YOU Can Make a Difference; Read How in This eNewsletter
► Attend an Earth Day Celebration and learn about everything we're doing.
► See our recommendations for Sierra Club's Board of Directors elections.
► Learn about our positive impact on local Dark Sky Ordinances.
► Attend the Forest Protection Forum and learn about the campaign combatting forestry misinformation.
► Submit a letter before April 14th to delay the vote on a massive development plan along the wildlife refuge in Redwood City.
► Take a hike! See the comprehensive list of Chapter activities available through April.
Happy Earth Month!
We'll be participating in local celebrations sharing updates on our conservation work and Bay Alive Campaign. Stop by and learn about everything we're doing!
Foster City Earth Day Celebration Saturday, April 12th | 10:00 am - 1:00 pm Foster City Library
San Jose State University Earth Day Celebration Tuesday, April 22nd | 10:00 am - 2:00 pm (The Bay Alive Campaign is proud to be a sponsor!)
PelicanFest 2025: An Earth Day Celebration Saturday, April 26th | 10:30 am - 1:30 pm Linda Mar State Beach
Love Our Earth Festival 2025 Saturday, April 26th | 11:00 am - 2:00 pm Belle Haven Community Campus 100 Terminal Avenue, Menlo Park
Sierra Club's Board of Directors
The Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter recommends a vote for Chad Hanson, Maya Khosla, Nancy Muse and Igor Tregub in the upcoming election for the Sierra Club’s Board of Directors.
The exact closing date for the election is 12:00 PM Eastern Time (noon) on April 23, 2025. Please be on the alert for your paper or email ballot.
Palo Alto and Los Altos Make Progress Towards a Dark Sky
On Monday, in response to our suggestions and public comments made by community members, Palo Alto City Council unanimously voted to direct staff to improve their draft Dark Sky Ordinance and return to the Council with a stronger ordinance. These improvements are needed to retain the protections that Palo Alto residents already have.
On Tuesday, the Los Altos City Council moved forward with their Dark Sky Ordinance. This ordinance applies primarily to new lighting. We supported a more stringent ordinance, but we are pleased to see local jurisdictions take action to protect residents and wildlife from the negative impacts of artificial light at night. We were greatly disappointed to see that Los Altos opted not to approve their draft Bird Safe Design ordinance, despite hard work by their Environmental Commission to draft the ordinance, and the continued decline in bird populations in our country.
There is no lack of misinformation and disinformation in America, especially when it comes to our forests. If you're finding it hard to keep up, you're not alone. This month, join our speakers Sonia Demiray and Chad Hanson for a discussion on the "Keep It in the Forest" campaign, created by the Forest Carbon Coalition. This campaign aims to combat forestry misinformation by providing accurate, data-driven science, up-to-date information, and developed arguments to empower activists in their grassroots efforts. Don't miss this crucial conversation and the chance to stay engaged in the fight at this critical time. Register today.
Last Chance to Take Action: Redwood Life Project Threatens Wildlife Reserve and Public Safety
Redwood City is poised to fall under a massive plan to build on fragile shoreline property, on an old landfill bordering Belmont Slough, without regard for resulting environmental and collateral damage.
These issues need to be taken seriously and YOU can help our environment and the Bay!
After the Council promised the design of a Community Alternative, the developer has proposed a slightly reduced scheme. However, when presented to the community, the reaction was surprise and disappointment that few of the community concerns have been addressed and the size remained massive.
The community wants a scheme that truly addresses many more of their concerns as well as realistic development goals. They want Council to keep their promise for a community-approved design. Environmental concerns center around sea level rise adaptation, constructing on a fragile, deteriorating landfill along Belmont Slough, a State Wildlife Refuge protecting endangered species.
The developer reported that the new scheme had been approved by a majority of residents. However, we have learned it received 83 reported “yes” votes (from a private email list of 1,500). Redwood Shores has 13,000 residents. Now the Council plans to approve the Alternate without discussion.
City Council meets on April 14th and they need to hear from YOU BEFORE then. Click the link below to send a pre-written (or personalized) letter to City Council urging them to delay this vote until community concerns are properly addressed.
Now that the Bay Area has approved region-wide guidelines for shoreline community sea level rise plans, it's up to all of us, at the grassroots, to make sure that all of the local plans are the strongest they can be and developed as quickly as possible. Join our Bay Alive Campaign Watchdog network!
Watch our sea level rise videos to learn the threats that come with sea level rise, what's at risk, and solutions we can use to adapt and protect the Bay.
THE ALMANAC Developing East Palo Alto’s Ravenswood Business District means confronting a legacy of contamination
“(The site) accepted drums of God knows what kind of solvents,” said Goodman, who has been working with the Sierra Club to advocate for cleanup efforts in East Palo Alto. “They treated them, and, in some cases, stored them in unlined impoundments. (The site is) still highly contaminated.”
“VOCs, some of them are cancer-causing, like benzene, others have non cancer health effects, such as damage to the kidney or liver, reproductive health impacts like low birth weight, neurotoxicity, it really depends what chemical you’re talking about,” she said, adding that certain VOCs can cause respiratory problems, as well as nausea and headaches." Read the full article.
Sea Level Rise Webinar Series
Learn how nature can help us fight sea level rise with cost-effective and sustainable solutions. Watch recordings of our webinar series with SF Bay experts and please share with your local elected officials.
Environmental Stewardship Program
Green cities increase our human health and urban biodiversity by providing a variety of habitats for plants, animals, and other species. Water provides essential habitats for many plant and animal species, helps regulate the urban climate by mitigating heat islands, and plays a vital role in maintaining healthy ecosystems within the city. Biodiverse ecosystems are critical to regulating water cycles – purifying water, preventing flood damage and reducing the impacts of drought. Green streets, an intact tree canopy, and healthy urban waterways result in significant health benefits and an improved quality of life of all inhabitants through a focus on the outdoor environment. Learn more and register.
