• June 2010 Lucian - Sierra Club...2 Santa Lucian • June 2010 Change of Address? Mail changes to: Sierra Club National Headquarters 85 Second Street, 2nd Floor San Francisco, CA

Santa Lucian • June 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 eDunes: to do 2

COSE: nice save 3

Power plants: still uncool 5

Katcho does YouTube 7

Ag disorder 9

Classifieds 11

Outings 12

Please recycle

This newsletter printed on100% post-consumer recycled paper with

soy-based inks

June 2010Volume 47 No. 6

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 7

DON’T MISS

The June 22special elec-tion and thechance tosend JohnLaird tothe StateSenate!

Viewshed VictorySierra Club settlement strikes down notorious Cayucos Viewshed Ordinance

In a major victory for the county’snatural landscapes and the integrityof local land use planning, the SierraClub and San Luis Obispo Countyhave agreed to settle a two-yearlawsuit over the notorious CayucosViewshed Ordinance. A court-ordered settlement wasentered on May 18, in which theBoard of Supervisors agreed to repealthe ordinance, which had become themost controversial issue in thecounty by the time it was voted intolaw by the previous board of super-visors in August 2007. As part of thesettlement agreement, the Countywill prepare a county-wide viewshedand hillside protection ordinance. “The 2007 ordinance effectivelydivested San Luis Obispo County ofthe discretion to restrict the locationof a development within a viewshedto protect aesthetic and environ-mental resources,” said localenvironmental lawyer MichaelJencks, who represented the Club inthe lawsuit. “The Cayucos Viewshed Ordinancewas a sham and a scandal, a posterchild for abuse of the public trust,”

said Melody DeMerrit, Chair of theSanta Lucia Chapter. “Projects builtunder its auspices would havesignificantly degraded scenic publicviews in one of this county’s signaturelandscapes, the rolling oak-coveredhillsides that are a remnant of OldCalifornia and the image peopleeverywhere have in their minds whenthey think of San Luis Obispo and theCentral Coast. We are very pleasedthat we have finally succeeded inrighting the wrong that put this landat risk.” The text of the ordinance waswritten in private by a “property

rights” group and handed to sympa-thetic supervisors, who voted to passit in August 2007 despite warningsfrom their legal counsel and over theobjections of County Planning staffand the Planning Commission. TheSierra Club filed suit against theCounty under the California Environ-mental Quality Act in January 2008. Previous public review drafts of theordinance would have protectedpublic views in the 53 square miles ofland roughly bounded by Highway 41and Highway 46. The privately drafted

Much better this way A small portion of the Cayucos Viewshed, aka the Adelaide Planning Area, from Highway 46.

Yes, that’s right: Four elections in sixmonths. A million dollars in extracosts dropped on our county by ourwhimsical governor. Bummer. But theres’ a reason to turn out andvote in the June 22 special electionand the potential run-off after that,and his name is John Laird. Senate District 15 is one of thelargest in the state, stretching fromSan Jose into Santa Barbara County.The seat was vacated by AbelMaldonado when he was appointedLieutenant Governor on April 26.The Sierra Club is endorsing JohnLaird for the seat because, as aneducator, former mayor, communitycollege trustee and Assembly-member, he has been a career-long

advocate for working people, environ-mental protection, access to healthcare, public education and civil rights. Laird has never wavered from hisopposition to offshore drilling thatendangers our coast. He successfully

This is no time for voter fatigue

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WWWWWelcome to the hottest election in Califelcome to the hottest election in Califelcome to the hottest election in Califelcome to the hottest election in Califelcome to the hottest election in Califororororornianianianiania

Vote for Laird

2


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Santa Lucian

EDITOR

Cal FrenchMelody DeMerittJack McCurdyEDITORIAL BOARD

The Santa Lucian is published 10 times ayear. Articles, environmental information andletters 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

2010 Executive CommitteeMelody DeMeritt CHAIRSteven Marx TREASURER

Cal French MEMBERMegan Worthington MEMBERLinda Seeley

MEMBER

Jono Kinkade

MEMBER

Liz Tracy

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 Christie 805-543-8717 [email protected]

[email protected]

Andrew [email protected]

[email protected]

Printed by University Graphic Systems

Office hours Monday-Friday,11 a.m.- 6 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.

Coordinator Kim Ramos, Admin and Development [email protected]

Assistant Coordinators Marie Clifford Noelle Cirisan

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

The County Needs to StepUp on Oceano Dunes

Denny MynattPRINT MEDIA COORDINATOR

On May 10, the Santa Lucia Chapterwrote to the County Board of Supervi-sors to suggest they toughen up aproposed letter from the County toState Parks’ Off Highway MotorVehicle Recreation Division on theparticulate matter pollution problemthat has been shown to be caused byvehicles in the Oceano Dunes — thefirst item on the agenda for theSupervisors’ May 11 meeting. We commended the County for thespirit and intent of the proposedletter, and suggested revisions inorder to fully address the urgentpublic health issue before them. We pointed out that the Countyshould not ask State Parks to focusjust on emissions from the propertythe County owns inside the OceanoDunes State Vehicular RecreationArea, some 580 acres. It is under-standable that the County would beparticularly concerned about theeffects associated with its property,but the health effects on residentsshould be the main concern, ratherthan the point of origin or theCounty’s partial culpability asproperty owner. The letter statedconcern for “airborne particulatematter originating from our site.” Wepointed out that it should alsodemand that State Parks address allemissions from the ODSVRA. Beyond that, the letter needed to bemore specific. We pointed out thatthere is no need for the “health effect”analysis the letter requested, as theimpacts of particulate matter pollu-tion have been thoroughly studied formany years and are well known. The

daily limits are based on those wellunderstood health effects. State Parksmay do additional research if theywant, but taking formal action to stopthe particulate emissions must not bedelayed by such a study, which is notlikely to tell us anything we don’talready know. Despite the fact thatresults of the study were announcedlast December, State Parks has yet totake any action other than mountingattacks on the study’s methodologyand conclusions. The County should be demandingimmediate action based on the well-known effects of PM10 emissions,which are only going to get worse aswe head into the summer season. The letter asked for a “timely”program to address the problem.Instead, it should have asked StateParks for a timeline for approving andimplementing an action plan. It would have been best to commu-nicate a specific desired outcomerather than a general request toimprove conditions to an unspecifieddegree. The letter should have clearlystated that mitigation must result inthe reduction of particulate matterpollution to a level that is protectiveof public health and does not exceedthe state health standard. At the May 11 meeting, SupervisorJim Patterson made a motion tochange the focus of the letter fromthe La Grande Tract to the entireriding area, and his colleagues agreed. That’s a start, but it’s not likely tosuffice. OHV Division Chief Phil

Sign of the times Outside SLO City Hall during the May 19 Air Pollution Control Districtmeeting on ODSVRA air pollution.

It’s just the wind Off-Highway Vehicles Division chief Phil Jenkins (right) offers a theoryto the APCD Board in an attempt to discredit the findings of the APCD’s two-year study.

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from Chapter reports

In May, after more than three years inpublic workshops and hearings at theCounty Planning Commission andBoard of Supervisors, the update ofthe Conservation and Open SpaceElement was completed. The COSE has several jobs. It is toconserve and protect for futuregenerations the 700,000 acres of thecounty’s protected open space,forests, and recreation areas, as wellas National Forest land, regionalparks, and open space areas owned byconservation non-profits. It setspolicy on the use of alternativeenergy sources, the protection ofprime agricultural soils and theconservation of water, and encour-ages “green building.” As always, wildlife, trees, air, water,and open space are lousy lobbyists, soSierra Club and North County Watchstepped in to speak for them. Wewere often pitted against specialinterests like the Farm Bureau andthe Home Builders Association, aswell as two huge corporations thatare looking to smooth the path fortheir pending projects and were notshy about inserting themselves intothe County’s long-range planningprocess in that quest. It was an epic struggle, too long torecount in full in this space. But wepresent here instructive summariesof what went on in, around, andbehind the final drafting of three ofthe ten chapters of the COSE. The short version: Persistence pays.

