Index - February 2007
Angeles Chapter 2007 Conservation Priority Campaigns
Conference on Bolsa Chica, March 24-25
Global Warming: Modeling Reality
Groups Fight to Preserve Death Valley National Park
Hail to the ... Err ... Undersecretary
New Conservation Chair for Angeles Chapter
Pirates North of the Klamath
Sierra Club, Renewable Energy Experts Unveil Groundbreaking Report
State Treasurer Lockyer Names Michael Paparian Executive Director of California Pollution Control Financing Authority
Solis Named Vice Chair of House Environment Subcommittee
Surfrider Foundation Continues to Fight Desalination Plant
Taking the Initiative: Fourteen Billion and Counting

Verdict: Clean Air

 

Resolutions (Passed by ExComm 1/27/2007)
Port Container Fee Resolution

Venice Eruv Resolution:

Resolution to Endorse the School-Community-Parks Plan
Resolution to Endorse Green LA Recommendations to the City of Los Angeles
Angeles Chapter Resolution to Become Carbon Neutral
Angeles Chapter Resolution to Support AB 1493 Campaign

 

Useful Information
Chapter Conservation Committees Calendar
Chapter Conservation Management Committee
Chapter Conservation Grants Committee
Chapter Conservation Committee Preliminary Agenda
Orange County Conservation Committee Preliminary Agenda

 

Renewable Energy Experts Unveil Groundbreaking Report Roadmap Details Plan for Tackling US Global Warming Emission by 2050 Using Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy Alone

February 1, 2007, Washington DC — Today on Capitol Hill the Sierra Club joined with the American Solar Energy Society (ASES), key Congressional chairmen and representatives, and the nation's preeminent climate scientists to unveil a new report authored by ASES that lays out a plan for dramatically reducing the nation's global warming emissions. The roadmap — now the official Sierra Club global warming strategy — details how an aggressive, yet achievable increase in the use of energy efficient and renewables alone can achieve a 60-80% reduction in US global warming emissions by 2050.

 

"This report moves the discussion from whether we can achieve the necessary reductions in global warming pollution with energy efficiency and renewable energy in this country to exactly how we should do it," said Carl Pope, Sierra Club Executive Director. "Fully three-quarters of the reductions in global warming pollution called for by Dr. Hansen and other scientists can be realized using energy efficiency, wind, and solar — all technologies we have today. The rest can be made with geothermal, biofuels, biomass, and other renewables. We already have the best, cheapest, and cleanest solutions at our disposal; now we just need the market and our political leaders to put them to work."

Climate scientists agree that in order to prevent the most catastrophic effects of global warming we need to halt the growth of our emissions immediately and begin reducing them within the decade. The peer-reviewed report, "Tackling Climate Change in the US," is authored by scientists from the American Solar Energy Society, many of whom are employed by our nation's national research laboratories. It identifies the renewable energy resources available across the US that can be used to transition away from the dirty, fossil fuel-based energy economy of yesterday toward the clean energy technologies that will fuel the economy of tomorrow. The report brings together detailed analyses of various smart energy solutions, including energy efficiency solar (both photovoltaic and concentrating), wind, biofuels, biomass, and geothermal.

"This roadmap gives us both a destination — 60-80% emissions reductions by 2050 — and a plan for how to get there using the best smart energy solutions like efficiency and renewables," said Dave Hamilton, Director of the Sierra Club's Global Warming and Energy Program. "Dollar for dollar, these clean energy solutions are the best choices for America. There is no reason to invest tens of billions more in the outdated, environmentally and economically irresponsible technologies of yesterday like coal and nuclear when we can have efficient, clean energy at a reasonable cost. If we want to build a new energy economy based on clean energy and new, good-paying manufacturing jobs, this is the road to get there.

Verdict: Clean Air

A federal appeals court struck down an attempt by the EPA to weaken rules limiting smog, which is linked to asthma, and increased hospitalizations and respiratory problems. The court rejected the Bush administration's attempts to protect polluters at the cost of public health and unanimously agreed that the EPA violated the Clean Air Act when it lowered standards for smog-forming pollution from power plants, factories and other sources in cities across the country.

