Friday, February 4, 2011

The California Air Resources Board violated state environmental law in 2008 when it adopted a comprehensive plan to reduce greenhouse gases and again last year when it passed cap-and-trade regulations, a San Francisco Superior Court judge has ruled in a tentative decision.

If the decision is made final, California would be barred from implementing its ambitious plan to combat global warming until it complies with portions of the California Environmental Quality Act, though it is not yet clear what the air board would have to do to be in compliance. The state’s plan, which implements AB32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, would reduce carbon emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

The Air Resources Board and those who brought the lawsuit, a variety of environmental groups represented by the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment, a San Francisco organization, have until Tuesday to respond before the court makes a final ruling.

In his decision, Superior Court Judge Ernest Goldsmith ruled that the air board approved the larger plan to implement AB32 prior to completing the required environmental review, and that the board failed to adequately consider alternatives to cap and trade.

The Air Resources Board “seeks to create a fait accompli by premature establishment of a cap-and-trade program before alternative (sic) can be exposed to public comment and properly evaluated by the ARB itself,” Goldsmith found, adding that the air board’s “analysis provides no evidence to support its chosen approach.”

The judge said the air board’s reasoning for approving the larger plan without a complete review “undermines (the state environmental quality act’s) goal of informed decision-making.”

Air board officials argued that the board had “adopted” a decision rather than having made an “approval.” Goldsmith called that argument “an empty distinction given that the implementation has commenced.”

The California Environmental Quality Act, signed into law by then-Gov. Ronald Reagan in 1970, is intended to ensure that state and local agencies identify potential negative environmental consequences from their activities and to either mitigate those consequences or prevent them altogether.

The plaintiffs, including a group called the Association of Irritated Residents, have backed AB32 and helped defend it against Proposition 23, a ballot measure in November that would have suspended it indefinitely. Even though their suit could now suspend AB32‘s implementation, “There’s a way to both be supportive of AB32 implementation but to be responsible in that support and ethical in that support, and we ask the same of the board,” said Alegría De La Cruz, legal director for the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment.

Adequate review

Environmental advocates have for months raised concerns about whether the air board was adequately addressing the impacts of implementing AB32 on disadvantaged communities. Goldsmith issued his ruling on Jan. 21 and the parties received notification of the ruling last week, but the decision has received little public attention.

In an e-mail, Stanley Young, a spokesman for the Air Resources Board said, “We are reviewing this tentative decision and will respond within the allotted time.”

The cap-and-trade portion of the suit hinges on the air board’s evaluation of five alternatives to that regulation. In its analysis, the air board spent 10 pages discussing an alternative of doing nothing while the four other alternatives received only three pages total.

Those alternatives include a variation of the adopted plan and other carbon reduction measures.

On the overall carbon emission reduction plan, the court found the air board approved it prior to issuing responses to public comment as is required by law and the air board’s own regulatory program.

The court dismissed, however, claims that the plan to reduce emissions violated AB32 itself.

Additional analysis

Michael Zischke, an attorney not affiliated with the case who specializes in the California Environmental Quality Act, said, “At a minimum it is a delay and whether it has more of a substantive effect depends on what the air board does.”

The industries that are impacted by cap and trade need the problem resolved as soon as possible, said Shelly Sullivan, spokeswoman for the AB32 Implementation Group, an organization made up of those industries, which include oil companies, manufacturers, cement makers and Chambers of Commerce.

E-mail Wyatt Buchanan at wbuchanan@sfchronicle.com.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/02/03/BAOO1HIDT2.DTL#ixzz1D4vnjI9I

**Vigil and Demonstration**

5:00pm, Friday, March 18th
Gather at 11th and Broadway, Downtown Oakland

March to City Hall

As we pray for and stand with the people of Japan, we must take action at home to end the era of nuclear nightmares.

NEVER AGAIN! NO MORE MAN-MADE DISASTERS!

