PEATDUSTER - Sierra Club · National Geographic Photo Ark so far has refined their list to Least Concern, Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered and Extinct

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PEATDUSTER Volume 50 Number3 P-1 Delta-Sierra Group Newsletter May– July 2019

The Sierra Club - Explore, Enjoy and Protect the Planet

Visit us at www.sierraclub.org/mother-lode/delta-sierra

Point Reyes Photo by Pete Sanders

SUMMER READING

Extinction of Species, Butterflies Super-Bloom, Roundup those Neonicotinoids, Bees Get Relief from EPA, GMO’s, Clair Tappaan

Lodge Fundraiser and Director Michael Brune, Conservation Chair Mary Elizabeth’s Award plus her letter on a proposed Outpatient Facility, Senator Cathleen Galgiani and the Cadiz Water Grab, and some New Inventions.

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Explore, enjoy and protect the planet. Explore, enjoy and protect the planet. Explore, enjoy and protect the planet. Explore, enjoy and protect the planet. Explore, enjoy and protect the planet. The Sierra Club - Explore, Enjoy and Protect the Planet

Volume 50 Number 3 P-2 Peatduster Delta-Sierra Group May– July 2019

FROM THE EDITOR

There were no meetings in May and none were planed for June and July. However, during May month alone there was considerable news on topics like climate change, extinction of species, pesticides, and everything else we can think of relating to the environment.

The next election has already started and we need to keep reminding people of the tragic events taking place across the planet while the current administration seems to focus on becoming the master of diversion, disruption and dysfunctional petulant frenzies.

As members of Delta-Sierra Group we are mostly talking about the environment and not immigrant migration, trade wars, real wars, medical and drug costs, impeachment and the myriad of other issues facing our nation. We thought it would be a good idea to issue a “Summer Peatduster.” Please enjoy a mélange of topics. How about this one.?

Oh, the shark, babe, has such teeth, dear.

And it shows them pearly white….

Did you know Sharks continually replace lost teeth? A shark may grow 24,000 teeth in a lifetime. Lizards who lose all or part of their tails can grow new ones. This is a good win-win escape technique. Sea cucumbers have bodies that can grow to be three feet long. If cut into pieces, each piece can become a new sea cucumber. Spiders can regrow missing legs or parts of legs. Sponges can be divided and the cells of the sponge will regrow and combine exactly as before. How does this happen? As extinction occurs, we may never learn!

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Extinction Is More OR less Forever Recently the United Nations issued a warning that one million species are endangered and threatened with extinction. (The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species shows only 27,000!) Besides the prospect of growing teeth and avoiding the dentist forever, scientists and researchers are trying to find out how Ebola is spread for example. It is believed that the virus spreads from contact mostly with bats, but can include great apes and species of forest-dwelling antelope. It may infect hunters or anyone who eats tainted bush meat. Yes, bat burgers are very popular in the Congo. The point is we need to protect all species not just for their diversity, but also for medical study.

National Geographic Photo Ark so far has refined their list to Least Concern, Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered and Extinct in the Wild. Photo Ark founder and National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore has visited 40 countries to create a photo archive of global biodiversity. To date, he has completed intimate portraits of more than 9000 species. Many of these are Critically Endangered. To see them, visit https://www.nationalgeographic.org/projects/photo-ark/

Bhutan Glory is a species of swallowtail but-terfly which is found in Bhutan, parts of north eastern India and of Southeast Asia. This spectacular insect is rare and much sought after by collectors. Read more about butterflies on the next page.

Photo by Joel Sartore Don’t Eat The Bat!

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Welcome Home Global climate change is reshaping California’s flora and fauna in unexpected ways. UC Davis Professor Arthur Shapiro has been studying California’s butterfly population since 1972. The cumulative result of his research career suggests that climate change is having a substantial impact on California butterflies. Persistent drought caused the monarch butterfly population to drop dramatically over the last few years, and then this spring, the extra rainfall and snow pack has helped create a super-bloom of flowers and butterflies.

In his 2018 Looking Backward report, he noted that 2017 "saw drops in lowland butterflies and little or no recovery from drought-year declines in the mountains." Shapiro spoke about "Butterflies As Heralds of the Apocalypse” at the Davis Science Cafe in April.

