1 Santa Lucian • September 2009 Santa Lucian...Santa Lucian • September 20093 When it comes to...

Santa Lucian • September 20091

The official newsletter of the Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club • San Luis Obispo County, California

Protecting andPreserving theCentral Coast

SantaLucian

IIIII n s i d en s i d en s i d en s i d en s i d eLocalizing power 3

Support your local coast 6

Do we have a sewer? 7

Solar v. gas 9

About that oil vote 9

Classifieds 11

Outings 12

Please recycle

This newsletter printed on100% post-consumer recycled paper with

soy-based inks

September 2009Volume 46 No. 8

Upcoming Events

Santa LucianSanta Lucia Chapter of the Sierra ClubP. O. Box 15755San Luis Obispo, CA 93406

NONPROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT NO. 84

SAN LUIS OBISPOCA 93401

Sept. 12:Photography work-shop: The New Nature

Sept. 23:Transition Towns

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A New Day Dawnsfor GraywaterAppropriate Technology Coalition publishesSan Luis Obispo Guide

A two-year effort by the Appropriate TechnologyCoalition – SLO Green Build, the San Luis BayChapter of Surfrider and the Santa LuciaChapter of the Sierra Club – has brought forththe SLO Guide to the Use of Graywater, the first-ever guide to installing graywater systems in thecounty. Graywater comprises up to 80% of residentialwastewater. Increased demand for water andpollution of the water table has adverselyaffected once-balanced ecosystems and madewater an increasingly valuable natural resource.Clean potable water is the most valuable type ofwater, but graywater can be extremely useful andshould not be considered a waste product but avaluable resource that can be applied to irriga-tion and other non-potable water uses. Harvest-ing graywater to meet your non-potable waterdemand utilizes an appropriate technology thatcan recover initial costs quickly.The potential ecological benefits of greywaterrecycling include:* Lower fresh water extraction from rivers andaquifers* Less impact from septic tank and treatmentplant infrastructure* Topsoil nutrification* Reduced energy use and chemical pollution from treatment* Groundwater recharge* Plant growth The added benefits to our watershed and community infrastructure makehaving a graywater system an environmentally friendly solution to scarce watersupplies since more than half of your indoor water can be reused as graywater.Now is the time to tap in! The Guide should be available from most municipalities in the county by the

California ApprovesNew GraywaterStandard

By Art Ludwigwww.oasisdesign.net

As of August 4th, 2009, Californianscould legally install simple laundryand single fixture graywater systemswithout a permit. For the first time,licensed professionals can legally helpwith the 1.7 million existinggraywater systems in the state. A collision of world views was in fullevidence at the July 31 CaliforniaBuilding Standards Commissionhearing on the proposed newgraywater standards. Highly qualifiedstakeholders spoke passionately for

end of this month at $10 a copy.

TAKE ACTION

Mikel Robertson, owner of GreenGoods, will give a free presentationon graywater on September 19 at3071 South Higuera, SLO. For moreinformation, go towww.slogreengoods.com/

Old Nukes? Whoa, Nukes!by the Alliance for NuclearResponsibility

This month, the Nuclear RegulatoryCommission will hold a publichearing on the criteria in GenericEnvironmental Impact Statements forproposed reactor license renewals. The NRC has already approvedlicense renewals for 54 reactors at 29sites without updated criteria. Theseaging reactors were licensed tooperate an additional twenty yearswithout a current assessment of theenvironmental impacts associatedwith license renewals. continued on page 6

The NRC scheduled the onlyCalifornia hearing in West Lake -- 113miles north of the San Onofre NuclearGenerating Station, 155 miles southof Diablo Canyon, and 394 miles fromoversight agencies and affected legis-lators in San Francisco and Sacra-mento. The hearing will be heldSeptember 22. Demand NRC hearingson environmental impacts of licenserenewal beheld near San Onofre andDiablo Canyon. Contact SenatorBoxer: http://boxer.senate.gov/contact/email/policy.cfm. Moreinformation can be found atwww.a4nr.org

For the past five years, Californiahas been conducting its own review ofthe economic impacts of reliance onaging reactors. With constantencouragement and input from theAlliance for Nuclear Responsibility,the California Energy Commissionand local, federal and state represen-tatives continue to request and reviewinformation that is vital to under-standing the economic and reliabilityimpacts of the state’s dependence onaging reactors. The Alliance alsoremains in contact with the office of

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Oct. 24:Carrotmob!

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2Santa Lucian • September 2009

Change of Address? Mail changes to:

Sierra Club National Headquarters85 Second Street, 2nd FloorSan Francisco, CA 94105-3441

or e-mail:[email protected]

Visit us onthe Web!

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Outings, events, and more!

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Santa Lucian

EDITORKaren MerriamMelody DeMerittJack McCurdyEDITORIAL BOARD

The Santa Lucian is published 10 times ayear. Articles, environmental informationand letters 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 [email protected]

Santa Lucia Chapter

2009 Executive CommitteeKaren Merriam CHAIRCal French MEMBERMark Shefrin MEMBERDawn Ortiz-Legg MEMBERSteven Marx TREASURER

Melody DeMeritt VICE CHAIRLinda Seeley MEMBER

Cal French COUNCIL OF CLUB LEADERS

Committee ChairsPolitical Chuck TribbeyConservation Sue Harvey [email protected] Cal FrenchLitigation Andy GreensfelderNuclear 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

ActivitiesOutingsJoe Morris [email protected]/Kayak open

Webmaster Monica Tarzier [email protected]

Chapter DirectorAndrew [email protected]

[email protected]

Andrew Christie

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

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Office hours Monday-Friday,11 a.m.- 5 p.m., 547-B MarshStreet, San Luis Obispo

The Executive Committee meetsthe third Friday of every month at12:00 p.m. at the chapter office,located at 547-B Marsh St., SanLuis Obispo. All members arewelcome to attend.

[email protected]

Kim Ramos, Admin and Development [email protected]

Coordinator

At the Circus

General Meeting

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continued on page 10

In this summer of “birthers” and“death panels,” Danny Schechter ofMediachannel commented that thebirther movement, for all its looni-ness, is succeeding in making thelegitimacy of Barak Obama’s presi-dency into a widespread topic ofdiscussion. “Our adversaries arechanting ‘We Shall Overthrow’,” hewrote. “Sensing possible victory —whatever that means — the angeroidmicrofactions that lost the electionare now seeking to polarize the publicto topple the Administration with anelectronic coup d’media.” He notedthat we need to “realize that allpolitics does not occur in DC.” Quite a lot of politics happened inSLO over the summer. Most of ithappened when two special interestgroups became overwrought over theoutcomes of two county grand juryinvestigations — in the first instancebecause the grand jury found evi-dence of wrongdoing, and in thesecond instance because it did not. Ifyou missed all the excitement, seethis issue’s “Taking Issue” feature onpage 5 for a recap and a reprinting ofour Chapter Chair’s Tribune View-point summing up the situation. But the crude politics of thoseattacking the grand jury reports --who made up stories about crimesand conspiracies in order to defametheir foes and advance their agenda --was just one flavor of politicalpressure, one very much in vogueright now, as noted above by Mr.Maher and Mr. Schechter. The more refined variety of pressurepolitics was on view when themultiple solar power companieslobbying for utility-scale power plantson the Carrizo Plain leaned heavily onthe Planning Commission to makesure the County’s update of itsConservation and Open SpaceElement – the guiding document forall future land and resource decisionsin the county – would include, inabout half a dozen different places,language assuring that permits forutility-scale alternative energyfacilities will be issued even if theirproposed design, size or location isfound to cause severe andunmitigatable environmental im-

Once these stories get out there, they’re hard to stamp out because our mediado such a lousy job of speaking truth to stupid.

