Loma Prieta Chapter eNewsletter: August, Volume 2

August 26, 2023

YOU Can Make a Difference; Read How in This eNewsletter

► Celebrate the closing of Lehigh Cement Plant.

► Learn how to become a Bay Advocate: register today for our free eight-week Bay Advocate Program.

► Read our letter supporting establishment of a municipal utility for electric service.

► Learn about land transformation into vibrant ecosystems, and reintroduction of wildlife to wild places. Register for The Rights of Nature, Conservation, Restoration, and Rewilding webinar.

► Catch up on our recent progress around 30x30.

► Take a hike! See the comprehensive list of activities available with your chapter.

► 2023 Guardians of Nature early bird ticket prices are ending soon. Purchase yours today to celebrate honoree Florence LaRiviere.

► San Francisco Bay needs our help! Learn how to take action.

► Watch the KTVU news clip featuring our Military Outdoors.

► Read "The New Wilderness" with Environmental Book Club.

► Meet Guadalupe Regional Group's new Chair Lisa Barboza.

► Learn about the need for trees in cities to reduce heat; read the article by Sierra Club's Executive Director Ben Jealous.

► Join our friend organizations for local cleanups, BioBlitz's, and other community events, check out the open position at Green Foothills, attend an art exhibit, and more!

► Gain inspiration from local leader Mayra Catalán-Orozco.

The End: Supervisors Approve Agreement
to Close Lehigh Cement Plant

"The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors [...] approved a legally binding agreement between the County and Hansen Permanente Cement, Inc and Lehigh Southwest Cement Company, the corporations that own and operate the Lehigh Cement Plant, respectively, to cease cement production and permanently shutter the company’s cement plant in the County’s foothills."

“The Sierra Club appreciates the County’s focused and sustained leadership toward bringing multi-authority resolution and clarity to a complex environmental situation," said James Eggers, Director at Sierra Club, Loma Prieta Chapter.

Read the full County of Santa Clara press release.
This story started in 2011 when the Loma Prieta Chapter sued Lehigh Hanson for water pollution violations. Read the fascinating story written by a local high school volunteer.

Learn How to Become a Bay Advocate!

Register now for our Bay Alive Campaign’s free eight-session Bay Advocate Program! Through this unique webinar series, you will learn about the importance of the San Francisco Bay to the resilience of our ecosystems and communities, the challenges posed by sea level rise and other threats, and how you can make a difference in your community and on a regional scale.

Learn more and register today! The program will be held via Zoom on Thursday evenings 7:00-8:30 pm, September 21, 2023 to November 9, 2023.

Comment Letter: Establishing a Municipal Utility for Electric Service

Read our comment letter to the City of San Jose and City Council, offering our strong but conditional support for Article 28 to create San José Power, to provide electric service for selected new loads in the City, and to submit an application for access to a forthcoming underground transmission line . Our support is conditional on not expanding destruction of habitat in Coyote Valley, particularly not south of the Metcalf Substation.

Read all of our comment letters.

Spotlight on 30x30 News

As part of Governor Newsom's Executive Order 82-20 in 2020, California committed to the goal of conserving 30 percent of

California lands and coastal waters by 2030. Your Chapter's 30x30 Task Force has been busy working on conserving 30 percent of land and water by 2030 for close to three years.

Read our full update on recent progress.

Take a hike!

Check our full Loma Prieta Chapter schedule.

Note: regardless of the name/origin of the outing section, all are welcome!

Sunday, August 27th, 6:00 pm: Mission Peak 'Blue' moon hike from Ohlone College
Wednesday, August 30th, 8:00 am: Hike Wolfback Ridge GGNRA
Wednesday, August 30th, 12:30 pm: POLE Walking for Exercise (Nordic Walking) At Lands End
Wednesday, September 6th, 9:30 am: Hike Purisima Open Space
Saturday, September 9th - Sunday, September 10th: Benson Hut Work Party
Saturday, September 9th - Sunday, September 10th: Peter Grubb Hut Work Party
Monday, September 11th, 9:00 am: POLE Hiking Training, Mori Point, Pacifica

Don’t Miss our Early Bird Special for the 2023 Guardians of Nature Benefit!

Secure your Early Bird Special spot at our 2023 Guardians of Nature Benefit today. It is only available until September 6th, so purchase your ticket now for our unforgettable evening of camaraderie, delicious cuisine and wines.

Join us to celebrate the extraordinary achievements of Florence LaRiviere, a true champion for our beloved San Francisco Bay and a treasured member of our community. Our event promises to be a joyful occasion filled with gratitude, inspiration, and a shared passion for protecting and preserving our local environment.

We can’t wait to celebrate with you!

San Francisco Bay Needs our Help!

Even after decades of destructive policies diminished San Francisco Bay wetlands by 90 percent, what’s left represents 70 percent of the healthy wetlands in the entire state. We simply can’t afford to lose more of this critical public asset. All three Sierra Club Chapters surrounding the Bay are working together through the Bay Alive Campaign to promote regional solutions that enhance the resiliency of our Bay ecosystems and communities.

Learn more and join the Sierra Club in advocating for urgent, regional and nature-based solutions for the Bay.

The Rights of Nature, Conservation, Restoration, and Rewilding Webinar

Saturday, September 2nd
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
(Part of the Environmental Stewardship Program webinar series.)

