Category Archives: Climate action

Clean energy, Climate action, Fossil fuels, Meeting notices

Our Next Meeting – Tuesday, November 14

MEMBER MEETING
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2023, 7:00 PM

ZOOM MEETING

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Our next meeting will be Tuesday, November 14, at 7pm, held on Zoom.

Carbon Dumping may be coming to the Bay Area, especially refinery communities.  If you aren’t sure what that is, you are not alone.  Another name for it is Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS).  That sounds good at first glance – who doesn’t want to get rid of the CO2 that is driving climate chaos?

But did you know it has never worked?  Did you know “permanent storage” may be for as little as 50 years?  Did you know that a leak can be FATAL?  YIKES!  This is where national policy to promote Carbon Capture and local interests collide.

Come find out more about the proposals in California, including the proposed Montezuma Carbon Project along the Carquinez Strait.  Victoria Bogdan Tejeda, a Staff Attorney at the Climate Law Institute, Center for Biological Diversity,  will be speaking at our next meeting and filling us in on these new threats.  Please invite your friends.

Speaker Bio

Victoria Bogdan Tejeda (she/her) (pictured right) is a Staff Attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute, where she fights false climate solutions like carbon capture and storage, as well as polluting industries such as petrochemicals and biomass energy.  Prior to joining the Center, she worked as an Associate Attorney with Earthjustice.  There, her role included litigating toxic chemical regulations and assisting overburdened communities in advancing environmental justice.  She holds a law degree from U.C. Davis School of Law.

Zoom Sign-In

Our Zoom meeting details are below.

Join PDB Zoom Meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88555032712?pwd=OFBXVUozV1kycnRBTzgweFhQWEl1UT09

Meeting ID: 885 5503 2712
Passcode: 290521

Don’t miss this important meeting!

See you on Zoom, Tuesday, November 14 at 7:00 PM! 

 

Climate action, Climate change, Endorsements, Meeting reflections, Solano County District Attorney

Meeting Reflections – April 12, 2022, Climate Change and D.A. candidate Sharon Henry

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
APRIL 12, 2022
Climate Change: what we can be doing…
Also: District Attorney candidate Sharon Henry

PDB’s April 12th membership meeting was attended by 39 members, friends and our guest speakers.

Program

First we heard from Sharon Henry, candidate for Solano County District Attorney.  Because there are only two candidates in the race for DA, it is likely to be decided at the June 7 primary election, rather than on November 8th.  Ms. Henry shared her background and values and explained her platform. She has been endorsed by the Solano County Democratic Central Committee and Mayor Steve Young.  After questions and answers, we held an endorsement vote.  PDB members voted almost unanimously to endorse Ms. Henry.

The remainder of the meeting focused on Climate change and action-based solutions presented by local climate activists:

  • Lindsay Wray, Chair, Benicia Community Sustainability Commission – described the commission and outlined action items for 2022.
  • Ben Keller – Co-chair, Legislative Committee 350 Bay Area Action – described 350BAA and explained the role of the Legislative Committee – Work on Legislation, Building Relationships with Legislators and Education and Mobilizing Public and Partners. Outlined priority bills for 2022-AB 2419; SB 917; SB 1482, SB 1010.
  • Nik Evasco, Youth Climate Organizer and Program Manager, 350 Bay Area – described his role as an organizer and profiled recent actions taken by 350BA. Expressed need for a Solano County 350 faction.
Club Actions:

Interim Chair Kathy Kerridge presented a spreadsheet and web addresses for members to take a few minutes and either commit to taking climate action or perform actions in real time.  Tap here to view the suggested action items.

Elected Officials

Elected officials present: Solano County Supervisor Monica Brown and Benicia Mayor Steve Young.

