NOTES FROM THE 350 HUMBOLDT GENERAL MEETING JUNE 24, 2021
Facilitator: Hayley Connors-Keith, Notes: Dan Chandler
Present: Bonnie Mesinger, Kathryn Shaini, Nancy Ihara, Mary Sanger, Cathy Chandler-Klein, Randy Carrico, 1Ken2, Rahim, Deborah Dukes, Gail Coonen, Jenifer Pace, Katy Gurin, Connor McGuigan, Mary Milner, Diane Ryerson, Peggy Olofson (Environmental consultant, interested in flood plains)
Speaker: Connor McGuigan from the Planning Department on the Humboldt Climate Action Plan (CAP) being rolled out right now. He wants comments or edits or ideas [email protected]. phone: 415-342-0665
The video of this presentation is at: https://youtu.be/oD6LrYJJ1D8
Committee reports
· CAP/local – Deborah. Sort of confused first meeting –trying to figure out what want to do. Another meeting on July 6th noon.
· Art – Hayley. Will have a poetry writing workshop with Katy in August. Trying to figure out ways of illustrating sea level rise. The Art Committee meets the first Tuesday of every month at 6. Everyone is welcome to join this meeting on July 6th.
· Meets July 6, 6pm zoom.
· Book club – Deborah. Meet 4th Monday of every month, 7pm, zoom. Discussing Elizabeth Kolbert, Under a White Sky.
· Legislative – Dan. Meet first and third Wednesday at 1pm.
· Offshore wind – Mary. Have been working on a website that is a resource for offshore wind. Other aspect planning on how to influence community opinions about offshore wind. Things are heating up on state and federal level. BOEM and CEC put on a recent workshop on next steps. Will be a local stakeholders meeting pretty soon. Feds want to get 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030—has ramped up actions. The state budget has money for offshore wind.
NORDIC fish factory – very large project. Will be an EIR. Comments due by July 6. Send ideas to Dan ([email protected])
The steering committee is looking for an ad hoc group to plan our speaker series and talks at general meetings. We are also looking for another steering committee member.
Please email Dan if interested: [email protected]
Climate challenge game being revised – Wendy and Nancy’s work. If you want to play it contact Nancy Ihara at [email protected]
WRITE LETTERS TO VOTERS
We have a weekly 350 Humboldt “chat and write” letter-writing group Sunday evenings at 7pm. You can join us our use the information below to write on your own. Here is the Zoom link we use each week.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85643874306?pwd=Tm1yeXJBVVhWMGt5ZjZXVTVYbGFoZz09
POSTCARD WRITING TO VOTERS ORGANIZED BY HUMBOLDT ACTIVIST FREDERICA AALTA
Here is Frederica describes what they are doing:
I am administering a postcarding network in Humboldt County (presently over 300 writers) and we supply postcards and stamps to writers, which are available for cost at several convenient pickup locations. At present, we have just finished postcarding Wisconsin, so are at a lull, but new campaigns will be starting soon for several states. Have anyone interested in joining us contact me. We mostly postcard for ROV (Reclaim Our Vote), which is non-partisan, but have also postcarded for Activate America (which used to be called Flip the West), which is partisan.
She can be reached at: [email protected]
VOTING – VOTE FORWARD NEW CAMPAIGN
We’ll be writing and stockpiling 1.5 million letters to voters in Virginia in advance of the general elections on November 2. Virginia’s odd-year elections tend to serve as a bellwether for the midterm elections, so boosting turnout is crucial.
The Virginia campaigns will unfold in two waves:
- We’ll start with a “vote by mail” letter wave, and stockpile those letters until we mail on Saturday, September 18, right when absentee and early in-person voting begin.
- When all of those letters are written, we’ll roll out a wave of “please vote” letters, and stockpile those letters until the Saturday, October 16, mail date.
The kickoff for the Virginia campaigns is just days away, so please gather your supplies and stay tuned for an official launch email.
VOTING – POSTCARDS TO SWING STATES
Please SIGN UP to write postcards to make sure Democrats come out and vote. We’ll send you the postcards, addresses and instructions for free. You provide $0.36 stamps and mail the cards. A number of campaigns are available on the website.
