YOU Can Make a Difference; Read How in This eNewsletter
► You've won a victory! Court ruled for Loma Prieta against Santa Clara Valley Water District.
► Local Environmental Hero has been announced as 2023 Guardians of Nature Honoree.
► Recently Published: your 2022 Chapter Summary! See what your support of the Loma Prieta Chapter made possible in 2022 (and previously)!
► Take a hike! See what activities are available with your chapter.
► Join our Environmental Stewardship Program 8.0 for thought-provoking educational presentations and opportunities to take local action to protect our environment.
► Do you receive too much Sierra Club email? Probably >90% is from Sierra Club National, while very little is from your Loma Prieta Chapter that protects local nature. You can control what you receive, keeping the few monthly communications about local work from your Chapter. Look below for the simple tutorial.
► Find ways to protect local nature: Landscaper Certification Classes in Spanish or English, Learn Environmental Stewardship, Be inspired by local activist Lisa Barboza, Preserve & Restore San Francisco Bay, Combat Toxic Chemicals, Discover Water Justice, Donate a vehicle, Join Environmental Book Club, Learn about Home Electrification and Find Electric Appliance Rebates, Boycott Dirty Banks, Photographers needed, Historians/Documentarians needed, Consider Your Legacy, Join a Creek Cleanup, learn Hiking Pole use for Veterans. |
BIG NEWS! YOU had a significant victory in court this month.
On Thursday, May 18th, the Court found that Valley Water violated environmental review requirements for the geotechnical investigations needed to build the proposed, controversial, and expensive Pacheco Dam Project.
The Coalition filed a petition in June 2022, which was later amended to include the Amuh Mutson Tribal Band and Sierra Club, that challenged Valley Water’s decision to avoid environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The Court ruling against Valley Water’s attempt to exempt the project from CEQA is a huge win. As a result, a proper environmental review of the extensive geotechnical activities needed to complete the engineering of the new dam must now be conducted.
Sign the petition: No EPA Funding for Destructive New Dam on Pacheco Pass, California |
Volunteer Spotlight: Outings Champion Lisa Barboza
For the past 20 years, Lisa has climbed thousands of peaks around the world, as well as in the Sierra Nevada, finishing the Sierra Peak Section List of 247 peaks in 2014. At the time that she completed the SPS list, only 74 individuals worldwide, of whom only 4 were women, were finishers. Lisa hopes to have a positive impact on the environment and set an example for like minded younger individuals.
Read Aneri's full article about Lisa's environmental journey |
Would you like to be more infuential for local environment protection?
Are you an aspiring leader of a local environmental justice community looking to partner with other local environmental groups?
Do you have non-profit leadership experience, or would like to (fund-raising, conservation, environmental politics)?
Consider joining leadership of the local chapter of the nation's largest, oldest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with 80,000 local supporters.
Five ‘at-large’ positions will be elected at the end of this year to serve for two years.
Click here to read here to find out more about the position.
Contact the Nominating Committee by emailing both Nathan Chan (chan.nathan.th@gmail.com) and Lisa Barboza (lisa.barboza@gmail.com) |
Join us for an exciting evening in honor of Florence LaRiviere, who has dedicated half a century to advocating for the protection of San Francisco Bay wetlands and has been instrumental in establishing the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge and protecting Bair Island. Enjoy delicious food and wine while reconnecting with your fellow Sierrans, community leaders and other friends of the Chapter. Secure your spot here. Find more about sponsorship opportunities here.
To volunteer at the event, please email our development coordinator Justyna Guterman.
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Wetlands Rise to the Challenge
Some Coastal Development Will Not Survive Sea-Level Rise but Marshes Help Buffer and Protect
Humanity often relies on concrete seawalls to protect our coastal communities, but these expensive solutions require constant maintenance, and will eventually fail.
Natural systems, however, can sustain themselves while protecting us from sea level rise.
Click here to read the full article about how wetlands can rise to the challenge of sea level rise.
Interested in how you can help your community pursue nature-based solutions to sea level rise? Click here to learn about how you can get involved in our Bay Alive Campaign. |
How Sea Level Rise Poses a Looming Threat to San Leandro's Underground Infrastructure
"Below ground, tidal water pushes through the city’s pipes that were built to pump stormwater in the opposite direction."
