AGENDA: 350 Humboldt General Meeting October 27, Six PM

PLEASE CHECK OUT THE AGENDA AND ATTACHMENTS. WE HOPE TO SEE YOU THURSDAY

Zoom Link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84370554552?pwd=V2phMDBOUlNiS3hLL1BQSHNIVDFTQT09

Facilitator: Diane Ryerson

Notes and Chat Monitor:  Laura Simpson

 

Land Acknowledgement: “350 Humboldt would like to acknowledge that where we live and hold our meetings in Humboldt County is on unceded territory and the ancestral homeland of indigenous nations which include Tolowa, Hupa, Karuk, Mattole, Wailaki, Wiyot, and Yurok.

We thank indigenous nations who have been caretakers of the land. Additionally, we recognize that the well-being of all people is bound up with that of indigenous peoples, and we must all take action on the climate.”

This month our commitment to the caretakers of the land requires that we contribute to the Blue Lake Rancheria for their long-term commitment to environmental sustainability and climate action.

1.     Pat McCutcheon – Poem

2.     Check in. What feelings does the poem raise for you? Does it prompt visual or thought associations?

3.     Short funny movie: https://truthout.org/articles/ad-parodying-chevron-for-contributing-to-climate-crisis-goes-viral/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=edf89781-ea52-4ebf-b338-4d11e7018cfb  and

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOmdkN6MOwU

4.     Something important locally we can investigate and maybe help with: school buses that are Zero Emission. See below or (https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/CARB/bulletins/331f02b ). Also other ways to get students and their parents (and their cars) into climate change action.

a.     Michael Davies-Hughes – County Superintendent

b.     Arcata High Principal

c.     OR other local action people are interested in

5.     New Arkley subdivisions: Lee Dedini, Wendy Ring. See info below.

6.     Sea Level Rise presentation by local government officials and researchers. Smart Coast CA For more information or to register, visit: https://carorg.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwude- oqzMjHdx415N9A16KTMFg4Xtt1MWq

The virtual forum will be held on Thursday November 3rd at 3:00pm-4:30pm and there is no charge to attend. This virtual forum will be held via Zoom and will be open to the public to join.  See more info below.

7.     Prop 30 discussion

8.     Attend COP 27:

Join NYTimes online Nov. 8-10 for three days of climate events with world leaders including Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission. We’ll be live from Egypt during the COP27 climate conference in Sharm el Sheikh. Click here to register for free.

9.     Committees and structure

•    We are recruiting steering committee members.

•    Climate Action California – Dan and Laura

a.     Our own discussion of 501c3 or 501c4

b.     Any member have a different perspective (than for 350 not to incorporate)

·      Book club – Deborah Dukes

o   November 28 — Eager: The Surprising Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter, by Ben Goldfarb. Paperback. Chelsea Green Publishing, March 8, 2019. 304 pages.

o   December 26, plus January, and February 2022 — Green Earth (Science in the Capital Trilogy) – Abridged, by Kim Staley Robinson. Paperback. Del Ray Publishing, November 3, 2015. 1088 pages

·      Legislative – Dan

·      Action and Outreach  – Nancy, Gail, Jamie, Jenifer

·      Refrigerants – Dan

·      Ag methane – Dan

·      Plastics – Laura

·      Offshore wind – Cathy

 

· ********************** ATTACHMENTS **********************

 

New report shows how California is leading the nation in cleaning up school buses

State’s investments surpass $1.2 billion with more than 1,800 zero-emission school buses operating or on order

SACRAMENTO — A report published today by the California Air Resources Board, in consultation with the California Energy Commission, demonstrates the state’s nation-leading progress in cleaning up its school bus fleet. The 2022 SB 1403 School Bus Incentive Program Report shows California is charging ahead with zero-emission school buses and outlines a path for the latest nearly $2 billion investment.

Cleaning up the state’s school bus fleet improves air quality for students and surrounding communities. To date, investments to clean up old, polluting school buses exceed $1.2 billion. And the Legislature has appropriated an additional $1.8 billion over the next five years for zero-emission school buses and associated charging infrastructure.

