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Santa Lucian March 2014 1 The official newsletter of the Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club San Luis Obispo County, California Protecting and Preserving the Central Coast Santa Lucian I I I n s i d e n s i d e n s i d e n s i d e n s i d e March 15: Don’t frack CA 3 One basin, one vote 4 Climate actions 7 Billboards be gone 9 Taking Issue 10 Classifieds 11 Outings 12 Please recycle This newsletter printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with soy- based inks March 2014 Volume 51 No. 3 Santa Lucian Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club P. O. Box 15755 San Luis Obispo, CA 93406 NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 84 SAN LUIS OBISPO CA 93401 Vote for Arjun Makhijani Don’t Miss: Dying Green: the ultimate recycling Friday, March 28 - see page 2 All eligible Sierra Club members — life members and members who have renewed at least once — will soon receive election materials to vote for members of the Sierra Club Board of Directors. (Those who have signed up for internet notification should receive their notification from the election vendor). Any organization that’s been around for awhile has had its ups and downs in terms of leadership. In the Sierra Club’s 122 years, we’ve lucked out in a big way more than a few times, as when the organization has been steered or advised and counseled by the likes of Martin Litton, Edgar Wayburn, Wallace Stegner and William E. Colby. (Kids: google ‘em.) It is in that context that we wish to bring to your attention the presence of Arjun Makhijani on your 2014 ballot for the Sierra Club’s Board of Directors. Dr. Makhijani, president of the Insti- tute for Energy and Environmental Research, holds a Ph.D. in engineering with a specialization in nuclear fusion from the University of California at Berkeley. He has produced many studies on nuclear fuel cycle issues, including nuclear waste, over the past twenty years. He is the principal author of the first study ever done on energy conservation potential in the U.S. And more to the point for this discussion, he is the author of Carbon- Free and Nuclear-Free: A Roadmap for U.S. Energy Policy, the first analysis of a transition to a U.S. econ- omy based completely on renewable energy, without any use of fossil fuels or nuclear power. (Download it here for free: http://ieer .or g/resource/reports/ carbon-free-and-nuclear-free/. Dr. Makhijani sums up the findings of his report thusly: “We can solve the problems of oil imports, nuclear proliferation as it is linked to nuclear power, and carbon dioxide emissions simultaneously if we are bold enough.” We trust you catch our drift. The Santa Lucia Chapter is very pleased to endorse Dr. Makhijani for the Board of Directors. This is the guy who knows how to phase out fossil fuels and nuclear energy and replace them with renewables and efficiency. He is the right Sierra Club board director at the right time, so let’s get him on board. And nothing against any of the other Put an energy visionary on the Sierra Club Board of Directors State Senators Holly Mitchell and Mark Leno have introduced a bill to impose a moratorium on fracking and well stimulation in California unless there is certainty that the practices will not harm public health, the environ- ment and the economy. Fracking and well stimulation are technologies that have in recent years been used in oil and natural gas fields around the country to literally break up and dissolve rock deep in the earth to gain access to previously inaccessible oil and gas reserves. The technologies employ hundreds of harsh and toxic chemicals, including acids, mixed with large quantities of water. Fracking and well stimulation has been linked to high levels of air pollution, surface and Frack Free in ‘14 fine candidates on your ballot, but if you want your vote to carry maximum weight, vote only for Arjun Makhijani. Ballots must be received by April 16. Fracking Moratorium Bill in State Senate groundwater pollution, high levels of water consumption, and earthquakes. Senate Bill 1132 would impose a moratorium until completion of an expanded study of fracking’s impacts, which must then be followed by a determination that the public health, the environment and the economy will not be harmed if fracking resumes. “Senators Mitchell and Leno have placed before the legislature the opportunity to take the next logical step to protect Californians from a dangerous practice,” said Kathryn Phillips, director of Sierra Club Califor- nia. “Last year the legislature passed a bill, SB 4, that would begin regulation FRACKING continued on page 3

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Page 1: 1 Santa Lucian • March 2014 Santa Lucian · Protecting and Preserving the Central Coast Santa Lucian I n s i d e ... Ballots must be received by April 16. Fracking Moratorium Bill

Santa Lucian • March 20141

The official newsletter of the Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club • San Luis Obispo County, California

Protecting andPreserving theCentral Coast

SantaLucian

IIIII n s i d en s i d en s i d en s i d en s i d e March 15: Don’t frack CA 3

One basin, one vote 4

Climate actions 7

Billboards be gone 9

Taking Issue 10

Classifieds 11

Outings 12

Please recycle

This newsletter printed on100% post-consumer recycled paper with soy-

based inks

March 2014Volume 51 No. 3

Santa LucianSanta Lucia Chapter of the SierraClubP. O. Box 15755San Luis Obispo, CA 93406

NONPROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT NO. 84

SAN LUIS OBISPOCA 93401

- page 2

Vote for ArjunMakhijani

Don’t Miss:

Dying Green:the ultimate recycling

Friday, March 28

- see page 2

All eligible Sierra Club members —life members and members who haverenewed at least once — will soonreceive election materials to vote formembers of the Sierra Club Board ofDirectors. (Those who have signed upfor internet notification should receivetheir notification from the electionvendor). Any organization that’s been aroundfor awhile has had its ups and downsin terms of leadership. In the SierraClub’s 122 years, we’ve lucked out in abig way more than a few times, as whenthe organization has been steered oradvised and counseled by the likes ofMartin Litton, Edgar Wayburn, WallaceStegner and William E. Colby. (Kids:google ‘em.) It is in that context that we wish tobring to your attention the presence ofArjun Makhijani on your 2014 ballot forthe Sierra Club’s Board of Directors. Dr. Makhijani, president of the Insti-tute for Energy and EnvironmentalResearch, holds a Ph.D. in engineeringwith a specialization in nuclear fusionfrom the University of California atBerkeley. He has produced manystudies on nuclear fuel cycle issues,including nuclear waste, over the pasttwenty years. He is the principal authorof the first study ever done on energyconservation potential in the U.S. And more to the point for thisdiscussion, he is the author of Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free: A Roadmapfor U.S. Energy Policy, the firstanalysis of a transition to a U.S. econ-omy based completely on renewableenergy, without any use of fossil fuelsor nuclear power. (Download it here forfree: http://ieer.org/resource/reports/carbon-free-and-nuclear-free/. Dr. Makhijani sums up the findings ofhis report thusly: “We can solve theproblems of oil imports, nuclearproliferation as it is linked to nuclearpower, and carbon dioxide emissionssimultaneously if we are bold enough.”

We trust you catch our drift. TheSanta Lucia Chapter is very pleased toendorse Dr. Makhijani for the Board ofDirectors. This is the guy who knowshow to phase out fossil fuels andnuclear energy and replace them withrenewables and efficiency. He is theright Sierra Club board director at theright time, so let’s get him on board. And nothing against any of the other

Put an energy visionary on the Sierra Club Board of Directors

State Senators Holly Mitchell andMark Leno have introduced a bill toimpose a moratorium on fracking andwell stimulation in California unlessthere is certainty that the practices willnot harm public health, the environ-ment and the economy. Fracking and well stimulation aretechnologies that have in recent yearsbeen used in oil and natural gas fieldsaround the country to literally break upand dissolve rock deep in the earth togain access to previously inaccessibleoil and gas reserves. The technologiesemploy hundreds of harsh and toxicchemicals, including acids, mixed withlarge quantities of water. Fracking andwell stimulation has been linked to highlevels of air pollution, surface and

Frack Free in ‘14

fine candidates on your ballot, but ifyou want your vote to carry maximumweight, vote only for Arjun Makhijani. Ballots must be received by April 16.

Fracking MoratoriumBill in State Senate

groundwater pollution, high levels ofwater consumption, and earthquakes. Senate Bill 1132 would impose amoratorium until completion of anexpanded study of fracking’s impacts,which must then be followed by adetermination that the public health,the environment and the economy willnot be harmed if fracking resumes. “Senators Mitchell and Leno haveplaced before the legislature theopportunity to take the next logicalstep to protect Californians from adangerous practice,” said KathrynPhillips, director of Sierra Club Califor-nia. “Last year the legislature passed abill, SB 4, that would begin regulation

FRACKING continued on page 3

Page 2: 1 Santa Lucian • March 2014 Santa Lucian · Protecting and Preserving the Central Coast Santa Lucian I n s i d e ... Ballots must be received by April 16. Fracking Moratorium Bill

2Santa Lucian • March 2014

Change ofAddress? Mail changes to:

Sierra Club National Headquarters85 Second Street, 2nd FloorSan Francisco, CA 94105-3441

or e-mail:[email protected]

Visit us onthe Web

w w ww w ww w ww w ww w w. s a n t a l u c i a .. s a n t a l u c i a .. s a n t a l u c i a .. s a n t a l u c i a .. s a n t a l u c i a .s i e r r a c l u b . o r gs i e r r a c l u b . o r gs i e r r a c l u b . o r gs i e r r a c l u b . o r gs i e r r a c l u b . o r g

Outings, events, and more!

Santa Lucian

EDITOR

Greg McMillanLindi DoudLinda SeeleyThomas A. CyrEDITORIAL COMMITTEE

The Santa Lucian is published 10 times ayear. Articles, environmental information andletters to the editor are welcome. The deadlinefor each issue is the 13th of the prior month.

send to:

Editor, Santa Lucianc/o Santa Lucia Chapter, Sierra ClubP.O. Box 15755San Luis Obispo, CA [email protected]

Santa Lucia Chapter

2014 Executive CommitteeMichael Jencks (12/15) CHAIRPatrick McGibney (12/14) VICE CHAIRLinda Seeley (12/14) SECRETARYPat Veesart (12/16) MEMBERLindi Doud (12/14) MEMBERGreg McMillan (12/16) MEMBERVictoria Carranza (12/15) MEMBER

Cal French COUNCIL OF CLUB LEADERSLindi Doud, Patrick McGibney TREASURERS

Committee ChairsPolitical Michael JencksConservation Sue HarveyMembership Cal FrenchNuclear Power Task Force Rochelle Becker

Climate Change Task Force Heidi Harmon [email protected]

Other Leaders

Calendar Sales Bonnie Walters 805-543-7051Outings Joe Morris [email protected]/Kayak openWebmaster Monica Tarzier [email protected] Guide Gary Felsman

Chapter Director Andrew Christie 805-543-8717 [email protected]

Andrew [email protected]

[email protected]

Printed by University Graphic SystemsCal Poly, San Luis Obispo

Office hours Monday-Friday,1 p.m.- 7 p.m., 974 Santa RosaStreet, San Luis Obispo

The Executive Committee meetsthe second Monday of every monthat 5:30 p.m. The ConservationCommittee meets the secondFriday at 1p.m. at the chapteroffice, located at 974 Santa RosaSt., San Luis Obispo. All membersare welcome to attend.

