1 PEATDUSTER - Sierra Club · months of that first trip to Iceland, the photographer conceived the boldest expedition of his life: The Extreme Ice Survey. With a band of young adventurers

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PEATDUSTER

Volume 47 Number 2 P-1 Printed on Recycled Electrons March—July 2016

Explore, enjoy and protect the planet.

Newsletter for the Delta-Sierra Group, Mother Lode Chapter

Visit us at www.sierraclub.org/mother-lode/delta-sierra

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Explore, enjoy and protect the planet. Explore, enjoy and protect the planet. Explore, enjoy and protect the planet. Explore, enjoy and protect the planet. Explore, enjoy and protect the planet. Explore, enjoy and protect the planet.


MEETINGS and EVENTS

All General Meetings are open to everyone whether you are a Sierra Club member or not. Meetings are held in the Fireside Room at the Central United Methodist Church, 3700 Pacific Avenue, Stockton, across from the UOP Tower.

Monday March 28 at 7:00 pm - The award winning documentary film Chasing Ice In the spring of 2005, acclaimed environmental photographer James Balog headed to the Arctic on a tricky assignment for National Geographic: to capture images to help tell the story of the Earth’s changing climate. Even with a scientific upbringing, Balog had been a skeptic about climate change. But that first trip north opened his eyes to the biggest story in human history and sparked a challenge within him that would put his career and his very well-being at risk.

Chasing Ice is the story of one man’s mission to change the tide of history by gathering undeniable evidence of our changing planet. Within months of that first trip to Iceland, the photographer conceived the boldest expedition of his life: The Extreme Ice Survey. With a band of young adventurers in tow, Balog began deploying revolutionary time-lapse cameras across the brutal Arctic to capture a multi-year record of the world’s changing glaciers.

As the debate polarizes America and the intensity of natural disasters ramps up globally, Balog finds himself at the end of his tether. Battling untested technology in subzero conditions, he comes face to face with his own mortality. It takes years for Balog to see the fruits of his labor. His hauntingly beautiful videos compress years into seconds and capture ancient mountains of ice in motion as they disappear at a breathtaking rate. Chasing Ice depicts a photographer trying to deliver evidence and hope to our carbon-powered planet. (Continue Meetings and Events on Page 3)

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(Meetings and Events continued from Page 2)

Monday, April 25, 2016 @ 7:00pm - The Student Stewards of the Lower Calaveras River

Join us as students from the fifth, sixth, and this year seventh grades at Kohl School, present an overview of their work on the banks of the Calaveras River. They are privileged that the river is located right by the school. This gives them opportunities to go onto the levee to study the important ecosystems, learn about Stockton, and raise awareness about the Calaveras River. They use the levee to connect and learn about nature and consider it a natural extended classroom.

(Continue Meetings and Events on Page 4)

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Stockton Earth Day 2016 - April 24th Annual Stockton Earth Day celebrates its 28th anniversary on April 24th. Stockton's Earth Day Festival has a long history of helping people recognize the importance of caring for our earth and natural resources. This year's popular community event will be held April 24th at Victory Park (Behind Haggin useum) from 11am to 4pm. With thousands of attendees and hundreds of volunteers, the event has something for everyone.

The Festival will have dozens of informative, interactive booths, displays and exhibits, plus there will be plenty of great food and exotic crafts. Local area schools will be teaching you how to take better care of our earth with a variety of hands-on activities, and environmental organizations will educate you about the important issues that im-pact you and how you can make a difference. Community agencies will help you live a healthier, more positive life, and green businesses will assist you in making changes to your home and workplace. Over 100 vendors will border the oak trees and cross the grass field at Victory Park, making this Earth Day Festival the biggest ever.

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May, June and July - No General Meetings

More information for all of the following events will be provided in the next Peatduster coming out in August. However, we wanted you to know we have some pretty good programs coming up. Monday. August 22 at 7:00 pm - Solar cooking needs and challenges in five East African countries with Bev Blum.