ThankYou,MadamChair

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By Letty French

Over the weekend of May 15, SierraClub volunteers from all over Califor-nia and Nevada gathered at RanchoEl Chorro camp, across the highwayfrom Cuesta College, to work on is-sues of regional concern. Five California-Nevada RegionalConservation Committee workshopson Saturday morning exemplified themajor concerns: Sierra NevadaEcoRegion Organizing, Coastal Com-mittee Organizing, Political, Energy/Climate, and Zero-Waste. Present were national Club staffmembers Bruce Hamilton and Bar-

The COSE is Doneand We Won

Sierra Club Cal/NevCommittee Meets atRancho El Chorro

Ed Mainland and Jim Stewart of Sierra ClubCalifornia’s Energy/Climate Committeeaddress the CNRCC.

Aloha Karen Merriam, former Santa LuciaChapter Chair (2004-2009) received theChapter’s highest honor, the Kathleen God-dard Jones Award, in recognition of her out-standing service to the Sierra Club at ourgeneral meeting on May 12 at the Steyn-berg Gallery in SLO. Coastal activist CarolGeorgi (right) joined the packed house incongratulating the guest of honor.

Open Space An Open Space element is amandatory part of the County’sGeneral Plan. It is a plan for compre-hensive and long-range preservationof open land and must specify plansand measures for preserving openspace for natural resources, manag-ing the production of resources, foroutdoor recreation and public healthand safety. State law mandates anambitious and detailed planningeffort for open space that is compa-rable only to the requirements for thehousing element. Last July, Dorothy Jennings of theChapter’s Conservation Committeeand North County Watch Boardrecognized numerous deficiencies inthe Open Space chapter of the COSE.While the Open Space element stillhas some deficiencies, and lacksdetail or planning for open spaceprograms, Jennings’ persistencecurtailed an effort to remove thestate-mandated inclusion of agricul-tural lands from the Open Spacecategory. Historically, county policyhas rightfully recognized ag lands asopen space, so the intended departurefrom that policy presented seriouslegal issues with the new Open Spaceelement about to be adopted. Jennings’ efforts succeeded ingetting the attention of the Board asto the importance of the element andrecognition that lots of work is left tobe done. County Counsel TimMcNulty met with Jennings and SueHarvey in mid April, just days beforethe planned adoption of the element,

to discuss theissues NorthCounty Watchhad raised. As aresult, the finalresolutionadopted by theSupervisorsincluded lan-guage to amend

highly controversial Transfer ofDevelopment Credits Program. ALand Banking program or an OpenSpace District are topics of discussionbut none have been mandated by thenewly adopted Open Space Element. The county has a lot of work aheadto institute comprehensive openspace programs but it will be worththe effort to bring about a seriouscommitment to preserve the county’sprecious open space resources. Wewill have to follow the devilish detailsof amendments to the Open Spaceordinance, but we remain optimisticthat the seeds have been planted for acomprehensive look at the impor-tance and potential of well craftedOpen Space Programs.

EnergyTo understand what happened duringthe Board’s deliberation on theEnergy chapter of the COSE, it’snecessary to go back almost a year,when that chapter was being ham-mered out at the County PlanningCommission. Tension was obviously building atthe June 2009 meetings of thePlanning Commission on the COSE.In discussing revisions to the EnergyChapter, Commission Chair SarahChristie suggested that alternativeenergy projects be required to avoid,not just inflict and “mitigate,”significant environmental impacts.

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She fought the lawyers and she won Lynda Auchinachie (onscreen) of the County Agriculture Department stood her ground andeducated the Supervisors on the meaning of “Prime Farmland”despite an onslaught by corporate lawyers who tried to get aroundthe rules, relentlessly lobbied the Board and County staff andthreatened to sue.

the Open Space ordinance within thenext six months to cure some defi-ciencies. The County’s failure to recognizethe importance of the Open Spaceelement is not new. In the late 1990’s,the County concluded a long, drawn-out process of combining the OpenSpace Element with an Ag Element.The resulting Ag and Open SpaceElement (AOSE) seemed to haveambitious goals for the preservation ofopen space. In the court’s resolutionof a lawsuit filed by Life on PlanetEarth challenging issues in thecounty’s newly adopted AOSE, thecourt allowed that the county “hasrecognized the Agricultural and OpenSpace Element is only the first stepleading to changes on the ground.” But in the years since the courtexpressed its hope for an auspiciousbeginning in 2003, little progress hasbeen made in implementing viableOpen Space policy or programs as thecourt directed. The Ag portion of the AOSE hasfared well. Thirty-four programs havebeen adopted. But the Open Spaceelement cites only one program toprotect and preserve open space – the

...mostly

The California Coastal Commission voted on May 13 to approve the U.S. ArmyCorps of Engineers’ plan to drill desalination test wells in the state beach justsouth of Santa Rosa Creek in Cambria. But when they did, they added a crucial condition. Before the Army Corpsstarts pumping, it must test the water in the test wells for more than 100contaminants, including methyl mercury, and may not proceed with the desaltests if contaminants exceed safe limits. They must test the water again afterpumping commences. The Coastal Commission did that because of the work of Cambria residentLynne Harkins, who, with financing provided by the Sierra Club, went out onher own to do what the Army Corps of Engineers and the Cambria CommunityServices District did not: test the water for the presence of extremely toxicmethyl mercury. The possibility of legacy mercury deposits from the closed Oceanic Mine fivemiles upstream settling into sediments should have been an obvious concernin a proposal to put a desalination subsurface intake as the mouth of the creek,but it took a virtual public uprising at the CCSD’s January 5 meeting -- atwhich the District tried and failed to declare the project exempt from theCalifornia Environmental Quality Act -- to force the issue onto the table andinto the CCSD’s subsequent environmental review. Armed with a test kit, Harkins took water samples at four locations a mile orless from the proposed site of the beach wells, and sent them to an environ-mental laboratory, which confirmed the presence of methyl mercury. Thelegally acceptable discharge level for methyl mercury is zero. Harkins alertedCoastal Commission staff to what the Army Corps hadn’t told them. (“Cambria

ThankYou,LynneHarkins

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4


Earth Talk

Confessions of a Foot-Dragging Vegetarian

By Joe Morris, Outings Chair

Perhaps my favorite three letters in the English language are BBQ, even betterif they are displayed high over a restaurant emitting the aroma of hickorysmoke. I’ve never passed a Sizzler’s I didn’t like. Its sign evokes images of arib-eye steak on the grill, done to a nice medium-rare. When my girlfriendCarolyn agreed to a date when we were first getting to know each other, herhearty assent to my offer of dinner there left a memorable impression. As shecut zestfully into her sirloin, I thought that this relationship was getting off toa nice start. No soy-and-tofu babe here! But, alas, in my readings about the environment, it was inevitable that Iwould stumble on an article (more like dozens) proclaiming the environmentalharms of meat consumption. I’m not about to completely abstain anytimesoon — couldn’t this be a shock to a system accustomed for a half century to acarnivorous diet? -- but I’m beginning to re-think the subject, and my appetiteis shifting. A big wake-up call for me was reading the 2006 UN report that livestockaccounts for more greenhouse emissions than all transportation combined.The reason is simple. The methane produced by cows, sheep, and goats hasover twenty times the potency of carbon dioxide in warming the planet. And,as we are eating more meat — world production is six times what it was in1950 — more and more of that gas finds its way into the atmosphere. There isa bright side, however. Methane exits the atmosphere in only twelve years, vs.many centuries for CO2. So eating less meat can have both a far greater andquicker effect on curbing climate change than virtually anything else. Cattle feed mainly on corn and soybeans, and the largest grower of soybeansin the world by far is Brazil. There the rainforests are being rapidly cut down toclear land for the crop, and this destruction causes further global warming.Locked in those tall trees are billions of tons of carbon, which, when burned toopen up farmland, return to the air as carbon dioxide. That Big Mac or KFCdinner you may have recently eaten has a direct causal link to the slashing andburning of the Amazon rainforest, containing the richest diversity of plants andanimals on the planet. Raising livestock consumes an amount of water that is astonishing, both inwhat the animals drink and what it takes to irrigate the crops that feed them. Asingle quarter-pound hamburger takes up over 1,500 gallons of water toproduce it — just what we don’t need in a state facing a growing and desperatedrought. For every pound of weight beef cattle gain, they must eat sevenpounds of grain. About 70% of the corn grown in the U.S. goes to feedinglivestock, sending its price up and making it more expensive for impoverishedpeople to purchase. More surprising is the fact that one-third of the fish catchin the U.S. goes into the feed consumed by livestock, further depleting thelanguishing supplies in the sea. The most uncomfortable and neglected aspect of meat eating is the inhu-mane treatment of farm animals. A driver does not need to be a ferventanimal-rights activist to wince at the smell and sight of thousands of cattlestanding motionless in dirt and excrement at Harris Ranch on the west side ofI-5, halfway from L.A. to the Bay Area. In summer, the animals must alsoendure the scorching heat all day in the Central Valley. Harris Ranch is afeedlot, also called a “factory farm,” where cattle are brought from grazinglands to be fattened up with high-energy feed before they are slaughtered andcarried by trucks north and south. The cattle get antibiotics in their feed sothey don’t waste energy fighting infection or spead any infectious diseases thatwould otherwise invariably ravage them in such crowded conditions. And later,as we munch our meatloaf, we consume these antibiotics, many of which arethe same ones used to fight human illness. This helps spread genetic resistanceto these drugs.