Editor’s Note: A few years ago Professor Shapiro was the guest speaker for Delta-Sierra Group. He entered the Fireside Room offering no special announcement and was dressed in what might be called “donated field clothing”. We thought he was homeless. We welcomed him just like we say, “… all general meetings are open to everyone whether you are a Sierra Club member or not”. Imagine our surprise when we learned he was the speaker! He presented a fabulous program on the destruction of habitat for butterfly migration. It would be wonderful if we could get him back again.

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You of course heard that this May a jury awarded $2 million to a couple with cancer after using Roundup. They were suffering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma after finding Monsanto failed to warn them about the potential risks of using the popular weed killer Roundup. In March a jury awarded $80 million to a cancer patient with non-Hodgkin lymphoma after determining that the patient’s Roundup use was a “substantial” factor in causing his cancer.

Later that month, another verdict was handed down in a similar Roundup lawsuit for $78 million for another patient diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma after Roundup use. More than 10,000 lawsuits are pending across the country against Monsanto regarding cancer links to Roundup. These verdicts will certainly be appealed.

In a new study by the University of Canterbury (New Zealand), Professor Jack Heinemann has found that some of the world’s most widely used herbicides, Roundup (glyphosate) and Kamba (dicamba), increase the rate of antibiotic resistance development in bacteria by a factor of up to 100,000 times faster than occurs without the herbicide. Both herbicides are used on genetically modified crops engineered to tolerate them. We call these crops simply GMO’s.

An important finding of the new study was that even in cases where the herbicides increase the toxicity of antibiotics they also significantly increased the rate of antibiotic resistance, which could be contributing to the greater use of antibiotics in both agriculture and medicine. Previously these researchers found that exposures to the herbicide products Roundup, Kamba and 2,4-D or the active ingredients alone most often increased resistance, but sometimes increased the susceptibility of potential human pathogens such as Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli, depending on the antibiotic.[

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BEE ALL YOU CAN BEE

Finally, bees get a break. The Environmental Protection Agency is removing a dozen products containing pesticides known to be toxic to the honeybee. The agency announced in May it has canceled the registrations of 12 pest-killing products with compounds belonging to a class of chemicals known as neonicotinoids, as part of a legal settlement.

The decision follows five years of litigation in which the beekeepers and environmentalists pressed the agency to mount a response to the use of neonics as regulators in Europe and Canada have taken steps toward banning the chemicals.

Concern over neonics has grown since 2006, when beekeepers first started witnessing the sudden and mysterious collapse of honeybee hives across the nation.

Research has shown these neonic compounds to be harmful to bees in laboratory tests. But they have not pined down the pesticides’ effects on beekeepers’ colonies when they go about their work pollinating everything from almonds to zucchini. While many studies had connected neonicotinoids, a common class of insecticides derived from nicotine, to bee deaths in the past, few studies had examined how much pesticide is needed to harm bees or how long the exposure must take. Critics argued previous scientific studies used unrealistic quantities of pesticides in their experiments.

New studies say the environmental levels of neonicotinoids surrounding farms do not obliterate bee colonies outright, but instead kill them over extended periods of time. The pesticides also threaten bee queens in particular, which means colonies have lower reproductive rates.

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Include Delta-Sierra Group in Your Will and Trust Delta-Sierra Club members have asked if they can bequeath money in their will and trust specifically to our local Delta-Sierra Group. The answer is yes, but to be certain that the gift actually goes to Delta-Sierra Group and not the Sierra Club in general, the language in the will and trust must be specific. The suggested language provided by the Sierra Club is as follows:

I give ___________________ [amount or percentage] to the Sierra Club, a California nonprofit corporation, currently located at 2101 Webster Street, Suite 1300, Oakland, CA, 94612 (Attention: Gift Planning Program), to be used by Sierra Club's Delta-Sierra Group of the Mother Lode Chapter for the protection and preservation of the environment. In the event that the Delta-Sierra Group, or its successor, is no longer an active Sierra Club entity, then the interest shall pass to the Mother Lode Chapter for its conservation activities. Should the Mother Lode Chapter, or its successor, cease to exist, then the Board of Directors of the Sierra Club shall have sole authority in administering the funds.