CALIFORNIA has 2 Nuclear Power Plants sitting near faultlines; and one is in a tsunami zone. These are unimaginable disasters waiting to happen. OAKLAND gets energy from PG&E’s Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant. PG&E is trying to renew it’s permit to operate the plant until 2045before doing earthquake studies. Communities near the nuclear plant are saying NO WAY!

As the tragedy in Japan makes clear nuclear energy is a disaster waiting to happen and it puts all of us— lives, livelihoods and the whole planet–– at risk. Countries across the world are taking action to protect themselves from the many “unlikel y” nightmare scenarios by shutting down nuclear plants. It’s time for California to join them.

In tribute to the victims in Japan—from Hiroshima to Fukashimi, let’s begin building our clean energy future now. The safety an d health of every community comes first. Locally-Contr olled Clean Energy will never meltdown!

We can choo se a future powered by the sun, wind, bike pedals and other renewable, decentralized sources but only if we first take back control of our energy systems at the local level.

Join us in calling first and foremost for every measure to be taken to ensure the safety of the people in Japan including the shutdown of compromised reactors.

Second, in calling on the city of Oakland to:
1) Take back control from PG&E. Oakland doesn’t have to choose Nuclear, or other forms of dangerous, destructive energy like fossil fuels. Instead, we should partner with other cities to implement Community Choice Energy.

2) Build the Local Clean Energy Economy with work in our communities. The City should fast-track plans to take back money from PG&E to run our own energy efficiency programs.

OAKLAND can be part of the solution:
Lead the way AWAY from Dirty, Deadly, Extreme Energy
TOWARDS Local, clean, renewable, energy

If you can help make signs or do outreach, please email michelle@movementgeneration.org

Thousand Cancuns for Climate Justice!

Teach-in: 5:30pm – 8:30pm
Wednesday, December 1st
Women’s Building
3543 18th Street, SF
(Childcare and Translation will be provided)

The climate crisis is escalating, but the United Nations process is failing to address the roots of the problem. Each year we are feeling more impacts of the climate crisis on our communities, cultures and ecosystems –– drought, floods, displacement and the rising cost of food, water and energy. But the U.S. and other wealthy governments are refusing to take responsibility.

Farmers, Indigenous Peoples, landless people, low-income urban communities and thousands of people affected by the destruction of the environment are gathering in Cancun during the UN Climate Conference to show the world that there is another way forward. Responding to La Via Campesina’s call for a thousand Cancuns, social movements from around the world are organizing teach-ins and protests to reject false solutions and to support a people’s agenda for climate justice.

Join us to experience real, community-led solutions in the Bay Area!

Action: Community-based solutions cool the planet!

Action: 3:30pm – 5:30pm
Tuesday, December 7th
17th Street & Folsom
Mission Dist. SF

Frontline communities, the communities first and most impacted by the climate crisis, are addressing the root causes of climate change and leading the way toward a healthy, safe and just future.

Join us to work on a community-led solution here in the Bay Area.

Push for the creation of a public park in the Mission on publicly-owned land currently used as a parking lot. We’ll build a garden, celebrate community-based activism and enjoy speakers, theatre and music! Featuring the headRush crew!

Sponsoring organizations:
Asian Pacific Environmental Network, Center for Political Education, Communities for a Better Environment, Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, Mobilization for Climate Justice West, Movement Generation Justice and Ecology Project, Mujeres Unidas y Activas, People Organizing to Demand Environmental & Economic Rights (PODER), People Organized to Win Employment Rights (POWER), Richmond Progressive Alliance, Urban Tilth

Over 200 people came out on August 30th in the middle of a weekday, marched in the streets of San Francisco’s Financial District for a mile and half, dying in on a giant mock oil spill in front to of Chevron offices, stopping at the EPA and ending at BP San Francisco Offices, where 26 people blockaded the front entrance to the BP offices, and occupied the intersection in front at Mission and New Montgomery. A lively rally featured Gulf Coast resident and organizer with the Gulf Restoration Network Jonathan Henderson, SF former Poet Laureate Jack Hirshman, and range of community, climate justice, anti-war and environmental justice activists and organizations. The 11 people who blockaded the front entrance were not arrested. 15 people who occupied the intersection were arrested and released later that afternoon, making it the largest nonviolent direct action in the US since the BP Gulf oil disaster.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOU6FA57950

