This Thursday, August 20, offers two climate events.
First, there’s 350 Humboldt’s August General Meeting, starting at 6 PM on Zoom. We’ll hear Ashley Audycki from Rogue Climate, which is fighting to stop the Jordan Cove pipeline — the biggest fossil fuel project ever proposed in Oregon — as well as local climate news.
Here’s the Zoom link for the General Meeting, starting at 6 PM:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89341054434?pwd=MUcyL3MzK2RVdklmMjFsZXVVZ1AxQT09
Meeting ID: 893 4105 4434
Passcode: 194981
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+16699009128,,89341054434# US (San Jose)
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+1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)
Next, we’re asking you to take action. A Humboldt County Planning Commission meeting is scheduled at exactly the same time as our General Meeting. We’re hoping climate activists will either attend (by Zoom, if you can handle missing the General Meeting), or send an email with your comments. Here’s the scoop:
California now requires counties to begin lowering Greenhouse emissions by assessing how proposed developments will affect the amount of driving people do (called “VMT,” for Vehicle Miles Traveled). The idea is that if the number of miles people are likely to drive is too great, a proposed project can be changed or possibly rejected altogether — so this could be a powerful tool to reduce driving-related emissions. In Thursday’s meeting the Planning Commission will consider a plan for how to meet the state requirements.
Unfortunately, the plan the Commissioners will look at would simply avoid the new requirements by “screening out” nearly all possible developments. Under the county’s plan, every new subdivision or apartment building in the areas shown in green or yellow on the map below would be assumed to generate little driving, and are “screened out.”

Does the County really think that people who move to a subdivision in Kneeland or Phillipsville won’t be driving a lot more than people living in Eureka?
Tell the Planning Commission to assess VMT impacts honestly. Revise
the maps and treat this as the serious issue it is: driving is the single largest source of Greenhouse emissions. You can attend
the Zoom meeting at 6 pm on Thursday (8/20) to make your comments (Password: 200525) or, if you can’t make it, email the Commissioners right now.
Thanks to Colin Fiske for putting this information together. And thank you for taking action on it!