Coordinator Kim Ramos, Admin and Development [email protected]

Santa Lucia ChapterP.O. Box 15755San Luis Obispo, CA 93406

Denny MynattPRINT MEDIA COORDINATOR

Sierra Club, PO Box 421041, Palm Coast, FL 32142-1041

(If you are a member of the Cal French Circle, you’re invited to a receptionfor Rob Caughlan before the event! See Outings & Activities, page 12.)

2500

search: “Santa Lucia” and become our friend!

Now onFacebook

Linda Seeley [email protected]

Reclaiming the ConversationOur thanks to the Tribune for cleaning up its website. But…

Assistant CoordinatorVictoria Carranza, [email protected]

Maybe it’s not quite the same thingas restoring a polluted river or leavingyour campsite in better shape than youfound it, but The Tribune’s decisionlast year to link comments on its web-site through the commenter’s Facebookpage – and hence, to their names – hashad a similar effect on the local ex-change of ideas. Ever since, there have been a lot ofwide open spaces below posted lettersand viewpoints which, around this timelast year, would have been filled with adozen or more anonymous postsslamming the author, liberals, socialists,intellectuals, out-of-towners, natteringnabobs, presumed confiscators ofproperty and/or guns, family membersof public officials and anybody else theposter didn’t particularly care for.Charges, counter-charges, rumors,gossip, casual slander and lots of itwere the order of the day. When the day came for the com-menters to put their names to theircomments, it all blew away overnight. A 2013 University of Wisconsinstudy, per Ars Technica, “presentedparticipants with a single balancednews item covering nanotechnology,along with one of two sets of com-ments following the story. Readers’interpretation of the risks associatedwith nanotechnology differed depend-ing on the tone of the comments;readers exposed to uncivil commentswere more likely to attribute potentialrisks to nanotechnology.” That’s right: angry, agenda-laden trollcommenters are bad for you and yourability to engage in independentthought. That study persuaded PopularScience to disable the commentfunction for articles on its website. TheTribune’s solution to its troll problemwas much more elegant than thePopular Science shut-down: Invite theanonymous purveyors of poisonousopinion to take ownership of theirproduct, and watch them disappear.See you around, Stoptheinsanity. Vayacon dios, Crapkiller. We hardly knewye. And now we hardly remember ye.But we retain the mental image of a guyin a ratty bathrobe, hunched over akeyboard in his parents’ basement.(And on the chance that you folks arenow posting under your real names,may we say how nicely you clean up.) So let’s all thank The Tribune forpolicing their campsite, sprucing up thelocal marketplace of ideas and reclaim-ing a toxic dump in the middle of thepublic square. There’s just one other little problem

that needs attending to. Some folks hereabouts are stillhappy to sign on to polluter-devel-oped talking points to the effect thatglobal climate change is not happen-ing and/or is no big deal and/or is notbeing caused by, and can’t be curbedby, human activity – the whole wiltedbouquet of climate change denial. The latest round was kicked off onFebruary 2 when The Tribuneeditorialized on the Atascadero CityCouncil’s attempt to delete theimpacts of climate change from itsClimate Action Plan (see “We Sent aBook to the Atascadero City Coun-cil,” page 4, and “Taking Issue,” page10). The Tribune suggested the citycouncil should have “stuck up forscience.” This was followed by arebuttal from aggrieved councilmembers, which was followed by theusual letters from those takingadvantage of the opportunity torecirculate one more time all therepeatedly discredited factoids fromthe climate change denial playbook.It’s like watching the parable of theblind men and the elephant, playingin an endless loop. The Trib handed those folks thatopportunity in the name of equal time. Last October, the Los Angeles Timesannounced it would no longer printclimate change denial letters. As Times letters page editor PaulThornton succinctly put it, in order tokeep “errors of fact off the letterspage,” the paper no longer printsletters denying human-caused climatechange because such a letter is “notstating an opinion, it’s asserting afactual inaccuracy.” That’s right: it’s bad for us whenThe Tribune implies there’s still anylegitimate scientific debate abouthuman-caused climate change bygiving deniers ink whenever theywant to seize on the latest anecdote-in-a-vacuum to claim that climatechange isn’t happening, and there-fore there’s absolutely no problemwith extracting, refining and burningmore and more fossil fuel. Dear Tribune editorial board: Youknow the debate is over. We know thedebate is over. We know that youknow the debate is over. Pretendingthat it’s okay to keep printing thoseclaims is bad for you, and the planet,and your children’s future. We look forward to the day whenwe can congratulate The Tribune onjoining the L.A. Times in making onemore policy change to further cleanup the public dialog.

Traveling from the Bay Area to speak tous tonight is a truly dynamic speaker,environmental filmmaker Rob Caughlan,co-founder of Friends of the River andfirst president of the Surfrider Founda-tion (www.robcaughlan.com). Rob willdiscuss the options and rationale for thegrowing trend of environmentally sustain-able burial. The meeting will begin withthe short, award-winning documentary,“Dying Green.” Q & A will follow.

Green Burial: The Ultimate Recycling

Sierra Club General Meeting7 p.m., Friday, March 28

Steynberg Gallery, 1531 Monterey St., SLO. Information: 549-0355

Page 3: 1 Santa Lucian • March 2014 Santa Lucian · Protecting and Preserving the Central Coast Santa Lucian I n s i d e ... Ballots must be received by April 16. Fracking Moratorium Bill

Santa Lucian • March 20143

Frackingthe Coast

Sierra Club California organizer Michael Thornton came to Pismo Beach last month, joiningwith more that two dozen other speakers from the Center for Biological Diversity, OceanFoundation, Surfrider, the Environmental Defense Center, the office of Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson and the public to urge the Coastal Commission to take action against thepractice of fracking from offshore oil rigs.

Get Onthe BusOn March 15th, Sierra Club will join with Don’tFrack California, Californians Against Fracking,350.org, Food and Water Watch, CREDOAction, SLO Clean Water Action, and 5,000other folks from all over the state to send amessage to Governor Brown, nice and loud: It’stime to stop fracking in California!

What: Tell Governor Brown, Don’t Frack CaliforniaWhen: March 15th, 1 p.m.-5p.m.Where: The Capitol Lawn, Sacramento, CA

California is experiencing one of the worstdroughts in our history. Communities are strug-gling to figure out where their water will becoming from. Governor Brown’s solution is to callfor conservation from our citizens, but not frombig oil and gas.

On Saturday, March 15th, we’ll be making sureGovernor Brown and his administration hears usloud and clear: Climate leaders don’t frack.

Buses will be heading to Sacramento from Chico,Fresno, Merced, Marin, Berkeley, Oakland, SanFrancisco, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Cruz,Monterey, San Benito, Bakersfield, TulareCounty, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, LosAngeles, San Diego, and Orange County.

California’s future is on the line — let’sfight for it.

of these health-threatening practices.Since then, several new studies andreports from around the country haveunderscored just how harmful frackingand well stimulation are to publichealth, water supplies and the air. Thisbill builds on last year’s actions andwill ensure that Californians havecomplete information about frackingand well stimulation before thosetechniques are allowed to continue inCalifornia. “More than half of Californians havesaid in public opinion surveys thatthey want an end to fracking in thisstate. It doesn’t make sense to them tolet big oil pump toxic chemicals into theground, including near aquifers, andhope for the best. SB 1132 giveslegislators a chance to demonstratethat they are listening to their constitu-ents.” The Sierra Club will be reaching outto members throughout California tohelp make sure this bill gets the sup-port it needs to get it through theSenate by May 30 (after which it goesto the Assembly for consideration). Step one for SLO folks: On March 15,get on a bus to Sacramento!

Frackingcontinued from page 1

In the summer of 2013, the Associ-ated Press discovered that frackingfrom offshore rigs in the waters offSouthern California was a commonpractice, but the oil companies hadneglected to inform California regula-tors that it has been going on. On February 12 in Pismo Beach, astate regulatory agency attempted tocome to grips with offshore fracking forthe first time, as the California CoastalCommission met to hear a staff reporton the situation. The wildlife-rich Santa BarbaraChannel, host of the world’s largestsummertime gathering of blue whales,is of special concern. On the day of thehearing, at virtually the same momentwhen Coastal Commission deputydirector Allison Dettmer was assuringcommissioners that no fracking wasoccurring in the Santa Barbara Chan-nel, the federal government approvedthree fracking operations in theChannel. Multiple oil and gas industryrepresentatives at the hearing assuredthe commissioners that the processwas sufficiently regulated and posedno threat to the environment. SantaLucia Chapter Director Andrew Christiereplied: “Fracking’s backers like toclaim that the process can be donesafely and cleanly and without harm tohuman health and the environment.They say that while clinging tofracking’s exemptions from the Clean

Air, Clean Water, and Safe DrinkingWater Acts. They say that whilemaking pay-offs to families in legalsettlements in exchange for non-disclosure agreements that forbidevery member of a family, includingseven-year-old children, from evertalking to anyone about fracking forthe rest of their lives…. The burden ison the oil companies and regulators toprove that what they are doing is notcausing harm, and is in fact maintainingand enhancing the marine environment,in accordance with Chapter 3 of theCoastal Act. They have not done so.”

