March 2010 Lucian - Sierra Club · 2015. 4. 30. · 2 Santa Lucian • March 2010 Change of Address? Mail changes to: Sierra Club National Headquarters 85 Second Street, 2nd Floor

Santa Lucian • March 20101

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

Protecting and

Preserving the

Central Coast

SantaLucian

IIIII n s i d en s i d en s i d en s i d en s i d e Monsantorganics 2

Your Chapter ballot 3

Nukequake 5

Trashing transit 7

Moth madness 9

Classifieds 11

Outings 12

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This newsletter printed on100% post-consumer recycled paper with

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March 2010Volume 47 No. 3

Santa LucianSanta Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club

P. O. Box 15755

San Luis Obispo, CA 93406

NONPROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT NO. 84

SAN LUIS OBISPOCA 93401

continued on page 4

DON’T MISS

ChapterGeneral MeetingWed., March 24

Where theWildflowers Are

with Cal Poly PlantConservatory

Director Matt Ritter

-see page 2

Catching AirThe science is in on thehealth impacts of off-road vehicles onOceano Dunes. And thestruggle is on.

Last December, the CountyAir Pollution Control Districtannounced the results of itsexhaustive, multi-year, two-part study of air pollution onthe NipomoMeasa, theworst in thecounty, far outof compliancewith the safelimits set bythe Environ-mentalProtectionAgency for“PM10”pollution,particles ofsand and dustin the airmeasuring 10microns orsmaller. Simply put:off-roadvehiclestearing up theOceano Dunes StateVehicular Recreation Areaare responsible for thehuge clouds of sand and dust that areblown inland to the Mesa, and thereinhaled into the lungs of residents,where they can cause decreased lungfunction, chronic bronchitis, pulmo-nary disorders, and premature deathin people with heart or lung disease. This announcement was met withdenial -- massive, deep-throateddenial from the off-road communityand local city councils and businessinterests (see “Pismo vs. Science,”page 7). There were calls for anotherstudy, this one overseen by StateParks -- which would, of course, be astudy in conflict of interest, with theproprietor of the public nuisancetasked with determining just howmuch of a health hazard the biggest

cash cow in the State Parks systemmight be, and what should be doneabout it. The release date of the APCD studyand a series of public workshops,

Mike Baird, bairdphoto.com

originally set for December, waspushed back to January, then earlyFebruary. As we go to press, the study

continued on page 7

How Are They Doing?

Over the last five months of 2008,the Santa Lucia Chapter’s ExecutiveCommittee wrote a series of articlesthat appeared in New Times underthe heading “Messages to the NewBoard.” The suggested policyprescriptions offered the newlyelected majority on the CountyBoard of Supervisors a potential

roadmap of reforms and opportunitiesto undo the damage done by morethan a decade of regressive, anti-environmental board actions andinstead establish environmentallysound policies for a sustainable future– something that was simply impos-sible under the old board.

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Change of Address?

Mail changes to:

Sierra Club National Headquarters

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San Francisco, CA 94105-3441

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Outings, events, and more!

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Santa Lucian

EDITOR

Cal FrenchMelody DeMerittJack McCurdyEDITORIAL BOARD

The Santa Lucian is published 10 times ayear. Articles, environmental informationand letters to the editor are welcome. Thedeadline for each issue is the 11th of theprior month.

send to:

Editor, Santa Lucianc/o Santa Lucia Chapter, Sierra ClubP.O. Box 15755San Luis Obispo, CA 93406.

[email protected]

Santa Lucia Chapter

2009 Executive CommitteeMelody DeMeritt ACTING CHAIR

Cal French MEMBERDawn Ortiz-Legg MEMBERSteven Marx TREASURER

Linda Seeley

MEMBER

Cal French COUNCIL OF CLUB LEADERS

Committee ChairsPolitical Chuck TribbeyConservation Sue Harvey [email protected] Cal FrenchLitigation Andy Greensfelder

Nuclear Power Task Force Rochelle Becker

Other Leaders

Open Space Gary Felsman 805-473-3694Calendar Sales Bonnie Walters 805-543-7051Chapter History John Ashbaugh 805-541-6430

Activities

Outings Joe Morris [email protected]/Kayak open

Webmaster Monica Tarzier [email protected]

Chapter Director Andrew [email protected]

[email protected]

Andrew [email protected]

[email protected]

Printed by University Graphic Systems

Office hours Monday-Friday,11 a.m.- 5 p.m., 547-B MarshStreet, San Luis Obispo

The Executive Committee meetsthe third Friday of every month at1:00 p.m. at the chapter office,located at 547-B Marsh St., SanLuis Obispo. All members arewelcome to attend.

Kim Ramos, Admin and Development [email protected]

Coordinator

General Information

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

By Jesse Arnold

The MonsantoCorporation andother fans of agbiotech know thattheir geneticallyengineered crops areunpopular withconsumers. That isone reason why theyhave consistentlyopposed labeling oftheir products at theretail level. If only they couldfind a way to greenwash ag biotech, maybe they could fool consumers intoaccepting their genetically engineered crops. Why not link ag biotech with a concept popular with consumers such asorganic growing? Believe it or not, this absurd concept is being proposed. Anarticle titled “The Unexplored Potential of Organic –Biotech Production,” byCyndi Barmore, appeared in the Global Agricultural Information Networkreport of the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service on May 26, 2009. “A governmental decision to change organic regulations to permit the use ofbiotechnology could have far-reaching policy implications for global agricul-ture. Allowing producers to gain organic certification for biotech crops couldencourage the development of a new type of environmentally sustainableagricultural production with greater benefits for the consumer.” Barmore claims that the only reason organic growers oppose ag biotech isbecause they feel it has not been proven to be safe for people, animals or theenvironment. Barmore assures us that ag biotech is safe and therefore organicgrowers should accept it. Even if ag biotech is proven safe at some time in the future, there are manyother irreconcilable differences between ag biotech and organic growers. Organic growers use methods that are as natural as possible. Genetic engi-neering is not a natural process. Therefore it is not organic. Organic growersthink ag policy should be developed by farmers and consumers. Ag biotechbelieves in corporate control, that farmers should do as Monsanto tells them toand consumers should be kept in the dark. Organic growers believe in usingcompost, manure, and other natural fertilizers. Ag biotech people believe inchemical fertilizers. Organic growers use non-chemical methods to controlweeds. Ag biotech people use chemical weed killers. Monsanto’s most lucrativecrops are designed to resist their Roundup weed killer. Ag biotech people haveno objection to using chemicals to control insects. Organic growers use non-chemical methods to control weeds and insects. Organic growers are the real example of sustainable agriculture. Theirmethods have been proven over the centuries. Ag biotech use of Bt corn andRoundup Ready crops is not sustainable. Insects are developing resistance tothe Bt corn. Weeds are becoming resistant to the Roundup weed killer. Soilfertility cannot be sustained long term under a constant onslaught of chemicalherbicides. Organic farmers believe in diversity on farms. Each farm needs to haveanimals and a diversity of crops. Ag biotech people believe in monoculture.Organic growers do not believe in the patenting of seeds of food crops. Agbiotech companies support patenting of seed crops. Organic growers view theag biotech companies claims to “intellectual property rights” over seeds to benothing more than corporate theft of our agricultural heritage. Organicgrowers believe we should have anti-trust laws that are enforced. Ag biotechcompanies’ think monopoly or oligopoly control of the seed industry is fine asalong as they are the ones in control. So there are lots of reasons, other than very valid safety concerns about agbiotech, that ag biotech and organic growing will never go together, despite adishonest public relations campaign from the ag biotech industry.

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The Spring Wildflowers of SLO County are with us. What are theyand where are they? Matt Ritter, Director of the Cal Poly PlantConservatory and Professor of Botany, presents our local floraand gives tips on where to find the best blooms in our grasslands,beaches, forests, and wetlands. Come for a beautiful show with thispopular speaker andphotographer. He will alsobriefly describe somecurrent projects of theConservatory. Anespecially popular slideprogram, not to bemissed! No charge orreservations. SteynbergGallery, 1531 MontereySt., SLO. Info: Joe Morris,772-1875.

General MeetingWednesdy, March 24, 7 p.m.

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Organic Biotech?Black is white, up is down, war is peace…


Here’s Your Chapter Ballot

My affinity for nature began in myearly childhood during annualsummer trips to the Western Sierras.I would explore the meadows andcreeks of the Dinkey Lakes Wildernessand swim in its abundant alpinelakes. In June 2009, I graduated from CalPoly with a bachelor’s degree inJournalism and a minor in Environ-mental Studies. My relationship withthe Santa Lucia Chapter began with apublic relations project that focusedon Monterey Bay Sanctuary Expan-sion efforts, helping organize aportion of the Cal Poly Convergenceand assisting Chad Worth at theSierra Club’s Atascadero Energy TownHall. I am now working as aneducational assistant for the Califor-nia Conservation Corps, where Iengage with youth and developprograms that fit their needs. I havebeen teaching a conservation aware-ness class that focuses on providingadequate information about globalwarming and encouraging localizedaction. My intention in running for a seaton the Executive Committee is tokeep an ear to the heartbeat of localissues and to form a stronger bondwith the environmental community ofSan Luis Obispo.

