santa - sierra club · classifieds 10 outings 12 cat continued on page 6 it’s all about the fight...

Santa Lucian • Mar./Apr. 2019 1

Mar./Apr. 2019Volume 56 No. 2

T h e o f f i c i a l n e w s l e t t e r o f th e S a n ta L u c i a C h a p t e r o f t h e S i e r ra C l u b ~ Sa n L u i s O b i s p o Co u n t y, C a l i f o r n i a

SANTA LUCIAN

Santa LuciaChapter

InsideInsideInsideInsideInside Here’s the Green New Deal 2

Sierra Club legal wins 3

Drilling to disaster 6

Classifieds 10

Outings 12CAT continued on page 6

It’s All About the

OilFight Trump’s Attack on California’s Public Lands The science is crystal clear that we can’t afford new fossil fuel develop-ment if we are to keep global temperatures from rising above 1.5°C andavert the worst effects of catastrophic climate change. Now, Trump’sBureau of Land Management (BLM) is threatening to lift a five-yearmoratorium and open millions of acres of public land and mineral estate inCalifornia to oil drilling and fracking. In late 2018, the Bureau of Land Management announced they wereseeking comments on an Oil and Gas Resource Management Plan updatefor the Bakersfield Planning Area, encompassing approximately 400,000acres of public land and an additional 1.16 million acres of Federalmineral estate in Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, San Luis Obispo, SantaBarbara, Tulare, and Ventura counties.

Cat Canyon’s Long Black Claws On Jan. 24, the Santa Lucia Chapter filed comments with theSanta Barbara County’s Department of Planning and Develop-ment on the Draft Environmental Impact Report for theproposed redevelopment of AERA’s East Cat Canyon Oil Field We’re not in the habit of commenting on development projectreviews in other counties, but in this case we had to make anexception: The DEIR is wholly focused on potential environ-mental impacts of the project on Santa Barbara County, eventhough quite a lot of those impacts would be coming to SanLuis Obispo County. The most deficient aspects of the DEIR’s focus occurs in thesections devoted to Construction Personnel and Traffic andProduced Oil Transport. The vast majority of the trafficimpacts from the vehicle trips discussed in these sections willoccur in San Luis Obispo County, with a special concentrationon Highway 46. Highway 46 – as no one here needs to be told, but theconsultants who prepared the Draft EIR apparently do — is oneof the most dangerous highways in the state. So we told them. Noting that “On March 31, 2017, a 69 year old Bakersfieldman, Jesus Acebedo, was killed when he was hit head-on by a

Coastal Oil PipelineProject Advances Santa Barbara County hasannounced public hearingsfor the Plains All-AmericanPipeline’s proposal to build acoastal oil pipeline to serveoffshore drilling platforms. Itwould follow the same routethrough Santa Barbara anSLO Counties as Plains’Line 901, the severely Goleta Opposes Proposal to

Truck Offshore Oil On February 19, the GoletaCity Council voted to opposeExxonMobil’s proposal torestart its dormant offshoredrilling platforms and truckthe oil up California’s coastalhighway and across SantaBarbara, San Luis Obispoand Kern counties. ExxonMobil’s offshoreplatforms in the SantaBarbara Channel have beenidle since a coastal oil

corroded pipeline that failedin 2015, causing a largecoastal oil spill and idling theoffshore platforms it served. A Santa Barbara jury last yearfound Plains criminally liable

GOLETA continued on page 7

PLAINS continued on page 7

BLM continued on page 6

2 Santa Lucian • Mar./Apr. 2019

The Executive Committee meetsthe third Wednesday of each monthat 4:15 p.m. in the chapter office,located at 974 Santa Rosa St., SanLuis Obispo. All members arewelcome to attend.

Santa Lucian

Lindi Doud

Denny MynattPRINT MEDIA COORDINATOR

The Santa Lucian is published six times a year. Articles, environmental informationand letters to the editor are welcome. The deadline for each issue is the 13th of theprior month.

send to: Editor, Santa Lucian, Sierra Club, P.O. Box 15755, San Luis Obispo, CA93406. [email protected]

Santa Lucia Chapter

2019 Executive CommitteeSue Harvey (12/19) CHAIRCarmen Bouquin (12/21) MEMBERChuck Tribbey (12/19) MEMBERHeather Howell (12/20) MEMBERViolet Sage Walker (12/20) MEMBERNancy Cole (12/20) MEMBERJennifer Bauer (12/21) VICE-CHAIR

Kevin O’Gorman TREASURER

CommitteesPolitical Violet Cavanaugh Jennifer BauerMembership/Development Heather Howell, Dani NicholsonConservation Sue HarveyNuclear Power Task Force Rochelle Becker Linda Seeley

Printed by University Graphic Systems Cal Poly, San Luis ObispoMailing preparation services courtesy of the Silver Streaks

Office hours Monday-Friday,1:30 p.m. - 7 p.m.974 Santa Rosa StreetSan Luis Obispo

Santa Lucia ChapterP.O. Box 15755San Luis Obispo, CA 93406805-543-8717

CA Conservation Committeedelegates Jennifer Bauer, Violet CavanaughCouncil of Club Leadersdelegates Jennifer Bauer, Chuck Tribbey

Chapter Director Andrew Christie [email protected]

Outings Bill Waycott

Webmaster Monica TarzierTrail Guide Gary Felsman

EDITORAndrew Christie

EDITORIAL COMMITTEE

Bookkeeper Sandra Cirilo

Facebook AdministratorKim Ramos

GreenNew

Deal?

What do we want in aFor anyone who wants to learnmore. Or bring your ideas forprograms and policies. Participate ina panel discussion and Q&A. Helpshape the bills being drafted inCongress and make it happen locally.