- Bill Maher, L.A. TimesJuly 31, 2009

pacts. One company rep made thisdemand to assure smooth sailing forher project even as the rep foranother company told the Commis-sion that their power plant wouldhave “no impacts” on endangeredspecies. For suggesting policylanguage that would actually holdthat company to its confident promiseand require such impacts to beavoided or mitigated, PlanningCommission Chair Christie wasroundly pilloried. And when a common-sense revisionof the Ag Events ordinance came tothe Planning Commission, yetanother passel of special interestsdescended, loudly advocating for theCounty’s current laissez-faire ap-proach, which will eventually turnagricultural lands into commercialzones under an avalanche of unsus-tainable non-ag related events of vastsize and numbers. Another SierraClub conspiracy was alleged. Thewhipped-up crowd demanded Com-missioner Anne Wyatt recuse herselfdue to “bias” and “conflict of interest”because she runs a bed & breakfast.They continued to make that demandafter the Fair Political PracticesCommittee ruled that she had noconflict. In such strategies, facts and evi-dence are never the point. Stirringthe pot and getting your way is thepoint – especially when a pro-development majority has been votedoff the Board of Supervisors and anenvironmentally sane board has beenvoted in. As health insurance compa-nies and the American PetroleumInstitute have done nationally, locallobby shops can generate whispercampaigns and political operativescreate “grass roots” groups (aka“astroturf”), which then concoct afrenzy over the specter of higherprices, raised taxes, and/or loss oflivelihoods if the targeted constitu-ency doesn’t turn out in largenumbers to oppose the targetedmeasure and maintain the status quo. The strategy is to put pressure onelected officials who normally shouldknow better than to vote in favor of

7 p.m. Wednesday, September 23rd Steynberg Gallery, 1531 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo

“Transition Towns” swam across the pond from England and has takenroot in the fertile ground of San Luis Obispo County, looking to addressthe three toughest challenges of our time— peak oil, economic instabil-ity and climate change -- by rebuilding community resilience and self-reliance. Join us for our September program when Transition Townsactivists make a Powerpoint presentation and share their experienceorganizing local initiatives in North County, South County, the coastalcommunities, and the City of San Luis Obispo.

Invite your friends/social network to the program at 7 or come early andenjoy the Steynberg Gallery’s great selection of drinks and pastries andits always fascinating exhibition of local artwork.

For more information, call 772-1875.

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


When it comes to the future of cleanenergy in SLO, there’s one thing theCounty needs to do above all else. In the course of a 15 minutePowerpoint presentation at the Boardof Supervisors on July 21, Sierra Clubinterns Chad Worth and Nancy Colesummed up what the Santa LuciaChapter found over the course of fourenergy town halls that we conductedacross the county over the last sixmonths, attended by hundreds oflocal residents: When it came toenergy generation, “Localize” was amain theme that emerged. Town hall participants told us of the“need to look in before looking out,”said Worth. “House by house, blockby block, neighborhood by neighbor-hood… It was very much ‘let’s to ithere, do it in our back yard, do it ourway.’ That speaks for an overall themeof keeping it locally distributed.” For our last town hall in June, webrought down Dave Erickson, seniorcarbon analyst for Local Power Inc., abay area energy consulting firm. Asthe name of his company implies,Erickson is a specialist in local power,a model which his company helpslocal governments to implement asthey navigate the legal, logistical andfinancial challenges to creatingrenewable energy projects. Hiscompany led San Francisco’sCleanPowerSF program, the largestlocal green energy project in theworld, has written implementationplans for city and regional govern-ments, and created the first renewableenergy financing authority in the U.S. Erickson talked about the SonomaClimate Action Plan, on which heserved as technical director and whichmandates that the County and itsmunicipalities initiate a CommunityChoice program -- as SLO County’sConservation and Open SpaceElement (COSE) update recommends-- and exercise local control inchoosing their own energy providerand service rates while increasing theamount of renewable energy they use. Erickson emphasized the benefitsSonoma has found in DistributedGeneration over traditional depen-dency on a few remote, centralizedsources of energy – i.e. large powerplants. In a Distributed Generationscenario, power is generated frommultiple smaller scale sources andused locally. A distributed generationplan can be funded on the publicpower model, which levelizes costs,and in which rates are 15 to 20percent lower than with investor-owned utilities. “From the supply standpoint, it’s aslam dunk,” Erickson said. The endresult of full implementation of alocalized power plan is 100 percentenergy self sufficiency for the county.“Sonoma could just as easily havecalled our Climate Action Plan a jobsplan,” he said “or a green economicrecovery plan, or an energy indepen-dence plan. We’re using CommunityChoice to achieve the nation’s mostambitious greenhouse gas reduction.It’s essentially a public works projectto meet the goal of reducing green-house gas emissions 25 percent below1990 levels by 2015.” That’s what distributed generationis. And that’s what you can do whenyou put policies in place that favorand encourage it. For the last six months, theresidents of this county have beentelling us that this is the energyfuture they want. Our County Super-visors have the opportuntiy to give itto them.

Localize It

Nancy Cole and Chad Worth make their Powerpoint to the Board of Supervisors.

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT 350.ORG

SATURDAY

King Coal’sJudgment Day

This month, join theSierra Club in anational day of actionon coal. Stay updatedand get in on ouronline petition atwww.sierraclub.org/bigpicture


How to Handle a Bus Strike

By Eric Greening

At the time I write this, it is impos-sible to know the outcome of thecurrent melodrama on the RegionalTransit Authority system that con-nects Central Coast communitiesfrom Santa Maria to San Miguel. A strike vote by drivers and buswashers was held on July 30th, andthe motion to strike passed, but as ofAugust 9th, the strike had not yetbegun and it may or may not at sometime in the future. The action is being taken by the Team-sters, and there is controversy over

Local Food forThoughtTransit users between rock, hard place

Those of us who arenot part of the single-occupant vehiclehabit that is destabi-lizing our climate areoffered nothing.

no sooner than the day after theBoard meeting at which this lastwhether they

are currentlyrecognized or ifthey are thecurrent choiceof the employ-ees. Somedrivers aredeclining torenew theirTeamsters membership and seekingother representation: AmalgamatedTransit Union or a County BargainingGroup. Things are in a huge state of flux,and this is very distressing to theriders, especially those who don’tdrive or own cars, and who utterlyrely on transit for access to work,health care, and other necessities. The Regional Transit Authoritycarries 2000 riders on an averageweekday. Since most of these aremaking round trips, the number ofactual people is probably closer to1000, but still is a substantial rollingcommunity, comparable in popula-tion to Santa Margarita, San Miguel,or Shandon. If you can imagine one ofthose communities being quaran-tined, with nobody getting in or out,that gives you an idea of the scale ofthe impact. In the event of a strike, there mightstill be buses moving now and then,driven by non-teamsters, and a moraldilemma transit riders would facewould be whether to put their lives onhold to avoid an action tantamount tocrossing a picket line. It wouldcertainly go against my own grain topatronize “scabs,” and any worthwhilestrike would need the support of thepublic to deprive management offarebox revenue until they address thereal needs of underpaid employees. And the drivers are underpaid; theyare public safety professionals withour lives in their hands, and theydeserve far more than the $12.50 to$14.50 they are currently getting. Yetthe discussion that accompanied thestrike vote was that this strike was notto be about wages or benefits (healthbenefits have recently improvedsignificantly, but only for the driversthemselves; those with families facemajor expenses to cover them), butabout “recognition.” For the driversthemselves to put up with theprivation of living on a tiny fraction oftheir already inadequate pay withoutlooking forward to making it up inhigher wages after the strike seemsself-defeating. But of the driverspresent for the vote, 3/4 did vote tostrike, and the threat of the actualwalkout is still hanging over thesystem, its drivers, and its riders. So what kind of strike is worthy ofthe self-sacrificing solidarity of theriders? I see four criteria that need tobe met: 1. The strike has tangible objectivesfor which the case can be made thatcurrent circumstances are unfair and

the attainment of the objectiveswould move significantly in thedirection of fairness. 2. These objectives, and the case forwhy current circumstances are unfair,are disseminated in writing to theRTA Board and the affected commu-nity, including riders. 3. All attempts to resolve the issueby negotiation have been tried ingood faith, including recourse to thegoverning board of the RTA. 4. The effective date of the strike is

recourse is at-tempted, to allowfor this resolutionand to allow ridersto attend this Boardmeeting. At present, noneof the four criteriahave been met. If