Jono Kinkade

I first got involved with the SierraClub with a 10-day summer trainingprogram led by the Sierra StudentCoalition in Washington State. In 2004, I joined two other CuestaCollege students to start Grassroots,an environmental club that workedwith the local San Luis Bay Chapter ofthe Surfrider to increase recyclingand eliminate styrofoam use oncampus and engage in local issues. In 2006, I led the successful effort topersuade the Mayor of Atascadero tosign the US Mayors Climate Protec-tion Agreement. As a Community Studies major atUC Santa Cruz, I began focusing oncause and effect within the economic,social, and environmental issues inthe political economy and led thestudent newspaper’s editorial staff increating an Investigative News desk. I work with the Think Outside theBomb Network, a national anti-nuclear youth network. My two mainlocal interests are responsible landuse and a transition to energy that istruly just, clean and safe. I believe our converging globalcrises calls for a potent mix ofpioneering solutions and tenaciousopposition, and fresh and innovativeapproaches.

I am a recent Cal Poly graduate andan avid hiker and biker. Last summer I worked on a grant tostart a green jobs training program atCuesta College. This program startedin January 2009 and has now provided30 low-income adults in the commu-nity with an opportunity to learn thebasics of green technologies. Currently, I am an AmericorpsVISTA volunteer at the CaliforniaConservation Corps. We have so muchto thank the CCC for and I am sothankful I have had the opportunityto work there! I recently introduced ten Corpsmembers to the hiking leadershiptraining that the Sierra Club offers. Ithink it is so important for youngpeople to get involved. I am alwayslooking for things that will benefitour community and I think servingon the Chapter’s Executive Commit-tee would be a great way to supportwhat I believe in!

BALLOT

Santa Lucia Chapter Election - November 2008

Mark an “X” or checkmark in the box next to the candidate’s name. Vote for nomore than two candidates.

Members who subscribe to the electronic newsletter may print out this ballot.Households with more than two members may make duplicate ballots.

Do not write your name on the ballot.

Sign and date your envelope over the sealed flap.

Liz Tracy ooooo

Jono Kinkade ooooo

Linda Seeley ooooo

Megan Worthington ooooo

Place in envelope, sign and date the front of the envelope, and mail to :Elections CommitteeSanta Lucia ChapterP.O. Box 15755San Luis Obispo, CA 93406

The Central Coast Astronomical Society is setting up special solarobserving telescopes on Sun-Earth Day on Saturday, March 20th

at Borders Booksellers in San LuisObispo at 11am. You’ll get to (safely)view and hear the sun through specialtelescopes and take home cool prizesfrom NASA. This event is free and opento the public, but is also subject toweather conditions. Before heading out,look up at the sky… if it’s clear and blue,then come on by!www.CentralCoastAstronomy.org

Linda Seeley

I have been a midwife for over 30years. Seeing the effects of environ-mental destruction on families andchildren worldwide, and seeking awider context in which to use myskills, in 2000 I began to study withsystems theorist and Buddhist scholarJoanna Macy. I am an advancedfacilitator of the Work that Recon-nects. I am a longtime anti-nuclearactivist, a board member of the SanLuis Obispo Mothers for Peace anddirector of the Terra Foundation, alocal non-profit organization dealingwith “Earth Care, Soul Care,” and theopportunities for community resil-ience that arise from the greatchanges our world is facing. I facilitate workshops for activistsand environmental leaders. I am themother of three and the grandmotherof three grandsons, and a certifiednurse-midwife and women’s healthnurse practitioner.

Below is the ballot for the Santa Lucia Chapter’s annual Executive Committee election. All current members of the SantaLucia Chapter are eligible to vote. If there is more than one Sierra Club member in your household, you may photcopy theprinted ballot and mail both in the same envelope. The winners of this election will start their terms when the outgoingExCom adjourns their April meeting. The newly-elected ExCom will then convene a brief meeting to elect board officers andset the date for their May meeting.

IMPORTANT VOTING INFORMATION· Vote for no more than 2 candidates.· Cumulative voting (more than one vote for one candidate) is not allowed.· Ballots must be received by 5:00 p.m., April 5, 2010, at the Chapter office.· Address the envelope per instructions on the ballot and sign and date over the flap of the envelope. · Mail your ballot with sufficicent time to arrive by the deadline, or drop it off via the door mail slot at the Chapter office at 547-B Marsh St. in SLO.

Megan Worthington Liz Tracy

Want to see the sun up close?

4


How Are They Doing?continued from page 1

Message 2: Affordable housing

Our second Message to the New Boardasked “Where’s that affordablehousing?” and ticked off the compo-nents of an effective inclusionaryhousing ordinance. First and fore-most: it should be an “ordinance thatemphasizes the construction of unitson site, at the same time as market-

Staff, Supervisors and buildingindustry advocates refer to this as a“buffet style” approach to providingaffordable housing. So far, these “inlieu” fees have proven to be the mostpopular item on the buffet. That’s nota surprise. Picture crème brulésurrounded by canned corned beefhash and pickled pigs’ feet. How much housing would builders

It’s now time to grade the newmajority on its first year.

Message 1: Political reform

When the new day dawned in San LuisObispo County and the nascent dreamof an open and accessible publicprocess in County governmentseemed at hand, we formulated theproverbial roadmap for the new Boardof Supervisors, hoping to ensure thatthis opportunity would bring aboutpermanent progress

We asked the Board to adopt:* A formal process of ex parte reportson each issue the board will takeofficial action on;* County policies on keeping phonerecords, calendar entries and otherinformation regarding the supervi-sors’ county-related activities;* Procedures to establish a credibledocument-management system forcounty files to facilitate response topublic requests for information – (thisis the computer age after all);* Campaign finance reform.

According to Encarta Dictionary, exparte is defined as “involving one sideonly. Made or undertaken on behalfof only one of the parties involved in acourt case.” Certain of the actionstaken by the Board require that eachSupervisor reveal any meetings orcontact with any of the parties with astake in the outcome. This require-

Minutes of Meetings shows much lessdetail. Word counts of Minutes forSupervisors meetings in 2008 lastingfrom 5-9 hours ranged from 5500-

7300 words. Minutes for Meetings in2009 of 5-10 hours ranged from 3,000to 5,000 words. On the matter of the elephant —and the rest of the circus — in theroom, campaign finance reform:Nada. Citizens and due processbatting 0, special interests holdingtheir own. Final grade: None of these issueshas even been raised by the Board. F

their profit margin. But successfulinclusionary programs around thecountry have provided a reliablesource of workforce housing forhundreds of communities withouteither bankrupting the buildingindustry of giving rise to Stalinistdictatorships. Five weeks after our Message to theBoard appeared in New Times, theSLO County Board of Supervisorsapproved an Inclusionary HousingOrdinance that echoed George Bush’s“Healthy Forests Act” and “ClearSkies Initiative.” It doesn’t actuallyrequire developers to include afford-able units in their projects. They canif they want to, and if they do, theyget some additional incentives tobuild more houses than they wouldotherwise qualify for. Or they canbuild the units somewhere else in thecounty. Or they can just buy someland and donate it for somebody elseto build affordable housing onsomewhere else in the county. Or theycan just write a check for someoneelse to build some houses somewhereelse at some point in the future,maybe, in lieu of providing anyhouses or land.

Picture crème brulé surrounded by canned cornedbeef hash and pickled pigs’ feet.

make 4% of your units affordable; inyear number two, 8% would have tobe affordable, and so on. Likewise, the“in lieu” fee was supposed to beincreased by 20% each year for fiveyears until the target of approximately$20,000 per home was reached. Thiswas done primarily at the request ofthe Home Builders Association, whoargued for the phased approachbecause of the declining economy andthe need to adjust their financingmodels. It costs about $100,000 for theCounty to build an affordable homewith in-lieu fees. But because theCounty is only charging one-fifth ofthe required fee, in 2009 the Countycollected only $6,500 in fees. It isarguably more cost-effective fordevelopers to build affordable units aspart of a larger development project,because they have already paid theland costs and insurance, and haveeconomies of scale. On November 10, the Board was setto embark on Year 2 of the phase-inplan when they heard testimony fromthe Homebuilders that because of thedeclining economy, the Board shoulddelay implementation of the secondyear of the phase-in. Supervisors Gibson and Pattersonpushed to keep to the approvedschedule, rightly pointing out thatthe economy was sputtering whenthey approved the phased approachthe previous year at the request of theHomebuilders, and that if they didn’tmove ahead with it, they would nevermeet their target. But Supervisor Hillsided with Supervisors Mecham andAchadjian and gave the buildersanother free pass, thereby precludingthe construction of unknown num-bers of affordable units (or “in lieu”contributions toward the construc-tion of affordable units) in 2010. Ironically, the County’s InclusionaryHousing Ordinance won an awardfrom the American Planning Associa-tion, which is not surprising, as allthe County’s worst programs seem toattract recognition from this Associa-tion. The County’s InclusionaryOrdinance now shares APA honorswith the Ag Cluster Ordinance andthe TDC Ordinance. Final grade: Split grade. Overall, theBoard gets a D for approving theordinance as written in the first place(so does the Planning Commission,for that matter, with the exception ofSarah Christie, who tried to streng-then the policy but had no supportfrom her colleagues). SupervisorsGibson and Patterson get an A for atleast trying to maintain the agreedtrajectory. Supervisors Hill, Mechamand Achadjian get an F for sidingwith the building industry despitetouting their support for “affordablehousing.” (And because we can hear it now, wewill say in advance: No, Supervisors,