Wed., March 20Copeland Pavilion, 3rd FloorFrench Medical Center1823 Johnson Ave., SLODoors open: 6:30 p.m.Program: 7-9 p.m.

SierraClubGeneralMeeting

Featuring:Carbon Free SLOIndivisiblePRHS ProgressivesClimate Reality

The Unreason ofthe ReasonableBy Andrew Christie,Chapter Director

Last December, The Tribuneprinted a double-barreledattack on renewable energyand minimization of theeconomic impacts of climatechange by conservative “cli-mate skeptic” Jay Ambrose(“Climate change: Is beingreasonable asking toomuch?”). It was the same oldsales pitch, repeatedly refuted,with one slightly new element:The horrific costs of un-checked climate change willactually be insignificant if yousquint at them in just the rightway. The article was the latestpivot in the new fall-backstrategy for the “what meworry?” contingent as theycontinue to strike a pose as thereasonable “adults in theroom” while trying to twistaway from the implications ofboth the data and real-worldevents. To that end, Ambrosedownplayed the IPCC FifthAssessment Report’s “interest-ing views” on the costs ofincreasing wildfires, risingseas, crop failure, killerstorms, blackouts and batteredinfrastructure. Not to worry, because: “We have a counter-assessment that the report’sestimates of the cost of all this

UNREASON continued on page 8


On Jan. 7, a federal court ruled in favor of the Sierra Club that theEnvironmental Protection Agency must expedite the public release ofapproximately twenty thousand pages of emails, as well as calendars,for former coal industry lobbyist and acting EPA Administrator AndrewWheeler, Air Office head Bill Wherum, and 23 other political staffinvolved in Wheeler’s rollbacks of critical public health and environ-mental safeguards. “The law is clear: the EPA must produce these documents, it must doso quickly, and if necessary it must re-allocate staff to speed things up and lift the curtain on thetoxic relationship between Trump’s appointees and the polluters they are supposed to be protect-ing us from” said Senior Sierra Club Attorney Elena Saxonhouse, one of the attorneys wholitigated the case. According to the court, Sierra Club provided “persuasive reasons for the urgency of its re-quests.” It noted that “If the Court were to adopt [EPA]'s plan, it would take over four years tocomplete the review, based on [EPA]’s updated numbers, a very far cry from making them'promptly available' as required by FOIA.” That urgency included the facts that the emails and calendars may expose “conflicts of interest”based on EPA staffers like Wheeler and Wherum’s “strong ties to regulated industries,” and thedocuments could help inform a response to EPA’s “rollbacks of dozens of the prioradministration’s regulations.” The Court also noted that, “some of the revelations that prompted the Administrator [ScottPruitt] to resign in July 2018 came to light through the EPA’s response to [Sierra Club’s] earlierFOIA requests.” “The Senate should not act on Wheeler’s expected nomination until we know exactly what he isup to behind the scenes. The revelations which FOIA’d emails uncovered about Scott Pruitt wereunprecedented, shocking, and helped bring about his rapid downfall.” said Sierra Club ExecutiveDirector Michael Brune, “Now we await tens of thousands of emails between Andrew Wheeler,his industry-conflicted deputies, and the polluters they are supposed to be protecting us from.Given Wheeler and Wherum’s history of exclusively protecting polluter profits, we can onlyimagine what abuses these documents are likely to uncover.” On Feb. 5, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved President Trump’snomination of Wheeler to take over the permanent position of EPA chief and moved his nomina-tion to the full Senate.

The Fesler Family trust hasasked the SLO County Boardof Supervisors to revoke“unconditional certificates ofcompliance” it issued to theTrust that would have createdland parcels based on a tractmap recorded prior to theadvent of modern day landuse planning. The request to the board toreverse their action was theresult of a lawsuit filed by theSierra Club’s Santa LuciaChapter against the Countylast December in recognitionof the fact that dozens ofother land owners throughoutthe county possess similarantiquated tract maps. In late 2017, the DennisFesler Ranch in rural ArroyoGrande requested uncondi-tional certificates of compli-ance from the San LuisObispo County Dept. ofPlanning and Building thatwould create twelve landparcels on their property,based on an antiquatedsubdivision map from 1905. In January 2018, theCounty Planning Departmentreplied that “Current case lawholds that maps recorded inthe unincorporated areasbetween 1893 and 1919 arenot deemed to create parcelsrecognizable by certificate ofcompliance, ” and that “weare required to deny yourapplication for issuance oftwelve unconditional certifi-cates of compliance for theselots.” Fesler appealed CountyPlanning’s denial to theCounty Board of Supervisors.On October 2, 2018, theboard majority, led bySupervisor Lynn Compton,decided to ignore their legalcounsel’s advice and voted tooverturn the decision of thePlanning Director and upholdthe appeal on the basis offindings written by theapplicant’s attorney with

Sierra Club Prevails in AntiquatedSubdivision LawsuitSLO supervisors expected to rescind approvals issued in violation of Subdivision Map Act

assistance from SupervisorCompton. The Sierra Clubsued the County on December27. “When it took that vote, theboard sent a message to all theother antiquated map holdersthat the County is willing torecognize their maps withoutregard to the law and theprinciples of land use plan-ning,” said Santa LuciaChapter Chair Sue Harvey. “The goal of our lawsuit wasto rescind the unconditionalcertificates of compliance andsend a clear message to thesupervisors and to anyonethinking of attempting thesame shortcut to development

that this avenue is closed.” On Feb. 14, the Fesler Trustasked the Board of Supervi-sors to rescind the certificatesof compliance. The vote torescind the Fesler Ranchcertificates of compliance isscheduled for the Board’sMay 7 meeting, on theconsent agenda. “The Real Party decided notto fight the case in court, andit’s easy to guess why,” saidBabak Naficy, attorney for theSierra Club. “Their actionwas in blatant violation ofCalifornia’s Subdivision MapAct, and the justificationsoffered by SupervisorsPeschong, Arnold, and

Compton were a distortion ofthe case law. I guess theyhoped they could just getaway with it. Not on mywatch.” “We are very pleased thatwe were able to block thisattempted end run around therequirements of the county’sGeneral Plan and check anarrogantly unlawful action bythe board majority,” saidSanta Lucia Chapter DirectorAndrew Christie.