“We’re fighting the tide and fighting nature,” O’Donnell, [a maintenance supervisor for San Leandro] said. “It’s a bit of an uphill battle. There’s no pump we can install underground to hold the bay back at high tide.”
"These pipes — and other below-ground infrastructure — which already periodically flood during high tides could become more routinely inundated as the bay continues to rise because of human-caused climate change."
Click here to read the full article.
Interested in how you can help your community pursue nature-based solutions to sea level rise? Click here to learn about how you can get involved in our Bay Alive Campaign. |
Our friends at the California Native Plant Society have opened another round of
free California Native Plant Landscaper Certification training in Spanish starting July 11. The class has nine sessions of two hours each, with eight of those classes being taught live online and the final one in-person in the Bay Area. Find more about the course |
Cleaner Places Leads to Happier Faces! - Creek and Trail Cleanup
Location: Viet Heritage Garden
Sat July 8th
9AM to 12PM
Help Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful and Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society work together to beautify the Coyote Creek and trail through a community cleanup.
Click here to RSVP |
See what YOU have achieved! Your 2022 Loma Prieta Chapter Summary Is Here!
"Explore & Enjoy" great photography, great stories, great successes, and great opportunities!
Your gifts dedicated specifically to the Loma Prieta Chapter are fully used to support our local work for clean air and water, and to protect local wildlands and wildlife, so we are grateful to all our donors. With great appreciation, we present our 2022 Chapter Summary, highlighting the work which you have inspired and enabled. We hope that what you read will fill you with pride and joy!
BTW, please notice your chapter's new & locally created 90th Anniversary logo! |
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Environmental Stewardship Program 8.0
Applications Open for 2023
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After a pandemic-induced hiatus of 3 years, we are resuming our highly successful Environmental Stewardship Program, which provided participants with thought-provoking educational presentations and opportunities to take action. ESP graduates have gone on to run for office and have assumed leadership positions in their local communities, including leadership roles in the Sierra Club. This year’s Environmental Stewardship Program (ESP) 8.0 will focus on critical environmental issues, and we will mentor participants who choose to work on advocacy projects. Click here for more information about ESP 8.0 and to apply.
Click here to learn about the environmental journey of ESP alumnus Mary. |
Redwood City Residents: Electric Leaf Blower Rebates are Available!
Residents are eligible for up to a $250 rebate on a newly purchased electric leaf blower.
Businesses with an active Redwood City business license are eligible for up to a $500 rebate on a newly purchased electric leaf blower.
Residents are eligible for up to a $250 rebate on a newly purchased piece of electric lawn care equipment, (string trimmers, hedge trimmers, edger, or tiller/cultivator).
Click here to apply and for more details. |
Take a hike! Here's what's available with your Loma Prieta Chapter.
Note: regardless of the name/origin of the outing section, all are welcome!
Wed 6/28/23, 9:30 AM. New location: Hike Windy Hill OSP
Wed 7/5/23, 10:00 AM. Hike Huddart County Park
Thu 7/6/23, 10:00 AM. Hike Edgewood County Park
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Your Recent Victory! Court Rules Valley Water Violated CEQA, Mandates Environmental Review for Pacheco Dam Project
Stopping the destructive, expensive and unneeded Pacheco Reservoir is a high priority for the Loma Prieta Chapter; see article via the link below. Pacheco would primarily hold imported water from the San Francisco Bay Delta. For more information or to get involved, email the Loma Prieta Water Committee water@lomaprieta.sierraclub.org.
https://socalwatersierraclub.org/pacheco-dam-a-prop-1-zombie-project/
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Photo above, from left to right: Lornett Vestal, James Eggers, Mary Buxton, Lisa Barboza, Jayah Paley.
Loma Prieta Chapter Military Outdoors Program
Photo above: May 31st, Executive Committee Members Mary Buxton and Lisa Barboza, as well as Chapter Director James Eggers, attended a special pole hiking training for Executive Committeemembers in the coastal wilds of Pacifica on Wednesday, May 31. Instructor, Jayah Paley, taught best practices in going up and down terrain, stairs, and flat trails as well as pole use safety and etiquette. Lornett Vestal, national coordinator for Sierra Club Military Outdoors, came from Georgia to attend and meet some of our chapter leaders.
