Environment

Video: ‘Why Deep Sea Creatures Look So Weird’

January 26, 2022 by Source

Come inside and watch another of OBcean Michael Claisse’s videos. “Why deep sea creatures look so weird.”

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ReWild Coalition Says Gloria’s De Anza Plan a Positive Step, But City Needs to Take Many More

January 21, 2022 by Source

Here is the ReWild Coalition’s statement:

The City of San Diego released an updated Notice Of Preparation for its ongoing De Anza Revitalization Planning process this morning. The information can be accessed at the City’s De Anza Cove Amendment website.

This comes 14 months after the ReWild Coalition supported the City’s proposal at the Regional Water Quality Control Board

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Hey San Diego! Time to Recycle Your Organic Waste

January 18, 2022 by Source

Public Service Announcement: New Food Recycling Program Aims to Curb Waste, Help Environment

By Karen Austin / Peninsula Beacon / Jan. 16, 2022

The ringing in of 2022 has begun a new era of food waste recycling by residents and the increased sharing of edible food surpluses by certain food-related businesses.

California Senate Bill (SB) 1383 aims to reduce dangerous greenhouse gas emissions known to cause global warming and drastic weather conditions by reducing the amount of organic material going to landfills.

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Key Sierra Club Committee Unanimously Endorses Greenery Revisions to City’s ADU Code

January 14, 2022 by Source

The Sierra Club’s Conservation Committee has unanimously endorsed sensible, environmentally-friendly revisions to the city’s Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) code and urges the city council to maintain shade trees and other greenery on properties slated for multi-unit ADU construction.

Committee chair Peter Anderson stated:

“The Sierra Club supports housing, especially affordable housing. But we must preserve the trees that provide shade, absorb greenhouse gas and cool our city.”

The local chapter’s endorsement adds to a long list of support for changes to the ADU code championed by Neighbors For A Better San Diego (NFABSD). The City Council’s Land Use and Housing Committee debated the issue Thursday (no news from that debate is available).

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Much of Northeast Mission Bay Will Return to Marshland Under Mayor Gloria’s New Proposal

January 12, 2022 by Frank Gormlie

On the eve of his State-of-the-City Address, Mayor Todd Gloria unveiled a stunning turnabout on a major environmental issue – the future of northeast Mission Bay. And it’s sure to win him accolades within San Diego’s environmental community.

On Tuesday, Gloria released his proposal to transform much of northeast Mission Bay into marshland – which has been demanded by environmentalists for years. It is a needed change in Mission Bay which will help fight sea level rise and restore animal habitats destroyed when beginning in the fifties, the huge shallow marshland and lagoon that we now know as Mission Bay, was aggressively dredged to make way for the largest aquatic park on the West Coast (some say it’s the largest in the world!).

For years, environmentalist – led by the Audubon’s ReWild Mission Bay project – have been pushing for more acreage as marshland; t

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How Big Oil Lies to You

January 12, 2022 by Source

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January 2022 Events From the Ocean Beach Green Center

January 3, 2022 by Source

All events are online and free unless stated otherwise.

*** Every Saturday 10:15 am. Climate Mobilization Coalition Zoom Meeting. January 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th.

*** January 3rd Monday 6 pm King Tides Discussion Pt. Loma/Hervey Branch Library Community Room 3701 Voltaire St. 92107

*** January 7th Friday 7 pm – 8 pm Sierra Talks – The Making of Beauty & the Beast: CA Wildflowers & Climate Change

*** January 8th Saturday 1 pm – 2 pm Youth4Climate January Community Service

*** January 8th Saturday 12-2 pm, Meet up for Racial Justice Event

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How Can We Weather the Storms of Climate Change If We Don’t Change?

December 13, 2021 by Ernie McCray

by Ernie McCray

Oh, the weather.
Winds and snows
and tornadoes
wreaking unspeakable harm,
while, at the same time,
we pray for the rains to fall
to protect us from
firestorms
that transform
our woodlands
into acres of
charred terrain,
its flames
leaving towns
as darkened
burnt-out memories.