By Jack McCurdy, co-founderCitizens Aliance on Plant Expansion

For five years, the California WaterResources Control Board has beendeveloping a new state policy torequire Morro Bay, Diablo and 18other power plants along the coast tostop using an estimated 16 billiongallons of water a year from estuariesand the ocean for cooling, killinguntold billions of fish and larvae andimpairing the economies of coastalcommunities that depend on ahealthy marine environment. But the result of board action onMay 4 was an historic disappoint-ment. What the board adopted was apolicy that does not have to beimplemented by plants until 5 to 14years in the future, allows waivers toavoid compliance dates and containsvague language that could allowplants to continue operating “as is”indefinitely. Among the contradictions in thepolicy is permission for the Morro Bayplant to continue to use a continuingflow of water (termed once-throughcooling or OTC) from the Morro BayNational Estuary until Dec. 31, 2015,even though a companion documentstates the plant is “not needed forresource adequacy” to meet stateelectricity needs—as of right now. As a result of these deficiencies,the Coastal Alliance on Plant Expan-sion (CAPE), a nonprofit citizensgroup that has been monitoringpresent and future plans for theMorro Bay Power Plant for the pastten years and has worked closely withthe Chapter over that span, believesthe new policy fails to meet federallegal requirements and that litigationwill be among the options thatenvironmental groups will consider inresponse. The policy will not becomefinal until it is reviewed by the stateOffice of Administrative Law in theexecutive branch, which could takeseveral months or more. Given the ambiguity of the policy, itis impossible to determine how it willaffect the future of the Morro Bayplant. But Randy Hickok, a top officialwith Dynegy, which owns the plant,said the plant almost certainly will

not be able to operate after 2015under the adopted policy’s water userestriction. He told the Morro BayCity Council the same thing last fallafter reviewing an earlier draft of thepolicy with the 2015 date in it. But headded in an interview on May 14 thatthe company is exploring new waterfiltering technology to protect againstabsorbing aquatic life, which mightallow the plant to still use enoughwater to operate beyond 2015,although he said it seems veryunlikely at this time. The OTC policy that was on thewater board’s agenda on May 4 wasstrongly opposed by a wide array oforganizations, including CAPE, thecity of Morro Bay, the CaliforniaCoastkeeper Alliance, the Sierra Club,the National Resources DefenseCouncil and the Mills Legal Clinic atthe Stanford Law School, plus anestimated 10,000 persons, who filedindividual comments with the board.Nearly all the groups argued that theproposed policy had been significantlyweakened in its compliance withfederal requirements since an earlierversion was made public last fall. Andsome, including CAPE and theCoastkeeper Alliance, contended thelatest version failed to comply withfederal law. The federal law in question stemsfrom the 2007 Riverkeeper II decisionby the United States Court of Appealsfor the Second Circuit, which heldthat the U.S. Clean Water Act requires“best technology available” to be usedto cool power plants and prohibits useof water from estuaries, bays, deltas,the ocean, lakes, rivers or steams.That decision’s ban on use of water forcooling came about 35 years after theClean Water Act was amended tocover power plant cooling and did thesame thing. But it was never enforceduntil the appellate court stepped in.The same court in 2004 had issued avirtually identical decision coveringnew power plants that might be built. As a consequence, the state waterboard five years ago began developinga statewide policy to implement thedecisions. But from the beginning,

The State Water Board’s Power PlantCooling Plan is Full of Holes

Save the DateSave the DateSave the DateSave the DateSave the DateJoin the Sierra Club in the Edna Valley on Satrurday, October 2, for an evening of wine, cheese, & chocolate

Don’t miss our fall fundraiser in the heart of the Edna Valley on October 2. Watch this space formore details as the date approaches. Right now, members can volunteer time or donate to the SilentAuction. Community sponsors will get free tickets and their logos in our flyers and the gala bro-chure. If you would like to volunteer or donate, please contact the Chapter Office at 543-8717, [email protected].

wine

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By Eric Greening

On May 13, the County held a publickickoff for its Climate Action Plan.Joined at the hip was the “Land Useand Circulation Element Update/Rural Area Plan.” It is hard to establish a prognosisfor these conjoined newborns becausethey are not twins; in fact, thegreatest risk is that the LUCE/RAPwill draw nourishment from her morepotentially promising sister. The very necessary purpose of theClimate Action Plan is to reduceemissions of greenhouse gases, sothat we can shift from being aproblem toward being part of thesolution. If the CAP leans too heavilyon land use planning, particularly inthe rural areas, and neglects morepromising approaches to achievingactual reduction, we will end up witha lot of time, energy, and paperinvested while business as usualcontinues on its death march. Despite the differences that wiseland use planning can make, there aremultiple reasons not to emphasizeland use planning: 1. We are not going to get green-house gas reduction by growing.Unless un-smart projects currentlyoccupied are dismantled as quickly as“smart” projects are implemented, allwe will get is a slower continuedgrowth in greenhouse gases than wewould otherwise have experienced.There are other ways to decelerate thegrowth in emissions, such as requir-ing, or at least providing incentivesfor, new construction to use orienta-tion, thermal mass, and other knowntechniques for achieving comfortwithout drawing power from the grid. 2. The LUCE/RAP’s focus on ruralareas is precisely the wrong place tolook for opportunities for “smart”

growth. Selective and sensitiverevitalization within urban and villageareas will get us there, but the LUCE/RAP leaves such areas as the holes inthe Swiss cheese. 3. There seems to be no connectionbetween all the talk (and even theaction) on “Smart” or “Strategic”growth, and what actually happens onthe ground. Lips have been flappingon the subject for many years throughthe “Vision 2050” exercises, and policydocuments have been prepared andare supposedly in effect enumeratingand implementing our “StrategicGrowth Principles,” outlining our“Sustainable Communities Strate-gies,” and so on. And yet, in the realworld, the year-over-year populationdata shows that, between 2009 and2010, the rate of population growth inour unincorporated areas was almostten times faster than in our incorpo-rated cities. One might be forgiven forthinking that the purpose of thedocuments on which so much timeand effort have been spent is toprovide distraction from what isactually going on. 4. A focus on land use ignores areaswhere actual and significant reduc-tions could be achieved. Primarily,these are in transportation andsequestration. The Greenhouse Gas Inventoryprepared in advance of the CAP showsthat our county, far more than thenational average, emits most of itsgreenhouse gases through transporta-tion; more than 2/3 of our emissionscome from our streets, roads, andhighways, and highway travel is alarge part of this. The City of San LuisObispo comes close to doubling itspopulation during weekday daytimehours; most of the commuting stilltakes place in single-occupantvehicles. Yet our transportation

funding is still dominated by roadspending, while transit operationsstruggle to avoid actual servicecutbacks, and walkways and bikewaysare generally funded an order ofmagnitude less generously thanroads. While roads should not beallowed to deteriorate, much roadspending goes not for maintenancebut for expensive capacity-increasingprojects. If we are serious about taking realclimate action, we should be ready toget serious about shifting our priori-ties. For example, if the Transporta-tion Development Act fundingdiverted from transit operations (itsprimary designated use) to road workin this county were to all be placed intransit, spread among our operators,these agencies would have more fairlycompensated employees and be ableto expand service to meet surgingneeds, rather than constantly stave off(or not stave off) cutbacks. Sequestration was not measured inthe Greenhouse Gas Inventorybecause it is not an emission but asolution. Fundamentally, it consistsof leaves taking in carbon dioxide andbuilding it into tissue that will keepthe carbon out of circulation for awhile. Research is ongoing over whatleaves in what situations are mosteffective at this task and lead to thegreatest security and duration ofcarbon storage. There are newinsights about the role of agriculture,and about what agricultural practicesare most effective at this task, andwhat practices might be counterpro-ductive. Preservation of naturalhabitat must be a critical part of oursequestration strategy. Research isongoing about what types of habitatare most effective, and about theextent to which habitat might ormight not be “managed” to allow themost productive successional stagesto maximize the absorption andstorage of carbon dioxide. Land use planning will remainimportant; any regular reader of theSanta Lucian learns about what is atstake in proposal after proposal. Butland use planning should not beleaned on to perform tasks for whichother endeavors are better suited. Itmust not be allowed to draw so muchnourishment from the Climate ActionPlan that serves as a drain rather thanan asset to the metabolism of ahealthy plan!

