Loma Prieta Chapter eNewsletter: September, Volume 1
September 14, 2026
YOU Can Make a Difference. Read How Here.
► Learn about AI data centers being considered in San Jose.
► Less than two weeks to purchase your Guardians of Nature Benefit ticket.
► Read about Daly City citizens convincing a local group to leave grass at Westlake Park.
► Learn how our advocacy on the Brisbane Baylands Specific Plan continues to gain traction.
► Take a hike!See the comprehensive list of Chapter activities available into early October.
San Jose Considering Wave of AI Data Center Developments
San Jose is considering a wave of AI data center developments. Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter is advocating for a moratorium on AI data centers in order to protect habitat, wildlife, and local communities.
AI data centers are an enormous threat to our communities and environment. Meanwhile, San Jose’s current approach to AI data center development is inadequate and has kept the public in the dark. Even after repeated demands for transparency, the details of the vast majority of San Jose’s 34 data center projects in their “development pipeline” have not been disclosed to the public. Meanwhile, City staff continue to work on these projects behind the scenes with AI data center developers.
At a recent San Jose City Council meeting, together with numerous residents, we have advocated against the rezoning of a former IBM property, which would allow for it to be used for AI data centers. Despite the public outcry, San Jose City Council ultimately voted to move forward with the rezoning. Learn more about the AI data center developments being considered in San Jose.
Guardians of Nature Benefit In Less Than Two Weeks!
Our annual event is just around the corner. On Friday, September 25th, we will gather with friends and supporters to celebrate the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District Board of Directors and the environmental progress our Loma Prieta community has enabled.
You can still reserve your ticket and join us for an evening of inspiration, camaraderie, and delicious vegan and vegetarian food.
Would you like to receive complimentary admission to the Benefit? Join us as a volunteer and help us make this event a night to remember. For more information about the available volunteer opportunities, please contact our Chapter Coordinator, Barbara Muir.
Citizens of Daly City Convince Private Group to Drop Plastic Fields, Leaving Grass at Westlake Park
Daly City’s Save Westlake Park citizens’ group keeps their grass fields as the Olympic Club decided not to go forward with an attempt to reach a public private agreement with the City to cover park fields with plastic for athletic rentals. Daly City has considerably less than the state prescribed percentage of park-acres per 1000 residents, and should not be giving away a rare, valued grassy field to make a plastic field fenced off from ordinary use. Open grassy areas foster imaginative play, well-being and biodiversity. Public-private partnerships often favor the private "partner," shorten periods of use by residents and tend to inadequately compensate public localities. See Our Letter to Daly City on the Proposed Public-Private Contract for Westlake Park, delivered to Councilmembers just days before the Olympic Club decision.
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.
Three Ways to Protect Yosemite
Over 5,000 of you have called your Members of Congress to stop Trump's threats to carve up Yosemite National Park.
That's a record-breaking amount of calls in the last 48 hours, showing that our community understands that once our public lands are gone, we don’t get them back.
We must keep up the drumbeat to protect Yosemite National Park and other public lands. Here are three ways you can fight back if you haven't already.
“Florence LaRiviere embodies what it means to be a Refuge Friend,” said Desirée Sorenson-Groves, President & CEO of the National Wildlife Refuge Association. “She saw the value of the Bay’s wetlands when others saw empty land waiting to be developed, and then she did something about it. For more than 60 years, Florence has shown us that persistence, vision, and community action can transform the future of an entire ecosystem. We are honored to present her with the very first Lifetime Refuge Friend Award.” - National Wildlife Refuge Association press release
We were honored to recognize Florence LaRiviere and her remarkable environmental legacy at the 2023 Guardians of Nature Benefit.
The RSAP: A Regional Roadmap for Responding to Rising Seas
The San Francisco Bay shoreline crosses dozens of city and county boundaries, but sea level rise does not stop at jurisdiction lines. Water moves across borders. Wetlands, wildlife, groundwater, contamination, and flood risk are all connected. A decision made in one city can affect neighboring communities, nearby habitats, and the health of the Bay as a whole.
For years, sea level rise planning around the Bay has been fragmented. Some cities have done significant work, while others are just beginning. Some projects have looked only at one property, one neighborhood, or one shoreline segment, without fully accounting for impacts on the broader Bay system. Planning for our interconnected future requires a coordinated approach based on a shared framework of priorities.
That is where the RSAP helps. The RSAP is important because it does more than tell cities to plan; it helps define what good planning should include. Learn more about this regional roadmap.