Sierra Club Turns on the Lights at the EPA


Here is link to the Sierra Club’s petition opposing the DirtyWater Rule: http://tinyurl.com/nodirtywater.

Too many communities throughout the country can’t accesssafe, reliable drinking water. The Trump administration’s latestproposal would make that problem worse. For more than 46 years, thanks to the Clean Water Act, wehave made significant progress in making our water safer forswimming, fishing, and drinking, yet it’s clear there is stillmuch more to be done. But instead of doing more to safeguardour water, the Trump administration’s Dirty Water Rule willturn back the clock to a time when fewer protections existed tosafeguard people and wildlife from harmful pollution in ourwaters. The administration’s talking points indicate that the pro-posal would restrict which wetlands and waterways areprotected under the Clean Water Act, such as excludingephemeral streams and wetlands that are not “physically andmeaningfully” connected to other jurisdictional waterways. Drinking water sources are interconnected. Streams flow intolarger rivers and lakes and wetlands are connected to water-sheds. No body of water, no matter how small, is safe topollute. The Trump administration is putting the profits of corporatepolluters ahead of the needs of our communities, businesses,and drinking water. Tell the EPA to withdraw this outrageousscheme to wipe out protections for water.

EPA Takes a Dive for Dirty Water Notice of Public Meeting:Perflouroalkyl Substances

Notice is hereby given that StateWater Resources Control Board(State Water Board) present aninformational item on March 6,2019, consisting of an invited panel

of Federal and State Agencies, and Non-Governmental Organi-zations. The goal of this informational item is to inform theWater Board and public of Perflouroalkyl Substances (PFAS),potential sources, and potential risks to drinking water. Panel-ists will provide updates on existing state & federal actions, aswell as the Water Board’s Action Plan.

Wednesday, March 6, 2019, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.Joe Serna Jr. - CalEPA Headquarters BuildingCoastal Hearing Room1001 I Street, Second FloorSacramento, CA 95814

Additional information on the public meeting is located onthe State Water Board web site at: www.waterboards.ca.gov/board_info/calendar/. Webcast information: Video and audio broadcasts of thepublic meeting can be accessed at https://video.calepa.ca.gov/. PFAS are a group of man-made chemicals commonly foundin metal plating (e.g., cookware). Perfluorooctanoic acid(PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) are fluori-nated organic chemicals that are part of the PFASs group ofchemicals. In May 2016, the United States Environmental ProtectionAgency (U.S. EPA) issued a lifetime health advisory for PFOSand PFOA for drinking water, advising municipalities that theyshould notify their customers of the presence of levels over 70parts per trillion in community water supplies. U. S. EPArecommended that the notification of customers includeinformation on the increased risk to health, especially forsusceptible populations. Water Board staff will present a phased investigation ActionPlan requiring testing of drinking water systems and siteinvestigations at high risk locations. Please direct questions about this notice to Annalisa Kihara at(916) 324-6786, [email protected], orDaniel Newton at (916) 449-5596, [email protected].

Attacks on the EndangeredSpecies Act and the strugglingwildlife it protects continue tomount. The future of graywolf recovery is in jeopardy,as attacks on the vulnerablewolves continue. Last December, the Trumpadministration went after graywolves in every way possible.After passing HR 6874, a

TAKE ACTION

TAKE ACTION

Thank you for all you did in 2018! Stay up to date on the fightto save the gray wolf and defending wildlife in 2019 by signingthis petition:addup.sierraclub.org/campaigns/take-action-to-protect-wolves

Stop Attacks On Endangered Gray Wolves

horrible anti-wolf bill thatwould severely undermine theEndangered Species Act andour ability to defend wildlifein court, House Republicanstried to add the text of the“Manage Our Wolves” act asriders to the House’s must-pass spending bill. More than 46,000 of youcalled and emailed Congress

to get the anti-wolf riders out— and the riders were re-moved from the bill! This was a great victory, butthis is far from over. 2018 sawmany attacks on vulnerablewildlife, and this administra-

tion isn’t stopping; thesestruggling species arecounting on you! We mustcontinue to fight for strongwildlife protections andcontinued recovery.


Blue HeronThe majesty of that birdIs in its stillness,Magnificence of beak,Beauty of one foot raisedFor seemingly minutes.

Beak gleams in the sunHead fixed North then EastFor seeming hours.A tiny rotation, then head turnsSouth then WestFor seeming weeks.

If bird is thinking deeply,Is contemplating fishBelow the rock on which it perches,Seemingly for years,We’ll never know.

A sound of wheel clatterBreaks the stillnessAnd with a shriek of anger,A honk of displeasure,Bird lifts off, soaringAbove the rock, pond, fishTo bide his time on the rooftopWaiting for seeming eons.

