By John Hankins
We are here to Explore, Enjoy and Protect the planet (Sierra Club’s motto), despite a looming anti-environmental cadre of officials in the Trump administration.
Check out the stories and links below on what happened in the last two months.
Join us by getting involved and having fun too. We offer activities and activism and free hikes. See Group News box on page 3 for contacts and links where you can get involved or enjoy our free hikes via links on page 5, including via MeetUp and internet lists.
If you’d like to be an official hike leader, contact our hike teacher Gerry Ching at: gching@cox.net
Donations help a lot, and the money stays here at home doing good stuff. Donate here: www.sierraclub.org/donate/1000
Feb 3: Make Polluters Pay for Climate Devastation, a call to action sponsored by our friends at CFROG and others statewide. It would try to pass the CA Polluter Pays Climate Superfund bill which accelerated the concept partly due to the massive fires in LA and Ventura counties. Get locally involved here: (805)263-7408 or info@cfrog.org
Jan 29: Climate Action Hour created by the Sierra Club will happen monthly via Zoom. The events will be recorded if you can’t make the specific date. Check it out here.
Jan 27: Snow joke: Highway 33 north of Ojai was closed due to ice and snow,
Jan 25: Green policies and war drive clean energy growth, notably from a record year for clean energy use in Europe as Trump pushes fossil fuels.
Jan 22: Report Values Santa Barbara County’s Natural Resources at $2.96 Billion. The Land Trust of SB’s report looked at the natural environment, open spaces, water resources and the role they play in the region’s economic vitality and ability to resist climate change. The review was released in collaboration with Earth Economics, a nonprofit organization that assesses and values natural habitats. Check out this eye-opening report here: https://tinyurl.com/NatureWorthIt
Jan 20: Comment on whether to allow eight underwater fish farms totaling 15,000 acres in federal waters of the Santa Barbara Channel by the Feb. 20 deadline. The Sierra Club is opposed and our Chapter Chair said: “Net-pen finfish farming, which is proposed in this document, can be a dirty business (pollution, oxygen-depleted dead zones, waste that can contain antibiotics, pesticides and fish feces, whale and dolphin entanglements, and releases of non-native fish--resulting in a ban in Washington state.) Here’s the link: https://tinyurl.com/FishFarmPlan
Jan 17: “Abundance of caution” to close some Sierra Club offices in California and Nevada due to “threatening emails and voicemails falsely linking us to the recent wildfires in California.” Business will still happen but likely via internet.
Jan 13: Das Williams, who served for 21 consecutive years in elected office in Santa Barbara County has accepted a job as senior advisor for policy and legislative affairs for Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) which serves SB and SLO counties. Last year he lost his SB supervisor role to Roy Lee of Carpinteria. 3CE manages where and how energy is generated, with an emphasis on renewable sources.
Jan 12: Seriously? An anonymous Tiktoker documented a group of individuals launching lantern balloons, which are lit by candles, despite widespread wildfires devastating Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The incident took place on a beach near Carpinteria, close to a nature preserve and residential areas, reports The New York Post. Cops were called and halted the dangerous activity. Check out the confrontation here: https://tinyurl.com/Lantern-Balloons
Jan 11: Recreation Master Plan for SB County published and available to residents to comment. This long-range proposal would fund and construct public parks, trails, and facilities to meet recreational needs. For details and comment links, go to: www.SBCRecPlan.com