With the help of volunteers like you, we wrote 21 million postcards in 2020, and we saw incredible results! Voters who receive handwritten postcards are significantly more likely to vote. You can help us keep New Jersey and Virginia blue!
Visit our website to learn more about Postcards to Swing States and get answers to our frequently asked questions.
SIERRA CLUB VOTER REGISTRATION
Only 63% of Arizona voters are registered. Send a blank registration form and a letter to unregistered voters:
Print copies of this blank voter registration form and include a blank form with each letter you send. Please do not write on the voter registration forms.
These letters should be put in the mail as soon as you have completed them.
Please follow the instructions here to complete and send your letters: sc.org/LetterWritingInstructions.
When you are ready for your next batch of letters, please request more at sc.org/RequestLetters.
OTHER LETTERS/PETITIONS
ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION
For a century, scientists came here to dig up fossils. Now, oil companies are coming for the oil.
A company just submitted an application to explore oil drilling right next to Dinosaur National Monument, a geological wonder and wildlife haven in Colorado and Utah.1 The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is taking public comments on this issue until June 23, and we need to make it clear that protecting our wildlife and geological heritage is more important than extracting fossil fuels.
https://environmental-action.webaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/index.sjs?action_KEY=44836
350 Silicon Valley
| On April 13 this year, SB 467 died in its first oversight committee, The bill, authored by Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), would have phased out fracking in California by 2027 and required a 2500-ft buffer between oil or gas operations and places such as homes, school, or parks. The bill’s ignominious end, with two of six Democrats on the nine-person committee not voting, made for the worst day of a generally disappointing legislative season for climate activists.
About a week later, Governor Newsom directed the California Geologic Energy Management (CalGEM) division to prepare a draft rule banning new fracking permits in California by 2024, which will only apply to about 2 percent of the wells we need to be concerned about. The Governor also asked the California Air Resources Board to “analyze pathways to phase out oil extraction across the state by no later than 2045.” The environmental community is understandably unimpressed with the weak tea they’re being served as progress. But CalGEM has opened a public comment period until July 4 to inform the new rulemaking, so we can tell them what we think! Sign the Sierra Club’s petition demanding that CalGEM ban oil and gas drilling (including fracking, cyclic steam injection, steam flooding, and more) in California, and create 2,500-foot setbacks from sensitive areas like homes and schools – a basic public health protection that the division has been dragging its feet on for years. |
| Sign Here |
FOSSIL FREE CALIFORNIA
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SOLAR RIGHT ALLIANCE
To recap, the CPUC adopted a new method to calculate the value of rooftop solar, using accounting tricks that incorrectly make it look on paper like rooftop solar is less valuable than it really is. By taking this action, the CPUC created an excuse to adopt the utilities’ proposal to slap solar users with new monthly fees and slash the credit for sharing extra solar energy with the neighborhood. Here’s a fact sheet with more detail.
So what now? The CPUC won’t make a final decision on the utilities’ proposal until the end of the year. But there’s no doubt our fight just got harder. However, we always knew that the CPUC are unelected, unaccountable political appointees. That’s why we need to focus our attention on someone who is accountable: Governor Newsom. Here’s a few ways you can help ensure he steps in to defend rooftop solar:
1) Help us collect 200,000 public comments to Gov. Newsom to stand up for solar consumers, present and future. Over 30,000 people have already signed a public comment. We must now recruit tens of thousands more to make their voices heard. Here’s the action page: solarrights.org/savecaliforniasolar
2) Flood his phone lines. Gathering those public comments is just the first step. We must then mobilize our supporters to make phone calls to the Governor – by the hundreds, every week, through the summer and fall. Here’s the action page: solarrights.org/savecaliforniasolarcall
3) Help win over the local media. The campaign notched some early wins with positive editorials and opinion pieces in the LA Times, Fresno Bee and Cal Matters. We used good information and fact sheets to make our case. We now must step it up and generate TV, radio and newspaper coverage across the state focused on the CPUC fight. You can help by writing letters to your local paper and calling local reporters to tell them about what’s happening.
Here’s a Toolkit with a more ideas and resources. Holler with your ideas and expect more from us soon. It’s going to be a busy few months.
