- Sustainability - list.sfgreens.org

[Sustain] 2 GM Items: Lowes Big Box Being Fast Tracked For Bayview/Bernal & Park Merced
by Eric Brooks 15 Mar '10

15 Mar '10

Hi all, 1) A couple of years ago we successfully took a stand in opposition to the Home Depot that was almost grandfathered into existence in the Bayview/Bernal Bayshore corridor. Now Supervisor Maxwell is moving to use the same grandfathered approval of a big box use in that area to have the space taken over by another multi-national big box hardware chain; Lowes. Tomorrow (Monday, March 15) in the Land Use Committee, interim zoning controls to begin the process of moving the project forward will be taken up. See http://www.sfbos.org/ftp/uploadedfiles/bdsupvrs/committees/materials/LU0315… Since Campos is a cosponsor of the zoning rules, it is possible that he will be more willing to compromise in favor of the big box than Ammiano was, so this could be a tough fight if we take it up. I'm going to be in that committee on a couple other issues and will also speak against big box stores, however if we are really going to take a stand on this, we should discuss it at this month's General Membership meeting. I'll scope out the details at the hearing and try to talk to Campos before our meeting. I recommend we take at least 10 minutes on our agenda for this. 2) Aaron Goodman with Park Merced Residents wants some time on our agenda to seek our help in opposing a development that they are opposing in their complex. Attached is a PDF he sent me that lays out the issue in detail. Should we give this 5 minutes? cheers Eric B

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[Sustain] Spread The Word! - SFPUC's Toxic 'Organic Compost'
by Eric Brooks 07 Mar '10

07 Mar '10

Hi all, The SFPUC has been giving away toxic sewage sludge as free 'organic compost' since 2007 and there is finally dead on proof that it is indeed toxic, should -not- be used, and should be immediately removed at the City's expense. Please check out these TV-5 and SF Examiner report links, and spread the word bigtime! The sewage, shall we say, has hit the fan... http://cbs5.com/video/?id=62619@kpix.dayport.com http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/The-Citys-free-compost-causes-stink-8649469… NOTE: If you yourself were given some of this sludge, let me know and I'll pass on the word to the vanguard enviro groups on this issue. peace Eric B

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[Sustain] Deadline: 2009 Housing Element Comments Feb 27
by Eric Brooks 24 Feb '10

24 Feb '10

Judith Berkowitz wrote: ...the deadline for comments on the 2009 Housing Element is February 27. If you think Planning's DR proposal is bad, you should see this piece of crap!

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[Sustain] Event! Getting 50 Percent Local Clean Energy In 10 Years!
by Eric Brooks 24 Feb '10

24 Feb '10

Hi all, please forward widely! Next Tuesday! Learn how San Francisco (as well as Berkeley, Oakland, Marin and Sonoma) can be powered on 50% clean electricity within the next decade; and at the same or lower rates than PG&E! WHAT: Harvey Milk Club Clean Energy Forum WHEN: Tuesday March 2nd, 6:45pm WHERE: SF LGBT Community Center 1800 Market St @ Octavia (4th Floor Ceremonial Room) TRANSIT: From SF Civic Center take historic 'F Line' street car to Market & Octavia WHO: Former State Senator Carole Migden, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, Supervisor David Campos, Sierra Club's John Rizzo, and others COST: FREE! BACKGROUND: In July 2007 the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed an ordinance establishing the Clean Power SF project in San Francisco. Clean Power SF will gather San Francisco electricity consumers together in a cooperative that will use our collective buying power to build enough solar, wind and efficiency projects to run the City on 50% clean, renewable energy within the next decade. And because renewables and efficiency save money compared to fossil fuel power, our electricity rates will be kept low and stable. Similar projects in the East Bay, Marin and Sonoma are also getting underway and need a strong San Francisco program to anchor Bay Area clean energy efforts. But the private monopoly PG&E corporation wants to kill this new clean energy program and force us all to stay addicted to its dirty and expensive fossil and nuclear power. PG&E is attacking Clean Power SF with millions of dollars of negative advertising and ballot campaigns. Over the next weeks and months, PG&E will be using these deceptive campaigns to try to trick San Francisco electricity consumers into opting out of Clean Power SF. Come to the Clean Energy Forum next Tuesday to learn about this groundbreaking new program and how you and fellow Bay Area residents can stay in it and keep it strong! WHAT: Harvey Milk Club Clean Energy Forum WHEN: Tuesday March 2nd, 6:45pm WHERE: SF LGBT Community Center 1800 Market St @ Octavia (4th Floor Ceremonial Room) TRANSIT: From SF Civic Center take historic 'F Line' street car to Market & Octavia WHO: Former State Senator Carole Migden, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, Supervisor David Campos, Sierra Club's John Rizzo, and others COST: FREE! For more information call: 415-756-8844 Thanks for your continued action and support, Eric Brooks Campaign Coordinator Our City