- Judith Bernstein

Our outings programregularly offers Red CrossWilderness First Aid Trainingfor outings leaders (and SLOPark Rangers, left) who wantto extend their range fromleading day hikes to overnightbackpacking trips and feelconfident in the wildernessknowing they can care forfamily and friends if some-thing goes wrong. TheFebruary class was taught byOutings Leader Lisa Ludovici A one-day lecture andwritten section is followed bya day in an outdoor setting tosimulate the wildernessexperience. Class size islimited to 10 participants. Red Cross Adult CPR/AED/First Aid certification is a pre-requisite. Wilderness FirstAid Certification is valid for3 years.

LearningWilderness

Class in session Feb. 16 was day one of 2019 Red Cross Wilderness First Aid training sponsored bySierra Club, held at Charter Spectrum offices in San Luis Obispo.

“A resolution from the US House ofRepresentatives that proposesnational, urgent action on climatechange and more—well, we’re notused to that. A vast set of policies tofight climate change, prepare for itseffects, address income inequality,and save working-class jobs, frontedby a brand-new congressperson witha national profile—AlexandriaOcasio-Cortez, New York’s AOC?That’s new…. By pouring everything in thosesilos into one bin, the Green NewDeal attempts to build a newcoalition. It seems crazy. But really,it’s a last-chance amplification ofsmaller, incremental, hopefulchanges already happening aroundthe country—built into a broadervision for political change. Toowild? Maybe. As the dyed-in-the-wool hacks never say until after theballoons drop: Politics is the art ofthe impossible.”

- Adam Rogers, “The Green NewDeal Shows How Grand

Climate Politics Can Be,”Wired, Feb. 8, 2019.

A Grand New Deal


CAT continued on page 7

Expansion Is Incompatible with Climate Limits

A new study examines the urgent need for U.S. leadership to manage a rapid and just decline offossil fuel production. The study was released in January by Oil Change International in collaboration with: 350.org,Amazon Watch, BOLD Alliance, Center for Biological Diversity, Earthworks, Food & WaterWatch, Friends of the Earth U.S., Greenpeace USA, Hip Hop Caucus, Indigenous EnvironmentalNetwork, Labor Network for Sustainability, Oil Change USA, Our Revolution, People’s Action,Rainforest Action Network, Sierra Club, and Working Families Party. Key findings include: Unprecedented Oil & Gas Expansion: Between2018 and 2050, U.S. drilling into new oil and gasreserves could unlock 120 billion metric tons of newcarbon pollution, which is equivalent to the lifetimeCO2 emissions of nearly 1,000 coal-fired powerplants. If not curtailed, U.S. oil and gas expansion willimpede the rest of the world’s ability to manage aclimate-safe, equitable decline of oil and gas produc-tion. Expansion Hot Spots: Some 90% of U.S. drillinginto new oil and gas reserves through 2050 woulddepend on fracking; nearly 60% of the carbon emis-sions enabled by new U.S. drilling would come fromthe epicenters of fracking – the Permian Basin ofTexas and New Mexico and the Appalachian Basinacross Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. Coal – Too Much Already: Given U.S. coal miningshould be phased out by 2030 or sooner if the world isto equitably achieve the Paris Agreement goals, atleast 70% of the coal in existing U.S. mines should stay in the ground. These findings show that leadership is urgently needed towards a U.S. fossil fuel phase-out thataligns with climate limits, takes care of workers and communities on its front lines, and builds amore healthy and just economy for all in the process. Key recommendations for what U.S. policymakers must do to show real climate leadership:1. Ban new leases or permits for new fossil fuel exploration, production, and infrastructure;2. Plan for the phase-out of existing fossil fuel projects in a way that prioritizes environmentaljustice;3. End subsidies and other public finance for the fossil fuel industry;4. Champion a Green New Deal that ensures a just transition to 100 percent renewable energy;5. Reject the influence of fossil fuel money over U.S. energy policy.

This update of this ResourceManagement Plan is the firststep in the process to allownew oil and gas drilling onpublic lands in California.Many of the areas that couldbe opened up for oil leasingare along the boundaries ofSequoia and Kings CanyonNational Parks, the LosPadres, Sequoia, and InyoNational Forests, the CarrizoPlain, Giant Sequoia, andCesar Chavez NationalMonuments, several desig-nated wilderness areas,national wildlife refuges, state

parks, city and county parks,private nature reserves, andother conservation lands. Sierra Club submittedcomments last fall calling onthe BLM to not open up thesepublic lands for expanded oiland gas development. Weargued that a decision to openup the Planning Area to oiland gas development wouldthreaten the water resourcesserving both the communitiesand the surrounding area,degrade already-poor airquality in the region, furtherindustrialize the region,threaten the continuedexistence of sensitive speciesthat rely on the area for theirhabitat, and make it impos-

sible to meet national andstate greenhouse gas reduc-tion goals. Quite simply,developing this area for oiland gas represents an unnec-essary and avoidable risk thatwould threaten the area’sother important multiple useresources. This spring we are expect-ing the BLM to publish theirDraft Resource ManagementPlan, which will kick off apublic comment period andseveral meetings across theregion. Sierra Club will bepartnering with many otherorganizations to call on theBLM to protect our communi-ties and environment fromexpanded oil and gas drilling.