"The Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance and the Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter are organizations united by our shared commitment to the protection of the environment, nature, and open space. We strongly support the adoption of the Environmental Commission Draft Lighting Performance Standards and the adoption of the Draft Bird-Safe Design Ordinance."
We have supported Palo Alto in its efforts to create a Dark Sky ordinance by sharing research and model ordinance language with City staff, the Architectural Review Board and the Planning & Transportation Commission. The Planning and Transportation Commissioners (PTC), in their October 30th motion, made an effort to recommend strong ordinance language that reflects the Five Principles for Responsible Outdoor Lighting, but the April 7th proposed ordinance has not incorporated some of the most critical PTC recommendations. Our recommendations for Dark Sky applicability, lighting curfews, and light trespass thresholds are based on adopted Dark Sky policies in California, including ordinances from Cupertino, Malibu, and Brisbane. The draft ordinance to be heard by Los Altos City Council on April 8th 2025 also includes language consistent with these recommendations. Our recommendations are reflected in the October 30th PTC motion."
"The Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter, Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance, Mothers Out Front Silicon Valley, and the San José Youth Climate Action Team are opposed to the development of the 159 acres of open space south of the Regional Wastewater Facility and North of Highway 237. San José should instead explore the conversion and repurposing of existing development if it chooses to incentivize the construction of data centers in this area. We are also concerned with the potential for data centers to use gas-powered fuel cells, which generate a disproportionately large amount of greenhouse gas emissions compared with other energy sources."
Electronic Billboard Installation: Initial Study / Mitigated Negative Declaration
"We have been advocating for a reduction of light pollution in the region, and have advocated against electronic billboards and the proliferation of light pollution in San Jose and in other Bay Area cities for many years. We submit the following comments on the Initial Study / Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) for the installation of a back-to-back electronic billboard on City-owned property at the northeast corner of SR-87 (Guadalupe Parkway) and Willow Street."
"The Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter and the Santa Clara Valley Bird Alliance commend the City Council for its continued commitment to addressing climate change and protecting the natural environment. The 2025 City Council Priority Objectives, which prioritize key issues such as electrification, sea level rise, stream corridor protection, bird-friendly design, and dark sky initiatives, are important steps toward a more sustainable and resilient future for Palo Alto. As you continue to refine these priorities, we respectfully request that you consider adding two additional objectives."
Special Spring Delivery: Check Your Mailbox!
Our spring appeal letter is coming, so please watch your postal mailbox. Healthy air, water, and land are a right, not a privilege, so please take the time to read and respond to our invitation to stand for our environment. If you can't wait for the letter, you can find it here. Please ensure that our local environment can depend on a strong and vigilant Loma Prieta Chapter.
SAN MATEO DAILY JOURNAL Opinion: What ‘Three Little Pigs’ can teach us about wildfire preparedness
By Karen Maki, Loma Prieta Chapter's Forest Protection Committee Chair
"How to protect a home from fire, to “harden” to fire, is well known by fire professionals. CalFire and San Mateo County Firesafe Council explain what is needed on their websites, including eliminating flammable material within 5 feet of the building. They also suggest additional actions such as installing class A roofs instead of wood shake shingles, replacing wood exterior walls with stucco or brick, covering rooftop vents, and installing double-paned tempered glass windows that don’t easily break during a fire and expose the vulnerable flammable interior of the house to fire." Read the full article.
Join this discussion on the complex ecosystem of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta with senior environmental scientist, Aaron Haiman. Aaron will be sharing his experiences working in and birding this area, along with sections of his new book, Birds of the California Delta. The Delta is a fascinating example of the challenges of conflicting interests in California open spaces, with shareholders competing for water, land, and funding in an area where agriculture, conservation, water rights, and shipping are all concerns. On top of all of these complications are the birds of the Delta, who's distinctive shapes can be found throughout this wetland habitat.
One of the best ways to safeguard a thriving and just future is by ensuring that your Loma Prieta Chapter remains a champion for the environment of Santa Clara, San Mateo, and San Benito Counties. Naming us as a beneficiary in your bequest will provide meaningful and enduring resources that will allow continued local and powerful environmental activism.
Please contact our Chapter Development Coordinator Justyna Guterman for the specific language for your estate planning and/or read more here. For additional information about planning a bequest please contact Julia Curtis, (800) 932-4270.
Your connection: As if we haven’t been alarmed enough, researchers at Boston University have learned that not only do microplastics move freely through air and water, carrying drug-resistant bacteria to new places, microplastics themselves can promote antimicrobial resistance. In other words tiny bits of plastic act not only as tiny mobile chemical petri-dishes, they assist in creating bad results. Join the SCLP Plastic Pollution Prevention Committee as we explore how to educate others on the growing list of harms inflicted on the environment and public health.
Photographers, see the great images in our Chapter Annual Summaries and help protect local nature with your images! Share with us your high-resolution photos of local nature, with or without people, to inspire local residents to support Loma Prieta Chapter work. Please contact Chapter Development Coordinator Justyna Guterman.
In the year Loma Prieta Chapter was founded, 1933: April, Civilian Conservation Corps established April 26, birth of Carol Burnett, actress, singer and comedian April 30, birth of Willie Nelson, country singer-songwriter _________________________________________________________________________________
"A man is like a fraction whose numerator is what he is and whose denominator is what he thinks of himself. The larger the denominator, the smaller the fraction." Leo Tolstoy
2025.03.14 Chapter Director joined a community hike then summitted Mt Umunhum. Loma Prieta is far right in the distance with clouds covering its peak, the highest in the San Cruz Mountain Range.