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[Sustain] Join Web-FaceBook-Twitter Sites vs PG&E Attack On Clean Energy
by Eric Brooks 20 Feb '10

20 Feb '10

Hi all, Here are some key sites that you can link to, join and share to help fight PG&E's Prop 16 attack on Community Choice and public power. Please join and share/post them so that we can light up California with a million points of opposition to the attack. - Stop The PG&E Power Grab http://powergrab.info/ http://twitter.com/Powergrabinfo - No On Prop 16 (FaceBook) http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/group.php?gid=331641877109&ref=nf - Our City http://our-city.org/campaigns/index.html http://www.facebook.com/pages/OurCitySF/95953018269 http://twitter.com/OurCitySF - StopProp16 (twitter) http://twitter.com/StopProp16 peace Eric Brooks

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[Sustain] Act now: Stop $54 Billion Nuclear Loan Guarantees
by Eric Brooks 18 Feb '10

18 Feb '10

web banner 6930 Carroll Avenue, #340, Takoma Park, MD 20912; 301-270-6477; nirsnet(a)nirs.org <mailto:nirsnet@nirs.org>; www.nirs.org <http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=H1VS9ZBIuUOzWnbLtCwzU…> *HELP STOP TRIPLING OF NUCLEAR LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM! WRITE YOUR REPRESENTATIVE TODAY AND JOIN IN ON NATIONAL CALL-CONGRESS DAY WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24!* February 18, 2010 Dear Friends, By now you probably know that on Tuesday President Obama personally announced conditional approval of an $8.3 billion loan guarantee for the construction of two new reactors at the Vogtle site in Georgia. And you also probably know that Obama has proposed tripling the loan guarantee program for new reactors in his FY 2011 budget, to $54 billion. *What you may not know about the Vogtle deal is that we taxpayers are not just providing loan guarantees, _we're providing the actual loans_, through the Federal Financing Bank.* And you also may not know that the Southern Company has not yet accepted the conditions of the loan--and for various reasons, it may not. In other words, it's not a done deal. *And neither is a $54 billion loan guarantee program a done deal.* Congress has to approve this proposal. Twice last year, with your help, we beat back efforts to increase the loan guarantee program. We can do it again! **The first step is to send a letter to your Representative now. <http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=%2Fy3Mx096dOsJAhLLJUu…> *The second step is to spread the word and encourage as many people as possible to send in letters*. We need to speak very LOUDLY on this one! **The third step is to get ready for National Call-Congress Day on Wednesday, February 24.* We've done this before and thousands of you have called. This time it will be even bigger, because this is a coordinated effort with many groups: NIRS, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Beyond Nuclear, Friends of the Earth, and you! So prepare yourself (and we'll send some new talking points early next week), activate your e-mail lists and phone trees, tell your friends and family members. Let's keep the phones ringing in both the House and Senate all day long next Wednesday. Reaction to the Vogtle loan guarantee, and to the proposed tripling of the program, already has been strong. You can see NIRS' press releases, and statements by Ralph Nader, Sierra Club, PSR, etc. on the front page of our website: www.nirs.org <http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=9tUxwdsz3PwzrY%2F6J3M…>. Here is a link to a story in today's New York Times <http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=qPXCtf551eyh3DI4DexB6…> titled/ Environmental Advocates Are Cooling on Obama/. Here is a link to a story on the Facing South <http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=cINl4hBkbXP9FD5FQ0Fh3…> site. And here is a very good piece from Time Magazine <http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=vkFgVnLz4pyFr9JkcnWzO…>. These are typical of the kinds of stories we've been seeing. Now we need to follow up the strong reaction to Obama's nuclear plans with strong action: *P**lease write your representatives here.