Please see this National SC article about Loma Prieta Chapter work.
Sierra Club Military Outdoors (SCMO) program provides training for veterans (and their family members), skills which enable what we call Outdoor RX. Being outside, we are able to experience, and hope to share, the healing power of nature with those who have served our country.
3 levels of training are offered: Pole Walking for Exercise, Pole Hiking and Pole Walking for Balance & Maintaining Mobility. In this episode, we will discuss a few of the many benefits this training provides for those with mobility challenges.
If you know a veteran or service member, please share this information and website: https://www.sierraclub.org/loma-prieta/military-outdoors |
You can help combate toxic "forever chemicals" by joining our Beyond Plastic Group.
EPA's big deal upcoming regulation not to contaminate water with PFAS chemicals, also known as forever chemicals, will result in a massive industrial overhaul and lead to less use of these chemicals because health effects are now known through movies like Dark Water. To volunteer to work with our Beyond Plastic group, contact Dr Sue Chow at sue.chow@lomaprieta.sierraclub.org |
Help require big companies and investment managers to disclose climate information
Financial regulators are hoping to force big companies and investment managers to disclose climate information. If you'd like to join local grassroots effective work to make these changes happen, please contact Sue Chow, sue2042@gmail.com
Loma Prieta Chapter, Chair of Environmental Legislative Action Committee |
Loma Prieta Chapter's Environmental Book Club Reading List for 2023
To join, contact Gladwyn d'Souza
June: Euphoria by Lily King
July: The Flag The Cross, And The Station Wagon by Bill McKibben.
August: Rescuing the Planet- protecting half the land to heal the earth by Tony Hiss.
September: The New Wilderness by Diane Cook
October: There Are No Accidents- the deadly rise injury and disaster, who profits, and who pays the price by Jessie Singer
November: Bicycling with Butterflies by Sara Dykman
December: How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue |
Sierra Club California has released their 2023 Priority Bill List!
Sierra Club California (SC CA) is the legislative arm for the 13 local Sierra Club chapters in California. As bills move through the legislature, things change. Some bills are weakened and some are strengthened. SC CA will update the priority bill list with the status and relevant changes for each bill, and also add or remove bills as necessary. The legislature moves quickly, so watch the list as it is updated and keep an eye on the legislation page. |
Looking to electrify but don't know where to start? Begin here!
The Switch is On provides the resources you'll need to electrify your home, click here!. Explore the benefits of an all-electric home and learn about how you can swap from gas to electric!
Incentives are available! Click here to learn more. This tool allows you to find the right incentives that apply to you. |
From Loma Prieta Chapter's friends at Nuestra Casa
What Is Water Justice?
The latest Ventana Abierta is all about water justice and East Palo Alto. Nuestra Casa's program director and host, Vicky Avila Medrano, interviews our water justice program coordinator, Rosa Nelson. They talk about the history, sources, and quality of drinking water in East Palo Alto.
Click here to watch it on Youtube |
Rebates for electric applicances
Peninsula Clean Energy is providing homeowners in San Mateo County and the City of Los Banos interest-free financing and new rebates to install electric appliances and make other energy-efficiency upgrades.
The agency’s new Zero Percent Loan program will provide interest-free financing for as much as $10,000 per home for projects that include installation of electric heat pump equipment, including water heaters and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) units. Gas-powered equipment will not be eligible for the financing. |
Do You Need Space to Spread Your Wings?
Donate a Vehicle to Support the Critical Local Environmental Work of Your Chapter.
It’s easy to give and the pick-up is free; just call 844-6-SIERRA or 844-674-3772 or give online at https://careasy.org/nonprofit/Sierra-Club-Foundation-Loma-Prieta-Chapter.
If you would like to donate a Mazda Miata, please contact your Chapter Director directly.
