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Mon, May 1, 6pm – AWAKE – Premier Screening in Monterey

Awake, A Dream From Standing Rock’ Is A Lesson in Resistance For the Rest of Us 

From executive producer Shailene Woodley comes a documentary call-to-action, straight from the front lines of the Native-led fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Monday May 1, 2017
Monterey Public Library,
625 Pacific Street

Doors open at 5:45 pm; film begins at 6:00 pm

This documentary, produced by filmmaker Josh Fox, Amy Ziering, and Lauren Taschen, tells the story of the protests against the construction of the 3.7 billion dollar Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), set to transport by pipe fracked oil from North Dakota’s Bakken oil fields under the Missouri River, the water source for the Standing Rock reservation and 17 million people downstream.

Sponsored by the Womens International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), Monterey County Branch. Co-sponsored by Monterey Peace and Justice Center, and Sustainable Monterey.

For further information contact:    Beverly Bean  831-484-2451

This program is not sponsored or endorsed by Monterey Public Library or the City of Monterey.

By Catherine Crockett, ago

Defend Measure Z: ACTION ALERT! DOGGR Public Comment deadline extended to March 3, 2017 5pm

A public hearing of the proposal was held on February 9, 2017 (see video-taped public comments below).
On February 14, the public comment period was extended 15 days, from 5 p.m. February 16 to 5 p.m. March 3, 2017.

Submit comments to the Department of Conservation by email to: comments@conservation.ca.gov
or by facsimile (FAX) to (916) 324-0948, or by mail to:
Department of Conservation
801 K Street, MS 24-02
Sacramento, CA 95814
ATTN: Aquifer Exemption

The written comment period closes at 5 p.m. on March 3, 2017.

Call or write to your elected representatives and the state officials:
Urge your elected representatives to contact the state officials listed below to oppose the above exemptions.

Write letters to the editors of local media and share on social media. RESIST!
Elected representatives:

Download copies of PMC letters to Gov. Jerry Brown and Secretary John Laird for samples.

Contact your Elected representatives:                    

Assemblymember Anna Caballero
318 Cayuga Street, Suite 206
Salinas, CA 93901
Tel: (831) 759-8676
Fax: (831) 759-2961
Assemblymember Mark Stone
Monterey County District Office:
99 Pacific Street, Ste 575-G
Monterey, CA 93940
Tel: (831) 649-2832
Fax: (831) 649-2935
Senator Bill Monning, Senate Majority Leader
Monterey District Office
99 Pacific Street, Suite 575-F
Monterey, CA 93940
Tel: (831) 657-6315
Fax: (831) 657-6320
Edmund G. Brown Jr Governor
State of California
c/o State Capitol, Suite 1173
Sacramento, CA 95814

Contact your State Officials:

Jonathan Bishop
Chief Deputy Director
State Water Resources Control Board
1001 I Street
Sacramento, CA, 95814
John Laird, Secretary
California Natural Resources Agency
1416 Ninth Street, Suite 1311
Sacramento, CA 95814
David Bunn, Director
California Conservation Department
801 K Street, MS 24-01
Sacramento, CA  95814
Tel: (916) 322-1080
Fax: (916) 445-0732
Kenneth A. Harris, Jr.
State Oil and Gas Supervisor
California Department of Conservation
Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources
801 K Street, MS 18-05
Sacramento, CA 95814-3530

Contact the Monterey County Board of Supervisors:

Luis Alejo, District 1
168 West Alisal, 2nd Floor
Salinas, CA  93901
district1@co.monterey.ca.us
Ph-(831)755-5011
Fax-(831)755-5876		 Mary Adams, District 5
Monterey Courthouse
1200 Aguajito Rd., Ste. 1
Monterey, CA  93940
district5@co.monterey.ca.us
Ph-(831)647-7755
Fax-(831)647-7695
John M. Phillips, District 2
Castro Plaza
11140 Speegle St.
P.O. Box 787
Castroville, CA  95012
district2@co.monterey.ca.us
Ph-(831)755-5022
Fax-(831)633-0201		 Jane Parker, District 4
2616 1st Ave.
Marina, CA  93933
district4@co.monterey.ca.us
Ph-(831)883-7570
(831)755-5044
Simon Salinas, District 3
168 W. Alisal, 3rd Floor
Salinas, Ca  93901
district3@co.monterey.ca.us
Ph-(831)755-5033
Fax-(831)796-3022		 Clerk  of the Board
(for all supervisors)
COB@co.monterey.ca.us

For additional information about the aquifer exemption proposal, please visit: http://tinyurl.com/SanArdo-McCool-Aquifer-Exmptn

Background on San Ardo McCool Ranch Application for Aquifer Exemption:
The California Department of Conservation, Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (“Division”), with the concurrence of the State Water Resources Control Board (“State Water Board”), is considering a proposal to expand the current aquifer exemption designation for the Lombardi and Aurignac Sands of the Monterey Formation in and around the San Ardo and McCool Ranch Oil Fields, located in Monterey County about 2 miles southeast of the town of San Ardo, along Highway 101 at Alvarado Rd. Subject to approval by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), the proposed aquifer exemption would allow the State, in compliance with the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, to approve Class II injection into the identified area for enhanced oil recovery or for injection disposal of fluids associated with oil and gas production.