Monday. September 26 at 7:00 pm - Dinosaurs in California, Finding fossils in the Sierra Nevada with Richard Hilton. Tuesday, October 11 at 7:30 pm - Audubon/Delta-Sierra Group joint Meeting hosted by Audubon. It's that time of year for our annual Audubon Sierra Club joint meeting which is always a lot of fun. Please note the change in day and time for this meeting. Monday. November 28 at 7:00 pm - Stockton General Plan with Dale and Eric. (Please note that the topic for this meeting may change.) Monday, December 12 at 6:30 pm - Environmental Holiday Gathering. Please note the change in day and time for this meeting. Monday, January 23, 2017 at 7:00 pm - Hiking Adventures with "Wheel Chair Bob" Coomber. Monday, February 27, 2017 at 7:00 pm - Vernal Pools with John Gerlach.

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GO SOLAR NOW Through an innovative partnership with Sungevity, a leading national solar company, the Motherlode Chapter is able to offer members and supporters like you an affordable and easy way to go solar. When you go solar with the Sierra Club and Sungevity, you will receive a special $750 discount and Sungevity will send the Motherlode Chapter $750 that can be used to protect local wildlife and wild lands, keep our air and water clean, and move us toward a clean energy future. “In order to end our dependence on dirty energy, we need as many Americans as possible to switch to clean energy like rooftop solar. This is a high priority for the Sierra Club. We are urging all of our members and supporters in California to work with Sungevity to find out if solar is right for them. Every home that goes solar gets us one step closer to our goal of a clean energy economy,” said Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune. Clean energy is winning. Are you going to be a part of the victory? Getting started with solar is quick and easy. It takes less than three minutes. Get started today by calling 415-977-5668 to speak with the Sierra Club Solar Homes Coordinator for more information. Or go online to:

http://content.sierraclub.org/solar/sungevity?ref=138

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Service with a Smile, Sierra Club Service Trip to Pyramid Lake, September 20-26, 2015 by Elaine Gorman While driving to Fernley Nevada, via back roads off Highway 395, I realized that this upcoming trip would be in a land without much familiarity. I passed a large hay stack with a 30 ft. banner proclaiming simply “The Donald”. Not long after, there appeared a 2-story Jesus Saves cross, complete with ornate crown and sparkly decorations. I was in the ancestral territory of Wovoka, Paiute legend who resurrected the Ghost Dance. But as soon as I checked into the hotel and met the two leaders and my fellow service trippers, I began to feel at home.

What attracted me to this trip was the location — Pyramid Lake, the largest lake in Nevada, surrounded by the Pyramid Lake Paiute Indian Reservation. I haven’t spent much time in that part of Nevada, and I was interested in learning more about its cultural and natural history. Our home base, Fernley, is about 30 miles east of Reno and is my usual jumping off point when traveling to Utah. Fernley, seemingly a drab town, earned a special place in my heart with its two enormous sculptures on Main Street, a 2-story flower tower made of bottle caps, and a large tiled tortoise. And Fernley has some surprisingly good restaurants.

Our first cultural initiation was a visit to the PL Tribal Museum. Ralph Burns told us the history of the Northern Paiute people, how the diversion of much of the Truckee River from Pyramid Lake has affected the lake and the tribe, the importance of the Lahontan cutthroat trout and the endemic Cui-ui fish, and current efforts to reintro-duce their native language. Ralph was later joined by Ben Aleck, an artist and former director of the museum. Our group en-joyed the stories that Ralph and Ben told — water babies of Pyramid Lake, fishing trip of skunk and raccoon — some told in the Paiute language.

(Continue on Page 8)

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(Continued from Page 7) Each day of service we drove to the town of Nixon, the administrative center for the reservation. Our group split into two groups — one group painted some tribal buildings, and the other group worked in the green-house and orchard. I chose to work in the greenhouse and orchard, and after four days, was glad to see the weeds disappear. Barbara brought a selection of native plants, which will hopefully be transplanted. The days were quite warm, but I enjoyed being outside, being close to nature. Geese, vultures, ravens and other birds captured my attention. A few Western toads made the greenhouse their home, it was fun to observe them. Both groups worked very diligently, and we think that we made some progress on the projects. Leaders Barbara Balen and Claudia Hilligoss made sure that we had a variety of ex-cursions to help us learn about the area. One afternoon we visited the BLM National Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Center in Palomino Valley. Arising from the Wild Burro and Horse Act, this facility can house over 1800 animals. We learned from the assistant facility manager Jeb Beck, how the staff feeds and cares for these animals as they await adoption or are sent to live on ranches in the mid-west.


