February 2009 - Sustainability

[Sustain] Alert: Attend Hearing To Save SF Clean Energy Project
by Eric Brooks 28 Feb '09

28 Feb '09

ALERT! Save San Francisco's Clean Energy Project! Attend Emergency Hearing Friday, March 6, 2pm SF City Hall, Room 250 Next Friday, March 6th, the San Francisco Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) will vote on activating the Clean Power SF renewable energy project, which was passed in 2007 to give the City 50% clean electricity within the next decade. But alarmingly, the LAFCo is poised to let the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) delay and weaken the project, thereby killing large scale clean energy in San Francisco. We must demand that the LAFCo vote a strong Clean Power SF project forward immediately. WHAT YOU CAN DO: Attend the hearing, and speak at public comment, to insist that Clean Power SF move forward now! DIRECTIONS: To get to the hearing, go to the San Francisco Civic Center transit station at 8th and Market Streets and cross United Nations Plaza to City Hall (on Polk Street between Grove and McAllister). IF YOU CAN'T ATTEND THE HEARING: Call LAFCo chairperson Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi today at 415-554-7630 with the following message: "Please stop accepting the SFPUC's delays, and immediately hire, through the LAFCo, the best qualified lead contractor to rapidly complete a Request For Proposals for Clean Power SF." PUBLIC COMMENT TALKING POINTS: - The SFPUC has been delaying Clean Power SF for five years! Enough is enough! - Access to Obama administration clean energy stimulus funds could be lost if we don't act now! - There are new reports every day that the global climate crisis is becoming far worse, far more rapidly than scientists previously believed. We cannot wait one more day to begin this project! - Clean Power SF will become the largest municipal clean energy project on Earth, setting a strong example for the rest of the world to get serious about the climate crisis! - 48 other California communities are waiting for San Francisco to take the lead on clean energy, and as California goes, so goes the world. Starting this project now is critical to leading the entire planet to take rapid action to end the climate crisis! - During the current drastic economic crisis and budget cuts, Clean Power SF will create a green economy boom in San Francisco providing hundreds of desperately need jobs to this community! For more information about Clean Power SF see http://our-city.org/campaigns/CleanPowerSF_e.html Thanks as always for your help and support. Eric Brooks Campaign Coordinator Our City -- This alert sent by: Our City 1028-A Howard St. San Francisco, CA 94103 415-756-8844 For more information about Our City campaigns go to http://www.our-city.org info(a)our-city.org

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[Sustain] GOVERNMENT, PLANNING AND THE POLITICS OF WATER
by Martin Zehr 27 Feb '09