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Heads Up. Better act quickly.

A fundraiser will take place at the his-toric Donner Pass, Clair Tappaan Lodge September 20 to 22, 2019. The goal is to raise $25,000 to support environmental education.

MICHAEL BRUNE - Sierra Club Executive Director - Will be speaking Saturday, September 21, 7:00 pm. HIKES - Easy, moderate, hard - to lakes and mountain tops. RAFFLE With great prizes - Gift cards, 2-day stay at Clair Tappaan Lodge, Lowe boots and more. ART AUCTION - Art of the Sierra MUSIC - Makes you happier. GOOD FOOD - Saturday evening upscale outdoor dining with guest chef from Basecamp, Clair Tappaan Lodge’s management firm.

Cost for fundraiser weekend = $220 - three nights, all meals (vegetarian option); children’s rate (stay tuned!) Cost for Saturday ONLY events: Michael Brune, raffle, dinner, and music = $85 Call (530) 426-3632

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Mary Elizabeth Recipient of the Delta-Sierra Group Award 2019

Prior to 1997, Mary Elizabeth served on the Executive Committee of the Delta-Sierra Group and learned about conservation issues from Steve Stocking, Waldo Holt and Bill Jennings - some of her heroes. She left Stockton to pursue a Master of Science degree in Hydrologic Science and continued her work in wastewater discharge permit compliance before transitioning to public education. She worked for many years at Grant Union High School located in Sacramento, California teaching biology and chemistry before returning to Stockton to help out with family.

Upon returning to the Stockton community about a year and a half ago, Mary was voted back on the Delta-Sierra Group Executive Committee where she took on the role of Conservation Chair and has been a force of energy on conservation issues in our community. Her primary focus is groundwater sustainability and she is currently a member of the Eastern San Joaquin Stakeholders Workgroup and City of Stockton Water Advisory Group.

Because she is very knowledgeable about groundwater issues she attends meetings where decisions are being made and she researches issues as needed keeping our members informed. She does this while still teaching full time! As Conservation Chair she has been vigilant about monitoring issues going before the City of Stockton Planning Commission and she writes in-depth response letters to follow up when needed. An example of her work follows on the next page.

She has taken on the role of Webmaster an is trained as an Outings Leader who leads monthly hikes for our area. For our Earth Day booth this year, she gathered and distributed wonderfully fresh rosemary cuttings. We can’t say enough about her contributions and role with Delta-Sierra Group other than she really deserves this award and our appreciation.

Margo Praus and Mary Elizabeth.►

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CADIZ WATER GRAB Overdrawing our ground water resources in California has always been a critical environmental issue. Sierra Club California asked us to contact California Senator Cathleen Galgiani concerning drawdown of water from an aquifer in the Mojave Desert. I believe my email and followup email to Senator Galgiani which she did not answer explains the issue and her NO vote also says a lot. We will remember! Here is what I write: I urge you to vote YES on Senate Bill 307 (Roth). Cadiz Inc. is a for-profit company whose stock is traded on NASDAQ. They own 35,000 acres of private property within the boundaries of the Mojave Trails National Monument. They wish to draw water from the Fenner Basin, an aquifer that is about 1200 square miles (767,997 acres) over a 50-year period and provide it to thirsty cities 200 miles away. I am opposed to this plan! According to information I have reviewed, Cadiz wants to pump 16.3 billion gallons of water from the desert each year, equivalent to 50,000 acre-feet. An environmental assessment found that 32,000 acre-feet of water would naturally recharge the aquifer each year leaving an 18,000-acre-feet annual deficit. Explain to me, what gives the right to any company or any person to steal and profit from a natural resource that would leave the basin empty by 900,000 acre-feet (293,266,285,714 – Yes, 292 billion gallons)? If you do the math, Cadiz only owns 4.6% of the land over the Fenner Basin. It would seem fair to take a portion of the 32,000 acre-feet each year with strict monitoring that would confirm the basin maintains it present level/volume during this period of climate change. Perhaps it would be helpful in your decision process to study the history of Los Angeles’s water grab from the once, largest lake in California, Owens Lake. Providing water created the need to provide more water. Owens Lake is a dry dust bowl now. Please vote YES on SB 307. Thank you. Sincerely, Robert E. Evans Lodi, California