big-rig that crossed into hislane of travel on Highway 46near Shandon,” The ErnstLaw Group wrote “this tragiccrash is yet another in aseemingly endless list ofserious injury and fatalcollisions on the Highway 46/41 roads between the CentralValley and the Central Coast.Large numbers of big-rigs andrecreational vehicles oftenslow traffic, tempting driversto attempt dangerous passes toget ahead of the slowermoving traffic. These danger-ous passing maneuvers oftenhave serious consequences.Many drivers drive early inthe morning or late at nightincreasing the risk of fatigueddriving.” On May 27, 2017, The SLOTribune reported that “Sixseparate crashes on theHighway 41/46 corridor havecost six lives this spring.” Theproject proposes to traverseHighway 46 with an “aver-age” of 198 tanker truck tripsper day during peak projectoperation, a route that willinclude the “Cholame Y”intersection of Highways 46and 41, aka “Blood Alley.” The Final EIR must analyzeand mitigate the hazards ofthese specific impacts. Whendoing so, it must correct forthe “average daily trip”calculations in the DEIR(“531 average daily vehicleone-way trips per day” and“average daily heavy-dutytruck trips would not exceed28 one-way trips per day.”)These statement are useless indetermining potential impacts,as there is no such thing as an“average daily” trip in the realworld, only the real number ofcars and trucks on the road ona given day. If 28 one-waytrips is an average, by def-inition, it will be exceeded.The EIR must analyze andmitigate for the impacts fromthe peak number of vehiclesestimated to be generated bythe project. The Draft EIR omits to statethe total number of daily truck

Catcontinued from page 1

BLMcontinued from page 1

Drilling Towards Disaster: Why U.S. Oil and Gas


pipeline that served themfailed in 2015. That caused amassive oil spill that black-ened Santa Barbara areabeaches and killed hundredsof birds and marine animals. The company now proposesto transport that oil to pro-cessing facilities using up to70 oil tanker trucks a day onnarrow, winding highways androads, all day and all night. That will risk explosivecrashes and oil spills alongCalifornia’s Central Coast andthe Santa Maria watershed. The trucks’ annual cargo of4 million barrels of oil wouldemit carbon pollutionequivalent to burning twobillion pounds of coal. The San Luis Obispo CityCouncil passed a similarresolution in January. “We applaud the city ofGoleta for standing up toExxonMobil and protectingour coast,” said Linda Krop,chief counsel for the Environ-mental Defense Center, whichrepresents Get Oil Out! andSanta Barbara County ActionNetwork in fighting theproposal. “ExxonMobil’sproposal would expose thepublic to the risk of oil tankeraccidents, increased airpollution and greenhouse gasemissions, and another oilspill on the California coast.” “Opposition to offshore oilis at record highs in Califor-nia, and that is particularlytrue here in Goleta, which wasclosest to the 2015 oil spill,”said Katie Davis, chair of theSierra Club’s Santa BarbaraGroup. “During the ThomasFire, when people wereevacuating, a tankertruck accident shutdown the 101 inGoleta. If this hap-pened on the Gaviotacoast, we would haveno way around it.” “ExxonMobil’sproposal to truck oil140 miles threatensCalifornia’s high-ways and coastline,”said Blake Kopcho,an ocean cam-

paigner at the Center forBiological Diversity. “Allow-ing oil trucks to serve threedecrepit offshore drillingplatforms 24 hours a day is adouble whammy. Califor-nians want to end dirtydrilling off our coast, notresurrect aging oil platformsand invite a steady stream ofdangerous tanker trucks ontoour roadways.”

for that oil spillnear Refugio StateBeach and thehundreds ofmarine mammalsand birds thatwere coated withoil and died. Mostof the offshoredrilling platformsit served are beingdecommissioned,but Exxon-Mobilhas been trying torestart its threeplatforms, pro-posing first totransport the oil

by tanker trucks onlocal highways. “Plains Pipelinedoesn’t deserve asecond chance to spilloil along California’scoast. Californianswant to end offshoredrilling, not extend itwith a new coastal oilpipeline,” said MiyokoSakashita, oceansprogram director with

the Center for BiologicalDiversity. “Offshore drilling isa dirty and dangerous threat tomarine life and coastalcommunities. It’s time forPlains Pipeline and Exxon-Mobil to pack it up and letCalifornians reclaim theircoastline.” Oil pipelines regularly failin California. Federal pipeline

trips. Careful reading andcalculation by the reader isrequired to determine thetotal to be derived from thestatement that “21 trucks

Catcontinued from page 6

Goletacontinued from page 1

would arrive withlight crude andthen return toBelridge withblend. Another 74trucks wouldarrive empty fromBelridge and thenreturn to Belridgewith blend.” Thisamounts to 190truck trips per dayduring peakproduction inPhase II. The FinalEIR should statethis figure, andanalyze andmitigate for thehazards of theseimpacts in bothSanta Barbaraand San LuisObispo Counties.

And then there’s this part The Cat CanyonDraft EIR needs to spend some time on High-way 46.

And, needless to say, if nosatisfactory mitigations canbe found, the project should be denied.

Plainscontinued from page 1

PLAINS cont. on page 8

Greetings! SLO County residents gathered outside the South County RegionalCenter during Plains All American’s Jan. 29 “open house” on their proposed pipelineproject.


\

won’t be overwhelmingrelative to GDP growth.According to analyses in theWall Street Journal, evensmall growth will compensatefor the damages and adjust-ments.” No doubt, the formerresidents of Paradise, CA, andthe survivors of the nextmonster hurricanes will berelieved to hear this.To be clear, the IPCC report’sestimates the economic costfrom 2 degrees’ Celsiuswarming to be $69 trillion. AsEugene Linden, author of“Winds of Change: Climate,Weather and the Destructionof Civilizations” has written,“Even this figure might proveradically conservative.”Linden also noted, withoutaffixing a dollar cost, theprospect of waves of destabi-lizing immigration from areasof the world where it hasbecome too hot to survive andmass starvation implied in thefindings of “a number ofstudies [that] predict yielddeclines of up to 70% forvegetables if the world warmsbeyond 2 degrees Celsius.”Ambrose characterizes thisscenario thusly: He notes theprospect of “cows havingfewer plants to chew,” so“dairy products will de-

see just how creaky this agingargument has become.He made the inevitable pitchfor nukes as the salvation of awarming planet. Per theRocky Mountain Institute andthe Nuclear Information andResource Service, improvingthe efficiency of electricitygeneration from conventionalpower plants would cutgreenhouse gas emissions by47 percent, equivalent to thecarbon reductions achievableby 800 nuclear power plants.One dollar invested inefficiency cuts seven times asmuch carbon as a dollarinvested in nuclear power. Adollar invested in wind energycreates 2.3 times more energyand five times more jobs.The Ambrose article camedown to this dusty and deeplyconfused recipe: No signifi-cant government action isnecessary, build more(government subsidized)nukes, leave the free marketalone to work its magic. Fortunately, a large andincreasing number of peoplehave a better idea. We hope tosee you at our generalmeeting at the CopelandPavilion on March 20 todiscuss what we want in aGreen New Deal.

