Climate Smart!
Our friends at Mothers Out Front invite San José residents to join an exciting Climate Smart Challenge. This web-based platform provides a visual picture of your personal climate impact showing where you’re doing well and where you can improve. Choose from a menu of climate-smart actions to reduce your impact and earn points towards prizes for every action you take. Participate on your own or gather some friends and neighbors to participate as a team.
Join today; for the question “How did you learn about the Challenge?” select “Mothers Out Front.” Learn more at an interactive webinar! |
Webinar: Learn About the Major Threat to the SF Bay Delta
Sierra Club California's "Biodiversity and Water in SF Bay" Webinar is now available online.
The Bay Delta's ecosystems are already in decline due to excessive water diversion, the introduction of nonnative invasive species, and water pollution.
Now, the Bay Delta is under the threat of an 11 Billion dollar tunnel proposal that would divert more water and cause even more ecological damage. Watch now to learn about the future of the Bay Delta.
For more information and facts about the Bay Delta, check out Sierra Club California's website. |
Would You Like Your Town to be a Better Place to Live, Work, and Play?
Join our Chapter's Sustainable Land Use Committee (SLU) and help us influence urban design and planning in your city for a healthy future.
We will provide you with all the support you need to successfully advocate for healthy and sustainable communities. Experience in urban design, planning, environment, and architecture is helpful but not necessary.
Keen interest is most important!
We meet monthly (currently online), and possibly more often when working on projects and campaigns.
Time requirements: 2 hrs a week
For more information contact SLU Co-Chair, Gita at gd@devarchitects.com |
Above Photo: Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge by Conservation Committee Co-Chair Gladwyn d'Souza
Do You Want Your City to Take Stronger Action on Climate Change?
Join our Climate Action Team and help us fight for strong Climate Action Plans and other local climate policies in your city to ensure a healthy future. Many Cities are updating their Climate Action Plans and are updating their building codes, which present great opportunities for real change.
We will provide you with all the support you need to successfully advocate for climate safe communities. A background in energy management, planning, environment justice and policy, and climate data analysis is helpful but not necessary. Keen interest is most important!
We meet monthly (currently online), and possibly more often when working on projects and campaigns.
Requirements:
- Keen interest in climate justice issues and solutions
- 2 hrs a week
For more information contact our Conservation Assistant, Dashiell at Dashiell.Leeds@SierraClub.org
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Interested in Environmental Literature? Join the Environmental Book Club
The Environmental Book Club meets on Zoom the second Saturday from 10:00 AM to Noon. The reading list for August through November is as follows:
August- Overstory by Richard Powers
September- Half Earth by E. O. Wilson
October- Inconspicuous Consumption by Tatiana Schlossberg
November- Omega Principle by Paul Greenberg
Have questions or want to join? Write to Gladwyn at godsouza@mac.com |
Interested in Gardening with Native Plants?
During the past three months, many people have contacted the Loma Prieta Chapter to ask for guidance about gardening with native plants. I’ve been happy to refer all to our friends at the California Native Plant Society – Santa Clara Valley Chapter, but thought that many more of you might also be interested, so here is their webpage on Gardening with Natives, which even recommends public places to see native plant gardens and the abundance of wildlife that they can attract and support. |
Above Image by Fabric Artist Linda Gass © 2019
Green Streets for Sustainable Communities Symposium Rescheduled for Sep 10, Sep 25, and Oct 8
Dear Friends,
Please save the dates below for our virtual Green Streets for Sustainable Communities Symposium. We had originally planned an in-person day-long symposium in March 2020. We moved the date to the fall with the hope we would be able to meet in large groups by then. Instead, we have decided to transform our in-person format to a series of three, connected interactive, information-rich three-hour sessions. Our streets are a crucial community resource, now more than ever. We hope that you will reserve the time and join for all three sessions.
Each day will begin at 8:30 am with an informal & optional networking time.
Each program will begin at 9 am and conclude by 12 noon.
Day 1 – Vision and Economics (Thursday, September 10, 2020)
Day 2 – Case Studies (Friday, September 25, 2020)
Day 3 – Funding Strategies (Thursday, October 8, 2020)
If you are already registered, we will enroll you in all three sessions. If you are not yet registered, please sign up at this link.
Scholarships are available by request.