they were, I would like to believe that“choice” riders (those with cars attheir disposal who use the bus foreconomic or environmental reasons)would confer with the car-free andoffer rides during the strike—that thediverse rolling community of bususers would come together in supportof the people who get them safely totheir destinations. I do believe that the drivers areintrinsically deserving of support; it isshameful that while people withpolluting vehicles are rewarded withup to $4500 for replacing them withsomewhat less-polluting vehicles,those of us who are not part of thesingle-occupant vehicle habit that isdestabilizing our climate are offerednothing. Not that I personally wouldseek a check for $4500, subsidized bythe young people being pushed evendeeper into debt, but adding $4500 tothe pay of our bus drivers would movethem meaningfully closer to themiddle-class lives they deserve asmuch as anyone. Somehow, however, this doesn’t getthe attention of Congress or theAdministration; transit operatingfunding was almost entirely left out ofthe “stimulus” package, and “cash forclunkers” operates on the logic of theprotection racket (“You want me tostop polluting, pay up!”) So, dear reader, if the real, day-to-day lives of our transit riders anddrivers are an abstraction for you, geton the bus and get to know the peoplethere. You will meet folks of allbackgrounds, ages, and stations inlife, and experience the real diversityof the Central Coast in a way you canfind in few other places. The RTA,with its 1000+ daily round-trip riders,is only one of the multiple transitproviders in our area. Cumulatively,the systems carry multiple thousandsof people both ways every weekday,and smaller but significant numberson weekends. If this is a CentralCoast community you have nevervisited because you can’t find it on themap, get to know it; you will neverforget the people you meet!

Transit NoteThe “Graphic Arts” stop at Cal Polywill be moved in September with theclosing of South Perimeter Road; thisshould affect the SLO City lines 4, 5,and 6, and the Regional lines 9 and12. Most service will likely bererouted via a stop to be created nearthe Kennedy Library. The stop at thePAC will continue in service as is.

“Pallet toPalate,” theannual SLOcelebrationof thebenefits ofbuying andeating freshlocal food,featured galadinners, aparty andauction, andfarmer’s

market cooking demos throughoutthe month of August, and alsofeatured a barn-burner of a paneldiscussion, “Let’s Be Frank...AboutLocal Food,” at the Cliffs Resort onAugust 16. At $5 a head, including grass-fedpastured beef and pastured turkey hotdogs and salad, it was a bargain by anymeasure, but the panelists were morethan worth the price of admission. The panel, moderated by Cal Poly’sNeal MacDougall, Director of theSustainable Agriculture ResourceConsortium (SARC), featured LarryBain, a restaurant entrepreneur andco-founder of Let’s Be Frank, whichsells those aforementioned grass-fedbeef etc. hot dogs via street cartvendors; Bradley Ogden, James BeardAward-winner for Best Chef ofCalifornia and the creator of theaward-winning Root 246 restaurant inSolvang’s Hotel Corque; and JudithRedmond of Full Belly Farm, a 250-acre organic farm in Yolo County, anda family farming advocate who serveson the advisory boards of the UCAgricultural Sustainability Instituteand the Sustainable AgricultureResource Consortium at Cal Poly. The panelists addressed the ques-tion: How do we make local food,affordable food, healthy food andgreat food synonymous? Is this a“lifestyle” issue or a “democracy”issue? Redmond opined that “the best wayto get affordable, healthy food is toencourage people to get food thatcomes fresh from the farm and learnhow to cook it at home.” Chef Ogdenasserted that it is ultimately cheaperto buy from a farmer’s market than asupermarket because you tend to buyin smaller quantities in the formerthan at the latter. Audience members insisted that thisdidn’t change the fact that food that’sfresh, local, organic, etc. tends to costmore than food that’s none of thosethings. Bain, who ran a social justice

non-profit before he started openingsustainable, socially responsiblerestaurants, urged the audience to“think systemically” and emphaticallyanswered the “lifestyle vs. democracy”question: “The stuff we have to buy, likeeducation and health care — unlikecountries where you don’t have to payfor those – is what determines whatmoney is left over and what’s afford-able for your food,” he said. Local farmers pressed the issue ofhow we can get actual, sustainablefood systems in place and how smallfarmers can pay and get paid a livingwage when their operations “runbetween the red and the black 99percent of the time.” Redmond identified the problem asthe absence of “infrastructure,incentives and efficiencies,” which“just aren’t there” for small farmers,unlike what Big Ag has managed tosecure for itself via a steady stream offederal farm bills and subsidies. Theconversation turned to the FoodSafety bill, cunningly devised to pointat small farms as the source of food-related illness outbreaks whileshielding big growers and processorsfrom its onerous requirements despitethe fact that more than 90% of food-borne illnesses trace back to feed-lotcattle and heavily processed veg-etables spreading disease through thecentralized, industrialized foodsystem. “It’s the lobbyists writing the rules,not the politicians,” Redmond pointedout, and Big Ag’s megaphone drownsout small farms. “We don’t have anorganized voice,” she said. “We needto help build the organizations outthere that could tell our story in DCand Sacramento.” “You need to get politically active,”Bain agreed. “Voting with your forkworks up to a point, but you need tovote with your vote.”

TAKE ACTIONKnowledge is power and in network-ing there is strength. Here are threegood ways to start doing more forhealthy local food, small farmers andsustainable food systems: Get in touchwith the Environmental WorkingGroup (www.ewg.org/farming) andjoin the Changemaker’s Network atRoots of Change (www.rocfund.org). And on September 7, join “Time forLunch,” the national day of action toget real food into schools. Go towww. slowfoodusa.org/ and click on“Events.”

Festival of frankness: Judith Redmond, Larry Bain and Bradley Ogden confer at “Let’s beFrank...About Local Food”


Upshot: Whether it’s COLAB whipping up a fake scandal in an effort to make County Supervisors cave, unseat a planning commissioner, and fast-track astrategy to put an anti-environmental board majority back in charge of the county in order to cater to their collection of economic special interest groups, or “theAmerican Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity” employing a p.r. agency that forges letters to Congress on the letterhead of constituent organizations to urge op-position to the energy bill, the same thing is happening everywhere these days. Stay alert.

Taking Issue

Summary: Near simultaneous attacks on the Sierra Club, the County Planning Commissionand two reports by the County Grand Jury this summer had a common but hidden thread, whichChapter Chair Karen Merriam subsequently unwound in a Tribune Viewpoint.

“Remove Sarah Christie from the planning commission,” by Andy Caldwell, New Times, July 23, 2009“Grand jury biased, critic claims,” by Bob Cuddy, The Tribune, July 25, 2009“Argument against Sierra Club is silly,”Editorial opinion of The Tribune, August 2, 2009“Discussion of complext issues is being undermined,” The Tribune, August 6, 2009

e congratulate The Tribune for debunking Kevin Rice’s accusa-tions against the Sierra Club. (“Argu-ment against Sierra Club is silly,”Aug. 2). Standing up in defense of thenatural world for 117 years has madethe Sierra Club a target for detractorsof many persuasions. We preferhonest, healthy debate on issues.Unfortunately, as the Tribune noted,Mr. Rice’s attack was personal, notsubstantive; all about individuals andconspiracy theories rather than“focusing on the report itself.” It’s a political tactic: Change thesubject and kill the messenger. Thegrand jury found evidence of seriousmisconduct in the preparation of aCounty Planning staff report whichsimply deleted a land use policyconflict pertaining to the proposedsale of county land in the OceanoDunes – land that for off-roaders likeRice has become the hill to die on.Mr. Rice attacked jurors and theSierra Club in his attempt to discreditthe report. It’s one thing when such attacks arefocused on the Sierra Club over asingle issue; it’s quite another whenthey are fronts for larger political

problematic environmental coverage & commentary in our local media

strategies aimed at subverting the willof the majority. Last year, our country and ourcounty voted for change. That’s whywe have a new president, and, closerto home, a new majority on the Boardof Supervisors. The voters want bigchange — strong leadership with avision for reducing climate changethrough energy efficiency andrenewable energy; promoting smart-growth land use; supporting localsustainable agriculture; and steward-ing wildlands and endangered species. Change will always face resistancefrom those invested in the status quo.It is in this light that several recentlocal events are clearly illuminated:The intense, coordinated pressure onthe Planning Commission in updatingthe Energy chapter of the Conserva-tion and Open Space Element(COSE), and the baseless attackagainst a Planning Commissioner overanother grand jury report. The findings of that report, whichexonerated Planning CommissionChair Sarah Christie from ridiculousand insupportable charges, have beendistorted. The Coalition of Labor,Agriculture and Business (COLAB),

an organization representing anextreme view of private propertyrights, is relentlessly calling forChristie’s removal — at publicmeetings, op-ed pieces, and whereverelse anyone will listen. COLABrepresents interests that lost someinfluence when their friends werevoted off the Board of Supervisorslast year. They want back what theylost. Then there is the COSE, an updatethat will serve us well only if it isfounded on a clear vision withspecific strategies for reaching goalsthat protect our livelihoods, ourhealth, and the environment. How willour decisions today determine ourdecisions for decades to come? Forexample, will we blindly rush to thejudgment that we must locate utility-scale solar power plants on theCarrizo Plain to meet energy de-mands, or will we first consider howrooftop arrays and the development oflocal, distributed generation of energycould meet our needs with lessenvironmental impact? Are we willingto accept destroying an irreplaceablesuite of rare species to generate cleanenergy that very likely could be

generated with fewer impacts if wewere willing to have an honestdiscussion about the options? Blatantpressure has been brought to bear toprevent that open discussion –especially at the Planning Commis-sion, where Chairman Christie againhas been the unmistakable target. Connect the dots of the attacks onthe Sierra Club, the grand jury and thePlanning Commission, and whatemerges is an insidious and cynicaleffort to undermine the public processand limit or prevent open discussionof the substance of complex issues.Such tactics should not prevent usand our elected officials from work-ing to further the change we voted forlast year. It is the duty of citizens to stayinformed and hold elected officialsaccountable. It is the duty of our localelected representatives - as the agentsfor that change – to ignore thedistraction of baseless attacks and toexercise the political courage andvision needed to advance the mean-ingful change that will be their legacy.

Karen Merriam is the Chair of theSanta Lucia Chapter of the SierraClub.

W


The California Coastal Commission isgearing up to celebrate the 25thAnniversary of Coastal Cleanup Day.After a quarter of a century, CoastalCleanup Day is still the largestvolunteer event of its kind in theworld. It also remains the largest volunteerevent in the County, turning outhundreds of volunteers to removetrash along the coast that has accu-mulated over the course of the year.We’re hoping that this will be thebiggest and best cleanup ever! We’reorganizing cleanups at 28 localbeaches, from Point Sal to the southto San Simeon in the north. All ofthem will take place on Saturday,September 19th from 9am to noon. Trash on our beaches and in ouroceans doesn’t just look bad, it is badfor the gazillions of animals that callthose places home and for the peoplethat visit them. Beyond being aneyesore, some trash like brokenbottles, jutting nails, and old syringes,can cause injuries to beach goers.Trash can also damage boats, clogintake pipes, discourage tourists andcause other economic hardship. It canalso harm ecosystems by transportinginvasive species and smothering lifeon reefs and the sea floor. But mostworrisome of all, trash is extremelydangerous for marine wildlife,including seabirds, turtles, seals,dolphins and whales. Every year,hundreds of thousands of animalssuffer and die needlessly from eatingor getting tangled up in our discards,such as plastic bags, six pack ringsand old fishing gear. Coastal Cleanup Day is very muchabout getting the trash off ourbeaches. But it’s more than that. It’sabout accepting responsibility forkeeping the beaches clean, even if thetrash is not our own. It’s about

identifying what kind of trash is outthere and trying to figure out where itcame from. It’s about going back tothe source and finding effective waysto stop the flow, whether that bethrough education, ad campaigns,product redesign (think flip-top cans),incentives (return deposit), disincen-tives (fines) or other options. The success of Coastal Cleanup Daycan be directly attributed to the tensof thousands of volunteers who havegenerously given of their time – manyover and over again – to clean up ourshorelines. In 2008, almost 75,000volunteers turned out for CoastalCleanup Day in the state as a whole, a20 percent jump over 2007. Lastyear’s volunteers removed a record1.6 million pounds of debris, of whichalmost 200,000 pounds was recycled,both record numbers for the CleanupProgram. In San Luis Obispo Countyalone, almost 1,300 volunteerscollected over 4,500 pounds of trashand recyclables in 2008. Unfortu-nately, those numbers actuallyrepresent a decrease over prior years.We’re looking for your help inreversing that trend. It’s only a fewhours. It’s fun – kind of like a treasurehunt. All you need to do is show up atyour favorite beach on September19th to do your part. Bring yourwater bottle and we’ll fill it up withice water or lemonade. You’ll walkaway feeling good about making adifference and you may even win aprize!

Holly Sletteland is a VolunteerCoordinator with ECOSLO with apassion for getting people involved inprojects to help heal the earth. She isa past Chapter Chair & ConservationChair for the Santa Lucia Chapter ofthe Sierra Club and a 20+ yearmember of the Sierra Club.

Coastal Cleanup Day at 25Saturday, September 19, 9 a.m. to Noon

by Holly Sletteland

Take 2 Minutes to Support aMarine Sanctuary for SLOThe movement to get the waters off SLO County declared part of the MontereyBay National Marine Sanctuary is gathering steam, and you can be part of it! If you own or manage a business in the county dependent on tourism, theextension of the Marine Sanctuary would be just about the best thing thatcould happen to your business, and your opinion carries weight.

Just go to:www.santalucia.sierraclub.org/documents/MBSE.pdf

and download the petition, print it out and fill it in — or hand it to yourfavorite local business owner to fill out and mail to us. That’s it. We’ll make sure you get the word when your voice is needed at apublic meeting to help make this happen. One call, one meeting.

If you or your friend want more informa-tion or need any convincing as to why thisis a very good thing to do, go to:www.santalucia.sierraclub.org/lucian/2009/06June.pdf The ocean thanks you!

California’s Attorney General, whocontinues to monitor the mountingstockpiles of highly radioactive wasteon our fragile coast with no perma-nent storage facility and no estimateddate for offsite removal. Last year, a cost, benefit and riskanalysis of the state’s dependence oncoastal reactors designed and permit-ted in the late 1960s was mandated byAB 1632 (Blakeslee, R-San LuisObispo). On the day the EnergyCommission released the analysis,PG&E announced a new activeearthquake fault had been discovered1800 feet offshore of the Diablo site.Assemblyman Blakeslee immediatelyintroduced legislation to fund 3Dmapping and state-of-the-art technol-ogy to create a basis for reliance onthe seismically active Diablo site. Thebill would also require the EnergyCommission to review these studiesto determine whether Diablo Canyoncan provide clean, safe and reliablegeneration for the future and if so, atwhat cost. In June 2009, the Energy Commis-sion sent a large packet of datarequests to SCE and PG&E to updatelast year’s analysis and create recom-mendations for this year’s energyreview. On July 22, 2009, SCE andPG&E responded to the CEC’s data

requests. To read the CEC DataRequests, utility responses andA4NR’s comments go towww.a4nr.org. We have just begunreading PG&E’s responses on DiabloCanyon, so check back if they are notyet posted. If you would like to review thesedocuments and provide input or joinothers to provide input let theAlliance know your area of interestand how best to contact you. Feelfree to provide your comments andwhether you would like to have yourcomments attached to our CEC and/or NRC filings on license renewalissues. Send an e-mail [email protected] Many have joined the Alliance forNuclear Responsibility’s “Audacity toHope” that we can end the productionof radioactive waste on our fragilecoast; we ask you to support ourefforts: Encourage a CEC investigation intopossibilities of wind power at Diablo,and other renewables ([email protected]) and investment inan energy efficiency think tank/retraining center to phase outproduction of waste while investing infuture generations, and increasingjobs ([email protected]).

Nukescontinued from page 1

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A Sewer, Almost

The County Planning Commissionhearings on the Los Osos WastewaterProject shone a bright light onvarious claims asserted by the Countyand the Public Works Departmentabout the biggest, longest-runningpublic works project in countyhistory. They fell like autumn leavesbefore the questioning of Commis-sioners and in the face of hard data. A short list, with >corrections<:

Gravity sewers don’t leak; anyevidence of such deficiency is a resultof old technology, the failure of 100-year-old clay pipes, etc.> Major infiltration and inflow ofgroundwater has been found in gra-vity systems less than ten years old.

