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[Sustain] Fwd: Alert - German Green MP Hans-Josef Fell in SF - Press Event - July 10
by Eric Brooks 27 Jun '12

27 Jun '12

Woody Hastings wrote: Dearest SF Greens that-I-know, Please help circulate the attached to other Greens in SF and others of all stripes. Hans-Josef Fell, Green Party member of the German Parliament and originator of the German Feed-in Tariff with Hermann Scheer in 2000, will be in town for InterSolar, the big solar conference at Moscone. (http://www.intersolar.us/en/intersolar.html) Hans-Josef has a new book out and will be holding a press conference at 1pm on July 10 at the Intercontinental Hotel. I've attached their advisory about the press conference, complete with quirky tranlation errors. Hans-Josef is wonderful. He speaks English and is captivating. We had him up to Santa Rosa in 2010 when he was here at that time. Here are some more of the details: Who: Hans-Josef Fell, Author Prof. Mark Z. Jacobson Stanford University What: Press conference When: July 10, 2012 Time: 1 pm to 2 pm Location: InterContinental San Francisco, 888 Howard Street, San Francisco, Mission Room

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[Sustain] Important Article On Local Clean Energy Efforts
by Eric Brooks 30 May '12

30 May '12

Though this article highlights East Bay clean energy efforts, it has important information on the progress of San Francisco's CleanPowerSF program! http://www.eastbayexpress.com/gyrobase/when-will-we-go-green/Content?oid=32… When Will We Go Green? Some Bay Area communities are forming public-power networks to buy and build renewable energy, but East Bay cities have been slow to join the green revolution. Is that about to change? By Darwin BondGraham The Bay Area's economy has the potential to undergo a radical transformation. In fact, some communities are already creating their own public-power networks, buying renewable energy, and trying to build their own green-energy economies. But East Bay cities have been slow to embrace this new economic model, even though it would not only shift the literal sources of power for homes and businesses, but also potentially shift political power away from large energy corporations and into the hands of local governments, residents, and small businesses. Since 2002, a little-known but potentially revolutionary law has been on the books in California. The passage of Assembly Bill 117 came in response to the energy crisis and the ensuing bankruptcy of Pacific Gas and Electric Company, which darkened much of the state and sucked billions of dollars from the economy into the coffers of Texas energy corporations. AB 117 was a strategic shift in a decades-old campaign to wrest economic power away from giant corporate utilities like PG&E and Southern California Edison and the big energy companies that supply them with electricity. AB 117 enabled a new model of energy provisioning, called Community Choice Aggregation, or CCA. Many have never heard of CCA, but few existing laws have as much potential to completely transform our economy from the bottom up. Don't let the boring acronym fool you. In theory, CCA allows local communities to take control of their power-purchasing needs, while still using the distribution networks owned and operated by corporate utilities. The old model of obtaining community control over energy, whereby cities bought the entire system — poles, lines, transformers, and all — from the corporate utility and staffed a new public agency from scratch, had, by the 1990s, become an impossible task for numerous political and financial reasons. At the top of the list were the fiscal problems of local governments, devastated by decades of corporate tax cuts. AB 117 eliminated the need to own the energy grid. It was a game-changing idea. Under the new rules, once a local government decides to become an aggregator (by automatically pooling the accounts of ratepayers within its jurisdiction to create a kind of energy-purchasing cooperative), or joins an existing CCA provider, it can choose what energy it will buy for its residential and commercial ratepayers. Communities can then decide to purchase renewable energy like geothermal, solar, small hydroelectric, and biogas — and no longer have to hope that the executives of their corporate utility, or state bureaucrats, will make the right choices for the environment and local economy. Not only does CCA put decision-making power in the hands of local governments, but communities can theoretically go one step further by supporting the development of renewable energy sources either through the stimulation of private development (for where there is a demand there will arise a supplier) or by building publicly owned resources. Most importantly, CCA also shifts the all-important financial power away from corporate utilities and the California Public Utilities Commission (which many activists characterize as suffering from "regulatory capture" by the companies it is tasked with overseeing) and places the power of the purse in the hands of local officials. With this ability comes the potential for reinvesting in conservation and efficiency programs, which according to most experts is the real opportunity for greening the grid, creating thousands of new local jobs, and lowering consumers' energy bills. If done right, many advocates say, Community Choice Aggregation would be nothing less than a revolution in power, both in the energy sense and the political sense. But change is hard to make. Those Bay Area governments that have moved ahead with aggregation have been criticized by many activists and energy experts as pursuing CCA in name only, abandoning the three goals of cheaper bills, new jobs, and truly green energy. Worse still are the governments that have done little to nothing to explore and advance CCA, a long list that includes the East Bay's biggest energy user, Oakland. But in spite of several years of lost opportunity, big changes may be on the horizon. Hopes were high in the early 2000s for creating an East Bay CCA. Oakland, Berkeley, and Emeryville were part of a joint demonstration project funded by the California Energy Commission to explore aggregation. Each city committed tens of thousands of dollars to the effort and hired Navigant Consulting, an independent firm, to conduct a feasibility study and prepare an implementation plan. Fittingly, Oakland's money for the feasibility study came from a settlement reached with Williams Energy, and funds for the implementation plan from Duke Energy, two of the companies that gamed the energy crisis to gouge Oakland residents. However, by 2008 this investment of time and hard-won money hit a wall. Navigant's studies came back with bad news for Oakland's leaders. Citing energy bills that could jump by more than 6 percent, potential city liability for CCA debts, and uncertain and possibly expensive regulations, the city administrator reported to the city council that, "although CCA appeared promising in the preliminary analyses, after a comprehensive review, the Business Plan does not support a recommendation to move forward at this time." Oakland Councilwoman Nancy Nadel briefly put up a fight to save CCA. "Emeryville dropped their interest. Berkeley had some remaining interest," she said in an interview. "I wanted to call a joint meeting with Berkeley to educate ourselves about how well Marin was doing, and other efforts from other cities and counties doing CCA, but couldn't get the votes on the council to schedule it." According to Nadel, the Great Recession and the avalanche of problems it dumped upon Oakland quickly extinguished the council's ability to focus on CCA — an irony, given aggregation's potential to spur the local economy and build resiliency. Instead the city council was sucked into a vicious cycle of budget cuts, layoffs, and program eliminations, further dampening the region's economic outlook. PG&E also had a hand in killing CCA in the East Bay. "The council was lobbied heavily by PG&E against CCA, and that had some success in stifling interest," Nadel said. Her efforts to revive talks and clear up misconceptions failed, as did the pleas of activists with the Local Clean Energy Alliance, a coalition of green energy and labor advocates that includes some of the most knowledgeable experts on CCA. By 2010, Community Choice Aggregation was dead in Oakland, and set back considerably in Berkeley, Emeryville, and Richmond. Paul Fenn of Local Power Inc., a consulting group that helps local governments establish CCAs, said that the Navigant study also harmed East Bay efforts to create a regional energy aggregator. "Navigant kind of poisoned CCA in the East Bay," he said. "The key problem is that they used these pre-existing rate models, but CCA is a new structure." And by using old models, and assuming other risks faced by traditional municipal utilities, Navigant's study ended up confusing Oakland, Emeryville, and Berkeley officials, causing them to think the risks were enormous while the savings were minimal, or even negative, Fenn said. While most East Bay cities had given up, something else was brewing that would eventually revive the potential for renewable energy to kickstart the local economy. The East Bay Municipal Utility District was busy conducting its own in-house studies to figure out how it could replace PG&E as the supplier of energy for its massive water service area. Meanwhile, officials in Richmond weren't quite ready to throw in the towel, even after their assumed partners dropped out. Eager to erase their city's image as an oil company town, Richmond officials closely tracked CCA in Marin County, where it was succeeding. At the same time, efforts in San Francisco were advancing, propelled largely by activists who confronted both PG&E's attempts to kill the nascent CleanPowerSF, and city officials who were trying to gut the CCA of its jobs-generating potential. Up in Sonoma County, another CCA was beginning to take shape. Marin Energy Authority, California's first operational CCA, launched in 2009 despite PG&E's efforts to snuff it out with an aggressive marketing campaign. In its short existence, Marin Energy Authority has proven that CCA works, and that the fears of Oakland's City Council, and other East Bay officials were unfounded. Energy rates paid by Marin County residents are just slightly higher than what PG&E charges, and the mix of power delivered is the greenest in the state, far exceeding what is delivered by corporate utilities. Come this July, the Marin Energy Authority will be serving 95,000 customers, nearly all of Marin County. Shawn Marshall, the founder and director of LEAN Energy US, a San Rafael-based company that helps local governments transition from corporate utilities to CCAs, calls Marin Energy Authority "an economically and environmentally robust agency." Despite the obstacles, and lack of understanding for what CCA requires of local governments, "MEA is doing a great job of demonstrating the operational viability and local benefits of CCA. It's always hard to be the first," Marshall said. As of May 15, plans for the authority just got a lot bigger, too. In a widely anticipated decision, the Richmond City Council voted to fold the city into Marin Energy Authority, a move that will bring tens of thousands more ratepayers. "We've been at this a year," said Richmond City Manager Bill Lindsay about the effort to join the authority. Lindsay and Richmond's leaders believe that abandoning PG&E for the city's energy production and purchasing needs will not only advance its progressive climate goals, but can also serve to transform the local industrial base, and place Richmond among leaders in solar development. "We think that there is potential to have this be an economic boost for Richmond," Lindsay said. "The one thing we feel we have is our ability to sell power to MEA through the feed-in tariff. We have a lot of rooftops for solar. We think it provides good possibilities down the road." Lindsay pointed to the Port of Richmond as an ideal site for massive rooftop solar development. The feed-in tariff, the process by which locally generated renewable energy — such as rooftop solar — is fed into a utility's electric grid, is another existing policy that could, if reasonably applied, enable the mass development of renewable energy sources. Conceptually, feed-in tariffs are perfect tools for a CCA program. However, just like CCA, the feed-in tariff has yet to live up to its promise, due mostly to the equivocation of state and local politicians who have sent confusing signals to potential developers. California's feed-in tariffs are poorly designed, according to Paul Gipe, an internationally recognized expert on the subject. At a recent energy conference in Oakland, Gipe characterized California's feed-in tariff laws as "timid" and "lacking vision." Current state law seeks to promote the development of 480 megawatts of renewable energy sources statewide via feed-in tariffs. Within PG&E's service area, any customer may participate. Thus, anyone who builds a renewable energy generating source — like a backyard wind turbine — can sell the power generated to PG&E for a fixed price. But Gipe points out that 480 megawatts is a tiny commitment for an energy market as massive as California's, and that there's a cap on the size of a contributing power plant. The cap seriously undermines the incentive for developers because it effectively prohibits taking advantage of economies of scale. Currently, an independent energy developer using the feed-in tariff may not contribute more than 1.5 megawatts to the grid. Furthermore, PG&E's payments for electricity are relatively low compared to other buyers such as Marin Energy Authority. There is no single, simple, and fair feed-in tariff for Californians to benefit from. Instead, there is a complicated and half-hearted array of tariffs that apply in different services areas. This fact and other limitations have caused California to fall far behind in renewable energy development. Gipe points to Europe and Japan — where thousands of megawatts have been added in just several years using broader, less restrictive feed-in tariffs — as clear leaders. Even foggy England has bested sunny California in solar, with 1,300 megawatts brought online in under two years thanks to better feed-in tariffs. Marin Energy Authority, meanwhile, will also have to change its feed-in tariff policy to allow Richmond to use it for a local build-out of solar. Under the authority's current rules, only renewable projects built within Marin County are eligible to participate in the feed-in tariff program. "In order for Richmond to be included in our FIT territory, we will need to update our implementation plan and obtain approval from the California Public Utilities Commission," said Jamie Tuckey, a representative of the authority. "This will likely happen in August." Clearly, then, Richmond's bid to rebuild its economy with green, local energy will face piecemeal laws and confused half-measures currently limiting renewables. With an official unemployment rate of 16 percent (more than twice the national average) Richmond is in desperate need of good local jobs, such as those that could be provided