California Ivory Ban May Get New Teeth
Gearing up for November 2016 Plastic Bag Ban Fight
Island Hopping in Channel Islands National Park in 2015
Be a Team Leader and Support Us on Climate Ride California!
California Ivory Ban May Get New Teeth
By Edward Moreno
A bill to add teeth to the state’s ivory ban, which has been in place since 1977, is scheduled to be heard before the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife (WPW) next week on March 10 in Sacramento.
Assembly bill 96, introduced by Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, would close a loophole in the state’s current ivory ban, which has made it impossible for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to enforce the law. It will also extend the ban to protect the rhinoceros.
Elephants and rhinos are being poached at alarming rates, driving them closer to extinction. From 2010 to 2012 alone, 100,000 elephants and 1,116 rhinos were slaughtered for their beautiful tusks and horns. At these rates, elephants and rhinos could be wiped from the face of the earth within a decade.
AB 96 can help to prevent such a tragedy by eliminating the market for ivory and rhino horn in California. The current ban makes it unlawful to import, possess with intent to sell, or sell any elephant part. The law exempts elephant parts imported prior to June 1, 1977, a loophole that makes it virtually impossible to enforce as it’s difficult to determine ivory age.
Ivory trafficking has become more than an animal protection concern as it has taken on a human component. According to an 18-month investigation commissioned by the Elephant Action League in 2011, blood money from elephant poaching accounted for 40% of Al Shaabab’s, an Al-Queda affiliate, operating budget. Boko Haram in Nigeria and various other terrorists groups have also been implicated in illegal poaching.
Second only to China in demand, the USA is the next largest market for ivory, with California being the second largest market after New York. Ending the trade in this state is certain to have a tremendous impact on the preservation of these majestic species and on ending terrorism on the global stage.
Join Sierra Club California and its allies at the WPW hearing to support the passage of AB 96 on Tuesday, March 10th at 9:30 at the State Capitol. For more information, contact me, Edward.moreno@sierraclub.org.
Gearing Up for November 2016 Plastic Bag Ban Fight
By Kathryn Phillips
For the second time in less than a decade, California voters will face a ballot measure--largely funded by out-of-state interests--that challenges a California law to improve the state’s environment.
In late February, the Secretary of State’s office determined that a referendum challenging implementation of the statewide ban of grocery store distribution of single-use plastic shopping bags had gathered enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.
The referendum will come before voters in November 2016. It is sponsored by a collection of big plastic manufacturers, mostly based outside California. The companies, led by Hilex Poly of South Carolina, spent more than $3 million to pay for signature gatherers during the 90-day window for gathering about 550,000 signatures to qualify the measure.
The last time big outside interests challenged a state environmental law by ballot was in 2010, when the fossil fuel industry, among others, funded a ballot measure challenging implementation of California’s leading greenhouse gas emissions reduction law. Sierra Club California worked with allies then to ensure that that ballot measure, Proposition 23, was resoundingly defeated.
Sierra Club California now is a member of a coalition, California vs. Big Plastic, composed of environmental groups, labor groups, and grocers who are working to protect the statewide single-use plastic bag ban. This time, we’ll be asking voters to vote “yes” on the referendum to keep in place the ban established by Senate Bill 270 (SB 270), which was signed into law last year.
SB 270 would have required large grocery stores to stop distributing single-use plastic grocery bags to customers this coming July. Smaller grocery and convenience stores would have to stop distribution by July 2016.
Now that the referendum is on the ballot, implementation of the statewide ban stalls, pending the outcome of the November 2016 vote. However, there are more than 120 local ban measures around the state that are already in effect and will remain in effect despite the referendum. Additionally, other cities have lined up to develop local ban ordinances since the news broke that Big Plastic would challenge the statewide law through a referendum.
Plastic bags have become a substantial source of environmental damage, creating ocean waste and harming wildlife. For cities and counties, plastic bags have added to the costs of keeping recycling equipment functioning—the bags gum up the works—and have created a new source of roadside trash that needs to be cleaned up.
