The Dana Reserve development in Nipomo is one of the largest proposed developments in the history of San Luis Obispo County. Last January, we noted the local media’s failure to accurately report on the massive project and its equally massive impacts on the environment (“Local journalists overlooked an important document for Nipomo’s Dana Reserve development,” […]
Andrew Christie, director, Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club
Posted inOpinion
The Chumash marine sanctuary should fill in the protection gap between the Channel Islands and Monterey
Ten years ago, when the Sierra Club joined with marine sanctuary advocates in advocating for the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary, we were all very clear: There is a “doughnut hole” in California’s marine sanctuaries. The Channel Islands sanctuary covers that environmental gem off the Santa Barbara Channel; the Monterey Bay sanctuary reaches down to […]
Posted inOpinion
Microgrids are the way of the future and there’s money available to help
Sammy Roth, the reporter who covers energy issues for the LA Times, recently had occasion to express the received wisdom on how energy must be generated and consumed in California. Roth recited the accepted wisdom in the July 13 edition of his newsletter (“Boiling Point: Peek inside Diablo Canyon”). Roth, like many of his colleagues, […]
Posted inOpinion
Newsom’s budget trailer bills get pushback from state legislators
At the height of the fight over Gov. Gavin Newsom’s budget trailer bills (see “How a bill shouldn’t become a law,” my June 1 column), he took time to sit down for a New York Times interview with a sympathetic Ezra Klein. Newsom unloaded on ungrateful environmental groups for the reception he got for his […]
Posted inOpinion
The legislative process exists for a reason, and the governor shouldn’t introduce exceptions at the eleventh hour
In mid-May, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that he was submitting a package of bills to the Legislature and declaring an executive order establishing an “Infrastructure Strike Team,” both with the same goal: to “streamline” permitting and judicial review for infrastructure projects under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). CEQA is a vital process that provides […]
Posted inOpinion
The oil industry puts its profits ahead of your health, again
On Feb. 3, California’s secretary of state certified that oil companies got enough petition signatures to cancel the state’s oil well health and safety setbacks law until a referendum vote on the Nov. 5, 2024, ballot. Or, as state Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach), author of the bill that was going to become a law […]
Posted inOpinion
Local journalists overlooked an important document for Nipomo’s Dana Reserve development
I’ve been an environmental activist for a while, which means I’ve had occasion to be interviewed a time or two. I’ve also read a lot of environmental reporting. And I’ve seen All the President’s Men, as did just about everyone in my generation who went on to major in journalism and become a reporter. I […]
Posted inOpinion
The Central Coast’s nuclear power plant must be shut down in 2025 as planned, if not sooner
May 19 was the deadline for PG&E to apply for a portion of the $6 billion in federal funds allocated to propping up distressed nuclear power plants. It came and went, but the fate of the Diablo Canyon plant—clouded by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s sudden about-face on its closure—lingers on in the form of a 45-day […]
Posted inOpinion
Marine sanctuaries are essential for preventing unwanted harmful activities off our coast
How will the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary provide economic benefits and environmental protections to the Central Coast? Let us count the ways. A 2014 study of the potential economic impacts of a national marine sanctuary off the Central Coast (conducted by Jason Scorse, director of Center for the Blue Economy at the Monterey Institute […]
Posted inOpinion
Trucking oil from restarted aging offshore rigs means the next local spill is a when, not an if
I’m writing this the day after the oil spill off the coast of Orange County hit the news. By the time you read this, I doubt I’ll be the only one to have drawn a straight line between what just happened off Orange County and what happened two days earlier at the Santa Barbara County […]
Posted inOpinion
Conservation plan is not a land grab
The 30 by 30 plan is a big deal. The Biden administration’s recognition of the need to conserve 30 percent of the nation’s natural lands by 2030 to head off mass extinction and the worst effects of climate change entails a big plan, and it is an axiom of Newtonian political law that the announcement […]
Posted inOpinion
The full environmental impact of trucking oil across the Central Coast is hardly shown in the final report
Between an explosive sting video starring a senior lobbyist and a shareholders meeting that saw three seats on their board going to climate activists, ExxonMobil’s been having a rough year. It couldn’t happen to a nicer oil company. But it hasn’t slowed their roll on the Central Coast. It’s been almost a year since I […]
