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YOU Can Make a Difference; Read How in This eNewsletter!
► Cast your vote online for Loma Prieta Chapter & Group Executive Committee elections.
► Urgent: Help Stop Dangerous Electronic Billboards in San Jose.
► San Jose: Join the December 1 Urban Greening workshop (hosted in Spanish).
► Milpitas: call for progressive climate action by taking the City's climate action survey.
► Protect San Francisco Bay; get involved with our Bay Alive Campaign.
► Progress in Preserving Coyote Valley and What You Can Do.
► Are you 20 - 39 years old? Join our 20s - 30s Outing Section on December 12th. |
| Photo by Charles Schafer, Loma Prieta Chapter Executive Committee Member and Chapter Outings Leader. |
R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Find Out What It Means to "We"!
Your Loma Prieta Chapter is steered and fueled by local volunteers who give literally thousands of hours annually.
Please spend ten seconds to thank them by voting in your Chapter elections.
Although our elections this year are uncontested, your VOTE sends a thank-you note to local environmental heroes.
Cast your vote online for Loma Prieta Chapter & Group Executive Committee elections!
Those elected will start their two-year term in January 2022. You can also cast votes for your Regional Group’s executive committee elections.
Sierra Club, the nation’s largest and oldest grassroots environmental organization, is proudly democratic and member-driven. The at-large delegates you elect, along with the Group delegates direct the work of the Loma Prieta Chapter. You can read executive committee candidate profiles online here.
Ballots must be received by Tuesday, November 30, 2021.
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Urgent: Help Stop Dangerous Electronic Billboards in San Jose
Electronic billboards have negative impacts on human health, public safety, wildlife, energy and aesthetics.
On Tuesday, November 30th, the San Jose City Council could approve the first new billboards in San Jose in 36 years! The City is proposing two giant 1000 square foot digital billboards at the San Jose Airport adjacent to the Guadalupe River. This will open the door to 22 more billboards on city-owned sites, and then could allow even more on private property.
Tell the City Council that these billboards are not the right future for San Jose, and/or attend the meeting starting at 6 p.m. and speak on item 5.2. |
Take Action: Learn how you can become involved with the Bay Alive Campaign
The San Francisco Bay is a vital asset we all share. Through the Bay Alive Campaign, we’re cooperating across three Sierra Club Chapters that surround the Bay and building lasting relationships with community based organizations.
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Visit the new Bay Alive website to learn more about our education and training programs and local campaigns.
Get connected to the cause by signing up for the Loma Prieta Chapter’s Bay Alive campaign updates. We’ll keep you up to date (but not too often!) on what’s going on in the campaign. |
| California Assemblymember Ash Kalra was this year nominated by the Loma Prieta Chapter for, and subsequently received, a Sierra Club National Award for his work as a local environmental champion. Your Chapter Director, in background, was pleased to present the award. |
Progress in Preserving Coyote Valley And What You Can Do
Assemblymember Ash Kalra released the following statement after San Jose City Council voted unanimously to rezone a section of Coyote Valley, deterring the potential for development of warehouses on the land:
“I am grateful the City Council voted to protect Coyote Valley as it has been under threat of industrial and commercial development for decades. I have long advocated for the conservation of Coyote Valley, before my time in the State Assembly, and even before my service on San Jose City Council, and it remains a vital and vibrant open space with natural infrastructure benefits including flood risk reduction, wildlife protection, and climate resilience.
If you would like to join the Loma Prieta Chapter's critical work protecting Coyote Valley, contact our Chapter Conservation Assistant, Dashiell Leeds at Dashiell.Leeds@sierraclub.org. |
San Jose: Join the December 1 Urban Greening workshop (hosted in Spanish)
Infraestructura verde urbana en San José y más allá
En los últimos años, las señales del cambio climático se han manifestado de maneras imposibles de ignorar para cualquiera. Los residentes del Área de la Bahía han estado sujetos a semanas de cielos con humo, mala calidad de aire y calor intenso. Pronto el aumento de las inundaciones por tormentas y el aumento del nivel del mar se convertirán también en la nueva norma.
Fecha: Diciembre 1, 2021.
Hora: 6 - 7:30 PM PST
Registro para el Taller de Enverdecimiento Urbano en San José: bit.ly/enverdecimientourbano |
| Photo courtesy of Save Newark Wetlands. |
New Short Film Profiles Efforts to Save Newark Wetlands from Development
This month, a new short film “Bay Rising: Voices for Newark Area 4” was released by videographer Mark Weaver, profiling region-wide efforts to protect Newark Area 4, a 500-acre undeveloped mosaic of wetlands and upland habitat adjacent to the Don Edwards SF Bay National Wildlife Refuge, which is at risk from a proposed “executive” housing development.
Watch the full-length film online and then, if you haven’t yet, please sign the petition to protect Newark Area 4 and include these lands in the Don Edwards SF Bay National Wildlife Refuge! |
San Jose Becomes the Largest City in the Nation to Adopt a Carbon Neutral by 2030 Target “This target may be called aggressive by some but we would call it necessary. The resolution before you today is actually the normal, expected behavior in response to a climate crisis of this urgency and magnitude.”- Dashiell Leeds, Conservation Assistant, Loma Prieta Chapter Read more We will continue to push San Jose to take strong action to protect ecosystems and reduce emissions. To achieve this 2030 goal, San Jose will update its Climate Smart Plan to include stronger fossil fuel reduction measures. |
Check out the Sierra Club 2021 Holiday Dinner Discussion Guide
The Sierra Club’s Holiday Discussion Guide includes topics that may come up during your holiday chats. This list isn’t exhaustive, but we hope it’s at least a good start. Above all, we encourage you to approach conversations with openness, empathy, and patience to listen and to continue to educate yourself (and your family and friends) on these important issues. |
7 Hacks for a Very Vegan Holiday Feast
"If this is your first vegan holiday season, waste no time wallowing in meat nostalgia. Prepackaged tofurkey may disappoint, but mouthfuls of joy await in the form of other scrumptious eats. Here are some tips."
