Palos Verdes-South Bay Sierra Club
Category: Environmental action
Better Bluffs Bring Back Blue Butterflies
Close up photo of the el Segundo blue butterfly by Eva Cicoria.
Read MoreResilience in the Face of Natural Disasters
Solar panels helped a Florida community retain power after a hurricane. Can they do the same in earthquake country? Photo: Henrik Kam.
Read MoreSave $ While Helping Save the Planet
Considering solar panels, an electric car or energy-efficient appliances? Now’s the time. The Inflation Reduction Act offers tax breaks on devices that help slow climate change. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/13/how-to-qualify-for-inflation-reduction-act-climate-tax-breaks-rebates.html Photo: Electric vehicles-U.S. Department of Energy-2010-public domain
Read MoreEarth Day Round-up
Local Earth Day events in April provided an opportunity to recruit new Sierra Club members. The South Bay Parkland Conservancy’s celebration in Redondo Beach’s Wilderness Park offered an array of food and activities, including an overnight camp out. Though they…
Read MoreA Plea to Prevent a Plastic-tastophe at the Port
Prudent planning can slow the flow of plastic into the harbor.
Read MoreEarth Day Activities
***Sierra Club Re-mobilizes for Earth Day*** Click to find out how you can help. Saturday, April 23Palos Verdes Peninsula Land ConservancyEarth Day CelebrationWhite Point Nature Preserve9:00am – 12:00pm1600 West Paseo del Mar, San Pedro, CA 90731www.pvplc.volunteerhub.com Saturday, April 23AltaSeaCelebrating our…
Read MoreRedondo Beach City Council Votes for Green Power
RUHS students, including Rylee Goldfarb (l) and Madison Wilmes (r), helped turn the tide.
Read MoreMy Walk among the Giants
California’s redwoods are in trouble; Save the Redwoods League strives to help.
Read MoreLet’s Get Together:
Local communities gained a say in decisions that affect air pollution in the harbor area with the passage of AB617.
Read MoreChasing Arrows Lead You Astray
Plastic waste has become a global crisis, but recycling is complicated.
Read MoreWant restored wetlands and a park to replace the Redondo Beach Power Plant?
Testify before the Water Board on Oct. 17.
Read MoreLies Cost Lives
Millions living in the vicinity of two South Bay refineries are at risk from massive amounts of highly toxic hydrogen fluoride.
Read MoreTwo South Bay Students Plant Their Roots of Commitment to Lifelong Environmental Activism
Two South Bay high school students have been environmentalists since they were kids.
Read MoreTalkin’ ‘Bout My Generation
Talkin’ ‘Bout My Generation By Judy Herman, Foggy View Editor My Generation, a campaign of the California Sierra Club, is fighting for an equitable transition to a fully electrified economy powered by 100% clean, renewable energy. Volunteer leaders, especially young…
Read MoreWhy is the Sierra Club Involved in Politics?
By Al Sattler Alternate Chapter Rep Recently, I was asked why the Sierra Club is involved in politics. Many people mainly think of the Sierra Club as doing hikes and other outings. However, it is important to remember that the…
Read MoreRacism, Covid-19 and Oil Drilling Are Conected
By Melanie Cohen, Conservation Co-Chair California has long produced some of the dirtiest, most carbon-intensive crude oil in the world, with operations taking place dangerously close to homes, schools, hospitals and other sensitive sites. Proximity to oil development is associated…
Read MoreTrump Administration’s Current Assault On Environmental Laws
By Dave Wiggins, Al Sattler and Steve Dillow For several months, the attention of America’s citizens, and its press, has been focused in large part on the Covid-19 pandemic now sweeping the world, and the dramatic impact it has had…
Read MoreThey’ve Been at It Since the Beginning, But We’re Fighting Back
The Trump administration’s scrapping of environmental regulations didn’t just start this year. They’ve been at it since Day One. The Brookings Institution tracks the administration’s attacks on the regulations that keep us safe: https://www.brookings.edu/interactives/tracking-deregulation-in-the-trump-era/ But there’s some hopeful news: Sierra…
Read MorePlastic Icebergs: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
By Frank Atkin, Outings Co-Chair As if the novel coronavirus weren’t enough, there’s another invisible enemy lurking off our shores. Five giant spiral currents or “gyres” in oceans around the globe sweep in and trap floating debris. The largest gyre…
Read MoreGoing Green During a Pandemic
By Judy Herman, Foggy View Editor Staying safer at home presents some challenges, but we’re adapting. Instead of our Sierra Club hikes we’re taking solitary walks to explore our own neighborhoods and using online conferencing for alternative exercise from aerobics…
Read MoreFire Drill Friday
by Bill Lavoie, Membership Chair Jane Fonda responded to teen climate activist Greta Thunberg’s alarm: “We have to act life our house is on fire–because it is!” For 14 weeks she and other activists – celebrities and unknowns – protested…
Read MoreA Breakthrough for the Future of the Redondo Beach Power Plant Site
By Dave Wiggins, Conservation Co-Chair For over 20 years, Sierra Club members in and around Redondo Beach have fought hard to ensure that the eventual closure of the city’s seaside power plant would lead to the restoration of the historic…
