Southern Sierran
Newsletter of the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter
March 2021
Science In Your Watershed
Learn how the Chapter's GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and Water Committees emphasize teamwork, innovative thinking, and cutting-edge tech to support grassroots activism, and provide opportunities to help effect local, regional, and national change.
Move Over, $GME
Forget financial speculation over video games. Financial futures based on water prices began trading last year, allowing investors to bet and profit on the price of water in California. Here's a short introduction to these water futures.
Ocean Desalination Meets Homelessness?
By Angeles Chapter
Who would think it? Ocean desalination intersecting with affordable housing? Yet it has, in a little-known state government agency called the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee (CDLAC). Why you should be outraged!
ADD YOUR VOICE
Make a difference on environmental and sustainability-related issues. Visit our Take Action Now page and read the latest Take Action News and review a curated list of AddUp campaigns which guide you through making a difference on issues that you care about.
This is a new feature and if you would like to volunteer to help with the feature, just fill out the volunteer form and write “Communications Committee Take Action Highlights” under “special-issue expertise or skills”. Here are some Water Issue campaigns that might interest you...
Stop the Poseidon Desalination Plant
Poseidon’s billion-dollar desalination plant is the most expensive and environmentally-damaging way to secure Orange County's future water supply. Read the update and help us reach our goal.
Stop the Delta Tunnel
This is a campaign to defeat the Delta Tunnel (aka Delta Conveyance) project, which harms the environment of the San Francisco Bay-Delta region and costs ratepayers in Southern California. It is an expensive project that is not climate resistant.
Here are two NEW non-water actions to take:
Phase Out Oil Drilling in L.A.
Call on elected leaders in Los Angeles to phase out oil drilling in 5 years with protections for communities and workers. Help us reach 2,500 signatures!
Protect California's Air Quality
The South Coast AQMD must do more to protect our health by regulating pollution from warehouses, rail yards, and construction sites. Take action if you believe every Californian should breathe clean air. Help us reach 7,000 signatures!
Outings
Sierra Club Outings remain on hold through July 4, 2021. Our Angeles Chapter program is working on ways to support and encourage leaders while developing future outings during this time. Look for a few Travel Adventures ready to go, and more wonderful adventures to be added soon, even if their status is “Tentative."
Chapter Entity Highlights
We have more than 50 entities - groups, sections, committees and task forces that may be of interest to members. Each month we plan to highlight four of them.
Group Focus: If you live in Southern Orange County then you are a member of the Sierra Sage Group. Sierra Sage members enjoy getting outdoors to explore our wilderness areas both local and far afield. They help maintain the trails in Orange County, and they have fun and make new friends (if COVID19 permits) while they protect, enjoy, and explore our planet. Regardless of your interests or abilities, there is a place for you within the Sierra Sage community. Together they are change makers. Together they are powerful.
Committee Focus: March brings us the Sierra Club Water Issue where the Water Committee/Campaign coordinate on LA and OC-based water issues and Sierra Club California Water Committee focus on broader California water issues or with state agencies and legislation that impact water dynamics in LA and OC.
In this issue, we can also see how the GIS Committee contributes in helping our activists read and interpret and present GIS-based information and maps. Since more and more public documents are based in this format and it takes special skills to read, interpret and manipulate the data, we are lucky to have a team of skills based volunteers familiar with GIS helping the chapter in its efforts to understand, education and communicate information based in this format.
Section Focus: When COVID19 does not prevent group outings, the River Touring Section sponsors weekend canoe, raft and kayak trips at lakes, rivers and coastal bays. It offers instructional programs in basic skills and water techniques. And it encourages concern for the preservation of our water resources for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations
National Sierra Club elections are underway - Vote!
Your participation is critical for a strong Sierra Club.
Those eligible to vote in the national Sierra Club election will receive in the mail (or by email if you chose the electronic delivery option) your national Sierra Club ballot in early March 2021. The ballot will include candidate information and links to additional info on Sierra Club’s website.
Environmental Days in March
We are starting a new feature called “Environmental Days” where we list days of direct environmental focus so our members can learn more about the days and the causes that inspired the days. If this interests you and you would like to volunteer helping with the feature, just fill out the volunteer form and write “Communications Committee Environmental Days” under “special-issue expertise or skills”.
- First week: National Groundwater Awareness week
- World Wildlife Day (03/03)
- Plant a Flower Day (03/12)
- World Recycling Day (03/20)
- International Day of Forest (03/21)
- World Water Day (03/22)
- Earth Hour (03/28)
- Walk in the Park Day (03/30)
Volunteer Corner
There are many volunteer opportunities for Sierra Club members. You can sign up on our volunteer form and we will find you a position, or you can use the Sierra Club’s Volunteer Connection and scroll thru posted volunteer openings and roles.
If you visit our chapter website’s Volunteer Page, you can read our blog dedicated to Volunteer News and find the following highlighted volunteer needs:
- Environmental Journalist to help write informative and entertaining copy related to environmental and sustainability issues.
- Water Activist in OC willing to help with important water issues like Poseidon, Bolsa Chica and other Coastal OC issues.
- Grassroots Journalist to help write action inspiring copy that motivates readers to write letters/emails to decision makers, attend (virtual) government meetings and sign petitions.
- Skills based volunteers with Marketing Technology/ IT background who understands email campaigns, SalesForce, Drupal, Google Analytics and other Information Technology tools used by the chapter.
- Social Media Volunteers who can help create and post relevant content to our Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn platforms.
- Mountain Open Space Activists to join the Santa Monica Mountains Task Force and help secure and protect more land, while coordinating discussions on open spaces, trails and ESHA conservation.
Lives We Remember
The Sierra Club is indebted to the contributions of members who are no longer with us. This page is one way we remember their lives and their impact. If you have recently lost a loved one and would like them to be remembered here, please let us know here.