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May 29, 2019

Dear Senator Cathleen Galgiani,

Recently Sierra California’s Director Kathryn Phillips sent emails to members of Delta-Sierra Group urging us to contact you and request that you vote Yes on Senate Bill 307. Although the bill passed the Senate with 21 Ayes against 11 Noes and 6 NVR’s (No Votes Recorded) and now goes to the California State Assembly, you voted No. I would like to know why you voted no so I can report it in our newsletter called the Peatduster.

Delta-Sierra Group is part of the Mother Lode Chapter of the Sierra Club and we represent cities like Lodi, Stockton, Manteca and Tracy.

SB-307 is one of those yes we have no bananas type bills. A Yes vote meant Cadiz Inc. would not be permitted to overdraw water from Fenner Basin located within the boundaries of the Mojave Trails National Monument. A no vote meant Cadiz Inc. would be able to grab water from the basin and profit from its conveyance.

We are living in a time when there are several serious climate-change events occurring some place on our planet every day. I feel we need to maintain a civil dialog with our political representatives to understand their position on issues. I also recognize that to compromise and find a balance on some issues may not be possible. This is why I am asking you to explain your vote.

You of course are under no obligation respond to my request, but I prefer to report your reply in our newsletter.

Thank you for meeting my request.

Robert Evans Delta-Sierra Group Newsletter Editor

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Hold the Phone…. Stop the Presses...

A former Delta-Sierra Group member, Tom Hora, who now lives in New Mexico with his wife, Kate, provided me with the news that Judge George Wu of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled Thursday, June 20th that the federal Bureau of Land Management failed to provide sufficient evidence for its 2017 decision to reverse its own 2015 decision requiring an environmental review for the Cadiz pipeline.

“A full review could take at least a year and could open up Cadiz to even more litigation.”

The 43-mile long pipeline through Mojave Trails National Monument was approved by the Trump administration after former Cadiz lobbyist David Bernhardt became deputy Secretary of the Interior. Cadiz, citing an obscure 1873 law, had argued it had a right to build the pipeline within a railroad right-of-way without environmental review as long as the water had a rail-related use.

Cadiz claimed that another party would operate a steam-powered train and would use some of that water!

Please be aware that SB 307 is not redundant and we are not out of the woods yet. While it pertains to the Cadiz project and is designed for it, it does not specifically address or focus on Cadiz. It is intended for any water grab from monuments located in California. Hopefully it will pass the California Assembly.

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MEET THE INCREDIBLE WATER MOWER

The wetlands of Nepal’s Chitwan National Park are being overrun by a menace: Eichhornia crassipes. Also known as water hyacinth, this flowering plant spreads so explosively that it smothers native plants and chokes up lakes, causing trouble for both people and animals. We have plenty of it in the Delta. To clear these pesky propagators and other invasive plants from the wetlands, World Wildlife Fund and a cadre of engineers have built the first-ever water mower.

Initial tests of the water mower prototype took place on Beeshazaar Lake, an oxbow lake in Chitwan National Park. The 7900-acre wetland provides critical habitat for many of Nepal’s rare and endangered species, including Bengal tigers, gharials, and greater one-horned rhinos. The water mower is a cheap way to clear overgrown wetlands, and much faster and easier than manual labor. Now, WWF is building a second, more user-friendly model that will be used to scale up efforts throughout the cluster of nine lakes in Pokhara Valley, at the foot of the Himalayan mountain range. Why “mow” a lake? As invasive plants grow and spread, they cover and block other plants’ access to light and water, killing native flora that aquatic species and wildlife depend on. As they decay, they also clog wetlands and impact water flow, which can threaten the functioning of ecosystems and have long-term negative effects on biodiversity.