The total $1.2 billion statewide investment made over the past nearly 20 years, including $255 million invested in school bus cleanup over the past year alone, has supported about 1,800 zero-emission school buses. More than 560 of those buses are already on California roadways and 327 are in the state’s most pollution-burdened communities. California leads the nation with its strong support for zero-emission school buses. By comparison, 888 zero-emission school buses have been awarded, ordered, or deployed across the U.S. outside of California, as of 2021, according to a CALSTART report.

Electric school buses now make up 2% of California’s fleet of 23,800 school buses. More than half of the state’s school bus fleet is diesel powered, and a handful of the state’s buses even pre-date engine emission controls altogether. Transitioning to zero-emission technologies not only will help California meet its clean air and climate goals, but clean buses protect children who are particularly vulnerable to the health impacts of diesel exhaust, even from newer engines.

“Older diesel school buses expose children to toxic emissions so it’s essential that we move to cleaner technologies, particularly since children are among the most vulnerable to air pollution impacts,” CARB Chair Liane Randolph said. “And helping school bus fleets transition to zero-emission vehicles has the added benefit of supporting our climate change and petroleum reduction goals.”

“While helping California meet its clean air and carbon neutrality goals, zero-emission school buses also help us address the climate crisis by advancing zero-emission vehicle adoption and grid resiliency through vehicle-to-grid technology,” California Energy Commissioner Patty Monahan said.

Cleaning up the school bus fleet is a collective local, state and federal effort since there is no single dedicated source of funding for school bus replacement. A variety of CARB incentive programs over the past 20 years have focused on cleaning up school buses, including several recent funding allocations to replace aging school buses with new zero-emission models. Together, CARB and CEC are funding new projects that get old, dirty buses off California roads and invest in zero-emission technologies and infrastructure. It’s these new, clean technologies that will help California meet its ambitious clean air and climate goals that ultimately help school kids — and all of us — breathe easier.

In addition to state funding, late last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it would nearly double the funding awarded through its Clean School Bus Program this year to $965 million following increased demand, with school districts from all 50 states applying for 2022 Clean School Bus Rebates. The rebates are part of President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law which created an historic $5 billion investment for low- and zero-emission school buses over the next five years.

Old, polluting, diesel school buses are harmful to children’s health, as they expose children and communities to toxic tailpipe-related air pollution. Airborne particles from diesel exhaust have the potential to cause cancer, premature death and other health problems.

Electric school buses also support grid reliability. More than 500 state-funded school buses include vehicle-to-grid technology capable of using the batteries on board the buses to soak up energy and recharge during downtime when clean energy is abundant on the grid and return energy to the grid in the afternoon and evening.

The potential of this resource was recently demonstrated during the extreme heat event in September when the Cajon Valley Union School District used its electric school buses funded by federal and state grant programs as a virtual power plant and discharged electricity back to the grid.

To help visualize the information in the SB 1403 progress report, CARB and CEC host online tools — the CARB-Funded Zero Emission School Bus Dashboard and the CEC School Bus Delivery Tracker — that track and map the growing number of state-funded ultra-clean school buses on California roads.

More search functions added to CARB’s interactive dashboard

CARB’s recently updated zero-emission school bus dashboard now features several ways to search for zero-emission school bus deliveries and orders across the state. Find out how many are in your community, your air district or your congressional district. Or see how many clean buses are in communities with the greatest economic and environmental impacts in California.

CARB’s dashboard data is updated twice per year, with information compiled from various CARB-funded and -implemented school bus funding sources. Many of these funding programs are part of California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of cap-and-trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment — particularly in communities with greater economic and environmental burdens.

The SB 1403 report is published as part of CARB’s “Proposed Fiscal Year 2022-23 Funding Plan for Clean Transportation Incentives.” The public is invited to submit comments to the Funding Plan through 14.

More Information

Contacts

Melanie Turner
Office of Communications
(916) 277-0516

Media and Public Communications Office
California Energy Commission
(916) 654-4989

SMART COAST CALIFORNIA SEA LEVEL RISE SUMMIT

Invitation to Community Members of the Humboldt County Region to a Virtual Sea Level Rise Summit

Smart Coast California invites you to learn more about planning for sea level rise at an interactive virtual forum.