Gravity sewers are environmentallypreferable to STEP/STEG collection.> The only significant environmentalbenefit of gravity over STEP is thereduction of the amount of sludgeproduced when a gravity system isused with facultative ponds. If facul-tative ponds are not used, there is noenvironmental advantage to a gravitysewer. Facultative ponds are not (yet)part of the County’s project.

All collection systems would haveroughly equivalent impacts and theCoastal Commission has no issueswith the selection of one overanother.> Dan Carl, Central Coast DistrictManager, California Coastal Commis-sion, wrote to County Public WorksDirector Paavo Ogren on July 15 tosay that sludge reduction should bemade a “a high priority in theselection of preferred collection andtreatment technologies.”

The Tonini disposal site might not beoutside the water basin because,

“We’re trying to give thecounty some guidance anddirection to avoid a trainwreck at the end of thisline.”

- Peter DouglasExecutive Director,

California Coastal Commission

As a rule, improvements in what youare given are extremely unlikely if yousimply take whatever is offered. On August 13, after hundreds ofhours of study and public testimony,two field trips, 8,000 pages of docu-mentation and 170 pages of findingsand conditions, the County PlanningCommission proved this point when itapproved the permit for the Los OsosWastewater Project. The Commission vastly improved onthe project as originally submitted byCounty Public Works -- a project thathad no chance of receiving a coastaldevelopment permit due to itsimpermissable environmentalimpacts. Sewage will now be sub-jected to a significantly higher level oftreatment, producing effluent thatcan be safely recycled for use oncrops. The treatment plant anddisposal method will not consume645 acres of prime agricultural land.The treated effluent will remain in thebasin and be put to work curbingsaltwater intrusion instead of beingsprayed away outside the water basinin the middle of a drought. A mandateto reduce water use by 25 percent isincluded, more than doubling theoriginally proposed level of waterconservation. The improved project demonstratesthe reason why the Sierra Club, inagreeing at the outset that we all

The estimated progress of seawater intrusion since 2005 is the third, and biggest bulge; the rate of progress for the prior 20 years is shownin the layers to the left of it. The rate of seawater intrusion into the basin is now under the Los Osos downtown and commercial area andappears to be four to eight times faster than it was four years ago.

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needed to “support the project,”elected not to follow the path of leastresistance in doing so. We joined withconcerned local citizens who insistedthat the project feature tertiary, notjust secondary treatment of wastewa-ter; that treated effluent be disposedof inside, not outside, the groundwater basin and be made available togrowers to reduce pumping of thelower aquifer and seawater intrusion;and that a more aggressive waterconservation program be mandated.And so it has come to pass. Unfortunately, what the Commis-sion did not do, despite a wealth ofevidence that it should, was mandatethe use of a pressurized effluentcollection system and the use offacultative ponds for treatment. Theselected gravity system and Biolactreatment would result in greater

quantities of toxic sludge produced asan end product of treatment. Thesetwo parts of the project still need tobe changed to ensure that the Countytakes the environmentally superiorcourse of action on the largest publicworks project in its history. The Environmental Impact Reporton which those decisions were basedwas correctly and repeatedly charac-terized by Commissioners as “flawed.”They were being kind. Golden StateWater Co. correctly summed up thefatal flaw of the EIR’s “failure to makea connection between the factspresented and the conclusionsreached.” Further: “because theCounty fails to set forth an accurateproject description, a meaningfulalternatives analysis is impossible.Because the DEIR does not provide astable project description to which

alternatives can be compared, the‘alternatives’ presented in the DEIRare more akin to a series of proposedprojects, rather than the means tocompare the worth and value ofalternatives to a proposed project.” The Sierra Club is appealing thecertification of the EIR in order tocorrect those flaws, correctly state theproject’s environmental impacts andclarify the collection and disposaloptions before a permit is approved. The Planning Commission’s processand the project that emerged from itwas a testament to the value of publicadvocacy. Local residents, communitygroups, wastewater experts andenvironmental organizations broughttheir concerns to the Commission,backed them up with facts and data,and the Commission listened. Had we all heeded the call to “justdo it” and acquiesced to the projectthat Public Works submitted to thePlanning Commission, none of theabove improvements would be part ofthe project now. When the permit comes before theBoard, for the sake of the aquifer, theMorro Bay Estuary and the citizens ofLos Osos, those improvements needto stay there, and two more need tobe added: an environmentally prefer-able treatment method, and theconsideration of an alternativecollection system in the biddingprocess.

be grown under power lines.> PG&E restrictions apply to theheights of trees and structures underpower lines, not grass and hay.

The use of recycled water in the LosOsos basin cannot be required untilthe basin has been adjudicated.> State law requires that recycledwater must be used in lieu of wellwater by ag users if recycled water isavailable.

Sewer Myths Bustedtheoretically, there could be connect-ing strata between the aquifers.> The Tonini site is outside the waterbasin. Treated wastewater disposed ofat Tonini would be water wasted.

The Andre site cannot be usedbecause PG&E will not allow the hay/grass crop that would be required to

“You’re about to approvea $200 million waste-water project that won’tbe worth a dime if thebasin is lost.”

- Keith Wimer to the Board ofSupervisors, 7/14/09


by Jack McCurdy

A landmark June 17 California EnergyCommission decision ruled for thefirst time that solar energy is a viablealternative to fossil-fuel power plants. The finding is expected to haverevolutionary consequences statewideand nationally in recognizing thatsolar energy can replace conventionalenergy generation as a more feasible,cost-effective and much moreenvironmentally protective way toproduce electricity and meet thepublic’s needs. The Commission ruled that “photo-voltaic solar arrays on rooftops andover parking lots may be aviable alternative” to a gas-fired plant,a ruling that applies in principle toenergy production by conventionalplants the length of the Californiacoast that have long used fossil fuels,primarily natural gas. Locally, the rulilng could prevent aproposed upgrade of the 55-year-oldMorro Bay Power Plant and furtherextension of its life, which its ownerpreviously had said will end in 2015. Under the Commission’s precedent-setting decision rejecting proposedgas-fired “peaker” units at the ChulaVista plant near San Diego in favor ofconsidering solar as a substitutesource, solar energy from panelsinstalled on residential and commer-cial buildings could be required inplace of proposed new peaker genera-tion units at the Morro Bay plant. The Chula Vista peaker projectproposed by MMC Energy, Inc., theplant owner, was rejected primarilybecause of zoning conflicts, but thesolar finding established a new far-reaching standard. If that finding onsolar were applied here, it could meanthere would be no further need forthe Morro Bay plant because electric-ity volume equivalent to what thepeakers would produce could begenerated by photovoltaic (PV) solaroff the plant site. The testimony of Bill Powers, anengineer with more than 25 years ofexperience in the energy field, wasinstrumental in the Commissionconcluding that solar is a viablealternative to conventional plants.Powers says there is no reason whythat finding would not be applicableto Morro Bay and throughout theindustry in California. Expanding on the Commission’sfindings in a recent article in NaturalGas and Electricity, an industryjournal, Powers wrote “The decisionimplies that any future applicationsfor gas-fired generation in California,or any other type of generation, in-cluding remote utility-scale renew-able energy generation that mayrequire public land and new transmis-sion to reach demand centers, will bemeasured against using urban PV tomeet the power need.” Powerspointed out that installing PV onrooftops in urban areas is far lesscostly and environmentally disruptivethan solar plants being developed indesert areas. (Read Powers’s articles atwww.santalucia. sierraclub.org -- clickon “Localized Power.”) A top Commission official said theChula Vista decision is likely tobecome a precedent and will be a keyissue in future cases when analyses ofalternatives, which is required underCommission review procedures, toproposed projects using conventional