Can ecosystems have legal rights? Why is conservation alone insufficient? What is nature-based restoration? Is “rewilding” just a delusion? This webinar will introduce you to cutting-edge approaches to transitioning to a world in which degraded lands are being transformed into vibrant ecosystems, and animals are being reintroduced to newly-restored wild places. Register today!

Military Outdoors

KTVU found Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter's Military Outdoors tabling at the Santa Clara County Stand Down event last month, and featured them in a clip highlighting their educational and hiking events with veterans using poles for walking, hiking, and mobility. Watch the clip and learn more.

Featured: Jayah Faye Paley, Military Outdoors Leader, and Lisa Barboza, Outings Chair, Executive Committee Member, and Guadalupe Regional Group Chair.

Forest Protection Committee

The Loma Prieta Forest Protection Committee participated in Sierra Club's Stop Clearcutting CA campaign’s monthly Forest Forum on July 31st. Katherine Egland, a member of the NAACP Board of Directors and co-founder of EEECHO (the Education/Economics/ Environmental and Health Organization) gave a powerful presentation on the environmental and health impacts of wood pellet production and biomass incineration with emphasis on the environmental injustice inflicted on the communities of color where these industries are typically located. Because the biofuel industry plans to expand into California, this is an issue we should all care about. If you care about our local coastal forests as well as forests statewide, join us! Contact Karen Maki at karen@karenmaki.com.

Loma Prieta Chapter's Environmental Book Club

The New Wilderness
by Diane Cook
Saturday, September 9th, 10:00 am

"Bea’s five-year-old daughter, Agnes, is slowly wasting away, consumed by the smog and pollution of the overdeveloped metropolis [...] There is only one alternative: the Wilderness State, the last swath of untouched, protected land, where people have always been forbidden. Until now."

To join, contact Gladwyn d'Souza.

Review the full 2023 reading list.

Our New Guadalupe Regional Group Chair: Lisa Barboza

Greetings from Lisa Barboza, your new Guadalupe Regional Group Chair. Let me introduce myself. I want to let you know that I have been elected, by the GRG Executive Committee, as the new Chair of the Guadalupe Regional Group. There are three regional groups; the GRG, the Peninsula Regional Group (PRG), and the San Carlos-Belmont group. I am looking forward to serving you and growing our Sierra Club. Read more.

To Feel Less Heat,

We Need More Trees in Our Cities

By: Ben Jealous, Sierra Club Executive Director

"All of us suffered last week through day after day of the hottest average temperatures ever recorded on Earth. Now imagine it had been 10% hotter where you live. That wasn’t hard to do for residents in urban neighborhoods where the amount of pavement, concrete and glass far surpasses the number of leafy trees." Read the full article.

In the Community

Saratoga Library's Aiden Chen Art Exhibition: Saratoga Scenes, Birds and More
August 2nd - September 25th
Aiden received the Loma Prieta Chapter's 2022 Youth Award

30X30 Biodiversity Showcase Webinar Celebrating Biodiversity Week
Wednesday, September 6th, 10:30 am - 12:00 pm

San Mateo Resource Conservation District's First Flush Training Presentation
Thursday, September 7th, 6:00 - 7:00 pm

Children and Nature Network's Back to School with Nature: Supporting Social Emotional Learning and Academic Outcomes
Thursday, September 7th, 11:00 am - 12:00 pm

From our friends at Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful:

National Day of Service Cleanup - Creek and Trail Cleanup
Thursday, September 7th, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm

Tree Life Cycles BioBlitz for California Biodiversity Day
Saturday, September 9th, 9:00 - 11:00 am

Trashy Tuesdays Cleanup!
Tuesday, September 12th, 5:00 - 7:00 pm

Our friends at Green Foothills are hiring a San Benito Environmental Associate.

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 for the specific language for your estate planning and/or read more here. For additional information about planning a bequest please contact Julia Curtis, (800) 932-4270.

Find Us on Social Media!

Loma Prieta Chapter

Facebook: @LomaPrietaSierraClub
Instagram: @sierraclub_lomaprieta
Twitter: @SierraClubLP
YouTube: @lomaprietachaptersierraclu7055
Spotify: Sierra Club Loma Prieta
MeetUp: https://www.meetup.com/lomaprieta/

Hiking Groups

20s - 30s Facebook: @LPSierraClub20s30s
Gay & Lesbian Sierrans: @GLS.Loma.Prieta

In Case You Missed It

Historic Dates

The Loma Prieta Chapter was founded in 1933. What important events happened in Aug/Sept?
Sept 10, 1933, FDR was inaugurated as the 32nd President

What other important events happned in Aug/Sept?
Aug 30, 1944, Molly Ivins was born in Monterey, CA

In the News

When the Government Tried to Flood the Grand Canyon

Chemical companies’ PFAS payouts are huge – but the problem is even bigger

A Rare Legless Lizard Could Stop Oil Drilling in Its Tracks

‘We are damned fools’: scientist who sounded climate alarm in 80s warns of worse to come

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.

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.

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.

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 webinar series with SF Bay experts and please share with your local elected officials.

2023.05.12: Chapter Director's climb to Chelan Butte, WA. See Chapter Calendar for hikes.

"Raise hell - big time.
I want y'all to get out there and raise hell about damned near everything.
My word, there's a world out there that needs fixing. Get out there and get after it."
Molly Ivins

Thanks to all the great Loma Prieta volunteers and staff who "Get out there and get after it".

Happy Trails,

James Eggers, Director

Sierra Club, Loma Prieta Chapter

Donate Now

Thank you to our 2022 Guardians on Nature Benefit Sponsors

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.

Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter