february 2010 lucian · the green buildings for cool cities policy guide is available online at and...

Santa Lucian • February 20101

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

Protecting and

Preserving the

Central Coast

SantaLucian

IIIII n s i d en s i d en s i d en s i d en s i d eMercury rising in Cambria 2

Loving Annie 3

San Miguel survives 5

Why local power 7

Letters 9

Classifieds 11

Outings 12

Please recycle

This newsletter printed on100% post-consumer recycled paper with

soy-based inks

February 2010

Volume 47 No. 2

Santa LucianSanta Lucia Chapter of the Sierra ClubP. O. Box 15755

San Luis Obispo, CA 93406

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Info & registration:www.LocalCleanEnergy.org

Los Osos:Let’s GetIt RightCoastal Commission stepsin to oversee sewer saga

The Sierra Club’s Cool Cities programand the U.S. Green BuildingCouncil (USGBC) have launched theGreen Buildings for Cool Citiescollaboration. The partnership will leverage CoolCities’ more than 200 local campaignsand USGBC’s national network of 78chapters to encourage new andretrofitted energy-efficient buildings,a key solution to global warming andto achieving the transition to a cleanenergy economy. Our step-by-step green buildingpolicy guide for communities of allsizes features policies ranging frombasic to more advanced plans ofaction to address energy-efficiencyand environmental sustainabilitythrough the built environment.

On January 14, the Los Osos Waste-water Project arrived at a watershedmoment. At a “Substantial Issue” hearing ofthe California Coastal Commissionheld at Huntington Beach city hall,the appeals and testimony of environ-mental groups and communityactivists won the day over Countyofficials and a sizeable “just do it”contingent, who sought to assure theCommission that all issues surround-ing the sewer plan had been resolved. The Commission was persuadedotherwise, and decided to take on theissues at a full hearing a few monthshence. At that time, the Commissionwill examine the degree to which theproject is protective of wetlands asdefined and required by the CaliforniaCoastal Act, how treated effluent willbe distributed to assure the biologicalintegrity of creeks and habitat, howthe project will mitigate the environ-mental damage done by the sewer’sfalse start several years ago, and howthe County will go about disposing offive million tons of septage fromabandoned septic tanks. Most crucially, appellants persuadedthe Commission to look into theCounty’s plans for water conservationand the agricultural re-use of treatedeffluent – the heart of the project –and take over the oversight andapproval of those programs in orderto assure their success. County officials tried to minimizethe day’s outcome by characterizingthe substantial issues identified byappellants and the Coastal Commis-sion as minor details. But there’s a reason why suchproceedings are called SubstantialIssue hearings, not Minor Detailhearings. It was clear from its staffreport that the last thing in the worldthe Coastal Commission wanted to dowas take responsibility for the LosOsos sewer, and would take on thatrole only if absolutely necessary. Bythe end of the long day, a majority ofCommissioners concluded that it wasabsolutely necessary. Prior to the hearing, the Countyattempted to pressure the Sierra Clubinto withdrawing our appeal – part ofa lobbying blitz in which County

Moment of truth Environmental concerns raised at the California Coastal Commissionhearing on the Los Osos sewer trumped the County’s assurances that the project has nosubstantial issues that need to be addressed before its permit is approved.

Highlighted policies includeleadership standards for governmentbuildings that serve as models for thecommunity; financial and no-costincentives to build green for thecommercial and residential sectors;improved minimum efficiencystandards through energy codeadoption and enforcement. The Green Buildings for Cool Citiespolicy guide is available online atwww.coolcities.us and www.usgbc.org. “Because buildings contributenearly 40% of global warmingemissions and consume over 70% ofelectricity use in the United States,increasing the energy performance ofour homes and businesses is a cost-effective clean energy solution toglobal warming, and an enormous

opportunity for rebuildingour economy,” said Glen Brand,Sierra Club’s Cool Cities ProgramDirector. “Local governments have longbeen laboratories of innovation whenit comes to energy-efficiency,proving by example that sustainablebuilding practices can be effectivelybrought to scale. USGBC is pleased

Sierra Club & U.S. Green Building CouncilLaunch “Green Buildings for Cool Cities”

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Santa Lucian

EDITOR

Melody 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 93406.

[email protected]

Santa Lucia Chapter

2009 Executive CommitteeMelody DeMeritt ACTING CHAIR

Cal French MEMBERDawn Ortiz-Legg MEMBERSteven Marx TREASURERLinda Seeley

MEMBER

Cal French COUNCIL OF CLUB LEADERS

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

Nuclear Power Task Force Rochelle Becker

Other Leaders

Open Space Gary Felsman 805-473-3694Calendar Sales Bonnie Walters 805-543-7051Chapter History John Ashbaugh 805-541-6430

Activities

Outings Joe Morris [email protected]/Kayak open

Webmaster Monica Tarzier [email protected]

Chapter Director Andrew [email protected]

[email protected]

Andrew [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.

Kim Ramos, Admin and Development [email protected]

Coordinator

Cambria Activists &Mercury Put DesalPlan in Retrograde

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General Information

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

By Lynne Harkins

In what veteran Cambria CommunityService District observers havedescribed as a significant upset (witha significant impact!), environ-mental community activism inCambria has forced off the table anattempt by the Cambria CSD toexempt itself from environmentalreview of the Army Corps of Engi-neers proposal to drill multipledesalination test wells on Santa RosaCreek State Beach. Put forward in the guise of just alittle harmless information gathering,the proposed exemption raised analarm in the community. Environ-mental review is already a locallycharged issue, with the Cambria CSDbeing sued by LandWatch SLO overalleged deficits in the District’sEnvironmental Impact Report for theCambria Water Master Plan, citingimpacts to aquatic habitat and biota. As the lead agency on the project,the Army Corps compiled a 17-pageCoastal Act Consistency Determi-nation, asserting that the projectwould comply with the Coastal Act tothe “maximum extent practicable” —always a phrase that leaves room forinterpretation, certainly when it

environment, including a reef thatprovides habitat for multiple impor-tant fish species near the proposeddrilling area. He also pointed outomissions in the staff/Corps report’sdescription of the appropriatejurisdictional/regulatory frameworkwhich applies to the nearshoreenvironment and safeguards therecently designated Marine ProtectedArea off Cambria. Elizabeth Bettenhausen’s extensiveanalysis pointed to the Corps’ andDistrict’s failures to allow for the vitalfunctioning of the beach ecosystemitself, quoting from the book Sand:The Never-ending Story, by geologistMichael Welland: “Withoutmeiofauna, the sand of our beachesand lakeshores would be stinking,toxic places, with organic debrisrotting unconsumed and dangerousbacteria rampant. The microscopiccreatures of the meiofauna feed offthis debris: They keep our beachesclean.” (More reason to, as Surfridersays, “Respect the beach!”) Tina Dickason asserted there was afailure to accurately describe publichealth threats that will accrue as aresult of the diesel pollutionand other potential contami-nants that could be released by

drilling activity. TheCorps says the odors

will disappear andthere will be noproblem for sur-rounding residencesand the ShamelPark public play-ground, but thatflies in the face ofthe known car-cinogenic effects ofdiesel emis-sions, which waspointed out by MaryGiacoletti’s letter,read into the recordby Jack McCurdy.

Another attempt to diminish CEQA in the Countymeets determined, successful opposition

comes to dealing with Santa RosaCreek State Beach, highly accessibleto and much beloved by the Public. The Corps and CCSD’s bid for ahighly-accelerated process wasevident when the CCSD Board ofDirectors announced over New Year’sweekend a Jan. 5 meeting designed tospeedily commence and complete thetest wells project on the beachsometime around March. At thatmeeting, the CCSD Board neverthe-less got an impressive turnout and aresounding thumbs down on thematter. Compelling public testimonydrew recurring rounds of applausefrom the audience as the majority ofthirteen speakers made their ownwell-documented “negative declara-tions” in response to the 40-page staffreport released just days before. One speaker after another pointedto glaring sins of omission andproposed commission. Commencingwith Mickie Burton’s charge that theBoard was misconstruing the groundsfor environmental exemption underthe California Environmental QualityAct (CEQA), there followed JimWebb’s detailing of what he saw as anegregious failure to allow for theextreme complexity of the near-shore

McCurdy also toldthe Board that theSanta Lucia

Chapter’s Conservation Committeewas monitoring the situation andwould likely recommended a fullenvironmental review of the project. In an accelerated mode of theirown, many who spoke against theproposed exemption from environ-mental review thoughtfully forwardedtheir written comments to the CoastalCommission, which were cited in theCommission quick response to theArmy Corps, informing the Corps thattheir application was inadequate andthat approval would be deferred untilthe Corps provides satisfactoryanswers to all questions. A key moment at the hearing arosewhen the Board was challenged aboutits complete failure to either acknowl-edge or assess the possible impacts ofcontaminated legacy mercury minedeposits from the closed but largelyunremediated Oceanic Mine. Though about five miles inland andabove Santa Rosa Creek, the questionhad arisen a few years ago as towhether any residues from theextraction of almost three millionpounds of liquid mercury had traveleddownstream over the years; a ques-tion made more urgent when the

Let’s see for ourselves Cambria residents mark off theproposed locations of test wells for the desal plant.


Our Annie

I first really got to know Annie duringthe Hearst Ranch land-use battle inthe mid-nineties. Since then, I hadthe pleasure (and shared the pain) ofworking with her on many issues andcampaigns. What I loved about her isthat she always “got it”; she wasalways able to see through the smokeand mirrors into the core of an issue.She never fell into the trap of com-promising herself or her values inorder to seem reasonable. Anniealways fought tirelessly for what wasright, regardless of whether it waspopular; and people loved her for it.Annie passed from this world with hersoul intact, surrounded by family,friends, and a grateful community.

-Pat Veesart

It’s hard to quantify who and whatAnne McMahon was to me. A litany ofher accomplishment – impressive andextensive as they are - doesn’t comeclose to capturing Anne for me. Shewas so much more than what herpublic accomplishments wouldreveal. She was always ready tomentor and advise and share herknowledge but more than that, shewas always ready to listen, to sympa-thize, to laugh about the absurditiesof life. And always ready to do thework needed to succeed. I was alwaysmindful when seeking help, not tooverburden her – she never said no,no matter how difficult the job. Shewas dedicated and loyal and nevercompromised her beliefs. The quotefrom E.B. White she used as her tagline on all her emails expressed herwell: “I would feel more optimisticabout a bright future for man if hespent less time proving that he canoutwit Nature and more time tastingher sweetness and respecting herbeauty.”

-Sue Harvey

I had the absolute joy and de-light of working with Anne McMahonat The Nature Conservancy when thelocal chapter of TNC was aliveand well on the Central Coast. Thosewere the days when giant leaps inlocal conservation were being madewith projects that were ambitious andcourageous and somewhat forbidding,but with Annie’s help the impossiblebecame possible. We celebrated thethe possibilities of The Carrizo PlainNational Monument, the conservationsuccess of SLO’s ”Irish Hills” and theprotection of the last stand of nativeMonterey pines in Cambria. Thesewere victories, celebrations, perpetualgifts to the community, manymembers of which don’t know thenames of the people behind thesegiant leaps in environmental successthat we all enjoy today. Annie was thebackbone of such accomplishments,and they stand as a perpetual re-minder of her and her efforts. Thelove and the dedication that thiswoman has had for her community isimmeasurable. On a personal level, Annie was ariddle to me. She seemed to balance ademanding and hectic professional

Anne McMahon died of cancer on December 19. She was an environmentalchampion of California’s central coast, so much so that it would be impossible tofully put into words just how much she contributed to the preservation of theland we love, but herein some of her friends give it a try.

career and a peaceful and nurturingfamily life and with ease. She navi-gated through the turbulent diplo-matic tides of environmental heroismwith her graceful negotiation skillsand balanced it all with a sharp witand brilliant sense of humor. Iadmired her for her levity and herresolve when the outcome wasn’twhat she had hoped for. This and many other wonderfulqualities made Annie who she was. I’llalways and forever be changedbecause Annie taught me to walkthrough a rainstorm as though it wassunshine on my shoulders andlook forward to warmer days ahead.

-Laurin Hayes

Annie was the first friend I madewhen I moved to San Luis ObispoCounty in 1994. We were workingtogether as reporters at the CountryNews, and I was pretty unsettledabout leaving my wonderful commu-nity on Kauai and moving here whereI didn’t know a soul. As I was a“newbie,” Annie helped me under-stand the context of the local stories Iwas covering—who the players were,what the deep background was. Shecovered the Santa Margarita Ranchdevelopment proposal back when theRobertsons still owned the ranch—and I occasionally helped with someaspect of the reporting. It opened myeyes to the way that power andmoney corrupt the public planningprocess, and how easily electedofficials are manipulated by develop-ers with millions of dollars at stake intheir speculative real estate deals. Itwas the beginning of an educationprocess that continues to this day. She was a relentless advocate forbiodiversity, agricultural preserva-tion, and local, sustainable foodsystems. This required her to fre-quent places where many otherenvironmentalist fear to tread—meetings with the Farm Bureau,Cattlemen’s Association, and the AgCommissioner’s office. She wasperfect for this work, because evenpeople who disagreed with hercouldn’t help but like her as a personand appreciate her sincerity andcommitment. While working forCongressman Capps and the NatureConservancy, she successfully battledbureaucratic roadblocks to gettingthe USDA to certify a mobile slaugh-ter unit, which sounds a littlegruesome, but is an important toolthat allows ranchers and small-scalemeat producers to market theirproduct directly, as opposed to selling(usually at a loss) to industrial-scalefeed lots that are at the mercy of thefour corporations who now control90% of the slaughter houses in thecountry. It took years of advocacy, butshe finally succeeded. She was a founding member of theCentral Coast Ag Network, wrote thegrant that got it off the ground,shaped its organizational structureand did much of the media outreachbehind its popular “Central CoastGrown” campaign. She held theEnvironmental seat for the Agricul-

tural Liason Advisory Board (ALAB), acommittee heavily, but not exclu-sively, stocked with traditional ag andranching types who have littlesympathy for all that enviro fol-de-rol.Her current passion was the creationof an “Agricultural and Open SpaceDistrict” that would provide a sourceof funds to purchase critical land-scapes vulnerable to development, andprotect them through easements orpublic ownership. When ALAB provedunwilling to endorse such a move, shesimply went around them and con-tacted the ag community directly,selling the idea to ag leaders, countyplanners, elected officials and environ-mentalists and forming a steeringcommittee to move the idea forward.The Planning Commission has nowofficially endorsed the idea by includ-ing it in the Conservation and OpenSpace Element, and it will be up to theBoard to get behind the idea and putit on the ballot. The creation of such adistrict would be a fitting, lastinglegacy to Anne’s life’s work. I will always respect Annie for hersense of integrity and principledstands on environmental issues. Shewas pragmatic and able to compro-mise so long as the solutions did notcompromise away the underlyingvalues. This is always the moredifficult road to take as an activist. Forinstance, while she was a warrior whooften doubled as a general in thefights to protect the Hearst Ranch andthe Santa Margarita Ranch fromdevelopment, she was adamantlyopposed to the “conservation ease-ments” proposed for both of thoseproperties because they allowed fartoo much development, and did notgo far enough to provide public accessand protect the natural resources thatshe and others were fighting toconserve. For this she was branded an“extremist,” primarily by people whodid not take the time to read thosedocuments or did not understandtheir implications. But she was also astaunch supporter of conservationeasements that were truly protectiveof open space, habitat, and sustainableag production. The two landscapes I will alwaysassociate with Annie are the SantaMargarita Ranch and the CarrizoPlain. She fought two very different

battles to save them both. Savingextraordinary landscapes from thepressures of development is a long-term engagement. It takes enduranceand tenacity to follow them all theway through the twists and turns ofenvironmental review, politicalmaneuvering, regulatory approval andlitigation. And while the final scenehas not been written on eitherproperty, Annie was on the front linesof both battles every step of the way.She brought people together, net-worked like a champ, and forgedimportant connections betweenpeople who are working together forcommon goals. She had an ability tofind the very best people, get them allin the same room, and trust that thecreative synergy would blossom into aplan of action. Her environmental advocacypropelled her political activism. Shewas a tireless campaigner and servedon the core committees for DavidBlakely, Kat McConnell and JimPatterson. Through her volunteercampaign work for Lois Capps, sheexperienced first-hand a model ofgrassroots campaign strategy thatchanged the face of local electionsforever. Annie was the bridge betweenthe old, “yard signs and leaflets” stylelocal grassroots campaign, and thesophisticated, high-tech, “targetedvoter universe” style campaign usedby the big boys that has turned thepolitical tide in SLO county. Anniefirst introduced us to that strategy inDavid Blakely’s 2000 campaign, andalthough we did not prevail that year,it was successfully re-deployed in2004 to elect Jim Patterson and in2008 to elect Adam Hill. And lastly, I will be forever gratefulfor her personal loyalty. Her last“public” act, less than two weeksbefore she died, was to join theenvironmental leaders who met withSupervisor Patterson to urge him toretain me on the Planning Commis-sion. While I know she was motivatedin part by our friendship, what shewas really advocating for was the needto protect the environment throughenlightened land use planning, apassion she carried with her to theend. That she would choose to expendher precious, dwindling energy at that

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Climate Clowning withMeg and CarlyCalifornia’s Republican gubernatorialand senatorial candidates are makinga bold bid to reverse the progressmade in clean energy and climatechange mitigation measures. Both Meg Whitman and CarlyFiorina are promising Californiavoters a return to the nineteenthcentury — albeit a much hotterversion of the 19th century, markedby monster storms, widespreaddrought and tropical disease, floodedcoastal cities and dead oceans — ifthe people of California electWhitman governor and replaceSenator Barbara Boxer with Fiorina. To be fair, they are merely uphold-ing the tradition of the CaliforniaRepublican party. Before signing intolaw the landmark Assembly Bill 32,the Global Warming Solutions Act of2006, Governor Schwarzenneggerfought it down to the wire, frontingfor corporate interests and seeking toneuter the bill’s regulatory authoritywith toothless “market-based solu-tions” and wrestle enforcement awayfrom the California Air ResourcesBoard before he finally had to sign thebill or risk political irrelevance. Henow touts his signing of AB 32 soproudly you would think he wrote it,or at least supported it. GOP StateAssemblyman Sam Blakeslee votedagainst AB 32, but now cites hiscommitment to fulfilling the goals ofAB 32 with every energy bill heproposes. Whitman is having none of that.She’s kickin’ it old school: AB 32 mustdie! Fiorina meanwhile is challengingSenator Barbara Boxer over the costsof national climate change legislation. Both candidates are playing on thepresumption that they can linkfighting climate change to a weakeconomy, portraying climate action astoo expensive, whereas inactiondenotes fiscal prudence. Praying formore bad times so they can ride intooffice on a wave of reactionary anger,they’re betting that by the timeelection day rolls around, voters willbe irate and scared enough to agreewith them. It’s a pretty basic political tactic,

and, in this case, fundamentallywrong in every possible way. As the New York Times noted in areport on the scary dollar figurescited for fighting climate change on aglobal scale, quoting the chief ofDeutsche Bank Asset Management,“The figures people tend to cite don’ttake into account conservation andefficiency measures that are easilyavailable. And they don’t look at thecost of inaction, which is the extinc-tion of the human race.” But Whitman and Fiorina are evenmore wrong than that piece ofcommon sense would indicate.Combatting climate change will notonly cost less than ignoring it, itrepresents the only possibility for aviable economy. We refer the candidates to a newreport from University of Californiaresearchers examining the economicimpacts of putting AB 32 on hold.“Energy Prices and California’sEconomic Security,” sponsored byNext 10, a nonpartisan, nonprofitorganization, finds that if Californiaremains primarily dependent uponfossil fuels, private electricity costscould escalate as much as 33 percent.Using price forecasts from the U.S.Department of Energy’s AnnualEnergy Outlook (AEO), the studyestimates that without diversifyingCalifornia’s energy portfolio towardmore renewable fuels and energyefficiency, the state risks a loss of over$80 billion in Gross State Product(GSP) and more than a half millionjobs by 2020. Implementing 33percent renewable energy, combinedwith 1 percent annual improvementin energy efficiency, on the otherhand, shields the economy fromhigher energy prices and yields agrowth dividend, increasing GSP by$20 billion and generating 112,000jobs. To date, official and unofficialeconomic assessments of statepolicies have been informed byrelatively outdated fossil fuel pricetrend estimates. Unlike any previousstudy on the impacts of California’sclimate policies, this study uses up-

to-date U.S. Department of Energy(DOE) fossil fuel projections. “The global financial crisis has hithard in California, where unemploy-ment, mortgage foreclosures and an

unprecedented state budget deficit areamong the highest in the nation. Butthe current decline in demand inglobal energy markets is temporaryand risks lulling policymakers and thepublic into a state of denial aboutlong-term fossil fuel price trends,”said the report’s author, UC Berkeleyprofessor David Roland-Holst. “Evenusing conservative official estimates,we find that California risks fargreater economic peril by remainingheavily dependent upon fossil fuels.Energy efficiency and renewables offera valuable hedge against the risks ofhigher energy prices.” Over the last six months, even asnational and state unemploymentremain figures climb, retail U.S.gasoline prices have risen 40 percentand crude oil prices have risen 60percent. While looking for work,California’s motorists are alreadypaying half a billion dollars a daymore to drive than they did inJanuary 2009. The study assesses the impact onCalifornia’s economic growth pros-pects of three primary drivers: thecourse of fossil fuel energy prices,energy efficiency trends, and renew-able energy development. To assessthe economic impact of increasedimplementation of renewable energy,the study sequences projects accord-ing to the most recent and definitiveRenewable Energy TransmissionInitiative (RETI) report. Highlights of report findingsinclude the following:l Without changing the state energymix, under official fossil fuel energyprice trends as projected in the U.S.Department of Energy’s AEO, privateelectricity costs in California would beup to $100 per person higher in 2020(already $100 above today’s prices),making electricity up to 33 percentmore expensive.l If fossil fuels follow the Dept. ofEnergy forecast, and the state does

not implement its climate policies,California’s economy will shrink by$84 billion and over a half millionjobs by 2020.l Diversifying California’s energyportfolio to include 33 percentrenewable energy and 1 percentannual improvement in energyefficiency significantly shieldsCalifornia’s economy from higherenergy prices, resulting in lowerconsumer costs, increasing GSP by$20 billion and boosting jobs by112,000 by 2020. The full report isavailable at: www.Next10.org On January 11, a bill introduced byRepublicans in the state Assembly tooverturn AB 32 was rejected. Itssponsors immediately set aboutturning it into a ballot initiative. “When it comes to climate change,the most expensive thing we can do isnothing and the second most expen-sive option is to delay action,” saidAnn Notthoff, California AdvocacyDirector for the Natural ResourcesDefense Council. “The annualeconomic impacts of climate-induceddamage in California’s energy sectorwill range from $2.7 billion in the lowwarming scenario to $6.3 billion inthe high warming scenario. Overall,$21 billion in energy assets are atrisk.” Whitman and Fiorina ignore allthis. As the Daily Beast politelyobserved: “The politically ambitiousSilicon Valley Republicans are makingperhaps the biggest, most consequen-tial political gamble of anyone in thecountry.” We’ll be more blunt: Meg Whitmanand Carly Fiorina are California’sclimate clowns, running for electionon a promise to drive our economy allthe way over the cliff, en route tohelping bring about the end of life aswe know it.

AP p

hoto

officials solicited letters from stateand federal legislators urging afinding of “no substantial issue” andsought to meet with each of thetwelve Coastal Commissioners. Thateffort ultimately could not obscurethe environmental pitfalls in theproject pointed out by the SurfriderFoundation, Los Osos SustainabilityGroup and Sierra Club, whoserepresentatives led off the testimonyof the 20-plus appellants at the

hearing. We pointed out all of theconcerns that were subsequently citedby the Commission as the grounds forfinding that our appeals raisedsubstantial issues with the project. After listening to all testimony andbefore taking the vote, several Com-missioners were especially strong intheir comments. CommissionerPatrick Kruer said that “in good

conscience” he could not say thatthere was no substantial issue,expressing amazement that any of hiscolleagues would consider overlook-ing those issues just so the sewercould get built sooner. Commissioner Esther Sancheznoted pointedly that “our staff has notbeen able to respond clearly toquestions raised here.” Commissioner

Los Ososcontinued from page 1

What them worry? Whitman and Fiorina.

The day before the Coastal Commis-sion hearing, the Los Osos Sustain-ability Group received a review of thework of the consultants that theCounty relied on in its estimation ofseawater intrusion and the measuresnecessary to mitigate its impacts aspart of the Los Osos WastewaterProject. Eugene B. Yates, Senior Hydrologistfor the firm HydroFocus, concludedthat the model the project consult-ants used to evaluate groundwater

Hydrology Firm Says County Under-estimated Threat to Los Osos Basin

yield “understimates the rate ofmovement of the saltwater front,”which could result in “a direct risk ofcontinued overdraft,” the contamina-tion of “key production wells, andrequire that they be removed fromservice for a period of months orperhaps years,” and that “mitigationof impacts to riparian, marsh, andaquatic habitats could require anallocation of yield that is currentlynot considered.” Substantial issue, indeed.

Sara Wan cited “serious deficiencies”in the Environmental Impact Reportand said that the restoration of theproject’s proposed effluent disposalsite, which is proposed as mitigationfor the project’s destruction ofhabitat, had already been designatedas mitigation for a previous project’sdestruction of habitat. She agreedwith the Sierra Club that this consti-tuted impermissible “double dipping”and that deferring the resolution ofthis problem until an unspecifiedlater date was not acceptable. “This isthe time to resolve this issue,” shesaid. She also noted that, as currentlyworded, there is no way to enforce theimplementation of the project’s waterconservation and agricultural reuseprograms. “This was a textbook example ofenvironmental activism at its best,”said Santa Lucia Chapter ChairMelody DeMerrit of the hearing’soutcome. “Our congratulations andthanks to the Coastal Commission foracknowledging the problems pointedout to them and moving to correctthem, despite the enormous pressureon them to do otherwise.”

Say what? Coastal Commission ExecutiveDirector Peter Douglas said that, as thepermit is written, the County would have to“bring an enforcement action against itself”if the water conservation program fai ls.


By Eric Greening

Why Water RulesYou need to know about the Master Water Plan

On December 8, the County Supervi-sors rendered a long-awaited vote onthe San Miguel Ranch development –550 acres of valuable ag land hangingin the balance. Would a General Plan Amendment(GPA) be granted, turning the landinto a sprawling subdivision, or wouldit be retained as a viable capableagricultural parcel? The authorization to process azoning change was initiated in June2005 by a Board of Supervisorsideologically 180 degrees from thecurrent Board. Still, it was widelyspeculated that Supervisor Pattersonmight vote to approve the GPA. The Environmental Impact Report

that accompanied the project citednumerous inconsistencies withcounty policies and goals and 21Class 1 impacts – serious, unavoid-able and cannot be mitigated.County staff had recommendeddenial of the project. On a 5-0 vote,the Planning Commission voted torecommend to the Board that theGPA be denied. Central to the question of expand-ing the San Miguel developmentonto the Ag land on the west side ofHighway 101, where very littledevelopment has occurred due toaccess constraints, was the question

A dizzying array ofimportant County plansis in progress, or soon tobe: the Conservation andOpen Space Element, theClimate Action Plan, theLand Use and CirculationElement/Rural AreasPlan, the RegionalTransportation Plan, andothers. One plan that islurking outside the current focus butis at least equally important is theupdate of the Master Water Plan. Itsrelative obscurity largely results fromthe fact that the County WaterResources Advisory Committee is noton television like the PlanningCommission, Council of Govern-ments, and Board of Supervisors, butWRAC meetings are open to thepublic, and could benefit from robustpublic attendance and participation. The WRAC recently received apresentation on the work in progress.This should soon take the form of awritten draft, which can be found atwww. SLOCountyWater.org. Saiddraft will be open for comments. Here are a few things to look for. You will notice that the County isdivided into 16 water planning areas.Since one justification given for theabandoment of the 19 regionalPlanning Areas in the update of theLand Use and Circulation Element(LUCE) is the WRAC recommendation

that planning be shifted toa watershed basis, it isimportant to note thatthere is a large differencebetween the 16 areas inthe Draft Master WaterPlan and the 5 areas in theLUCE. That said, there still maybe some adjustmentneeded in the areasdefined in the Master

Water Plan. The current lines are notjust based on watersheds; theysometimes define undergroundbasins, or even areas where currentpurveyors provide service. In awatershed-based map, the SalinasRiver would not be crossed by fourboundary lines in its journey fromheadwaters to the Monterey CountyLine. There needs to be publicdiscussion about whether areasshould be defined solely by watershed,or whether a hybrid system can bejustified. In addition to the map, the parts ofthe draft completed to date include awater supply inventory and summaryof available information aboutdemand, and a “demand methodol-ogy,” including “Criteria for Assertinga Water Resource Shortfall” and“Criteria for Evaluating PotentialWater Supply Solutions.” An impor-tant issue with the latter is to make

ASqueakerforSanMiguel

to join forces with the Sierra Club toengage our network of green buildingpractitioners on this importantcampaign,” said Roger Platt, USGBC’sSenior Vice President for GlobalPolicy and Law. Some of the communities whosepolicies are mentioned in the policyguide as models include: small citiessuch as Greensburg, KS, Clayton, MO,and Doylestown Borough, PA;medium size cities such as Kearny,NJ, Portsmouth, NH, and Asheville,NC; and larger cities such as Anchor-age, New Orleans, Boston, LosAngeles, and El Paso. In addition, thegreen building policies of severalcounties are highlighted, includingChatham County, GA, MontgomeryCounty, MD, and Sonoma County, CA. Green buildings efficiently useenergy, water, and other naturalresources, protect the health ofoccupants, improve employeeproductivity, and reduce pollution.Compared to new structures built tostandard construction methods,green buildings can reduce energyconsumption by 26% and greenhousegas emissions by 33%. Investments in green buildings paydividends, on average resulting in6.6% improvement on return oninvestment, 8% reduction in operat-ing costs, and a 7.5% increase inbuilding value. Improving the energyperformance in existing buildings can

reduce energy use by as much as 30%or 40%, with the ability to earn backthose investments through lowerutility bills over time. Green building will support 7.9million U.S. jobs and pump $554billion into the American economy—including $396 billion in wages—overthe next four years (2009-2013),according to a 2009 study by theUSGBC and Booz Allen Hamilton. LEED is the internationally recog-nized green building certificationsystem developed by the USGBC.LEED provides third-party verifica-tion that a building or communitywas designed and built using strate-gies aimed at improving performanceacross all the metrics that mattermost: energy savings, water efficiency,CO2 emissions reduction, improvedindoor environmental quality,stewardship of natural resources andsensitivity to their impacts. In recent years, thousands ofbuildings in the United States haveachieved LEED certification. As ofOctober 2009, more than 200 locali-ties across the U.S. are recognizingLEED as an effective tool forbenchmarking the performance oftheir green building policies, and2,995 local government projects arepursuing LEED certification. For more information on the GreenBuildings for Cool Cities project, seewww.coolcities.us and www.usgbc.org.

Green Buildingscontinued from page 1

“Best Practices” Website LaunchedFirst-in-nation project designed to expedite the greening of America

Green Cities California (GCC), a collaborative of ten of the state’s most environ-mentally progressive jurisdictions, has launched a Best Practices website. The purpose of the first-of-its-kind Web site is to energize the implementa-tion of sound environmental policies in cities and counties aroundthe state and, ultimately, the country, by providing access to a storehouse ofcutting-edge environmental policy that can accelerate policy implementationby helping cities avoid pitfalls and save time. Local sustainability policies can have a profound and positive impact onenvironmental protection. California experienced a dramatic dropin littered polystyrene on beaches due to the adoption of polystyrene bans bydozens of coastal jurisdictions in the state. However, the development of such legislation is exceedingly time-consumingand many cities, particularly small cities, don’t have the resources to developlocal environmental policy. “Our Best Practices Web site addresses that problem by providing a centralrepository of information with easily downloadable policy documents and staffreports,” says GCC Coordinator Carol Misseldine. “Now any jurisdiction canbenefit from the hard work completed by other jurisdictions, and simplymodify the policy to suit their locale.” “This collaborative effort will save communities staff time and money byproviding the resources required for change, eliminating the need for indi-vidual cities to constantly reinvent the wheel,” said Dean Kubani,director of the Office of Sustainability and the Environment. The free web site, created by local governments for local governments,provides everything staff and policymakers need to implement new policies,including the policy document itself, staff reports, background research,legal analysis, and outreach and education materials. Almost fifty BestPractices, organized around the seven categories of the Urban EnvironmentalAccords – Energy, Waste, Urban Design, Urban Nature, Transportation,Environmental Health and Water – can be accessed now atwww.greencitiescalifornia.org.

By Sue Harvey

continued on page 9

continued on page 6

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6


Our New Farmers

sure that conservation is the firstsupply solution evaluated. The inventory, broken down byplanning area, still raises questions.For example, “environmental de-mand” figures are still speculative,and the question of whether they canbe based on the needs of only oneindicator species (Pacific Steelhead)need to be discussed by the biologi-cally informed. Also needed is anassertion that the needs of steelheadneed more fine-grained attentionthan annual flow figures; the season-ality of that flow, and the temperatureof the water, are also critical. Inaddition, there is, as yet, no informa-tion whatever, even speculative, aboutenvironmental needs in the SalinasRiver system. Since there aremultiple proposals for sand and gravelmining in the River and its tributar-ies, such information is needed beforethe possibility of a living streamsystem is sacrificed tothe demands of an auto-dependent populationfor road base andsprawling development. Other “supply-side”issues need to be bettertuned: subscribers tothe State Water Project,for example, should notbe credited with figuresthat assume full deliveryof their subscriptions.This year, for example,

by Anastasia Killham

The Cal Poly Organic Farm (CPOF)generates more than fresh produce; itgrows future farmers who put theiragricultural skills to the test on thecommercial market. At the head of the group is ’05graduate John DeRosier, who cur-rently leases 100 acres in areasthroughout San Luis Obispo County.While achieving a bachelor’s degree in

Soil Science, DeRosier worked at theFarm as Production Manager. Hevolunteered numerous hours tovarious farm projects and started abiointensive garden, a methodologythat “looks at the farm as a wholeliving organism over individualparts.” DeRosier is known within theCPOF community for his success as adry farmer in areas with as little as 4inches of annual rainfall. “A ‘dry

farmer’ is someone whouses natural rainfall togrow their crops,”explained DeRosier, whoemploys crop rotationand cover cropping toincrease soil fertilityand retain soil mois-ture. He also gainedexperience in theproduction and market-ing sides of an agricul-tural operation throughthe CPOF’s CommunitySupported Agriculture

sales and marketing. Cosgrove graduated last spring fromCal Poly with a degree in PlantProtection Sciences. While attendingCal Poly, Cosgrove discovered theCPOF and enrolled in the OrganicEnterprise Course. He went on toattain paid employment first as aharvest worker and later on as harvestsupervisor. The income from theFarm supplements his personalventure as an independent farmer. “Right now, I’m just seeing whatworks and that entails doing a lot ofdifferent things,” he said. His biggestchallenge is fending off an abundantdeer population. Next on the list is ashort water supply, which has spurredhim to focus on less consumptivegrowing methods and plant varieties. Fellow CPOF alum RogerTompkins, who will be graduating thisspring with a degree in Environmen-tal Management and Protection, alsohas returned to his home town to puthis farming skills to the test. With ¼acre of family-owned land in produc-tion in Atascadero, he is also experi-menting with numerous varieties andhas a target market in mind. Hesuccessfully completed the OrganicEnterprise Course as well as asummer internship at CPOF last year. “My work at the Cal Poly OrganicFarm gave me the knowledge andconfidence to pursue this path morethan any of my other classes,” he said. After two years as a sous chef withVraja’s Kitchen in SLO, which featuresinternational vegan cuisine, Tompkinsgot a feel for what ingredients wouldbe particularly useful to grow. Tomp-kins creates recipes that incorporateingredients he is able to grow inabundance. The restaurant savesvegetable scraps for compost, which isthen used to amend the soil. Tompkins hopes to “just getestablished” in his first year of farmoperations, improve soil fertility andideally make some of his money back.In the long term he would “love tofarm as a career and to be able tosurvive off the proceeds.” The Cal Poly Organic Farm reachesout to over 200 students annuallythrough formal coursework, paidemployment and volunteer opportu-nities. All farm supporters contributein various ways to the operation of thediversified, 11-acre, certified organicfarm, which, along with an amazingarray of vegetable varieties, is home toa small flock of chickens, a growingworm population and one knownfeline mouser. For more information about the CalPoly Organic Farm and relatedopportunities, please visit:www.calpolyorgfarm.com. [email protected] or call 805-756-6139.

Watercontinued from page 5

the Department of Water Resourceshas announced that subscribers canonly count on 5% of their allotments.While there is reason to hope thatgenerous Sierra snowpack mightaccumulate and allow this figure torise, it is symptomatic of an ongoingshortfall as the state’s populationrises while its precipitation does not.Even those jurisdictions that soughtto pay for a more secure supply bysigning up for a “drought buffer” onlyreceive a doubling of their share: 10%instead of 5%. There is a lot more detail to payattention to once the current scat-tered pieces of this draft congeal intoa complete draft. It is worth lookingfor that complete draft at theSLOCountyWater website by the timethis issue of the Santa Lucian is inyour hands. Future articles here will get intomore detail as details emerge. In the

meantime, it is time tobe aware of this docu-ment and its importance.Unless you have figuredout a way to survivewithout water, or unlesstechnophiles inventvirtual water (“Instantwater: add water andstir!”) that is actuallywet, this document isvital to you and everyoneyou know!

Dogs Get It Done

They howled Nipomo Creek Dogs Ralph Bishop and Dan Diaz.

After years of going to every conceiv-able regulatory agency, talking withstaff, tesifying at meetings, providingphoto-documentation and conductingsite tours, the Nipomo Creek Dogs --aka Ralph Bishop and Dan Diaz --have secured a future for their belovedcreek, long befouled by agriculturalwaste (i.e. discarded nitrate-ladenirrigation tubing). Last December, Regional WaterBoard staff told the Dogs they areevaluating the express prohibition ofdischarge of “agricultural rubbish”into surface waters or any potentialpoint of contact, and are requiring“responsible parties” on NipomoCreek to identify actions being takento prevent further discharges ofagricultural waste, as well as toaddress the poetential impact of wastecurrently in place.” Ralph and Dan are examples of whatintimate, knowledge of and love for aspecial place can accomplish.

In his element John DeRosier, managing production at CPOF.(CSA) Program,farmers’ market andrestaurant sales,working with a wide variety ofequipment and interacting withcommunity members, growers andmachinists at the university’s organicfarm, compost unit and machineshop. He recently completed his first yearof operating a 20-member “grain CSA”-- the first in this area -- featuring bi-weekly shares, and plans to featureover 20 different kinds of wheat alongwith a more exclusive, smallermember share with grains includingoats, rye, spelt, millet, quinoa,amaranth and various wheat varieties. In addition to the CSA, DeRosier willsoon be selling his grains at localfarmers’ markets and has started acustomer interest list. More informa-tion is available online at www.withthegrain.org “Once people eat good grains, theydon’t go back,” said DeRosier. Following in DeRosier’s footsteps isTempleton native and Cal Polygraduate Kyle Cosgrove, who rentsfive acres in his home town. Three ofhis five acres are in production withvarious vegetables and flowers.Cosgrove also experiments withgrowing beer hops “in hopes ofsupplying a family micro brew downthe road.” He has two brothers whoplan to collaborate on the project, oneto head up beer making and the other,also a Cal Poly graduate, to direct


Peerless Leaders

Utility-scale solar power plants? Sure. The distributed generation of small-scale clean energy? You bet. What’s needed to make both these competing models of alternative powergeneration happen the right way? The policies that create a level playing field. What direction is the pressure coming from to thwart that goal, whilesimultaneously claiming that rooftop solar can’t cut it? Guess. Let’s take a look at the political reality of distributed generation in Califor-nia, and the entity that seems to like it least:

l PG&E opposed AB 920 (Huffman) which would require utility companies topay customers for any excess electricity produced by their residential systems.Fortunately, Governor Schwarzenegger signed AB 920 despite PG&E’s opposi-tion, which means residents who install solar panels will no longer have to givetheir excess electricity away to PG$E for free.

l PG&E also opposes AB 560 (Skinner) which would lift the state’s net meter-ing cap from 2.5% to 5%. Under existing law, utilities have to allow customerswho install solar arrays “tie into the grid,” allowing them to essentially runtheir meters backwards and reduce or eliminate their utility bills. But this onlyapplies to the first 2.5% of customers who sign up to take advantage of thepolicy. PG&E’s customer service area is about a year away from hitting the cap.AB 560 would raise the ceiling on the program to 5%, which is particularlyneeded now that AB 920 will be adding additional incentive to install rooftopsolar. But PG&E and all the other IOUs oppose the bill.

lPG&E also opposed SB 14 (Simitian) Which would have, among other things,increased the state’s renewable energy target from 20% to 33% by year 2020,and would have prevented utilities from taking credit for power generated bylarge hydroelectric dams in Canada. Unfortunately, the Governor vetoed SB 14,missing an opportunity to increase California’s renewable energy potential.

On February 9, the County Board ofSupervisors will review the work ofthe Planning Commission in themonumental chapter-by-chapterreview and update of the county’stwo-decades-old Conservation andOpen Space Element (COSE). Improvements could be made, ofcourse. As far as the PlanningCommission’s draft of the Energychapter of the COSE is concerned,those can be summed up in fourwords: Make local power easier. That’s because the new language inthe draft Energy chapter makes itclear that the County encourages thelocal production of renewable energy,consumed as close as possible to thepoint of production. This is thedefinition of “distributed generation,”which entails numerous smallgenerators of clean, renewable power,feeding into the grid. It avoids “lineloss” – the 15 percent energy loss overlong transmission lines from remotepower plants – and avoids environ-mental impacts by encouraging “dualuse,” i.e. a solar array added to anexisting structure. It also makespossible a great deal of control overenergy use and pricing to individualsand local governments. This, inevitably, equates to controltaken away from large, investor-owned utilities. So it isn’t hard toimagine who would have a problemwith the County championing localpower in its new Conservation andOpen Space Element. The number of rooftop solarsystems installed in the U.S. jumpedmore than 60 percent between 2007and 2008. In California, that jumpwas 95 percent. As a result, last yearrooftop solar panels put 10 times asmuch new energy into the grid as the

utilities did. These are some of theeye-opening statistics you can learnfrom the article “Taking a Dim View ofSolar Energy,” on Newsweek’swebsite. The title refers to the lengthsutilities have gone to in their effortsto short-circuit rooftop solar. In October, the governor signed abill that will finally make it possible

for Californians who own solar panelsor backyard wind turbines to get paidfor the excess energy they feed intothe grid. It’s a baby step, but it’s thekind of policy that made Germany –cloudy, overcast Germany — into theworld’s solar powerhouse. The new report “In Our Backyard:How to Increase Renewable Energy

Let’s Make Power LocalProduction on Big Buildings andOther Local Spaces,” a collaborationbetween UCLA and UC Berkeley lawschools, underscores the point. Asreported by UCLA Newsroom, “Cali-fornia has focused too much attentionon long-term efforts to build large-scale and remote renewable energyfacilities, including centralized windand solar plants. These projects areusually located far from most energyconsumers and face significant land-use and related hurdles that takeyears to resolve.” California’s naturalresources could make us “a worldleader in renewable energy produc-tion just by focusing on the opportu-nities that exist on big buildings andpublic spaces in our own backyards,”says the report’s primary authorEthan Elkind, Bank of AmericaClimate Change Research Fellow atUCLA Law and Berkeley Law. This is the future. The County’s landuse and energy policies can be writtenin such a way that they ensure eitherthat San Luis Obispo is part of thatfuture or that we are left behind. TheCOSE is the document that will guidethe ways the county uses land, waterand energy for the next twenty years.It needs to look ahead. And in lookingahead to clean energy and curbingclimate change, localized power isclearly a winning bet. If you want to make sure the Countyputs its (meaning your) money downon the right bet, it would be a verygood idea for you to show up at theCounty Government Center on Feb. 9when the Supervisors review theConservation and Open Space Ele-ment. Tell them to keep local power inthe COSE and in the county. Becauseyou can guess who’s telling them notto. (See “Solar Cheating,” left.)

Solar Cheating

Sierra Club Outings are about main-taining and enhancing a diversified,volunteer-run outings program thatsupports the Sierra Club’s conservationmission by connecting people with thenatural world and with the Club. After you’ve been on a few SierraClub hikes, you may feel a yen tobecome a volunteer Sierra ClubOutings Leader. “One leader was recently heard toextol the benefits of leading trips: ‘Youcan go where you want, with whom youwant, at the pace you want,’” says WillMcWhinney, Angeles Chapter OutingsCommittee Chair. “Another once toldme she was gaining leadership skillsand confidence that applied to herprofessional life. Others have feltfulfillment from sharing the wildernessexperience with others. Beyond thepersonal benefits of leading there aremany benefits that leadership brings toothers. Without leaders, many peopleare too shy to venture into the forestsor onto the mountains. Withoutleaders, no one would know when toshow up for a group activity, or whereto park. Without leaders, there wouldbe no outings.” Sierra Club outings are open to all

Sierra Club members and the generalpublic. Some trips have special restrictionsdue to safety or membership factors.Almost all are free. A waiver is required fortrips and hikes. Find an outing thatinterests you by turning to our back pagefor a partial listing or going towww.santalucia. sierraclub.org andclicking on any listed outing to view theentire current schedule. For more information on Chapteroutings or leadership training, contactOutings Chair Joe Morris at 772-1875 [email protected]

Tomorrow’s leaders Chapter Outings Chair Joe Morris leads a session ofOutdoor Leader Training 101, the first step to becoming a certified outings leader.OLT 101 is free and limi ted to groups of about 10 people at the chapter office.First Aid Training, also required for certification, costs $25.

Act locally to foster a better future byfeeding yourselves while educating youthand promoting sustainable agriculture inthe county. The Cal Poly Organic Farm islooking at a very challenging year. Theyare in great need of more CommunitySupported Agriculture members (CSA)and would really appreciate you passingon the word to your friends. For informa-tion, visit www.calpolyorgfarm.com orcontact [email protected] .

Help the Farm

8


Upshot: PG&E seems to be operating under the theory of “apply first; ask questions later,” and believes that by hiding under the dark coattails of the federalNuclear Regulatory Commission, they can fool Californians into believing that our state’s pertinent and pressing questions can be ignored. As history has shown—both here and most recently in Japan—ignoring seismic perils doesn’t make them go away, and the price for such ignorance has been in the billions of dollars.Concerned ratepayers should support the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility in making sure state regulators hold PG&E’s feet to the fire.

Taking Issue

Summary: Only 24 hours separate November 24th and November 25th, but twenty-twoyears came between 1987 and 2009. In 1987, controversy shook the county over the ramifica-tions of the Hosgri fault found near the Diablo Canyon reactor; in 2009 controversy surroundsPG&E’s application to relicense the plant for 20 more years in spite of state requirements tofirst study the newly discovered Shoreline fault. The more things change, the more they seemto stay the same….

problematic environmental coverage & commentary in our local media

“Group protests Diablo seismic study delay,” by Ronald W. Powell, Telegram-Tribune, November 25, 1987“PG&E to seek license renewals at Diablo,” by Sally Connell, Tribune, November 24, 2009

The PUC staffrecommendation thatPG&E eat the $4billion in earthquakeretrofit blunders wasover-ridden by theCommissioners.Utility customers havebeen paying for theseseismic mistake eversince. Can cash-strapped California residents afford to ignoreseismic issues and let this happen again?

There is much less chance ofsuch a review happeningtoday. According to a draftof the NRC’s new GenericEnvironmental ImpactStatement for licenserenewal, seismic issues arelumped into a generic “one-size-fits-all” category and are no longer site specific. In more than 50previous license renewal cases, the NRC has accepted no new seismicissues for discussion, and has approved every single application.

New names; same concerns. Today,the Alliance for Nuclear Responsi-bility is spearheading a citizeneffort to make PG&E answerseismic questions. PG&E’spremature relicensing applicationto the NRC is filled with wigglewords: buried in the application arethe following references to the newShoreline fault: “…preliminaryresults from ongoing studies by PG&E...” and “PG&E informed the NRCstaff that it had performed an initial evaluation…” and “The NRC staffundertook a preliminary independent review….” These vocabulary choicesdon’t offer much of a basis for making a decision, but that hasn’t stoppedPG&E from steamrolling ahead with their plans.

Foot-dragging on seismicissues seems to be The orderof the day at PG&E. In their2009 IEPR Report, theCalifornia Energy Commis-sion noted, “For example,the CPUC required PG&E tosubmit an application byJune 30, 2011, on whetherrenewing Diablo Canyon’soperating license is cost-effective and in the best interest ofPG&E’s ratepayers….PG&E continues to object to a CPUCreview of Diablo Canyon seismic studies as part of a licenserenewal review, and its current schedule would infact not allow time for this review. PG&E is required to submitits license renewal feasibility assessment to the CPUC by June30, 2011, but does not expect to complete updates to the seismichazard model and the seismic vulnerability assessment until2012 and 2013, respectively.” Given that ignoring the seismichazard of the Hosgri fault ended up costing ratepayers billions inthe 1980s, the CPUC wants answers before deciding on whetherto allow PG&E to proceed with license renwal.

PG&E has asked the federal NuclearRegulatory Commission for one additionalyear beyond the established deadline ofJuly 31, 1988....Spokesmen for PG&Ehave said the extension is necessarybecause the company’s seismic expertsare needed to provide information to thestate’s Public Utilities Commission for apending multi-billion dollar rate case.

Charles Trammell, NRC projectmanager for Diablo Canyon inBethesda, MD., said the Agency willreview the arguments offered by theMothers for Peace and the SierraClub to determine if a hearing iswarranted.

Nancy Culver of the Mothersfor Peace said the organiza-tion decided to join the SierraClub in objecting to therequest because membersbelieve PG&E does not planto complete the study for fearof what is might show.

Then:

Now:

Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo, also proposedlegislation that was vetoed by Gov.Arnold Schwarzenegger in mid-October that would have requiredfull mapping of a recently discov-ered earthquake fault near Diablo.Schwarzenegger called the billunnecessary because of previouslegislation he believed wouldaccomplish the same thing.

The “previouslegislation,” AB1632, recom-mended these newseismic studies bedone. As state reg-ulators, theCalifornia EnergyCommissionnoted in 2009:“An issue ofcritical impor-tance to the state

for reliability planning is the possibility of a nuclear plantshutdown or even an extended outage, such as the multi-yearoutage at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Japan following amajor earthquake.” That quake occurred on a previouslyunstudied, undetected fault. The bill vetoed by the governorwould have made this study a more urgent issue. If hebelieves the current law does the same thing, then he needsto tell the CEC and CPUC that PG&E must answer theirquestions.

In 2007 the CPUC gave PG&E about$17 million in ratepayer money tostudy license renewal, not to apply.What the CPUC actually said in their2007 decision was: “We will requirePG&E to submit by no later thanJune 30, 2011, an application onwhether to pursue license renewal….As stated previously, it is our intent that the proceeding in 2011 willresult in a decision on whether to pursue license renewal based oncircumstances at that time, and that the results of the proceeding will beincorporated into the CEC’s 2013 IEPR and the Commission’s 2014LTPP.” In other words, the CPUC’s decision on whether ratepayers canbe charged for license renewal isn’t on their schedule until 2013-14.What’s PG&E’s hurry?

Such applications forrenewal appear to bestandard industry practice,however the state PublicUtilities Commission hadgiven the energy provideruntil June 2011 to make adecision on what can be amultiyear process.

The PUC’s public staff, as-signed to represent consumerinterests, has recommended thecompany be forced to absorb$4.4 billion of the costs, sayingPG&E management causedconstruction delays and costover-runs that should not becharged to the public


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

Great. I now expect the Sierra Club tosupport relaxing the renewableenergy mandates imposed on PG&E.The Sierra Club cites distributedgeneration as the answer in theiropposition to the permitting of anylarge-scale renewable energy projects(have they supported ANY solarprojects?). DG will be an importantsource of power but how will PG&Esatisfy their renewable mandatethrough rooftop solar? Will they havea contract with every one of thesehomeowners? Instead of a singlecontract for a 500 MW central stationsolar plant, PG&E will have toadminister 500,000 contracts for500,000 1KW rooftop installations?Will PG&E be responsible for ensur-ing these 500,000 installations areproperly maintained? What will thiscost and who will pay? The enviros aregreat on the concepts but they havefew answers for how any of this willactually work.

-posted on the Tribune websiteby toxiccop, 12/13/09

Ryan Pletka, the head of the engi-neering firm that performed the cost/feasibility analysis for California’sRenewable Energy TransmissionInitiative (RETI), whose commentscomprised the gist of the Tribuneviewpoint by our Chapter Chair thattoxxicop is responding to, said “afirmly rooted mind-set amongeveryone who works from a tradi-tional utility planning perspective”has meant that “we present this newinformation on photovoltaics topeople, and it’s still not sinking in.”See the above. Setting aside the fact that theauthor is not arguing with “the

enviros” but with Mr. Pletka, here area few answers to the questions of“how will PG&E satisfy their renew-able mandate through rooftop solar”and “how any of this will actuallywork.” On March 27, 2008, SouthernCalifornia Edison launched a projectthat will place 250 megawatts ofadvanced photovoltaic generatingtechnology on 65 million square feetof roofs of Southern Californiacommercial buildings – enoughpower to serve approximately162,000 homes. “This project will turn two squaremiles of unused commercial rooftopsinto advanced solar generatingstations,” said John E. Bryson,chairman of Edison International.SCE’s renewable energy project wasprompted by recent advances in solartechnology that reduce the cost ofinstalled photovoltaic generation.When combined with the size of SCE’sinvestment, the resulting costs perunit are projected to be half that ofcommon photovoltaic installations inCalifornia. And as Edison Internationalproudly pointed out: “SCE’s solarprogram supports the state’s GlobalWarming Solutions Act requiring thereduction of greenhouse gas emis-sions to 1990 levels by 2020, as wellas California’s renewable portfoliostandard requiring that 20 percent ofthe state’s electricity be generatedwith renewable energy by 2010.” In 2009, SunEdison, NorthAmerica’s largest solar energyservices provider, announced thenation’s largest solar distributedgeneration program in conjunctionwith Developers Diversified Realty, aCleveland-based real estate invest-ment trust engaged in the develop-ment of shopping centers. SunEdison

now has the rights to deploy solarenergy systems at more than 200shopping centers, covering up to anestimated 30 million square feet,located in 24 states and Puerto Rico.Potential capacity of the program isup to 259 MW. The corporations that have con-tracted with PG&E to build solarpower plants on the Carrizo Plainhave done so at the behest of PG&E,which told them it wanted utility-scale solar on the Carrizo ratherthan going the SCE or SunEdisonroute, which would get new, cleanpower into the grid much faster whilecreating far more jobs and withoutthe loss of energy entailed bytransmission over long-distancepower lines. The California Energy Commission,in its Distributed Generation Strate-gic Plan, states: “Distributed genera-tion will be an integral part of theCalifornia energy system, providingconsumers and energy providers withsafe, affordable, clean, reliable, andreadily accessible energy services….[The] Energy Commission shall leada statewide effort, which promotesand deploys distributed generationtechnologies to the extent that sucheffort benefits energy consumers, theenergy system, and the environmentin California.” The Sierra Club supports utility-scale renewable energy projects thatare properly sited, environmentallysound and don’t wipe out habitat forendangered species in order toproduce power. We never support amore harmful alternative over a lessharmful one, or putting the rightthing in the wrong place, or aphilosophy based on the notion thatwe had to destroy a species in orderto save it.

The following was posted to The Tribune’s website as a response to our December 13, 2009, Tribune Viewpoint, “A NewReality of Solar Power,’ by Chapter Chair Karen Merriam, which reported that rooftop “urban solar” or distributedgeneration (DG) has been found to be much more capable of meeting California’s renewable energy goals than previ-ously thought. You can read the Viewpoint at www.santalucia.sierraclub.org.

San Miguelcontinued from page 5

of whether San Miguel has enoughland already available for developmentwithin its current boundaries. Planning Staff found that SanMiguel is currently only 50% built outand 700 parcels are still available forgrowth. A Cal Poly Planning docu-ment confirmed this assessment andthe Local Agency Formation Com-mission(LAFCO) determined in 2006that San Miguel essentially hadadequate areas for growth when itlooked at a 20 year projection for thearea. When it came time to vote, Supervi-sor Mecham hoped to keep the projectalive by continuing to explore otherpossibilities. Supervisors Gibson andHill were not convinced that anyalternative would serve to overcomethe serious policy inconsistencies andimpacts and reiterated the need todeny the GPA now and not string theapplicant along. Supervisor Hill alsostrongly expressed his disapproval ofsoliciting applicant money to pay forpublic studies – in this case a muchneeded San Miguel community plan.This concept, called “a public privatepartnership,” much favored by theformer Board, raises the specter ofundue influence on the process bydevelopment interests. The big question of the day was howSupervisor Patterson was going tovote. Even though he is an avowedsupporter of Smart Growth and takescredit for initiating the process toadopt Smart Growth in the County, heseemed unconcerned about theinocisistencies and impacts of thisproject. He had indicated to othersprior to the hearing that he thoughtthe “issues had been resolved,” andseveral members of the planning staffwere assuming he would supportsome form of the project. Hearts sankwhen he stated from the dais hisopinion that growth in this county hasto occur on ag land. But in the end, his almost inaudiblevote was for denial. Final vote on amotion to deny the General PlanAmendment: Gibson, Hill andPatterson - yes; Mecham andAchadjian - no.

In the Governor’s final budget, he hasproposed (again) bypassing thejurisdiction of the State LandsCommission, which approves oil andgas leases off California’s coast, andhas added the Tranquillon Ridge(PXP) offshore oil drilling project inSanta Barbara county. Allowing thefirst new oil drilling in state waters inover forty years is his way of balanc-ing the budget. Approving the PXP project wouldpit two California natural assetsagainst one another: our coast andour state parks system. The Governorproposes to defund our state parkssystem by 140 million dollars, withthe promise of petroleum profits thatwill flow from PXP back into the stateparks budget. This is unacceptable. “We strongly oppose any reductionin funding for state parks, which havealready seen punishing cuts to theirfunding by this Governor,” said FranGibson, Board President of CoastwalkCalifornia. “It is unconscionable toleverage the PXP project against stateparks in this way and use our coastand state parks as pawns in his

budget game.” ”Our coast is one of our mostimportant economic assets, andrenewing offshore oil drilling puts atgreat risk our tourist and fishingindustries,” said Dan Jacobson withEnvironment California. Jacobson’sgroup is one of 105 environmentalgroups statewide united together tooppose the PXP project. “The hypocrisy of the Governorcannot be overstated,” said SusanJordan, who directs the CaliforniaCoastal Protection Network. “Hewould rather reverse forty years of bi-partisan California state policy againstoffshore oil drilling to push through apet project over 100 statewide groupsrather than require oil companiesextracting oil from our state’s seabeds pay a severance tax — their fairshare to taxpayers for doing businessin California. We are the only oil-producing state in America that doesnot tax extraction of gas and oil onlands owned by the state. This wouldbring in more than 1.5 billion dollarsannually to the state’s General Fund.” California Coastal Commissioner

Sara Wan calls PXP’s original agree-ment “unenforceable” and “a sham,since it uses the perverse logic thatnew drilling is necessary on theTranquillon Ridge so we can ‘end alldrilling along the California coast’ asits several proponents boast.” Thefederal government can continuedrilling on Platform Irene after thePXP contract is completed. PXP, as predicted, has openedPandora’s box. We see oil companiesrushing in quickly to push for newoffshore oil and gas along two-thirdsof the state’s coastline. In January,Chuck DeVore (R-Orange County)announced his legislative plancreating a “new” committee to reviewcoastal oil and gas leases (bypassingthe State Lands Commission yetagain) and opening up the entirecoast of California to slant drillingfrom existing platforms or onshore. DeVore’s bill institutes a royaltyprogram that puts our coast -- hometo two-thirds of the state’s population-- at great risk for oil spills andonshore industrialization. Drilling anywhere offshore inCalifornia is a dirty and dangerousbusiness. “Should existing oiloperations be paying for the profits

they extract from our state’s environ-ment? Absolutely!,” said MichaelEndicott of Sierra Club California.“Should we be conducting a fire saleof new offshore oil drilling by expos-ing our coastline and fisheries, whichwe hold in trust for future genera-tions? Absolutely not! The risk is toogreat, especially when we have to getoff our fossil fuel habits.” PXP proponents claim offshore oildrilling is now technologically safefrom major oil spills along our coast.This is patently false. Of the fortyoffshore oil rigs spills greater than42,000 barrels of crude petroleumthat have occurred since 1964,thirteen happened in the last decade. No amount of funding from PXP’sproject can offset the coastal damageoffshore oil drilling will likely cause.All the offshore oil reserves in coastalstates yield up only three and a halfyears of petroleum, adding to thegrowing trajectory of greenhouse gasemissions that are putting our planetin peril of sea level rise and speciesextinctions. We must reverse this course orstand to lose our way of life. Offshoreoil drilling is not an answer forCalifornia’s energy needs.

Arnold’s Bad Budget

10


Our Anniecontinued from page 3

point in her life in that way is themost humbling gift I have everreceived. For the rest of my days, I willalways look at landscapes, seascapesand skies with Annie’s eyes. I want toappreciate the world every day as abetter place for her having been here.

-Sarah Christie

The Measure of Anne McMahon

There are any number of ways to take the measure of a person,but two seem to be most telling on a human scale:

Do people smile and immediately feel better when they see that person coming?

and

Does that person, through his or her everyday example, in small acts and large, when people are looking and when they’re not,

cause the rest of us to understand that we need to be better people?

For Anne McMahon, for our Annie,anyone who was blessed by knowing herknows what the answer is

And also knows that without her there is less, now, to smile about.

And we also know that to finish (will there ever be an end point?)what Annie was doing, the rest of us will have to be better –

kinder,

gentler,more compassionate,more persistent,

more understanding,

than we usually are.

- Bud Laurent

Cambria CSD decided to try to put adesalination subsurface intake on thebeach at the mouth of the creek. With no comprehensive answersavailable, an ad hoc citizen scienceinquiry was initiated, entailing creeksediment sample collection andtesting, which yielded findings ofmercury in four creek locations, amile or closer to the beach. Moststartling was a sample that foundmercury at 540 parts per billion inone location at the mouth of thecreek. The Santa Lucia Chapter stepped upto the plate and backed this citizen-reporter’s investigation – both inprinciple and financially — inpursuing further testing to see ifbioavailable and highly toxic methyl-mercury was part of that totalmercury. The tests came back positivefor 3 parts per billion methylmer-cury. That doesn’t sound like much untilone learns how damaging minutequantities of methylmercury can be,because it biomagnifies as it movesfrom one organism to the next in thefood chain. Methylmercury found insediments often indicates the pres-ence of concentrations 10 to 90 timesgreater in the surrounding biota, dueto its high solubility and bio-availabil-ity. In the California Ocean Plan forWater Quality Control, the RegionalWater Board has rules for discharges,with water quality objectives, limitingconcentrations for mercury that areexpressed in fractions of a part perbillion. When asked about theselimits, Dominic Roques of theRWQCB said they refer to totalmercury; there are no allowable

discharge levels for methylmercury. What would be in the discharge tothe ocean if test wells, and thendesalination, were to be pursued inthis specific location in Cambria?! This question also looms: Is theterminus of a creek that had almostthree million pounds of liquidmercury extracted from a mine justfive miles upstream a good place toput an intake for creating a drinkingwater supply? Viewing the awesomespeed and force with which winterstorm water makes its way downSanta Rosa Creek to the ocean,sweeping huge quantities of sedimentwith it, this observer thinks not. After the January 5 meeting, CCSDPresident Sanders was quoted in TheCambrian as saying that the district“has known about the mercurysituation for years. But we need to putthe data in a comprehensive form so

the public knows how it was dealtwith.” One ratepayer opined that it will beinteresting to see how the directormost associated with desal squaresthat admission of prior knowledgewith the requirement that districtdecisions be made in public meetings,based on information made known tothe public in a timely manner. (Presi-dent Sanders: What did you know andwhen did you know it? All of the January 5 testimony hadthe cumulative effect of deceleratingthe Board’s headlong rush, especiallywith ratepayers urging them to taketime to reflect on all the informationpresented in public comment. Ultimately, after two recesses and aconference with counsel, the CambriaCSD Board decided against approvingthe CEQA exemption, and insteadvoted to direct staff to commence, per

CEQA, an initial study for the project.The further consideration of thecourse of the test wells project wasdeferred until their regular January21 Board meeting. The Publicprevailed for the day. The CCSD has sent out a Notice ofIntent to adopt a Negative Declarationfor the test well drilling/installationproject. Apparently abandoning theirquest for CEQA exemption, theCambria CSD seeks to press forwardby still asserting, now in a NegativeDeclaration, that there will be nosignificant impacts from 7 to 10 testwells on Santa Rosa Creek StateBeach, with tens of thousands ofpounds of equipment lumbering overthe beach, drilling and pumping frommultiple wells up to 150 feet deep. Per that study, everyone can be gladthat there seems to be no problemwith mercury in the SR-4 well nearSanta Rosa Creek, which providesdrinking water (and which couldproviding potential relief for concernsabout a water shortage for currentratepayers). However, what’s in thedepths of a well does not address theproblem with surface and watersediment contamination from pastand present mercury mine impacts. It seems ill advised to draw falsecomfort by essentially comparingapples to oranges. A fuller investiga-tion of the mercury issue than iscalled for in the Negative Declarationwould appear to be in the bestinterests of public health and safetyand seems prudent before disturbingsediments that could have negativeimpacts on this costal ecosystem. Theprecautionary principle surely applieshere. (Go to the Science and Environ-mental Health Network website,www.sean.org — a wonderful websitefor the concept of guardianship andstewardship into the future.)

Cambriacontinued from page 2

Outlook unclear The logic in the CCSD’s desal project studies resembles a winter day onSanta Rosa Creek State Beach.