Global Warming: Modeling Reality

2006 was the warmest year on record for the US according to government scientists, who noted that each of the last nine years are among the 25 warmest years on record in the US, with eight of the last 10 years being the warmest on record worldwide. The scientists also found that rising temperature trends of recent years closely align with predictions of computerized climate models, which predict among other consequences, severe droughts, rising sea levels and melting ice caps.

Hail to the ... Err ... Undersecretary
by Carl Pope

January 12, 2007, Washington DC — Dale Bosworth, the Chief of the Forest Service, resigned today. The Administration promptly replaced him with Gail Kimbell. Kimbell currently serves as Regional Forester for the Northern Region in Missoula, Montana, which includes northern Idaho and North Dakota. It's far from clear whether Kimbell's vision for her new job really matters. We'll never know what kind of Chief Dale Bosworth could have been. All the shots were called from upstairs, mainly the office of Undersecretary Mark Rey, the architect of the Bush administration's desperate, and largely unsuccessful, effort to turn the remaining wild areas in the National Forest into clear cuts.

Bosworth went along while Rey tried to undo the Clinton administration's Wild Forest protections — recently restored by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. He went along in 2006 with Rey's proposal to finance rural schools by selling off the National Forests, an idea which sank beneath the waves of outrage from conservative Republicans in both the House and Senate. Environmentalists never had to lift a finger. And right up until he resigned, Bosworth loyally soldiered on, endorsing Rey's idea of completely gutting the applicability of the National Environmental Policy Act to the Forest Service, saying the exemption was "crucial to the success of the Forest Service land management planning," in a letter to key House Democrats.

Conference on Bolsa Chica, March 24-25

The Western Alliance for Nature, the Amigos de Bolsa Chica and the Bolsa Chica Land Trust, are hosting a 2 day Conference on the Bolsa Chica to be held at the Waterfront Hilton in Huntington Beach on March 24, 2007. The proceeds from the conference will be used to kick off an endowment fundraising drive for the purpose of helping to restore and maintain the entire Bolsa Chica ecosystem. While the restoration of the wetlands has begun, there still remains much to do, including full restoration of the mesas and future maintenance of the entire ecosystem. The conference will feature Lt. Govenor John Garamendi, stage and screen actor Beau Bridges, State Senator Tom Harman, scientists, members of governmental agencies and members of the business community. The conference is also sponsored by many environmental organizations including the Los Angeles Audubon Society, Orange County Coastkeeper, Sea and Sage Audubon, Orange County Surfriders, Sierra Club Angeles Chapter and the Friends of Harbors, Beaches, and Parks. Tickets for the all-day event are $150 and include 3 meals, reception, entertainment and all lectures, panels and exhibits. There will be several guided tours that are an additional $25. Please send in your registration for this event as soon as possible, attendance is limited to 200. Form available at www.amigosdebolsachica.org (select conference).

State Treasurer Lockyer Names Michael Paparian Executive Director of California Pollution Control Financing Authority
Environmental Policy Veteran Brings Nearly 30 Years of Experience to Job

January 18, 2007, Sacramento — State Treasurer Bill Lockyer today announced his appointment of Michael Paparian as Executive Director of the California Pollution Control Financing Authority. "Mike Paparian brings nearly three decades of dedication and advocacy on behalf of California's environment to the Authority," said Lockyer. "His work with the California EPA, Integrated Waste Management Board and Sierra Club has proven him a skilled manager who will continue and expand the Authority's outstanding work. California's environment and the Authority are in good hands with Mike. I am excited to have him as part of my team."

"I am honored by Treasurer Lockyer's display of confidence in appointing me Executive Director of the California Pollution Control Financing Authority," said Paparian. "CPCFA has a distinguished history of providing the financial avenues for environmentally responsible programs that help keep California healthy while also promoting economic growth. I will carry on this tradition by encouraging projects that benefit the environment, provide jobs and improve our quality of life. I look forward to joining Treasurer Lockyer as he continues his work to protect our environment and provide a better future for all Californians."