Oil industry reps also tried to point toexisting and proposed EPA regulationson the discharge of pollutants from oilrigs. Coastal Commission staff pointedout that the EPA’s regulations areinadequate to meet the requirementsfor resource protection set by theCalifornia Coastal Act. The Commission agreed that frackingin federal waters – the Outer Continen-tal Shelf – should be reviewed by theCommission for consistency with theCoastal Zone Management Act, and tohold a workshop by the end of the yearto report on progress in that effort.

Bus ticket: $25. Buy your ticket at dontfrackcalifornia.orgBus departs from in front of Big 5 in Madonna Plaza, 281 Madonna Rd.,SLO, at 7:30 a.m. Arrives Sacramento 12:30 p.m. Rally 1-3 p.m. Bus willload 4:30 p.m. Return to SLO @ 10:30 p.m.

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4Santa Lucian • March 2014

Tell Us Again What’s Wrong with “1 Person, 1 Vote”

In the wake of the Atascadero CityCouncil’s decision to water down andcast doubt on the description of theimpacts of climate change in theirClimate Action Plan, the Santa LuciaChapter of the Sierra Club sent thecouncil a copy of the book Cli mateChange Denial: Heads in the Sand byHaydn Washington and John Cook. The book provides an overview ofclimate science, explores the ideologicaland psychological roots of denial, theconfusion over the difference betweendenial and genuine skepticism, anddescribes five types of climate changedenial, including the type displayed bythe city council – i.e. the argument thatclimate change requires more proof (andalways will) . The Club sent the book to the Councilto help council members learn thereasons why global climate change isan accepted scientific fact, as demon-strated in over 10,000 peer-reviewedstudies and the work of the Intergov-ernmental Panel on Climate Change, andthe ways in which the scientificevidence of climate change is distortedby deniers. The book points out that the consen-

sus on climate change isbased on a preponderanceof evidence, that scienceproceeds on the prepon-derance of evidence, notabsolute proof, and that ifwe wait for such proofbefore we take precaution-ary action, no action willever be taken. We hope the book will beparticularly helpful tothose city council mem-bers who recently pro-claimed themselves “well-educated and well-read”(see “Taking Issue,” page10). In the foreword to thebook, climate changedenial is described asbeing “about a way of lifethat does not acknowl-edge the true cost ofliving, an economics thatdoes not take into accountenvironmental damage andloss.” The Atascadero City Council isnot alone in its failure to understandthat, so after they’ve read the book,

we encourage their members to pass italong to others who need to get themessage.

We Sent the Atascadero City Council a Book

How do you not get this? Debbie Michael, consultant to theAssembly Local Government Committee, chaired by AssemblymanKatcho Achadjian, explained -- in vain -- to our Supervisors.

On February 18, the Board of Supervi-sors voted 3 to 2 to support speciallegislation to form a water district tomanage the Paso Robles groundwaterbasin. Assemblymember KatchoAchadjian will introduce the bill in thislegislative session. The draft legislation is a “compro-mise” between the Paso Robles Agricul-tural Alliance for Groundwater Solutions(PRAAGS), representing large aginterests over the basin, and ProWaterEquity, which was formed to representthe interests of residents with plummet-ing well levels, but wound up capitulat-ing to PRAAGS on the critical issue ofthe voting structure for water districtdirectors (see “Paso Robles Basin SoldOut,” January). Supervisors Bruce Gibson, FrankMecham and Adam Hill — DebbieArnold and Caren Ray dissenting —voted for approval despite grave con-cerns expressed by many residents overtwo critical issues: the proposed votingstructure for the district board, heavilyweighted to favor land owners overresidents, and the omission of any baragainst banking water and exporting itout of the basin. The board majority was apparentlyunder the impression that compromiseis an ultimate value and a universalgood — as if any compromise is goodbecause it’s a compromise — even ifvirtually all the concessions are on one

side. Acquiescing to a voting struc-ture that one side (PRAAGS) origi-nally wanted to be entirely “propor-tional to land ownership” and whichwill now will be mostly proportional toland ownership, is not really acompromise. PRO Water Equity’s representativetold the board she couldn’t see anyway that any combination of directorsin the proposed hybrid board struc-ture – six voted in by landowners,three by residents in a general election— could take over the board. We toldthe board we have no trouble conceiv-ing of how a permanent majority of sixdirectors with a common interest inmaking a profit from commercialagriculture will find common ground inroutinely outvoting three directors inthe permanent minority whose interestis in hanging onto enough water tostay in their homes. The Paso Robles groundwater basinhas 30 million acre feet of potentialcapacity, making it the biggest targetin the state for corporate growers withdesigns on a future payday that couldamount to billions of dollars, andequally tempting for the Countyshould it wish to use it to park futureunused allocations from the StateWater Project — aka “paper water” –thereby establishing a legal claim thatwill allow it to sell real water todevelopers around the county. The

recent history ofincreasing corpo-rate control overpublic waterinfrastructure inCalifornia wasdetailed ten yearsago by PublicCitizen in its studyof the formation ofthe Kern WaterBank, “Water Heist:How Corporationsare Cashing in onCalifornia’s Water.”The report con-cluded:

that call the shots throughout thestate are setting up insider watertrading systems to facilitate theease with which water flows tomoney.

Supervisors Mecham, Gibson and Hillchose to ignore this information and ahundred years of legislative preferenceand instead insisted on approval of thelanguage in the proposed legislationwith no changes. We reminded the board, as we arewont to do, of our favorite quotationfrom Supervisor Mecham. When hewas discussing the establishment of awater district with a reporter last year,Mecham went to the heart of thematter, saying “I just hope we are notin the situation where the guy with themost money wins.” Keep hope alive.

Michael: These types of issuesbring a lot of support and opposi-tion based on resident voting andland owner voting…. The generaltrend over the last hundred years, Iwould say, in spite of irrigationdistricts, is to move away fromlandowner-based districts andvoting. So I don’t know –

Ray: And toward…?

Michael: And toward residentvoting, or one person per parcel,one person per vote. Away fromland owner but more a registeredvoter type designation.

The corporateinterests thatpervade thewater districts

At one point in the hearing, DebbieMichael, chief consultant for the StateAssembly’s Local GovernmentCommittee, chaired by Assembly-member Achadjian, was asked bySupervisor Caren Ray whetherchanging the voting structure in theproposed legislation would affect thechances of its passage. The questionprompted this exchange:

Do you have aknack for organiz-ing? Be a part ofthe team that putstogether the SantaLucia Chapter’sannual fund-raiser! We haveopenings for folkswho want to helpwith securing foodor wine donations,sponsorships orauction items, renting chairs & tables, designing invitations and tablecenterpieces, working on publicity and promotion… let us know whatyou’re interested in and we’ll plug you in. Give us a call at 543-8717 ordrop us a note at [email protected]. Let’s chat!

Want to Help Out?

The California Coastal Commission islaunching a campaign that will raisemoney for the coast and specifically forWhale Tail Grants – the endresult being more funds available tocoastal and marine educators through-out California. Beginning this year, taxpayers will beable to donate via a checkbox on thestate tax form to the “Protect our Coastand Ocean Fund.” Funds raised will beawarded to organizations involved inmarine and coastal education throughthe Whale Tail Grants program. Here’s the website that explains theprogram: www.checkthecoast.org. A great long-term investment!

Pay Your Taxes,Protect Our Coast

Water as an asset class will, in my view, become eventually thesingle most important physical commodity-based asset class,dwarfing oil, copper, agricultural commodities and preciousmetals.

- Willem Buiter, chief economist, Citigroup

Page 5: 1 Santa Lucian • March 2014 Santa Lucian · Protecting and Preserving the Central Coast Santa Lucian I n s i d e ... Ballots must be received by April 16. Fracking Moratorium Bill

Santa Lucian • March 20145

Where is the horse and the rider?Where is the horn that was blowing?They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow.The days have gone down in the West, behind the hills into shadow.How did it come to this?

- King Theoden, Lord of the Rings

How Cambria Came to This

Now it’s an emergency. By all estimates, Cambria has untilthe end of June to find a supply ofwater, or there won’t be any more.Cambria, in the words of CountySupervisor Bruce Gibson, is the“canary in the coal mine,” for thesevere water problems likely to befacing many California communities inthe not-too-distant future. In terms of planning, it is also a mirrorin microcosm and potential harbingerof things to come for California in itspursuit of the Bay Delta Project – akathe Twin Tunnels – which GovernorBrown has pushed as relentlessly asthe Cambria Community ServicesDistrict has pushed desalination,despite all warnings and availableoptions, as the silver bullet that wouldend all water woes. In other words, Cambria’s situationtoday is not just a consequence of thelocal hydrology, but of choices andpolicies pursued and alternativesdismissed by a hapless CommunityServices District that was hell-bent onbringing an over-sized desalinationproject to life with the goal of bustingthe town’s building moratorium -- ascheme it tried to hide in footnotes andeuphemisms in its Water Master Plan.The CCSD pursued this single courseof action long past the point when ithad become obviously untenable. The consequences of those choicesmade and roads not taken are mostpainfully obvious when seen in light ofthe comments on the Draft Environ-mental Impact Report (DEIR) forCambria’s Water Master Plan as sub-mitted to the CCSD by the OtterProject, Santa Lucia Chapter of theSierra Club, ECOSLO, Desal ResponseGroup of Environment NOW andSurfrider Foundation in April 2008. Here is what we told the CambriaCSD back then. (Emphasis added forhistoric irony) :