A referendum asks a simple question: Does the voter want to keep a law in place? The nature of the question means that to support the statewide plastic bag ban, voters will have to vote “yes” on the referendum. The biggest challenge Sierra Club California and our allies will face on the plastic bag ban referendum is making sure voters understand that a “yes” vote is a vote for the ban.
During signature gathering, we received reports from our members that they had been approached by signature gatherers who provided misleading information about what signing the petition to place a referendum on the ballot would do. Given past experience with Proposition 23, we fear that the out-of-state interests will wage a campaign based on deception and designed to confuse voters.
Shortly after the news that the bag ban referendum would be on the ballot, both the Los Angeles Times and the Sacramento Bee editorialized against Big Plastic’s attempt to overturn the state law. Likewise, the governor’s office, through a spokesperson, condemned the effort to overturn the ban as a cynical ploy by bag manufacturers to delay implementation of the law.
Opinion surveys also show overwhelming public support for banning plastic bags. So, why is Big Plastic investing in a referendum that is likely to just confirm public support for the ban?
The California market for plastic bags is worth more than $100 million a year to the plastic makers. By running the referendum, the industry stands to make more than $150 million between now and November 2016.
If you care more about California’s environment, and the costs to cities and counties to clean up plastic bag waste, than you do about the revenues of Hilex Poly, there are three things you can do right now:
First, if you don’t already do so, take your own reusable bags with you when you go shopping.
Second, if your city doesn’t already have a local single-use plastic bag ban ordinance in place, contact your city councilmember and ask that such an ordinance be introduced.
Third, remember that a “yes” on the November 2016 ballot measure is a “yes” to a clean environment, and start spreading the word to everyone you know who will be voting then.
You can add your name to those who want to keep the statewide ban on plastic bags at the California vs. Big Plastic website.
Island Hopping in Channel Islands National Park in 2015
We still have space on our spring trips - March 28-30, April 5-7 and May 4-6!
Join us for a 3-day, 3-island, live-aboard tour of the enchanting Channel Islands!
We should be treated to dazzling displays of wildflowers. Seals and sea lions will certainly give us a good show and it is also the season for the returning gray whales.
And your tour benefits the political work of Sierra Club California, the environment's strongest voice in the State Capitol. While you are floating about the islands, you will be helping to protect them and other natural resources found only in California.
All cruises depart from Santa Barbara, California. The cost, $615, includes an assigned bunk, all meals, snacks, and beverages plus the services of a ranger/naturalist who will travel with us to help lead hikes, point out items of interest and give evening programs.
To reserve space, send a $100 check, written to Sierra Club, to leader Joan Jones Holtz, 11826 The Wye St., El Monte, CA 91732. For more information contact her at: 626-443-0706 or jholtzhln@aol.com
Enjoy an incredible 5-day bicycle ride on the northern California coast while supporting Sierra Club California by joining Climate Ride.
You’ll pedal with 150 cyclists along 240 miles of stunning redwoods, dramatic coastline and a taste of wine country, from Eureka to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
And you can multiply the fun and adventure by gathering a few friends to come along and becoming a team leader to support the ride and Sierra Club CA.
Being team leader means being the point person for your team. But leading can also be more involved and include coaching, organizing training rides, and group fundraising. It’s all up to you.
If interested in being a team captain, click here for more information.
Climate Ride, a “green conference on wheels,” is a fully supported adventure that raises funds for a collection of non-profits working on sustainability and bike advocacy, including Sierra Club California. This year’s ride is scheduled for May 17 through 21. Click here for ride details.
To get started on this ride, you first must register, reach the fundraising minimum and train for the ride. Then when the ride begins in May, be prepared for amazing riding, epic scenery, great speakers and good fellowship with other bicyclists.
Learn more and register at www.climateride.org.
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