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NRC Fails to Penalize Nuke Plant for Failure to Prevent Flooding from Hurricane Ida

November 30, 2021 by Michael Steinberg

Nuclear Shutdown News for December 2021

By Michael Steinberg / Black Rain Press

Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the nuclear industry in the US and beyond, and supports the efforts of those working for a nuclear free future.

On November 2 the Associated Press reported, “Millstone nuclear plant failed to prevent flooding during Ida.”

Hurricane Ida hit New Orleans in August with 150 mile per hour winds,

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How We Can Save the Ocean and Improve Access at the Same Time

November 16, 2021 by Source

By Anupa Asokan / Op-Ed / San Diego Union-Tribune / Nov. 12, 2021

This summer I was determined to catch a fish called the California corbina. Corbina don’t really carry the clout that comes with reeling in fish like yellowtail or white seabass prized by Southern California anglers, but I’m drawn to corbina partly out of nostalgia since they are related to the red drum I grew up catching in the Gulf of Mexico, and mostly because they are easier to get to. I could fish for them right off the beach without a boat.

I’m a fisherwoman and my days are focused on advancing ocean conservation,

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‘Concrete Cancer’ Spreading at Seabrook Nuclear Plant

November 2, 2021 by Michael Steinberg

Nuclear Shutdown News

By Michael Steinberg / Black Rain Press

Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the nuclear power industry in the US and beyond, and highlights the efforts of those working to create a nuclear free world.

Concrete Cancer Spreading in New England Nuclear Plant

On October 5 Boston TV station WBZ reported “Concrete Cracking at Seabrook Nuclear Plant” in New Hampshire. The 36 year old nuke plant has been developing fissures in its structures for some time.

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Video: Tracy Van De Walker Fights to Save OB Palms

October 29, 2021 by Staff


Tracy Van De Walker is a resident of Ocean Beach and recent palm tree activist. She became the center of the fight to keep the palm trees on Newport Avenue standing, when she stood in front of the trucks and chainsaws to protect the trees.

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Video: Oil Clean-Up Crew at Ocean Beach

October 26, 2021 by Source


If you were on the beach this morning you might have spotted people in yellow vests picking through kelp. It appears the oil spill from LA, originating from Huntington Beach has reached Ocean Beach.

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Court Sides With Kensington Resident Who Sued City Over Lack of Compliance With ‘Climate Action Plan’

October 26, 2021 by Source

A recent court battle unearthed that the city exempts certain kinds of work from triggering a greenhouse gas emissions analysis under its Climate Action Plan.

By MacKenzie Elmer / Voice of San Diego / October 25, 2021

A recent court battle over burying power lines in San Diego neighborhoods unearthed a potentially large shortcoming in the city’s signature climate policy: The city isn’t tracking, and therefore attempting to reduce, tons of planet-warming gases created by infrastructure projects.

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Surfrider: Report Tarballs on San Diego Beaches – Now Found in Ocean Beach

October 22, 2021 by Source

From Surfrider:

OIL SPILL UPDATE
REPORT TARBALLS WASHING UP AT SAN DIEGO BEACHES

We are getting reports of tarballs washing up across San Diego County. To record those sightings and ensure clean up, Surfrider has created a simple oil/tarball mapping tool that uses your phone to photograph and map your findings in realtime.

We believe this will ultimately be a great tool to record and report oil that seems to be showing up everywhere and could help with clean up and understanding the full impact.

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Media Reports on Point Loma Palm Tree Removal Controversy

October 22, 2021 by Source

Here are other media reports on the Palm Tree controversy raging in Point Loma this week.

The first is from ABC 10News:

Some Ocean Beach residents gathered to protest the removal of palm trees in their neighborhood Thursday morning. The City of San Diego and Federal Aviation Administration have cited a row of palm trees as a potential threat to airplanes traveling to and from San Diego International Airport.

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Point Loma Residents Show Up and Force City to Postpone Palm Tree Chopping for Today – No Promises Made for Tomorrow

October 21, 2021 by Staff

By Geoff Page

The actions of a collection of community residents early Thursday morning resulted in a temporary stay of execution for the historic palm trees on upper Newport Ave. The city had told a resident on Wednesday they would be back this morning at 7:30 a.m. to cut down the trees and they would be bringing the police. So, the locals rallied and showed up to voice very vocal opposition to the city steamrolling the community.

