Loma Prieta Chapter eNewsletter: May, Volume 1

Across the globe, housing affordability has surfaced as a defining public policy challenge. In cities like San Francisco, the combination of skyrocketing rents and displacement pressures has ignited a fierce debate: Is the crisis a simple matter of supply, or is it a byproduct of speculative interests?

At a recent meeting of the Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter’s Environmental Stewardship Program, Eric Brooks, Campaign Coordinator for Our City SF, shared a perspective that challenges the mainstream "build-at-all-costs" narrative. With more than a decade of advocacy experience, Brooks argues that the housing crisis is being mischaracterized by powerful economic interests, specifically those associated with the most vocal housing groups that advocate mainly for luxury and market rate housing. Read more about this Environmental Stewardship Program Spotlight.

Add your name to the petition NOW to urge the City to get this right! Keep Redwood Shores livable and save the Bay and local nature that we love.

Sign the Petition to Save San Bruno Mountain

Finnish Led University Studies Demonstrate that Playing in Mud & Sand Boosts Children’s Immune System

If you’re old enough, you probably remember your parents admonishing you as a child to not track dirt or mud into the house. This was because outdoor play meant playing outside in any weather, rain or sun, and because playgrounds came with sand pits, water play areas, and plenty of dirt as well as grass, weeds and other plants. It turns out that multi-year studies (1, 2), led by researchers in Finland, found that the skin of the children who played in forest soil, known to be biodiverse, had fewer disease producing bacteria, and that children who played in sandboxes enriched with biodiverse microbiota (known to be safe) developed improved immune systems in as little as two (2) weeks. Synthetic surfaces, such as pour-in-place (PIP) rubber or plastic grass, are not only unnecessary in playgrounds, they may keep children from developing their best resistance to disease.

Your connection: Join our Plastic Pollution Prevention Committee as we educate ourselves and others on how to identify and address the growing list of harms inflicted on the environment and public health by prolific and unnecessary plastic production.

Too much Sierra Club email? You have control! See this simple tutorial.

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.