This bill would, if approved by the voters in November, authorize the issuance of $10 billion in State General Obligation bonds to finance projects for to improve the climate resiliency of California.
It would provide funding for safe drinking water, drought, flood, and water resilience, wildfire and forest resilience, coastal resilience, extreme heat mitigation, biodiversity and nature-based climate solutions, climate-smart, sustainable, and resilient farms, ranches, and working lands, park creation and outdoor access, and clean air programs. Bonds will also be provided for projects that promote sustainable agriculture, protect biodiversity, and increase outdoor access. This bill reflects the need for comprehensive funding that reflects the many ways climate change is affecting our lives. By investing in our collective future now, we will protect public health and promote environmental stewardship for future generations.
In the Sacramento region, SB 867 will provide specific funding for urgently needed measures — $150M to improve levees and flood protection in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta; $50M dollars for the Wildlife Conservation Board to support salmon reintroduction to the Sacramento and San Joaquin River watersheds; $21M for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy. These measures will help protect one of the most impacted ecosystems in our state, in addition to benefits Sacramento may receive from bonds that are allocated more broadly.
Click here to read the ECOS letter thanking Assemblymember Kevin McCarty.
Click here to read the ECOS letter thanking Assemblymember Angelique Ashby.
Kent Lacin understands the environment. As a member of 350 Sacramento, a local grassroots organization committed to a sustainable future, he applies his filmmaking art and craft to such issues as climate change. In spring of 2021, Kent and his filmmaking partner Steven Steinberg, completed Environmentalists of the Year 2021, a film celebrating ECOS’ four award winners. During prior years, Environmentalists of the Year (EOY) was an in-person award event, held annually. Because of the pandemic, the EOY event went virtual, and Kent generously donated his time, talents, and physical resources to the making of this film.
I asked why. “It’s something I know how to do. It’s in my wheelhouse. I’ve been making media since I was a kid, telling stories, sharing ideas. Yes, it takes effort and concentration, but the process is very familiar to me. You know, most artists are masochistic, meaning they enjoy dealing with the resistance in the medium itself to get the images they want.”
What was the process of making the EOY film? “The Environmentalists of the Year film isn’t really a documentary but a portrait to honor and appreciate the four people. First you decide where to meet, considering lighting and sound. You try to draw them out, find out their concerns, and get them to trust you so they become conspirators in the making of the film.”
How do you get them to trust you? “Oh, I don’t know. You are transparent. If you have a problem, you say it. If they aren’t talking about things the way you want, you tell them. You stay in the moment with them. And technically, as a filmmaker, you have to know what you are doing, or they will lose confidence. I appreciate that people are willing to open up, because I am pretty nosy. I keep digging and digging.”
Back to the process…. “You don’t have a voiceover script, so you need your subjects to tell you the message. When people watch a film like this, they watch it the same way they watch other movies – they expect a story and to get lost in it a bit – so you have to keep going with the filming and dialogue until you get the sound bites that tell a compelling story. Together you write the script on the spot. And on a film like Environmentalists of the Year, you show your subjects the final cut to make sure they are comfortable with it.”
Kent got his start in the “strangest way — my first job was to produce media. This was in about 1972 during the first wave of portable digital media.” He wanted to be an artist, didn’t think about money, and went on to get his MFA at UC Davis. He said it all worked out. By 1978 he was on his own doing media with corporate clients like Seagram’s, the American Banking Association and Paul Masson Winery. Three years later after some “burnout” he shifted to still photography exclusively and stuck with that for nearly thirty years.
Although Kent is now officially retired, he is back making media. On Sept 30, he set up a video campaign in which individuals would “act” in a short clip about the Sacramento County Climate Action Plan, and then post their clip to their own social media accounts. A Sacramento advertising group called FATHOM also donated its help. It was a fun campaign addressing a serious issue. Pretty cool, huh?
ECOS is truly grateful to Kent for making our Environmentalists of the Year film, and for his work to fight against climate change and for the Sacramento region.
Do you LOVE trees? Do you get nutty over walnut trees? Weepy at the sight of a willow? Want to cuddle with a conifer?
Be Water Smart wants YOU to make sure our urban forest stays with us for generations to come, even as climate change is projected to bring more frequent drought years.