Nowhere in the project description orany other section of the DEIR were theproject goals and objectives clearlystated. Without a clear picture of thesegoals and objectives, the DEIR cannotsufficiently or objectively analyze theproject alternatives’ ability to meet thegoals and objectives. The project description does notadequately or accurately document theexisting conditions. ... The project description calculatesresidential use at 135 gallons perperson per day (we assume thisincludes the 50-percent “quality of life”bonus – see below). Commercialdemand for potable water and totaldemand for non-potable water do notappear to be analyzed. The 135 gallonsper person per day for residential useis excessive and the need for thisvolume is unsubstantiated. Even 90gallons (back-calculated from 135gallons - 50 percent “quality of life”bonus) seems excessive for a commu-nity supposedly under strict waterconservation measures. According to the most recent USGeological Survey report, EstimatedWater Use in the United States in 2000,domestic water use in California is

approximately 95 gallons per personper day. According to the 2003 PacificInstitute Report “Waste Not, WantNot,” (which uses a rounded up figureof 100 gallons) per capita total urbanwater use in the United States was 100gallons in 2000. Of those 100 gallons,60.5 gallons was for indoor use and39.5 gallons was used outdoors. (Note:the ratio of indoor to outdoor wateruse varies from study to study, but atotal domestic water use of 95-100gallons per capita per day (gpcd) and60-70 gallons for indoor use is com-monly found). The Institute estimatesthat, “With current technologies andpolicies, [indoor and outdoor] residen-tial water use in 2000 could have beenas low as 60 to 65 gpcd without anychange in the services actuallyprovided by the water.” Further, the Institute estimates,“Even without improvements intechnology, we estimate that indoorresidential use could be reduced byapproximately 890,000 AF/yr – almost40 percent,” or to approximately 37gpcd. Water use in Cambria and theUnited States should be furthercompared against water use in othercountries such as France, Germany,and the UK, where per capita house-hold water use is half the US. Clearly,reductions below 90 gallons per personper day are possible by curtailing mostoutdoor residential use. One hundredthirty-five gpcd is excessive. The Baseline Analysis identifiesdemands for quality of life increases of10, 20, 30, and 50 percent higher thanexisting demands. The DEIR, withoutany explanation other than “CCSDBoard of Directors’ earlier July 24, 2003,direction” chose the highest, 50percent “quality of life” bonus overexisting demand. Such an unsubstanti-ated increase is unwarranted givenwater use patterns in the rest of theUnited States and the world. We see no documentation for the75% assumed occupancy rate resultingin the 1.66 people per unit assumption.We must ask: what is the basis for ayear-round 75-percent occupancy rate?Cambria has many vacation homes andwe believe a 75% occupancy rate isoverstated. Please provide the basisfor this important assumption. More simply stated: Cambria wateruse (90 gpcd) is barely under thenational average (95 gpcd). To suggestthat Cambria should finance and buildan industrial desalination facility withsuch a comparatively large environ-mental footprint so that residents canuse 135 gallons gpcd is not respon-sible conservation or management. Asvery clearly shown in Table 3.2, the“quality of life” bonus drives thisproposal.

The Project CharacteristicsDesalination: The project characteris-tics prematurely and inappropriatelylead the reader to the conclusion thatsaltwater desalination is the advisablelong-term water supply strategy. Thecharacteristics listed for the desalina-tion component only characterize theperceived positives of seawaterdesalination. Challenges associated

with seawater desalination which mayforeseeable impact the environmentinclude its large global-warmingfootprint (associated with emissionsand the energy needed to run thefacility), plant siting (including, but notlimited to considerations for future sealevel rise), possible growth inducement(which has been cited as a mitigatednegative impact), brine discharge to themarine environment, and cumulativeimpacts (including, but not limited tothe proliferation of small desal plants inthe region, as opposed to regionally-minded water supply planning). Additionally, the DEIR cites thatseawater desalination is a “very reliable[water supply] source,” which operatesunder the assumption that the desali-nation facility will run properly.Seawater desalination facilities areknown to be plagued with technicaland operational problems that preventthem from functioning in their designedcapacity, such as the permittedfacilities in Tampa Bay, Florida andMarina, California. The matrix, Table 3-6, includes costand funding – these sections aretotally inappropriate for a DSEIS andCEQA analysis that is used to evaluatethe environmental consequences ofproposed actions and alternatives.This matrix and discussion should beeither shown without factoring in costand funding, or should be eliminatedentirely. The subjectivity of the matrix is aserious problem. First, each category isgiven equal weight, as noted above,which is entirely inappropriate in aCEQA document meant to compareenvironmental costs and benefits. Next,the matrix appears to handicap ideassuch as “seasonal storage alterna-tives” discussed in Task 3 but nevercarried forward into the DEIR. Local,smaller scale, less expensive, easier-to-permit projects such as using the PerryCreek Dam or Upper Steiner Creek Damcould provide additional water to bothresidents and groundwater if designedappropriately. The subjectivity of the “reliability”score is also a problem. We do notunderstand how a solution as technicaland energy dependent as desalinationcan be more reliable (scored 5 of apossible 5) than a reservoir solution(scored 2 of 5) or demand management(scored 2 of 5). Few, if any, desalinationplants in the United States are able tooperate at the capacity they weredesigned for. The “permitting” score is simply notrealistic. The Coastal Commission hastwice rejected a Cambria desalinationplant. Certainly, beingrejected by theCoastal Commis-sion once andagain on appealshould score as“very difficult toobtain” (a score of1 of 5). It must be notedthat the finalevaluation matrixshown in Table 3-6of the DSEIS

perhaps unfairly characterizes thefunding availability of the SeawaterDesalination alternative against allother alternatives giving it a score of 4of a possible 5 (75% cost reduction).Public funding of desalination plants isfar from a certainty! Examples of 75-percent publicly funded municipaldesalination facilities should beprovided to substantiate this assertion. In comparison, the funding of therecycled water solution is given ascore of 3. There are a variety ofpublic sources for sewage treatmentupgrade and recycled water projects.Funding opportunities for sewagetreatment plant upgrades (so that watercan be better re-used), water recyclingprojects, and water conservationinclude:

Small Community Wastewater GrantProgram. Provides grant assistance forthe construction of publicly ownedwastewater treatment facilities for smallcommunities (max. pop. 20,000) withfinancial hardships (max. annual MHI$37,994). Water Recycling ConstructionProgram & Water Recycling FacilitiesPlanning Grant Program. Grants andloans for the design and constructionof water recycling facilities, whichinclude wastewater treatment facilities,pump stations, and recycled waterdistribution systems. Clean Beaches Initiative GrantProgram (Prop 84) $37 million.Grants and bonds to help localagencies, non-profit organizations, andpublic agencies implement projects thatprotect and restore California’s coastalwater quality. Ocean Protection Council. Protec-tion of Beaches, Bays, and CoastalWaters (Prop 84) $90 million – grantfunds to meet the goals of GovernorSchwarzenegger’s Ocean ProtectionAct, which has a main objective toimprove ocean and coastal waterquality. State Coastal Conservancy. Pro-tection of Beaches, Bays, and CoastalWaters (Prop 84): $135 million. Division of Financial Assistance.Administers the implementation of theState Water Resources Control Board’sfinancial assistance programs, whichincludes loan and grant funding forconstruction of municipal sewage andwater recycling facilities, etc. State Revolving Fund. $200-$300million annually. Implements the CleanWater Act and various State laws byproviding financial assistance for the

Drought is an act of God. Bad planning and “bonus water” is not

CAMBRIA continued on page 6

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6Santa Lucian • March 2014

construction of facilities or implementa-tion of measures necessary to addresswater quality problems and to preventwater pollution.California Infrastructure andEconomic Development Bank (I-Bank). Administers Infrastructure StateRevolving Fund (ISRF) Program, whichprovides low-cost financing to publicagencies for a wide variety of infra-structure projects.

Total scores would become verydifferent if scored more quantitatively,evenly, and fairly. As noted above,within the context of CEQA, “costcombination” and “funding availabil-ity” should not be considered at all.“Demand management” scores thehighest of all alternatives, yet theCCSD proposes a “quality of life”water bonus of 50 percent abovecurrent use. This appears to besomething other than “demandmanagement.” While national wateruse is 95 gpcd – and declining –Cambria water use is 90 gpcd andproposed to increase to a guzzling 135gpcd. If just reliability and permittingare re-scored more appropriately, theentire ranking would change, withdemand management and recycledwater maintaining top positions, butseawater desalination falling to nearthe bottom. Recycled Water System: Thestatement: “existing demands con-verted from potable to non-potablerecycled water would have no netincrease [decrease?] in the volume ofwater being diverted from the aquifersystem” is confusing. As noted,450,000 gallons per day is available forstorage and recycling. Even if weaccept Table 3-7, Potential RecycledWater Users and Demands, which wefeel may be an under-estimate ofpotential recycled water use, 161-184acre-feet per year is still a 13-15percent savings and reduction in theamount of water needed to be drawnfrom the aquifer, assuming that therecycled water replaces the existing useof potable water for landscaping andirrigating. Water Demand Management: Thewater demand management projectcharacteristics lack any detail. Theproject characteristics list actions takenin 2000, “recent” addition of a front-loading washing machine retrofitprogram, and signing-on to a 2005statewide MOU. It is unclear what arebeing proposed as new measures;there is a single reference without anycommitment:

Single-minded Greg Sanders, the driving force on the Cambria CSD from 1993 to 2010,tried repeatedly to bust the Coastal Act to push the failed desal plan.

Cambriacontinued from page 5

emphasis on landscape irrigation.Such measures may include theaddition of rain sensors to ensureirrigation systems shut-off duringperiods of rain. The installation ofevapotranspiration (ET) control-lers may also become part offuture landscape irrigationefficiency improvement measures.

will become a ‘major player’ in the localreal estate market as it buys lots andsells water connections. Stated more simply, the projectdescription overrates desalination andunderrates living within local meansthrough local solutions, waterrecycling, and conservation. Growth-inducing aspects of the desalinationproposal are understated.... As already noted, impacts to land useappear to be narrowly defined in theDEIR as consistency with existingregulatory and planning policies. Webelieve it is also appropriate todocument change to land use patternsand consider the environmentalconsequence of those changes.Certainly increasing the developedland area by 20 percent would be avery significant change and requiresevaluation. We find it ironic that the nondescript,undefined water management programis deemed to have no impact, but thatthe consequences of the planned fifty-percent quality of life bonus have notbeen evaluated or even mentioned.This increase in water use if appliedoutdoors will change a relatively aridurban landscape into an irrigated one....

5.9 - Hydrology and Water QualityAs previously stated, the DEIRappears to focus solely on the sitespecific impacts and ignores thebroader impacts of growth, increases tothe urban footprint, and increases tothe amount of impermeable surfacescontributing to the acknowledgedflooding problem. And again as stated before, the DEIRstates for the desalination facility:

“A future project-specific EIR/EISwould need to further determine thepotential impacts to storm water andocean water quality after more detailsbecome known regarding the desalina-tion facility. Additionally, the EIR/EISwould analyze alternative desalinationfacility sites.”