generation are considered. As the Commission was poised tovote on the Chula Vista decision inSacramento, member Julia Levin saidthe Commission “needs to site moresolar power in California,” adding “weneed as much support for solar as wedo for peaker plants.” The current Morro Bay plant owner,Dynegy, has made no effort to pursuestate permission to build a new andlarger plant in Morro Bay since a 2004federal court decision banned use ofsea water for cooling by any newpower plant, a process known asonce-through cooling. In the case ofthe Morro Bay plant, water for coolingis drawn from the Morro Bay NationalEstuary, and this withdrawal by a newplant could kill up to 33% of theEstuary’s crab and fish larvae,according to state-supervised studies. Another such court decision in 2007banned use of sea water for allexisting plants, raising questionsabout the legal or regulatory author-ity to allow the current plant tocontinue to operate using once-through cooling. Prompted by those landmark courtdecisions, the California State WaterResources Control Board last yearissued draft regulations requiring gas-fired plants to stop using once-through cooling by 2015, which led toDynegy telling the Morro Bay CityCouncil that it would close the plantthat year. A final draft of thoseregulations is expected shortly. But recently, Dynegy has come upwith the idea of installing new gas-fired units at the plant, City Hallsources said. Dynegy apparently wantsto install the peakers because the oldplant now operates only about six percent of the time as it is highlyinefficient. The peakers would operateduring high-demand summer periodsin Southern California. In its decision, the Commissionsaid: “The (Chula Vista) Applicanteffectively eliminated photovoltaic(PV) generation from its alternativesanalysis when it stated that it did ‘notmeet the project objective of utilizingnatural gas available from the existingtransmission system’...This is anotherexample of a too-narrow projectobjective artificially limiting therange of potential alternatives.” The Commission noted that “Photo-voltaic arrays mounted on existingflat warehouse roofs or on top ofvehicle shelters in parking lots do notconsume any acreage. The ware-houses and parking lots continue toperform those functions with the PVin place. Mr. Powers provided detailedanalysis of the costs of such PV,concluding that there was little or nodifference between the cost of energyprovided by a project such as theChula Vista Energy Upgrade Projectcompared with the cost of energyprovided by PV. “In addition, while PV is nota quick-start technology which can bedispatched on ten minutes’ notice anytime of the day or night, PV does pro-vide power at a time when demand islikely to be high—on hot, sunnydays.” “In the event the Applicant choosesto pursuethis matter further, we willrequire a more in-depth analysis ofthe PV alternative by both Staff andApplicant.”

Historic State Ruling:Solar Beats GasEnergy Commission decision could apply to Morro Bay plant upgrade

Painting of the MonthHere at Sierra Club’s downtown SLO hq, we’re pleased to share our wall spacewith the San Luis Artists Collective, and to share with you peeks at intriguingnew canvasses as they appear. Our spotlighted canvas for September is “Wait-ing,” by Evy Justessen, acrylic, 32 x 17.” All the Artists Collective’s works are for sale, with 25% of the proceedsdonated to the Sierra Club. Call 546-8907, or e-mail [email protected]

For a rivetinglesson in civicsand statepolitics, itwould be hardto beat theJuly 23 debateon the floor ofthe CaliforniaState Assemblyover AssemblyBill 23(DeVore, R-Irvine), theattempt tostake a new oillease in statecoastal watersfor the firsttime in 40years as part of the budget bill. Taken up after thirty hours ofbudget wrangling, the bill would havereversed longstanding state environ-mental policy, reopening the coastlineto offshore drilling for the first timesince the 1969 Santa Barbara oildisaster, the event that created theenvironmental movement. The debate is available on theCalifornia Channel at www.calchannel.com/channel/viewvideo/611 . Scrolldown the timeline to 00:46:25 to seeand hear who was in favor of protect-ing our priceless coast and whowasn’t, in the name of delivering awindfall gift to an oil company.

Well OiledYou can’t “expunge” anything on the web

Most notable is the evidence of thewisdom of the people of SantaBarbara in electing AssemblymemberPedro Nava, who noted, per the L.A.Times, that the bill’s assurances offuture environmental protectionsconstituted promises “written in thesand at low tide.” The Assembly vote in which AB 23went down to defeat 43-28 was thevote that was quietly “expunged,” to astatewide storm of protest. But videois forever, so take advantage of TheCalifornia Channel’s invaluableresource and tune in. A full vote tallyis provided at the end of the half-hourdebate.

Smackdown: Assemblymembers DeVore and Nava face off.

New regulations required by tworecent federal court decisions to endthe killing of fish and larvae by coastalpower plants that use ocean water forcooling purposes are under consider-ation by the California Water Re-sources Control Board. The draftregulations fall far short of bringing a50-year slaughter of sea life to an endwithin a acceptable time frame. The board will accept comments onthe draft regulations until 12 noon on

September 30. What will count is thenumber of people who register theirobjections to the regulations aswritten and call for compliance withthe Clean Water Act, which prohibitsdestruction of coastal resources bypower plants, for the first time sincethe Act was adopted 35 years ago. For information on the flawed draftregs and points to make, go towww.morrobay powerplant.org.

Power Plant Comments Due Sept. 30


Let’s PaddleIt’s time for Surfrider San Luis Bay Chapter’s annual benefit paddle for the Central Coast Junior Lifeguard Program

What:17th Annual Ken Harmount Pier to Pier Paddle, A benefit for Central Coast Junior Lifeguards.

When:Saturday September 12th at Old Port Beach, Avila BeachRegistration 7:00-7:45 a.m.Event begins 8:00 a.m.

Who:All paddle craft are welcome—kayaks, paddleboards, stand up boards, etc.

How long:Two distances to choose:6.5 miles from Cal Poly Pier to Pismo Pier (the Classic), or13 miles round trip (the Endurance)

How much:$30 advance registration or $40 day of. Registration includes t-shirt, water,and equipment transportation back to Avila. All proceeds go to Junior Guards.

How to:Pre-register at Central Coast Kayaks in Shell Beach at 805-773-3500.

Who to call:For more details, call Paul Schiro at 773-3500.

SLO CommunityGardeners 3rdAnnual SeedExchangeSeed Exchange takes place on Friday,October 23, from 6 – 9 p.m. at theSLO City Library Community Room.It’s free and open to the public. This event is an opportunity toshare gardening knowledge and learnmore about saving seeds, locallygrown grains and grasses, medicinalplants, hybrid vs open pollinated seed,how to garden year round in ourclimate, and plants that attract nativepollinators. You don’t need to bring seeds, justyour curiosity and interest.

—SEEDSVegetables, flowers, specialty domesti-cated plants, native plants, and treesare welcome.

—BULBS & ROOT STOCKWelcome

EVENT SPONSORS:SLO City Parks & RecClark Valley FarmCal Poly Organic Farm &SARC/Sustainable Ag ResourceConsortiumGrowing Grounds Santa MariaGrowing Grounds DowntownECOSLOSierra Club Santa Lucia Chapter

For more information call: 543-5364.

Save the planet – grow organic!

photos8.com


Letterssend to: [email protected], or Sierra Club, P.O. Box 15755, San Luis Obispo, CA 93406. Letters may be edited for space.

The off-road threat

environmentally destructive projectsor against policies necessary tomaintain a healthy environment andsustainable resources. Once targetedofficials have been persuaded to turnagainst their own constituencies andhave lost their compass – whip-sawed,compromised and alienating thepeople who elected them to head in anew direction rather than allowthemselves to be lashed back downthe path of the old direction — theybecome easy pickings in the next

Three days before the Planning Commission heard the proposed Ag Events ordinance,Supervisor Adam Hill (left) presided over a SLO Chamber of Commerce-hosted discussion ofthe ordinance with County planner Karern Nall, Sierra Club’s Andrew Christie, the FarmBureau’s Jackie Crabb, Kim Pasciuto of the Ag Tourism Coalition, and Daniella Sapriel (notshown) of the Coalition of Affected Business Owners. Sierra Club and the Ag TourismCoalition support the revision of the ordinance to ensure that events on ag land aresupportive of active agriculture and keep ag land from turning into de facto commercialzoning.The ordinance’s opponents packed the meeting, called us “dishonest” and warned ofdestroyed livelihoods while flourishing poll results that actually showed (buried way down atquestion #28), that 75 percent of respondents felt that not being allowed to hold unlimitednon-ag related events on their ag land would make “no difference” to their bottom line.

electoral cycle. The developer-backed“business candidates” sweep back in,and get back down to business; thebusiness of long-term destruction forshort-term profits. That’s the playbook these plays arebeing called from, both at thenational level and in our neck of thewoods. In both arenas, one greattruth pertains: When the circuscomes to town, we all have to sweepup after the elephants.