CYNTHIA HAWLEY

ATTORNEY

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

LAND USECIVIL LITIGATION

P.O. Box 29 Cambria California 93428

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

ClassifiedsNext issue deadline is February 12.

To get a rate sheet or submit your ad

and payment, contact:

Sierra Club - Santa Lucia Chapter

P.O. Box 15755

San Luis Obispo, CA 93406

[email protected]

541-2716 [email protected]

Law Offices of Jan Howell MarxA Client Centered Practice

BusinessMediation

Environmental LawElder LawReal Estate

Wills and Trusts

Got Graywater if You Want ItThe Sierra Club has on hand alimited supply of The San LuisObispo Guide to the Use ofGraywater, the new manual pro-duced by the Appropriate Tech-nology Coalition -- SLO GreenBuild, the Santa Lucia Chapter ofthe Sierra Club and the San LuisBay Chapter of Surfrider. Graywater systems turn a wasteproduct that can comprise up to80% of residential wastewater into avaluable resource for irrigation andother non-potable uses. Harvestinggraywater to meet your non-potablewater needs utilizes an appropriatetechnology that can recover initialcosts quickly. No permit required.

$10 each, while supplies last. E-mail [email protected], or call (805)543-8717 to reserve your copy.

Do Sierra Club Members

Have More Fun?

Do you really have to ask? You do? Then obviouslyyou did not get this copy of the Santa Lucian thoughthe mail, but by dumb luck -- in a coffeeshop, alibrary, off your mother’s credenza -- and have beenenjoying it without benefit of membership. That’seasily fixed! Fill in, clip out & send in the couponunder the wind turbine on page 2, or go towww.santalucia. sierraclub.org, click on the “join orgive” button, and follow instructions. It will be worthit just for the burden of guilt that will be lifted fromyour shoulders and the free tote bag.

12


Outings and Activities CalendarSeller of travel registration information: CST 2087766-40. Registration as a seller of travel does not constitute approval by the State of California.

This is a partial listing of Outingsoffered by our chapter.

Please check the web pagewww.santalucia.sierraclub.org for

the most up-to-date listing ofactivities.

They’re here, they’re gorgeous, you have to haveone for your desk, one for your wall, and a great

many more for friends and family! And when

you buy direct from the Chapter, you support theSierra Club’s conservation work in

San Luis Obispo County.

wall calendar: $12.50 $9.00

desk calendar: $13.50 $9.00

To order, call 543-7051

2010 Sierra Club Calendars

All our hikes and activities are open to all Club members and the general public. If you have any suggestionsfor hikes or outdoor activities, questions about the Chapter’s outing policies, or would like to be an outingsleader, call Outings Chair Joe Morris, 772-1875. For information on a specific outing, please call the outingleader.

CA’s Channel Islands are Galapagos USA! Marvel at the sight of whales, seals,sea lions, rare birds & blazing wildflowers. Hike the wild, windswept trails.Kayak the rugged coastline. Snorkel in pristine waters. Discover remnants ofthe Chumash people who lived on these islands for thousands of years. Or justrelax at sea. These 3 & 4-day “live aboard” fundraiser cruises are sponsored bythe Angeles Chapter Political Committee & Sierra Club California PoliticalCommittee. Depart from Santa Barbara aboard the 68’ Truth. $590 for May andSep; $785 for July & August, includes an assigned bunk, all meals, snacks &beverages, plus the services of a ranger/naturalist who will travel with us tolead hikes on each island and point out interesting features. To make a reserva-tion mail a$100 checkpayable toSierra Club toleaders JoanJones Holtz &Don Holtz,11826 The WyeSt., El Monte,CA 91732.Contactleaders formore informa-tion (626-443-0706; [email protected])

Sat., Feb. 6th, 9:30 a.m. BishopPeak Exploration Hike with MikeSimms. Visit several of our CentralCoast environments from oakwoodlands to the sage scrub tothe chaparral on one hike. Just 5.4miles takes us around Felsman loop,up to the top of Bishop peak and backto Patricia Drive. There are a fewsteep parts and sturdy shoes arerecommended but this hike will beat a moderate pace. Approximately1100 feet of elevation gain. PatriciaDrive trailhead. Leader Mike Sims,(805) 459 1701, [email protected]. Non-members areencouraged to hike with us.

Sun., Feb. 7, 10 a.m., Islay HillOpen Space. Pole Cats is dedicated toleading local Sierra Club day hikesand modeling the benefits of usingtrekking poles. 1 mile/400 feetelevation change. Join us for a hikewith spectacular views of Edna Valleyand Morros. From Broad, go east onTank Farm, turn right on Wavertree,left on Spanish Oaks and veer rightonto Sweetbay and park near cul desac. Confirm with David Georgi at458-5575 or [email protected] for upcoming activities.

Sun., Feb. 7, 2010—Superbowlalternative hike and potluck: If bears,dolphins, and eagles just sound likeanimals to you, join us as we hikePoint Sal Road to our potluck dinnerdestination (4 miles round trip, 1300ft. elev. gain). Bring a daypack withfood to share, as well as a plate,utensils, and water for yourself. Meetat the Orcutt CVS Drugs parking lotat 3 pm. Details: JIM 937-6766.(Sponsored by the Arguello Group).

Mon-Wed, Feb. 15-17, Gold ButteIntroductory Tour. Come explore thisproposed National Conservation Areain Southeast Nevada. See manybeautiful and interesting sights,including petroglyphs and Joshuatrees. Climb one of the areas peaksand enjoy the splendid views. Centralcommissary. Leader: Vicky Hoover,(415-977-5527), [email protected]. CNRCC Wildernessand Desert Committees.

Sat., Feb 20, 10 a.m. Maino OpenSpace trail/Lemon Grove Loop. PoleCats is dedicated to leading localSierra Club day hikes and modelingthe benefits of using trekking poles. 2miles/400 feet elevation change. Thetrailhead 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 underpass, bear right intothe parking lot. Confirm with DavidGeorgi at 458-5575 or [email protected]. Bipeds welcome.

Sun., Feb. 21, 9 a.m. Hike theBarranca-Ridge Trail Loop. Join theleader on this late winter hike inMontana de Oro State Park. The hikewill be about 8 miles with about 1800ft. of elevation gain. We will enjoy thebackcountry of the park, great viewsfrom Hazard Peak, and possibly someearly wildflowers. Ticks and poison

oak possible. Meet at Ridge Trailtrailhead, 2.3 miles from the parkentrance. Bring water, snacks, anddress for the weather. There is a goodchance of a refueling stop at a LosOsos eatery following the hike. Forinfo, call Chuck at 805-441-7597.

Sat., Feb. 27, 10 a.m. Family Hike inHarmony Headlands State Park. Explore the newest of our stateparks. Easy 4-mile roundtrip hike,socially paced, past creek, rollinghills, historic ranch house, down tobluff overlooking the ocean. Children

over 7 yrs. with parent welcome. Meet at Cayucos town pier for shortrideshare. Info: Joe Morris, 772-1875.

Sat-Sun, Feb. 27-28, Mecca HillsCarcamp. Join us as we explore theMecca Hills Wilderness Area east ofIndio, CA. We will hike through thegravel washes and rocky hills toseveral well-known and spectacularsites. Saturday we visit HiddenSprings and the Grottos, and Sundaywe will explore Painted Canyon.Carcamping will include the civilizedamenities, potluck supper, andcampfire Saturday night. Limit 12participants. Ldr: Craig Deutsche,[email protected] 310-477-6670. CNRCC Desert Committee.

Sat-Sun., March 6-7, Death ValleyNational Park Exploratory Tour. Come and experience a sample of themany wonders offered in this nationalpark. Beginning in Shoshone onSaturday morning, we will travelnorth on Hwy 178 with a stop atBadwater, and easy two-mile hikes atNatural Bridge and Golden Canyon. Camp at Texas Springs ($14/site). Iftime allows, drive to Zabriskie Pointand Dante’s View. Sunday morning,

visit the museum in Furnace Creekand take a two-mile hike to thehighest sand dune. Possible hike intoMosaic Canyon. If you want to staySunday night, camp at StovepipeWells ($12/site). Contact Carol Wileyat [email protected] or call(760-245-8734). CNRCC DesertCommittee.

Sat-Sun., March 13-14, FenceRemoval, Hiking, Carcamp - CarrizoPlain. Help remove fences on theDept. of Fish and Game Reserve. Awet winter means wildflowers! Work

Saturday, camp and potluck dinnerthat evening. Hike Sunday. Bringleather gloves, warm clothes withlong sleeves and legs, dish for potluckon Saturday night. Leaders will be atSelby Camp on Friday night for thosewho want to arrive early. Leaders: Caland Letty French, (805-239-7338).Prefer email [email protected]. Santa Lucia Chapter andCNRCC Desert Committee.

Sat-Sun., March 13-14, Ghost TownExtravaganza. Spectacular landscape

near Death Valley; explore the ruins ofCalifornia’s colorful past. Camp atthe ghost town of Ballarat (flushtoilets & hot showers). On Saturday,do a very challenging hike to ghosttown Lookout City with expert HalFowler who will regale us with tales ofthis Wild West town. Later we’llreturn to camp for Happy Hour, a St.Patty’s Day potluck feast and camp-fire. On Sunday, a quick visit to theinfamous Riley town site beforeheading home. Group size strictlylimited. Send $8 per person (SierraClub), 2 sase, H&W phones, email,rideshare info to Lygeia Gerard, P.O.Box 294726, Phelan, CA 92329; (760)868-2179. CNRCC Desert Commit-tee.

LAST CHANCE DISCOUNT

Island Hopping in Channel Islands National ParkMay 7-9; Jul 16-19; Aug 6-9; Sep 10-12.

february 2010 lucian · the green buildings for cool cities policy guide is available online at and...

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