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(Continued from Page 8)

Another afternoon we visited the Dunn Fish Hatchery, and were given a tour by the enthusi-astic manager, Desmond Mitchell. He showed us the water system, the trays where the Lahontan cutthroat eggs are hatched, the tanks where the fish are raised. He explained the artificial spawning channel, where the fish arrive each year. Historically, trout were caught that weighed 30-40 pounds. The original strain of Lahontan cutthroats were fished out, but they are being revived, and each year 24,000 fish are released from the hatchery. These fish are big business for the tribe, as Pyramid Lake is considered a world class fishery, and permits bring in over $1 million each year.

The most exciting part of the trip for me was the hike to the Lagomarsino Canyon Petroglyphs on our free day. Rick Ramos, Sierra Club outings leader (and super nice guy) from Grass Valley, took me, Sandy, and Barbara on a wonderful adventure. We passed by an old rock homestead, with twisted iron bed frame and a wooden washing machine. We saw about a dozen wild horses, which eyed us cautiously. Sadly, we also saw several dead horses, possibly due to harsh winters, little food, and overpopulation. But the prize at the end of our 5.5 mile hike was the 1/4 mile panel of petroglyphs which were scattered over the basalt cliffs.


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(Continued from Page 9) We were in awe over this amazing display of figures and designs, speculating about their meaning. This may be the oldest rock art in Nevada. We had to leave after only a 45-minute inspection (I could have stayed for hours) but we wanted to make it back to the vehicles before dark.

On our last day of service, Stephanie and I spent a couple of hours bagging up garbage along the main road. As that road is the primary route into Burning Man, I wondered

what all of the Burners thought about this spartan and vast landscape. The Pyramid, and other tufa formations surrounding the shore, are sacred to the Paiutes. As a fitting end to our work week, we enjoyed a delicious potluck lunch put on by the PL tribe, in honor of Native American Day. We tried Lahontan trout cooked several ways, elk, venison, pine nuts, and other native foods. Across the street at the elementary school, we watched children and adults dancing, singing, and drumming at their local pow wow. Their outfits were beautiful and colorful, and their performances were memorable.

One of the main reasons that I enjoy these service trips is because of all of the dedicated people that I get an opportunity to meet. We came from all across the US, and each has an interesting story. For instance — I had recently heard on National Public Radio about the original writer of the song “Baby I’m Gonna Leave You” by Led Zeppelin. It was Anne! Sandy lives near Anne in North Fork, Sandy’s home town. Ed and Luba are from Las Vegas, and like me, they have helped to clear the Escalante River of dreaded Russian Olive. Stephanie is a working gal in DC, and likes to travel to the West. Gene and Nancy are from Southern California, and lead local hikes. Sandra told us a story-book tale of how she moved from Hawaii to San Francisco, and how she met her husband. The Philomenes, Sr. & Jr., were energetic and enthusiastic, and thanks for hosting the balcony happy hour! Theron, recently retired, lives near Sacramento and is an avid outdoorswoman. My roomie Susan has worked and lived all over the world, including Russia and Australia. (Continue on Page 11)

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(Continued from Page 10)

While heading west back to California, I had one last adventure. Claudia led Stephanie and me on a short hike on The Nature Conservancy McCarrran Ranch restoration area along the Truckee River. The interpretive panels showed the efforts to naturalize the channel and to add native vegetation. I loved walking through the ancient cottowoods, seeing more wild horses, passing people who were birding, biking, fishing, and hiking. What a hopeful and beautiful place to enjoy my last hours in Nevada. Special thanks to leaders Claudia Hilligoss and Barbara Balen— their knowledge of the area, efficient organizing, willingness to adapt to changes, and efforts to make us all feel comfortable, well fed, and happy, are appreciated.

Photo by Tom Hora

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From the Editor:

I cannot speak for you, but I am bombarded with emails that contain a petition for me to sign. Every email is urgent requesting immediate action. No longer do you need to take time choosing your battles or establishing priorities. Everything is on the table and that covers all the inequalities and injustice on our planet. Do I need to provide you with a list? Failing to sign these petitions often results in an effort to make you feel guilty. If that is not enough, there is a website called Change.org where you can find hundreds of petitions to sign. Out of curiosity I checked, and yep, there are a couple petitions pertaining to Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream.