The virtual forum will be held on Thursday November 3rd at 3:00pm-4:30pm and there is no charge to attend. This virtual forum will be held via Zoom and will be open to the public to join.

This forum is designed to give participants a basic understanding of the issues surrounding sea level rise, explain the key elements of the Local Coastal Plan Amendment for the City of Arcata, address the feasibility of regional adaptation to sea level rise in Humboldt County and provide you with an overview of sea level rise issues Statewide. The purpose of the meeting is to provide discussion and insight as to how the community can be engaged in the process with both local government and the California Coastal Commission. In hosting this virtual event, Smart Coast California encourages community involvement and collaboration between the various entities.

Speakers will include Mike Wilson, Coastal Commissioner and 3rd District Humboldt County Supervisor, David Loya, Arcata’s Director of Community Development, Humboldt County Long Range Planner Michael Richardson, Land Use Expert Don Schmitz AICP, and a welcome from Joe Prian, the President of Smart Coast California. Also attending and available for participation in the Q&A portion of the program are Melissa Kraemer, District Manager, Coastal Commission North Coast District Manager, Cristin Kenyon, Principal Planner with the City of Eureka, and Aldaron Laird, Senior Environmental Planner, with Greenway Partners. Mr. Laird is also a member of the Cal Poly Humboldt Sea Level Rise Institute. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions of the speakers and special guests at the conclusion of the presentations.

This event builds upon the successful Sea Level Rise Policy Summit “One California, One Coast” that took place in Long Beach in May 2022 https://www.smartcoastca.org/summit-program.html. Attendees included Coastal Commission staff and Commissioners, local elected officials, public and private sector coastal planners and engineers, land use attorneys, representatives of coastal

homeowner associations, coastal property owners, real estate industry professionals and Smart Coast California members.

Join Smart Coast California’s virtual forum to learn more, ask your questions, and find out how the public can help the community work with the California Coastal Commission!

For more information or to register, visit: https://carorg.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwude- oqzMjHdx415N9A16KTMFg4Xtt1MWq

For more information about Smart Coast California, visit: https://www.smartcoastca.org

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Gail Rymer
Email: [email protected]

Phone: 865-360-2800

Local Company Looks to Develop Property to Help Meet Housing Crisis

Security National Properties Seeks Approval to Begin Planning Process

Eureka, Calif., Sept. 21, 2022 — In response to the housing shortage in Humboldt County, Security National Properties (SNP) has taken initial steps to begin development of a community housing project on its vacant property located between Arcata and Eureka, east of the Indianola Cutoff and Highway 101. The company today submitted to the Board of Supervisors a request to authorize the County Planning Department staff to begin the planning process for the project.

“Humboldt County, like much of California, is experiencing a housing crisis,” said Tim Callison, project manager at Security National Properties. “Based on our initial research, we believe the best use at this location is community housing to support the area’s general, workforce, and student population needs.”

The development will be built in compliance with the CalGreen requirements of the California Building Code and support the smart development already underway in the Humboldt area. SNP is committed to using high-quality sustainable systems and materials, electric energy and renewable resources, and building with carbon-reducing transportation options in mind.

“As residents of Humboldt County ourselves, we are committed to a development that is economically sound, environmentally friendly, and supportive of quality community housing,” added SNP Project Manager Kenny Carswell. “The development will be designed in a way that respects the character of Humboldt County.”

SNP is looking at a community housing development with easy access to Arcata and Eureka. Based on input from recent polling, as well as discussions with community members, initial design ideas include a mix of unit types in both apartments and townhomes, surrounded by native landscaping, pedestrian trails, and access to public transportation.

The planning process will include conducting extensive technical studies on the property. SNP will be providing opportunities for community input as the project progresses in addition to community input opportunities provided by the County.

Security National Properties is a commercial real estate firm with operations in downtown Eureka. SNP focuses on transforming properties to serve local market and housing needs.

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