 

Paparian will leave his current job as Special Consultant to the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to assume the CPCFA position, effective January 23. Prior to joining the DTSC, Paparian served as Special Consultant to the California Environmental Protection Agency, member of the California Integrated Waste Management Board and Senior Regional Representative for the Sierra Club. His expertise and leadership has made him a leading voice on electronic waste, product stewardship, hazardous materials management, green building and energy policy.

The CPCFA provides financing for pollution control facilities to help meet environmental standards. The CPCFA's programs include the California Capital Access Program, which helps small-business borrowers obtain loans, and the new CalCAP Business STAR Program, which provides consulting services to growing small businesses.

Paparian, 51, was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley. He received bachelor's degrees in Biology and Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz and a master's degree in Environmental Planning from California State University, Sacramento. He lives in Sacramento with his wife, Kate Sproul, and their two children, Matthew and Christopher.

 

Groups Fight to Preserve Death Valley National Park
Inyo County seeks to bulldoze highways through park wilderness

January 18, 2007, Fresno — A coalition of environmental groups today filed legal papers to oppose a federal lawsuit by Inyo County that could let bulldozers cut new roads through Death Valley National Park, the largest national park in the lower 48 states.

 

Intervention papers were filed in US District Court, Fresno by Earthjustice, a non-profit environmental law firm representing the coalition. The environmental groups seek the right to defend the park against the proposed road building.

Inyo County filed suit in October seeking rights-of-way for highways through park wilderness, the right to tear down Park Service barriers and the right to build new two-lane highways in roadless desert canyons and valleys. Building highways in these areas would permanently disrupt the desert stillness of Death Valley National Park and threaten the imperiled desert tortoise, desert bighorn sheep and other park wildlife, as well as one of the park's most important petroglyph (ancient rock art) sites.

"Routes" named in the Inyo County lawsuit would run through Greenwater Canyon, Greenwater Valley and Last Chance Canyon, all of which have been protected from damaging off-road vehicle use since at least 1994. All three areas were found to be "roadless'' in 1979, and were designated as wilderness when Death Valley National Park was created in 1994.

"It's in the public interest to ensure that the natural and archeological treasures in Death Valley National Park are protected. This is our legacy for future generations," said Deborah DeMeo, program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association. "This suit threatens to destroy one of the parks' main attractions — it's stark, pristine desert beauty."

"These wilderness areas in Death Valley National Park established by Congress reflect the strong national interest in seeing their integrity protected," said George Barnes of the Sierra Club. Barnes is one of the key citizens who helped obtain national park status for Death Valley.

Inyo County greatly benefits from recreation and tourism in Death Valley National Park and other regional wilderness areas, said Paul McFarland, director of Friends of the Inyo. "It's a shame that the Board of Supervisors has chosen to spend scarce local and national taxpayer money attacking one of America's most popular natural icons, especially when there is so much real need all across our National Parks system and on public lands. Visitors and locals alike need open campgrounds and maintained trails, not divisive lawsuits." The National Park Service estimates Death Valley National Park contributed over $35 million dollars to the local economy in 2005.

"The park is one of the few desert areas in California where wildlife populations are protected from habitat fragmentation caused by roads and motorized vehicle use," said Lisa Belenky, attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the coalition members. "The county's lawsuit could undermine that protection.''

Inyo County's action is the latest attempt by off-road organizations, counties and states throughout the West to take over little-used tracks on federal lands on the basis of a Civil War-era law called R.S. 2477 that was repealed 30 years ago, said Ted Zukoski, attorney for Earthjustice.

"Use of this ancient, repealed law threatens to degrade some of America's most spectacular lands, from the Arctic Refuge in Alaska, and Canyonlands National Park and the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah, to Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado. And now Death Valley's natural wonders are under attack,'' Zukoski said.

Organizations represented by Earthjustice in this legal action include the Sierra Club, Friends of the Inyo, California Wilderness Coalition, Center for Biological Diversity, The Wilderness Society and the National Parks Conservation Association.

Solis Named Vice Chair of House Environment Subcommittee

January 25, 2007, Washington DC — Today, Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis (CA-32) was named Vice Chair of the House Subcommittee on the Environment and Hazardous Materials by John D. Dingell (MI-15), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. This is a key appointment for Solis, whose district is home to three superfund sites, more than 100 leaking underground storage tanks, and 136 drinking water wells which have been taken off-line because of rocket-fuel (perchlorate) contamination.