Fragmenting the permitting of aproject in order to ‘facilitate’ thepermitting process is inappropriate. Itis in this document that impacts shouldbe recognized and evaluated. And it isin this document that alternative sitingof the desalination facilities should beaddressed. In the subsection entitled “cumula-tive impacts” it is noted that the projectwill increase the amount of impervioussurface. Yet, with no mention of theproposed 20% growth, it is simplystated that by complying with localordinances impact will be less thansignificant. We see no substantiationfor the claim that increase instormwater runoff due to an increase inimpermeable surface will be mitigated inany way. Cambria has an acknow-ledged flooding problem and we see noquantitative descriptive of how growth

will be mitigated....

6.0 - Alternatives We believe Table 6.1 heavily andinappropriately leans towards thedesalination alternative. Further, usingcost and funding availability is aninappropriate screen in a CEQAanalysis. Please refer to our moredetailed comments on table 3.6. A verysignificant omission of this CEQAanalysis is any discussion of alterna-tive siting for the desalination facility.This document is clearly incompletewithout these siting alternatives. It isinappropriate to segment the permit-ting process and defer discussion ofalternatives to a later process. Asnoted, San Simeon Creek has signifi-cant biological, cultural, estuary, andmarine resources. Impacts to theseresources have not been studied orquantified for this report and noalternatives have been offered. Thisdocument is clearly deficient. Another notable omission fromalternatives analysis is brackish waterdesalination. Brackish water desali-nation should also be investigated as aviable alternative, as this source wateris less energy intensive to desalinateand the brine produced (and subse-quently discharged) is less saline. Apossible source for this water could bethe contaminated Santa Rosa wells, asthis water supply source is notcurrently considered usable. Imple-menting a brackish water desalinationproject here could serve to make useof this otherwise unusable water andreduce the global warming footprint ofthe desalination project. Otherpossible sources should be investi-gated as well. In summary, as very clearly shown inTable 3.2, the “quality of life” bonusdrives this proposal. Without the“quality of life” bonus, Cambria has anet annual surplus of water of 221acre-feet. These numbers are based ondata that dates to before agriculturalirrigation rights in both water basinswere retired. Reframing the questionwithout the “quality of life” bonusleads to solutions that includeconservation, water recycling, andlocal storage. It is the “quality of life” bonus thatshould be more fully discussed in theDEIR, but is instead hidden infootnotes and ancillary documents.When the average Californian uses 95gallons per capita per day, is itappropriate to sacrifice any publicresource or endure any impact so thatthe people of Cambria can have 135gpcd? Or is the 135 gpcd simply a wayto justify more water production andgrowth? Either way, we feel conserva-tion, water recycling, and perhapssome additional local storage capacity– essentially living within the meansof the local aquifer – offer the mostsustainable and reasonable solutionsfor Cambria.

Future demand managementmeasures may include greater

Further reductions in indoor wateruse should include a numeric targetsuch as 45 gallons per person per dayas is suggested as easily attainable inthe Pacific Institute Report “WasteNot, Want Not.” Outdoor water useshould be reduced to an absoluteminimum or banned. In a setting asbeautiful as Cambria, natural landscap-ing should be required. Advantages ofnatural landscaping include:

• no fertilization required• no additional water• more water available for other usesand other people• zero to near zero work needed formaintenance• no lawn mowing• erosion reduced to a minimum• natural landscaped plants take fulladvantage of rainfall• when water restrictions are imple-mented, natural landscaped plants willsurvive, while more traditional plantsmay not• increased habitat for native flora andfauna• where heavily forested, providesshade on homes and businesses• native plants rarely become invasive

And again, the 50 percent “quality oflife” bonus, a 50-percent increaseabove current use is entirely inconsis-tent with the concept of “water demandmanagement.” One hundred and thirty-five gallons of water per person perday is wasteful and inappropriate.

Build-out reduction program: While wequestion the decision-making behindthe 864 residential water connectioncommitments that have been previ-ously approved by the CCSD with nowater available, we agree with theCCSD’s desire to limit water connec-tions to no more than 4,650 as con-firmed by the CCSD’s Board ofDirectors’ meeting of July 24, 2003.However we see no commitment tohold the line at 4,650 total connections.Instead, we see a proposal for a“modular” desalination facility thatcould be easily enlarged. Or, if actualuse is less than 135 gpcd, the surpluscould be used for additional connec-tions. As noted in the DEIR, the CCSD

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Santa Lucian • March 20147

By Iowa Climate Advocates

It is time for the United StatesCongress to take climate action. Thefight against climate change cannot bewon by a single person or a singlepolicy. It will require comprehensivepolicies supported by Congress andsustained over many decades that leadour country and the world to theclimate action we so urgently need. Even if a Congressional representa-tive has opposed climate action in thepast, recent events and new scientificassessments give every Congressionalrepresentative a chance to recognizethe need for climate action. Recent climate disasters like Hurri-cane Sandy, Typhoon Haiyan, Colo-rado flooding, flooding in Miami,western wildfires, and widespread icestorms are moments when people canrecognize the need for action. So, too, are new scientific assess-ments. Last summer, over 200 scientistswho identify themselves as evangelicalChristians told Congress that action is“urgently needed” to address climatechange, and the American GeophysicalUnion released an updated statementon climate change calling for “urgentaction.” Listening to America’s scientists andresponding to climate disasters as theyhappen, even a skeptical Congress canlearn to act on climate change. If you do not believe that Congresscan act, please change the way youthink. If you don’t believe thatCongress can act, then the forces thatoppose Congressional action havewon. Congress can act – and it is up tous to lead the way. “Climate Action Across America,” anational initiative organized by IowaClimate Advocates, is a dedicatedweek-long effort over Easter recess,April 21 to April 25, to convinceCongressional representatives that it istime for climate action. It is really quite easy. The idea is thatgroups, large or small, would arrangemeetings with their Congressionalrepresentative or just visit their localin-district Congressional office acrossthe country during that week to shareletters, postcards, and petitions fromlocal citizens urging Congress tosupport action to fight climate change(e.g., a carbon tax, greenhouse gasregulations, hazard mitigation, disasterassistance, etc.)

The Great March for Climate Action,showing the country growinggrassroots support for action onclimate, left Los Angeles on March 1.Here are the dates the march will be inselected cities across the country:

Phoenix – April 8 Albuquerque – May 12 Denver – June 17 Omaha – August 1 Des Moines – August 11 Chicago – September 6 Toledo – September 24 Cleveland – October 4 Pittsburgh – October 14 Washington – November 1

This is how American democracyworks. The First Amendment of ourConstitution guarantees our right topetition Congress to take action.Together, we can take the climateaction we so urgently need for ourfuture.

Climate Action Across America: April 21-25

On February 3, outside the County Courthouse in downtown SLO, more thansixty people showed up for a candlelight vigil and to send the President amessage about the Keystone XL pipeline. The protest came three days after theState Department released its final environmental review, attempting to downplaythe massive climate change impacts that approval of the pipeline would trigger. Inresponse, hundreds of vigils like this one took place in cities across the countrythat evening. As we go to press, Secretary of State Kerry and President Obamahave not yet made a decision on Keystone.

Awaiting the Moment of Truth

Coastal Commission Saves Trail from County Planning Dept.County’s ineptitude overcome, fences to come down on Ontario Ridge

Great March for Climate Action Don’t try this at home Right after theCoastal Commission adjourned its PismoBeach meeting on February 13, this gentle-man arrived at the Shell Beach trailhead ofthe Ontario Ridge Trail with a pair of boltcutters, removed all the barbed wire,flashed a copy of the California Constitu-tion, and drove away.

See planned events atwww.iowaclimateadvocates.org. We can expand our reach by coordi-nating climate action events across thecountry. Let’s show the country thereis growing grassroots support forclimate action.

Walkers, volunteers, and financialsupporters are needed for the wholemarch, for states, and for individuallocations. For more information,including the rest of the scheduledstops in the timeline, pleasevisit www.climatemarch.org.

Citizens Climate LobbyNational Conference,Washington, DC,June 22-24

Mark your calendars now for thenational conference and lobby days ofCitizens Climate Lobby, June 22 to June24, in Washington, DC. Whether youcan attend or not, this is anothermoment when Americans can speak uptogether for climate action. To get involved with Citizens ClimateLobby, its monthly conference calls, itsadvocacy efforts for carbon feelegislation, and its regional meetings,visitwww.citizensclimatelobby.org.

Last month, matters were coming to ahead on the question of public accessto the Ontario Ridge trail in Avila Beachand the sudden appearance of fencesacross the trail (“You Did Not JustFence Off My Trail,” February). Justbefore a dispute resolution hearing onthe matter that was scheduled for theFebruary 13 meeting of the CaliforniaCoastal Commission in Pismo Beach,motivated local hikers discovered apublic access easement the Countyhad recorded for the land in 2009 andthen forgotten about. Thus ended the dispute. Kami Griffin,assistant director of the SLO CountyPlanning Department, told New Times“This is frankly embarrassing for thecounty, and I’m glad that this existingeasement was found before the

planned Coastal Commission hearing.When we found out about the ease-ment, it changed our position.” Actually, it was even more embarrass-ing than that. When Ontario Ridge land owner RobMcCarthy erected a chain link fencetopped with barbed wire to block thetrail as part of an ongoing dispute withthe Coastal Commission over his desireto build a house that would violatemultiple land use policies in theCounty’s Local Coastal Plan (LCP), theCounty Planning Department con-sulted the LCP and decided that he didnot need a Coastal Development Permitto build the fence due to an exemptiongranted for improvements to single-family residences. The County took theposition that there was nothing theycould do about the blatant Coastal Actviolation on Ontario Ridge. The LCP is the means by which localjurisdictions implement the provisions

for public access and coastal protec-tion mandated by the California CoastalAct. In the Coastal Act and the SLOCounty LCP, development whichblocks public coastal views and impairspublic access to the coast is prohib-ited. But the Planning Departmentreasoned that:

Mr. McCarthy planned to build ahouse on the land someday, thereforethe undeveloped land was equivalentto a single-family residence, hence hisfence was exempt from permit require-ments. The fence did not block coastalviews because you could see the coastthrough the links in the chain linkfence. Public access to the coast was notimpaired because when members of thepublic reached the fence and foundtheir access to Pirate’s Cove blocked,they could turn around, hike back to

Shell Beach, get in their cars, and drivein on Cave Landing Road.