Building Momentum for Stronger Baylands Protections in Brisbane
Our advocacy on the Brisbane Baylands Specific Plan continues to gain traction. Building on the July endorsement of our recommendations by the city’s Open Space and Ecology Committee, the Brisbane Planning Commission unanimously recommended that the City Council consider requiring Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) laboratories to obtain a conditional use permit rather than allowing them by right. This would provide greater public review and oversight before these higher-risk facilities could be approved.
The Commission also specifically asked the Council to review our June 10 coalition comment letter and consider conservation easements to provide stronger, long-term protection for designated open space.
While the City Council will make the final decisions, these recommendations represent significant progress toward two key Bay Alive objectives: greater public oversight of potentially hazardous uses and durable protections for habitat and open space as this large, complex shoreline development progresses.
Two 60 Percent Design Alternatives for the Redwood Shores Sea Level Rise Protection Project
"This large, complex project requires a decision that looks beyond the 60% design and upfront costs. The alternative selected now will establish the framework for future refinement. Council should consider which design preserves the greatest range of options as sea levels rise, including long-term adaptability, utilizing nature-based resilience, and foreseeable future adaptation costs—not simply near-term price.
We recommend adopting Alternative 1 as the primary approach, which also provides flexibility to incorporate Alternative 2 walls where appropriate. This approach maximizes future adaptability and aligns more effectively with BCDC’s Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan (RSAP) requirements."
Proud Sponsor of the 2026 Coastal & Estuarine Summit
The Bay Alive Campaign is proud to be a Contributing Sponsor of the 2026 Coastal & Estuarine Summit in San Francisco, September 22 – 25, 2026, presented by Restore America’s Estuaries (RAE).
“The 2026 RAE Summit promises to be an unparalleled gathering of the coastal restoration community, dedicated to exploring pressing issues, innovative solutions, and invaluable lessons learned in the pursuit of robust strategies to restore and revitalize our coastal resources and communities effectively. Together, we’ll explore practical solutions, bold ideas, and lessons learned at the intersection of climate resilience, restoration, equity, and the blue economy – set against the backdrop of one of the nation’s most iconic coastal regions.” - Summit website
The Tricky Art of Growing Oysters in the Lab So They Can Survive in the Field
We often talk about the benefits of protecting our existing Bay shoreline ecosystems, and their ecosystem components, such as tidal marshes, mudflats, eelgrass beds, and oyster beds. This photo essay from KneeDeep Times is a fascinating look into efforts to build the oyster population just south of us in Elkhorn Slough.
Learn how nature can help 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.
A Gift That Lives On
We are deeply grateful for a generous bequest from a local donor whose thoughtful gift to the Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter will help protect the environment in San Benito, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties.
Though her name will remain private, we are honored to advance her legacy through our local work to protect our region's natural resources, wildlife, lands, and communities.
You too can leave a lasting legacy for the region we lovingly call home. Include the Loma Prieta Chapter in your estate plans as a powerful way to ensure local conservation continues. Please learn more about leaving a legacy gift to the Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter and protecting our local environment for generations to come.
ACT: No AI Data Centers on Our Public Lands
The Trump administration has approved the first-ever data center on federal public lands and did so without any environmental review or meaningful public input. This could become the blueprint for using public lands across the country to build massive industrial data centers, causing increased water use and unchecked air pollution.
“Boom-doggle” Alert: Supersonic Flights Would Soon Be Allowed to Fly Over Us
The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) proposal to reopen U.S. skies to overland supersonic flight would expose communities to more noise, sonic booms, and emissions while primarily serving luxury travelers.
"We are concerned that the revised project presents substantially different environmental issues from the previously proposed warehouse development and therefore requires a revised new project-specific environmental analysis. The project site is bordered on three sides by San Bruno Mountain State and County Park, a Habitat Conservation Plan area, and includes undeveloped hillside habitat supporting sensitive and threatened species.
The revised project replaces the previously proposed warehouse development with an approximately 895,000-square-foot light-fabrication building, a parking structure and surface parking around the facility. It also includes new roads, a 49.9-MW project substation, a PG&E switching station, and approximately 2,820 feet of new transmission line with three approximately 200-foot towers. Proposed uses, as indicated in the NOP, include assembling, processing, treating, and packaging, together with accessory research and development, storage, sales, distribution, and office uses."
Proposed Public-Private Contract for Westlake Park
"According to documents on City web pages, at less than 1 acre of public park per 1000 residents, Daly City has considerably less than the state prescribed percentage of 3 park acres per 1000 residents; Daly City needs to triple its acreage to meet state standards. [...]
Open space grassy areas foster imaginative play, well-being and biodiversity.