More details:

• Press coverage
• Photos
• Videos

Press release:
For Immediate Release
August 30, 2010

Contacts: Konrad Fisher, Mobilization for Climate Justice West
Kirsten Schwind, Bay Localize

Coalition Demands BP & Oil Industry Pay for Cleanup and Get Out of Politics

Diverse Coalition of Organizations Uses Nonviolent Direct Action on BP & Chevron in SF

San Francisco–Protesters will risk arrest in front of the BP office in San Francisco on the 5-Year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina on August 30. Key demands from the broad coalition of organizations marching under the Mobilization for Climate Justice banner include:

• A moratorium on all new offshore drilling
• Payment and accountability by the oil industry for the impacts of its pollution, including the Gulf oil spill and climate change.

Climate justice activists will march to the offices of Chevron (345 California) and BP (90 New Montgomery) at 12 noon, after rallying at Justin Herman Plaza (foot of Market St., SF) at 11:30 on Monday, August 30. A “Letter to Big Oil” from major environmental and climate organizations will be presented to the corporations. The letter can be found at: http://west.actforclimatejustice.org/2010/08/open-letter-to-big-oil-accept-responsibility-for-the-damage-you-cause/

“There’s still a deep anger in this country that BP will get away with not cleaning up the Gulf or paying residents who lost their livelihood. Gulf residents have suffered enough,” noted Carla Perez of Movement Generation Justice and Ecology Project. “We can’t afford to pick up the tab while Big Oil makes billions.”

Jonathan Henderson of the New Orleans-based Gulf Restoration Network will share his personal experiences with the Gulf spill clean up. “Forty to sixty percent of the damages to Louisiana’s wetlands have been caused by the oil and gas industries. Now, the release of millions of barrels of oil has caused untold damage to our Gulf waters and marine life,” he lamented.

In the first quarter of 2010 when its rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, BP posted $6.1 billion in profits, double that of the previous year (Source: CBS News). More recently, Chevron Corp posted profits of $5.4 billion (Source: LA Times). Analysts credit higher profits to higher oil and gas prices, which slows any economic recovery.

“The really big mess Big Oil needs to clean up is the climate crisis they have created. While these corporate culprits continue to reap profits from this crisis, we taxpayers are having to pay for the cleanup and mitigation cost,” noted Ananda Lee Tan of the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives. “Katrina should have been Big Oil’s wake up call to climate change.”

Instead, oil companies Valero and Tesoro are sponsoring Proposition 23 on California’s November’s ballot, which would block state efforts to invest in solutions to climate change. “Prop 23 was dreamed up by big polluters who don’t want to pay their share, and think they can buy an election,” noted Dave Room of the Local Clean Energy Alliance. “The defeat of Prop 16 in June shows California voters are smarter than that.”

“Hurricane Katrina is just the start of the climate-related disasters we’re going to see. It’s the oil companies that should be paying for climate solutions such as better public transportation, cleaner energy, compensating impacted communities, and restoring damaged ecosystems, including the Gulf of Mexico,” asserted Kirsten Schwind of Bay Localize. While oil industry profits increased dramatically over the past year, Bay Area transit agencies such as Muni and AC Transit chopped services due to budget cuts.

Protesters will also stop at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) office (46 Hawthorne) to demand the agency regulate greenhouse gases like any other pollutant. “Congress has failed to act but the EPA already has the tools it needs to cut greenhouse pollution now,” observed Rose Braz of the Center for Biological Diversity, “The EPA needs to step up to the plate to do its job.”

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Mobilization for Climate Justice West is a broad coalition of organizations that have joined together to build a movement that emphasizes non-violent direct action and public education to promote effective and just solutions to the climate crisis.