 

 

Comments to Deny Monterey County Aquifer Exemptions- DOGGR Hearing

By Catherine Crockett, ago

Mon, Jan 30 – Fixing our broken money and banking system

Fixing our broken money and banking system, sponsored by Middlebury Institute of International Studies – Graduate School of International Policy and Management.

Reserve tickets at:  Eventbrite.  Cost:  $10 – $25

DATE AND TIME:  Mon, January 30, 2017, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM PST
Middlebury Institute of International Studies
Irvine Auditorium, McCone Hall
460 Pierce St.
Monterey, CA 93940

Join guest speaker Marco Vangelisti, Founder of Essential Knowledge for Transition (http://ek4t.com/) for the first of three public talks scheduled for Spring 2017 at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey. “Fixing our Broken Money and Banking System: Making Money Work for Society as a Whole” reveals that sustainable economic development requires a radical rethink of our monetary and banking systems. Learn what these changes are, and what citizens can do to make them happen. Marco’s subsequent talks in Monterey will focus on changes needed in our capitalist economic system and how you can invest your money differently to support a more sustainable world.

Marco is a founding member of Slow Money and in the leadership team of the Slow Money Northern California network. He is also a founding member of the National Coalition for Community Capital.

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By Catherine Crockett, ago

Mon, Oct 24, Getting Trashed And Smoked Out On The Big Sur Coast

Monday, October 24th, 5:30-7:30 pm at the Big Sur Grange. POTLUCK dinner begins at 6:00 pm. Program starts at 6:30 pm.

Big Sur Advocates for a Green Environment (B-SAGE) is presenting a community evening to find solutions to what some tourists are doing to the environment.  Some tourists have created problems such as leaving trash along the highway and other scenic areas; illegal campfires; leaving toilet paper and human waste in scenic pullouts.  This meeting will be a brainstorming to bring solutions regarding tourist awareness.  Please plan to discuss in a forward direction.

B-SAGE has also invited “Big Sur Kate” Novoa as a special guest. Folks can acknowledge her for her excellent blog reports on Big Sur concerns such as fires and environmental carelessness of some visitors coming to the area.

Donations gratefully accepted to cover event overhead.

If you would like to potluck with B-SAGE, please bring place settings for your party.  To increase potluck diversity, we ask A-F names to bring dessert, G-L appetizer/salad, M-R entrée, S-Z non-alcoholic beverages.

More information, contact Jessica:  (831) 667-0117 or email winterkoning@gmail.com

big-sur-kate-oct-24-2016-potluck-ad

By Catherine Crockett, ago

Wednesdays, Sept 21 thru Nov 2: Intro to Ecological Design Course

Daniel Brodell-Lake of the Mederi Co-Operative will be teaching “Intro to Ecological Design” at the Pacific Grove Adult School this fall quarter of 2016.
The 5-week course is offered at Pacific Grove Adult School. Wednesdays, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, meeting:  9/21, 9/28, 10/5, 10/26 and 11/2.
permaculture-drawing-2
The instructor will cover: Solar Energy, Drought Tolerant Landscaping, Greywater, and Permaculture.

Call or text Daniel for more information: (415) 424-5399.
1 hour of free consultation available to all students that sign up!
Se Habla Español.

 

By Catherine Crockett, ago

FRACKING BAN FOR MONTEREY COUNTY~What You Can Do

VOLUNTEER NOW!

VOLUNTEER!A coalition of community members, Protect Monterey County (PMC), with 250 volunteers, have collected over 16,000 signatures to qualify the citizens initiative to ban fracking and other extreme extraction techniques for the November ballot. It’s time to end the massive oil industry subsidies and turn our collective efforts to research and implementation of clean renewable energy. 

Big Oil is already setting the stage to fight these efforts and that’s why we’re calling on you for help. This fight is also a symbolic one – and one that could have rippling effects across California. Sign up now at www.protectmontereycounty.org or send an email to info@protectmontereycounty. 

What’s at stake:

Big Oil is doing much more damage in Monterey county than most people know or even realize.

Protect Monterey County has located documents showing that Chevron and other oil companies have been using High Intensity Steam Injection (a practice akin to fracking that requires 2-4 million gallons of fresh water per well) at approximately one-third of the wells in the San Ardo Oil Field (that’s 1,000 well sites of the nearly 3,000 that exist in this oil field alone).

Whats in the Water?
In addition, since 2008 oil companies have been illegally polluting the Salinas River aquifers via wastewater injection wells. These aquifers are part of the Salinas groundwater basin on which all the cities in Salinas Valley depend, and which flow northward and empty into Monterey Bay.  Both the aquifers and the Bay are protected under the Clean Water Act. Recently, the EPA investigated the California’s Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) revealing that thousands of wells had illegally injected wastewater into protected aquifers.