by a major solar installation program spurred by a feed-in tariff. Some are also concerned that Richmond is too eager to join Marin Energy Authority, and that the authority serves as a poor model for what aggregation can actually deliver. By joining the authority, "Richmond residents will have to pay more than they are now," said Al Weinrub, coordinator of the Local Clean Energy Alliance. "The green portfolio benefit means getting energy through Shell Energy, probably from big central power plants out in the desert, and Renewable Portfolio Standard credits, which aren't green energy at all." These sorts of renewable energy credits are certificates traded in the market that represent the creation of "green" energy somewhere. A utility can claim to be stimulating the production of renewable energy, or even purchasing renewable energy for its customers, when it obtains such credits, even if the actual electricity fed to its customers comes from a gas, nuclear, or coal plant. Furthermore, these credits do nothing to stimulate the local development of renewable energy, and may even promote development of distant mega-solar projects that will have no local economic impacts. Weinrub said he doesn't think what Marin Energy Authority is offering Richmond is very compelling. "They get something that's called 'green energy' and they pay more." Weinrub thinks Richmond should be getting more assurances that its economic goals can be realized by joining the authority. A survey of the authority's current portfolio of energy providers shows that California's only currently operational CCA is in fact drawing the vast majority of its electricity from large biogas and wind projects in the Central Valley and farther away — meaning virtually no local jobs have been generated in Marin County. CCA advocates like Weinrub and Fenn say the main mechanisms by which a CCA can reduce consumer bills below PG&E's rates require the reinvestment of ratepayer revenues in local energy conservation and efficiency programs and local renewable sources, instead of buying energy from distant big green power plants and through credits. The latter variety of "green" power comes with a premium cost. At a recent gathering of green-energy advocates, Fenn asked: "What's the goal?" He then answered: "The goal should be to determine what actually gets built, not just focusing on creating a CCA as if it was important in itself. Because it isn't." Fenn is a guru for energy activists, a go-to guy on both minute technical questions, as well as the big-picture political vision. This is partly because Fenn was the main author of AB 117 and understands the radical potential of CCA like few others. His company, Local Power, Inc., also works in the trenches, and is currently helping to launch the most ambitious CCA yet: CleanPowerSF. According to Fenn, CCA only makes economic sense if the build-out of local renewable resources is adopted from the very start. Like Marin Energy Authority, CleanPowerSF was met initially by PG&E with a full frontal assault aimed at destroying its viability. PG&E bankrolled Proposition 16 in 2010, a statewide measure that was largely about crushing CleanPowerSF and other CCAs being planned. And though Prop 16 failed to get the necessary votes to become law, it had a deleterious effect on San Francisco. "Under the looming threat of Prop 16, an initiative that would put the kibosh on CCA, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission hustled to get a program — any program — launched," Weinrub said. "They issued some requests for proposals to possible energy providers, and in the course of two years since then, they have negotiated a contract with Shell Energy for a 30-megawatt purchase of renewable power on the open market. ... This is not the kind of deal CCA advocates were in favor of." CleanPowerSF is therefore set to launch under a model much like Marin Energy Authority, purchasing dubious "green" power on the market through its prime contractor, which is better known for its oil business. At the same time, PG&E is pursuing more subtle tactics to wreck CleanPowerSF, such as rolling out its own boutique 100-percent green energy option, a move widely seen as an attempt to chip away at the ratepayer base of potential CCAs. Real change is hard to make, even when all the tools are available. Advocates of truly green and locally generated electricity haven't given up, however, and the tide appears to be turning their way. After a protracted battle to pressure San Francisco's Public Utilities Commission, activists managed to get the city to commit to some localization from the start, along with the external power purchases. "The good news is San Francisco is going ahead with localization," said Charles Shultz, of Local Power, Inc. CleanPowerSF is developing a financial model to pay for publicly owned solar and other renewable projects. When combined with efforts to conserve energy and reduce demand so as to lower customers' bills, Shultz said that CleanPowerSF could beat PG&E's rates. Shultz and his colleague Fenn have a mantra: "Own, don't rent, your power; and build, don't buy, your power." In this spirit San Francisco's CCA is empowered with the ability to build renewables through city-issued bonds. Up in Sonoma County, a similar tack is being taken. County supervisors have embraced the concept of Sonoma Clean Energy, a CCA that would encompass the whole county, which has an electrical load twice as big as Marin's. Activists there are currently working closely with officials to figure out how to maximize the production of local renewables by providing incentives for private developers, and also by reinvesting ratepayer funds in publicly owned projects. The county's RESCO project (Renewable Energy for Secure Communities) is one of the most sophisticated efforts anywhere to study ways of transforming the region's grid by reducing demand, improving conservation and efficiency, and promoting the dispersion of energy generation among distributed, small power sources. It may sound like a wonky study in energy, but it's actually a map for a giant green jobs program. Sonoma County's effort might also be a model with respect to the kinds of jobs it creates. "If you train someone for a $10-an-hour job to become a 'solar installer,' that's not okay," said Lisa Maldonado, executive director of the North Bay Labor Council. "It's not a real job. You're displacing a skilled electrician." Maldonado recalls that the launch of the Marin Energy Authority was harmed by a lack of outreach to labor, partly because some environmental activists there associated the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers with PG&E, and assumed most unions would automatically oppose CCA. Maldonado says things have changed a lot since then. In Sonoma County, the nonprofit advocates most responsible for advancing Sonoma Clean Power approached labor unions very early on to ensure that efforts to create local green jobs would be clearly grounded in the notion of high-paying, benefits-yielding careers. Those involved in building Sonoma Clean Power say that incorporating labor is key if a CCA is to have a positive impact on the local economy. The launch of Sonoma Clean Power is expected within a year. As for Oakland, Berkeley, and Emeryville, they have been paralyzed, unable to take advantage of the laws and regulations that currently allow for bold economic initiatives like those being pursued in San Francisco, Sonoma, and Marin with Richmond. According to some, this might all soon change though. Berkeley took an important, if small, step in January by formally declaring its intention to