REDWOOD NEEDLES

Presented by the Sierra Club Redwood Chapter Newsletter, The REDWOOD NEEDLES

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Chapter Report

By Margaret Pennington, Redwood Chapter Chair

Dear Redwood Chapter Members,

I first want to say that Redwood Chapter joins the national Sierra Club in extending our condolences and deepest sympathy to all whose lives have been touched by the tragic events of September 11, 2001.

I'm sitting down to write this report on September 15th, and having a very difficult time. My thoughts and feelings are, as was probably the case for you on September 15th, someplace else today. I am shocked and saddened, beyond words, by the indiscriminant violence that has resulted in the deaths and injury of so many innocent people in New York City, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania. My heart aches for the people whose lives have been shattered by these acts and from the thought that people could be so filled with hatred, anger, and vengeance that they could be blinded to the human suffering their actions would cause. I am equally saddened by the immediate talk of retaliation and war.

I realize our Sierra Club "community" is diverse. Although our sense of grief is likely shared by all, our responses and ideas about what should happen next will differ. With that in mind I offer up these words from Zeno Swijtink, philosophy professor at SSU and Club member, in a message titled "Friends" &endash; "I pray treat each other gently in these days so dark and frightening... Have understanding for our differences."

This seems an appropriate time to say some "thank-you's" &endash; here are just a few of the many that could be said. First, our annual fund appeal has been quite successful this year according to Chapter Treasurer, Tom Davis. As of our July Chapter meeting the donations were higher by a couple of thousand dollars than last year at that time. Thanks to all of you who have so generously supported our local Sierra Club efforts. Thanks to Tom for his careful tracking of our finances. And thanks to new volunteer, Melanie Matway, for taking on the job of maintaining our Chapter database.

As you know the money we receive from our annual appeal goes directly to local conservation work. The Chapter recently allocated funds to pay for expert testimony from hydrologists, biologists, and watershed experts to fend off the Blands Timber Sale that threatens logging in the biologically diverse Middle Fork Eel Canyon. Thanks to forestry activists Ellen and David Drell who have been working to protect this and other areas in Mendocino National Forest for many years.

Thanks also to North Group forestry activists, Christine and Anthony Ambrose, along with North Group rep Diane Beck, who have been working so hard on forestry and fire issues. (See Big Bar fire report in August 2001 Needles). Anthony and Christine came to our July meeting and reported on their lobbying trip to Washington D.C., funded in part by Redwood Chapter. The Ambroses have been to D.C. before to lobby on forestry issues, but they noted that they'd never had so many doors open to them as this time. Sierra Club board member Rene Voss accompanied them and they credited being there with Sierra Club support as a major factor in the warmer reception they received.

Thanks to Carol Vellutini, our Chapter and Sonoma Group Outings chair for organizing another Santa Rosa Creek clean-up project. Carol only had a couple of weeks to plan the clean-up, in conjunction with Catholic Charities, but still managed to turn out around 60 people to help. This is an extremely complex issue in Santa Rosa. Homeless people in the community have taken to camping along the creek. The City doesn't want to "legitimize" the situation by providing a dumpster or portable toilet. By the same token, lacking alternative shelter, the city has been reluctant to "evict" the homeless.

As an interim measure Sierra Club has urged the City to at least provide a dumpster and toilet so people along the creek can keep the camps clean. Many of the homeless helped with the clean-up. Thanks to all who did participate. As Carol noted, "Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a community to care for a creek."

Thanks to our Lake County members, Nina Marino, Steve DeVoto and others, for the enthusiasm they've put into starting up the brand new Redwood Chapter Lake County Group. They are off to a great start scheduling diverse outings, regular meetings, and diving into local conservation issues. Go Lake Group!

Thanks to Lynn Ryan and Steven Day and all the other Wild Heritage Campaign folks for leading the hikes, writing the letters and rounding up the support for expanding wilderness areas in California.

Thanks to everyone out there for writing letters to representatives and letters to the editor; letting our reps and the rest of our communities know how important it is that we protect our natural environment &endash; the ecosystems, biodiversity and ecological systems which we depend upon for our survival. Sustainable energy policy is going to be an incredibly important issue needing our advocacy in the months ahead. I hope many of you will attend the October 13th energy conference at Sonoma State University, co-sponsored by Sierra Club (see notice in this Needles).

When times are tough, it sometimes helps me to remind myself where I'm going. Herman Daly, Robert Costanza, et al's description of a sustainable society is my guide. I hope it will have meaning to you at this especially difficult time.

A sustainable society is "one that can provide permanent prosperity within the biophysical constraints of the real world in a way that is fair and equitable to all of humanity, to other species, and to future generations." Getting there may be the most challenging task facing humanity today, but also the most worthwhile.

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