Not surprisingly, the highest concentration of earthquakes in the Salinas Valley occur in the area near the San Ardo wastewater injection wells. As we’ve seen in other states around the country, massive amounts of earthquakes can be triggered by wastewater injection.

Lastly, the sand-shale that is being fracked is a very high density crude, like blankets of tar embedded in sandy shale formations. Similar to the tar sands in Canada, these deposits are very costly to extract, energetically, environmentally and financially.

If oil companies were no longer allowed to externalize these costs that compromise the health of the land and our people, they would not be doing it. Political leaders have so far been unwilling to take action, so residents are taking this fight into their own hands.

The Plan:

With your help, a citizen’s initiative will be on the ballot in November to ban all new permits for oil and gas extraction. Santa Cruz and San Benito counties have already passed similar measures.

Monterey County is already attracting national and international attention on this issue because this will be its first attempt to pass a ban. Also, this fight will set an example for future efforts with the hope that similar initiatives spread across the state.

How you can help:

If past initiatives are any indication, Protect Monterey County anticipates that Big Oil will spend close to $8 million to oppose this effort. That’s where you come in. To put it simply, PCM needs volunteers and donations. Here’s how you can get involved below and remember that every little bit helps!

  1. Volunteer

Protect Monterey Country will be moving into the campaign phase now. Our grassroots campaign reaching voters one-on-one needs you! Sign up here to be a volunteer!

2. Donate

Please contribute — any amount is greatly appreciated! FPPC #1378176
Click here to donate online to Protect Monterey County or mail your donation to the address below.

PMC
P.O. Box 1946
Monterey, CA 93942

3. Help Spread the Word

Do you have friends or family that live in the Central Coast Monterey Bay area? Please encourage them to pledge to vote for this ban in November and help out the campaign in some way.

More info:

For more information visit http://www.protectmontereycounty.org/ or contact info@protectmontereycounty.org with any questions you have.  

To learn more – check out these articles below.

Thanks for your support!

Protect Monterey County & CSMC.

By Catherine Crockett, ago

Sustainable Seaside 2015 Year-End Report

Sustainable Seaside Year End Report for 2015

CSMC (Communities for Sustainable Monterey County) and Sustainable Seaside Shared Mission:

To meet the challenges of declining resources and climate change by helping our communities transition to sustainable practices.

Sustainable Seaside Goals for 2015:

1. Land-use Polices/Healthy Urban Forests: Continue to advocate for open space and trail connectivity at Fort Ord. Advocate also for a Seaside Visitor Center/Museum to promote Seaside/Fort Ord history, Fort Ord National Monument and local businesses.

2. Urban Nature: Focus on neighborhood clean-ups and park enhancement.

3. Alternative Energy, Environmental Health: Establish 5th Annual Earth Day Potluck Picnic/Information Day at a local park in April. Establish 6th Annual Sustainable Living Tour in September. Support efforts to stop fracking in Monterey County.

4. Transportation Options: Support bike lanes and safe bicycling. Establish a bike/walk event in Seaside.

Committees established, January 2015:

1. Earth Day Picnic
2. Bike routes/events
3. Neighborhood Clean-up
4. Monterey Downs
5. Sustainable Living Tour
6. Fracking Research

 Sustainable Seaside Google Group:

The membership in our online group grew from 673 to 817 members.
Sustainable Seaside Facebook:

The number of likes grew from 266 to 427.  Information from the Google Group is posted here as well as other items of interest, comments and responses.

Sustainable Seaside Meetings and Projects:

  • Mon. Jan. 19. 29th Annual Martin Luther King March and Celebration. 20 Sustainable Seaside members marched and several assisted at our info table at Oldemeyer Center.
  • Tues. Jan. 27. Annual Goal Setting Workshop. 39 people responded to our pre-meeting survey. 13 attendees participated in the workshop.
  • Tues. Feb. 10. Sustainable Seaside, Citizens for Sustainable Marina, and Friends of the Fort Ord War Horse presented “Connecting our Local Trails”. Speakers were Gail Morton, Fred Watson and Scott Waltz. 60 people attended, 15 from Seaside.
  • Sun. Apr. 19: 5th Annual Earth Day Picnic held at Capra Park co-hosted by Sustainable Seaside and Beta/Capra Neighborhood Association.  Excellent food and entertainment, lots of info table. Close to 100 people in attendance.
  • Sat. May 16: First Annual Fundraising Luncheon for CSMC. Cathy and Kay on Planning Committee. 104 people in attendance. Thirteen volunteers (Bill Weigle from Seaside) were honored and Gary Patton was our Keynote Speaker. Plans are to expand the luncheon for 2016. It will be held on May

 

 

 

 

By Catherine Crockett, ago