Unreasoncontinued from page 2

crease.” He stops there, ratherthan draw out the implicationsof people also having “fewerplants to chew,” because it’sall about GDP, not starvation.And about that figure that“might prove radicallyconservative:” Indeed itmight. As Climate Web put itin response to both theeconomic analysis in theClimate Assessment and theWall Street Journal’s “counterassessment,” such efforts atforecasting are “not unlikehitting a dartboard bullseyefrom five miles away in awindstorm.” Also: “Theseeconomic impacts ignore alarge part of the economicimpacts picture, focusing asthey do on just a few eco-nomic sectors. Not included atall, for example, are theeconomics of the internationaland national security impactsof climate change for theUnited States, or the evolvingclimate change systemic riskliterature which goes so far asto suggest that climate changecould lead to an economiccollapse long before 2090.”Ambrose dissed solar andwind power because some-times the sun doesn’t shineand the wind doesn’t blow.Google “Battery StoragePoised to Expand Rapidly” to

data shows there were 621pipeline incidents in Califor-nia from 1986 through 2014,causing 200 injuries, 48fatalities and almost $800million in property damage.An analysis of federalpipeline data found failuresare most common after 30years and shortly after they’recompleted, due to faultywelds and other construction-related problems. “Building this pipelinewould lock in offshoredrilling in California fordecades, just like the Trumpadministration wants. Buthuge bipartisan majorities in

Plainscontinued from page 7

coastal states around thecountry oppose new offshoredrilling,” Sakashita said.“Let’s reject efforts by Trump,Plains and Exxon-Mobil toforce offshore oil drilling onfuture generations.” Plains’ proposed 124-mileoil pipeline would ship theoffshore oil to processingfacilities in San Luis Obispoand Kern counties. The firstpublic hearings on the projectwere held Feb. 27 in the SantaBarbara County Board ofSupervisors hearing room,and Feb. 28 at the SouthCounty Regional Center inArroyo Grande.

Brought to you by the Plains All American Pipeline RefugioBeach, 2015.

By Sierra Club California

Governor Gavin Newsomdelivered some good newsand bad news for California’senvironment during his state-of-the-state address on Feb.12. The governor announcedthat he does not support theCalifornia Water Fix proposalfor two giant, 35-mile tunnelsto divert water from the SanFrancisco Bay Delta. How-ever, he declared his supportfor a single tunnel—analternative proposal that hasnot gone through any eco-nomic and environmentalanalysis. Additionally, the governorannounced he would beappointing E. JoaquinEsquivel, a current member ofthe State Water ResourcesControl Board, to chair thatboard. With this appointment,Newsom has chosen to notreappoint noted water policy

NEWSOM cont. on page 9

First State-of-the-StateDelivers Halfa Loaf for theEnvironment


Accept no substitutes. Your desk will thank you. Your wallwill thank you. Your friends and family will thank you. Andwhen you buy direct from the Chapter, you support theSierra Club’s conservation work in San LuisObispo County. We thank you.CLEARANCE!wall calendar: $13.50 $9.00desk calendar: $14.50 $9.00 5 left

Send your check to:

2019 Sierra Club Calendars - Last Chance!

Sierra ClubP.O. Box 15755San Luis Obispo, CA 93406

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veteran Felicia Marcus, arecent target of big agricul-tural interests. On other topics, thegovernor said that he hasconvened a panel of bank-ruptcy attorneys and otherexperts to ensure that thestate’s and public’s interestsare protected as Pacific Gas& Electric goes through thebankruptcy process. “We willnever waver on achieving thenation’s most ambitious cleanenergy goals,” he said. The governor also reiteratedhis strong commitment toresolving the housing crisis.And like his predecessor, hetook aim at the California

Environmental Quality Act,implying that it has been abarrier to housing develop-ment despite numerousacademic and other studiessuggesting otherwise. Thegovernor committed tocompleting the high-speedrail project between Mercedand Bakersfield, but pulledback on pursuing the full-scale rail project from LosAngeles to San Francisco thathas stumbled as cost esti-mates have continued toescalate dramatically. He alsoannounced the appointment ofa new chair to lead the High-Speed Rail Authority, LennyMen-

donca. Mendoncais a former seniorpartner atMcKinsey &Company, a globalmanagement firmand a currenteconomic advisorto Newsom. “It’s heartening tohear the governorabandon the twintunnels boon-doggle,” saidKathryn Phillips,Director of SierraClub California.“However, we aredisappointed thathe has removedfrom the state water

board Felicia Marcus, one ofthe state’s best and most even-handed leaders on waterissues. We are also disap-pointed he is committing moreresources—time, money, andattention—to a smaller tunnelproposal, rather than fullyshifting the state wateragencies’ attention to thosethings we know are neededand will work to buildregional resilience: conserva-tion, efficiency, recycling,stormwater capture, dam andreservoir repair and the like. Itis good to hear the governorclearly commit to protectingthe state’s clean energy goals. “We support the governor’scommitment to resolving thestate’s housing crisis, particu-larly the need for affordable