27 Feb '09

GOVERNMENT, PLANNING AND THE POLITICS OF WATER by Martin Zehr In addressing the issue of water in the West we must be willing to address that prior solutions have not addressed the core problem. Today, we continue to base solutions through increasing supplies. In the past, it has been simply a matter of addressing increased demand for water by increasing the supply combined with conservation. Reservoirs and dams were built with wide surface areas resulting in huge evaporative losses, aquifers were pumped to the maximum, urban water conservation was voluntary and private wells were unmetered. Supply was there. Sometimes new sources, such as Owens Lake in California, or the San Juan /Chama diversion in NM were piped to urban centers to increase supply. Supply solutions are still available. Desalination of ocean waters, dredging reservoirs and deep aquifer drilling are playing a new role in the discussions as the old sources dry up or prove unable to address increased demand. New deep water, low surface area, high altitude reservoirs can be built. Brackish water can still be tapped from deep aquifers and desalinated. Water pumped in rural areas with low demand can still be piped to urban areas. In other words, there remains the capacity to continue to address water management and administration in the same old way. Current droughts in the West have raised new concerns. Is the drought caused by climate change? Is the drought a periodic historical episode of decreasing regional precipitation? What about the new risks of geological subsidence, ocean water intrusion into the water table and the reduction of groundwater flows to surface waters? These issues raise their raise their heads as aquifers are mined and groundwater levels decline and precipitation decrease. That being said, it is worth our while to compare the current financial crisis with the impending water crisis that has already manifested in many areas of the US. For years, business as usual for urban residents has been to assume that municipal governments and state governments are up to the task. The water budgets of our regions have been overextended based on presumed maintenance of water supply from aquifers and surface water flows. Decisions are made based on short-term supply projections that no longer stand the test of reality. Water users are not included in the decision-making processes. Water planning is often projected as an ancillary process removed from the actual political decisions by governmental entities. In the Middle Rio Grande, there are two of the largest cities in New Mexico, Albuquerque and Rio Rancho. In the past these cities supplied over 500,000 people solely from underground water supplies, now they have added water from the San Juan/Chama diversion. Combined these cities use 151,000 acre ft. per year. Agriculture, getting its supply of water from the Rio Grande River, consumes 298,340 acre ft. per year. In the Water Supply Study Phase III prepared for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Interstate Stream Commission it was summarized: “Both Base Case and Sensitivity model results indicate that water demands in the Middle Rio Grande region currently exceed the available renewable water supply by a minimum of 71,000 acre-feet per year (groundwater withdrawals that have not yet impacted the river), and perhaps by as much as 110,600 acre-feet per year. Despite that these results are accompanied by uncertainty as noted above, the analysis suggests that New Mexico faces significant challenges with respect to meeting both water demands in the Middle Rio Grande and Compact obligations in future years.” In the Middle Rio Grande region of New Mexico water planning took on a significant character that was open and inclusive. The Interstate Stream Commission (ISC) approved a 50-year plan worked on for over 9 years by the Middle Rio Grande Water Assembly. The Assembly worked with the regional Water Resources Board of the Middle Region Council of Governments (MR COG) and maintained the direction and intent of the plan. It was approved by the 15 municipalities of the region, the regional water utility authority, the irrigators’ conservancy district and the flood control authorities of the two counties in the region, some with particular caveats included in their memoranda of agreement. Hundreds of individuals from environmental groups, advocacy groups, real estate interests, water managers of utilities, planners, administrators and specialists in hydrology and geo-hydrology have participated and actively engaged the communities in the region for input on recommendations and preferred scenarios. As someone who worked for years with the Water Assembly in developing the regional water plan, the lesson struck me repeatedly that there is no water plan absent political and structural reform. The myriad of political entities, water management bodies, municipal governments, and administrative bodies function in their own worlds. The government of NM and municipalities are bound hand and foot to developers and real estate interests. Other states in the West are likewise bound to economic interests. These challenges are the issues of election campaigns, the substance of policy decisions and duties of elected officials. It is within the ability of Green Party candidates to build a new public consensus as an integral component of its electoral activities. It is within the ability of advocacy groups and non-profits to begin to re-define their political priorities. It is time for Green candidates to address fundamental issues of structural reform of water administration and management and present a public process for regions. The Eco-Action Committee of the Green Party of the United States is prepared to help with the science and policy support for state parties, candidates and activists. It’s time for those who have hooked the future of the resource on candidates of the major parties to do a reality check regarding the fundamental issue of reform. Water planning is not a luxury anymore. It is a requirement to provide consistent policies to guide future allocations and growth and development. There can be change but there lies no security in continuing business as usual. This bubble will also burst. Water is not an infinite resource and every new source has a bottom to it. Sustainable water management means establishing defined parameters for water use and allocations. It means having the science that predicts the consequences of given actions. It means consistency in the implementation of water policies that do not conflict with each other. It means developing pricing mechanisms that improve conservation but continue to provide public access for the aged, young and poor communities. Public Welfare statements need to prioritize regional water uses. Water budgets need to be enforced. And new allocations need to be made in the context of renewable supplies. The age of unlimited growth is over economically and ecologically. We need to balance our water budgets as we need to balance our financial budgets. We need to save our resources, just as we need to save our money, as never before and take each new step cautiously. Pyramid schemes for new supplies will never provide us with the stability we need for the future. Regional water planning provides us with the oversight we need. It provides the transparency in which users have input into the process and “skin” in the game. It empowers the science available to provide parameters to the policies that are being established. It enables representation that is qualified, specialized and reflective of the concerns of users. It begins from the realities we confront and looks to the future that we can create.

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[Sustain] Meeting Tonight: Save SF Clean Energy - End Corp. Personhood - Greens On Water Boards
by Eric Brooks 16 Feb '09

16 Feb '09

Meeting To Save SF 50% Clean Energy Program! Also: Ending Corporate Personhood and Getting Greens On Water Boards Joint Meeting: Transportation & Sustainability Working Groups When: Monday, 2/16/09, 6:30PM-9:00PM Where: SFGP Office, 1028A Howard St Agenda Items - Getting Greens Onto Water Boards - Legislation To Eliminate Corporate Personhood In SF (dovetail with Campaign Finance Reform) - IMPORTANT! Getting Rally/Comment Turn Out -This Month- To Save SF 50% Clean Energy Program

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[Sustain] Victory! Nukes and 'Clean' Coal Stripped From Stimulus Bill
by Eric Brooks 13 Feb '09