ment stems from constitutional dueprocess. It is mandatory in quasi-judicial circumstances, where thehearing is required and when it isspecific to a project or parcel. We attended a number of appeals ofPlanning Commission decisions tothe Board last year. An appeal is aquasi-judicial hearing. Not once didthe Board offer any ex parte commu-nications, even at hearings where theywere specifically requested to do so.Who has your Supervisor’s ear? Whoknows? On the matter of written policies onkeeping phone records, calendars etc.easily accessible to the public: At aminimum, we’d like to see a return tothe days of yore when the appoint-ment calendar for the Supervisors wassitting on outside counter at theSupervisors offices, available foranyone to thumb through. No wordon whether a credible documentmanagement system is on thehorizon. On government transparency ingeneral, we’ve seen some seriousbacksliding. Agenda descriptions arenow less informative than they haveever been and a random sampling of

rate units are built, as the rate of 20percent of the market-rate units.Discourage in-lieu fees, off-sitemitigations, and the ‘phase in’ ofrequirements.” For good reason. The concept of“inclusionary” housing grew from thefailed experiments in warehousinglow-income residents in “project”housing that soon deteriorated intoslums. History has shown thatindividuals, communities andeconomies are better served whenneighborhood design creates ahousing mix that includes a range ofsocio-economic status. Havingteachers and waiters and artists andtheir kids living down the street fromsoftware engineers and attorneys andarchitects has a humanizing effect onall involved. But how to accomplishthis? Inclusionary housing ordinancesrequire developers to design and builda certain percentage of affordableunits alongside their upscale homes,and make them available to qualifiedbuyers through deed restrictions.Ideological opponents of inclusionaryhousing claim this is “social engineer-ing.” Builders claim it eliminates

have to build? How much would theypay? Alert to the potential problem ofcausing so much change so fast thatsomeone might actually notice it, theSupervisors approved a five-yearphase-in plan to get to the goal ofrequiring developers to make 20% ofnew their new homes affordable, withincremental increases each year. So,in year number one, you only have to


How did the County fare on protect-ing agriculture? We offered a com-prehensive list of issues to consider toprotect and enhance our ag resources,including:

* Innovative and tightly written agpolicies – including Ag Events and AgTourism and reconsideration of thedisastrous ag cluster ordinance;* Stop the fragmentation of ag landand fix or eliminate the Transfer ofDevelopment Credit (TDC) Program;* Implement Strategic GrowthPrinciples;* Address the issue of defining“secondary and incidental” uses on agland and revise the list of non-ag useson ag land;* Look at minimum parcel sizerelative to soils;* Take Open Space zoning seriouslyper California Govt. Code 65910

Some progress has occurred. On theplus side, the Board has authorizedamendments to the TDC Program. Itremains to be seen what thoseamendments will entail. Unfortu-nately, as of this writing, the Boardseems poised to approve the subdivi-sion of a rural ag zoned winery usinga transfer of development credit – aclear violation of the current TDCProgram, which prohibits usingTDC’s to subdivide ag land. Thatamendment was the result of a long,hard-fought battle and was put inplace in 2008 by the former Board. The Board has authorized amend-ments to the disastrous Ag ClusterProgram, passing up the opportunityto end the Program. Originally, theAg Cluster ordinance was adoptedwithout an Environmental ImpactReport (EIR). The preliminaryenvironmental assessment of theproposed changes to the Clusterordinance reveals an astounding 41Class 1 impacts – impacts that cannotbe fully mitigated. While we agree that the proposedamendments will improve a disas-trous ordinance, the clear messagefrom for 41 potential Class I impactsis “end this program.” On Strategic Growth, we have seenmixed results. The Board authorizedthe implementation of StrategicGrowth Principles, but only one ofthe five Supervisors supported thetheory of Strategic Growth with areal-time vote. Only Supervisor Gibson voted tosupport staff by requiring suitabledensity on multi-family zoning whenan actual Strategic Growth projectcame to the Board. On February 2,the Board of Supervisors reversed aPlanning Commission denial of theCreekside Project in Templeton. Staffhad recommended denial of theproject because it underutilizedmulti-family - MF - zoning. Theproject proposed a density of 7 unitsper acre on property zoned for 15 to26 units. Underutilizing MF zoningwastes a valuable resource anddeprives the county of much neededaffordable and entry-level housing forour service industry, tourism and agworkforce. The issues of parcelization of agland or the connection betweenminimum parcel size and soilcapacity remain in the realm of anunreachable dream. One of the most important issuesin preserving ag and supporting thefarmer in sustaining her ag businessis the concept of ag-related “second-

ary and incidental” events andprocesses. If you have been payingattention lately, you have seen thejuggernaut of special interests drivingthe bus aimed at Ag Policy 6, becausethis is the policy that allows such uses– ag events, farm stands, farm stays --only to the extent that they aresecondary and incidental to theprimary agriculture on site. We have mixed reviews and resultsall over the spectrum. The purpose ofa proposed package of Ag Tourismordinances is to offer opportunities tofarmers actually engaged in agricul-ture to supplement their income. Theordinances need to be consistent withAg Policy 6 which upholds the con-cept of events as “secondary andincidental.” A three-vote majority denied anevents permit on property with no agon site (Dancing Horse). The AgTourism Coalition (ATC), which theClub supports, had appealed theDancing Horse project to the Board.ATC also requested an interpretationof Ag Policy 6, hoping for some cleardirection to staff. The PlanningCommission had responded with clearlanguage supporting AG Policy 6when the issue came to them. TheBoard supported the concept of activeagriculture but declined to supportthe Ag Liaison Advisory Boardguidelines for “secondary and inciden-tal” and Ag Policy 6. Only SupervisorsGibson and Patterson seem to “get it”on Ag Policy 6. Supervisors Achadjian,Mecham and Hill seem ready to throwAg Policy 6 under the bus andredefine Ag Policy 31. Ag Commis-sioner Bob Lilley has explained thatthe historic intent of Ag Policy 31pertains to passive recreation oppor-tunities, not events. Why does “secondary and inciden-tal” matter? If the primary businesson ag land become lucrative events,unrelated to any ag use of the land,the de facto value of the land becomesas an event venue, not a valuationbased on productive agriculture. Thebusiness become events, farm staysand B&B’s. A sensible Ag Events policy based onsecondary and incidental use seemsunreachable, and revising the list ofnon ag uses permitted on ag land isn’teven on the horizon. This Board iscarving out a get-out-of-Ag-Policy-6-free loophole for anyone whose agland isn’t “ag capable” (a new,undefined concept) and looks like it’sheaded toward permitting even moreevents than are allowed under thewinery ordinance or yet-to-be-developed rules for “ag capable”lands. This would have the counter-productive effect of encouragingpeople to make their land look like itcannot support agriculture in order toget a more lucrative set of tourismand recreational uses, completelycontrary to the County’s Ag Goals. The Board, in its heartfelt concernfor the economic stress many familiesface (confusing the plight of smallfamily farmers with the forlorn facesof unpermitted wedding venue ownersat Board hearings), may just swingthe doors wide open and implicitlyrezone ag and rural areas for com-mercial uses — as though there is noother way to earn a living, or every-one who lives on ag or rural landshould be guaranteed a way to make aliving without leaving home, even if itimperils agriculture. This is the age-old struggle betweenthe short-term economics of todayversus preservation of the land for thelong haul. If the goal is to providemore economic opportunity for all,what will be the cumulative effect onagriculture? Does the EconomicElement outweigh the Ag Element?

Message 4: Let’s eat local

In this installment, we pointed outthat another good reason to protectagricultural land from development— in addition to preserving water-sheds, open space, ecosystems and thequality of life on the Central Coast —is the need to protect the placeswhere our food comes from, not tomention the benefits of keeping foodresources and purchases local. To thatend, we urged the new Board to takenote of the Seattle City Council’sFood System Sustainability andSecurity Resolution, a framework ofpolicy goals that identified actions tostrengthen the community’s foodsystem and sustainability. We alsopointed to the trail-blazing work ofWoodbury County, Iowa, which haspassed policies mandating thepurchase of locally grown organicfood by county government opera-tions, and using property tax rebatesto incentivize the conversion ofconventionally farmed land to organicpractices. The basic “eat local” concept was

certainly not news to the new Board,which is familiar with the CaliforniaFarm to School Task Force, whosegoal is to brings fresh, locally-grown,and unprocessed fruits and vegetablesinto school cafeterias. In 2006, theBoard of Supervisors endorsed thecreation of a Childhood ObesityPrevention Task Force (COPTF) andtasked it with the development acounty-wide strategic action plan,which was completed in 2007 andcalled for “incorporating the use oflocal food products into the schoolfood services.” (The Task Force is nowHEAL SLO -- Healthy Eating, ActiveLiving San Luis Obispo.) In February 2007, a “New Partnersfor Smart Growth” conference washeld in Los Angeles. One of theconference sessions, ”Healthy Eatingin the City: Improving Access to FreshFoods and the Connection to Sustain-able Food Systems” featured strate-gies to increase access to healthyfoods and improve health in urbancenters, recent policy efforts tosupport local sustainable agriculture,and a case study of a communityworking to increase food access and

continued on page 10

“affordable housing” does not meanaffordable for developers to build atthe lowest possible rates.)