create or join a CCA, and requesting the necessary electrical load data from PG&E to study the viability of various CCA business plans. "This is one of the possible tools to actually make progress on greenhouse-gas reduction, so I am glad that the council voted to move forward with this," said Councilman Kriss Worthington, who introduced the resolution. The city resolution is also written to "demonstrate support of clean, local energy," leaving little ambiguity about Berkeley's goals of spurring its local economy. Based on this resolution, Berkeley staff held talks with Richmond in hopes of establishing a joint effort. Although that might now be called off, Berkeley has also been talking with another entity whose entrance into the world of CCA could be a game-changer for the East Bay. Back in the early 2000s, during the rolling blackouts and spiking electricity rates that were causing havoc in California, the East Bay Municipal Utility District's staff began to investigate means by which they could, as a pre-existing public water and sewage utility, enter the electricity market, thereby stabilizing things under local public control. East Bay MUD hired a consultant and put several staff members to work exploring options. One idea was to form a vertically integrated electrical utility — old-fashioned municipalization. This option was ruled out because of prohibitive costs and risks. Another option involved building renewables on East Bay MUD property so as to reduce the utility's own electrical consumption and dependence on markets distorted by speculators and the volatility of fossil fuel prices. It went with this option, and in ten years East Bay MUD has added several biogas and solar installations. But these efforts are small in the grand scheme of things. The third option was for East Bay MUD to take the lead as a CCA with the cooperation of nearly all East Bay cities, serving 1.4 million customers. But it also was ruled out. In a bit of legislative oversight, the then-recently signed AB 117 failed to mention existing utilities and other special districts as eligible aggregators, along with cities and counties. This prohibition changed last year with passage of Senate Bill 790, sponsored by San Francisco legislator Mark Leno. The law was primarily designed to check PG&E's vicious efforts to kill CCAs with cynical marketing and lobbying campaigns, but it also included a little-noticed redefinition, allowing existing public utilities like East Bay MUD to become aggregators. East Bay MUD's leaders have quickly picked up where they left off, exploring the case for a CCA in the East Bay. Although it appears to be too late to convince Richmond to pause its entry into the Marin Energy Authority, East Bay MUD's re-entry plan may mean big things for Berkeley, Oakland, and Emeryville — and Piedmont, Albany, Kensington, El Cerrito, Hayward, Orinda, Walnut Creek, Danville, San Ramon, Pleasant Hill, Lafayette, Crockett, and other towns and vast unincorporated portions of Alameda and Contra Costa counties. East Bay MUD's service area is so large that it would easily become the largest CCA in California, perhaps the nation, if enough of the cities within its territory vote to join. This whole opportunity is just an idea at this point, stress many of the officials exploring it, and exactly what it would look like is anyone's guess. "One of the most exciting opportunities with CCA is the ability to transform our local economy with new clean-energy jobs," said Andy Katz, an East Bay MUD board member representing Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, El Cerrito, Kensington, and north Oakland. Along these lines, Katz said San Francisco is a good model to learn from, even if they've had trouble in some areas. "It's important to study, as San Francisco's Public Utilities Commission is, the local build-out of solar energy, and also investments in energy efficiency." Katz said it's too early to assess the results of CleanPowerSF, and that specific features of San Francisco's CCA could be improved, but that the focus on creating local clean-energy jobs is the right one. Like the officials and activists developing Sonoma Clean Power, Katz said he is interested in bringing organized labor into the fold. "I'm very interested in addressing workers' concerns," he said. "I've already discussed this with reps from the electrical workers' union who represent Alameda County." East Bay MUD's board has directed staff to step up talks with leaders of various cities to gauge their interest in constituting a region-wide CCA. A report on the feasibility of a joint East Bay MUD-East Bay cities CCA is due in November and will be public by December, said Michael Wallis, operations director for the district. Wallis said his staff has already had meetings with Berkeley, and that a sit-down is scheduled with Emeryville's leaders. The mayors of both cities have formally declared interest in an East Bay MUD-coordinated CCA in letters to the district. Under East Bay MUD's lead, and with cities like Berkeley and Emeryville on board, a possible regional CCA would be viable, said those who are familiar with the model's economics. But without Oakland — the region's largest industrial and residential municipality — the potential to remake the East Bay's economy is much diminished. If united, an East Bay CCA comprising the major waterfront cities, and many surrounding cities and towns in the hills, could be a tipping point, clean energy advocates say. "The level of redirected revenues, if a significant number of East Bay cities formed a CCA, would reach into the billions of dollars," predicted Shawn Marshall. "This would have tremendous regional economic value and impact over time." Perhaps the biggest reason why Oakland's leaders let CCA fall off their agenda two years ago was fear of financial liability. These anxieties were stoked by PG&E-friendly lobbyists such as the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce (a PG&E representative sits on the chamber's board of directors). The chamber's executive director, Joseph Haraburda, claimed in a 2008 op-ed in the Oakland Tribune that launching an Oakland CCA would require $17 million in city funding. Furthermore, Haraburda implied that Oakland would financially be on the hook, concluding that "we have too much on our plate right now — public safety concerns, budget concerns, and business concerns — to take on such a risky venture." "One thing to be clear about," Marshall explained recently, "is that ratepayer revenues generated by a CCA do not co-mingle or support a city's general fund. CCAs in California are operated as separate agencies and, by law, the balance sheets and associated liabilities are kept separate from those of individual member cities." According to Marshall, "now is the time" for CCA in the East Bay, precisely because the local economy is hurting. "Because the industrial load is much bigger over here" in the East Bay, said Fenn during a recent talk to local energy activists, "a CCA would be able to redirect enormous revenues." An Oakland CCA alone would have a budget as large as the city's actual budget, and a large proportion of this could be directed to local projects. Representatives in Mayor Jean Quan's office didn't respond to requests for comment about what Oakland plans to do with respect to CCA. Councilwoman Nadel said that city staff are consumed currently with drafting and issuing a new garbage franchise contract and finalizing state environmental studies related to Oakland's Climate Action Plan, but that the council will soon revisit CCA when staff time and resources are freed up. ###