"As Vice Chair, I will continue to fight for the health and well being of our families," said Congresswoman Solis. "I look forward to working diligently to make sure that every neighborhood across the country has equal environmental protections."

The Environment and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee has jurisdiction over safe drinking water, hazardous waste and toxic substances, noise pollution, and mining waste. Solis, who received the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in 2000 for her groundbreaking work on environmental justice, served as the Ranking Democrat of the Subcommittee from 2003-2006.

In addition to serving as Vice Chair of the Environment Subcommittee, Solis is a member of the Health and Telecommunications Subcommittee. She also serves on the House Natural Resources Committee and is Vice Chair of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. She is also Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus' Health Task Force.

Surfrider Foundation Continues to Fight Desalination Plant Environmental Groups Continue to Fight Desalination Plant

January 11, 2007, Huntington Beach — Even after the rejection of its lawsuit against the city, the Surfrider Foundation will continue to fight plans for the proposed Poseidon seawater desalination plant.

 

The Surfrider Foundation and the Sierra Club filed a lawsuit against the city of Huntington Beach, arguing that the required environmental report of the proposed plant was inconclusive. They did not believe the report adequately addressed the dangers the plant could pose to marine life in the area.

Orange County Superior Court Judge David C. Velasquez ruled on November 27 that there would be no environmental challenge to the report on the plant. The environmental report was already given approval by the Huntington Beach City Council in September 2005. Permits were granted for the project the following March.

The proposed plant is planned to be located on Coast Highway and Newland Street. It would be capable of desalinating 50 million gallons of seawater a day.

The Surfrider Foundation said it will continue to challenge the Southern California Regional Water Quality Control Board on this issue. It plans on disputing the plant's coastal development permit that was previously granted by the city, as well as a future permit that the commission will most likely consider in Spring 2007.

In related news, a new desalination process that could significantly increase Long Beach's water supply was given a patent November 28 by the US Patent and Trademark Office.

The patent was put into effect December 5, nearly four years after the city first applied for it. Diem Vuong, the Water Department's recently retired assistant general manager, invented the two-step filtration method. The process is capable of producing 300,000 gallons of desalinated water a day. The city of Long Beach plans to build a larger system, capable of producing 10 million gallons of desalinated water a day, if further testing goes well.

Pirates North of the Klamath
by Carl Pope

January 22, 2007, Scotia CA —The announcement that Pacific Lumber (PL) would attempt to escape the regulatory authority of the State of California by heading for bankruptcy court brought back bitter memories.

PL was paid enormous sums by the federal government for the protection of the Headwaters Forest but never accepted the fact that being a good environmental steward was part of the deal. Indeed, the purchase almost fell apart at the last minute when PL and then-Governor Pete Wilson attempted to weaken this requirement. Fortunately, the Majority Leader of the California Senate, John Burton, held firm and, in the last hour of the legislative session, told PL that if it insisted on weakening environmental standards, it would have to kiss a half billion in federal and state tax dollars good-bye. PL blinked.

Now the outlaw is back, asking a federal bankruptcy court to release it from the requirement that it comply with California's water quality standards. The latest shenanigans comes as the company filed for, "Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, saying it is 'facing a liquidity crisis arising from regulatory limitations on timber harvest.' In a release, the company said its annual timber harvest volumes and cash flows will be below the levels needed to meet its debt service obligations." The solution? Cut more timber, even at the expense of water quality and endangered salmon runs.

This is standard operating procedure for PL, Maxxam (the holding company that controls it), and Charles Hurwitz, (the Houston Financier who manipulates it). And it's personally painful for me, because I received a phone call from a distraught PL employee the afternoon when Hurwitz first made his hostile takeover bid for Pacific Lumber, which at the time was the model of sustainable forestry in the United States. The employee explained to me back in 1985 that Hurwitz was going to take the company over, plunge it into debt, and try to pay the debt off by liquidating the remaining old growth redwoods. She wanted to know if there was a way the company could fight Hurwitz off.