This unique reading of coastalpolicies by the County was the basis ofthe dispute to be resolved at thescheduled February 13 dispute reso-lution hearing. Once again, as has so often been thecase, the residents of SLO Countyhave the California Coastal Commis-sion to thank for saving us from ourCounty’s perpetually peculiar interpre-tations of the California Coastal Act.

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8Santa Lucian • March 2014

San Luis Obispo Hosts 20thInternational Film FestivalEnvironmental offerings on the schedule

Now in its 20th year, the San Luis Obispo Film Festival will feature five days offilm screenings, panels, and celebrity-packed special events, March 5-9. Indi-vidual screening tickets are not pre-sold, so the best way to guarantee your seatis to buy a Festival Pass. For all regular screenings, all passes allow priorityadmission for up to 15 minutes before screen time. After that, seats are on a first-come, first-serve basis. Programs of note for the environmentally inclined:

American Mustang. The wild horses of the American West in stereoscopic 3-D.Thursday, March 6th, 7 p.m., Park Cinema, Paso Robles. Saturday, March 8th, 10a.m., Downtown Theater, SLO.

Wild Horses. Twogenerations of womenbear witness to thebrutality common towild horse roundups inthe American West.Thursday, March 6th,7 pm, Park Theater,Paso Robles. Friday, 7p.m., La Perla del Mar,205 Windward, ShellBeach.

Antarctica: A Year on Ice. What it’s like to live and work at the bottom of theworld for a full year. Filmed over 15 years by Frozen Planet photographerAnthony Powell. Thursday, March 6th, 1 p.m., Avila Beach Community Center, 911San Miguel Street. Friday, March 7th, 10 a.m., Palm Theater, SLO.

A Birder’s Guide to Everything. David Portnoy, a 15-year-old birding fanatic,thinks that he’s made the discovery of a lifetime, and embarks on an epic road tripwith his pals to solidify their place in birding history. Things don’t go as planned.Saturday, March 8th, 1 p.m., Downtown Theater, SLO. Sunday, March 9th, 4 p.m.,Palm Theater, SLO.

Icebound. The heroic 1925 Serum Run, in which more than thirty men, and at least150 dogs, battled storms and life threatening cold weather, in a relay of antitoxinacross the frozen wilderness to save the children of Nome, Alaska, from a deadlyoutbreak of diphtheria. Narrated by Sir Patrick Stewart. Saturday, March 8th, 4p.m., Palm Theater, SLO. Sunday, March 9th, 4p.m., Downtown Theater, SLO.

Wind is an animated short from Germany about the daily life of people who seemhelplessly exposed to the weather. However, the inhabitants have learned to dealwith their difficult living conditions. The wind creates a natural system for living.Friday, March 7th, 4 p.m., Avila Beach Community Center.

For full schedule, go to slofilmfest.org

New information from the U.S.Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)showing that even a small fire in anuclear reactor pool could render 9,400square miles uninhabitable and dis-place four million Americans wereamong the factors causing 34 environ-ment organizations to file a petitionwith the NRC on February 18 tosuspend the licensing of reactors. In addition to the NRC’s new data onrisks, the groups pointed out that theCommission has concluded spentreactor fuel could be transferred out ofhigh-density storage fuels (where thefire risk is the greatest) in a cost-effective manner. The groups pointed to the findings ofan unpublicized NRC study of spentfuel storage at the Peach BottomAtomic Power Station in Pennsyl-vania. The investigation found that ifeven a small fraction of the inventoryof one of the plant’s reactor pools werereleased to the environment in a severespent fuel pool accident, an averagearea of 9,400 square miles would be

Uncle Sam’s Nuke Loan: $6.5 Billion On February 19, Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced a$6.5 billion loan guarantee for new nuclear reactors. In response, Sierra Club Washington representative Radha Adhar, said “It’s nosecret why there hasn’t been new nuclear reactor construction in America in threedecades. Nukes are simply too expensive and risky. And with the availability ofalternatives like wind and solar, propping up nukes with taxpayer money makeslittle sense. There are cleaner, cheaper, and faster ways to generate electricity thatwon’t saddle our children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and generations tocome with toxic, highly volatile nuclear waste.” Renewable energy technologies like wind and solar have already begun toreplace nukes, coal, and natural gas, saving American families money without thethreat of toxic pollution. The wind and solar energy sectors both had record-breaking growth in 2012, and support tens of thousands of jobs. “In the wake of superstorms, record drought, and wildfires, it’s clearer now thanever that we must act swiftly and decisively to fight the climate crisis,” saidAdhar. “It’s time to build a 100% clean energy economy and get off toxic nukesand dirty fossil fuels once and for all.”

Reactor Licencing Should be Suspended Until NRCAddresses New Findings on Accident Risks, CostsNRC Study: Even a small fuel pool fire could displace 4.1 million people, make more than 9,000 square miles uninhabitable

rendered uninhabitable for decades,displacing as many as 4.1 millionpeople. As the groups point out in theirpetition, the NRC has never beforeacknowledged such dire pool firerisks in its reactor licensing decisions.The information undermines the NRC’sconclusion in prior environmentalstudies for reactor licensing and re-licensing that the impacts of spent fuelstorage during reactor operation areinsignificant. In the Peach Bottom study, the NRCalso revealed for the first time that thecosts of transferring spent fuel out ofrisky high-density storage pools areeconomically feasible, given theenormous damage that a pool fire couldcause. Additionally, the NRC con-cluded that the likelihood of spent fuelpool fires could be affected by reactoraccidents, and committed to study theproblem. The groups are requesting that theNRC conduct a new environmentalimpact study that incorporates the

new and significant informationgenerated as part of the post-Fukushima investigation into the risksof severe accidents in the reactor poolswhere spent fuel is stored. Theycontend that, in the meantime, theNRC should suspend all reactorlicensing and re-licensing decisions. Diane Curran, an attorney withHarmon, Curran, Spielberg &Eisenberg, L.L.P., and Mindy Goldstein,director of the Turner EnvironmentalLaw Clinic at Emory University, filedthe petition on behalf of the groups. Curran said “If a pool fire accidentoccurs such as was studied in thePeach Bottom case study, theresulting widespread contaminationand displacement of people could haveenormous socioeconomic impacts,matching or exceeding the devastatingeffects of the Fukushima accidenton Japanese society.” The NRC has concluded that the“safety” benefit of reducing thedensity of spent fuel in storage poolswould not be great enough to justifyan order requiring all operating reactorlicensees to thin out their pools. Butthe NRC focused on the risk of cancer,which is only one effect of a pool fire. The groups contend that NRC mustprotect not only public health andsafety but the environment as well.The environment includes broadervalues, such as ecological health and

socioeconomic well-being. TheFukushima accident illustrates the factthat land contamination and disloca-tion of people can have enormouseffects on society and the environ-ment, regardless of the number ofdeaths or cancers. The 34 groups filing the petition areAlliance to Halt Fermi 3, BeyondNuclear, Blue Ridge EnvironmentalDefense League, Center for a Sustain-able Coast, Citizens Allied for SafeEnergy, Citizens’ EnvironmentalCoalition, Don’t Waste Michigan,Ecology Party of Florida, Friends of theCoast, Friends of the Earth, GeorgiaWomen’s Action for New Directions,Green State Solutions, Hudson RiverSloop Clearwater, Missouri Coalitionfor the Environment, NC WARN,National Parks Conservation Associa-tion, Nevada Nuclear Waste TaskForce, New England Coalition, NoNukes Pennsylvania, NorthwestEnvironmental Advocates, NuclearEnergy Information Service, NuclearInformation and Resource Service,Nuclear Watch South, Physicians forSocial Responsibility, Public Citizen,Promoting Health and SustainableEnergy, Radiation and Public HealthProject, Riverkeeper, SEED Coalition,San Clemente Green, San Luis ObispoMothers for Peace, Snake RiverAlliance, Southern Alliance for CleanEnergy, and Vista 360.

Letterssend to: [email protected], orSierra Club, P.O. Box 15755, San LuisObispo, CA 93406. Letters may be editedfor space.

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The month of January brought walebones from the 19th-century whalingstation in San Simeon Bay washing tothe beach. Then a female elephant sealestablished a rookery south of the pier.King tides and high surf loosened oldtrash piles in the ocean. Ships’ pieces,old shoes and bottles mixed with whalevertebrae and beta males of thewandering elephant seals on sand fullof pottery fragments and magnetite.The decades of the whaling station, theslaughtering of the elephant seals, andthe manipulation of the land solely forhuman interests come to contemporaryeyes and ears as a silent cacophony.What does it mean now?

Reading the February issue of theSanta Lucian this morning, I realizedagain how crucial your work is for thewell-being of all living creatures. Pleaseaccept my donation for $500 for 2014,enclosed. With immense gratitude,

Elizabeth BettenhausenCambria

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Santa Lucian • March 20149

Something we takefor granted: Thereare almost nobillboards alongHighway 101 in theCity of San LuisObispo. Yet immedi-ately beyond citylimits, both northand south, a barrageof advertisementsimpose themselvesupon the view. New billboards areprohibited by bothSLO County andCity, and theirGeneral Plansencourage removalof existing bill-boards. Unlike theCity, the County hasnot developed aprogram for retiringthe existing bill-boards. These“grandfathered”billboards are thefocus of a group ofcitizens, ProtectScenic 101 (PS101).

Billboards: Signs of Technology PastBy Rosemary Wilvert and Sherri Danoff

With and without The 101 north of SLO (above) and south (right). Signcontent is basically off-limits to local control.