13 Feb '09

*Nuclear Information and Resource Service's Notes* Nuclear Information and Resource Service's Notes <ttp://www.facebook.com/notes.php?id&490791479%22> *Victory! No Nuke Loan Guarantees in Final Bill* Today at 10:07am February 12, 2009 Dear Friends, VICTORY! YOU DID IT! Late last night, we got word that the $50 Billion in taxpayer loan guarantees for new nuclear reactors and "clean coal" plants has been stripped from the final economic stimulus bill! Your actions made a huge difference. To recap, you: *sent more than 7,600 letters to your Senators in one week *sent more than 3,000 letters to your Representatives in the House in three days *sent more than 1100 letters to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid just yesterday afternoon (unfortunately, most letters to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were blocked; we'll work on that problem with our Congressional database service). *made thousands of phone calls to your Senators and Representatives *brought needed attention to the issue through your blogs, letters to the editor, your Facebook and Myspace pages, and much more. The final bill should be voted on in the House later today, and in the Senate probably tomorrow. The final bill almost certainly will pass, and there will be no amendments on this final bill, so the taxpayer money for the dirty and dangerous nuclear/coal industry will stay out of the bill. Take a moment to celebrate today! But make no mistake: the nuclear industry and its Congressional backers will try again, and sooner rather than later. Two days ago, for example, they began a new push to have nuclear power declared a "renewable" energy source in Senate Energy Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman's (D-NM) upcoming Renewable Portfolio Standard bill, which is intended to increase renewable energy production in the U.S. (although first indications are that the bill is much weaker than it should be). This is likely to become a major issue in March. And there will be new efforts to set up a federal "clean energy bank" to finance nuclear reactors with taxpayer dollars in the coming weeks and months. In other words, we'll have to stay vigilant and active, and continue growing this movement if we are to attain the safe, clean, nuclear-free, carbon-free energy future our nation and planet needs. You have now proven your effectiveness, but we can and must do even more. President Obama's campaign was successful in large part because of the support of a constantly growing number of ordinary people, taking action and making small donations, that built into an enormous political force. We are taking the same approach: in the past three months, NIRS contact lists have grown by more than one-third--a key element of today's success. Let's continue building this movement! Please make a small donation on our secure servers so we can continue our outreach and build on this success. Your support is gratefully appreciated and every penny is used as wisely as possible. And from all of us at NIRS: THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO!!!! Michael Mariotte Executive Director Nuclear Information and Resource Service nirsnet(a)nirs.org <ailto:nirsnet@nirs.org%22> www.nirs.org

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[Sustain] Please Add To Announce - Meeting To Save SF 50% Clean Energy Program!
by Eric Brooks 12 Feb '09

12 Feb '09

Please add to Announce List: Meeting To Save SF 50% Clean Energy Program! Joint Meeting: Transportation & Sustainability Working Groups When: Monday, 2/16/09, 6:30PM-9:00PM Where: SFGP Office, 1028A Howard St Agenda Items - Getting Greens Onto Water Boards - Legislation To Eliminate Corporate Personhood In SF (dovetail with Campaign Finance Reform) - Important! Getting Rally/Comment Turn Out -This Month- To Save SF 50% Clean Energy Program

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[Sustain] Transpo/Sustain Meeting Monday 2/16
by Eric Brooks 12 Feb '09

12 Feb '09

Hi all, If no one objects, I'll go ahead and put our next joint meeting to the Announcement list for Monday, Feb 16, as decided last meeting. I'll propose and agenda soon. peace Eric B -- "I am not a liberator. Liberators do not exist. The people liberate themselves." – Che Guevara

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[Sustain] Emergency Alert - Call Senate To Stop $50 Billion Nuclear Subsidy - Deadline Today!
by Eric Brooks 03 Feb '09

03 Feb '09

Hi all, see alert below, If we all call Senators Boxer and Feinstein right now, we might get our comments in soon enough. Barbara Boxer: (202) 224-3553 Diane Feinstein: (202) 224-3841 http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5502/t/4100/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=9… Safe energy now! No taxpayer loan guarantees for new nuclear reactors! January 29, 2009 The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee late on the night of January 27 snuck in a provision to President Obama's economic stimulus package that would allow as much as $50 BILLION of your dollars to be used as loan guarantees for construction of new nuclear reactors. This would be on top of the $18.5 Billion taxpayer dollars already authorized by Congress during the Bush administration. These loan guarantees would mean more nuclear reactors and more radioactive waste piling up in communities across our country. They would also mean less money for safer, cheaper and cleaner energy alternatives like solar and wind power. The provision is vaguely worded. It would authorize $50 Billion in new loan guarantees for "eligible technologies." These technologies include nuclear, "clean coal," renewable energy sources and electric transmission. But the stimulus package is intended to create new jobs and economic activity over the next two years. Not only should new nuclear reactors and the false concept of "clean coal" be excluded from taxpayer support, but the reality is that neither technology is ready to produce /any/ jobs within the next two years. The Department of Energy apparently would have to decide how to allocate this $50 Billion. If it all went to safe, cost-effective renewable energy sources,that would be one thing. Unfortunately, the provision's backers, like Sens. Robert Bennett (R-UT) and Thomas Carper (D-DE) are clear that their intent is that it would go for new nuclear reactor construction. Yet the Congressional Budget Office predicts a 50% default rate by nuclear utilities using this program! This is simply a nuclear bailout waiting to happen, and we can't afford it. But it's not too late. You can help stop this nonsense. The full Senate will vote on the stimulus package the week of February 2. Please CALL your Senators now (Senate Switchboard: 202-224-3121) and tell them to stop all loan guarantees for new nuclear reactors. AND, please send an e-mail to your Senators with the same message using the form below. (note: we encourage you to edit the wording to personalize your e-mail and reflect your own concerns). -- "I am not a liberator. Liberators do not exist. The people liberate themselves." -- Che Guevara

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