If you'd like to contribute to your chapter's work on this issue, contact Food Committee Chair Gladwyn d'Souza at conservation@lomaprieta.sierraclub.org |
Loma Prieta Chapter Opposes Plastic Grass for Playgrounds
Read the letter submitted by Loma Prieta Chapter to the Los Gatos School Board.
Pam Bond, a Los Gatos resident shared the following with us:
"The Los Gatos Union School District recommended all elementary fields should remain natural grass in lieu of plans for synthetic turf! One mom next to me whispered that she'd rather that kids play in dirt than on artificial grass. Another thinks it was your letter that changed the direction of the staff recommendation because they were going to push for plastic but after your letter was received, their position changed.
With your help, we're setting the record straight that synthetic turf should never be an option for schools. Thank you!" |
Watch the recording of the "Drought, Water Supply" panel hosted by the Almaden Valley Community Association
Where does water come from and why the emergency? Is this water shortage emergency a short or long-term problem? Listen in to the expert panel to hear the answers to these questions and more. |
Nature makes kids happier, healthier and smarter.
Regular time in nature is essential for children’s healthy development.
See the Children & Nature Network Research Library
Our friends at the Children & Nature Network (C&NN) curate and summarize peer-reviewed scientific literature that makes the case for children and nature. Curation of research is guided by C&NN Scientific Advisory Council, a multi-disciplinary team of experts who bring diverse perspectives to our work. You can access and search their Research Library.
If you would like to support the Loma Prieta Chapter Family Explorers, by donating, volunteering or becoming an outing leader, please contact your Chapter Director, James Eggers, at james.eggers@sierraclub.org |
YOU Can Make a Difference for Local Environmental Protection!
Our Environmental Legislative Action Team and Climate Action Leadership Team will show you how.
Your Loma Prieta Chapter is organizing a network of advocacy teams at the city level.
These are city-focused teams with the twin goals of spearheading actions to combat climate change and to conserve and restore natural habitats.
You will be working with city council members, key city staff, county officials, and other environmental activists. We welcome and educate those who are new to climate policy.
For more information contact Loma Prieta Chapter's Conservation Assistant dashiell.leeds@sierraclub.org. |
Thanksgiving and Giving Thanks!
Donate a Vehicle to Support the Critical Local Environmental Work of Your Chapter.
It’s easy to give and the pick-up is free; just call 844-6-SIERRA or 844-674-3772 or give online at https://careasy.org/nonprofit/Sierra-Club-Foundation-Loma-Prieta-Chapter.
If you would like to donate a Mazda Miata, please contact your Chapter Director personally.
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Top Posts recently on Loma Prieta facebook page
Follow us on facebook and you'll see most stories before the eNewsletter, and other stories and action alerts that don't make it into the eNewsletter.
#3. A Last-Chance Plan to Save the Monarchs
#2. Built Not to Last: How to Overcome Planned Obsolescence
#1. Caltrain to run more service, cut fares 50% |
Social Media Channels for the Loma Prieta Chapter
facebook: Chapter, 20s – 30s, Sierra Singles
Loma Prieta Chapter's YouTube; Twitter; Instagram; Spotify |
In Case You Missed It
Click Here to see previous volumes of our Chapter eNewsletter.
Redwood City has introduced amazing rebate programs for building electrification, solar installation, electric vehicle chargers, and more!
Poor neighborhoods bear the brunt of extreme heat, ‘legacies of racist decision-making’.
Parks and green spaces are vital for neighborhoods, so why aren’t there more?
Coming Soon: Salmon People Project documentary highlights the current bleak situation of salmon and shows a pathway to recovery.
Deb Haaland, A Living Testament: The path to becoming the nation's first Native American as Secretary of the Department of Interior.
Kelp Forests Surge Back on Parts of the North Coast.
New Short Film Profiles Efforts to Save Newark Wetlands from Development.
How can local cities and residents use nature-based adaptations to sea level rise? Watch recordings of our recent webinar series with SF Bay experts and share with your local elected officials!
Photographers, if you’d like to share with us your high-resolution photos of local nature, with or without people, please contact our Development Coordinator Justyna Guterman, justyna.guterman@sierraclub.org
Too much Sierra Club email? You have control! See this simple tutorial. |
Above: on Nov 21, your Chapter Director was pleased to join the 30th Anniversary Hike of the Loma Prieta Chapter's Gay & Lesbian Outing Section (GLS), in Santa Teresa County Park. Look here for future hikes.
Below: we were especially honored to have been joined by GLS co-founder Mike Zampiceni (in orange shirt), who was awarded our chapter's first Outstanding Outings Achievement Award in 2020.
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Solitude is a condition best enjoyed in company. ~ Eleanor Catton |
Sierra Club, Loma Prieta Chapter, 20s - 30s Outing Section
Sunday, December 12, 2021 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Joseph Grant Park: Dutch Flat + Bass Lake, ~8.5 miles
Information and Registration here. |
James Eggers, Director
Sierra Club, Loma Prieta Chapter |
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Thank you to our 2020 Guardians of Nature Benefit SponsorsBe a Sponsor of the 2021 Guardians of Nature Benefit. |
| 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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