Message 3: Protect agriculture

Where is the tipping point? What arethe property rights of rural residents? Gibson and Patterson support a“nuisance” concept to protect ag andrural residents from the over-com-mercialization of these residentialareas; their colleagues seem to thinkthe existing rules are just dandy andthe rural residents who complain areNIMBY whiners. On the plus side, the Board doescontinue to support Williamson Acttax benefits locally, even though theState is backing away from monetarysupport of the program (but will theBoard’s expansion of commercial usesimperil the Williamson Act and theRight to Farm ordinance?), and wehave returned to the historic designa-tion of soils types based on NationalResource Conservation Districtmapping. The issue of Open SpaceZoning designations continues to be aswamp of inconsistencies. Final grade: No lack of action, butheaded in the wrong direction. C-

support a local food system withmultiple strategies. Attendance at theevent by SLO county and cityofficials was so heavy that the post-event SLOCOG staff report noted thatthe event moderator was prompted“to congratulate the region for itsparticipation level as members of thePaso Robles and Arroyo Grande CityCouncils, the County Board ofSupervisors, and planning commis-sioners and staff from several jurisdic-tion were in attendance. SLOCOGPresident and District 5 SupervisorJim Patterson has facilitated discus-sion among local agency attendees ofthe conference to examine potentialcourses for action to follow up onconference issues.” That was three years ago. Andcertainly the examination anddiscussion of potential courses ofaction is a good thing, but actuallytaking action is an even betterthing. Elsewhere in California, other

6


Dear NRC: Fool Me Once,Shame On You...By Rochelle Becker, ExecutiveDirector, Alliance for NuclearResponsbility www.a4nr.org

PG&E intends to complete DiabloCanyon seismic studies in 2013. The Nuclear Regulatory Commis-sion estimates completion of Diablo’slicense renewal process in Sept 2011. What is wrong with this picture? Several hundred San Luis Obisporesidents, utility executives, attorneys,and elected officials filled the Em-bassy Suites on February 9 to hear theNRC discuss its process for extendingthe license for Diablo Canyon from2025 to 2045. They came to askquestions regarding local concernsabout a twenty-year extension ofnuclear operations and productionand storage of radioactive wastelocated less than three miles from twomajor, active earthquake faults. The community asked questions,but there were few answers at hand. Did the NRC bring experts onsecurity? They did not. Did they bring experts on radioac-tive waste? They did not. The single expert on seismology wasrepresented by a disembodied voiceon the phone from Berkeley—whereshe was attending an “event” appar-ently more important than therelicensing of a nuclear reactorlocated on two active earthquakefaults. So who did that leave in the SLOcommunity to answer questions aboutan additional twenty years of opera-tion and highly radioactive wasteproduction and storage on our fragilecoast? The answer: Experts on

environmental impacts – but that listof potential impacts currently doesnot consider the consequence of amajor quake on either of the twoknown faults. Also present were experts on thesafety of aging components—eventhough there is only one reactor inthe nation that has operated into its40th year (Oyster Creek in NewJersey), and it has “crossed thethreshold” for number of unplannedshutdowns and is now operatingunder additional NRC oversight. The final panelist was the NRC’sRegion IV staffer charged withoverseeing license renewal, whosecavalier attitude and misstatementswere an insult to this community.With the exception of the Region IVrepresentative, the NRC licenserenewal panel appeared to be sincerein their willingness to listen, but theyfailed to hear our concerns. An aging and controversial reactorwith an onsite high-level radioactivewaste facility only three milesoffshore of two major active earth-quake faults is the reason the Califor-nia Legislature, Energy Commissionand Public Utilities Commissionrequired advanced seismic studies.The state’s required seismic studiesshould be complete and reviewed bythe NRC, the US Geological Surveyand state oversight agencies before acostly license renewal proceeds. Thestate and PG&E ratepayers deserve tohave California withhold any fundingfor license renewal until the requiredseismic studies are complete.

Wilderness preservation has neverbeen more important -- or morepossible. In the last 4 years, wildernessadvocates have succeeded in establish-ing over 2 million acres of protectedwilderness. Curious about what ittakes to succeed on this scale andwhat new campaigns are movingforward right now? Come to theWestern Wilderness Conference 2010at UC Berkeleyfrom April 8-11th2010. Sponsored bythe CaliforniaWildernessCoalition, SierraClub, The Wilder-ness Society, andnumerous otherorganizationsfrom all 13western states,including Hawaiiand Alaska, theWestern Wilder-ness Conference2010 highlightsnew campaigns,connects wilder-ness and climatechange, andemphasizesengaging youngpeople in theeffort to preserve wild places free fromdevelopment. Come meet new alliesand discover strategic tips tostrengthen your own environmentalcampaign. Together we can preservethe wilderness. Hear speakers like Doug Scott, DaveForeman, Bruce Hamilton, Dr. JohnHarte, Laurie Wayburn, Chris Arthur,Sal Ramirez, Ann Ronald, Tom Killion,Roger Kaye, Juan Martinez, represen-tatives from federal wildernessmanagement agencies, and moreaddress the role of wild lands in an eraof climate change and deliberate onhow to gain new allies to the cause ofpreserving wild places. Hear college

and high school youth discuss whatwild places mean to their generation.See the film “Forever Wild” and enjoymusic by Walkin’ Jim Stoltz and I SeeHawks. And help celebrate the 50th anniver-sary of one of the most remote butfought-over wild places in America –the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, asymbol of America’s will to set somespecial places aside from commercial

exploitation. Planning organizations include:Sierra Club, California WildernessCoalition, Northwest Wilderness andParks Conference The WildernessSociety, Great Old Broads for Wilder-ness, Desert Survivors, AudubonCalifornia, Tuleyome, Californians forWestern Wilderness. The Santa LuciaChapter is a sponsor of the big event. Visit the conference website,www.westernwilderness.org forinformation on speakers, program,outings, and online registration! Other questions? Contact VickyHoover (45)977-5527,[email protected].

She has the floor Rochelle Becker (left) had a few questions for Nuclear RegulatoryCommission staff when they came to the SLO Embassy Suites in February.

2010 Western WildernessConference: April 8 - 11

continued on page 8


Pismo vs. Science

OceanoDunesWithoutTears

Never mind Pismo Beach City Councilman Ed Waage gets a lesson in map reading fromthe Air Pollution Control District.

had not yet been released, with nonew release date announced. It is nothard to read between the lines of thatscenario to detect the unmistakableimprint of pressure being applied. That’s not acceptable. But the Air

Catching Aircontinued from page 1

Pollution Control District has alreadyannounced the primary conclusionand plan of action dictated by whatthe study’s data clearly shows: “OHVactivity in the SVRA is a majorcontributing factor to the high PM

concentrations observed on theNipomo Mesa.” The APCD proposes towork with State Parks and theCalifornia Air Resources Board “todevelop a process and aggressivetimeline for State Parks to research,

select and implement control strate-gies sufficient to significantly reducethe particulate emissions from theSVRA that are impacting the NipmoMesa.” It’s time to get on with that task.

The Comrades, grassroots auteurs ofthe ongoing video documentary“Danger Downwind of the OceanoDunes,” have done the public serviceof videotaping members of the PismoBeach City Council in the act ofattacking the Air Pollution ControlDistrict’s study of air pollution on theNipomo Mesa prior to its release.Several Councilmembers have made itclear that their priority is maintainingthe perceived economic benefits thatthe city receives from off-roadvehicles on Oceano Dunes, not thehealth of the residents of the NipomoMesa. (Last December, new residentRachelle Toti wrote a letter to TheTribune with a suggestion that had togive pause to all those who believe theORVs must keep on roaring becausethe local economy depends on them:“Include the air quality issue in thedisclosures for real estate purchaseson the Mesa.”) In a video clip filmed at the Decem-ber 1 Pismo City Council meeting,Councilman Kris Vardas, who also sitson the APCD Board, can be seenquestioning the scientific validity ofthe study before its release, alongwith two other council members whoagreed to challenge the upcomingstudy at the APCD board meeting thenext day, December 2. The video then cuts to the testi-mony of Pismo Councilman Ed Waageat the APCD meeting. CouncilmanWaage argues that a peer-reviewedscientific study should be treated like

a draft policy document and pre-viewed by the public for comment andrevision prior to its release. He then tries to discredit the studywith the claim that off-roading hasactually resulted in a dramaticincrease in native vegetation on thedunes, and therefore the study’sfinding that off-roading has denudedthe dunes, increasing windblownparticulate matter pollution, isinvalid. He presents a progression ofGoogle maps of the dunes to the

board and argues that they showincreasing vegetation over a 13-yearperiod. Immediately following Waage’stestimony, County Air PollutionControl Officer Larry Allen quietlyrefutes the Councilman’s claim, usingthe same Google maps to show thatthe increase in vegetation hasoccurred in the areas of the dunesthat are off-limits to off-roading. Watch the video atwww.vimeo.com/8240488

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Are cars on the beachan economic anchoror a ball & chain?