* <http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=IfNyXx%2FznRqjCfkqtLz…>* Plan to be part of National Call-Congress Day Wednesday, February 24.* And if there is anything we can do to help you, let us know. Thanks for all you do, Michael Mariotte Executive Director Nuclear Information and Resource Service nirsnet(a)nirs.org www.nirs.org *P.S. Some big THANK YOUs!* Thanks to _everyone_ who contributed for my 25th anniversary outreach fund. We're using those funds to supplement and support this Alert and Call-Congress Day with Google adwords and an action ad on Alternet.org (where coincidentally I've also started a new blog called Energy Progress <http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=dAiaujpRtnMKF9CVrXMKT…>) to bring more people to this effort. You can still contribute to this fund here, <http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=StobwDR2PifsuyRRpe9hq…> and we'll thank you just as profusely. We'll use your donations to continue expanding our outreach efforts. And thank you to everyone who filled out our questionnaire on our Alerts. As soon as things slow down just a little, we'll post a summary of your responses (without your names of course!). Winners of /The Critical Question/ (10 of you chosen at random) will receive your books soon. In the meantime, several people said they don't forward our Alerts to others. Most said this was due to privacy reasons and/or not wanting to be perceived as a spammer. We can respect that, and we do want to make clear that we do _NOT_ ask anyone to forward any of our materials to anyone you _don't_ know. But we also know that the only way to build an effective movement is with outreach. Thus, we ask grassroots groups with mailing lists to please forward our Alerts to your lists. And we encourage people to forward our materials to people you do know who might be interested and to post our Alerts on Facebook and other social networking sites (after all, what is a social networking site but a form of outreach?). If you don't feel like forwarding our entire Alert, we'd suggest just sending your friends/family/colleagues a link to our action page, with a sentence saying something like, "Here is an issue I really care about. If you do too, I hope you'll take action." For this action, the action page link is: http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5502/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=18… <http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=Q9OsB8wmaxI1gHMWauber…>

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[Sustain] Action: Stop EU Calling Palm Plantations 'Forests'
by Eric Brooks 05 Feb '10

05 Feb '10

info(a)regenwald.org wrote: Stop the EU Commission from forcing biodiesel from palm oil on EU countries. Dear friends, A leaked draft EU document shows that the Commission would like to rename palm oil plantations as “forest” in order that biodiesel from palm oil plantations can still meet EU biofuels sustainability criteria. Palm oil expansion is a major cause of tropical rainforest destruction and biodiesel from palm oil can easily cause more greenhouse gas emissions that the fossil fuel it is meant to replace. Please email the new energy and environment Commissioners and ask them to amend this document to give a clear message to member states that biodiesel from palm oil has no role to play in a sustainable EU energy mix. The alert can be found at http://www.rainforest-rescue.org/protestaktion.php?id=514 Many thanks. Best regards, Reinhard Behrend Rettet den Regenwald e. V. Friedhofsweg 28 22337 Hamburg Germany info(a)regenwald.org http://www.rainforest-rescue.org

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[Sustain] Vote Now! Chronicle Poll: Clean Power or PG&E!
by Eric Brooks 04 Feb '10

