This Wednesday, August 18
SDCDEA 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
County Board Of Supervisors meeting this Wednesday, August 18

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 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.

This Saturday, August 21
Peaker Plant Protest in El Cajon

SDG&E’s Peaker Plant in El Cajon is polluting our East County communities, causing higher asthma rates and contributing to climate change. Join this Rally For Clean Air organized by San Diego 350 and East County BIPOC this Saturday beginning at 9:30 a.m., meeting iup outside the Dick's Sporting Goods at Parkway Plaza, located at 565 Fletcher Parkway in El Cajon. The rally will march over to the nearby SDG&E CalPeak "Peaker" Plant located at 200 N. Johnson Avenue to demand that Sempra stop using fracked gas, move to clean renewable energy, and provide relief for San Diego ratepayers who are getting bilked for the price of all this dirty energy.

Click here for more information about this event

Stop The Recall!
Save Our State From Republican Anti-Environment Rule

We are urging all of our members and friends to spend some time in helping organized against the recall of Governor Gavin Newsom. 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 spend time lamenting the missed opportunities for Gov. Newsom to demonstrate bold leadership 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.

Other Upcoming Events

Saturday, August 21 - Encinitas Vegan Food Pop-Up -
Thursday, September 16 - Mountain Lion Foundation online presentation "Bighorn’s Gordian Knot: Beyond the Dance of the Predator Prey Relationship"

Sunday, September 19 - San Diego Earth Fair 2021 at Balboa Park
Saturday, October 2 - San Diego Humane Society 35th annual Fur Ball Gala

This Wednesday, August 18
SDCDEA General Club Meeting

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/

This Wednesday, August 18 SDCDEA General Club Meeting

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/

This Wednesday, August 18
SDCDEA General Club Meeting

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