It is no secret that the Sierra Club sends out its share of petitions, but they all have a single focus: the environment, our environment. Over the years topics have included clean air, clean water, urban sprawl, overpopulation, oil and coal burning power plants, fracking, clear-cutting, transportation of oil via pipes and railcars and more recently, a policy on sustainable marine fisheries.

However, the only petition you ever need to sign concerns Climate Change. If it fails every other issue becomes redundant. The 106 page 2012 report for the World Bank by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Climate Analytics predicted many events we now experience. This includes extreme heat and cold spells, drought, severe storms, flooding events and sea level rise.


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(From the Editor continued from Page 13)

Other researchers believe these events will in turn lead to unprecedented wars, migration, starvation, crop failures, pandemics and extinction. (A United Nations report released February 26, 2016 states forty percent of invertebrate pollinators like bees and butterflies are facing extinction.)

I don’t have to tell you what to do; Leonardo DiCaprio did that for us when he accepted his first Oscar.

“And lastly, I just want to say this: Making The Revenant was about man's relationship to the natural world. A world that we collectively felt in 2015 as the hottest year in recorded history. Our production needed to move to the southern tip of this planet just to be able to find snow.

Climate change is real, it is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species, and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating. We need to support leaders around the world who do not speak for the big polluters, but who speak for all of humanity, for the indigenous people of the world, for the billions and billions of under- privileged people out there who would be most affected by this.

For our children’s children, and for those people out there whose voices have been drowned out by the politics of greed. I thank you all for this amazing award tonight. Let us not take this planet for granted. I do not take tonight for granted. Thank you so very much.”


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(From the Editor continued from Page 13)

Our petition system only provides persuasion. Here’s how petitions work for United Kingdom Government and Parliament:

1. You create a petition. Only British citizens and UK residents can create or sign a petition. 2. You get 5 people to support your petition. We’ll tell you how to do this when you’ve created your petition. 3. We check your petition, then publish it. We only reject petitions that don’t meet the standards for petitions. (The standards exclude frivolous petitions.) 4. The Petitions Committee reviews all petitions we publish. They select petitions of interest to find out more about the issues raised. They have the power to press for action from government or Parliament. 5. At 10,000 signatures you get a response from the government. 6. At 100,000 signatures your petition will be considered for a debate in Parliament.

I think we should start a petition to get a similar petition system. No, I didn’t mean that! If you are wondering about the Endangered Species stamps on Page 1, I can tell you they were issued October 2, 1996 or 20 years ago this year. The good news is the Brown Pelican was removed May 12 2014. The Gila Trout and American Crocodile have been down graded to “Threatened”. The Florida Manatee is listed as subspecies under West Indian Manatee and is still endangered as is all the other 14 creatures shown on that sheet of postage stamps. The complete list of endangered species can be seen on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website. There, you can also find Foreign Species and Candidate Species. There are many! http://www.fws.gov/endangered/species/us-species.html

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Stockton, Modesto and Sonora Sierra Club Find us at: http://www.meetup.com/S-M-S-SierraClub

We have been in operation for nearly 4 years and we have 931 members. You can find many of our local Sierra Club activities posted there.

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Executive Committee with Email Addresses Chair: Dale Stocking [email protected] Vice Chair & Membership Chair: Paul Plathe [email protected] Secretary & Program Chair: Margo Praus [email protected] Conservation Chair &Treasurer: Dale Stocking [email protected] Chapter Delegate & Assistant Treasurer: Richard R Abood [email protected] Alternate Chapter Delegate & Genetic Engineering: Margo Praus [email protected] Executive Member: Knute Momberg [email protected] Advisor for the Newsletter: Robert Evans [email protected] Your name could be here! We need your help! You can see some of us are filling too many spots! Contact any one of us to learn more.



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DELTA-SIERRA GROUP P.O. BOX 9258 STOCKTON, CA 95208


Because the world’s population has increased exponentially, and human society and technology have become enormously complex and sophisticated, it is clear that climate change will continue to occur on a scale that will disrupt the human story.

Andrew Moore, President Archaeological Institute of America

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1 PEATDUSTER - Sierra Club · months of that first trip to Iceland, the photographer conceived the boldest expedition of his life: The Extreme Ice Survey. With a band of young adventurers