04 Feb '10

Hi all, Today's Chronicle has a poll asking whether San Francisco and Marin should move forward with Community Choice/CleanPowerSF. (In the poll, they call it "public power".) Of course choose the third option: "Yes, and San Francisco should too". Vote Now at: http://www.sfgate.com/polls/qlist.shtml?/polls/2010/02/04/public , or below in the article's left sidebar. Make your voice heard! Please Vote now and forward on to others that want a clean energy future and local green jobs! In addition to any computers you have, you can also vote from smart phones and PDAs; one vote per machine. PS: PG&E will probably ask their employees to vote from any computers they have so its really important that we show strong support for Community Choice/CleanPowerSF and Public Power today! PPS: The article has great news about Marin Clean Energy moving forward. Marin County to provide power, oust PG&E David R. Baker, Chronicle Staff Writer <mailto:dbaker@sfchronicle.com> Marin County is poised to jump into the public power business, despite fierce opposition from Pacific Gas and Electric Co. The Question Should Marin County begin providing public power? Yes, way out of the PG&E monopoly No, it will wind up costing more And San Francisco should too View Results <http://www.sfgate.com/polls/result.shtml?/polls/2010/02/04/public> Disclaimer <http://www.sfgate.com/polls/disclaimer.shtml> More Polls » <http://www.sfgate.com/polls/> GET QUOTE Symbol Lookup <http://finance.sfgate.com/hearst?Account=sfgate&Page=LOOKUP> MORE BUSINESS * House Democrats challenge Comcast, NBC on deal <http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/02/04/financial/f0322…> 02.04.10 * World markets plunge on European debt fears <http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/02/03/financial/f1905…> 02.04.10 * Shell to cut more jobs as earnings disappoint <http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/02/03/financial/f2341…> 02.04.10 In a series of votes tonight, officials with the Marin Energy Authority are expected to take some of the last key steps necessary to start providing electricity to many of the county's residents and businesses, taking over a role now filled by PG&E. The organization is a joint-powers authority formed by the county and all of its cities except Corte Madera, Larkspur, Novato and Ross. The authority's board is scheduled to vote tonight on a proposed contract with Shell Energy North America to line up wholesale electricity supplies from power plants, wind farms and solar facilities. The board also is scheduled to set the authority's electricity rates, matching PG&E's rates for most customers. "This is the final seal on a lot of the work we've been doing," said Dawn Weisz, the authority's interim director. "We've been working on this for seven years." If all goes as planned, the Marin Energy Authority would start supplying electricity to some customers in May. It would be state's first example of a new kind of public power, known as community choice aggregation. Created by a state law in 2002, community choice allows towns, cities or counties to buy electricity for their residents, while traditional utility companies such as PG&E continue to own and operate the electrical grid. San Francisco is developing its community choice aggregation system. "I'm just totally thrilled that it's finally happening," said Paul Fenn, who drafted the law and now helps communities adopt community choice aggregation. "This is a very big thing." But Marin's plan still faces hurdles placed in its path by PG&E. The utility, based in San Francisco, argues that Marin residents will end up paying more for power in the long run if the authority moves forward. PG&E also has complained that, under California's laws, the authority should have performed an environmental impact report before setting up its system. PG&E has funded an initiative on the June ballot that would make it far harder for anyone to adopt community choice aggregation in the future. Although the initiative would come too late to stop Marin, it could complicate any efforts by the Marin Energy Authority to expand. Finally, PG&E has threatened not to deliver electricity to the authority over the utility's power lines. "We are obligated to not deliver power if we believe that (the authority) is not complying with (community choice aggregation) tariffs and the law," said PG&E spokeswoman Katie Romans. But the community choice aggregation law explicitly requires utilities to cooperate with communities that adopt the system, said Marin County Supervisor Charles McGlashan, who also serves as the energy authority's chairman. PG&E's threat, he said, "is patently illegal, but they don't seem to care." E-mail David R. Baker at dbaker(a)sfchronicle.com <mailto:dbaker@sfchronicle.com>. This article appeared on page *D - 1* of the San Francisco Chronicle Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/04/BUN81BS696.DTL&… <http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/04/BUN81BS696.DTL&…> When this email was sent, we were ahead. The Question Should Marin County begin providing public power? Yes, way out of the PG&E monopoly (143) 35% No, it will wind up costing more(93) 23% And San Francisco should too(170) 42% Total Votes: 406 Refresh Results <http://www.sfgate.com/polls/result.shtml?/polls/2010/02/04/public> Return to Vote <http://www.sfgate.com/polls/qlist.shtml?/polls/2010/02/04/public>