SIERRA CLUB
| It’s time to establish a modern-era Civilian Climate Corps (CCC) to create a brighter, healthier, and more economically vibrant future. Tell Congress to fund a bold and ambitious CCC program that will create the jobs we need to help restore our economy, climate, and public lands and waters. https://act.sierraclub.org/actions/National?actionId=AR0331788&id=7013q000002EzWJAA0 |
CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
We’re in the midst of a global extinction crisis, with the threads of the web of life disintegrating around us. Every hour a species is lost to extinction, and more than a million could disappear in the coming decades.
It’s time for Congress to act: Urge your representative to pass the Extinction Crisis Emergency Act.
This legislation would direct President Biden to declare the extinction crisis a national emergency. The declaration, under the National Emergencies Act, would unlock key presidential powers to stem the loss of plants and animals in the United States and beyond.
The Extinction Crisis Emergency Act would also direct the administration to protect hundreds of species on the waiting list for Endangered Species Act protection, curtail wildlife exploitation, and safeguard critical habitat from coast to coast.
CALGEMS
If you haven’t sent in a letter yet, please do:
Send comments to [email protected].
NOTICE OF PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD PRE-RULEMAKING PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FOR WELL-STIMULATION TREATMENT PERMITTING PHASE-OUT May 21, 2021 The Department of Conservation, Geologic Energy Management Division, has publicly released pre-rulemaking draft regulations (Discussion Draft) for the purpose of receiving public input on the development of a rule that ends permitting for well stimulation treatments in 2024. BACKGROUND The public comment period is part of an informal, pre-rulemaking process to develop regulations. All interested parties are encouraged to participate. The Discussion Draft addresses the proposal to phase out the use of hydraulic fracturing, acid fracturing, acid-matrix stimulation, and other well-stimulation treatments that enhance oil and gas production by creating channels in rock formations for hydrocarbons to flow. The goals of this proposal are to protect life, health, property, and natural resources; public health and safety; and environmental quality, including reducing and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions associated with the development of hydrocarbon resources, pursuant to Public Resources Code sections 3011 and 3106. DOCUMENT AVAILABILITY The Discussion Draft is available on DOC’s website at: https://www.conservation.ca.gov/index/Pages/rulemaking.aspx SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS Written submissions may be provided by July 4, 2021, by email at: [email protected] Comments received during the current comment period will be reviewed and considered in developing proposed regulations for formal rulemaking. ACCESSIBILITY Services, such as language translation, may be provided upon request. To ensure availability of these services, please make your request no later than June 18 by calling the staff person referenced in this notice. CONTACT INFORMATION If you have any questions regarding the process for this public comment period, or if you would like to receive a hard copy of the Discussion Draft by mail, please contact Ms. Christina Jimenez, Public Transparency Officer, at (916) 322-3080, or by email at [email protected] .
Or sign Sierra Club’s petition: https://act.sierraclub.org/actions/National?actionId=AR0330701&id=7013q000002EyEkAAK&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=beyonddirtyfuels&utm_content=frackingban
Alaska Wilderness League
>> Last week we learned that an Alaskan state agency intends to undertake winter seismic blasting in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as early as THIS WINTER. Tell Congress to stop this from happening. <<
This winter, massive seismic trucks thumping across the Arctic Refuge could scar half a million acres of wild landscape, and potentially crush denning polar bears in the process. All to drag more climate-killing fossil fuels out of the ground when millions of people around the world are already suffering due to wildfires, heat waves, flooding and more.
Congress and the Biden administration need to act — for polar bears at risk of being crushed, but also for the millions of people facing a deadly surge of climate-related catastrophes. Send a message telling Congress to put Arctic Refuge protections in place before it’s too late!
WRITE TO THE HEAD OF TOYOTA
Toyota sided with President Trump against California in a dispute over fuel efficiency rules — and now it’s the largest corporate donor to Republicans who voted to overturn the election. More details here from Times columnist Michael Hiltzik.
Write to:
Phone/Fax
Phone: 800-331-4331
Fax: 310-468-7814
Mon-Fri: 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. ET
Sat: 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. ET
CLOSED: MONDAY, 7/5/2021
TTY/TDD Users: Dial 711, then request the operator dial 1-800-331-4331
Send us an email and we’ll get back to you soon.
Postal Mail
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
P.O. Box 259001
Plano, TX 75025-9001