Here are some tips for efficiently watering your trees when the weather is dry, and be sure to visit sactree.com to learn even more about caring for trees!
Here are a few of the Be Water Smart videos that can help get you started!
Safety For People Means Safety For The Environment
Rory Pilling and Rae Jacobson are proud to place first in the 2021 Caring for Our Watersheds contest for their proposal to raise awareness about the social and environmental issues surrounding homelessness. Specifically, the group will advocate for the passing of the Right To Rest Act to ensure that homeless people can live in the main parts of Sacramento- allowing access to sanitation and trash disposal, as well as proximity to transport and job opportunities. Their hope is that the Right to Rest Act will protect homeless individuals, but also alleviate some of the waste and environmental impact from homeless encampments along Sacramento waterways.
For first place in the contest, Rory and Rae won $1,000 for themselves and $1,000 for their school, George Washington Carver School of Arts and Sciences. In total, students compete for over $6,000 cash rewards and participating schools are eligible for over $11,000 cash rewards. Nutrien also provides $10,000 in funding to help implement students’ ideas.
Check out the top finalists here. View photos of the event on Facebook here.
Do you have your facts straight about your local watershed? The Sacramento River Watershed is a beautiful place to work, live, and play. Learn more about our watershed and how you can help protect it here.
Dr. Michelle Stevens, a professor in the Environmental Studies Department at CSUS, has been leading the Bushy Lake Restoration Project along the lower American River Parkway, which protects, studies, and restores Sacramento’s riparian ecosystem. Michelle was able to “sell” this idea to the local community, a myriad of stakeholders, regional professionals and experts, and fellow colleagues. Michelle started with planting a few plants that are important to native peoples in the region, and nurtured it until it grew into a grant-funded restoration plan involving CSUS students and volunteers. Her work is informed and guided in uplifting the historic indigenous practices and culture of traditional ecological knowledge, and provides a hands-on opportunity for college students through CSUS and volunteers. In 2019, this project won an award at the annual CSU-wide Student Research Competition.
Environmentalist of the Year
Brandon Rose
Brandon Rose was ECOS President 2016-2017. During his tenure, ECOS put on a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) workshop, which helped to attract and train volunteers. ECOS supported Sacramento’s plastic bag ban and ethics reform ordinances. Under his leadership, ECOS also helped the City obtain a $44 million “Green City” grant to construct electric vehicle charging stations and acquire electric vehicle fleets for car sharing programs in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Also during Brandon’s board presidency, ECOS worked with Wilton Rancheria to locate their proposed casino within the County of Sacramento’s Urban Service Area, rather than a rural area. In 2017, ECOS sued Caltrans over its approval of extra lanes on US 50 without considering the environmental impacts of increased traffic, which led to a settlement providing funding for transit. Later that year, Brandon was elected to the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) board, which has since committed to carbon neutrality by 2030.
Early Career Environmentalist
Moiz Mir
Moiz Mir was the president of the Environmental Student Organization at CSUS, 2017–2019. As an intern at the Sacramento Mayor’s Office, he organized youth summits to include students’ voices in the Mayors’ Commission on Climate Change, and served on the Commission’s Community Health & Resiliency and Equity Technical Advisory Committees. He co-won a statewide “Best Practice in Student Sustainability Leadership Award” for organizing the CSUS Student Summit on Climate Change. As a student, Moiz worked with Michelle Stevens, supervising student plant experiments at Bushy Lake. With Sunrise Movement Sacramento, Moiz is engaging youth in climate justice action. Moiz recently became the first staff at 350 Sacramento, where he developed a new after-school student climate organizing program.
Climate Hero
Anne Stausboll
Anne Stausboll chaired the Mayors’ Commission on Climate Change, which presented its recommendations in June 2020. She obtained a unanimous vote on a very progressive set of recommendations, which took two years to develop. The goal is to achieve carbon neutrality in Sacramento and West Sacramento, by 2045. Anne made sure the Commission reviewed and considered everything through a lens of racial and income equity. She is inspiring us to be active with the City of Sacramento to ensure that these recommendations are incorporated into the Cities’ Climate Action Plans, and into appropriate ordinances and other city actions. As Anne says, “it is a crisis situation, and we need to act now. We want the city to start seriously adopting and acting on the recommendations. Now. It’s not something that can wait.”