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[Sustain] Articles: Cell Phone Health Hazards & CT Scan Dangers
by Eric Brooks 28 Jan '10

28 Jan '10

GQ - Warning: Your Cell Phone May Be Hazardous to Your Health To flip pages in this article you have to enter the next number in the little page number box you'll find at the bottom right. http://www.gq.com/cars-gear/gear-and-gadgets/201002/warning-cell-phone-radi… and 15,000 will die from CT scans done in 1 year Scans have higher levels of radiation than thought, researchers say http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34420356/ns/health-cancehttp://www.nytimes.com/… updated 2:14 p.m. PT, Mon., Dec . 14, 2009 CHICAGO - Radiation from CT scans done in 2007 will cause 29,000 cancers and kill nearly 15,000 Americans, researchers said Monday. The findings, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, add to mounting evidence that Americans are overexposed to radiation from diagnostic tests, especially from a specialized kind of X-ray called a computed tomography, or CT, scan. "What we learned is there is a significant amount of radiation with these CT scans, more than what we thought, and there is a significant number of cancers," said Dr. Rita Redberg, editor of the Archives of Internal Medicine, where the studies were published. Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad here "It's estimated that just from the CT scans done in one year, just in 2007, there will be 15,000 excess deaths," Redberg said in a telephone interview. "We're doing millions of CT scans every year and the numbers are increasing. That is a lot of excess deaths." CT scans give doctors a view inside the body, often eliminating the need for exploratory surgery. But CT scans involve much higher radiation dose than conventional X-rays. A chest CT scan exposes the patient to more than 100 times the radiation dose of a chest X-ray. 70 million scans done in 2007 About 70 million CT scans were done on Americans in 2007, up from 3 million in 1980. Amy Berrington de Gonzalez of the National Cancer Institute and colleagues developed a computer model to estimate the impact of so many scans. Video Doctor: Radiation danger from CT scans 'serious' Dec. 14: Dr. Rita Redberg, a cardiologist at the University of California at San Francisco and the editor of the Archives of Internal Medicine, says commonly performed CT scans are exposing patients to more radiation than previously thought. Nightly News They estimated the scans done in 2007 will cause 29,000 cancers. A third of the projected cancers will occur in people who were ages 35 to 54 when they got their CT, two-thirds will occur in women and 15 percent will arise from scans done in children or teens. The researchers estimated there will be an extra 2,000 excess breast cancers just from CT scans done in 2007. Redberg, who wrote a commentary on the studies, said U.S. doctors' enthusiasm for the tests has led to an explosion in their use that is putting patients at risk. "While certainly some of the scans are incredibly important and life saving, it is also certain that some of them were not necessary," Redberg said. In a separate study, Dr. Rebecca Smith-Bindman of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues analyzed data from 1,119 patients undergoing the 11 most common types of diagnostic CT scans at four institutions in 2008. They found radiation dosage varied widely between different types of CT studies, from a median or midpoint of 2 millisieverts for a routine head CT scan to 31 millisieverts for a scan of the abdomen and pelvis, which often involves taking multiple images of the same organ. By comparison, the average American is exposed to about 3 millisieverts of radiation a year from ground radon or flying in an airplane — a level not considered a risk to health. The researchers said efforts need to be taken to minimize CT radiation exposure, including reducing the number of unnecessary tests, cutting the dose per study, and standardizing the doses across facilities. Imaging equipment makers such as GE Healthcare, Siemens, Philips and Toshiba Medical Systems are working to develop low-dose CT scanners. Understanding different types of scans CT scan Computed tomography (CT) scans use X-rays and computers to produce images of a cross-section of the body. Some patients are required to drink a contrast liquid before the scan or have it injected into a vein to help emphasize blood vessels, bowels or other structures. Patients lie still on a table as the donut-shaped X-ray tube rotates around them, sending doses of radiation through them at various angles. Most CT scans take just a few minutes. CT scans generally provide good detail about bony structures. MRI scan Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses a magnetic field and radio waves to create detailed images of the organs and tissues within the body. Most MRI machines are large, tube-shaped magnets. The machine looks like a tunnel that has both ends open. Patients must lie very still during the scan, which can take about an hour. Inside the machine, patients hear repetitive tapping and thumping sounds made by the internal part of the magnet. During the scan, the magnetic field temporarily aligns the water molecules in the patient's body and radio waves cause them to produce faint signals that create cross sectional images that can be combined to produce a 3-D image. PET scan A positron emission tomography (PET) scan is an imaging test designed to show how a patient's tissues and organs are functioning. Patients inhale, swallow or receive an injection of a small amount of radioactive material, which usually accumulates in areas that have the highest chemical activity, often corresponding to areas of disease. PET scans can help evaluate heart disease, cancer and neurological problems. During the test, patients lie on a narrow table that slides into the opening of the PET scanner, which is similar to a CT machine. Patients must remain very still during the 30 minutes it often takes to complete the scan to prevent images from being blurred. Unlike a CT or MRI scan, a PET scan reveals cellular-level metabolic changes in an organ or tissue. X-ray A conventional X-ray exam uses electromagnetic radiation to make specific images of a patient's bones, teeth and internal organs. X-rays are used to assess conditions ranging from broken bones to pneumonia to cancer. Source: Mayoclinic.com, Clevelandclinic.org Copyright 2009 Reuters. Click for restrictions.