Sun and Silence

At first the illusion of alone;no footprints in the sandno sign of woman or man,only sea tossups:kelp, logs, bird leavingsfeathers, droppingsand sea carvings:rocks, shoreline, cliff.But then a shift.

First one figure, then twostand on the cliff topand then descend toward me.Now I sense the doings ofothers,wonder what their take ison thisformerly silent place,hope that they will come and go.

Relief—they are only hereto photograph a scene,drained of the stench of rottingkelp,the smash of water onunresisting rocks,the moisture ofa looming fogbank.Perhaps theirtruest memento will bethe sand on their shoes.

But how like them I am,entrusting words to paper, ascene in one dimension,unless I put notebook asideand sit awhile, silent, staringat the noisy ocean, digging toesin gritty sand, letting sun andsilencesaturate my inner space.

-Judith AmberOn a beach north of Cambria

Conjoined Infant Policies Need Separation

In the Sanctuary of Spring

Walking under clouds shaped like teapots and sea horses,I admire the billowing bushes of ceanothus framing the trail,and feel like I’m in a wedding processionin the hallowed chambers of a church.The flowering gooseberry glows like candles among the brush,fragrance from open blossoms is the incense,the view of the bay is the altarand birds are the heavenly choir.I am wedded to the wonders of the world.

- Kalila Volkov, May 2010

6


Over to You,Mr. President

CleanIt Up!

In the sincerest form of flattery, localoff-roaders have imitated the belovedSanta Lucian feature “Taking Issue”as part of their attempt to persuadethe public that the Sierra Clubexerted sinister influence over the AirPollution Control District study thatconcluded off-road vehicles in theOceano Dunes are the cause of severeparticulate matter pollution. Two pages of the six-page con-spiracy theory prepared by the off-road lobby group Friends of OceanoDunes are devoted to the idea that weare somehow responsible for the peer-reviewed study’s findings on particu-late matter pollution on the NipomoMesa. Their evidence: The Chapterassisted the APCD in an unrelatedgreenhouse gas emissions inventoryproject two years ago, and the factthat the APCD Board, which iscomprised of city and county electedofficials, invariably includes somewho were endorsed by the Sierra Clubin their electoral contests. As it happens, we did not assist with,consult on, or otherwise have any-thing to do with the APCD study.

Elsewhere in the screed is the claimthat “APCD ignored Geological studyshowing that there is more vegetationat the Oceano Dunes today that [sic]before the park was established.” The

authors of the document seem to beunaware that virtually the same claimwas made at an APCD Board meetinglast December by Pismo Beach CityCouncilman Ed Waage, and was

immediately shot down by staff, whoreferred the Board to the actualhistorical record as it pertains tovegetation on the dunes. Another memo FoOD seems to havemissed: Their six pages of unsourcedaccusations attack not only the APCDstudy’s conclusion that ORVs are asignificant cause of the problem butthe very idea that unvegetated dunesare a source of PM10 pollution andthat this is something the peoplebreathing it should worry about. Eventhe state Off-Highway VehiclesDivision accepts the finding thatPM10 pollution is coming from thedunes and must be mitigated andreduced to protect the public health. Whenever confronted with depress-ing evidence, ODSVRA off-roaders tryto change the subject and prove thatthe Sierra Club is at the heart of adark conspiracy to take away theirtoys. Their previous mirth-inducingface-plant was triggered when Countyplanners were caught issuing adeceptive staff report that tried togrease the wheels for the Off-HighwayVehicles Division’s purchase of theCounty-owned land in the dunes.When the Grand Jury concluded thathanky-panky was likely behind thatreport, local off-roaders produced anelaborate document claiming theSierra Club must have stacked theGrand Jury. We can expect to see more such off-road excursions into alternaterealities in the near future as the ORVlobby continues to assert its recre-ational preference as a priority overthe health of all the people plottingagainst them -- who are clearlyengaged in a conspiracy of breathing.

Off-Roaders’ New Enemy: PelicansJust before the courtroom spanking administered to them by the County, the Sierra Cluband the Coastal Commission when the Friends of Oceano Dunes tried to force the sale ofthe County’s land in the dunes to State Parks’ Off-Highway Vehicles Division (see “CaseDismissed,” April), the off-road lobby group embarked upon another legal adventure --this time, against pelicans. A year ago, the FOoD filed suit to force the removal of the brown pelican from theEndangered Species List, which finally happened in November. According to the Court-house News Service, the group claimed “the beach regulations meant to protect the birdsdiminish the group’s enjoyment of the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreational Area.” With the BP Gulf Oil disasternow slaughtering brown pelicans in the Gulf of Mexico, we have another reminder that timing is everything.

Kicking Up DustOff-roaders emitting obscuring clouds to make the Oceano Dunes pollution study go away

Ah-HAH! The off-roaders have ripped the lid off a conspiracy between environmentalistsand regulators to improve air quality.

On May 23, the people of California turned out at sixteen coastal rally sitesfrom Eureka to San Diego to “Save the Whales Again,” protesting the Obamaadministration’s support for a move to re-legalize commercial whale huntingwhen the International Whaling Commission meets this month. The petitions we gathered and hundreds of thousands more have been sent tothe White House. Now it’s up to the President to listen to the people.

More than 400 people came out to Morro Rock on May 23 for the Save the Whales Againevent co-sponsored by the Sierra Club to hear speakers such as actor Timothy Bottoms andinternational cetacean activist Dean Bernal. County Supervisor Bruce Gibson read theCounty’s resolution against the IWC whale hunt plan. Similar resolutions were passed by thecities of Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo, and by the California Coastal Commission.

The Sierra StudentCoalition at Cal Polyjoined communitiesacross the nation on May16 with a “Clean it Up!”protest in Mitchell Park.The Sierra Club coordi-nated the events nation-wide all month long todemand that BP be heldfully accountable for theGulf of Mexico oil disasterand press the Obamaadministration for amoratorium on off-shore oil drilling. On May 18, Sierra Club and the GulfRestoration Network filed suit against the Minerals Management Service forexempting BP from regulations requiring blowout response scenarios.

Carol Georgi


The arc of the viewshed bends toward justice The mediastorm triggered by the Cayucos Viewshed Ordinance was matchedby public outrage. For the final hearing in August 2007, KathyLongacre, President of the San Luis Obispo Parks, Open Space &Trails Foundation, brought red flags, stuck into viewshed modelsand signed by dozens of local residents who implored the Boardof Supervisors not to pass the very bad ordinance. They didn’tlisten. We did.

version of the ordinance that the 2007Board of Supervisors selected insteadreduced the land area proposed to becovered by 90 percent, undid whatprotections for public views hadexisted on the remainder, and addedmultiple exemptions that would allowland owners to build mansions onridgelines. With the County’s agreement tovacate the ordinance, the risk of itsetting a precedent and weakeningviewshed protections elsewhere in thecounty has been eliminated. Theprevious permit standards for theCayucos Viewshed will be restoredand will remain in effect until acounty-wide ordinance is drafted andpassed. The case highlighted the County’sconsistent abuse of state law throughthe inappropriate use of “NegativeDeclarations,” the claim that aproposed development would have noenvironmental impacts, therebysparing the County or developers thecosts of an environmental review. When Supervisors Achadjian, Ovittand Lenthall voted for the financialinterests of their political base, theydid not even try to give a reason –that is, some other plausible soundingreason – why they voted for aviewshed protection ordinance thatdid not protect the viewshed.