I thought there was. Pacific Lumber could take the water quality and conservation benefits of its sustainable timber practices, sign a permanent commitment to them, and receive in exchange a conservation easement worth hundreds of millions to its shareholders. This conservation easement would have been good for the company, but a poison pill for Hurwitz and his plan to clearcut the Redwoods. I approached sympathetic members of the Pacific Lumber Board. At first they were interested, but asked me not to go the press. Then, at the last minute, their lawyers told them that if they stood up to Hurwitz, he would sue them personally, and they could be bankrupted — whereas if they went along with Hurtwitz, the lawyers said, he could and would legally indemnify them against the lawsuits which followed. Faced with personal ruin, the board gave in and allowed Hurwitz to take over. Only later did we learn that the lawyers, whether correct or not, had a conflict of interest —because they were also the lawyers for leveraged buy-out king Ivan Boesky, who was, secretly, Hurwitz's partner in the hostile takeover.

I've always wondered what would have happened if I had taken our idea to the press. But now even the modest protection we won in the Headwater Deal is at risk — because federal bankruptcy judges have become the new court of last resort for crony capitalism of the sort that Hurwitz and his fellow pirates represent. Want out of an expensive underfunded pension plan? Follow the lead of the airlines who've gone to bankruptcy court to find a way to dodge their responsibilities. Want to raise electricity rates for your customers beyond the tolerable level? Just transfer your assets to a holding company, declare bankruptcy and leave the rate-payers with the liabilities, which is what happened in California's electricity crisis. Find it awkward to clean up your toxic waste? Use the same ploy: Declare bankruptcy and walk away from your obligations to communities as ASARCO is trying to do.

And now the bankruptcy judges are being asked to rule that Pacific Lumber can cut trees it needs to pay off its junk bond debt. Yes, this stands the concept of the rule of law on its head — but we live in a topsy-turvy world. I'm not sure they can't get away with it — unless Congress fixes federal bankruptcy law fast, as Maria Cantwell proposed last year.

Fourteen Billion and Counting
by Carl Pope

January 19, Washington DC — The House yesterday completed its 100-hour legislative spring, passing a bill to eliminate fourteen billion dollars in tax breaks and subsidies for oil and gas companies, and shifting the funds instead to energy conservation and renewable projects. The vote was 264-163, with only four Democrats opposing it, and 36 Republicans voting in favor.

The Democrats "Six for '06" agenda was modelled on Newt Gingrich's 1994 "Contract with America" but is playing out very differently. The media has forgotten that while the Contract was viewed as quite successful in helping the Republicans take advantage of the public dissatisfaction with the Democratic leadership in Congress in 1994, Newt played bait and switch — and the seeds of the failures of the last twelve years of Republican congressional leadership were sowed in those first weeks. The Contract was a list of attractive policy changes, centrist in flavor and populist in tilt. But what the Republicans tried to pass was not what they had promised the American people, but a series of hard-edged reactionary assaults on the government safety net itself — and as a result, virtually no Democrats voted for it, and enough Republicans voted "No" that most of the Contract didn't even get through the House, and what did was mostly blocked in the Senate.

By contrast, Pelosi has offered legislation that is, if anything, more centrist than her campaign promises. As a result she has almost no Democratic defections and a surprisingly large number of Republican cross-overs to support her — 82 Republicans voted to raise the minimum wage. The media is expressing surprise that the new leadership in the House has handled itself so deftly. Thomas Bird Edsall, who has been caustic in his cynicism about the new leadership, wrote yesterday in the Times that "Something odd happened on Capitol Hill this week. Something that seemed to start out as a publicity stunt — the House Democratic leadership’s 100-hour agenda — actually turned into a ... qualified success."

The media was strikingly oblivious to the failure of the pseudo-conservative leadership in Congress to accomplish its goals, keep the legislative process running, or do much of anything right during their twelve years in power, so their clear expectation that Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid would be klutzes may reflect ordinary journalistic cynicism — or some hidden biases. But for the rest of us, there is a lesson here — not a surprising one really. The reactionaries made a mess of running the legislative branch of the federal government because they don't believe in what it does (pass national legislation), value what it stands for (democracy and openness), or understand how it works (dialogue and compromise). The Democrats are performing better because they actually care about and love what the public has elected them to do — clean up the mess and get the nation back on track.