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One of the best ways to safeguard a thriving and just future is by ensuring that your Loma Prieta Chapter remains a champion for the environment of Santa Clara, San Mateo, and San Benito Counties. Naming us as a beneficiary in your bequest will provide meaningful and enduring resources that will allow continued local and powerful environmental activism.
Please contact our Chapter Development Coordinator Justyna Guterman at justyna.guterman@sierraclub.org for the specific language for your estate planning and/or read more here. For additional information about planning a bequest please contact Julia Curtis at julia.curtis@sierraclub or (800) 932-4270.
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In Case You Missed It
IN THE NEWS
Why Sierra Club's Ben Jealous is Targeting Red States
Future Forests of America
Planes, Trains, and Decarbonization
Found Objects
New Study Finds Increase in California Forest Fires Over the Past Half-century is Attributable to Human-caused Climate Change
Photographers, see the great images in our Chapter Annual Summaries and help protect local nature with your images! Share with us your high-resolution photos of local nature, with or without people, to inspire local residents to support Loma Prieta Chapter work. Please contact Chapter Development Coordinator Justyna Guterman, justyna.guterman@sierraclub.org
History fans, your Loma Prieta Chapter has been on the front lines of many progressive movements so our rich inspirational history needs to be documented. If this interests you, please contact your Chapter Director, BA History, James.Eggers@SierraClub.org.
Music fans, the Loma Prieta Chapter was the first in the Sierra Club to establish a Spotify Channel. Ours is for music SINCE 2000 that advocates for the environment. Please send suggestions to your Chapter Director at James.Eggers@SierraClub.org
Too much Sierra Club email? You have control! See this simple tutorial.
How can local cities and residents use nature-based adaptations to sea level rise? Watch recordings of our recent webinar series with SF Bay experts and share with your local elected officials!
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Your Loma Prieta Chapter is 90 Years Strong
We were founded June 18th, 1933, at Hidden Villa
What other important events happened in 1933?
1933, July 6 – First Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Comiskey Park in Chicago.
Keep reading the Loma Prieta Chapter eNewsletter this year to discover much more!
If you know of important local events that happened that year, then please let us know.
Other historic events in June/July
June 29, 1906, Mesa Verda National Park established
July 9, 1970: creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
July 10th, 1856, Nicola Tesla's B'day
July 12th, 1817, H. D. Thoreau's B'day
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June 5, 1916, birth of Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, who wrote
"We may have democracy or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both."
June 5, birth of John Maynard Keynes, who wrote
"Capitalism is the astonishing belief that the nastiest motives of the nastiest men somehow or other work for the best results in the best of all possible worlds."
June 13, 1936, birthday of Peter Raven, who said
"I think biology must be one of the most satisfying careers because the things you are studying are so absolutely and endlessly real and interesting and directly important. You never have to doubt the validity and interest of what you are doing."
June 19, 1623, birth of Blaise Pascal, who wrote in Pensees,
"There is light enough for those who wish to see,
And darkness enough for those of the opposite disposition."
June 26, 1892, birthdate of Pearl Buck, who wrote
"If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday."
June 27, 1880, birth of Helen Keller, who wrote
"The marvelous richness of human experience would lose something of rewarding joy if there were no limitations to overcome. The hilltop hour would not be half so wonderful if there were no dark valleys to traverse."
July 12,1817, birth of Henry David Thoreau, who wrote in Walden,
“I have no doubt that it is a part of the destiny of the human race, in its gradual improvement, to leave off eating animals, as surely as savage tribes have left off eating each other when they came in contact with the more civilized.”
Also in Walden, “One farmer says to me, 'You cannot live on vegetable food solely, for it furnishes nothing to make bones with; and so he religiously devotes a part of his day to supplying his system with the raw material of bones; walking all the while he talks behind his oxen, which, with vegetable-made bones, jerk him and his lumbering plow along in spite of every obstacle.” |
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Thank you to our 2022 Guardians on Nature Benefit Sponsors
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| The COVID-19 crisis has not passed and continues to disproportionately harm Black, Indigenous, and Latinx people and other communities of color. The pandemic has revealed how the communities hardest hit are often the same communities that suffer from high levels of pollution and poor access to healthcare. The fight for environmental justice cannot be separated from the fight for racial justice. |
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