and homeless housing. However, there is noevidence that jabbing atCEQA will produce the resultshe’s after. It’s more likely thatthe other routes he is taking—including forcing cities toaddress their housing obliga-tions—will have the desiredimpact. Attacking CEQAplays well to certain audi-ences, as Newsom’s predeces-sor found, but doesn’t reallysolve the real barriers to moreaffordable housing. Thosebarriers include understaffedplanning departments, lack ofconstruction labor, high costsof land, crumbling urbaninfrastructure, and lack ofsupportive funding for below-market-rate housing. “CEQA provides Califor-nians with essential informa-tion about big projects, howthey will affect communitiesand the environment, andencourages builders to look atcleaner, less environmentallydamaging ways to do theirprojects. It’s a tool thatencourages transparency andprotects air and water qualityso the state doesn’t have tointervene later to clean uppollution.”

Sierra Club California is thelegislative and regulatoryadvocacy arm of the 13 SierraClub chapters in California,representing more than400,000 members andsupporters statewide.

Newsomcontinued from page 8


2018 was the fourth year thatGreenspace – The Cambria LandTrust has partnered with theHarold J. Miossi CharitableTrust to connect students withnature. The Greenspace Environ-mental Education Field Programtakes sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders out into the MontereyPine forest for enriched educa-tion. Led by Greenspace founderand Monterey pine forest expertRick Hawley and under thesupervision of their Santa LuciaMiddle School teacher, DanielleNarzisi, the students spend a dayin Strawberry Canyon,Greenspace’s 21 acres of rareMonterey pine forest. During the course of the day,the students learn about theMonterey pine forest ecosystem.They learn how this species ofpine propagates, analyze the

with their eyes closed. Post field-trip visits to their classroomhave the students making paper from scrap paper and using it todo “Poet-tree,” telling about their forest visit in a creative way. The Forest Education Program uses nature to teach vividlessons about the relationships between the forest, its animalsand plants. The goal is to instill in young people the desire toprotect and enhance the Central Coast’s unique Monterey pineforest. Greenspace board members volunteer their time and talents.Educator Ann Cichowski and her husband, Robert Cichowski,Greenspace Education Program Coordinator and retired CalPoly professor, along with local artists Sara Blair Field and ArtVan Rhyn and many others lead the students through the forestand the many lessons it teaches. “It’s wonderful to see the kids put down their cell phones andget engaged in nature,” Hawley said. The goal of the program is to impress upon the students theimportance of the relationships among all the plants andanimals, large and microscopic, which support the forestecology and foster a healthy forest. The Forest Education Program is the result of a partnershipbetween Greenspace and the Harold J. Miossi Charitable Trust,which supported the education program with a generous grant.Projects to protect the environment are one of its six programfocus areas. The trust funds projects involving environmentalscience, green technology, promoting open spaces, sustainableagriculture, and land preservation. “Greenspace plans to continue to expand our educationoutreach in the North Coast of SLO County,” said Mary Webb,President of the Greenspace Board of Directors. “We very muchlook forward to our continued partnership with the Harold J.Miossi Charitable Trust.” Videos showing the students and the forest are posted on theGreenspace website, https://greenspacecambria.org/.

Cambria and Cayucos Students Receive Forest Education

forest soil for macronutrients,gather, identify and draw forestinsects, and enjoy a reflectivetime just listening to the forest

This way! Greenspace founder and Monterey Pine forest expert Rick Hawley leads the Santa LuciaMiddle School Environmental Education class into the misty forest.


(805) 549-0355

Bill Waycott, Outings Chair(805) 459-2103 [email protected]

Outingscontinued from page 12

805 546-0317.

Saturday, March30th, 8:30 am, NativePlant Field Trip toShell Creek andEnvirons. One of theoutstanding springwildflower destinationsin California. Meet atthe Santa MargaritaExit Park and Rideat 8:30 am. Bring plantguides or plan to pur-chase one during thetrip. Also bringadequate water, food,and dress in layers forthe weather; a hat andsturdy shoes is advised.Contact Bill, 805-459-2103. Rain or threat ofrain cancels.

Saturday, April 6th,9:00 am, WillowSprings Trail off ofHwy 166. A 4.2- milehike with scenic viewsof the Los Padres Natl.Forest back-country.Bring a hat, sunscreen,plenty of water, long-sleeve shirt, long pants,and sturdy walkingshoes. For carpool,meet at 8:30 am, at theintersection of Hwy101 and Hwy 166 (weston Hutton Rd., parkingby Cuyama Lane). Ifmeeting at trailhead,arrive by 9:00 am, go toWillow Spring trailheadoff Hwy 166 on thesouth side, about 20miles east of Hwy101.Trailhead is 4 milespast Pine Canyon FireStation. Exit on theright and park beyondthe gate. Polite dogs onleash allowed. ContactAndrea, 805-934-2792. Rain or threat ofrain cancels. Saturday, April 6th,2019, 8:30 am, NativePlant Field Trip toCarrizo Plain Na-tional Monument andthe Temblor Range.