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[Sustain] Email MTC: Save Jobs & Transit Using Airport BART Funds
by Eric Brooks 26 Jan '10

26 Jan '10

http://www.transformca.org/take-action/tell-mtc-save-jobs-and-transit-servi… Email MTC Now to Use Federal Money to Save Jobs and Transit Service! Tell the Metropolitian Transportation Commission to use stimulus money from the Oakland Airport Connector to save jobs and transit service! A letter was just released by the Federal Transit Administration stating that $70 million in federal stimulus funds are being withheld from the Oakland Airport Connector project due to BART's failure to do an equity analysis on how the project will impact local residents. *Now these precious dollars could be lost altogether to the Bay Area.* *But the Bay Area's Metropolitan Transportation Commission and BART can choose to put this $70 million towards things the 9-county Bay Area really needs:* 1. *JOBS. *The $70 million can save hundreds of local jobs at public transit agencies that are on the chopping block due to funding shortfalls. 2. *Better public transportation service. *Millions in funding could quickly be directed to transit operations across the Bay Area, stopping brutal service cuts and fare hikes. 3. The chance* to study a faster way to get to the Oakland Airport and save $400 million.* *SEND A PERSONALIZED EMAIL TO THE METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION NOW.* <http://act.transformca.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1628> *Let's put $70 million in stimulus funds where it's needed: our regional transit agencies, not the Oakland Airport Connector boondoggle. Or the Bay Area risks losing this money entirely! * *COME TO THE RALLY FOR JOBS AND JUSTICE ON JANUARY 27. * <http://www.transformca.org/oac/your-action-needed-now> *Why is the Oakland Airport Connector such a boondoggle?* This $492,000,000 project a 3-mile, half-billion dollar transit fiasco. Service will average just 23.4 mph between the Coliseum BART Station and the Oakland Airport. Riders will be required to drag their luggage up and down more escalators and walk fartherthan they do now. Once at the Airport, they will get dropped into the existing parking lot and have to walk across multiple lanes of traffic. The $492 million price tag will require loans and a $6 one-way fare on top of the cost of a BART ride, making the trip to OAK more expensive than to SFO.

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