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Please mark your calendars and plan to join San Diego County Democrats For Environmental Action this Wednesday evening for our monthly general meeting.  You can RSVP with our Zoom link and Facebook event. Our featured speaker will discuss the challenges associated with plastic waste and recycling, and what the future may hold for California potentially taking the lead to address these issues.

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View of "No Name Lake" in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains of Inyo National Forest, near Devils Postpile National Monument
Greetings Environmental Democrats,

It was great seeing many of you at Balboa Park this past Saturday for the San Diego Green New Deal Alliance "Celebration For Climate, Jobs & Justice" event, and at last week's special Zoom meeting of the San Diego County Democratic Party in organizing against the recall of Governor Gavin Newsom. We hope that all of our members can find some time to devote and get involved with voter outreach against this undemocratic recall--in the short term this is the most important thing any of us can do to maintain the progress we've made in this state. There are opportunities to do walking, phone banking, and texting being coordinated by the County Party and a few other organizations.  While we can certainly find some of Gov. Newsom's leadership lacking when it has come to environmental issues, there can be no doubt that he has largely been an ally when it comes to seeking an end to fossil fuel extraction in our state, protecting our lands and waters and wildlife habitats, and standing up for California's leadership on fuel efficiency standards including a zero emission vehicles goal to be achieved by 2035. 

By contrast, any of the leading Republican contenders on the recall ballot, if successful in grabbing power, would seek to permit offshore oil drilling, increased oil and natural gas extraction, and suspend important environmental reviews and regulations, including the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The polls show Newsom in danger as right-wing Republicans have energized their base through fear and misinformation spread throughout the pandemic; we cannot afford to allow Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters to be apathetic or in any not understand the questions on the ballot.

Please take a look at, and share, our own Environmental Case Against The Recall. We've done the research--if you have neighbors and friends who might not be paying proper attention to this recall but don't want our beaches polluted with tar from the next offshore oil drilling rig disaster, this is your call to arms. Do not underestimate the power that a Republican governor might wield in the course of even one year, and the damage that might be undoable.

Mail-in ballots start going out today--the simple message is Vote NO on the first question to keep California on track with leadership under a duly elected Democratic governor. There is no endorsed, qualified Democratic candidate running on the ballot's second question about whom should replace Newsom, should the recall question succeed. If Newsom should lose office with even 49.9 percent of the vote on the first question, the next governor would be selected by whatever slim plurality wins among what is largely a circus tent of Republican, far-right, and celebrity attention-seeking candidates. For clarity, the party's recommendation is thus: Leave The Second Question Blank.

We'll hear more about efforts to turn out the vote against this recall, as well as updates on local environmental concerns and our featured speaker on the future of recycling and waste reduction in California at our upcoming club meeting. 

Wednesday, August 18
General Club Meeting

Plastic bottles and containers have become ubiquitous in our society. The plastics industry and our consumerist economy assure us that everything is okay--just put it into the recycling bin. But what's really happening with what we put into our recycling bins? Many of us are aware that the global recycling business has been turned upside down in recent years, as China, which had for decades taken in about half of the world's discarded recyclable materials, instituted a 2018 ban on the import of most plastics. Sine then plastic waste has begun piling up like never before, and exporters of plastic recyclables are having a harder time finding countries willing to take them in. U.S. municipalities that used to see some net profit from recycling are now paying to get rid of all the waste. To get more insight and answers about all of this, we'll hear from Nicole Kurian, policy analyst with Californians Against Waste. She will present to our club about the California Recycling and Plastic Pollution Reduction Act that will appear on ballots in November 2022, and other items of pending legislation in Sacramento to attack the problem of all this waste.

We'll also get updates on the pollution in the Tijuana River Valley, our board's opposition to a problematic large solar farm proposed for the area near Jacumba Hot Springs, and about how you can get involved with local efforts to defeat the recall and stop an extreme anti-environmentalist Republican takeover of the governor's office.

The meeting will be on Zoom with check-in beginning at 6:15 PM; we'll come to order at 6:30 PM

>>> Zoom link:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86870364786?pwd=bUNRRzEwRy9pcUlIbXE1RXpra3g4UT09
 
SDCDEA: Executive Board Opposes JVR Solar Park in Jacumba

 
At the executive board's most recent meeting, we reviewed the proposed JVR Energy Park, a massive 650-acre solar farm that would nearly surround Jacumba Hot Springs, an unincorporated border community in the Mountain Empire of far southeastern San Diego County. In consideration of the immediate harm this project would do to sensitive habitats and a wildlife corridor, as well as the negative impacts on the local community, our board voted unanimously to oppose this project.