References:

• CBS News, April 27, 2010. “British Petroleum Profit Doubles to $6.1B: Higher Crude Prices, Lower Production Costs Fuel Earnings Spike Despite Worries over Oil Rig Explosion.”
• LA Times, July 31, 2010. “Chevron’s second-quarter profit triples: It reports a net income of $5.4 billion, beating analyst expectations and continuing a strong week for big oil firms.”

August 30, 2010

In the wake of the recent BP disaster, we are writing to express our concern over the oil industry’s continued disregard for the health of communities and ecosystems around the world. Mobilization for Climate Justice West is a coalition of organizations, some of which represent communities directly impacted by the oil industry’s extraction and refining operations; we are dedicated to promoting effective and just solutions to the climate crisis.

We call on the oil industry to accept responsibility for the damages your operations have caused worldwide and specifically to:

1.     End the use of dispersants in cleaning up oil spills.  Dispersants, such as the Corexit used in the BP disaster, are toxic chemicals whose long-term impact on ocean life is unknown. Using dispersants allows for better public relations for the oil industry since they make the oil less visible, while possibly making the long-term impact of spills even worse.

2.     Grant full access to media and civil society in covering oil spills.  During the BP disaster, there have been many complaints from journalists that BP restricted their access and ability to gain information.  In July, the Society of Professional Journalists issued an open letter expressing their concerns over restrictions of press access to beaches and other sites in the Gulf.

3.     Pay your debt to the communities that have been impacted by your operations.  In the Gulf Coast, the oil spill has destroyed the livelihoods of many fishing and oystering communities. Communities are also impacted by oil extraction and refining in places like Nigeria, where an Exxon Valdez-sized spill has occurred every year since 1960; in Alberta, Canada where First Nations indigenous communities are experiencing abnormally high rates of cancer and a destruction of their traditional ways of life due to extreme water pollution from upstream tar sands operations; and in refining communities like Richmond, California where more than 25,000 people live within 3 miles of the refinery and the community suffers from high levels of asthma and other respiratory diseases.  The oil industry must pay for the the restoration of ecosystems and community livelihoods, for the development of clean energy and public transportation solutions, and for healthcare to treat those whose health has been impacted by your pollution.

4.     Stop funding fake “astro-turf” rallies. Last year the American Petroleum Institute, of which British Petroleum, Chevron, Shell, ConocoPhillips, and ExxonMobil are members, launched a fake grassroots campaign called “Energy Citizen” and bussed employees to lobbyist-organized rallies to oppose climate legislation that might limit climate pollution. Shell, publicly stated last year that it would not participate in “Energy Citizen” rallies. Now API is up to it again with a series of fake rallies to oppose removing billions in oil company tax breaks and opposing limits on offshore drilling. Will you join Shell’s pledge not to participate in what have been called “glorified company picnics”?

5.     Stop lobbying against solutions to climate change and against regulations to protect our communities.  Instead of using its profits to re-pay the debt to communities impacted by its operations, the oil industry funnels billions into lobbying to ensure that it will not be held responsible for its pollution.  During the BP disaster, from April-June, 2010, the American Petroleum Institute spent $2.3 million on lobbying.  According to the Washington Post, three fourths of all oil and gas lobbyists used to work for the federal government; the poor regulatory oversight of deepwater drilling is one result of this revolving door.  The oil industry also lobbies against solutions to climate change; members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee who voted against the Waxman-Markey climate bill in 2009 received almost 3 times more in contributions from carbon-intensive industries than members who voted in favor of the legislation.  In California, Tesoro and Valero are funding Proposition 23 on this November’s ballot to derail the implementation of California’s climate change legislation.

Sincerely,

Mobilization for Climate Justice West, Richmond Progressive Alliance, Communities for a Better Environment, Global Exchange, Greenpeace, Rainforest Action Network, West County Toxics Coalition, Gulf Restoration Network