Santa Barbara County Action Network
2. Sunday, October 11: Bike Day/Bici Familia at Buena Vista Park in Santa Maria
3. Wednesday, October 14: Sustainability Summit at UCSB
4. Friday, October 16: SC HOT Committee in Santa Barbara
5. Friday, October 16: Registration deadline to ride the bus from Santa Maria to Santa Barbara for Open Streets
6. SBCAN op-ed on Exxon's Knowledge of and Denial of Climate Change was published October 9
1. Saturday, October 10: Gale McNeeley performs "50 Years in Musicals" in Goleta
Broadway Actor, Singer, Dancer and SBCAN Board Member/Treasurer Gale McNeeley will perform his show – “50 Years in Musicals” accompanied on the piano by his musical partner, Betty Faas.
Saturday, October 10 at 2 p.m.
Niche Theatre at Live Oak
820 N. Fairview Ave., Goleta, CA. 93117
$15 for adults and $10 for seniors or students
For more information e-mail [email protected] or call (805) 406-4997 or read the Noozhawk article at http://www.noozhawk.com/calendar/detail/gale_mcneeleys_50_years_of_musicals.
2. Sunday, October 11: Bike Day/Bici Familia at Buena Vista Park in Santa Maria
SBCAN has teamed up with Buena Vista Beautifiers, SB Bike, Adam School, Traffic Solutions and Tailwinds Bicycle Club to put on the first Family Bike Day/Bici Familia in Santa Maria. The event starts at 1 p.m. at Adam School, 500 Windsor Street, with free bicycle tune ups and bike riding instructions for children who attend the school. The group will then ride to Buena Vista Park, 833 S. Pine Street. 
If anyone would like to help, please show up at the school at 12 p.m. Volunteers are needed as follows:
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1) Event Volunteer:
ROLES: Help with helmet fitting, help with handling skills on blacktop, coach new young riders or ride with the group on the streets. THANK YOU for being flexible and willing to help.
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2) Spanish speaking volunteer:
Spanish speaking volunteers will greet & direct participants at the registration table. They will hand-out waivers & collect them when completed & signed.
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3) Volunteer (bike mechanic skills):
Basic bike mechanic skills needed
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4) Certified League Cycling Instructor (LCI)
Will teach riders about bike safety, bike handling skills and will lead the group ride on the streets.
For more information, call 805.963.SAVE, or visit http://www.bicicentro.org/event-1994351 or https://www.facebook.com/buenavistasm.
3. Wednesday, October 14: Sustainability Summit at UCSB
Information from the organizers:
2015 Central Coast Sustainability Summit
7:30 AM – 3:30 PM, October 14th, 2015
Loma Pelona Conference Center
University of California, Santa Barbara
Registration Now Open!
Opening keynote speaker Admiral Len Hering, Executive Director, Center for Sustainable Energy
Rear Admiral Leendert “Len” Hering Sr. (U.S. Navy, retired), is a prominent military and civilian sustainability leader with a broad background in energy and environmental issues. His passion in sustainability is educating people on the dangers the future holds without taking responsible actions to secure the nation’s energy independence and to preserve water, air quality and other resources.
At this year’s summit, our keynote speakers will inspire agencies and thought leaders to create a shared vision and accountability for sustainability efforts in California’s central coast. During the breakout sessions we will be addressing topics related to potable water reuse, recycled water, energy storage, renewable energy, collaborative procurement, and successful collaboration. The event will bring together key players from local institutions and government agencies to build collaborations for a sustainable central coast.
The summit is planned by partners from the Community Environmental Council; the Cities of Goleta, Santa Barbara, and Carpinteria; the County of Santa Barbara; and the University of California, Santa Barbara. We seek to inspire and sustain action on complex environmental and economic issues in our region.
The event brings together elected officials, staff, faculty and interested parties from local governments and organizations to discuss common sustainability issues, share best practices, and seek partners.
For the event schedule and Keynote Speakers please visit our website
If you have any questions or need assistants registering please contact Jewel Snavely at 805-893-8367 or [email protected]
Followed by
Building a Clean Energy Future:
Where we are and what still needs to be done
Panel discussion hosted by Congresswoman Lois Capps (CA-24)
3:30 PM – 5:00 PM
Loma Pelona, University of California, Santa Barbara
Sponsored By
Marborg Industries, Southern County Energy Efficiency Partnership, UCSB Sustainability, UCSB Housing and Residential Services, Community Environmental Council
4. Friday, October 16: SC H.O.T. Committee in Santa Barbara
Noon, Friday, October 16, 2015
Rabobank, 2nd Floor Conference Room, 33 Carrillo St. (corner of Anacapa Street), Santa Barbara
Please mark your calendar. We will send an agenda next week.
5. Friday, October 16: Registration deadline to ride the bus from Santa Maria to Santa Barbara for Open Streets
Kent Epperson, director of SBCAG Traffic Solutions, has arranged for a bus to take residents of Santa Maria to the Open Streets event in Santa Barbara on October 24. If enough people sign up, he will be able to provide the bus. Here's the message from Kent:
I wanted to invite you all to attend the 3rd annual Santa Barbara Open Streets on Sat. Oct. 24th. We have arranged a free shuttle from Guadalupe and Santa Maria to the event. The free shuttle is donated by Santa Barbara Airbus (LAX Shuttle) so a huge thanks goes out to our sponsor!