PS101 recognizes that the County’sasset most treasured by residents, itsscenery, is also its best tourist draw.Attractive scenery along Highway 101,SLO County’s main travel corridor, isblighted by billboards, whereas SantaBarbara County, our strongest tourismcompetitor to the south, has largelyretired its billboards. Vested interests might say thattourists need the information on thesigns for eating and lodging venues.Maybe in the past, but today travelersrely on publications or online sourceswith reviews. Billboards, an outdated

technology, annoy more than help. PS101 is sensitive, however, to thefinancial concerns of landowners, signcompanies, and advertising businesses.That’s why it uses the word “retire” inits mission statement: “to retire thebillboards within unincorporated SLOCounty’s Hwy 101 view corridor.” PS101 hopes to engage these vestedinterests in billboard removal. They, inturn, could benefit from compensationssuch as public recognition, advertisingspace in parking structures, or buy-out

of the land lease. Donation of grand-fathered billboard rights can entitle anincome tax deduction. PS101 is first focusing on billboardsfrom the top of the Grade to the AvilaBeach exit at San Luis Bay Drive. Ifyou’re among those who’d like not tohave advertisements forced upon youas you drive, there are ways you can

help: Participate in PS101 meetings and/or endorse its mission as an individualor an organization. For more information, [email protected] or [email protected], or call (805) 595-2208 or(805) 544-8365. Together, we can create an evenhappier San Luis Obispo County.

Any day now, the official signs will go upproclaiming Avila Beach a bird sanctuary, theculmination of two and half years of relentlesseffort by Avila resident Shirley Goetz, andtestimony to her powers of public persuasion.(See “Bird Sanctuary Taking Off,” April 2013.) On December 3, the County passed aresolution authorizing the sanctuary. Shirleypicked up the signs from The Sign Place in SLO on Valentine’s Day and deliveredthem to the County Public Works Department. “This was a valentine to Avila Beach from Mother Nature,” said Shirley, “and thebest valentine I ever got.”

Then and now In 2011, Shirley Goetz began her determined journey to have Avila Beach declared a bird sanctuary when she discovered someone hadillegally knocked swallows nests off the Avila Beach Community Center and broken the eggs (left). By December 2013, she had an official Countyproclamation in hand declaring the town a sanctuary (right).

Avila Bird Sanctuary is Nigh

Getting ready Public Works staffer Glenn Marshall andShirley Goetz prepare for the big day.

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10Santa Lucian • March 2014

Summary: Two Atascadero City Councilmembers who insisted on deleting or watering down all referencesto the impacts of climate change in their city’s Climate Action Plan respond to the Tribune editorial“Atascadero leaders should have stuck up for science.”

Taking IssueReviewing problematic environmental coverage & commentary in our local media

“Climate change not settled science,” by Roberta Fonzi and Heather Moreno, The Tribune, February 6, 2014.

Upshot: The difference between the relatively quick acceptance of the facts of disease transmission viamicrobes in the 1880s and the interminable dispute over the facts of climate disruption via the combustionof fossil fuels a hundred years later is explained by the existence, in the latter instance, of a larger lobbywith a heavier investment in the status quo. That lobby and its line of defense & denial stretches from theexecutive suites of Exxon Mobil (and, until March 2012,General Motors) to the disciples of Ayn Rand, the majorityparty in the U.S. House of Representatives, and theAtascadero City Council – all pledging fervent allegiance tothe status quo. The logical incoherence of their position ismost visible when they style themselves as free-thinkingrebels against the establishment. As Climate ChangeDenial: Heads in the Sand points out, denial is a commonhuman delusion, one that “can become a pathology when itendangers the ecosystems humans [and all other livingthings] rely on.” Postscript: On February 14, the National Science Founda-tion released the results of a poll that found one in fourAmericans are unaware that the Earth revolves around theSun. Looking at the bright side, Daily KOS observed “thisdoes not mean, as several outlets are reporting, that…26%think the Sun revolves around the Earth. We don’t yet knowexactly how they phrased the question. Maybe most of that26% gave ‘I don’t know’ as an answer. Maybe. All we candefinitively say from the report is that only 74% of Ameri-cans know the fact that the Earth revolves around the Sun.” Hey, science is never settled.

* It is perhaps fitting that a historical anecdote chosen to support climate change denial happens to be false. The belief thatLouis Pasteur was prosecuted and driven into exile comes from the 1936 Warner Bros movie The Story of Louis Pasteur. It wasan invention of the film makers, as noted by the New York Times, which liked the movie even though its dramatic incidents,which obviously made an impression on councilmembers Fonzi and Moreno, do not correspond with “such biographicalevidence as one might encounter in staid Britannica,” and in fact “nothing of the sort happened.” The blog of oncologistElizabeth Kingsley, “And you call yourself a scientist!,” dedicated to critiquing Hollywood’s treatment of scientific subjects,points out that “most of Pasteur’s scientific career was spent in government-funded laboratories with plenty of resources….Evidently this wasn’t ‘heroic’ enough for the screenwriters, who spend the rest of the film inventing conflicts and dramas forhim to overcome.” In the course of attempting to deny science, Fonzi and Moreno mistake Hollywood for history.

Science is never “settled.” True science is continuously sub-jected to study, debate and vigorous peer review, but when itcomes to “climate science” that process is distorted by theinsistence that there is only one point of view. When scientificdebate by public policy-makers is curtailed by ridicule or intimi-dation, both science and freedom are put at risk.

I can haz denial? A free-thinking contrarian, risking ridicule.

Study, debate andvigorous peerreview has deter-mined that globalclimate change hasgreatly acceleratedsince the industrialrevolution as aresult of human-generated carbon emissions, and weare risking planetary disaster the longer the climatechange denial industry succeeds in blocking signifi-cant action to cut those emissions.

Dr. Richard Lindzen of MIT… acknowledgeswarming of the earth, but stipulates thewarming is minimal as will be its effects onthe earth, with natural and cyclical explana-tions better describing what is beingobserved in our climate.

Richard Lindzenhas endearedhimself todenialists bytheorizing thatglobal climatechange is nobig deal. Here’s what fellow MIT professor Kerry Emanuelhas to say about his colleague’s widely discredited claims:“It just seems deeply unprofessional and irresponsible tolook at this and say, ‘We’re sure it’s not a problem.’ It’s aspecial kind of risk, because it’s a risk to the collectivecivilization.” In a room filled with 100 scientists, Lindzenwould be one of three claiming the science of climatechange and its impacts is in doubt. In addition to the bookwe sent to the Atascadero City Council after they strippedout the reality of climate change from their Climate ActionPlan (Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand), wecommend to Fonzi and Moreno’s attention Merchants ofDoubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truthon Issues from Tobacco to Global Warming for insight onthis phenomenon.

Both of us arewell-educatedand well-read…

Debating tip:When youfind itnecessary toinform youraudience that you are educated,you are losing the argument.

Ultimately Atascadero’s CAPexceeded greenhouse gasreductions mandated by the statewithout breaking the communitybank or destroying its character.

More than 75percent of theprojected emissionreductions inAtascadero’sClimate Action Plan

are based on the idea that large amounts of commer-cial development will halt “retail leakage.” Basically,the city plans to continue permitting more and moredevelopment, based on a study that concluded thatthis will induce more residents to shop, dine andrecreate in Atascadero rather than driving out oftown to do so, thereby reducing vehicle milestraveled (VMT) and greenhouse gas emissions. Itwould be interesting to know if the study factoredin the well-known principle that the conversion ofland for development constitutes one of the mostsignificant sources of GHG emissions, and theaverage daily generation of 10,000 car trips andconsumption of up to 28,000 kW hours of energy bya WalMart SuperCenter, and VMT resulting frommore people driving into Atascadero to partake ofall those enhanced shopping, dining, recreating andSuper WalMart-ing opportunities that will bekeeping residents from driving out of Atascadero. Ifthe City’s theory turns out to be wrong, Atascaderowill fall short of its emission targets by a widemargin.

...We call upon precedent. In the19th century, Louis Pasteur, aFrench chemist, advocated thetheory that germs cause disease.He was ridiculed, persecuted, evenprosecuted by the state and forcedto flee France for a number ofyears. Pasteur was right, the vastmajority of medical doctors werewrong as we now know, resulting inmillions of lives being saved.*

Louis Pasteurwas not rightbecause hewas, as thecity council-members fancy themselves, a contrarian voice of dissent attacked by establishment critics, butbecause his theory was supported by data and scientific observation. (Fonzi and Moreno and theirfellow deniers more closely resemble the French medical establishment of the 1880s, fiercely defend-ing their beliefs against unwelcome information.) Pasteur’s predictive models for microbes andimmunity conferred by vaccination proved to be correct. The predictions of climate scientists in the1980s concerning increased atmospheric carbon pacing increased global temperatures, increasingglacial melt, sea level rise, the rate of species extinction, size and intensity of wildfires and extremeweather events, etc., have also proven to be correct -- and if anything, overly conservative.

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Santa Lucian • March 201411

ClassifiedsNext issue deadline is March14. Toget a rate sheet or submit your ad andpayment, contact:Sierra Club - Santa Lucia ChapterP.O. Box 15755San Luis Obispo, CA [email protected]

CYNTHIA HAWLEYATTORNEY

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONLAND USE

CIVIL LITIGATION

P.O. Box 29 Cambria California 93428Phone 805-927-5102 Fax 805-927-5220

Les KangasSolar Energy ConsultantREC Solar, Inc.775 Fiero Lane, Suite 200San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 Office: (805) 528-9705Cell: (805) 305-7164Toll Free: (888) OK-SOLAR (657-6527)Fax: (805) 528-9701

2012 Crop Grass Fed BeefEstate Grown Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Available Now-Delivery AvailablePlease Get in Touch For More Information

Greg and Linda McMillan

Page 12: 1 Santa Lucian • March 2014 Santa Lucian · Protecting and Preserving the Central Coast Santa Lucian I n s i d e ... Ballots must be received by April 16. Fracking Moratorium Bill

12Santa Lucian • March 2014

Outings and Activities CalendarSeller of travel registration information: CST 2087766-40. Registration as a seller of travel does not constitute approval by the State ofCalifornia.

