We have all read about the horrible fires and devastation north of us. This account was sent to San Diego Free Press contributor Judi Curry by a friend living in the Bay Area, who has given permission to post.
I am going up today to look around. I am still shut out of my neighborhood. The boys are staying at the beach.
Reflecting on the current reality, and thought I’d share, since some folks who haven’t been here yet are driving in this weekend … [Read more…]
I’m pleased to report some good news today. San Diego’s regional transportation agency is going to change the way they do business, thanks to AB 805, legislation introduced by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez-Fletcher and signed by the Governor on Wednesday.
This is a big deal, even if most of the benefits are in the future. The balance of power is shifting to areas of the region where most people live. The old boy network’s influence over long-term planning for San Diego County has been diminished.
This is a good thing for the quality of the air we breathe, the needs of lower income and minority communities, and the future of transportation. No longer will the State of California’s environmental standards be relegated to a lower priority in planning. [Read more…]
Four months ago, San Marcos and Carlsbad residents asked the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to produce records related to the expansion of McClellan-Palomar (Palomar) Airport in Carlsbad. The FAA replied: Sure, just pay $545 to $745 so the FAA can retrieve them.
Did the FAA follow the law, its own regulations, or common sense?
[Read more…]
One down, three more to go. The Real News’ Aaron Maté and Mike Hudema of Greenpeace Canada discuss TransCanada’s recent cancellation of the Energy East tar sands pipeline. The future outlook of the ongoing struggles against the Keystone XL pipeline, Enbridge’s Line Three Replacement and the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline in British Columbia is considered in light of the Energy East cancellation. [Read more…]
By David Harris / SanDiego350
A bill to reform the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) has made its way past both houses of the State legislature and now awaits the Governor’s signature. AB 805, introduced and sponsored by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, would change the structure and voting process of the SANDAG Board of Directors. The Board consists of elected officials from 18 cities and the County.
Gonzalez-Fletcher held a press conference this past week to urge the Governor to sign her bill. The legislator was joined by San Diego Councilmember Chris Ward as well as councilmembers from Encinitas and National City. Gonzalez-Fletcher was surrounded by two dozen supporters, including members of the Quality of Life Coalition, Environmental Health Coalition, and SanDiego350.
Kicking off the “presser” in front of the downtown State building, Gonzalez-Fletcher explained her reasons for stepping into the breach. “So many of us have been frustrated for years by a system of government that has been non-responsive to so many of our communities. And it comes from a structural issue, we don’t have a representative government [body]…as a result the ten smallest cities have veto power over transportation needs and planning for the entire region.”
Councilmember Ward emphasized the City of San Diego’s perspective: the City has roughly half of the county population yet limited voting power. “The reforms offered by AB 805 will make SANDAG a stronger and more responsive and effective agency,” Ward said, “We need critical investments in regional transit and other planning decisions. We can’t get there if we don’t have as much of a voice as the smaller cities…we can’t get there without restoring the broken trust between the public and SANDAG.” [Read more…]
By Will Falk
On Tuesday, September 26, the Colorado River will sue the State of Colorado in a first-in-the-nation lawsuit requesting that the United States District Court in Denver recognize the river’s rights of nature. These rights include the rights to exist, flourish, regenerate, and naturally evolve. To enforce these rights, the Colorado River will also request that the court grant the river “personhood” and standing to sue in American courts.
Four of my comrades in the international environmental organization Deep Green Resistance and I, are serving as “next friends” to the Colorado River. We are represented by the noted civil rights attorney Jason Flores-Williams who is based in Denver. Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund is serving as advisors in the case.
The term “as next friends” is a legal concept that means we have signed on to the lawsuit as fiduciaries or guardians of the river. Under current law, the Colorado River is not “legally competent” and, so needs “next friends” to ensure her rights are protected. A “next friend” is someone who appears in court in place of another who is not competent to do so – like a minor or someone with a mental disability. My role, as next friend to the Colorado River, is to protect the river’s rights.
We recently released a press release that has been widely shared on social media. National media outlets are beginning to take notice. And, we’re getting interviews, receiving email inquiries, and responding to online comments. So far, the most common question is: Why does the Colorado River need rights? [Read more…]
By Dale Williams
Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve just north of San Diego is a majestic wilderness with views to the ocean, scenic sandstone cliffs and is home to one of the world’s rarest pine trees, the Torrey Pine. Anyone who has visited Torrey Pines Reserve in the past two years will have seen the large numbers of trees that died. You see them along both sides of the main road to the visitor center, along Guy Fleming Trail, and several other locations. As I watched them die, I wondered why nobody was testing the soil, analyzing tree samples, or doing anything that might help determine the cause. I wanted to do something but didn’t know what. [Read more…]
By Celeste Oram / SanDiego350
More than 400 San Diegans arrived at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Hillcrest Thursday evening to hear an energetic message on clean energy and climate action from advocate and philanthropist Tom Steyer.
Organized by the grassroots climate action organization SanDiego350, the talk was open to the public and co-sponsored by more than 20 local community groups. In a week that brought devastation from natural disasters — hurricanes Harvey in Houston and Irma in Florida; wildfires on the West Coast; flooding in Pakistan and Bangladesh; and landslides in Sierra Leone — and controversial political announcements, the clarity of Steyer’s clean energy mission was warmly received.
After a moment of silence for the victims of the recent natural disasters, Steyer — the epitome of the casual Californian dressed in a t-shirt and slacks — began by noting the irony that hurricanes Harvey and Irma struck big oil and gas regions, the home of climate denial.
“This is not a phenomenon that will spare you just because you don’t believe in it,” he said. “Let’s not waste the pain.” [Read more…]
By Sher Watts Spooner / Daily Kos
Let’s look at the other set of natural disasters that is being exacerbated by climate change.
Major wildfires are burning in British Columbia in western Canada and in at least nine states throughout the American West: California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. California, Montana, and Oregon are bearing the worst of it. So far in 2017, more than 8 million acres have burned. More than 26,000 firefighters are working on controlling the roughly 80 major fires still burning. Homes are being evacuated or burned to the ground. It often rains in Seattle; it does not, however, usually rain ash.
The state of Montana is being described as a fiery apocalypse. Wildfires have been burning for months across the western half of the state, over 1 million acres have burned, and two firefighters have died. Gov. Steve Bullock has declared a statewide fire disaster, having already declared state fire emergencies in July and August. Bullock has deployed the Montana National Guard as firefighters. “Montana is in one of the worst fire seasons in modern history and on its way to becoming the most expensive,” he said in his declaration. [Read more…]
Natural disasters bring out the best and worst in people. Typically the worst, as defined by mass media, is Black people looting; white people merely ‘find’ food in hurricanes.
Watching Twitter today, I have seen some amazing people doing their best under trying circumstances. And then there are the… less than amazing people.
We won’t know if any of these people actually ending up qualifying for the Darwin Awards until later. In order to qualify they have to contribute to human evolution by selecting themselves out of the gene pool via death or sterilization by their own actions. And some of them are merely wishful thinking on my part. [Read more…]
One of my favorite earworms, Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence” has inspired a parody version—“Confounds the Science”. It’s from the geniuses (genii?) who call themselves The Parody Project. The team even takes pains to present the appearance of Simon & Garfunkel! It’s clever, and sadly, oh so true. )-: [Read more…]
I fancy myself an environmentalist. I recycle, backyard compost, have rooftop solar, rarely use AC or heat, drive a hybrid, don’t have a lawn and eat vegetarian.
Yet the truth is I am as responsible for climate change as the next guy. Here’s why. [Read more…]