Mayor Young provided an update on City of Benicia events and issues:

    • Update on the recent weekend fire at Amports and the status of the pier, which was built and maintained by Amports.
    • Update on the Mayor’s first meeting as a BAAQMD member. Discussed the status of fine for Valero’s 15-year emissions cover-up. The Mayor is open for suggestions on how the settlement funds are to be spent.
    • Goal setting meeting: City Council – Saturday, April 23, 8:30am to 6:30pm at the Community Center. Open for public comment, most likely in the morning.
    • Diversity Festival: April 23 beginning at noon on the Marina Green.
    • Council Meeting, 4/19/22 – Financial Forecast is the topic.
Announcements
  • Saturday, April 30, 1-3pm Candidate Fundraiser – for Sharon Henry, hosted by Terry Mollica at his home
  • ACLU – Virtual Forums ([email protected])
    • Monday, May 2, 6pm Board of Supervisors Candidate Forum
    • Tuesday, May 3, 3pm District Attorney Candidate Forum
  • Sunday, June 26, 2-4pm Welcome / Au revoir party for US Representatives Garamendi and Thompson, Benicia Vets Hall – Fundraiser for United Dems – details to follow
  • Benicia Library – Book Action Program – From Just Us to Justice: A Community Equity Challenge https://benicialibrary.org/rsvp-book-action-programs
Recording

The meeting was held on Zoom.  A full recording of the meeting can be viewed here.

Benicia City Council, Climate action, Climate Emergency Declaration, Uncategorized

Benicia City Council to consider Climate Emergency Resolution Tuesday, Feb 4, 4pm

Quarterly Study Session to discuss five requests made by Council members

From the Benicia Independent

You may want to attend!  Benicia’s City Council will meet with staff and the public on Wednesday, to consider five action items requested previously, in context of overall Council priorities.  See complete list with links more below.

Of particular interest will be item 4, “Two-Step Request from Mayor Patterson on adopting a Climate Emergency Resolution“.  Mayor Patterson submitted this request last summer, with a requested Initial Council Meeting date of July 16, 2019.  The “Emergency” request was not brought for Council’s First Step consideration until September 3, 2019.  At that meeting, after hearing support from residents Constance Beutel, Marilyn Bardet, Gretchen Burgess, Steve Goetz, Pat Toth-Smith and Kathy Kerridge, Council discussed the request and recommended that it be brought forward for further study “at a future workshop”.  (see item 14.B in the 9/3/19 minutes).  So that next step is this Tuesday.

(Editor’s note: I am not sure, but my review of the Staff Report and Rules of Procedure seem to suggest that Tuesday’s Study Workshop is NOT to be considered the Second Step in our Two-Step procedure.  A Council member’s request for DISCUSSION and action on a City “policy matter” requires two yes votes at Council.)

For more on Climate Emergency, including background on Benicia’s consideration, see Benicia Independent on climate emergency.   Also see Mayor Patterson’s highly informative E-Alert from September 4, 2019.

From the 1/4/2020 agenda on the City website:

10.A – QUARTERLY POLICY ISSUES STUDY SESSION (City Manager) 

The City Council has agreed to discuss various “Two-Step” requests made by individual members of the City Council at the Quarterly Policy Issues Study Session described in the City Council Rules of Procedure (Attachment 1).

To assist with Council deliberations, staff has included an updated copy of the Council’s priorities for the current fiscal year as summarized in the Work Plan 2019-20 (Attachment 2).

Five topics have been approved by the Council for further discussion and are presented in this report (Attachments 3-7); they follow:

    1. Penalties for Excessive Residential Water Use;
    2. Adoption of a Climate Emergency Resolution;
    3. Preparation of an Advisory Measure related to Cannabis Dispensaries for the November 2020 ballot;
    4. Installation of Rainbow Crosswalks; and
    5. A request to Repurpose and Update the Traffic, Bicycle & Pedestrian Safety Committee. 

Recommendation: Review the two-step process and the updated Work Plan 2019-20, and then discuss each of the five topics described (Attachments 3-7) and provide direction to staff. 

Staff Report – Quarterly Policy Issues Study Session 

  1. City Council Rules of Procedure 
  2. Updated Council Work Plan 2019-20 
  3. Two-Step Request from Councilmember Campbell on Penalties for Excessive Residential Water Use 
  4. Two-Step Request from Mayor Patterson on adopting a Climate Emergency Resolution 
  5. Two-Step Request from Councilmember Campbell on drafting an advisory measure related to cannabis dispensaries for the November 2020 ballot 
  6. Two-Step Request from Councilmember Campbell to install Rainbow Crosswalks 
  7. Two-Step Request from Mayor Patterson to repurpose and update the Traffic, Bicycle & Pedestrian Safety Committee