We have submitted a letter opposing this project to each of the county supervisors in advance of the vote scheduled to take place at the County Board of Supervisors meeting this next Wednesday, August 18. We are re-publishing this as an open letter for our members and the general public; click here to view our letter. 

The club's executive board opposes the project for a variety of reasons. As environmental activists and advocates we recognize the incredibly critical importance of building new clean power infrastructure, but we cannot in good conscience recommend the approval of this project as proposed.

It would have significant negative environmental consequences for air quality; biological resources; cultural resources, and more, including disrupting a wildlife migration corridor. In addition, aside from small cash payouts to specific local groups, there would be little benefit provided to the community of Jacumba. None of the power generated on site at the JVR facility will supply the local community.

We urge you to take part in this public hearing and express your concerns as well. It begins at 9:00 a.m. at the County Administration Center, 1600 Pacific Highway, Room 310. 

Click here for the meeting agenda; Item #1 is Noticed Public Hearing: JVR Energy Park Major Use Permit. 
Click here to submit an e-comment on Agenda Item #1

The project has received the recommendation of the San Diego County Planning Commission on a 5-2 vote (Planning Commissioner and SDCDEA founding president Tommy Hough spoke in opposition to the project).

As San Diego County commits to meeting climate action goals, we must focus on how we achieve those goals. We cannot set the dangerous precedent of ignoring both environmental and community concerns when expanding our clean power infrastructure.
 
IPCC Report: "Code Red For Humanity"

 

For those who may have missed the many headlines last week, the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has issued a dire new report about climate change. The report makes clear that the planet is warming faster than previously thought, climate change is intensifying, and some trends are now irreversible. The report adds that we are approaching a point of no return. Human-induced climate change is already affecting weather and climate extremes in every region across the globe. Scientists are also observing changes across the whole of Earth's climate system; in the atmosphere, in the oceans, ice floes, and on land. And many of these changes are unprecedented, prompting the UN to issue a "code red for humanity."  But there is still time to limit climate change, IPCC experts say. Strong and sustained reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases, could quickly make air quality better, and in 20 to 30 years global temperatures could stabilize.

The big takeaway here for all of us, in case it isn't already clear, is that we all need to take radical action now to help address this crisis, whether that means taking the initiative now to shift to solar energy at home, purchasing an electric vehicle, or driving less altogether and opting to use public transportation or walk more. The reality is we have no more time to waste.
 
Upcoming Events
 
Encinitas Vegan Food Pop-Up - Saturday, August 21
San Diego Earth Fair 2021 at Balboa Park - Sunday, September 19
San Diego Humane Society 35th annual Fur Ball Gala - Saturday, October 2
 
 
That's all for now. We hope to see you at our general meeting on Wednesday. Don't forget to register in advance here.

Yours In Solidarity,
 
Richard Ram
Interim President
 

 
 
Mia Taylor
Communications Director



 
 
Board Members
Richard Ram, interim president;
  vice president for programs and outreach
Kevin Lourens, vice president for political action
Bridger Langfur, vice president for policy
Courtney Ransom, membership
Galena Robertson, treasurer
Mia Taylor, director of communications
Rick Guerrero, board member at-large
Kathryn Burton, board member at-large
David Engel, board member at-large
Brandon Coopersmith, board member at-large
Czeska Cabuhat, board member at-large
Vianna Ledesma, board member at-large
Cody Petterson, immediate past president
Photo Credits
No Name Lake view photo by Ethan Bier
Beach Plastic Pollution photo by Daniel Muller, courtesy of Greenpeace
Photo of Jacumba area and proposed JVR Energy Park courtesy of East County Magazine
Image: simulation of global temperature rise courtesy of NASA
Chartered in 2014, San Diego County Democrats for Environmental Action seeks to foster active interest in the Democratic Party, encourage greater support of the California Democratic Party environmental platform, contribute to party leadership and responsibility, provide a constructive role for volunteers in Democratic politics, promote an activist base, and assist and enable Democratic candidates to run, and win, on environmental and conservation principles.
Copyright © 2021 San Diego County Democrats for Environmental Action, all rights reserved.

Mailing address: P.O. Box 16254, San Diego, CA 92176

E-mail contact: sandiegoenvirodems@gmail.com
Website: http://www.sdenvirodems.com
Membership portal: https://sdcdea.wildapricot.org/


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San Diego County Democrats for Environmental Action · P.O. Box 16254 · San Diego, CA 92176 · USA

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