By Evelyn Delany

Getting cars off the beach has beenthe single most important occurrencebringing about the economic trans-formation of Pismo Beach from a“honky tonk” town to the destinationjewel that it is today. When we moved to Pismo Beach in1970, none of the motels were four-star rated, except for the Shore Cliffand the Sea Crest (which actually area little outside of downtown). Touristcabins, left over from the 30s or 40s,were rented by the month be peoplewho couldn’t afford an apartment.There were a few sit-down restau-rants, but mostly the paper napkinvariety. Comedians on radio and TV and inthe movies made jokes about PismoBeach. I once told my friend Harry, afellow easterner, that Pismo Beachreminded me of Ocean City, NewJersey. Harry responded that OceanCity was never that bad. It was kind ofembarrassing to tell people you livedin Pismo Beach, so those of us whocould told people we lived in ShellBeach or Pismo Heights. Pismo Beachwas the laughing stock of the county.Nice families went elsewhere. The ramp to the beach was awooden affair at the end of OceanView Avenue. Vehicles were permittedsouth of the pier, but not to the north. One year in the mid-1970s, stormsripped the coast, much like this year.The wooden ramp washed out to sea.The city got a grant and build a newramp; this time, a hefty, engineeredone of cement. Another stormy year came along,and the new ramp gracefully floatedinto the ocean, as though God herselfwas sending a message. There was no new grant money foranother ramp, and the City did nothave money for a new ramp withoutfinancial assistance from anotherentity. After much debate, vehicles onthe beach were prohibited on thebeach south to Grand Avenue. If the Pismo Beach City Council andthe business community thought thatvehicles on the beach were aneconomic boon to Pismo Beach, theywould have found money and a newramp would have been built. That was circa 1974. Over the next

continued on page 9

two years, Pismo Beach was trans-formed. In rapid succession, upscalehotels were built – the Sea Gypsy, theSand Dollar, the Sea Venture, ShelterCove Lodge, Pismo Lighthouse Suitesand the Kon Tiki. The Shore replacedthe obsolete cabins. Shore Cliff andthe Seacrest expanded. Other oldermotels remodeled to keep up. Thenew hotels had restaurants with clothnapkins and expanded menus. We got

a Marie Callendar’s. Souvenirs becamea little more classy. All of a sudden, Pismo Beach was adestination resort. People came towalk on the beautiful beach. It wasquiet. It was safe for dogs, childrenand granny. People came and spentmoney. People who had money tospend came. That is not to say that ordinary folkswere excluded. The city built a beach

parking lot for day users. The oldermotels still accommodate people whoaren’t big spenders. RV campgroundsat the south end of the city and thestate park accommodate people whoprefer more rustic accommodations.We even have a Motel 6 in the citylimits. There are still restaurants thatdon’t cost an arm and a leg. Pismo

8


The last time the NRC came to town todiscuss the draft Generic EnvironmentalImpact Statement (GEIS) for licenserenewal was October 2009 – and thathappened only after local, state andfederal representatives demanded thatthe meeting be held here instead of over100 miles away in Westlake Village. Theconcerns voiced that evening will beunheeded, as the NRC’s current schedulecalls for it to finalize a decision on DiabloCanyon’s license renewal by September2011. Citizen comments on the draftGEIS will be “considered” and the finalrules will be released in 2013. Diablo willbe relicensed under the old rules. The last time the NRC denied seismiccontentions proffered by local residentswas when they licensed the onsitestorage of high-level radioactive waste onour coast. Independent experts offeredevidence of additional faulting near theDiablo site, but the NRC did not want tohear it. A few years later, PG&E disclosedthat indeed there is at least one addi-tional fault 1800 feet offshore of Diablo. And yet, the NRC seems determined togo forth with costly license renewalproceedings before PG&E completes thestate-mandated seismic studies. TheAlliance for Nuclear Responsibility andSupervisor Adam Hill, who representsthe district that incorporates DiabloCanyon, have sent a letter to the NRCrequesting a stay of the license renewalprocess until the state’s seismic studiesare complete. In addition, the Alliancehas requested that the NRC create a jointseismic panel to review PG&E’s com-pleted studies before the license renewalprocess proceeds. It is not only a seismic safety concernthat motivates California’s actions: It isalso economics. At a time when individu-als, agencies and governments are allfeeling the financial crunch, can weliterally afford to throw good money afterbad? PG&E claims they too are interestedin the results of seismic studies, but leftto their own devices, they don’t plan tocomplete those studies until 2013 — twoyears after the NRC intends to havecompleted review of the relicensingapplication. And if the seismic results indicate thatplant operations should not be extendedor continued, then what becomes of themore than $100 million sunk into theprocedure — money coming fromwallets of hard-pressed ratepayers?Wouldn’t it be better to have conclusiveseismic information in hand first? Why are San Luis Obispo residents soconcerned that these seismic studies arecompleted andreviewed beforeDiablo’s licenserenewal goesforth? Becausethose with longmemories arewatching historyrepeat itself.They rememberthat whenDiablo wasgranted itspermit in 1967,PG&E claimedthere were noknown earth-quake faultswithin 20 to 50miles. Theyremember aseries of newsbulletins thatlook uncannilycontemporarynow:

l“PG&E expertsays faults

shouldn’t peril Diablo” (TelegramTribune, November 28, 1973)

l“Hosgri fault—its discovery a bigsurprise” (Telegram Tribune, May 21,1976)

l[PG&E spokesman Richard] “Davincountered, ‘it wasn’t apparent to PG&Ethat it as a fault of major significanceuntil further investigation was done.’”(San Jose Mercury News, October 28,1981)

l“14-year ‘cover up’—PG&E declinedto pursue fault” (Telegram Tribune,November 5, 1981)

l“Yet, in a private 1967 Atomic EnergyCommission memo describing ameeting to discuss PG&E’s applicationfor a construction permit, the agencynoted that “PG&E ‘does not intend todo further trenching at the risk ofuncovering geologic structures whichcould lead to additional speculationand possible delay in the project….’”(Los Angeles Times, March 16, 1982)

Finally, in a June, 20, 1988, legal brief,CPUC staff concluded: “Approximately$4.4 billion in project cost was impru-dently incurred on the Diablo Canyonproject…. Although the necessarytechniques were available, PG&E failedto conduct studies to locate potentialearthquake faults offshore of the DiabloCanyon site in their initial sitingstudies in the mid-1960’s.” The NRC is complicit in this failure,strikingly noted in their 1981 decisionto withhold further review and study ofthe foundations for the Diablo seismicdesign, “…proceeding in view of thediscovery of a nearby earthquake faultafter plant construction was well underway...” In their dissent from this NRC lapse,commissioners Bradford and Gilinskynoted, “Altogether we cannot escapethe impression that the commission isdeclining to review not because theopinion is essentially sound, butbecause it is unsound and the prospectof reviewing it is so unsettling.” At this time, can either the utilities orthe regulators be trusted? As the L.A.Times commented on February 10,2010, “Speculation has been ragingover whether the U.S. Supreme Court’srecent junking of federal campaignspending limits on corporations will bevery bad for democracy, or not so bad.

As with manyimportant trendsin Americansociety, Californiawas there first,and we have theanswer. Thanksto a nakedlycynical $6.5-million ballotcampaignlaunched by ourbiggest utility,Pacific Gas &Electric, we cansay this: It’sgoing to be worsethan you canpossibly imag-ine.”

TAKE ACTION

The NRC willreturn to SanLuis Obispo onMarch 3 todiscuss the scopeof the licenserenewal review.