They did indeed bring the police.

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The Widder Curry: More Water Cut-Backs Will Kill My Fruit Trees While New Housing Developments Are Allowed to Grow

October 21, 2021 by Judi Curry

California’s Drought Emergency Extended to San Diego County

By Judi Curry

Here we go again. Another drought. Another curtailment of the use of water. The Governor is asking people to cutback on water usage 15% over last year.

My question is what about those of us that cut back 15% last year and are still cutting back? How much are we supposed to cut back

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Point Loma Residents to Protest City Cutting Down Palm Trees – Thursday, Oct.21, 7:30am

October 20, 2021 by Frank Gormlie

For the last two mornings, city crews have been out in the Point Loma neighborhood attempting to remove Palm Trees that have been determined to “obstruct” aircraft flight paths and airspace.

No permits have been made, no traffic or parking control signs have been put up, no planning boards or neighborhoods informed. All in the name of “emergency” and public safety.

Rag writer Geoff Page reported on what has been going on:

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The Oil Spill is Bad. So is the Deadly Contamination You Can’t See or Smell

October 20, 2021 by Source

by Bart Ziegler, PhD / Voice of OC / Oct. 20, 2021

On the topic of environmental disasters, could you imagine trying to deal with contamination from a far deadlier kind of waste that you can’t see or smell and that remains toxic for hundreds of thousands of years?

As details of the Orange County oil spill continue to unfold, globs of tar are washing onto San Onofre State Beach beneath the shadow of a shuttered nuclear power plant where Southern California Edison is storing 3.6 million pounds of radioactive waste 100 feet from the ocean.

Reporting on the oil spill has us drawing comparisons and thinking about the state of nuclear waste safety.

Take corrosion, for instance.

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Tar Balls Showing Up As Far South As Del Mar and Other San Diego County Beaches

October 8, 2021 by Staff

Local governments and the media are scrambling to keep up with evidence that the Orange County oil spill has spread as far south as Del Mar and other San Diego County beaches.

Tar balls have been spotted at Oceanside, Carlsbad, Del Mar and Encinitas.

Volunteers with the Southern California oil spill response are now working on North County San Diego beaches, officials said Thursday.

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Push to Ban Off-Shore Oil Drilling in California

October 7, 2021 by Source

Times of San Diego

Democratic members of Congress from California seized on the oil spill off the state’s coast to promote federal legislation to ban all offshore oil drilling, as investigators searched for what caused the pipeline to burst.

About 144,000 gallons of crude oil spilled into the Pacific Ocean, killing wildlife, soiling the coastline and forcing officials to close beaches in several cities in Orange County. There are 23 rigs operating off California’s coast,

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San Diego County ‘Ready’ if Oil Spill Heads South

October 7, 2021 by Source

Public Service Announcement from KPBS

San Diego County officials Wednesday said they were ready to respond should oil from the pipeline break in Orange County make its way into San Diego County waters and beaches.

Nathan Fletcher, chair of the County Board of Supervisors, and Jeff Toney, director of the county’s Office of Emergency Services, said they are in constant communication with state and federal officials about the oil spill’s possible impact on San Diego County. “It appears some of the oil is making its way south, but it has yet to enter San Diego County waters,” Toney and Fletcher said in a joint statement.

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Radioactive Baby Teeth, JFK and Kids With Cancer

October 4, 2021 by Michael Steinberg

Nuclear Shutdown News chronicles the decline and fall of the nuclear industry in the US and beyond, and highlights the efforts of those who are working to bring about a nuclear free world.

The fear of nuclear annihilation after WWII spread around the world along with radioactive fallout from nuclear bomb tests. Scientists began to document the presence of this radioactivity in humans.

One particular radioactive chemical, Strontium 90 (Sr- 90), received particular attention. As with other fallout, it does not exist in nature. Like its non- radioactive cousin calcium, if it enters our bodies, it concentrates in our bones and teeth, and can emit radiation there for about 200 years, potentially causing cancer and other dread diseases.

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October 2021 Events from the Ocean Beach Green Center

October 4, 2021 by Source

All events are online and free unless stated otherwise.