Circuscontinued from page 2

Thank you for exposing SLO County’sdeliberate omission of importantdocuments concerning the proposedsale of buffer lands to the ODSVRA(“Grand Jury Slams County Planningon Oceano Dunes,” July-August). Youcan’t know how happy it makes thoseof us who’ve been struggling with thisissue—we residents and businessowners who’ve felt utterly defeated bythis burgeoning threat to our quietenjoyment of our dunes and beaches. I’ve been studying the mountingthreat of off-roading not only to ourarea, but to natural areas throughoutthe country, and am convinced it’sone of the worst threats to ourenvironment. The constant erosion,not to mention loss of habitat to somany flora and fauna, is reachingcritical proportions, while the so-called “sport” grows unabated. Insome areas, it’s tripled in the past 5years! Years ago, off-roading promoterstalked government agencies intosetting aside areas of public lands forthem to ride on with the argumentthat if they didn’t, enthusiasts wouldrun roughshod over private lands. I’msure it wasn’t this argument alonethat got politicians to go along withthis—when big bucks change hands,all kinds of things happen. But theBLM and States went along with thisreasoning, and now we’ve been takenover by minority interests that have asense of entitlement promoted by thetacit approval they receive frompoliticians who benefit from the“sport.” The ODSVRA is an abomination,

and everyone with half a brain in theirhead realizes it’s causing millions ofdollars of damage each year to publichealth and wealth, yet it goes on withthe approval by local governmentsinfluenced by interagency collusion.And everyone who’s been encouragedto participate in off-roading over theyears now has an ingrained sense ofnostalgia about having had theopportunity to ride around whereverthey please. They cite a rhetoric weused to hear about cowboys andwest—making it really difficult to uselogical arguments in the discussion. Iftheir daddies did it, it’s good enoughfor them, etc. Clearly this is a huge problem, notrestricted to a few state parks, butnationwide, and internationally aswell. Off-roaders have been encour-aged to demonize anyone wanting tocurtail their activities. I see bumperstickers with “death to the SierraClub” messages, etc. They personally

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attack people in ourarea who are fightingagainst expansion oftheir parks. I’d like to seeenvironmentalgroups workingshoulder to shoulderto bring about a seachange concerningoff-roading. We needto go beyond thearguments that focuson a single endan-gered species, such

as the snowy plover, in order to gain the

support of middle America. They needto understand how it is causingirreparable harm to our lands, anddiseases such as mesothelioma,cancers, and heart disease to popula-tions affected by dust. I’d also like to see a completeinvestigation of the Chappie-Z’bergAct of 1971 that continues to swindleus out of gas taxes to finance off-roading. And the practice of off-roaders financing the cost of haulingtheir vehicles using tax deductions for“business and farm” vehicles to the

tune of $25,000—another loss totaxpayers. All this has to change because it’senabling people with little educationto purchase and operate the veryvehicles that are the nemesis ofbeaches, mountains, and streambedsthroughout the country. Thanks again for your support onthis. Let’s keep the heat on. There’s somuch at stake.

SMGrover Beach, CA

You’re welcome, SM. (And we’re justprinting your initials because a localoff-roading representative and avidreader of this publication has a well-earned rep for the “investigation” andharassment and of folks who holdopinions such as yours, and wouldsurely add you to his enemies list ifwe printed your name.) If you havenot yet read the Foundation for DeepEcology’s Thrillcraft: The Environ-mental Consequences of MotorizedRecreation, we recommend you --and everyone else -- do so. Go towww.stopthrillcraft.org/.

By Olivia Diaz

Fall at Clair Tappaan Lodge is golden.Located 7000 feet up in the SierraNevada, the lodge experiences sunnydays and crisp nights. In late Septem-ber and October the leaves turn andchange the color of the mountains.The Clair Tappaan Lodge andHutchinson Lodge are located at19940 Donner Pass Road in Norden/Soda Springs, California. This fall there are two nationaloutings and fall program offered byLodge staff.* September 4, Full Moon Hike* September 20-26, National Outing,

50+ Ridgetop Rambles, Tahoe National Forest, CA.* September 25-27, Weekend Lodge Work Parties: Come and help spruce up theLodge you love. Volunteer for six hours on both Saturday and Sunday inexchange for free lodging and meals during the weekend. We’ll also send youhome with a 20% discount for a future weekend. Let us know if you have anyspecial skills that you’d like to show off and share. Tasks during the weekendrange from lodge cleaning and painting to firewood splitting and stacking andeverything in between.* October 4-10, Pastel Painting along Sierra Trails, Tahoe National Forest, CA. ASierra Club National Outing.* October 31/November 1, Halloween party and Day of the Dead commemora-tion. Bring a costume, pumpkin(s) to carve and your tools, and a remembranceof a loved one who is no longer in this world.* November 26, Thanksgiving dinner at Clair Tappaan Lodge is always a funevent.* December 31, Traditional New Year’s celebration. Reservations required. Call 1 800 679-6775 for information and reservationsor check out our website at www.sierraclub.org/outings/lodges/ctl.

Fall Lodge Calendar


CYNTHIA HAWLEYATTORNEY

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONLAND USE

CIVIL LITIGATION

P.O. Box 29 Cambria California 93428Phone 805-927-5102 Fax 805-927-5220

ClassifiedsNext issue deadline is September 10.To get a rate sheet or submit your adand payment, contact:Sierra Club - Santa Lucia ChapterP.O. Box 15755San Luis Obispo, CA [email protected]

Put yourself on the SLO Sierra Club E-Alert list

Get immediate news on events of environmental interest, publicmeeting and hearings where your attendance could make thedifference, and the low-down on the issues that matter.

Drop a note to [email protected] and ask to be subscribed toSierra Club e-alerts for San Luis Obispo.

541-2716 [email protected]

Law Offices of Jan Howell MarxA Client Centered Practice

BusinessMediation

Environmental LawElder LawReal Estate

Wills and Trusts

and against the adoption of the newstandards as the hearing roller-coastered dramatically to its conclu-sion. The commissioners are to becongratulated for their leadership. Itis always more work to set up a newsystem than to fit into an existingone. It would be easier to stand asideas legal buildings continue to wasteresources and pollute the environ-ment. But, in the face of deeply

entrenched, powerful opposition, thecommission is rising to the challengeof revising all California’s codes toallow/require better building systems. Besides its emergency approval ofthe new graywater standards, the BSCis also revising California’s GreenBuilding Standards. This is a historicshift towards considering all factors— not just occupant safety but alsooff site and future impacts—indeveloping building codes that trulyprotect our health and welfare.

Graywatercontinued from page 1

The Shade of Trees

If my skin could smile, it would,whenever I step into you.Your scattered oases bring relief during my warm weather walk.Under you, the air, considerably cooler, lifts some of the sweat from my body.Those big green umbrella leaves beam up my beads of human dewand I feel instantly soothed.The tree is a comforting motherbecause in those pleasant moments,it pats me down like an overheated babyand I am renewed.

- Kalila VolkovJuly 2009


Outings and Activities Calendar

September 11-14

Come and explore the wild, wind-swept islands of Channel IslandNational Park. Cruises depart from Santa Barbaraaboard the 68’ twin diesel Truth.$950, includes an assigned bunk, allmeals, snacks, beverages, plus theservices of a ranger/naturalist whowill travel with us to lead hikes oneach island and present eveningprograms. The proceeds benefit SierraClub’s political programs in Califor-nia. To make a reservation mail a$100 check payable to Sierra Club toleader: Joan Jones Holtz, 11826 TheWye St., El Monte, CA 91732. Con-tact leader for more information: 626-443-0706; [email protected]

Island Hopping in ChannelIslands National Park

Fundraising Cruises in 2009

Seller 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 areopen to all Club members and thegeneral public. If you have anysuggestions for hikes or outdooractivities, questions about theChapter’s outing policies, orwould like to be an outings leader,call the Outings Chair, Joe Morris,772-1875. For information on aspecific outing, please call theouting leader.” To Outings Leaders: E-mail youroutings write-ups to Gary Felsmanno later than the 10th of thepreceding month. Your descrip-tions may be edited for space andconsistency.