As importantly as acreage, parks should allow residents to enjoy everything people enjoy at a public park, such as walking, running, improvising games, staking volleyball nets or tents, setting chairs for a picnic or gathering, walking pets, kicking a ball, rolling on the ground, throwing a frisbee, etc. While team sports are desirable, most people, including families with children and seniors, regard parks as open space for a broader range of activity. Plus, when a park includes maintained unfenced grassy fields, team sports, including pick-up games, are also possible.
Researchers have found that the more biodiverse an area is, for example a grassy field bordered by trees hosting birds and squirrels, the more that location is associated with feelings of well-being."
650 Harry Road (former IBM Almaden Research Center)
"The proposed rezoning is consequential. It would replace site-specific Planned Development zoning with conventional Industrial Park zoning on approximately 35 acres, allowing a broader range of industrial uses than the existing PD permits. It also raises important questions not adequately addressed in the staff report, such as the adequacy of the City's CEQA determination in light of SB 131 (2025), the loss of existing site-specific PD protections, whether conventional Industrial Park zoning is appropriate for this unusual property, and permanent protection of the approximately 565 acres proposed for Open Space zoning."
"The City’s EIR makes two important findings. First, Masson Estates alone would cause significant and unavoidable impacts related to emergency response, evacuation, wildland fire, and emergency access, even after mitigation. Second, when Masson Estates is considered together with other proposed development, including Encore Estates at the Mountain Winery, the combined impacts on emergency access and evacuation would also be significant and unavoidable. The EIR concludes that these cumulative impacts would remain significant and unavoidable."
Protecting Nature Through Local Action
We've recently seen several important conservation victories in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties.
Biodiversity in Mountain View After several years of community advocacy, Mountain View adopted its Biodiversity and Urban Forest Plan and Parks and Recreation Strategic Plan. Together, these plans establish biodiversity as a core community value and recognize that parks can support healthy ecosystems as well as recreation.
Measure D Voters approved Measure D, renewing funding for the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority. The Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter endorsed the measure to protect open space, restore habitat, improve climate resilience, reduce wildfire and flood risks, and expand opportunities for people to enjoy nature.
Bird-Friendly and Dark Sky Standards San Mateo County adopted updated Design Review Ordinance standards that include Bird-friendly building design and Dark sky lighting requirements for new development in portions of the unincorporated County. The Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter has supported these provisions, which will reduce bird collisions, limit light pollution, and better protect wildlife, while promoting more sustainable development. Read the full article on these victories.
An underground story of roots, microbes, and the quiet climate heroes nobody invites to conferences
Most people walk into a forest and look up. They admire the cathedral ceilings of branches and leaves, the dappled sunlight peaking through, limbs that can look like they’re auditioning for a fantasy film. But if you really want to understand how forests fight climate change, you have to do something far less glamorous: look down.
When it comes to long-term carbon storage, the real action is happening underground, where roots, microbes, and minerals are quietly running one of the most efficient climate operations on Earth. Read this full article on carbon storage.
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.
In 2026 Lobbyists Line Up to Halt California Plastic Regulation
According to the L.A. Times, SB 54, signed into law in 2022 and disrupted multiple times during its progress, is again undergoing attempted disruption by industry lobbyists who are becoming more vocal.
Despite this easing, plastic product producers continue lobbying, with the recent result that "22 Democratic Assembly members and one state senator wrote to legislative leaders asking them to pause the law.” Thankfully leaders of the California Senate and Assembly disregarded this request. Meanwhile, this year conflicting Federal lawsuits, pro and con, have been filed regarding implementation of SB 54. It seems that “holding polluters responsible” is more difficult than it should be.
Inhaling worn tire particles and other micro- and nanoplastics increases cardiopulmonary and lung cancer risk
Research recently published in Nature, Communications Earth and Environmentindicates that about 4% of particulates found in urban air, in Leipzig, Germany, comes from plastic. Of those particulates, 65% comes from tire wear. Other significant plastics of note include polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). By integrating exposure, risk assessment and analytical data, researchers calculated that urban dwellers may increase risk for cardiopulmonary mortality by 9% and lung cancer mortality by 13%.
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.
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.
Historic September
Sept 9, 1892: Lick Observatory discovered 1st new Jupiter moon since Galileo Sept 10, 1933, FDR inaugurated as 32nd President Sept 25, 1890, Sequoia National Park established
2026.09.07: Chapter Director hiked the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail in San Benito County.
"Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation, are people who want crops without ploughing the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning; they want the ocean without the roar of its many waters. The struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, or it may be both. But it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand; it never has and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both." Frederick Douglass, August 3, 1857