Sincerely,
Yoriko Kishimoto, Board Chair
Marianna Grossman, Board Vice Chair
Transportation Choices for Sustainable Communities |
Redwood City Residents: Do YOU live on (or near) one of these Streets?
Redwood City is looking for citizen volunteers to provide feedback for their Slow Streets Pilot Program. Do you live on - or even near- one of these streets? Bain, Crompton, Flynn or Stambaugh - see map.
Like Paris, Rome, San Francisco and Oakland, Redwood City has started a Slow Streets program responding to COVID-19. These provide safe outdoor space for residents to stay healthy, walking or biking safely, using the whole street right of way with no through auto traffic. More streets can be added as citizens step up.
Sign up here.
Check out our Chapter’s presentation on Slow Sustainable Streets
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From our friends at the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition:
Come to the 10th Annual Silicon Valley Bike Summit this August 6 & 7 to join other active transportation leaders and discuss how to get more people biking in our area and create a safe street environment for all" (Tag @bikesiliconvalley on Facebook/Instagram and @bikesv on Twitter!). |
Complete The Census to Ensure that Your Community is Funded!
Want to make sure that your parks, greens spaces, and trails receive federal funding? The Census is critical in making sure that the proper amount of federal funds are allocated to your local community. Respond to the 2020 Census here: https://my2020census.gov/ or call 844-330-2020 |
Ollie Mayer Hiker's Hut Temporarily Not Taking Reservations The Ollie Mayer Hiker’s Hut is closed until further notice. The County of San Mateo, under strict protocol, has closed Sam McDonald Park to overnight camping. The Ollie Mayer Hiker's Hut will also be closed for the duration of this emergency. We are contacting guests who have already paid to arrange for either credit or refund. Sam McDonald Park has tentative plans to reopen for camping in August, if the virus outbreak trends continue without further spikes. We are holding August and September reservations from the general public in order to give priority to campers cancelled due to the shutdown. |
| I was delighted to have recently met an old friend on the trail, during Chapter Director's solo hike, 2020.07.19 in Pescadero Creek County Park: 13.7 miles, 2950 ft elevation gain. |
YOU Can Make It Happen!
Hundreds of caring people stand behind every environmental victory won by your Loma Prieta Chapter. These caring people choose to partner with us by donating.
Now you have an opportunity to join our engaged community by simply responding to our Spring fund drive.
Only a sliver of the membership dues which you send to Sierra Club National is returned to your local chapter, but 100% of your gift directly to your chapter will benefit our local environment. Read more about how we will use your support. |
RECENTLY PUBLISHED: The 2019 Loma Prieta Chapter Annual Summary
Discover What Your Support Helped to Achieve!
The majority of our chapter's work is through our volunteer led local sections, committees and groups, which depend upon support from our chapter's professional staff. Graphics show the big picture of work and accomplishments, while short testimonials give personal insights from local leaders and activists, all in the 2019 Loma Prieta Chapter Annual Summary.
If you would like a more detailed look at our conservation work, discover our great local successes and remaining challenges, in the 2019 Loma Prieta Chapter Conservation Review.
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| San Francisco Alligator Lizard (Elgaria coerulea coerulea), Butano State Park. 2020.07.12. Your Chapter Director, also a herpetologist, was thrilled to see his first SFAL! Its speed plus my excitement and care to not disturb did prevent a better photo. Hike: 12.6 miles, 2100 ft elevation gain. |
Virtual Volunteering: Save the Planet with oral history reporting and/or video production skills!
Your Loma Prieta Chapter volunteers are doing effective incredible local environmental work; their inspiring stories need to be told!
We need volunteers to document oral histories and volunteers to make several short videos of chapter activist.
Please contact Chapter Director, James Eggers at james.eggers@sierraclub.org |
| 2020.07.12, found during Chapter Director's hike in Butano State Park, a trail bench with another wonderful reminder of the important history and influence of Loma Prieta Chapter outing section volunteer leaders. |
Join the Sierra Club's Battleground States Team
The upcoming November elections will be affect nearly every aspect of our lives. Our vulnerable ecosystems, our warming climate, our fragile democracy, and our principles of social equity will be at stake!
Trump is the worst environmental President in our nation's history, and Mitch McConnell's senate has consistently stood in the way of environmental issues.
Even as California residents, we can have a massive impact on critical elections across this country. Join our Battleground States Team and together we can join forces to protect our habitats and communities throughout the nation!