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[Sustain] Fwd: Community Solar Confluence, Weds, May 23, 7pm, 851 Howard St, SF
by Eric Brooks 22 May '12

22 May '12

Hi all, The event organizers of the conference below wanted me to forward this. It should be a very good event. I will be one of the presenters and will give an update on the CleanPowerSF campaign. Eric B Begin forwarded message: > *From: *"Local Clean Energy Alliance" > <Local_Clean_Energy_Alliance(a)mail.vresp.com > <mailto:Local_Clean_Energy_Alliance@mail.vresp.com>> > *Date: *May 21, 2012 9:07:18 AM PDT > *To: *woody(a)climateprotection.org <mailto:woody@climateprotection.org> > *Subject: **Community Solar Confluence, Weds, May 23* > *Reply-To: *"Local Clean Energy Alliance" > <reply-574372c7fc-79b6776298-329a(a)u.cts.vresp.com > <mailto:reply-574372c7fc-79b6776298-329a@u.cts.vresp.com>> > > <http://cts.vresp.com/fbl?574372c7fc/79b6776298/http%3A%2F%2Fhosted-p0.vresp…> > <http://cts.vresp.com/ts?574372c7fc/79b6776298/http%3A%2F%2Fapi.addthis.com%…> <http://cts.vresp.com/ls?574372c7fc/79b6776298/http%3A%2F%2Fapi.addthis.com%…> > > Bringing Community Solar to California > > > May 2012 > > lcea_banner > *Come to the > Bay Area Community Solar Confluence > Wednesday, May 23, 2012* > > The Local Clean Energy Alliance is co-sponsoring a community solar > confluence, where you can learn about community solar models > nationwide and opportunities to bring community solar to communities > across California. > > * *Date*: Wednesday, May 23 > * *Time*: 7:00 – 9:30 pm > * *Location*: Pacific Energy Center, 851 Howard Street San > Francisco, CA 94103 > > The San Francisco Bay Area Community Solar Confluence will bring > together community-based organizations, neighborhood residents, > advocates for renewable energy, solar developers, local officials, and > funders of programs for low income communities and renewable energy > projects. > > Participants will outline obstacles and brainstorm the key ingredients > to bringing community solar to California—the policy and financing > solutions, organizing efforts, and other initiatives. > > This event is part of a series of community solar “confluences,” with > similar events happening in Boston, New York, Omaha, and Denver. The > event is FREE but donations are welcome. > > /*Presentations by:*/ > > * Joy Hughes, Founder of Solar Gardens Institute > * Erica Mackie, Co-Founder of GRID Alternatives > * Ted Ko, Associate Executive Director of CLEAN Coalition > * Eric Brooks, Campaign Coordinator at Our City (SF) > > Discussion and brainstorming will follow. > > *Please RSVP *to: bit.ly/sfconfluence > <http://cts.vresp.com/c/?LocalCleanEnergyAlli/574372c7fc/79b6776298/f6e3f9ae…> > > *May 10 Clean Power, Healthy Communities Conference a Resounding Success* > > The Local Clean Energy Alliance’s third annual Clean Power, Healthy > Communities conference drew 140 people on May 10 to a day of intense > deliberations about the potential benefits of local renewable power to > Bay Area Communities and how to build a movement to realize those > benefits. > > Bill Gallegos KeynoteCheck out *photos > <http://cts.vresp.com/c/?LocalCleanEnergyAlli/574372c7fc/79b6776298/29b695e8…>* > of the conference and a video of the outstanding *keynote address > <http://cts.vresp.com/c/?LocalCleanEnergyAlli/574372c7fc/79b6776298/f35ddd49…>* > by Bill Gallegos of Communities for a Better Environment. For those > who are kicking themselves for not attending, you can also check out > some of the *conference presentations > <http://cts.vresp.com/c/?LocalCleanEnergyAlli/574372c7fc/79b6776298/9c05a44e…>*. > Video of major sessions will be available soon. > > > *Plug in to the LCEA!!* > > That’s right, the Local Clean Energy Alliance is looking for an > infusion of new energy—people energy—to help us meet our aggressive goals. > > We welcome your involvement in any number of ways. All it takes is a > commitment to equitable, local clean energy solutions that contribute > to the health of our community. > *Check out some of the opportunities available > <http://cts.vresp.com/c/?LocalCleanEnergyAlli/574372c7fc/79b6776298/0f3ffbbb…>* > especially the volunteer openings. > > *Join the Local Clean Energy Alliance* > > And not to overlook one of the most important ways you can support our > work, we encourage individuals and organizations to***join the > Alliance. > <http://cts.vresp.com/c/?LocalCleanEnergyAlli/574372c7fc/79b6776298/879bbb99…>* > > > *The Local Clean Energy Alliance Needs Facebook Fans!* > > *Join us on Facebook! > <http://cts.vresp.com/c/?LocalCleanEnergyAlli/574372c7fc/79b6776298/94f7dae6…>* > > Receive news updates, event notices, and action alerts on important > local and state clean energy policies, and connect with other clean > energy advocates. > > Local Clean Energy Alliance > Tel: (510) 834-0420 > Email: lcea-info(a)baylocalize.org <mailto:lcea-info@baylocalize.org> > > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Click to view this email in a browser > <http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/1006119/574372c7fc/1464539133/79b6776298/> > > > If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this > message with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line or simply click on the > following link: Unsubscribe > <http://cts.vresp.com/u?574372c7fc/79b6776298/mlpftw> > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Local Clean Energy Alliance > 436 14th Street #1216 > Oakland, CA 94612 > USA > > Read <http://www.verticalresponse.com/content/pm_policy.html> the > VerticalResponse marketing policy. > > Try Email Marketing with VerticalResponse! > <http://www.verticalresponse.com/landing/ef/?mm/574372c7fc> > Woody Hastings woodyhastings(a)gmail.com <mailto:woodyhastings@gmail.com> If you are a facebook person, please "like" Sonoma Clean Power on facebook at: www.facebook.com/sonomacleanpower <http://www.facebook.com/sonomacleanpower> Doing this will help boost the clean energy program I am working on.

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[Sustain] Fwd: Alert: CA Bill Would Allow Desert Tortoise Habitat Destruction For Solar Farm
by Eric Brooks 09 May '12

09 May '12

----- Original Message ----- From: "Kim Delfino Defenders of Wildlife" <defenders(a)mail.defenders.org> Wed, 9 May 2012 10:26:35 -0500 (CDT) Subject: Bulldozing tortoises? Defenders of Wildlifewildlife-alert-stationery.jpg Desert Tortoise (Beth Jackson, USFWS) <http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=vm-ZDYNSAT0_8loKLR_mxw> AB 1073 would allow the destructive Calico Solar Project to wreak havoc on the sensitive Pisgah Valley -- and the struggling desert tortoises, bighorn sheep and other wildlife that depend on it for survival. Protect California's Desert Wildlife - Take Action Button <http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=9Xq5vMSWz2UD6iXRkrg08w> *Write your State Assembly member urging them to reject AB 1073 -- a harmful bill that would destroy sensitive habitat that struggling desert wildlife depend on to survive.* <http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=RgRVepuDsaK5FufzAiI8iQ> Share on Facebook!Â Share on Facebook <http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=ckGZKYWkQrAQk1O8H5sx8Q> *A bill quickly moving through the State Assembly could spell disaster for California's struggling desert tortoises, bighorn sheep and other desert wildlife.* *The final vote in the Legislature could happen as early as tomorrow.* *Please take action now: Write your State Assembly member urging them to reject AB 1073 -- a harmful bill that would destroy sensitive habitat that struggling desert wildlife depend on to survive.* <http://actiondefenders.org/site/R?i=4vOQm_E7HBkuU_m78y0qiQ> AB 1073 is a dangerous bill that exempts the Calico Solar Project -- *one of the most harmful proposed solar projects in the state* -- from crucial environmental reviews. *Even worse, this bill is being rushed through the Legislature with NO hearing on the substance of the bill in the State Assembly.* In fact, Defenders and our partners were poised to kill this bill in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee on Monday, but *in a completely unprecedented move, the bill sponsors were able to get AB 1073 pulled from the committee hearing and sent directly to the Assembly Floor for a vote.* If this bill passes, *the Calico Solar Project would be allowed to tear through the heart of the Pisgah Valley's sensitive desert habitat* -- /and would destroy the homes that threatened desert tortoises, iconic bighorn sheep and other desert wildlife need to survive./ *We can't let this happen. * *Please take action now to oppose AB1073.* <http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=eVglEdIZ2YcwJfdsEmp2TQ> For years, Defenders and our conservation partners have been successfully working with solar companies and state, local and federal agencies to ensure that alternative energy projects are "smart from the start" -- and consider the impacts on our wildlife and wild places. But backers of the more than 4,000-acre Calico Project have rejected alternatives offered by conservationists and land planners, *opting instead for a plan to that will severely impact the heart of California's sensitive desert habitat.* Now, their allies in the State Assembly are going all out to allow the project to move forward -- /even pulling questionable legislative maneuvers to sneak the bill through the Assembly./ *Our desert wildlife needs your voice now. Please write your Assembly member today and urge them to reject this terrible bill.* <http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=9osuapBakIMtjBWjGrKKNw> Thank you for all you do to protect our wildlife and wild places. Kim Delfino Sincerely, *Kim Delfino* California Program Director Defenders of Wildlife PixelServer?j=nJvHp8avHaGx_lM31XNcgg footer-text.png <http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=_sQtqdeIXAcbD4pP-olwvA> Â© Copyright 2012 Defenders of Wildlife Â | Â 1130 17th Street NW Â | Â Washington, DC 20036 Â | Â 1-800-385-9712 footer-badge-readers-digest.png HOME <http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=sI9VEckXh_SxYlqmJj8K9g> DONATE NOW <http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=RjCawPfSakXJsN45c7x2Ew> CONTACT US <http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=WuFFK-SDPDrze646z9AILw> RSS FEEDS <http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=95Et813lIza1PWfbiR2UjQ> PRIVACY POLICY <http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=Wl32QpOUMqMsuNEyyxSZjQ> TERMS OF USE <http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=uC5Q-LmYZ-9oBQPOpr10cw> Â© Copyright 05/09/2012 Defenders of Wildlife. /Defenders of Wildlife is a national, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to the protection of all native wild animals and plants in their natural communities./ Defenders of Wildlife can be contacted at: 1130 17th Street, NW Washington, DC 20036

