SB CAN ACTION ALERT
September 17, 2013
1. Solstice Fall Green Mixer: A fundraiser for the Santa Maria Natural History Museum, co-sponsored by SB CAN, September 19.
2. “March to Drop the Keystone XL Pipeline and Accelerate Clean Energy," September 21 in Santa Barbara.
3. Edible Landscaping Demonstration Garden Work Day, September 21 in Santa Maria.
4. Green Team Program Meeting: Water Issues in the Santa Maria Valley presented by Santa Maria City Councilman Jack Boysen, September 23.
5. Public Hearing on Santa Maria Energy Project, September 25.
6. SB CAN writes editorials once a month for the Santa Maria Times and every other month for the Lompoc Record. Links below.
7. Offshore wind-energy survey: We provide a link to a survey by UCSB students.
HERE ARE THE DETAILS:
1. Solstice Fall Green Mixer
Thursday, September 19, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Natural History Museum, 412 S. McClelland Street, Santa Maria
SB CAN is a sponsor. Come out and mingle with others who care about the environment. Solstice: The Green Directory, Bringing people together to make a sustainable difference. www.slosolstice.com, www.facebook.com/solsticegreendirectory.
2. “March to Drop the Keystone XL Pipeline and Accelerate Clean Energy"
Saturday, September 21 from 10 a.m. to noon
350 Santa Barbara's march will begin at Alameda Park and proceed on the sidewalk down State Street to Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara. For more information, go to 350sb.org.
3. Edible Landscaping Demonstration Garden Work Day
Saturday, September 21 at 10 a.m.
Santa Maria Community Garden, 910 S. Oakwood Drive, Santa Maria
The Central Coast Green Team will install more of the hardscape for its Edible Landscaping Demonstration Garden and will be pruning and weeding the city's Flower Garden. They could use your help. Bring gardening gloves and water (to keep hydrated). They'll also have some tools and gloves.
More information: www.centralcoastgreenteam.org, Facebook/CentralCoastGreenTeam, [email protected] or 805.739.1836.
4. Central Coast Green Team Program Meeting
Water Issues in the Santa Maria Valley
Monday, September 23 at 5:30 p.m.
IHOP, 202 Nicholson Ave., Santa Maria
Santa Maria City Councilman Jack Boysen will speak on "Water in our Valley: After the Lawsuit and the Importation of State Water, what is the state of our groundwater basin?” The meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. with ordering off the menu. The program starts at 6 p.m.
In October, the City of Santa Maria will be considering a letter supporting extension of the State Water contract to be submitted to the County Board of Supervisors. The Board is scheduled to discuss the project at its November 4th meeting. The board will not be considering the contract extension at that time, but it is likely to be part of the general discussion.
The City believes the State Water Project is important for the vitality of the Santa Maria groundwater basin. Adjudication, monitoring, and the health of the groundwater basin will be discussed.
More information: www.centralcoastgreenteam.org, Facebook/CentralCoastGreenTeam, [email protected] or 805.739.1836.
5. Public Hearing on Santa Maria Energy Project
Wednesday, September 25 at 9 a.m.
Planning Commission Hearing Room, 123 E. Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara
Remote testimony, Board of Supervisors Hearing Room, 511 E. Lakeside Parkway, Santa Maria.
The Santa Barbara County Planning Commission is holding what is expected to be its final public hearing on the Santa Maria Energy Project. SB CAN urges you to attend and speak in support of requiring that the greenhouse gas emissions be largely, if not fully, offset.
Much has been written and said about this project over the last several months. You might want to read our editorials on mitigating the greenhouse gas emissions from this project. This is a big deal. We’ve been working hard on this for months and could use your support at the hearing. Here are the links: http://www.sbcan.org/sm_energy_mitigate_move_forward and http://www.sbcan.org/answering_questions_about_climate_change.
6. SB CAN writes editorials once a month for the Santa Maria Times ("Looking Forward") and every other month for the Lompoc Record ("The Forward View"). Our latest editorials are on climate change, Santa Maria Energy, alternative energy, Gasland II and sustainable communities. Read the Santa Maria Times editorials here: http://www.sbcan.org/editorials.
7. Offshore wind-energy production survey: We provide a link to a survey by UCSB students. The following material is provided by Luke Feinberg.
As part of their Master’s thesis, a team of students from the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at UCSB is working on a project evaluating offshore wind energy potential along the central California coast. The project is sponsored by the Community Environmental Council and Infinity Wind Power, a local wind developer. Neither sponsor has any plans for developing an offshore wind project. The three basic objectives of the project are to:
- Gain an understanding of stakeholder knowledge and opinions regarding offshore wind power,
- Analyze the regulatory and permitting pathway identifying gaps and overlaps, and
- Conduct a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) study to analyze potential project locations.
To capture stakeholder opinion, the team has prepared a general public survey that should take no more than 10 minutes to complete. Here is a link to the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CalWind. More information can be found on the project website, www.calwindproject.com.
Please contact me if you have any questions or comments.
Thank you.
Ken Hough
SB CAN Executive Director
[email protected]
805.563.0463
www.sbcan.org