We will visit some ofthe best wildflowerareas in the Monument,including some vernalpools, with an option totravel up into theTemblor Range. Meetat the Santa MargaritaExit Park and Rideat 8:30 am. Bring plantguides or plan topurchase one during thetrip. Also, bringadequate water, food,and dress in layers forthe weather; a hat andsturdy shoes is advised.Contact Bill, 805-459-2103. Rain or threat ofrain cancels the outing. Sunday, April 14th,8:30 a.m. EasternSLO County. Comeand explore one of myfavorite places southand east of Pozo. Wewill use ranch roads,some cross country,possibly some muddyareas, as we explorethis wonderful region.Hike will be 8 to 10miles with 1,500 feet ofelevation gain. Bringlunch, water, sturdyshoes and dress for theweather. Meet atPacific BeverageCompany in SantaMargarita, CA at 8:30am. No dogs exceptwith explicit priorpermission by the hikeleader. If permitted, thedog must be leashed atall times, as we are on aprivate ranch withcattle roaming the area.Contact Gary 805-473-3694. Rain or threat ofrain cancels the outing. Saturday, April 20th,2019, 8:30 am, FieldTrip to CalienteRidge, Carrizo PlainNatl. Monument. Wewill drive through theMonument towardsCamp Shelby and on tothe top of CalienteRidge (high clearance

vehiclerecommended).Meet at theSantaMargarita ExitPark and Ride.Bring plantguides or planto purchase oneduring the trip.Also, bringadequate water,food, and dressin layers for theweather; a hatand sturdyshoes advised.Contact Bill,805-459-2103.Rain or threatof rain cancelsthe outing.

Presented by the SLO Botanical Garden

Saturday, March 23, 1:00-2:00pm. All About That Drip: Garden andLandscape Water Management at SLO Botanical Garden. UC MasterGardener will explainthe water savingirrigation practices thatare best foryour location, your soiland plants. Followedby a tour of the SLOBotanical Garden. Infoat slobg.org. San LuisObispo BotanicalGarden, 3450 DairyCreek Rd. Donation $5Garden Members / $10public. Call 805-541-1400 x 303. photo: Rain Bird

12 Santa Lucian • Mar./Apr. 2019Sierra ClubSanta Lucia ChapterP. O. Box 15755San Luis Obispo, CA 93406

NONPROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT NO. 84

SAN LUIS OBISPOCA 93401

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.

All our hikes and activities are open to all Club members and the general public. Please bring drinking water to alloutings and optionally a lunch. Sturdy footwear is recommended. All phone numbers listed are within area code805 unless otherwise noted. Pets are generally not allowed. A parent or responsible adult must accompany childrenunder the age of 18. If you have any suggestions for hikes or outdoor activities, questions about the Chapter’souting policies, or would like to be an outings leader, call Outings Chair Bill Waycott, (805) 459-2103. Forinformation on a specific outing, please call the listed outing leader.

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.

Island Hopping in Channel Islands National ParkApril 7-9, May 5-7, June 9-11, July 14-16, August 18-20, September 22-24, October 20-22. Join us for a 3-day, 3-island,live-aboard tour of the Channel Islands. Hike wild, windswepttrails bordered with blazing wildflowers. Kayak rugged coastlines,Marvel at pristine waters teeming with seals and sea lions. Trainyour binoculars on sea and land birds and an occasional whale.Watch for the endangered island fox. Look for reminders of theChumash people who lived on these islands for thousands ofyears. Or just relax at sea. Departs from Santa Barbara. $730,includes assigned bunk, all meals, snacks and beverages. Kayakingoverseen by our concessionaire; all hikes will be on trails, class 1terrain. This is a fundraiser to support the Sierra Club politicalprogram in California. To reserve space, send a $200 check,written to California Sierra Club PAC, to Joan Jones Holtz, 11826The Wye St., El Monte, CA 91732. For more information contactleaders Joan Jones Holtz: [email protected], 626-443-0706 orWayne Vollaire [email protected], 909-327-6825.

Saturday, March 9th,9:00 am, AdobeSprings Trail off ofHwy 166. A 5-mileround trip hike withviews down theCuyama Valley and achance for beautifulwildflowers! Bring ahat, sunscreen, plentyof water, long-sleeveshirt, long pants, andsturdy walking shoes.Carpool – meet at 8:30am at the intersectionof Hwy 101 and Hwy166 (west on HuttonRd., parking byCuyama Lane). Ifmeeting at trailhead,arrive by 9:00 am, goto the Adobe Springtrailhead off Hwy 166,

about 21 miles east ofHwy 101, on the left(north side of Hwy166). Polite dogs onleash allowed. ContactAndrea, 805-934-2792. Rain or threat ofrain cancels the outing. Tuesday to Thursday,March 12th to 14th,2019, Afton CanyonOuting. Afton Canyonis in the new MojaveTrails National Monu-ment and we will campboth nights in the campground near theMojave River. We willmeet on Tuesday atnoon and hike up oneof the side canyons inthe afternoon. Wednes-

day we will hike theAfton Canyon to someinteresting sites andThursday morning hiketo an area of hoodoos.Hike will be at aleisurely pace. Forreservations contactCarol, 760-245-8734.Mojave Group/CNRCC DesertCommittee.

Saturday. March16th, 8:30 am, EastCuesta Ridge toLopez Canyon Trail.From the west, LopezCanyon trail is onlyaccessible by going 4.6miles up East Cuesta Ridge Rd. (Mt. LoweRd.) and because of

that, it gets little use.We will walk from thelocked gate at Hwy 101to the trail head andthen go down intoLopezCanyon as faras we canwithoutrunning intoa lot ofpoison oak.In the past,we havehiked in 7.5miles to Upper LopezCamp. You may do justa portion of this routeand turn around early ifyou desire. Carpoolfrom SLO, meet atSanta Rosa Park at8:30 am, or at the

locked gate off of Hwy101 at 8:50 am.Behaved dogs on leashare welcome. Rain willpostpone to a laterdate. Contact Carlos,

OUTINGS continued page 11

santa - sierra club · classifieds 10 outings 12 cat continued on page 6 it’s all about the fight...

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