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[Sustain] Fwd: Special Port Commission Hearing On Sea Wall Lot 351, 8 Washington - Wed, May 16
by Eric Brooks 01 May '12

01 May '12

Fwd: Special Port Commission Hearing On Sea Wall Lot 351, 8 Washington - Wed, May 16 See agenda attached. -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Special Port Commission Meeting - Wednesday, May 16, 2012 Date: Tue, 1 May 2012 13:02:56 -0700 From: Amy.Quesada(a)sfport.com To: Amy.Quesada(a)sfport.com Attached is the notice for the Special Port Commission meeting for Wednesday, May 16, 2012 (See attached file: S05162012.doc) __________________ Amy Quesada Port of San Francisco Pier 1, SF CA 94111 (415) 274-0405 ph (415) 274-0412 fax

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[Sustain] Alert: Central Subway
by Eric Brooks 28 Apr '12

28 Apr '12

Hi all, Please see the quoted email below from transit activist Howard Strassner for more details. In addition to the MTA agenda item he highlights, the Board of Supervisors has also snuck authorizing this item as a resolution onto their 'Adoption Without Committee Reference' calendar for this Tuesday May 1st. (Board agenda item 49). This item sets San Francisco up for exactly the scenario that many have warned about; that Federal or other Central Subway funding will be cut and the MTA will then take up the slack from its own revenues, thereby inevitably raising fares and fees and/or cutting basic transit services to pay for this ridiculous billion dollar a mile boondoggle. NOTE: Sean Elsbernd has not yet co-sponsored this legislation, so it may be possible for us to ask that he send it to committee for a full hearing. Any of you with a friendly connection to Elsbernd please contact him and asked him to do so. Here is the Board item text: 49. [Supporting Assurance Funding for the Central Subway Project] Sponsors: Wiener; Chiu, Avalos, Mar, Campos, Olague, Cohen, Kim, Chu and Farrell Resolution supporting SFMTA's commitment to issue revenue bonds as assurance funding for the Central Subway Project in the event of any delay or other shortfall in the availability of funding. 04/25/2012; REFERRED FOR ADOPTION WITHOUT COMMITTEE REFERENCE AGENDA AT THE NEXT BOARD MEETING. Question: Shall this Resolution be ADOPTED? Eric B On 4/28/2012 10:31 AM, Howard Strassner wrote: > ** > > MTA BOARD AGENDA, MAY 1, 2012:See link for Item 10.4 for details. > > http://www.sfmta.com/cms/cmta/SFMTABoardMay12012agenda.htm > <http://www.sfmta.com/cms/cmta/SFMTABoardMay12012agenda.htm> > > SaveMuni.com has asked that Item 10.4 be removed from the Consent Calendar . > > ** > > The MTA is quietly authorizing and incurring debt for $61 million in > revenue bonds for the Central Subway.But the premises of Prop A 2007, > which granted revenue bond authority to the MTA, have not been > met. Despite increased funding from increased parking taxes/ fees/ fines/ > enforcement, MTA has shifted those funds to work orders and bad projects > like the Central Subway. Mandated citywide improvements from the Transit > Effectiveness Program (TEP) have not been implemented---only service > cuts, discontinued routes, shortened and curtailed lines.Revenue bonds > are much more needed to address Muni’s $25.4 billion in existing capital > needs. > > PROP A CHARTER AMENDMENT, November 2007:See Page 39 and 115. > > http://sfpl.org/pdf/main/gic/elections/November6_2007.pdf > <http://sfpl.org/pdf/main/gic/elections/November6_2007.pdf> > > The MTA calls the issuance of revenue bonds as assurance funding---in > the event that State High Speed Rail Bond Funds are delayed.But Governor > Jerry Brown has not supported the Central Subway Project for Proposition > 1A High-Speed Rail funds---because /“the project appears unrelated to > the high-speed rail project or a comprehensive statewide rail plan”./In > fact, the Central Subway disconnects Muni from High-Speed Rail

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[Sustain] ALERT! - Call Today! Contact Supes Cohen, Olague & Kim To Stop Redevelopment Freight Train
by Eric Brooks 20 Mar '12

