By John Hankins
The last two months have provided some good success, but of course being a champion for our local slice of the planet is a steady job. Here's a recap of activities that have kept us busy over the last two months.
Dec 4: Holiday Party (virtual online) for our whole chapter in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Guest speakers, awards and celebrating our ‘wins’ in 2021.
Nov 22: Redistricting for SB County was on tap for public comment by the Independent Commission and our chapter weighed in, with the notorious 3-2 Board of Supervisors’ makeup at stake. Tendency was to support map 818 as a balanced approach, and each district would have some coastline.
Nov 20: We did it! Sierra Club, as well as our coalition partners, urged CalGEM to consider a minimum 2500-ft buffer zone between extraction sites and sensitive areas (homes, schools, public places). We may get more, a 3200-foot buffer! On this date the club hosted a leadership meeting to ensure it gets done with the public comment period ending Dec. 31 and a final rule in 2022. Send comments to:
CalGEMRegulations@conservation.ca.gov
Nov 18: Hollister Ranch coastal access program workshop conducted for education and activism on this long-running issue with our chapter advocating for more public access. Lots of info here:
www.Coastal.Ca.gov/hollister-ranch
Nov 18: Bee & Butterfly native plant installations at Ventura Community (Kimball) Park by volunteers sponsored by Ventura Sierra Club and Ventura Tree Alliance.
Nov. 15: Bike Spot building at Parking Lot #3 in Santa Barbara should be restored to its original use as a secure bike parking for commuters using a combo of bike and bus. That was the word via a letter to SB Mayor and Council by Katie Davis, our Chapter Chair and Heather Deutsch of SBBike+COAST and Michael Chiacos of the Community Environmental Council. We’ll see if they ‘do the right thing’.
Nov 4: Flood Awakening: Nina Danza (Ventura Sierra Club) tipped us to a campaign to change FEMA regs to disconnect the “build-flood-damage-rebuild cycle” that has destroyed riverine ecology in the U.S. A To-Do session was sponsored by Anthropocene Alliance. We have printed information on this issue before, thanks to Nina and friends, to convince Ventura flood control to use natural materials as berms instead of concrete. Watch this Space!
Nov 3: Trucks Stop at the SB Planning Commission as staff recommends not to allow Exxon to use trucks to transport its offshore oil. The staff advice was to justify the planners’ 3-2 denial during a meeting of Sept. 29, and now it’s on to the Board of Supervisors. Staff notes that highways are not properly designed to carry the load of up to 70 trucks per day, among other findings.
Nov 1: Serge Trotsky, a former longtime hiker and member of the Conejo Group, died in his sleep. He was a retired LAPD officer and is survived by his wife Gloria and son David.
Oct 28: Oak Tree planting at Ventura’s Community Park, a collaboration with the Ventura Sierra Club, Ventura Tree Alliance and East Ventura Community Council.
Oct 27: Ion Energy! The news that Goleta approved a new 60-Megawatt energy storage Megapack that also ties into Isla Vista prompted this reply from our Chapter Chair Katie Davis, quoted in Noozhawk: “It really is reducing fossil fuel use. The alternative to building these battery storage facilities was to build another power plant in Oxnard. I am confident this will help us retire Ellwood, which is a very old and polluting power plant.”
Oct 27: Working for US. Congratulations to our local CA representatives with 100% scores, noted our chapter Chair Katie Davis when Sierra Club California released its latest report card today. They are Assembly member Steve Bennett (D-37), and State Senators Monique Limón (D-19) and Henry Stern (D-27). SCC singled out notable bills like Limón’s SB-47 which gives up to $5 million a year to plug abandoned oil wells.
Oct 26: Great News! Senators Feinstein and Padilla sent a letter asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to withdraw the proposed General Conservation Plan for oil and gas activities in SB County. We greatly appreciate the support from Rep. Carbajal on this important issue, based on potential harm to endangered species.
Oct 23-24: Art show fundraiser for our Sierra Club Los Padres Chapter and Community Environment Council by SCAPE (SoCal Artists Painting for the Environment) and the Climate Reality Project. Also included speakers on climate change. Condor John bought “The Last Tree” painting and intends to will it to Joni Mitchell’s Tree Museum.
Oct 20: Racism and Climate crisis connections were noted by the Sierra Club via an online panel discussion by Hop Hopkins, the club’s director of Organizational Transformation. Members from the Los Padres chapter attended, and the panel was recorded.
Oct 17: River Run and Trout Trot by Friends of the Santa Clara River with help from the Ventura Sierra Club members, followed by a clean-up.
Oct: 17: Sierra Club Santa Barbara Group held its traditional annual Breakfast Picnic along Shoreline Park.
Oct 15: Dismantle Exxon hardware on the Gaviota Coast, a blog by our Executive Director Jon Ullman lists why it’s past time, noting the Huntington Beach oil spill, Santa Maria tanker truck accident starting a fire, and the Alisal wildfire threatening the Exxon processing plant (luckily shut down), Read it here:
https://tinyurl.com/DismantleExxon
Oct 15: Cancel leases currently open for offshore oil in the Santa Barbara Channel. That message was sent by our Chapter to the Center for Biological Diversity group that intends to deliver an emergency petition to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to cancel those leases.
Oct 14: Westside Coalition coalesced outside the Museum of Ventura County to tell SoCal Gas it needs to do an Environmental Impact Report for its proposed compressor expansion project across Olive Street from the Boys and Girls club and an elementary school. Some of the protesters were not allowed in and many dropped to the ground in protest.
Oct 13: New board members for our Wilderness Basics Course announced. They are Sean Cole, Patty Peinado, and Scott Nelson. They join the other members of the board: Condor John Hankins, Alisse Fisher, Marc Hertz, Teresa Norris, Cara Peden, and Jim Hines. Also, Heather D’Anna has accepted the position of WBC Outings Chair. Discussions continue whether WBC will be revived in 2022.
Oct 13: SB Group signed on to urge the Biden Administration “to immediately initiate the designation of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary.”
Oct 12: Suz Montgomery, a Sierra Club member and wife to Condor Call editor, John Hankins, lost her long-time battle with cancer, which she believed was from environmental pollution. Her influence ranged locally and statewide and her expertise covered a wide range as an interviewer on issues via her own TV show, long-time advocate for seniors, diversity and racial justice to name a few. Also known as a chef and gardener, those who wish may donate to the Ventura Sierra Club:
www.sierraclub.org/los-padres/ventura
Oct 11: Alisal Fire starts, affecting the Gaviota Coast, closing Hwy 101 and the railroad for four days, and burning over 17,000 thousand acres, hampered by strong winds that sometimes grounded fire planes. Full containment wasn’t until Oct. 20. No word on the cause.