To get started, click here to join the team
If you want to make calls, click here
If you are ready to send texts, click here
When you’re ready to start writing letters, click here
And if you can volunteer 10-20 hours a week email us at answers.political@sierraclub.org.
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Let it go, let it go! When the trade-in value’s too low, let it go, let it go!
Your best move is donating your vehicle to support your Loma Prieta Chapter. Call 844-6-SIERRA (844-674-3772) or donate online. We accept cars, classic cars, trucks, boats, RVs, and more. Plus, your gift is tax-deductible.
VERY IMPORTANT: tell CARS that you want to support the Loma Prieta Chapter through the Sierra Club Foundation. |
Legal Battle Surrounding the Dakota Access Pipeline Continues
"The Dakota Access Pipeline, an oil route from North Dakota to Illinois that has inspired intense protests and legal battles, must shut down pending an environmental review and be emptied of oil by Aug. 5, a district court ruled on Monday."
-Excerpt from the New York Times
However, the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia has ruled that the pipeline may remain operational during the legal battle.
This pipeline, known as DAPL, was built in violation of the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. Police and illegally-operating private mercenaries systematically perpetrated terrible violence on the peaceful, unarmed Indigenous-led Water Protectors who resisted the pipeline's construction.
We must remain vigilant, as Energy Transfer LP (the pipeline's operators) are still taking shipment orders for August and have made no moves to shut down the pipeline.
It's Been an Awful Week for the Fossil Fuel Industry - Bill McKibben |
Top Posts recently on Loma Prieta facebook page
Follow us on facebook and you'll see these stories before the eNewsletter,
and other stories and action alerts that don't make it into the eNewsletter.
#3. The Cuckoo Wasp: A Gorgeous Parasite
#2. Opinion: Stop Building More Roads
#1. Protect Our Oceans From Corporate Piracy |
Social Media Channels for the Loma Prieta Chapter
MeetUp: Chapter conservation and education meetings (2667 members),
Hiking events (5031 members), Singleaires outing section (1775 members),
Day Hiking section (1646 members), Guadalupe Regional Group (553 members), Peak Climbing (467 members), Gay & Lesbian Sierrans (403 members),
Black Mountain Hiking section (392 members), 20s - 30s (150 members),
Family Explorers (95 members) facebook: chapter, 20s – 30s, Sierra Singles YouTube; Twitter; Instagram; Spotify
Social media volunteers needed. Contact Loma Prieta Chapter Director James.Eggers@sierraclub.org |
Got Mail? Too much Sierra Club mail? You can take control; it's Easy!
Your Loma Prieta Chapter only sends two eNewsletters each month, but Sierra Club National is unrestricted, so if you feel overwhelmed you can easily manage what you receive. See the simple tutorial |
Taking Charge, Podcast Episode Three: The Future of Renewable Energy
Interested in renewable energy and solutions to the climate crisis? Listen to this discussion with Stanford Professor Mark Jacobson, who shares his research on renewable energy and potential solutions to the climate crisis. Learn more about the collaboration between the Solutions Project and the Sierra Club for the 100% clean energy movement.
Podcast Link (includes previous episodes of Taking Charge)
Spotify Link |
Mindful consumption
requires us to pay attention to the whole multitude of causes and effects that result from our lives as consumers. It asks us to learn about the issues, inform ourselves, and adjust our behavior accordingly.
— Interview with Allan Hunt Badiner by Peter Alsop, “Spending Wisely” |
Health and justice to all,
James Eggers, Director
Sierra Club, Loma Prieta Chapter
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| As people across the country protest in defense of Black lives, the Sierra Club recognizes the need to dismantle systemic racism in the United States and within our own organization. We must reckon with how white supremacy -- both past and present -- has shaped our institutions and do the critical anti-racism work necessary to repair the harm done. The environmental movement does not exist in a vacuum, and it is our responsibility to use our power to help abolish systemic racism, which is destroying lives, communities, and the planet. |
| The COVID-19 crisis has not passed and continues to disproportionately harm Black, Indigenous, and Latinx people and other communities of color. The pandemic has revealed how the communities hardest hit are often the same communities that suffer from high levels of pollution and poor access to healthcare. The fight for environmental justice cannot be separated from the fight for racial justice. |
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