This is a partial listing of Outingsoffered by our chapter.

Please check the web pagewww.santalucia.sierraclub.org for

the most up-to-date listing ofactivities.

All our hikes and activities are open to all Club members and the general public. Please bring drinking water to alloutings and optionally a lunch. Sturdy footwear is recommended. All phone numbers listed are within area code805 unless otherwise noted. Pets are generally not allowed. A parent or responsible adult must accompanychildren under the age of 18. If you have any suggestions for hikes or outdoor activities, questions about theChapter’s outing policies, or would like to be an outings leader, call Outings Chair Joe Morris, 549-0355. Forinformation on a specific outing, please call the listed outing leader.

Activities sponsored by other organizations

Sat., Mar. 1st, 9 a.m. Lopez LakeNature Exploratory. Four-mile hike,200 ft. gain, to identify local plants andbirds, co-led by Audubon and Calif.Native Plant Society experts. We willbe looking especially for waterfowlwith possibility of seeing early springwildflowers, if blessed with decentrain. Bring water, snacks, hat, sun-screen, sturdy shoes, and dress inlayers for changing weather. No dayuse fees charged. Meet at MabelFrench Boy Scout Camp. From ArroyoGrande, follow signs toward LopezLake. After crossing dam but beforeLopez Lake County Park, turn right onHi Mountain Rd, proceeding .8 mile tojunction of Upper Lopez Canyon Rd. Bear left on Canyon Rd and continue3.6 miles to entrance of Boy ScoutCamp, on left side of road. Park in theparking lot; restrooms available there. Leader: Bill Waycott, 459-2103 [email protected]. Rain or threatof rain cancels. Thu.-Sun, Mar. 6th-9th Joshua TreeNational Park Spring Weekend. Visitpark when temperatures are cooler andwildflowers may be blooming. We mayexplore palm oases, boulder areas,desert canyons, or climb peaks. Campin Indian Cove campground with picnictables, fire grates, and pit toilets. Bringyour own supplies and drinking wateror fill up at the Indian Cove RangerStation. Hikes may be off trail. Some

vehicle travel on dirt roads may berequired. Cost $30 per person, whichincludes 3 nights camping. $20 depositto hold reservation. Group size limitedto 16. Leader: Rich Juricich at 916-492-2181 or [email protected] Delta Sierra Club Group/CNRCC DesertCommittee. Sat., Mar. 8th, 8:30 a.m. Hike in LaPanza Range East of Pozo. An 8-12mile hike, with 1500-2000 ft. gain,exploring hills east of Pozo. Exactdestination determined by weather andcondition of dirt roads to trailhead. Bring lunch, water, snacks, and dressfor the weather. Meet at PacificBeverage Co., Santa Margarita. Leader:Gary Felsman, 473-3694. Sat., Mar. 8th, 10 a.m. Dune andBeach Hike at Montana de Oro. Two-mile loop hike, 300 ft. gain, moderatepace and nice sandy trails. Meet atHazard Canyon parking day use area,about 1.6 miles from park entrance. Leader: Vicki Marchenko,[email protected] or 528-5567. Sat., Mar. 15th, 7:30 a.m. McPhersonPeak Hike. Moderately strenuoushike, 11 miles and 2800 ft. gain, to 5,749ft. peak, one of the higher ones in theSierra Madre range. Views of SanRafael Wilderness, Cuyama Valley, andCaliente Range on a clear day. Need tostart early since trailhead is 85 miles

from SLO. Meet at 7:30 a.m. at SantaRosa Park with possible stop atHalcyon exit commuter parking lot inArroyo Grande and dirt pullout at eastside of highway, beginning of Rt. 166east. Adventure Pass required at AlisoCampground trailhead. This is an all-day excursion; poison oak possible onthe road. Call Leader: Carlos Diaz-Saavedra, 546-0317, for other informa-tion or to arrange to meet at one of thestops enroute. Sat.-Sun., Mar. 15th-16th, EarlySpring/Carrizo Plain. Day of serviceplus day of sightseeing, car camping atthis national monument. Weather canbe very variable. Work modifyingfences to give pronghorn antelopemore mobility. Sightseeing determinedby group desires. For further informa-tion, contact Leader: CraigDeutsche, [email protected] 310-477-6670. CNRCC DesertCommittee. Sat.-Sun., Mar. 15th-17th, Turtle Mts.Wilderness Restoration. Annualwilderness trip with BLM and CA/NVWilderness Committee, celebrating 50thanniversary of the Wilderness Act andmore. Tall tales, nostalgia, andcelebratory goodies. Contact VickyHoover, 415-977-5527 [email protected]. CNRCCWilderness Committee. Sun., Mar. 16th, 10 a.m. SycamoreSprings Trekking Pole Hile. ”Pole-cats” dedicated to leading local SierraClub day hikes and modeling thebenefits of trekking-pole use. Thisouting is 2 miles, 600 ft. elevationchange. Meet near the entrance toSycamore Springs Resort, 1215 AvilaBeach Drive. Confirm beforehand withLeader: David Georgi, 458-5575 [email protected]. Sat., Mar. 22nd, 9 a.m. Adobe TrailHike. Eight-mile, mildly strenuous hikethrough range grass and up oak-covered hill, north of the Sierra Madrerange, continuing to hilltop for viewsof Mt. Abel and Mt. Pinos. Bringsturdy shoes, hat, sunscreen, water,and dress in layers. To meet at carpoolpt., take Hwy. 101, then west on Hwy,166, going under the underpass and turning left on Hutton Rd. Park alongroadside at intersection of Hutton Rd.and Cuyama Lane. Option to meet attrailhead at 9:30 a.m.: from Hwy. 101,drive east on Hwy 166 for 22 miles—trailhead on left side of the road. Passthrough unlocked gate for parking. Trail is directly behind green gate. Ifyou reach Rock Front Ranch, you havegone too far. Leader: Andrea Ortiz, 264-4527 or [email protected]. Sat., Mar. 22nd, 10 a.m. City Walk ofSan Luis Obispo: Jazz Age to WorldWar II. Where is the hotel whereHearst entertained his guests, thespeakeasies of the twenties, and theoriginal French Hospital? Find out andmuch more on a guided downtownstroll past historic stores, theaters, andhotels. Learn about SLO city life fromthe years of the Model T to Prohibitionand Pearl Harbor. Meet at corner ofSanta Rosa and Marsh Sts. Leader: JoeMorris, 549-0355.

Fri., Mar. 28th, 7-9 p.m. BimonthlyMeeting: Green Burial: The UltimateRecycling. Traveling from the BayArea to speak to us tonight is a trulydynamic speaker, environmentalfilmmaker Rob Caughlan, co-founder ofFriends of the River and first presidentof the Surfrider Foundation(www.robcaughlan.com). Rob willdiscuss the options and rationale forthe growing trend of environmentallysustainable burial. The meeting willbegin with the award-winning shortfilm, “Dying Green.” Ample time will beleft for your questions. SteynbergGallery, 1531 Monterey St., SLO. Info.:Joe Morris, 549-0355. Fri-Sun., Mar. 28th-30th, MojaveNational Preserve Car camp. Meet 11a.m. Friday at Sunrise Campground for4-mile hike to Teutonia Pk. in afternoonand evening potluck. Six-mile Saturdayhike around Barber Pk. from Hole-in-the-Wall. Sunday hike to Kelso Dunes. Optional camping Sunday at GranitePass. Primitive camping, so bringplenty of water. Leader: Carol Wiley,[email protected] or 760-245-8734. CNRCC Desert Committee. Sat., Mar. 29th, 8:15 a.m. CruikshankTrail to Lion Den. Spring hike insouthern Big Sur, strenuous 12 milesand 3000 ft. elevation gain. Beginningat Hwy. 1, hike passes through VillaCreek Canyon and Lower and UpperCruikshank Camps, near old home-stead. On then to Silver Camp and Lion’s Den with great views of thesoutheast wilderness. Ticks andpoison oak possible on trail. Bringlunch, snacks, plenty of water, anddress in layers for the weather. Meet atWashburn day use area of San SimeonState Park, about 2 miles north ofCambria for carpool. Those interestedin carpooling from SLO to Washburn,meet at Santa Rosa Park at 7:30 a.m. Rain cancels. Leader: Chuck Tribbey,441-7597. Sat., Apr. 5th, 8 a.m. MachesnaWilderness Hike. Strenuous 12-15mile hike, 3000 ft. gain, to explore hillseast of Pozo. Destinations may includeAmerican Canyon, Coyote Hole, andviews of the Carrizo Plain. Bring lunch,water, snacks, and dress for theweather. Hope for rain to turn grassesand hills green. Meet at the PacificBeverage Co., Santa Margarita. Advance registration required—this isnot a beginner’s hike. Plan to be out allday. Leader: Gary Felsman, 473-3694.

Sat.-Sun., Apr. 12th -13th WindWolves Preserve Nature Festival.Wind Wolves is a 95,000-acrenature preserve owned by TheWildlands Conservancy in the SanEmigdio Mountains. It boasts agreat diversity of habitats, includ-ing grassland, saltbush scrub,riparian woodland and oak woodland. Wind Wolves invites you to come exploreduring their Spring Nature Festival. There will be hikes, presentations and familyactivities led by numerous experts and nature enthusiasts. All events are free.TWC wants to get people in the region out to Wind Wolves to inspire the nextgenerations of land stewards. Reservations for events required, check out theWind Wolves Facebook page, website, or call for more information: 661-858-1115. www.wildlands conservancy.org/preserve_windwolves.html.

A Special Event for Membersof the Cal French CircleAs a benefit of membership in the Cal French Circle of donors to theSanta Lucia Chapter, our most generous supporters will get personal timewith distinguished visiting environmental leader Rob Caughlan at a 6 p.m.wine & cheese reception prior our March 28 program at the SteynbergGallery, “Green Burial: The Ultimate Recycling” (see listing). Attendanceat this rececption is for CFC members only and attendance is limited to30! You must RSVP by March 20 to attend. Send an email [email protected] to reserve your place or call 543-8717. Firstcome, first served!