Read MoreRoom for a View — For Now
By Dean Francois, Group Political Chair As you walk down Hermosa Beach’s Pier Avenue Public Plaza, you still can see a vast expanse of the ocean, which, for now at least, has been saved. Developers proposed to build a large…
Read MoreMitigation measures won’t stop deadly HF, says Chemical Safety Board
The SCAQMD failed the community too, but there’s still hope By Steve Dillow, Conservation Co-Chair Following the June explosion at a Philadelphia refinery, which caused it to permanently close, our local refinery spokesman bragged that it proved that their mitigation…
Read MoreMisadventures in the Skin Trade
By Dave Wiggins, Conservation Co-Chair Habitat destruction caused by agricultural devel- opment and mineral extraction? Entire ecosys- tems altered, perhaps permanently, by advanc- ing climate changes brought on by greenhouse gas emissions? These are of course very real threats to…
Read MoreLinks of Interest: Plastics Edition
Living without Plastic: One Family’s Journey. L.A. Times How to Eat Less Plastic. Consumer Reports The Ugly Truth Steve Lopez Learned at his Recycling Center. L.A. Times Tips for Using Less Plastic. Green Education Foundation How I Cut Back on…
Read MorePaddle out Plastic
By Eva Cicoria What comes to mind when you think of a port? Boats, barges, cargo, cranes? What about sea life? In LA Harbor, as I’ve discovered over years kayaking there, you’ll find
Read MoreAQMD Bows to Industry, Says No HF Ban
On June 22, the AQMD Refinery Committee voted 3-2 to allow tons of toxic volatile hydrogen fluoride (HF) to remain at two local refineries, Torrance PBF and Wilmington Valero. The refineries will add more water sprays, pumps, sensors, and video…
Read MoreEnjoy the nature preserve? Comment on the NCCP by May 6.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and California Department of Fish and Wildlife are evaluating the City Council-approved Draft City of Rancho Palos Verdes NCCP/HCP and associated documents and are seeking public comment in accordance with their permit decision processes.
Read MorePublic Health Dept Supports Banning MHF at Refineries
By Steve Dillow, Conservation Committe Co-Chair On April 2, the LA County Department of Public Health sent a letter to the SCAQMD urging them to phase out MHF as soon as possible. This public agency offered the following conclusion:
Read MoreCadiz Plan Threatens Desert Wildlife and South Bay Drinking Water
By John Monsen, Angeles Chapter Water Committee Cadiz, Inc. is a corporate water speculator proposing one of the most destructive projects ever conceived for our Southern California deserts. Defying logic and ignoring the damage it would cause, Cadiz plans to…
Read MoreRise for Climate LA Targets Oil Drilling
By Melanie Cohen, Conservation Co-Chair On Sept. 8, 350.org and many local environmental justice groups including Physicians for Social Responsibility – LA and Communities for a Better Environment (CBE) held “Rise for Climate LA,” a rally calling for a state…
Read MoreHelp Safeguard our Neighborhoods from Deadly Hydrofluoric Acid!
AQMD Refinery Committee meeting 9 a.m., Sat., Sept. 22, Wilmington Middle School,1700 Gulf Ave, Wilmington. There will be a special meeting of the AQMD Refinery Committee Sept. 22, to develop a regulation that we hope will phase out use of…
Read MorePV Nature Preserve—Protected in Perpetuity?
by Eva Cicoria If you’ve hiked the trails of the Palos Verdes Nature Preserve (the Preserve), you’ve enjoyed the scent of sage, the sound of birds calling, and the expansive backdrop of blue sky and sea. You may know something…
Read MoreWill the AQMD save us from dangerous hydrofluoric acid?
By Melanie Cohen and Al Sattler Air Quality Management District (AQMD) is continuing to work to develop a Rule 1410, to regulate dangerous hydrofluoric acid in South Bay refineries. Since April 2017, they have been holding public hearings and…
Read MoreEnvironmental Impacts of the Proposed Desalination Plant
By Al Sattler, Group Chair West Basin Municipal Water District (West Basin) has released the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for its proposed Ocean Water Desalination plant http://www.westbasindesal.org/draft-eir.html . Ocean desalination uses much more electrical energy than water recycling. A…
Read MoreSierra Club Joins Protests Against Deadly MHF at Hearing and March
By Melanie Cohen, Conservation Co-Chair (Photo: Linda Teach) SCAQMD Hearing On January 20, 2018, more than 500 local residents and refinery workers overflowed the Torrance Holiday Inn conference room to testify before the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD)…
Read MoreWill an Attempt to Stop a Landslide Tear up the Portuguese Bend Nature Preserve?
By Al Sattler, Group Chair (Photo: © Eric Beteille. Used with permission) Show that you support Nature in the Nature Preserve! Please attend the January 16, 2018 meeting of the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council. We have word that a…
Read MoreSierra Club Joins with Refinery Action Alliance
Two Action Opportunities: Saturday, January 20, 2018 SCAQMD Refinery Workshop/Saturday, Feb 17, 2018 Rally. Show that you care about our community safety! Show that you want to get toxic HF/MHF out of our community, out of the refineries!
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Palos Verdes-South Bay Sierra Club 