Tell them that the scope mustinclude finalized and reviewedseismic studies required by thestate of California – anything elsedefies the “Openness and Trans-parency” that the NRC claims toseek. As citizens and ratepayers,we can ill afford to be fooledagain. And if you are reading this afterMarch 3, send comments to:

[email protected]

or:

Chief, Rulemaking and DirectivesBranchDivision of Administrative ServicesOffice of AdministrationMailstop TWB 5B-O1MUS Nuclear Regulatory CommissionWashington DC 20555-0001

NRCcontinued from page 6

By Eric Greening

The other day, the Governor was in town to congratulate himself on beinggreen and working to create new “green jobs,” with a select audience ofpeople gathered to agree with his self-congratulation. Like a bored two-year-old with a just-broken toy, reaching for somethingnew, he would rather not contemplate the destruction he leaves behind,the green jobs lost through his policies. Transit workers all over the statehave been and are being laid off as systems are cut and dismantled.Billions have been stolen from transit operations in the last several yearsof state budgets, and all of this theft has been the Governor’s idea. Now, on the losing end of a lawsuit by the California Transit Association,he is blatantly defying the ruling by reclassifying funds, and he is seeking,in his proposed budget, a PERMANENT diversion of all four state fundsconstitutionally meant to flow to transit: the “Spillover,” The sales tax ondiesel, the sales tax on 9 cents of the excise tax on gasoline, and the transitportion of Proposition 42, voted in by the people. Miraculously, and thanks to some good planning and budgeting in thepast, our local systems have been spared the draconian cuts that haveoccurred elsewhere in the state. But our luck, and the mobility of thosewho do not drive, may be about to run out. The Regional Transit Authority connects our County’s communities andprovides thousands of rides a day. Other more local systems are alsothreatened, and indeed, may enter a drama of fighting over crumbs withthe Regional system. But the Regional system is the most importantcomponent in our battle against greenhouse gas emissions and climatedestabilization, and it will soon be the subject of a decision that couldharm it irretrievably. The recent greenhouse gas inventory performed in our county showedthat over two thirds of our emissions come from road transportation, andthat over 78% of that comes from highway rather than local travel. Thus,the single most important feature of our soon-to-be-written ClimateAction Plan should, by rights, be a strengthening of alternatives to thesingle-occupant auto, of which robustly supported transit, particularlythat which connects our communities, must be a critical component. Nonetheless, on the agenda for the Regional Transit Authority Board onMarch 3 lurks an item with the innocent title “Fixed Route PerformanceProductivity Standards” that is actually a recipe not only for cutting, butweakening and ultimately dismantling the Regional system. I will give Administrator Ed King and the RTA Board credit for keepingthe system largely whole when many other systems in the state arehemorrhaging jobs and service. It has taken a recent fare increase andanother pending one, and depends on drivers who work for far less thanthe nationwide pay standards, so it is not a happy status quo, but in ourhostile state environment it is still something of a miracle. But this fragilemiracle is under attack, and the consequences for non-drivers (a groupwhich includes the old, the young, many disabled, many poor people, andthose who want to be part of the solution) could be dire. While in a largeurban system, cuts can mean more crowded buses or trains running every15 minutes instead of every 10, here such cuts add up to such conse-quences as the loss of mobility on evenings and weekends, period. What is on the March 3 agenda is not specific cuts, but a method forcutting. It has the virtue of being non-sudden, and of calling on strategiesof analyzing and marketing targeted runs before pulling the plug, but it isstructured to lead inexorably to cuts. Rather than targeting runs that fallbelow a particular passenger-per-hour count or farebox ratio, it draws abead on any run that averages less than 75% of the system-wide average.In other words, no matter how successful the system as a whole, there willbe runs that lag behind, unless we are like Lake Wobegon where all thechildren are above average. So why not strengthen the system by pruning the less productive runs?Because doing this would weaken the system, just as pulling threads out ofa fabric weakens the fabric. If a “weak” run is chopped, not only would itsown riders be dropped from the system, but riders transferring to or fromstronger runs would also be lost (and stranded, unless they are “choice”riders who can resort to their cars). This would, in turn, weaken theperformance of these other runs. Or let’s say the last run of the weekday evening is chopped, so that thelast departure from San Luis Obispo is at 6:33 instead of 8:33. As theriders thereof are lost to the system (stranded or driven to cars), theseriders would also disappear from the daytime runs that brought them toSan Luis Obispo in the first place. As ridership drops on these daytimeruns, they, too, would go under the knife. As thread after thread gets

Some Cutting Remarks

continued on page 10


Letterssend to: [email protected], or Sierra Club, P.O. Box 15755, San Luis Obispo,CA 93406. Letters may be edited for space.

Cambria’s mercury problem

Hearty thanks to Lynne Harkins forwriting and to the Santa Lucian forpublishing her essay, “CambriaActivists & Mercury Put Desal Plan inRetrograde,” in the February 2010issue. Ms. Harkins has been diligentlyinvestigating the mercury contamina-tion of Santa Rosa Creek (she neglectsto give herself due credit in theessay). My grateful applause to herand the Santa Lucia Chapter of theSierra Club for their cooperation inthat study. So often those insisting on thor-ough environmental analysis of thecomponents of the proposed desalina-tion plant get called “nay sayers” byone or another CCSD director,

In February, the California Department of Food and Agriculture was preparingto set out “twist tie” pesticide traps for the light brown apple moth around theNipomo Mesa. The plan came to an abrupt halt shortly after a citizens’ group inDavis filed suit to stop the twist tie plan there. The suit charges that CDFA is violating state law by proceeding with applemoth treatments before completing the Environmental Impact Report on theapple moth program that two judges ordered in the spring of 2008. CDFA’s abrupt postponement of twist ties in Nipomo came one day after theannouncement that they would be deployed; no reason was given for thepostponement. Twist ties were proposed for Davis last month. UC scientists say that the moth likely has been in the state for up to 30years. There has been no documented damage in the state from the applemoth. Damage to three berry fields in Watsonville last year has been widelyexaggerated in media reports and attributed to the apple moth even though themoth larvae found in the fields could not be positively identified. A recent report by a team of scientists from New Zealand concluded that theapple moth is a minor pest in New Zealand, responsible for crop damage of lessthan 2% over 100 years, and is readily controlled there mainly by naturalpredator insects. CDFA’s proposed program, in contrast, relies on a suite ofchemical and other methods in residential communities as well as agriculturalareas across the state. CDFA and federal officials are also imposing LBAMquarantines that create significant hardship for nurseries and farmers. In September, the National Academy of Sciences released a report on theprogram that concluded it was not based on robust science and that agricultureofficials had made numerous flawed assumptions in building a case for theprogram. The pheromone pesticide in twist ties may be toxic to aquaticspecies, and the draft EIR for the program notes that it could harm birds ifingested, and affect “closely related” species attracted to the chemicals,including butterflies.

because we don’t agree with theboard. I’ve decided to call LynneHarkins a Champion Nay Sayer. Shesays no to over-consumption ofnatural resources, no to ignorance ofhow humans have damaged theenvironment, no to continuedendangering of species, no to greedylife styles, no to releasing toxicchemicals. The nay list goes on. Thanks, Lynne Harkins, SantaLucian, and so many others, for beingChampion Nay Sayers, all for the sakeof a resounding Yes! to responsibilityfor the Earth’s welfare.

Elizabeth BettenhausenCambria

More than eighty people took advantage of the opportunity to hear what the county’s major environmental groups are up to at Sierra Club’s first Environmen-talists Rendezvous on January 26. Representatives of the Mothers for Peace, Audubon Society, ECOSLO, Morro Bay National Estuary Program, SLO LandConservancy, Pacific Wildlife Care, Surfrider and Sierra Club discussed their projects and plans for 2010 with the SRO crowd at Steynberg Gallery.

Our Environmental Rendezvous Packs Steynberg Gallery

Beach is now a resort that everyonecan enjoy. Those who want to drive theirvehicles on the beach must enterfrom Grover Beach or Oceano “passthrough” areas. If vehicles on thebeach were an economic asset to acommunity, why hasn’t a Pismo styleboom hit Oceano or Grover? Theanswer is simple: This is not aneconomic asset. Let’s look at those who drivemotorcycles and ATVs on the beach.Most of them don’t live here. Theycome in their rigs and sleep in themor on the beach. They don’t sleep inmotels. If they did, there would bemotels in Grover Beach and Oceanofor them to use. They bring their ownfood and cook it on the beach or intheir RVs. I’ve seen some of themeating a celebratory meal in the IHOPon Grand Avenue as a last stop beforethey leave town. But the IHOP closed a month ago.Businesses open on Grand Avenuebased on the expectation that some ofthe thousands of people who drivedown it each day will stop in and buysomething, but the failure rate ofGrand Avenue businesses is an

embarrassment. KFC is gone, as areother restaurants too numerous tolist. Even beer bars come and go. Businesses on Pier Avenue, exceptthe ATV rental places, suffer evenmore than those on Grand. PierAvenue is little more than an on-rampfor the beach, with backed up trafficblocking driveways and cross streets.On weekends, there is constant noiseand pollution. They might buy gas on their wayout of town for the trip home, ormaybe not. Only pennies on the dollarspent for gas stays here for localgovernment to use. They buy theirRVs, ATVs, motorcycles, riding gear,food, gas, and other paraphernaliawhere they live, not here. They maybe big spenders, but they don’t spendbig here. Use your own common sense, anddo not be fooled by the lobbying ofthe thrill-seeking ATV users fromelsewhere. Vehicles on the beach arenot good for business or the wellbeing of the people who live here.

Evelyn Delany was SLO CountyDistrict 3 Supervisor 1985-1997,County Planning Commissioner1978-1984, Pismo Beach PlanningCommissioner 1975-1978, and PismoBeach Parks and Recreation Commis-sioner 1972-1974.

LBAM!