20 Mar '12

Hi again all, Final Alert! Before tomorrow's Redevelopment transfer 'Freight Train' vote: Call Supervisors Malia Cohen, Christina Olague, and Jane Kim before 2pm tomorrow (Tue, Jan 24) to stop the Redevelopment Transition Freight Train! See my previous post below for details on what's happening. Call, Malia Cohen: 415-554-7670 Christina Olague: 415-554-7630 Jane Kim: 415-554-7970 with one or more of the following 3 demands: - Amend your Redevelopment transition legislation to be only the -minimal- required transfer of powers and authority necessary to comply with the State's deadline on February 1st. NO other powers or authority over Redevelopment should be given to the City, agency staff, or any Oversight Board, until a full WELL NOTICED public hearing, allowing public comment, is held in mid to late February, so that the people of San Francisco have a strong voice in this process. - The Mayor's appointment of three high level, unelected, Mayor's office, Planning Department, and Controller's office staff to run the Redevelopment Oversight Board is UNACCEPTABLE. We demand that actual RESIDENT representatives of the Bayview Hunters Point, Mission Bay, and Transbay neighborhoods be appointed to the Oversight Board, and we demand that you postpone these appointment decisions to full WELL NOTICED public hearings, ALLOWING PUBLIC COMMENT, to be held in mid to late February. - The fact that there was no broad public notice of this legislation sent in early January, to ALL of the thousands of San Francisco residents who have formally commented on the Mission Bay, Hunters Point Shipyard phase 1 & 2, Transbay Terminal, Treasure Island and other San Francisco Redevelopment projects is UNACCEPTABLE. Immediate timely notice of the current proposed legislation, and of all future hearings on this matter, must go out to all such commenters who provided their contact information when commenting on Redevelopment projects! That's the alert! Please call Cohen, Olague and Kim immediately so that the public gets a voice in this unacceptably fast tracked Redevelopment freight train process! thanks Eric Brooks 415-756-8844 http://ourcitysf.org/campaigns >Here is my previous email which shows links to the details on what's happening: Here are the details on the sudden Redevelopment crisis which emerged during the MLK holiday weekend.. The Mayor's office is using the fact that San Francisco must transfer legal authority over SF Redevelopment projects to itself by February 1st as an excuse to fast track legislation that will give far -more- authority than necessary over Redevelopment (especially in the Transbay Terminal, Hunters Point Shipyard, and Mission Bay projects) to high level pro-developer Mayoral and Controller staff. Specifically, Lee is trying to put the Planning Director, Mayor's Housing Director, and the Controller's office in firm control of an 'Oversight Board' for Redevelopment in San Francisco; in legislation which gives them authority to make program changes without approval of the Board of Supervisors. The legislation, which will probably be voted on this Tuesday, can be read at http://www.sfbos.org/ftp/uploadedfiles/bdsupvrs/committees/materials/bf0118… The specific section on the Oversight Board is on page 9-9 (page 33 of this pdf file). The Mayor's appointees are; Nadia Sesay (Controller's Office), Olsen Lee (Housing Director), John Rahaim (Planning Director), and Bob Muscat (a state required appointment from Local 21). These appointments are currently 'at will' and perpetual, with no fixed term of office! Supervisors Cohen, Olague, and Kim are co-sponsoring the Mayor's legislation and appointments. I will be sending out an alert on Monday asking people to call Cohen, Olague and Kim to insist that the Redevelopment legislation be -drastically- scaled down to only fill state transfer requirements with no added authority or powers, delaying any such expanded powers to be taken up in full public hearings in February and/or March; and also delaying the appointments of the 'Oversight Board' for full public hearings in which we should insist on community representatives being on the Oversight Board. Anyone who knows Cohen, Olague and Kim, please call them ASAP to insist on these changes! Otherwise the Mayor's Downtown developer backers will continue to undemocratically and disastrously lord over Redevelopment in San Francisco for decades. cheers Eric B

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[Sustain] Meet To Plan Response To Industrial Desalination Plant!
by Eric Brooks 19 Mar '12

19 Mar '12

Hi again all, This is a follow up announcement for a POST-workshop strategy meeting for experienced environmental organizers. This strategy session is even more important than the workshop itself, so if you can, please attend. And please forward this to others who you feel should attend. Meet With Other Organizers Following Sierra Club Workshop To Plan Response To SF Bay Industrial Desalination Plant Downtown Oakland, March 31, 1:30pm Pre-Register on FaceBook at http://tinyurl.com/6vov72d As you may know, on March 31st, the Sierra Club is holding a morning informational workshop on a proposed industrial desalination plant planned by Bay Area water agencies to deliver 20-70 million gallons per day of desalinated water to customers. The plant would have major environmental impacts on the San Francisco Bay and would be a high energy user and greenhouse gas emitter. This alert is being sent to invite you to a brainstorming and strategy session immediately -following- the Sierra Club workshop in the same meeting room, which is being held to assess workshop presentations and implications of the desalination proposal, and then begin coordinating an organized Bay Area response to the water agencies' plans to move forward with the plant. (Register for this post-workshop strategy session at http://tinyurl.com/6vov72d or by emailing brookse32(a)earthlink.net ) Workshop & Strategy Session Details The day's events will be held on Saturday, March 31, 2012, at: CSU East Bay Oakland Conference Center 1000 Broadway, Suite 109 (1 block south of Oakland 12th St. BART) The morning workshop will run from 8:30am to 1:15pm, and we will then break for 15 minutes and reconvene for the afternoon strategy session from roughly 1:30 to 3pm. (NOTE: Light food and beverages will be provided during both the morning workshop and afternoon strategy session.) Afternoon Strategy Session The post-workshop strategy session will be organized as a round table discussion via consensus meeting process. If strategy session attendance is high, we may break out into separate working groups to make the session more manageable, and convene at the end to share assessments and propose/coordinate next steps. Strategy session facilitators will be Adam Scow (Food & Water Watch), Conner Everts (So Cal Watershed Alliance), Nancy Okada (Marin County Sierra Club), and Eric Brooks (Our City SF). Strategy session topics will cover grassroots, legal, and media strategies for challenging and mitigating industrial desalination projects as well as potential points of unity and/or differences with upstream watershed protection organizers such as the Tuolumne River Trust. After general discussion we will seek consensus on organized action. Space Is Limited - Please Register If you wish to attend this post-workshop strategy session, please email Eric Brooks at brookse32(a)earthlink.net and/or confirm through the FaceBook event page at http://tinyurl.com/6vov72d so that we know how many are showing up, and can better plan the session. All who confirm will receive an agenda via email in the week before the event. NOTE: If you also plan to attend the Sierra Club informational workshop in the morning, remember to register separately for that section of the day's program at http://bayareadesalconference.eventbrite.com/ Please forward this alert to other water and environmental organizers who might be interested in the strategy session. thanks! Eric Brooks Campaign Coordinator Our City San Francisco http://ourcitysf.org brookse32(a)earthlink.net 415-756-8844

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[Sustain] Event, Mar 31: Should Industrial Desalination Be An Option For Bay Area Water Supply?
by Eric Brooks 13 Mar '12