Nowhere to hideThe most controversial local issue inthe county when by the time it wasvoted into law in August 2007, theordinance became a flashpoint in theturnover of the Board of Supervisorsthe following year. The supervisorswho allowed POPR, an extremist“property rights” group, to hand themthe privately drafted ordinance —discarding drafts prepared by countyplanners and the Planning Commis-sion and voting to approve it despiteits clear violations of the CaliforniaEnvironmental Quality Act — paid apolitical price in 2008. When Ovittand Lenthall ran for re-election, theCayucos Viewshed Ordinance slashedacross their campaigns like the markof Zorro. It may not have been theworst thing that they and Achadjianever did on the Board (their approvalof the Santa Margarita Ranch develop-ment a year later came to top thatlong list), but it was their “let themeat cake” moment. On November 27,2007, the 3-man majority ignored theBoard’s legal counsel, county plan-ning staff, local residents and respon-sible land use planning and endorseda henhouse protection ordinancewritten by the fox. For both Ovitt and Lenthall,subsequently turned out of office indual landslides, their vote for theordinance represented a blatantwillingness to bow down to the wishes

Back toHauntHim

In a 2007 video clip circulating onthe web, County Supervisor KatchoAchadjian defends his indefensiblevote on the Cayucos ViewshedOrdinance by making it clear that hissupport was a matter of you-scratch-my-back quid pro quo. Secure in the power of his Boardmajority, Katcho comes off likeMachiavelli’s prince, lecturing therabble on his personal vision ofpolitics: a purely transactionalexercise in which favors are extendedor withheld on the basis of demandedloyalty or perceived enmity -- the

issues be damned. That raw admission and the spec-tacle of an irate politico hurlingtaunts, airing grudges and settlingpersonal scores on camera makes forriveting political theater. If you know anyone who is un-decided on the question of whether tosend Katcho to Sacramento to rep-resent the entire population of the33rd Assembly District, tell them togo to YouTube, type in “Kookoo forKatcho Stuff,” and watch a politicianexplain that he always and only votesfor the side his bread is buttered on.

Katcho’s Cayucos Viewshedmoment lives forever on YouTube

Viewshed Victorycontinued from page 1

of economic special interests nomatter how damaging the conse-quences, and came to symbolize thepolitical careers of both men. Theycouldn’t run away from it. As the last remaining board memberfrom that 2007 majority, SupervisorAchadjian now faces the rollback ofthe ordinance as a reminder andrebuke of his vote as he makes his bidfor the state Assembly seat held by atermed-out Sam Blakeslee (See “Backto Haunt Him,” below).

8


The other day thishumble Dogreceived a commu-nication from theRegional WaterQuality Board;order No. R3-2010.While wadingthrough page afterpage of confusitory codswaddle, I cameacross one sentence that was clear andconcise without any conjecture aboutwhat the definition of “is” is. Provision#28 of the Draft Ag Discharge Orderreads:

The discharge of Ag rubbish, refuseirrigation tubing or other solid wastesinto surface waters or at any place wherethey may contact or maybe eventuallydischarge to surface waters is prohibited.

That one sentence among thousands wasthe culmination of nine years of blood

the draft versions fell short of what thecourt decisions required in the opinionof state and local groups, which havebeen coordinated by the CoastkeeperAlliance. Twenty-one groups signed theAlliance’s comments opposing thepolicy that the board took up on May 4. The groups argued that the draftpolicy was deeply flawed and failed tomeet the Clean Water Act’s direction tophase out OTC and its impacts oncoastal and delta ecosystems. After the May 4 action, the Allianceissued a statement saying the Boardadopted a final policy that “addressed

many—though not all—of themost critical issues raised bythe coalition,” but it has “putCalifornia on track to phase outonce-through cooling.” Forexample, the standard of feasibil-ity for determining whether aplant owner could seek a waiverfrom complying with the policywas restored on May 4 afterhaving been removed in the draftpolicy. The adopted policy consists oftwo “tracks” that every plantmust follow. All begin in Track 1with individual compliance datesand requiring a 93% reduction in

Then there was CaliforniaDepartment of Fish and Game.The Creek Dogs joined their U-tipprogram in 2006, which prom-ised “Anonymity, action, integ-rity enforcement.” Their officersaw the worst of the massrubbish and tubing just after theflood, saying “I see violationseverywhere!”… then did abso-lutely nothing about it. At thiswriting, four years later, a vastmajority of that trash stillpollutes the creeks. Blocked by all these powerfulfirewalls and getting nowhere, wecame to our darkest hour whenthe creator caused us to drive bya humble sign: Sierra Club. Now we had heard about thesetrouble makin’ tree-huggers fromthe rednecks and also from themore polite enviros. But we said“what the heck, both of themhave called us worse,” so wepulled into the driveway. Insidewas a gentleman named Andrew

the flow rate of water taken into theplant. If owners can show compliancewith Track 1 requirements is “infea-sible,” the board can shift them toTrack 2, which requires a 90%reduction in that flow rate or in theplant’s impacts on sea life. The draft policy also had allowedmitigation—for example, payment ofmoney or some kind of environmen-tal improvement—as an alternative tocomplying with the policy. But that,too, was removed. The final policy also was amendedto reduce the potential for continuedextensions of deadlines to complywith the policy.

Once Through Coolingcontinued from page 4

sweat and tears thatexpended a caloric outputgreater than the nationaldebt. The Nipomo CreekDogs are thankful for oursuccess against the pollu-tive power structure. Whilemany of the provisions inthe Ag Discharge Order arecomplicated, and titanicstruggles are now beingwaged over them, provision

#28 seems to be a cost-neutral no–brainer. The Creek Dogs are a big part of thereason why it’s there. This was a classictruth-against-power situation, repletewith multiple bureaucractic firewalls.We remember the scourge of creek-choking, flood-triggering discardedirrigation tubing that was locallylabeled a portion of an “urban trash”problem — blaming the victims of theflood for the flood damage — all thewhile knowing that the tubing causedthe perfect storms of destruction inNipomo.

With the contamination of the centralcoast’s groundwater from pesticide andfertilizers getting worse and the need toregulate the largely unregulated toxicrunoff of agriculgural operations glar-ingly obvious, the results of the May 12regional water board workshop on theproposed Conditional Waiver for Irri-gated Agricultural Discharges shouldhave been a lot more encouraging. (See“This is Huge,” May.) Ag packed the SLO Elks Lodge. Theirlawyers argued thatthe proposed draftorder would cost hundreds of millions ofdollars, thousands of jobs, and the localtax base, and the water board shouldtherefore just stick with the 2004 AgWaiver instead. (They made the verysame apocalyptic predictions for theoriginal Ag Waiver, which they foughttooth and nail up until its adoption in2004. The sky did not fall.) Underenormous pressure from ag operators,

Regional Water Quality Control Boardmembers gave every indication ofleaning toward the extremely weak beeroffered by the California Farm Bureauas an alternative to the real regulationsthat are being proposed by water boardstaff. Essentially, they punted the issue to

next February, with commentsand feedback solicited throughAugust. Another public workshop willbe held in Watsonville in July, aproposed revised order releasedin November, and a proposedrevised order coming to the

Thank You,Provision #28by Ralph BishopNipomo Creek Dogs

Christie, who wascourteous and didn’tseem to have horns anda pointy tail. Afterviewing our photo-graphic evidence he wasinterested in anengaging way. We were pleasantlyshocked. He set up ameeting with the boardof directors, who werelikewise honestlyconcerned and pledgedtheir support. This support gave usthe glimmer of hopeand fortitude tocontinue. Andrewsuggested we needed toengage the directors ofthe Water Board – at apublic meeting of the

Board, not just one-on-one with staff. Go to meetings with bureaucrats?Our strength was paws-in-the-mud.But we supposed it was time to buckup and Git ‘er done. The Board members were notice-ably surprised that for two years theyhad not been made aware of theNipomo Creek problem. When our8 x 10 glossies of irrigation tubingclumps the size of Volkswagensclogging culverts were enlarged andprojected on the wall, it was apparentthat there was some ‘splainin to do.The wheels of bureaucratic eco-justice turn slow, but as this issueproves, truth will out and persistencepays off. We got one sentence, but agood sentence: Provision #28. The tubing and trash still remain inthe creeks of Nipomo, four long yearslater. We’re grateful to the WaterBoard, but the Department of Fishand Game seems to equally hold thereins in this matter. I urge everyonewho might appreciate our nine-yearstruggle to call Fish and Game higherups and ask a simple question. Whyafter four years with full knowledge ofthis issue has nothing been done? God bless our fellow troublemakers, the Sierra Club.