Oceano Dunescontinued from page 7

The state has hit a wall in its rush to eradicate the light brown

apple moth, which doesn’t seem to need to be eradicated

10


How Are They Doing?continued from page 5

municipalities were stepping up tothe plate (no pun intended) while SLOpondered its options. San FranciscoMayor Gavin Newsom partnered witha local food advocacy non-profit toform the Urban-Rural Roundtable, agroup of 50 City officials, environ-mentalists, and regional food activiststasked with devising future recom-mendations for the success of a Localand Healthy Food ProcurementPolicy. A similar effort is underway inLos Angeles. Last June, MayorNewsom issued a Healthy andSustainable Food Directive, the firstphase of implementation of a localsustainable food policy. The directive requires eight majordepartments to conduct audits of landunder their jurisdiction to identifyland suitable for gardening, and newhealth and sustainability measures forfood vendors under city permits. Witha nod to the Woodbury Countypolicies that we pointed out to theSLO Supervisors over a year ago, theSan Francisco directive also mandatesa “healthy meetings policy” for allCity meetings and purchase of onlyhealthy and locally produced food,and creates an ordinance requiringfood purchased by the City to belocally grown (within a 200-mileradius) using sustainable methods. Per Green Cities California (GCC), acoalition of ten local governmentsthroughout the state that haveimplemented groundbreakingenvironmental policies, “Future,more general expectations incorpo-rated in the policy are the improve-ment of healthy food distribution tolow-income neighborhoods andresidents; the promotion of urbanagriculture through community,backyard, rooftop, and school gar-dens; the creation of green jobs andsupport of local food business; and theadvancement of public educationconcerning healthy and local foodchoices.” And, just as we suggested to the

Message 5: Renewable Energy

Our last Message to the New Boardwas about energy policy, specificallythe use of the biggest tool inCalifornia’s tool box to move commu-nities into a renewable energy future:AB 117. This bill, the CommunityChoice Act, made possible Commu-nity Choice Aggregation (CCA), whichgalvanizes the creation of incentivestoward emission reductions, thewidespread use of clean, renewableenergy, a revitalized local economy,and improved public health. Implementing CCA is the best wayto create a market for clean, greenenergy by pooling the buying powerof municipalities in aggregate andallowing them to increase the amountof renewable energy in their localenergy purchase mix. It also puts ratesetting under local control andgenerally delivers power at rates atleast 20 percent less than whatinvestor-owned utilities charge. Early in 2009, things were notlooking good for local implementa-

SLO County Supervisors, San Fran-cisco has created a Food PolicyCouncil to carry out the goals of thenew policy. The Council consists ofeight City departments, representa-tives from the Food Security TaskForce, Southeast Food AccessWorking Group, Tenderloin HungerTask Force, San Francisco UnifiedSchool District, and individuals withexpertise in urban agriculture,nutrition and food retail. Local food may be our strongestpath to economic recovery. And with7 out of 10 of the primary causes ofdeath related to food, change isimperative. The Board could convenea summit with cities and communitygroups such as CCAN, HEAL SLO,Farm Bureau, SARC, EcoSlo and theSierra Club to begin implementationof a food systems council, including afood systems assessment and farm toschool programs. Final grade: SF has a plan, not tomention Woodbury County, Iowa.Where’s ours? C

tion of this vital policy. The SLOCouncil of Governments, a body thatincludes all County Supervisors,allowed a CCA feasibility study to bepostponed and tabled into oblivion.That’s bad. But then the County commenced a20-year update of our Conservationand Open Space Element (COSE) thatspecifically mandates a full evaluationof CCA in the quest for “a cost-effective and low-risk strategy toincrease use of renewable energy.”That’s good. But now, Jekyll & Hyde style,County Planning staff is urging theSupervisors to either delete allreferences to “local energy” from thefinal draft of the COSE or define localenergy as “energy produced in thecounty,” a definition so broad as to bemeaningless. That’s bad. The electric elephant in the room(why do elephants spend so muchtime in rooms?) is the arch foe of

CCA, the Pacific Gas & ElectricCompany. Seeing CCA as a competitorpeeling away ratepayers, PG&E hasused its considerable resources as anenergy monopoly to fight every CCAprogram that has been broughtforward in California. In April 2008,the utility was forced to file a settle-ment agreement with the PublicUtilities Commission after the SanJoaquin Valley Power Authoritycomplained about PG&E’s conduct inseeking to undermine and interferewith the SJVPA’s community choiceaggregation program. The SanFrancisco district attorney is nowcontemplating legal action againstPG&E’s violations of the provisions ofAB 117 as the utility seeks to hamperCCA implementation in both SanFrancisco and Marin Counties. Proposition 16, headed for theNovember ballot, is a PG&E-backedinitiative that would amend the stateconstitution to require a two-thirdsvote of the community before acommunity choice plan could be putinto effect. Yes, PG&E wants the samemechanism that cripples the statebudget process every year placedbetween you and your right to chooseyour energy service – with PG&Epouring cash into the defeat ofcommunity choice in every suchelection, essentially killing off CCA forgood statewide. As Sierra ClubCalifornia has observed, “communi-ties don’t need a vote every time theydecide who’s going to collect thegarbage or pave the roads.” Interviewed by New Times lastSeptember, Supervisors Patterson,Hill and Gibson appeared to grasp theproblem. All condemned the PG&Eballot initiative (which will appear onyour ballot as the “New Two-ThirdsRequirement for Local Public Elec-tricity Providers”), calling it “the mostanti-competitive act I could imagine”(Hill), a way to “limit communitiesfrom exercising local choices forenergy independence” (Patterson),and a move “to stifle competition”that “just rubs me the wrong way”(Gibson). But in their own jurisdiction, thebig question is whether the Boardmajority comprehends just how deepPG&E’s tentacles extend into localinstitutions, businesses, nonprofitsand government. (As a member of theStrategic Energy Alliance for Change,a broad-based SLO county coalitionadvocating for clean energy solutions,PG&E has forbidden even the men-tion of CCA at any SEA Changesponsored educational event orworkshop.) It’s no surprise that a utility thathas earmarked millions of dollars todefeat community choice would exertits influence in every way possible.Before push comes to shove over CCAhere, as it has in San Francisco andMarin, it remains to be seen whetherour elected officials are up for thefight over public power. Final grade: They have the generalidea. B

pulled from the fabric, the currentrhythm of runs and transfers wouldfall apart. I know that drivers sometimes see abus going by with only a few heads inthe window and think: “What awaste!” But what they are seeing maybe a bus near the emptying end of afull run. They may be seeing a bustraveling in a “deadhead” direction,getting back to where it filled beforeand will fill again. Rest assured thatthe system as a whole is USED andNEEDED. If we are to live up to the lip servicein our general plans, our “SustainableCommunities Strategy,” our endlesstalk sessions about “transit-orienteddevelopment” and “Vision 2050,” weneed to be protecting transit, notdismantling it. Despite the assault from the state,there is no financial excuse forcutting the service (or for underpay-ing the employees). The one remain-ing funding source, in addition tofares, is local TDA, a quarter cent oflocally collected sales tax. PublicTransit has first call on this source(and in more urbanized places gets itall except for 2% off the top forbikeways), but in this county, millionsof dollars a year get diverted from

transit to road work. In the currentfiscal year, the total diverted – in theCounty and all cities — is over $3million; the county’s share of diver-sion is $1.3 million. The main excusefor not tapping this source is thatsome jurisdictions actually do use alltheir eligible TDA for transit (SanLuis Obispo and Morro Bay top thehonor roll; Paso Robles is gettingclose) and the discussion aboutfunding the regional system alwayscollides with the question of whetherit is fair to make these jurisdictionscontribute more than their TDA to dotheir share. But every jurisdictionthat doesn’t should feel PRIVILEGEDto live up to the language of theirpolicy documents, and to supportwhat they pay lip service to. We owe the RTA Board thanks fornot making major cuts yet, but wemust hold firm against adoption of apolicy that will soon make cutsroutine. March 3rd, 8:30 am, CountyGovernment Center is where thedecision will take place; imagine thecrowd if the proposal were to closeevery county road that got less than75% of average traffic! If you believe that the mobility ofnon-drivers is equally important, youcan show up in support of those withthe smallest ecological footprints. Youcan even get to this hearing by bus!

Cutting Remarkscontinued from page 8


CYNTHIA HAWLEY

ATTORNEY

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

LAND USE

CIVIL LITIGATION

P.O. Box 29 Cambria California 93428

Phone 805-927-5102 Fax 805-927-5220

ClassifiedsNext issue deadline is March 12. To

get a rate sheet or submit your ad

and payment, contact:

Sierra Club - Santa Lucia Chapter

P.O. Box 15755

San Luis Obispo, CA 93406

[email protected]

541-2716 [email protected]

Law Offices of Jan Howell MarxA Client Centered Practice

BusinessMediation

Environmental LawElder LawReal Estate

Wills and Trusts

Got Graywater if You Want ItThe Sierra Club has on hand alimited supply of The San LuisObispo Guide to the Use ofGraywater, the new manual pro-duced by the Appropriate Tech-nology Coalition -- SLO GreenBuild, the Santa Lucia Chapter ofthe Sierra Club and the San LuisBay Chapter of Surfrider. Graywater systems turn a wasteproduct that can comprise up to80% of residential wastewater into avaluable resource for irrigation andother non-potable uses. Harvestinggraywater to meet your non-potablewater needs utilizes an appropriatetechnology that can recover initialcosts quickly. No permit required.