* Every Saturday 10:15 am. Climate Mobilization Coalition Zoom Meeting. October 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd,and 30th
* October 5th Tuesday 7 pm – 8:15 pm San Diego’s Insects and Their Dependence on Native Plants Event by California Native Plant Society
* October 6th Wednesday 2 pm – 3:30 pm Network Webinar: Urban Heat & Resilience
* October 7th Thursday 11 am – 12 pm Understanding Violence and Prevention During a Pandemic
* October 7th Thursday 5 pm – 7:30 pm Gather 2021 Event by Climate Action Campaign
* October 8th Friday 7 pm Vaccinated Backyard movie night.
* October 9th Saturday 9 am – 3 pm California Native Plant Festival
* October 9th Saturday 10 am – 1 pm SD Fixit Clinic
* October 10th Sunday 9 am – 1 pm Walk for the Wild – San Diego Bay
* October 10th Sunday 2 pm – 4 pm Solar Power and Quality Jobs

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OB Paddle Out for Clean Water Follows Oil Spill Off Orange County, While Questions Raised of Response Time

October 4, 2021 by Frank Gormlie

An estimated 500 people took part in the annual OB Pier Paddle Out for clean water on Sunday, October 3 — just days after one of the largest oil spills in recent California history erupted off the coast of Orange County.

Meanwhile, Southern California residents, business owners and environmentalists are raising questions on why it took authorities so long in reacting to contain the over 130,000 gallon spill, that spans nearly 6 nautical miles.

According to reports from people who live and work in the area, they noticed an oil sheen and a heavy petroleum smell Friday evening. Yet, it wasn’t until Saturday morning after 9 am that the Coast Guard first reported it. It wasn’t until Saturday afternoon that a unified command was established to respond. And it took until Saturday night for the company that operates the pipeline believed responsible for the leak to shut down operations.

It wasn’t until Sunday that booms were deployed on the ocean surface to try to contain the oil.

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Surfrider Summons Beach Lovers to Paddle Around Ocean Beach Pier – Sunday, Oct.3

September 27, 2021 by Source

Edited from Surfrider

Surfrider San Diego is celebrating a 29 year tradition to raise awareness about our ongoing battle for clean water and a healthy coastline. This Sunday, October 3, at the OB Pier.

This is their signature awareness event, the Paddle for Clean Water, and is the largest non-competitive surf event in California.

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Of Course San Diego Water Use Is Up – Local Water Authority Leaders Told Us We Had Enough Water till 2045 – They Should Resign

September 24, 2021 by Frank Gormlie

The big news is that despite Gov. Newsom’s appeal for Californians to cut water use, water use in San Diego County actually went up.

According to new data, water use rose 1.3 percent in San Diego. … On average, Californians reduced water use by just 1.8 percent statewide during July as compared to the same month last year.

Yet is it any surprise that San Diegans haven’t adhered to Newsom’s appeal? We were told by our local water authority back in June ‘Not to worry, we have enough water through 2045.’

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Kudos to Macy’s for Plants and Volunteers at the Point Loma Native Plant Garden

September 24, 2021 by Staff

By Geoff Page

On Thursday, September 16, Macy’s, Inc. generously donated lots of plants and volunteers to plant them at one of the hidden jewels of the Peninsula: the Point Loma Native Plant Garden. This significant effort by Macy’s deserves kudos from the community.

For those unfamiliar with the Native Plant Garden, it has a gate at Mendocino Blvd. and Greene Street. There is another gate behind the apartment building on the west side of the property. It is just east of the eucalyptus grove on the north side of the apartment building. The Reserve is bordered on the east by Nimitz Blvd.

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Scripps Oceanography Partnering With SDG&E Does Not Make Sense

September 22, 2021 by Source

Scripps Institution of Oceanography is a leader in climate change research, yet it has a relationship with a utility that produces dangerous fossil fuels.

By Luke Stroth, Adam Cooper, Taylor Mckie / Op-Ed San Diego Union-Tribune / Sept. 20, 2021

Scripps Institution of Oceanography has long prided itself as a national leader in climate change research, yet it is pursuing a relationship with a utility owned by a regressive corporation that produces dangerous fossil fuels.

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