Board in February 2011. If we are to curb the impactssuffered by our water and watershedsfrom toxic argicultural runoff, wemust redouble our efforts betweennow and then. Visit www.ejcw.org and join thefight for “water justice.”

You’ve Gotto Fight forClean Water

Let’s get organized Monterey Coastkeeper SteveShimek (at right) came to SLO on May 12, along withmembers of the Environmental Justice Coalition forWater, to help get the message across to the waterboard that they need to clean up agricultural runoffnow. Three hundred people packed the all-day meetingat the SLO Elks Lodge (below).


Jenkins has made it abundantly clearthat his agency’s participation in thisprocess will consist primarily ofmarshalling its resources to arguethat vehicular activity in the ODSVRAis not responsible for the air qualityon the Nipomo Mesa, the worst in thecounty, in an effort to contradict theAPCD study that has shown this to bethe case. In other words, the priority of StateParks has been to deny its responsibil-ity for the problem. The priority ofthe County Board of Supervisorsshould be the protection of the healthof our citizens. Matters improved at the May 19meeting of the Air Pollution ControlDistrict Board, at which is wasdecided to embark upon a Memoran-dum of Agreement with State Parksthat will include a timeline forimplementation of pollution reduc-tion measures. But if the stateremains in denial, all of the aboveneeds to be made clear to the OHVDivision, as well as the fact that theCounty has the power to declare amoratorium on riding in the entireODSVRA while it awaits the imple-mentation of a solution to theproblem. Per our South CoastPlanning Area Standards: “Should theterms and conditions of the[ODSVRA] coastal permit not beenforced or accomplished or shouldthey not be sufficient to regulate theuse in a manner consistent with theprotection of resources, public healthand safety and community values,then under the county’s policepowers, the imposition of an interimmoratorium on ORV use may benecessary to protect resources whilelong-range planning, development offacilities and requisition of equip-ment and manpower is completed.” With absolutely no disrespectintended to our friends in the animalrights movement, we note that aslong as State Parks wants to play themule, the County has access to thetwo-by-four that may be necessary toget its attention.

Dunes & Dustcontinued from page 2

But perhaps the strongest personalreason for decreasing the meat inyour diet is to increase your lifespan.The wisdom of adding more veg-etables and less red meat to your diethas become a predictable refrain inany health guide. Vegetarians havelower rates of heart disease, hyperten-sion, type 2 diabetes, prostate andcolon cancer, study after study show,and the nonvegetarians who eat lessmeat show results in the samedirection. Americans on average take in overtwice the amount of protein they theyneed each day, so your dietis very likely to need less meat, notmore. A number of well-knownathletes are vegetarians, such asthe multi-Olympic Gold medalist CarlLewis and Scott Jurek, who is aboutthe best living long-distancerunner in the world. And also includeJohn Muir, a hardy man if there everwas one, who rarely ate meat andnever hunted on his wilderness treks. Men are much more carnivorous

bara Boyle, and Sacramento staffmembers Jim Metropulos andMichael Endicott. Bruce Hamilton provided an up-date on the Resilient Habitats cam-paign, which is designed to protecthabitat and provide connectivity dur-ing the time of climate change.There are ten particular habitats cho-sen nationwide. Much work has beendone on identifying the areas andthinking of solutions, but a lot re-mains to be done. Resolutions were presented by theirsponsors and discussed by delegateson Saturday, then voted upon onSunday. The Santa Lucia Chapter’sdelegates were Letty French and JohnBurdette, with Cal French and KenSmokaska voting as delegates-at-large. Approved resoultions includedzero-waste, concerning removal ofcompostables from the waste stream(which would reduce green house gasproduction); a resolution to move thesolar energy complex planned for theIvanpah site in the Mojave from itsproposed location on desert tortoisehabitat to already disturbed land; aDistributed Generation RenewableEnergy resolution strongly support-ing local distributed solar generationover large centralized energyprojects; and a resolution to supporta ban on the use of unleased dogs inhunting black bears. Barbara Boyle provided an updateof the Large Scale Renewable energyand Transmission guidelines forChapters and Groups. Nationwide theClub has stopped construction ofmore than 100 new coal fired powerplants, and is working to promoteenergy conservation. There are hun-dreds of applications for solar PVfacilities in the sunny Southwest.Kern County has 11 applications juston private lands. The conflict overimpacts on our California desert be-came part of the discussion, particu-larly the Ivanpah site. SenatorFeinstein has proposed a bill whichwould provide for two new NationalMonuments in the California desert

for areas that were acquired for theirconservation values and entrusted tothe Bureau of Land Management. Ladd and Gail Seekins whipped up ascrumptuous black bean andcouscous dish for dinner, with icecream cake for dessert. After-dinner entertainment was adiscussion of statewide water issuesand the upcoming water bond initia-tive on the November ballot. Thesebond monies would be used to builddams, which really can’t provide anymore water. Last for the evening wasa video called “Wild vs. Wall,” thestory of the destruction of the wholesouthern border of the USA to build awall that doesn’t keep out illegal im-migrants. Sunday morning dawned cool andfoggy, so fluffy egg soufflé and hotoatmeal were quite welcome. By0900 Sunday morning, everyone hadpitched in and cleaned up the kitchenand dining room and gathered in theauditorium. A roll-call of nameddelegates was followed by the vote onthe resoltions and election of theSteering Committee for Sierra ClubCalifornia. This was followed by discussions ofthe State Parks Initiative slated forthe November ballot, a wildernessreport by Vicki Hoover, thetreasurer’s report by Dan Sullivan,and the Sierra Club California ActionNetwork. If you haven’t alreadysigned up for the Cal-Activists Listnetwork, please do so atwww.sierraclub.org/memberlists. A special event paid tribute to MarkMassara in recognition of his effec-tiveness and dedicated services to theSierra Club on coastal issues. Markhas been an amazing activist for theprotection of the coast and ocean,and we were all extremely saddenedby his departure from our staff due tobudgetary constraints. Again, special thanks to JohnBurdette, who opens up and locks up,takes care of the sound and projec-tion systems and teaches us all howto take care of Rancho El Chorro.

Activists & Mercury Put Desal Plan inRetrograde,” February). The Army Corps was not pleasedwhen the Santa Lucian publishedHarkins’ account. On February 6,Thomas Keeney, the Corps’ projectecologist for the Cambria desalproject, fired off an e-mail to elevenUSACE colleagues and CCSD staff(which was promptly leaked to NewTimes) in which he tried to discreditHarkins’ testing and declared that

Vegetariancontinued from page 4

Cal-Nev Committeecontinued from page 3

Harkinscontinued from page 3

“After reading this article, my bodywas tense and stressed and it mademe damn angry with these yahooswho fail to understand anything.” Hewrote that he has “loathed the SierraClub” since childhood and that we“cannot see the forest through thetrees.” He attacked the study done byHarkins, a retired school teachertaking on the task after the Corps hadfailed to do so, for its “lack of chain ofcustody documentation.”

“It is now time, in my estimation,”he wrote, “to bring in the Corps’ PAO[Public Affairs Office] as well as[District Commander] ColonelMagness and possibly SPD [SouthPacific Division] into the fray.” We don’t know if the Army Corpsdecided to stand down rather thanbring up the heavy p.r. artillery, butwe trust they will now do what theCoastal Commission has directedthem to do, thanks to determinedcitizen activism: Ensure that theirproject is safe enough to proceed. Keeney championed desalination tohis colleagues because is does not“dam canyons and destroy anddegrade hundreds of square miles ofterrestrial habitat for water pipelines.” All USACE and CCSD staff whobelieve that the only alternative todesalination is dams and waterpipelines should acquaint themselveswith the website and reports of thePacific Institute at www.pacinst.org --in particular the report “Desalination,with a Grain of Salt: A CaliforniaPerspective.”

