On March 18, 2021, the California Coastal Commission made the historic decision that off-road vehicles must be removed from Oceano Dunes because off-road vehicle use jeopardizes one of the world’s rarest coastal ecosystems and endangered wildlife (not to mention harming local public health and air quality). Four years later, the court struck down the Coastal […]
Andrew Christie
Posted inOpinion
A fabricated “emergency” aims to reduce environmental protections
Do you know about the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule? It prioritizes the health and resilience of ecosystems on public lands. The rule, legally binding on the actions and decisions of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), requires them to “protect intact landscapes, restore degraded habitat, and make informed management decisions based on science and […]
Posted inOpinion
This administration threatens our land, sea, and air
It is all too clear that California’s communities and environment are not immune to the Trump administration—and that state and local leaders’ pushback is powerful and necessary. Having already moved to open public lands to mining and drilling, the Trump administration is now making its presence known off the Central Coast. On April 30, the […]
Posted inOpinion
Now is the time to defend our public lands
“Action is the best antidote to despair.” –Joan Baez Public lands and waters are our country’s most popular areas for exploring nature while conserving landscapes, cultural areas, clean water, and wildlife, including the Central Coast’s very own Carrizo Plain National Monument, Los Padres National Forest, and Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary. But legislation introduced in […]
Posted inOpinion
SLO County Planning Commission should deny the project as is so supervisors can see a better alternative
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,” […]
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 […]