Dear Supporter,

Greetings, and Happy Summer.

News from the Chair
by Nick Cheranich

Thank you to those who sent action alert emails to the Housing Element Advisory Committee (HEAC) and members of the County Planning Commission as part of our current advocacy campaign to save Skyline Park from housing development. At the last HEAC meeting, committee members said that they received your comments and were impressed by your passion about Skyline Park. If you would like to send an email to them, please click here. For more information, read our comment to the committee, below. Our next steps are still to be determined. (Photo: Josiah Roe, Visit Napa Valley)

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Looking to lower your household carbon emissions? If so, a great way to begin is to go “Deep Green,” by opting to get your electricity from 100% clean energy sources, which only costs a few dollars more per month. You can do this with a couple clicks of your mouse at the Marin Clean Energy (MCE) website. MCE also has information on many different ways to reduce your emissions, and offers some rebates on these options. Check it out below.

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The Board of Supervisors election in November will be a runoff between two candidates for both Districts 1 and 3. We will be reaching out to the candidates for interviews on several important issues. If you have a particular question you would like us to pose to them, please email me. After the interviews, we will give our recommendations to both the Redwood Chapter and the CA Sierra Club for each candidate’s endorsement. We will let you know the results in our next September/October newsletter.

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We are continuing to do outreach in the community. We spoke at two Kiwanis luncheons recently, and were well received. We want to spread the word about who we are and what we do, but we also want to listen to what environmental issues the community thinks are important. If you belong to a group and would like us to present, please let us know. Read below the speech I gave to the Kiwanis Club last month. (Photo: Michelle Hock)

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Once again, here are the current Napa Sierra Club initiatives that we are working on. If you would like to learn more, or join in the effort to work on any of these initiatives, just let me know. Or, join us at our next meeting in September.

We are committed to:

• Advocating for a comprehensive approach to protect Napa County’s water supplies
• Working to save Skyline Wilderness Park from development
• Partnering with the American Canyon Community & Parks Foundation on the new Wetlands EcoCenter
• Providing opportunities for young people with our Internship Program
• Monitoring county-wide development projects to encourage a climate smart approach
• Supporting the Napa Valley Vine Trail as a member of the Vine Trail Coalition
• Promoting policies for working families as a member of the Napa Working Families Coalition
• Joining with the Napa Valley Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD), which seeks to develop and enhance partnerships for communication, coordination & collaboration during all phases of disaster
• Outreaching to the community to increase the diversity of our membership

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Our next Conservation Committee meeting will be September 20th, 2022 at 6:30PM. Just click on the RSVP button below and I'll send you a Zoom invite in the near future. Thank you.

- Nick Cheranich, ExCom Chair
napavalleysierraclub@gmail.com
 

On July 11, 2022 we submitted our response to the Draft Housing Element Update, the county’s plan to address requirements for low-income housing in Napa County. We vehemently oppose the plan to put 100 units in a part of the park that hosts large group events, including scouting, camping, equestrian, emergency response training, indigenous gatherings, and many more.

Comment begins: The Napa Sierra Club Group has publicly opposed consideration of Skyline Wilderness Park as a site for housing of any kind. The park has been very successfully managed to provide a wide range of outdoor experiences to an extremely diverse community, experiences not available anywhere else in the county. We have encouraged members of the community to voice their concern that the county would even think about harming such a unique place; such a unique place that renders numerous beneficial services should never find its way onto such a list, no matter how well it “pencils out” against a set of criteria.  Our position was published in our newsletter, and been distributed widely. Click here to read more.

Did you know that fossil fuels like coal, natural gas, and gasoline are responsible for air and water pollution that cause 1 in 5 deaths worldwide? The data is staggering. The good news is that our local electricity provider, MCE, is leading the way in alternative fuel sources, offering cleaner electricity and zero emission transportation solutions. MCE’s Deep Green service offers 100% renewable energy for less than the cost of PG&E’s 49% renewable service. In fact, you can save almost $7 a month with Deep Green!

Green your home even further with their Home Energy Savings program or even make the switch to clean transportation! Check your eligibility to get a rebate from MCE - up to $13,750. Already have an EV? Use the MCE Sync smart-charging app to save money and kick fossil fuels to the curb. Learn more about MCE at mceCleanEnergy.org.

Climate Action Across the Pond - a Photo Essay from My Recent Trip to England
Article and photos by Chris Benz

Getting out of town-in this case, across ‘the Pond” to England--was great for seeing a different approach to a problem that affects us all—Climate Change.

Upon arriving at Terminal 3 at Heathrow Airport, I was shocked - in a good way - at billboard-sized displays addressing climate change as the “elephant in the room” (and on the posters). Heathrow’s 2.0 plan includes switching to low carbon sustainable aviation fuel and using electric vehicles on the ground. Click here to read more.

Answer: They are both flying into a deadly future, but seeing it as not so different from the recent past.

I have this photo by my door, where I see it whenever I leave. It is a photo of a trace left when a bird struck a window. The collision leaves oils from the feathers, and over time, fine dust collects and reveals the imprint of a crash.

These bird strikes happen because outdoors is bright, the window reflects the outdoor scene, and indoors is darker and hard to see. From the bird’s point of view, what is in front of it is very much like what is behind it. It thinks the future will be very much like the recent past, so keep flying. Click here to read more.