Graywater: How-ToMladen Bandov (right) of the SLOCoalition of Approrpriate Technology-- SLO Green Build, Surfrider, andSierra Club -- delivered part of SLO-COAT’s presentation on graywatersystems to a joint meeting of the LosOsos Community Advisory Counciland the Los Osos Community Ser-vices District on April 29. Graywater systems can significantlyreduce residential potable water use, akey goal of the water conservationcomponent of the Los Osos Waste-water Project, whose permit will beconsidered by the California CoastalCommission on June 10.

than women and also have lives sixyears shorter. Over two-thirds ofvegetarians are women. If you have been consideringlessening the meat in your diet, startsmall. We have powerful emotionalattachments to what we eat: Thanks-giving turkeys, the aroma of bacon inthe morning, the sight of hot dogscooking over a campfire, or hamburg-ers being grilled in summer... justthe thought of these weakens myresolution. But a few practices haveworked for me, and may for you:- Try smaller portions. I can besatisfied with a 6-ounce rather thanan 8 or 12-ounce steak without toomuch difficulty, especially if I buysmaller portions at the grocery store,the essential step.- Consider having a “V-day,” a daywith no meat once a week. This reallyisn’t difficult.- Find a few tasty vegetarian maindishes. There are a number of simple,obvious ones such as a baked potatowith toppings, mac and cheese, pastawith tomato or pesto sauce, or riceand beans. This is the key to a “V-day” succeeding. You need to enjoythe food you eat. Eating less meat not only helps tosave the planet, it can also give youmore years in life to enjoy it.

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COSEcontinued from page 3

The minimum requirement of theCalifornia Environmental Quality Act(CEQA) is that a project’s significantenvironmental impacts be avoided ifpossible, mitigated if not avoidable,and, if neither is possible, thatdemonstrable “overriding consider-ations” be declared if a project is to bepermitted. But any municipality isfree to write policies into its generalplan that build on the floor that CEQAprovides, with stronger protectionsand guidance to project developers sothat they will know which projectscity or county officials are likely toapprove or deny. For Sunpower, First Solar, andPG&E, preparing to bring forwardmassive solar power plant projects onthe Carrizo Plain -- sited amidst thelargest concentration of threatenedand endangered species of plants andanimals in the state -- that was notwelcome news. The solar companies began placingeditorials in The Tribune toutingremote centralized solar power plantsand dismissing the alternative: Small-scale rooftop solar for new andexisting commercial buildings,parking lots and residences withvirtually zero environmental impacts.First Solar’s project manager extolledher company’s project as environmen-tally benign, so much so that itsconstruction might even aid in thesurvival of the Carrizo’s threatenedand endangered species. At the sametime, she wrote a letter to thePlanning Commission demandingthat “flexibility” be maintained in theCOSE by ensuring that the newCounty policy do no more thanregurgitate the CEQA minimumrequirements. First Solar insisted thatthe Commission write assurances intothe COSE, in half a dozen differentplaces, that “overriding consider-ations” could be declared that wouldpermit their company’s project nomatter how many significant, un-avoidable, unmitigatable environ-mental impacts it may inflict. Matters came to a head at the July23 meeting of the Commission. At theprevious meeting, Christie hadsuccessfully pressed for “avoidance”language for the environmentalimpacts of renewable energy projects,and for the local energy alternativesthat would allow for an environmen-tally friendly way to achieve the sameclean, renewable energy that could beprovided by centralized powerprojects proposed to be located insensitive habitat areas. PG&E and thesolar companies contracted by theutility to build the power plantsdemanded that the COSE, a long-range planning document, state nopolicy or preference that might serveto guide the County in what kinds ofrenewable energy projects are to bepreferred in the future. During a break in the meeting,Sunpower, First Solar and PG&Erepresentatives descended onChristie’s Planning Commissioncolleagues in the lobby of the CountyGovernment Center and gave themholy hell for allowing languagepromoting distributed generation –aka local energy, largely in the formof rooftop solar – into the EnergyChapter. The rest of the meeting turned intoa harrangue by the solar companies,PG&E, and their local political alliesagainst rooftop solar and distributedgeneration. At the first opportunity,one after the other, every PlanningCommissioner but Christie publiclyapologized from the dais, disavowingthe “local energy” language that hadmade it into the COSE at the previous

supposed to be the final Board ofSupervisors meeting on the COSE onApril 27, Johnson asked for and got atwo-week delay so that the solarcompanies could continue to “havediscussions” with staff and CountyCounsel and persuade them to seethings their way. That didn’t work either. To theireternal credit, planners stoppedtrying to accommodate the demandsof the solar companies and stoodtheir ground, back-stopped byCounty Counsel and a rock-solid AgDepartment. Had staff seen things the solarcompanies’ way, thousands of acres ofPrime Farmland could have beendeveloped in the future with minimalor no mitigation, triggering severepotential environmental impacts not

led the passage of a ballot measure thatprevented new offshore oil facilities offthe Santa Cruz coast without voterapproval. When Governor Schwarze-negger began selling a bill of goods toCalifornia voters, Laird never boughtthe idea that more rigs would be theanswer to our budget crisis. In theAssembly, he ensured the availability ofoil spill response funds in case ourcoast is struck with a tragedy such asthe Gulf Coast is experiencing. By way of contrast, Laird’s opponent,Sam Blakeslee, last year tried to slip abill into the state budget package thatwould have allowed the first newoffshore drilling leases in state watersin 40 years. After the measure failed ina floor fight, Blakeslee voted to havethe record of the vote expunged. Laird has been a leading voice oninvesting in renewable energy, creatinggreen jobs and incorporating sustain-able building in California. He was akey figure in legislative efforts to investin renewable fuels, technologies,advanced vehicles and alternative fuelinfrastructures to help California meetits climate change goals and creategreen jobs. Additionally, he worked tocreate incentives for local governmentsto utilize renewable energy sourcesand homeowners to reduce energy use. As Budget Chair in the Assembly,Laird fought to ensure that the stateadequately funded environmentalresources. He fought to keep our stateparks open because they protectCalifornia’s landmarks and historicalheritage, not to mention local hotels,

restaurants and travel industry. He has been a significant leader oncoastal issues that affect our localcoastal environment and economy.Laird authored legislation on thecoastal trail, storm water runoff,invasive aquatic species, cruise shipdumping, sea otter protection, oilspill response funding and enhancingthe marine protection process. Elected to the Assembly to repre-sent the 27th Assembly District,including portions of Santa Cruz,Monterey and Santa Clara Counties,in 2002, Laird was re-elected in 2004and 2006, receiving over 70% of thevote each time. In 2008, the San JoseMercury News named Laird the “MostEffective Legislator” in the region. We agree. And now he can be thesame for our region. If no candidate receives over 50% ofthe vote on June 22, a run-off electionis scheduled to be held August 17(Again: thanks, governor) unless acourt rules otherwise and the run-offis consolidated with the generalelection in November.

So, right now:If you are interested in helping elect astellar environmental leader, go towww.lairdforsenate.com ... orcall 530-219-6523 ... or [email protected] ... or walk intothe building pictured below. Phonebanking days & nights (dinnerprovided); precinct walking onweekends. You will be very, very gladyou did.

Where you need to be now Drop by Laird campaign HQ at Pismo and Broad in San LuisObispo and say “What can I do to help?”

meeting and promising to go backand “fix it” later. By the end of that meeting,Christie’s fate was sealed. She wasforced to step down, taking with herone of the highest quotients of guts-to-brains possessed by any elected orappointed official in the state. Alsolost was her passionate engagementwith the issues, encyclopedic grasp ofland use planning, ability to puttogether consensus votes on mas-sively complex planning issues, andinsistence on the rules that have beenput in place to ensure a genuinedemocratic process and the protec-tion of our natural resources. On April 6, urged on by representa-tives from SunPower, First Solar, andPG&E, the County Supervisorsremoved from the COSE any languageimplying environmental protectionsin large-scale renewable energyproject permits beyond the CEQAminimum. The also removed everyreference to “local energy.” Somelanguage remained approving“distributed generation” -- “localenergy” by another name -- but theBoard lost its chance to establish aclear preference for the most promis-ing, lowest-impact form of solarpower. By way of contrast, on May 16, theCalifornia-Nevada Regional Conserva-tion Committee of the Sierra Club,representing all Club chapters in thetwo states, affirmed a policy favoringdistributed generation “primarilythrough the use of photovoltaic (PV)solar as a priority for the rapidincrease in the percentage of renew-able sources of electricity…. UtilizingDG to provide a majority of renew-able energy reduces the need forlarge-scale remote renewableprojects, thereby greatly reducing…damage to the environment fromboth the transmission lines and thelarge-scale projects, and at the sametime providing economic growthpotential to local communities.”