$10 each, while supplies last. E-mail [email protected], or call (805) 543-8717 to reserve your copy.

Springtime Unveiling

I turn my focus awayFrom the music and chatter in my headTo the more elemental worldOf leaf buds and spider websAnd from that choiceWhat delight I feelTo simply noticeThe many bird voices of the morningThe great dampness of my muddy shoesThe warm sun bathing my eyelidsAnd the pretty pattern of a finch’s wings.

A soft spring bud pokes out from a branchIts skin, cracked open, reveals a birth of bunny tail whiteness.

A single bare tree stirs my soulI admire its uncovered anatomyMagnificent in its unique designIts layout of branches is simple, perfect architecture;Its outstretched limbs resemble handprints.

The frame of a naked treereminds me of my own inner beautyuncloaked.

Kalila VolkovJan. 2010

12


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

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.

They’re here, they’re gorgeous, you have to have

one for your desk, one for your wall, and a great

many more for friends and family! And when

you buy direct from the Chapter, you support the

Sierra Club’s conservation work in

San Luis Obispo County.

wall calendar: $12.50 $9.00

desk calendar: $13.50 $9.00

To order, call 543-7051

2010 Sierra Club Calendars

All our hikes and activities are open to all Club members and the general public. If you have any suggestionsfor hikes or outdoor activities, questions about the Chapter’s outing policies, or would like to be an outingsleader, call Outings Chair Joe Morris, 772-1875. For information on a specific outing, please call the outingleader.

CA’s Channel Islands are Galapagos USA! Marvel at the sight of whales, seals,sea lions, rare birds & blazing wildflowers. Hike the wild, windswept trails.Kayak the rugged coastline. Snorkel in pristine waters. Discover remnants ofthe Chumash people who lived on these islands for thousands of years. Or justrelax at sea. These 3 & 4-day “live aboard” fundraiser cruises are sponsored bythe Angeles Chapter Political Committee & Sierra Club California PoliticalCommittee. Depart from Santa Barbara aboard the 68’ Truth. $590 for May andSep; $785 for July & August, includes an assigned bunk, all meals, snacks &beverages, plus the services of a ranger/naturalist who will travel with us tolead hikes on each island and point out interesting features. To make a reserva-tion mail a$100 checkpayable toSierra Club toleaders JoanJones Holtz &Don Holtz,11826 The WyeSt., El Monte,CA 91732.Contactleaders formore informa-tion (626-443-0706; [email protected])

LAST CHANCE DISCOUNT

Island Hopping in Channel Islands National ParkMay 7-9; Jul 16-19; Aug 6-9; Sep 10-12.

sold out

Sat-Sun, March 6-7, Death ValleyNational Park Exploratory Tour. Experience some of the many won-ders in this national park. Beginningin Shoshone on Saturday morning,we will travel north on Hwy 178 witha stop at Badwater, and do easy two-mile hikes at Natural Bridge andGolden Canyon. Camp at TexasSprings ($14/site). If time allows,drive to Zabriskie Point and Dante’sView. Sunday morning, visit themuseum and visitor center in FurnaceCreek, see the rare pupfish at SaltCreek, and take a two-mile hike to thehighest sand dune. Possible hike intoMosaic Canyon. For those who wantto stay Sunday night, camp atStovepipe Wells ($12/site). Option ofprimitive camping on Friday night. For reservations, contact leader, CarolWiley at [email protected] orcall (760-245-8734). CNRCC DesertCommittee.

Sunday March 7, 10 a.m. EagleRock Nature Trail. Pole Cats isdedicated to leading local Sierra Clubday hikes and modeling the benefitsof using trekking poles. 2.2 miles/720feet elevation change. The trailhead islocated across from Cuesta College atEl Chorro Regional Park. From SLO,take Highway 1 North and turn east(right) at the first of two turn signalsto El Chorro Regional Park. Followthe signs to the Day Use area, passingthe ball fields and Botanical Garden.Park in the Day Use area at the end ofthe road, just before the locked gate.Confirm with David Georgi [email protected] 458-5575for upcoming activities. Bipedswelcome.

Saturday, March 13,9 a.m. Canoe/Kayak Morro Bay Sand Spit Hike. Let’s go for a paddle and beach combthe sand spit. Bring your kayak, andwe will launch from Morro Bay StatePark marina behind the Bayside Cafe,do a short paddle across bay to sandspit, and then walk for about anhour. Be at marina by 9 a.m., launch-ing by 9:30. PFDs are requiredwearing. Bring hat, sunscreen, water. Rain/high winds cancel. Pleasereserve/confirm at least 1 day inadvance: Leader, Mike Simms, 459-1701 or [email protected].

Saturday, March 13, 10 a.m.Rinconada Trail. Join us on a hike toBell Mountain via the Rinconada Trailin the Los Padres Nat. Forest, passingthrough oak woodland and chaparralto a ridge-top saddle with 360-degreeviews. Lunch on the mountain top. 4 miles rt with 800 ft. gain, durationabout 4-5 hrs. Naturalist leader willdiscuss local plants, animals, and areageology. Bring water, hat, sack lunch,and dress in layers for weather. Meetat trailhead, about 10 miles east ofHwy 101, on Pozo Rd. (3 miles pastturnoff for Santa Margarita Lake, 25miles from SLO). For info orridesharing, contact Bill Waycott at459-2103 or at [email protected]. Asst.: Joe Morris.

Sat-Sun, March 13-14, FenceRemoval, Hiking, Carcamp - CarrizoPlain. Come help remove fences onthe Cal Dept of Fish and GameReserve. At this time of year, the

Carrizo may be turning green, and ifthe winter has been wet, there shouldbe wildflowers. Work Saturday, campand potluck dinner that evening. Hike Sunday. Bring leather gloves,warm clothes with long sleeves andlegs, dish for potluck on Saturdaynight. Leaders will be at Selby Campon Friday night for those who want toarrive early. Leaders: Cal and LettyFrench, (805-239-7338). Prefer [email protected]. Santa LuciaChapter and CNRCC Desert Commit-tee.

Sat-Wed, March 13-17, Death ValleyPhoto Trip. Join retired photogra-pher & teacher Graham Stafford on acar camp trip to Death Valley, aphotographer’s wonderland. VisitEureka Dunes, dunes at Stove PipeWells, dunes at Saratoga Springs, theRacetrack, and Artist Drive. All levelsof photography experience accepted—beginners encouraged. Lessons withclass handouts will cover all aspects ofyour digital camera and generalphotography. See Graham’s work atwww.grahamstafford.com. Leader:Graham Stafford (775)[email protected]. GreatBasin Group-Toiyabe Chapter.

Sat., March 20, 8 a.m. Corral Rocks.Come take a 10 – 13 mile, withunknown elevation gain, as this is anexploratory hike on the AvenalesRanch East of Pozo. We should haveplenty of wildflowers, and pleasantweather. Bring lunch, water, sturdyhiking shoes, and plan to be out allday. Meet at the Pacific BeverageCompany in Santa Margarita. This isnot a beginner’s hike. Limit 20people. For details, reservations andmeeting place call Gary (473-3694)(5e) Rain or threat of rain cancels.

Wednesday, March 24 and 31, 5:30p.m. Informal Hikes Around SanLuis Obispo. 1 to 2 hour hike aroundSan Luis Obispo. 5 - 6 mile hikes withelevation gain around 1200 feet. Formore information or to sign up forHikers List send an e-mail to GaryFelsman.

Wed., Mar. 24, 7-9 pm. BimonthlyGeneral Meeting: Spring Wildflowersof SLO County. Matt Ritter, Directorof the Cal Poly Plant Conservatoryand Professor of Botany, presents our

local flora and gives tips on where tofind the best blooms in our grass-lands, beaches, forests, andwetlands. Come for a beautifulshow with this celebrated speaker andphotographer. He will also brieflydescribe some current projects of theConservatory. An especially popularslide program, not to miss! Meets atSteynberg Gallery, 1531 Monterey St.,SLO. Info: Joe Morris, 772-1875.

Sat., Mar. 27, 8:30 a.m. CruikshankTrail to Lion Den. Join the leader onthis beautiful hike in southern BigSur to welcome the beginning ofspring. Great canyon and coastlineviews. This is a 12-mile hike withabout 3000 ft. of gain, not for begin-ners. Plan on an all-day excursion,great way to celebrate the timechange. Meet at the Washburn dayuse area of San Simeon StatePark. Entrance is a right turn a fewhundred yards past the HamletRestaurant at the north end ofCambria. There is a possibility ofticks and poison oak. Bring plenty ofwater, snacks, lunch, and dress for theweather. We will refuel at the MainStreet Grill in Cambria after the hike. For info, call Chuck at 805-441-7597.

Documents

March 2010 Lucian - Sierra Club · 2015. 4. 30. · 2 Santa Lucian • March 2010 Change of Address? Mail changes to: Sierra Club National Headquarters 85 Second Street, 2nd Floor