Wed, September 2, 9, 16, 23, 30th.5:30 p.m. Informal Hikes around SanLuis Obispo, approximately 5 mileswith 1200 foot elevation gain. Bringwater and dress for the weather. E-mail: [email protected] details.

September 5-7, Thousand IslandLake via River Trail Backpack:Strenuous, 18 miles round trip, 2000’gain. Saturday, Day 1, hike 7.5 milesto Thousand Island Lake. Sunday, Day2, day spend a leisure day at the campor hike to Garnet lake and vicinity,Day 3, Return via Pacific Crest HighTrail which provides 180 degree viewsof the mountains, lakes. Possible wewill see fall colors, Golden Aspens.Bring goodies to share for Friday andSaturday happy hour. Send 2 SASEwith resume of recent backpacks orconditioning and 2 checks: $25refundable at the trailhead and $5 for

the permit fee (non-refundable) to theleader: KULDIP DHADWAL, 420Carnation Place, Oxnard 93036, 815-8418 (SP) (Sponsored By Los PadresChapter of the Sierra Club).

Sat, September 12, 8:30 a.m., BigSur Coastal Hike. At least 8 milesapprox. 2000 foot elevation gain.Exact destination is unknown at thistime, but may be Vicente Flat on theKirk Creek Trail. It will depend on theweather. Meet at the Washburn DayUse Area, San Simeon State Park. SLOCarpools should meet at Santa RosaPark and leave by 7:40 a.m. Bringlunch, plenty of water and non-slipshoes. There maybe poison oak andticks along the trail. Details, call Gary(473-3694).

Sat, September 12, 10 a.m., IslayHill Open Space. Pole Cats is dedi-cated to leading local Sierra Club dayhikes and modeling the benefits ofusing trekking poles. 1 mile/400 feetelevation change. Join us for a hikewith spectacular views of Edna Valleyto the south and morros to the north.From Broad, go east on Tank Farm,turn right on Wavertree, left onSpanish Oaks and veer right ontoSweetbay and park near cul de sac.Confirm with David Georgi at 458-5575 or polecatleader@ gmail.com forupcoming activities. Bipeds welcome.

September 20, 3:00pm, SierraSingles – Valencia Peak. Sunday –Come join hike leader Stacy Talbertfor this 4-mile moderate hike with anelevation gain/loss of 1200 feet. At afull elevation of 1347’, Valencia Peakhas spectacular views from Point Salto Piedras Blancas. Please be sure tobring sturdy hiking shoes, hikingpoles if you desire, and plenty ofwater. We will meet near the Montanade Oro State Park Headquarters. TakeLos Osos Valley Road to Montana deOro State Park, then go about another2.7 miles to the parking area. CallStacy for any questions or moredetails (818) 472-6827.

Wed, September 23, 7-9 pm. Bi-monthly General Meeting. TheTransition Towns Movement. Begunin a small England town only threeyears ago, the Transition Townsmovement has quickly spread tohundreds of regions around the globe.It involves systematic efforts in localcommunities to adapt to peak oil andclimate change now, to plan aheadand make the needed economic,lifestyle, and cultural changes thatwill inevitably become necessary. JimCole, Judith Bernstein, and otherlocal activists will present aPowerPoint program explaining thekey elements and what is nowhappening in SLO County. Meets atSteynberg Gallery, 1531 Monterey St.,SLO. Info: Joe Morris, 772-1875.

Fri.-Sun., Sep 25-27, Service andHiking In The Carrizo Plain. This isan opportunity to visit and to assistan outstanding and relatively un-known national monument. Therewill be an optional and scenic hikehigh in the Caliente Mountains onFriday. Others may join us forNational Public Lands Day onSaturday when we will participatewith other volunteers working on

improvements for the Soda LakeOverlook. On Sunday we will tour anumber of the historic, prehistoric,and geologic sites in the Monument.Leader Craig Deutsche,[email protected], (310-477-6670) CNRCC Desert Committee.

Sun, September 27, 10 a.m. MainoOpen Space trail/Lemon Grove Loop.Pole Cats is dedicated to leading localSierra Club day hikes and modelingthe benefits of using trekking poles.2.2 miles/400 feet elevation change.The trailhead is located off the MarshStreet onramp of southboundHighway 101. From downtown SLOtake Higuera Street to the intersec-tion with Marsh Street and proceed asif to take 101 South. Immediatelyafter the freeway underpass, bearright into the parking lot. Confirmwith David Georgi at 458-5575 orpolecatleader@ gmail.com forupcoming activities. Bipeds welcome

Sun, September 27, 1-3 p.m.Sketching Walk at Estero Bluffs.Pack your paints or pencils for asession depicting the dramatic cliffs,seascapes, and bird life of EsteroBluffs, just north of Cayucos, and co-led by professional artist, LuciaCapacchione. Beginners to highlyskilled all welcome. Bring all artsupplies needed, hat, water, comfort-able walking shoes, and an optionalstool. Meet at Cayucos Pier for shortrideshare. Leader: Joe Morris, 772-1875.

Wed, October 7, 14, 21, 28, 30th.5:30 p.m. Informal Hikes aroundSan Luis Obispo, approximately 5miles with 1200 foot elevation gain.Bring water and dress for the weather.E-mail: [email protected] details.

Sat-Sun, October 3-4, Santa LuciaChapter/CNRCC Desert Com O:Antelope Protection Carcamp (Nature

Study/Work Party). With little rainfalland few water sources, the speciesthat live here on the Carrizo Plain areboth hardy and endangered. Particu-larly beautiful are the pronghornantelope which evolved in these wild,open spaces. Then cattle ranching lefta legacy of endless fences - which aredeadly to the pronghorn. We’ve beenremoving barbed wire for severalyears and have cleaned up theAmerican Ranch area! Join us as wenow work on the Panorama Ranch.Camp at Selby campground, bringfood, water, heavy leather workgloves, and camping gear for theweekend. Potluck Sat night. Raincancels. Meet at the Goodwin Visitors’Center at 9:00 am Sat. We are makinga difference! Resource specialist: AliceKoch. For more information, contactLeaders: Cal and Letty French, 14140Chimney Rock Road, Paso Robles, CA93446, (805-239-7338). Prefer [email protected]

Sponsored by other organizations

Sat, September 19, Coastal Clean UpDay. Help clean beaches around theCounty. Sponsored by ECOSLO. Seepage 6.

September 26-29, VWA Trail WorkTrip. Come help us celebrate NationalPublic Lands Day (Sept. 26) on aVentana Wildnerness Alliance TrailWork Trip! Come for the day, theweekend, or all four days. The air willbe fresh, the views amazing, and thisis your chance to have your ownVentana Wilderness Adventure! Bringa friend or just make some new ones!We’ll meet at 8:30a.m. on Sat., Sept26, at the Entrance to Cone PeakRoad, which is at the Summit ofNacimiento-Fergusson Road, betweenKirk Creek Campground and FortHunter Liggett. We’ll be hiking infrom the end of Cone Peak road toTrail Springs camp - a moderate hike

Sat, October 3, 9am-12pm, CreekCleanup Day · Sites throughout SLOCounty. Consider building a group ofco-workers, neighbors or friends for ateam cleanup. Contact Dave Rau at544-9096 ext. 14 to reserve a site orget more info. Sponsored by the LandConservancy of SLO.

of about 1.5 miles (water at TrailSprings). There are 7 trees down onthe trail between the North CoastRidge Trail and Trail Springs, andmany down past Trail Springs. Thereis also about 1 mile of trail that needsbrushing. So our goals will be: 1. BeSafe! 2. Have fun! 3. Use our crosscutsaw skills to clear as many trees offthe trail as we can. 4. Clear as muchbrush off the trail as we can usingloppers and pruning saws. DavidKnapp will be leading the trip. RSVPto [email protected] .

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