But at the same time no one should forget that forty years of virtually unchallenged congressional power had left the Democrats in 2004 highly dysfunctional, and one of the most positive signs is that the lessons of the election of 1994 have not been forgotten. In 2003-2004 for example, the elected Democratic leaders in the House and Senate were, effectively, weak feudal lords of strong Committee Chairs who got their jobs through seniority, not consensus. They wouldn't remove Chairs who weren't appropriate, and they wouldn't stand up to ones who got out of line. Pelosi, at least, is not making those mistakes — she chose her own leader for the Intelligence Committee, and when it became clear that John Dingell, the Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, was not going to provide enthusiastic leadership and a clear message on global warming and energy independence, she chose Ed Markey to chair a select committee to coordinate the House response, and called for legislative action by July 4 — an extremely ambitious timetable. Dingell pushed back hard in the caucus, but my sources indicate that Pelosi didn't budge, saying simply that as Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee he still controlled the actual legislative process on global warming, but that she expected him to move promptly, and needed the Select Committee to provide a clear message in response to the smoke and mirrors she expects from the White House and Big Carbon.

Similarly, in 2003-2004 the Democratic leadership failed to respond to repeated ethical scandals and issues. This time, in spite of the normal incumbent's desire not to rock the boats on the perks that benefit themselves, the House and Senate have both embraced ethics reforms packages far more sweeping than those they promised on the campaign trail

New Conservation Responsibilities

Dean Wallraff has resigned his position as Conservation Chair of the Angeles Chapter in order to accept a paid position in Tuscon, Arizona. Bonnie Sharpe has replaced Dean Wallraff as Conservation Chair. She retains her position as chair of the Grants Committee. The Vice Chair of the Conservation Committee remains Marcia Hanscom

Conservation Resolutions Passed (1/28/2007)

Angeles Chapter 2007 Conservation Priority Campaigns:
Santa Clara River/Tejon Ranch
Livable Cities
OC Open Spaces Wild Places
California Coastal Recreation Area
San Gabriel River
Wildlife & Endangered Species
Global Warming

Port Container Fee Resolution:
The Angeles Chapter recommends that Sierra Club California immediately begin to plan and implement a statewide campaign to convince governor Schwarzenegger to refrain from vetoing the bill on the cargo container fee that Senator Lowenthal will again shepherd through the legislature.

Venice Eruv Resolution:

The Angeles Chapter supports protection of the endangered least tern, and other nesting and roosting birds of the greater Ballona Wetlands ecosystem, and because of this commitment, we oppose the stringing of monofilament or other lines, in close proximity to sensitive habitat and/or along the beach, because of the death of birds and degradation of viewshed that would result.

Resolution to Endorse Green LA Recommendations to the City of Los Angeles
The Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club endorses the policy recommendations to the City of Los Angeles prepared by the Green LA Working Group for a just and sustainable future.

Resolution to Endorse the School-Community-Parks Plan
The Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club endorses the School-Community-Parks Plan developed by People for Parks in collaboration with a number of grassroots community organizations, including ACORN, One-LA-IAF, and the Korean American Coalition.

Resolution to Become Carbon Neutral
The Angeles Chapter shall set an example for its members and other chapters by becoming carbon neutral through offsetting greenhouse gas emissions from utilities consumed by the Chapter Office plus emissions related to staff air travel tickets and mileage directly paid by the Chapter. The funds will be paid to the Climate Trust, which has been reviewed by the California Climate Action Registry and found to be a reliable offset organization. The Chair of the Global Warming, Energy and Air Quality will calculate and authorize the payment, which is estimated to be $314 per year.

The Angeles Chapter also recommends that the Sierra Club take similar measures so that national offices and staff travel are carbon neutral.

Resolution to Support AB 1493 Campaign
The Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club supports a letter writing and petition campaign and other efforts to convince the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturors and 11 Fresno area auto dealers to drop their lawsuit challenging AB 1493, the Vehicular Emissions Greenhouse Gases Act of 2002. [This effort will involve reaching out to Sierra Club Chapters and other organizations in the Fresno area, as well as as action by Angeles Chapter members.]