13 Mar '12

Hi all, The Sierra Club San Francisco Bay Chapter invites you to attend an exciting event on Saturday March 31st, in which both desalination opponents, and Bay Area water agency staff who've been examining the possibility of a regional desalination plant, will discuss and debate the implications of the project. (See further details below.) Likely located in Pittsburg, CA, the desalination plant in question would affect the San Francisco Bay and much of the Bay Area's water supply from the Delta to San Jose. Plans and studies have been moving through the water agencies for up to 8 years now. We feel it is high time that the public hear about what is being considered and what the downsides could be, and be given the opportunity to ask questions and comment on this proposal. Please forward, post and share widely, and urge readers to RSVP using our registration link at: http://www.bayareadesalconference.eventbrite.com Put the date on your calendars and spread the word! Here are the event details: "Should a Bay Area Regional Desalination Project be an Option for our Water Supply?" Please join us for a free, public workshop, sponsored by the Sierra Club SF Bay Chapter, about the status, potential benefits and potential environmental drawbacks of a joint desalination project under consideration by five Bay Area utilities. Find out what our water agencies have been studying, what their plans are, and what concerns environmentalists have about the Regional Desalination Project and its likely location near Pittsburg, at the confluence of SF Bay and the Delta. DATE: March 31, 2012 TIME: 8:30am-1:15pm LOCATION: CSU East Bay Oakland Conference Center, 1000 Broadway, Suite 109, Oakland (corner of Broadway at 11th St, one block south of 12th St Oakland BART station) MODERATOR: Peter Drekmeier, Tuolumne River Trust PRESENTERS: Representing environmental perspectives and concerns: Heather Cooley, Pacific Institute; Debbie Cook, Post-Carbon Institute; Carol Reeb, Hopkins Marine Station; Conner Everts, Desal Response Group; Adam Scow, Food and Water Watch. Representing the water agencies: Hasan Abdullah, East Bay Municipal Utility District; Manisha Kothari, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission; Emily Corwin, Contra Costa Water District; Ray Wong, Santa Clara Valley Water District; Amparo Flores, Zone 7 Water Agency. RSVP: Space is limited! Please reserve early using the following link: http://www.bayareadesalconference.eventbrite.com FOR MORE INFO: Contact Sonia Diermayer, Co-chair, SF Bay Chapter Water Committee sodier(a)mindspring.com ; 510-336-1102 Funding and support for this event come from the Sierra Club SF Bay Chapter, and its Marin Group, San Francisco Group, Southern Alameda County Group and Northern Alameda County Group. *************************************************************************************************************

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[Sustain] URGENT Alert: New Head Of CA Fish & Game Hunted & Killed Mountain Lion For Sport! Demand His Removal!
by Eric Brooks 18 Feb '12

18 Feb '12

Alert: New Head Of CA Fish & Game Hunted & Killed Mountain Lion For Sport - Bragged & Posed For 'Trophy' Photo! Please all, take a moment to express your outrage and forward this alert widely to others. We must demand that Dan Richard be removed from his post immediately! http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/elist/eListRead/ca_fish_and_ga… CA Fish and Game Commission President Shoots Cougar and Boasts About Hunt in Magazine by Maureen Nandini Mitra <http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/elist/oeuvre/maureen-mitra/> -- February 17, 2012 Humane Society of US Urges Californians to Voice Concern About Dan Richards' Leadership Apparently Dan Richards, the new president of California Fish and Game Commission likes to hunt and is willing to travel to states that allow people to kill big wildlife --- environment, conservation, and simple compassion be damned. Photo courtesy www.ForestWander.com <http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/elist/eListRead/ca_fish_and_ga…>We can't post the photograph in question here since it might be subject to copyright. To view Richards with his "trophy", click here <http://www.wonews.com/images/image-manager/2012/feb/3%20yrs%20110%20lb%20ca…>. Yesterday, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), CA, posted a picture of the Richards holding up a dead mountain lion he shot during a hunting expedition in Idaho. It's illegal to shoot mountain lions in California. So Richards schlepped over to another state to fulfill his bloodlust. A little snooping around on the Net turned up the site where the original photo was posted --- a blog in Western Outdoor News <http://www.wonews.com/Blog.aspx?id=1646> --- a fishing and hunting weekly. Here's the caption accompanying the photograph that Richards himself supplied the publication. */"NEW COMMISSION PRESIDENT CELEBRATES A SUCCESSFUL HUNT --/*/California Fish and Game commissioner Dan W. Richards travelled deep into the wicked terrain of Idaho's Flying B Ranch to fulfill a long-held goal. "It was the most physically exhausting hunt of my lifetime. Eight hours of cold weather hiking in very difficult terrain. I told the guides I appreciated the hard work. They were unbelievably professional, first class all the way," he said. Richards said he took the big cat over iron sights using a Winchester Centennial lever action .45 carbine. Asked about California's mountain lion moratorium, Richards didn't hesitate. *"I'm glad it's legal in Idaho." *(emphasis added) / Wow! The blog also notes that Richards is outspoken opponent of the Marine Life Protection Act <http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa/> (MLPA) that requires the state to improve the way it protects the ocean. Richards' decision to "not only hunt an animal whose protection has twice been approved by California voters, but to post a photo showing his glee over the trophy kill, undermines Californians' confidence in the state's leadership and commitment to wisely managed natural resources," HSUS' California director Jennifer Fearing said in a statement today. "Richards' example stands in stark contrast to the work by dozens of stakeholders -- including The HSUS -- which just yesterday culminated in the adoption of an interim strategic vision <http://vision.ca.gov/docs/Final_EC_Adopts_ISV_120216.pdf> for California's fish and wildlife," she added. The Humane Society is urging Californians to contact the Fish and Game Commission <http://www.fgc.ca.gov/contact/> and voice their concerns about Richards' leadership role. I urge you to heed their call. PS: When I contacted the Fish and Game Commission this afternoon I was told that their phones had been "ringing off the hook" but there were no senior officials around today to field the calls. *Maureen Nandini Mitra <http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/elist/oeuvre/maureen-mitra/>, Managing Editor, Earth Island Journal.*Maureen Nandini Mitra photo In addition to her work at the Journal, Maureen is a columnist for The Faster Times <http://thefastertimes.com> and writes for several other magazines and online publications in the US and India. A journalism graduate from Columbia University, her work has appeared in the San Francisco Public Press <http://sfpublicpress.org>, The New Internationalist <http://www.newint.org/>, Sueddeutsche Zeitung <http://www.sueddeutsche.de>, /The Caravan <http://www.caravanmagazine.in>/ and Down to Earth <http://downtoearth.org.in>.

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