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Built from 80% scrap metal and powered by two motorcycle engines, this crafty contraption floats atop several industrial-sized plastic drums, scooping up unwelcome weeds on a conveyor belt as it chugs along. And it means business: The mower can carry up to a ton of organic waste at a time! Here is a parts diagram: 1 First conveyor belt, 2 Motorcycle engines (Harley-Davidson are best), 3 Brakes 4 Plastic drums, 5 Solar panels, 6 Second conveyor belt, 7 Dumping platform.

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Sunflare’s Remarkable Solar Panel

A company called Sunflare has developed a solar panel that is extremely flexible and light weight. This allows it to be attached to unusual-shaped surfaces such as the top of tear drop trailers, flat and curved surfaces on cars and boats, and entire roof surfaces on homes, cabins and other structures. Panels are roughly 39 inches by 66 inches each and weigh 5 kilos (11 pounds). This works out to be 0.62 pounds per square foot. For comparison., asphalt shingles weigh 1.8 to 2.4 pounds per square. These panels do not replace the roof surface, however.

More facts:

Guarantee - 25 years with 90% efficiency output for first 10 years 80% efficiency output 11 -25 years.

Lightweight 75% lighter than c-Si panels.

Flexible - The .127mm stainless steel substrate allows for generous curvature.

Thin - 95% thinner than c-Si panels.

Durable - Withstands high impact. Impervious to heat, wind and cold. Will not crack.

Peak Power - 175 Watts per panel.

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Sunflare Photo

Sunflare Photo

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Upcoming Meetings and Events

Monday, August 26 General Meeting "Lots of progress, but a long road ahead: Current issues in sustainable transportation policy and research."

Colin Murphy is the Deputy Director of the University of California Davis Policy Institute, where he helps guide research and outreach will discuss issues relating to transportation, energy, air quality, and carbon markets.

Saturday, September 21 National Clean Up Day

Monday, September 23 General Meeting - To Be Announced. Monday, October 28 General Meeting - 50 Years of Saving Rivers.

2018 marked the 50th anniversary of the National Wild & Scenic Rivers Act and a 50-year legacy of protecting free-flowing rivers and streams throughout the state. California has 747 miles of nationally protected rivers and streams, as well as thousands of miles of waterways eligible for federal protection. Steve Evans will discuss what you can do to be good stewards of rivers currently in the system and how to additionally protect another 6000 miles of rivers and streams.

This is also our joint meeting with Audubon and Delta-Sierra Group is the host. This meeting will start at 7 PM. Steve Evans is the Wild & Scenic Rivers Program Director for California Wilderness Coalition and has no known connection to our newsletter editor except they share the same last name and a desire to protect the planet. Friday to Sunday, November 1-3 Lodi Sandhill Crane Festival.

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Explore, enjoy and protect the planet.

Stockton, Modesto and Sonora Sierra Club Find us at this active link:

https://www.meetup.com/S-M-S-SierraClub/members/28813452/

We have been in operation for 8 years and have 1803 members. Many of our local Sierra Club activities will be posted here.

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Executive Committee with Email Addresses You must copy and paste an email address into your email program. Chair: Margo Praus [email protected] Vice Chair & Membership Chair: Paul Plathe [email protected] Treasurer & Chapter Delegate: Richard Abood [email protected] Secretary & Alternate Chapter Delegate: Steve Harvath [email protected] Conservation Chair & Web Master: Mary Elizabeth [email protected] Program Chair: Margo Praus [email protected]

Executive Member: Knute Momberg [email protected] Newsletter: Robert Evans [email protected] Delta-Sierra Group is not just a hiking club, but we still enjoy outings. Find us on MEETUP at https://www.meetup.com/S-M-S-SierraClub/members/28813452/



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DELTA-SIERRA GROUP P.O. BOX 9258 STOCKTON, CA 95208

Explore, enjoy and protect the planet.

“It would be easy to dismiss the new breed of climate change activists as noisy but dreamy, idealists distant from the powers who run the show. But that’s the thing about social movements, from civil rights to gay rights. At first the activists may look naïve, and maybe they are. But in the rearview mirror, they come to look like instigators of massive and, in hindsight, obvious change.”

Please recycle the Peatduster by sending an email copy to your friends.

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Justin Worland

Documents

PEATDUSTER - Sierra Club · National Geographic Photo Ark so far has refined their list to Least Concern, Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered and Extinct