Ag SoilsAs the COSE headed for a final vote atthe end of April, the Soils Chapterbecame the final battleground for thesolar companies that had fought toremove “local energy” and assure thattheir projects could get a permit nomatter how much adverse environ-mental impact they caused. First Solar and Sunpower’s lawyers,continuing to seek advantage for theirclients, now demanded that theCounty eliminate the definition ofPrime Farmland as so desginatedwhether or not the land is irrigated.The corporations’ proposed projectsites in the Carrizo are primarily onPrime Farmland, and the price formitigating the loss of that land wouldbe steep in comparison to getting apermit that did not recognize thatresource definition for the land anddid not require such mitigation. One problem: California definesPrime Farmland by soil composition,whether or not the land is irrigated.The COSE merely noted that fact,which the County does not have theauthority to change. Sunpower attorney Kevin Johnson’sopening salvo was a 12-page letter tothe Board of Supervisors containingan unsubtle threat of legal actionunless the definition of PrimeFarmland was removed for the benefitof his employers. First Solar’s projectmanager referred to the state defini-tion of Prime Farmland as “theoffending language.” Someonepersuaded the Attorney General to getinto the act, and he sent the County aletter that mimicked the solarcompanies’ Alice-in-Wonderlandconception of prime soils. When noneof this did the trick at what was

Lairdcontinued from page 1

contemplated in the EnvironmentalImpact Report of the Conservationand Open Space Element. And thatwould have meant a lawsuit, one thatthe County would lose. But staffrefused to back down, and SupervisorBruce Gibson led the Board to a finalvote on May 11. Prime Farmlandabides. The COSE wasn’t all it could havebeen. The fight to make it better andto hold onto hard-won gains inenvironmental protection leftunacceptable casualties in its wake.But the Sierra Club, North CountyWatch, and some concerned, articu-late citizens, County staff and Super-visors fought for and won a Conserva-tion and Open Space Element that hasimproved the County’s land usepolicies.


ClassifiedsNext issue deadline is June 14. 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]

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.

A portion of any commissiondonated to the Sierra Club

Pismo toSan Simeon

GREEN HOMES

Now on Faceboook

search: “Santa Lucia”

and become our friend!

CYNTHIA HAWLEY

ATTORNEY

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

LAND USE

CIVIL LITIGATION

P.O. Box 29 Cambria California 93428

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

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.

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 eachisland and pointout interestingfeatures. To make areservation mail a$100 check payableto Sierra Club toleaders Joan JonesHoltz & DonHoltz, 11826 TheWye St., El Monte,CA 91732. Contactleaders for moreinformation (626-443-0706;[email protected])

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

Wednesdays, June 2, 9, 16, 23, and30, 5:30 p.m. Informal Hikes aroundSan Luis Obispo. 1 to 2 hour hikesaround San Luis Obispo, 5-6 miles,with elevation gain around 1200 feet.For more information or to sign upfor Hikers List sendan e-mail to GaryFelsman.

Sat., June 12,9:30 a.m. Up theCreek, but With aPaddle. We willpaddle up Turri Creekwith a favorabletide and sneak up onsome wildlife. Bringyour kayak and wewill launch at theMorro Bay State Parkmarina behind theBayside Cafe. Planon being at themarina at 9:30 AMand launching at10:00. It is requiredthat PFDs be worn.Rain and/or highwinds cancel. Hats,water, and sunscreenrecommended. Docall or email at least24 hrs. or moreahead, so we knowhow many to expector with questions.For moreinformation or toconfirm, call MikeSims (805) 459-1701,[email protected]

Sun., June 13,5:00pm, SierraSingles – OntarioRidge/Shell BeachBluffs Coastal Trail.Join Sierra Club hikeleader Stacy Talberton this approximate2.8 mile hike/walkoverlooking amazingcoastal views andbeautiful cliff sidehouses. Please wearcomfortable walking/hiking shoes,bring plenty of water, and a desire tomeet other singles from the centralcoast. Parking is limited so a car poolwill leave from Santa Rosa Park inSan Luis Obispo at 4:15pm. DrivingDirections: 101 Hwy, exit Avila BeachDr, head west to 1st street (ShellBeach Rd) and turn left, continue .3miles to El Portal Dr., turn right, .6miles bear right on Indio Drive, trailhead is on the right just before “TheBluffs” gated homes. Lot only has fourspaces, but there is usually streetparking as well. Possible gathering fordinner afterwards. Call Stacy (818-472-6827) for more details.

Sat., June 19, 9:30 a.m. Bishop PeakExploration Hike. Visit several of ourCentral Coast environments from oakwoodlands to the sage scrub tothe chaparral on one hike. Just 5.4miles takes us around Felsman loop,up to the top of Bishop Peak and backto Patricia Drive. There are a fewsteep parts and sturdy shoes arerecommended but this hike will beat a moderate pace. Approximately1100 feet of elevation gain. Patricia

Drive trailhead. Leader Mike Sims,(805) 459 1701, [email protected] are encouraged to hikewith us.

Sat., June 26, 8:30 a.m. Big SurCoastal Hike. Come explore portionsof the Big Sur Coast on this 6 to 8mile hike with 2400 foot elevationgain. If it is clear, we will have greatviews of the Coast. If the weather issuper foggy or just plain hot, we maychange our destination slightly tokeep cool and soak our feet. Theremay be a few bugs. Bring water, lunchand dress for the weather. Meet at theWashburn Day Use Area, San SimeonState Park, about 2 miles north ofCambria. SLO Carpool leaves SantaRosa Park at 7:40 a.m. Details callGary (805)473-3694.

Sat., June 26, 9 a.m. SandSpit, Montana de Oro. Meet at theSand Spit parking lot in Montana deOro State Park, a right turn .8 milepast entrance sign to park (or 2.5miles from the intersection ofLos Osos Valley Rd. and South Bay Dr.in Los Osos). Join this walk along thePacific shore into a world of surf,sand, and tranquillity. Bring IDbooks, if you have them, to discusslocal fauna and flora. 9 miles roundtrip, estimated time 4 hours. Wear

comfortable shoes, clothing suitablefor cool, breeezy weather, water, andsnacks/lunch. For more info,contact Bill Waycott, 459-2103,[email protected]

Sun., June 27, 9:00am, Sierra 20’s/30’s – Stagecoach Road to RollerCoasters. Join Sierra Club hike leaderStacy Talbert on a hike of part of thehistoric Old Padre Trail and throughportions of Cuesta Canyon. This is amoderate 5.5 mile hike with anelevation gain of 900’, please wearsturdy hiking boots, bring hikingpoles if you like to use them, plenty ofwater, and a snack. Come see theother side of the mountain that iseasily overlooked but carries amazingbeauty and history. From SLO take101 Hwy about 3.5 miles to theStagecoach Rd turnoff on the left atthe base of the Cuesta Grade. Turn leftand park .02 miles ahead on thecement slab on the right. Possiblegathering for lunch after. Call Stacy(818-472-6827) for more details. Youcan also check us out online onfacebook, search Santa Lucia.

Wednesdays, July 7, 14, 21, and 28,5:30 p.m. Informal Hikes aroundSan Luis Obispo. 1 to 2 hour hikesaround San Luis Obispo, 5-6 miles,with elevation gain around 1200 feet.For more information or to sign upfor Hikers List send an e-mail to GaryFelsman.

Documents

• June 2010 Lucian - Sierra Club...2 Santa Lucian • June 2010 Change of Address? Mail changes to: Sierra Club National Headquarters 85 Second Street, 2nd Floor San Francisco, CA