Space on the bus is limited so register to reserve your space on the bus here. Registration closes on Oct. 16th.
SB Open Streets is MAGIC: For those of you that are not familiar with the event, it is a 2 mile stretch of Cabrillo Blvd. along Santa Barbara's beautiful beachfront closed to motorized vehicles and open for families to bike, walk, skate, dance, play and exercise on. We will have multiple dance and music stages, yoga, basketball, street hockey, a skate park, chalk drawing, dancing zombies and much much more. With no cars, there is no noise, no pollution and it is safe, safe, safe. The event is Santa Barbara's premier health and wellness event. Some of you may have attended the 1st annual Guadalupe Ciclovia - this is very similar to our event in SB. Here is a video from our first annual event two years ago. http://sbopenstreets.org/media/
Interested in seeing an Open Streets event in Santa Maria? Catch the fever and experience our event first hand. If you want to make this field trip even more fulfilling, help us by becoming a volunteer and earn a 2015 commemorative t-shirt.
Please pass this on to anyone you think might be interested in this unique and fun filled FREE activity.
Kent Epperson
Director of SBCAG Traffic Solutions
805-895-6589
6. SBCAN op-ed on Exxon's Knowledge of and Denial of Climate Change was published October 9 in the Santa Maria Times:
Doing the right thing on climate change
This "Looking Forward" op-ed piece by Jeanne Sparks was published in the Santa Maria Times on Oct. 9, 2015: http://santamariatimes.com/news/opinion/editorial/commentary/looking-forward/doing-the-right-thing-on-climate-change/article_1e0096c3-70ce-5982-b679-8856f210ce47.html
People have debated mankind’s influence on climate since Aristotle’s time. The debate among non-scientists continues.
However, leading climate scientists no longer debate. Numerous studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals show that 97 percent of actively publishing climate scientists agree — humans are causing global warming.
The first calculations of the effect of carbon dioxide on climate change were made in the 1800s. By the late 1950s, scientists were arguing that carbon dioxide emissions could have radical effects on climate. By the 1970s, 62 percent of publishing scientists were predicting global warming.
Back then, even oil giant Exxon was concerned.
In 1977, senior company scientist James Black told Exxon management, “There is general scientific agreement that the most likely manner in which mankind is influencing the global climate is through carbon dioxide release from the burning of fossil fuels.”
In 1978, Black reported that independent researchers estimated a doubling of carbon dioxide would increase average global temperatures by four to five degrees Fahrenheit, and up to 18 degrees at the poles.
Exxon responded by pouring millions into cutting-edge research, outfitting a supertanker to monitor ocean and air temperatures and creating climate-change models.
One manager wrote in 1978: "This may be the kind of opportunity ... to have Exxon technology, management and leadership resources put into the context of a project aimed at benefitting mankind."
By 1982, Exxon recognized that staving off global warming “would require major reductions in fossil fuel combustion.” A company primer said: “There are some potentially catastrophic events that must be considered. Once the effects are measurable, they might not be reversible."
Exxon’s president of research and engineering, Edward David, told a global warming conference financed by Exxon in 1982 "few people doubt the world has entered an energy transition away from dependence upon fossil fuels and toward some mix of renewable resources that will not pose problems of CO2 accumulation. I'm generally upbeat about the chances of coming through this most adventurous of all human experiments with the ecosystem.”
How uplifting to hear that management of a multi-billion-dollar corporation believed it could change course and share a bright future with people and the planet, even if it meant changing its business plan.
Unfortunately, it did not last.
In the mid-1980s, collapsing oil prices resulted in Exxon cutting its staff, including many working on climate.
In 1988, NASA’s climate expert testified in Congress, leading a senator to declare, “Congress must begin to consider how we are going to slow or halt that warming trend.”
In 1989, the Exxon Valdez tanker spilled 11 million gallons of crude into Prince William Sound. That same year, Exxon, Shell, British Petroleum and others formed the Global Climate Coalition to oppose action on climate change. The GCC helped persuade the U.S. not to sign the Kyoto Protocol. Exxon also began spending millions on organizations that cast doubt about climate change. As the science became more certain, Exxon cast more doubt.
In 2008, under pressure from shareholders, the corporation announced it would end support for some prominent groups. Still, decades of disinformation have confused many.
Imagine if Exxon had kept doing the right thing, how different things might be right now. Still, it’s not too late. It’s time to listen to the scientists and take action.
Visit insideclimatenews.org to read about Exxon’s actions on climate change. Attend the Central Coast Sustainability Summit at UCSB. On Oct. 14, leaders will share information on energy and water issues (www.sustainability.ucsb.edu/centralcoastsummit).
Do your own research and check out “This Changes Everything,” documentary and book, and the websites: ipcc.ch, unfcc.int, climate.nasa.gov and edf.org/climate.
Jeanne Sparks is associate director of Santa Barbara County Action Network (SBCAN). She can be reached at [email protected]. Looking Forward is a progressive look at local issues.