Thank you Awards Sponsors!

A big THANK YOU to all of the individuals and sponsoring the Environmentalist of the Year Awards this year!

Including:

Andy Sawyer & Carol Bingham
Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD)
SKK Developments
Rob and Maureen Burness
Vista Properties
Ralph Propper
Robert and Anne Meagher
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1000
Physicians for Social Responsibility Sacramento Chapter
Sierra Club Sacramento Group
Sacramento Natural Foods Coop
McCord Environmental, Inc.
Kuvara Law Firm
Earl Withycombe
Fair Oaks EcoHousing

Each sponsorship is an investment in the ongoing success of ECOS, as well as the recognition provided by the Environmentalist of the Year Awards.

Support ECOS Through AmazonSmile

When you do your Christmas shopping online, shop at AmazonSmile and you can support the Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS) at the same time. AmazonSmile is a simple and easy way to support ECOS when you shop for Christmas gifts, at no cost to you.

What is AmazonSmile?

AmazonSmile is a simple way for you to support the Environmental Council of Sacramento every time you use Amazon, at no cost to you. AmazonSmile is available at smile.amazon.com on your web browser and can be activated in the Amazon Shopping app for iOS and Android phones. When you shop at AmazonSmile, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added benefit that AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% of your eligible purchases to the charitable organization of your choice. You can choose from over one million organizations to support.

How do I shop at AmazonSmile?

To shop at AmazonSmile simply go to smile.amazon.com on your web browser or activate AmazonSmile on your Amazon Shopping app on your iOS or Android phone (found under settings on your app). On your browser, you may also want to add a bookmark to smile.amazon.com to make it even easier to return and start your shopping at AmazonSmile. When you’re using the app, always check for the “AmazonSmile” logo to ensure you’re activated for AmazonSmile.

Please choose Environmental Council of Sacramento Inc. as your nonprofit of choice. Thank you from all of us at ECOS.

Nesting in Natomas

By Cathryn Rakich
July 2020
Inside Sacramento

Unaware they are trespassing on land owned by the Sacramento Kings, hundreds of snowy egrets and black-crowned night herons have taken up residence in a deserted oasis on the north side of Sleep Train Arena.

From a chain-link fence surrounding the grassland, the birds can be seen gliding among cement slabs and rebar, the foundation for a baseball stadium project led by Greg Lukenbill in the late 1980s that never came to fruition.

Click here to read the full article.

City Council member calls hospital’s opening plan ‘awfully optimistic’

February 19, 2020
By Lance Armstrong, Staff Writer
The Elk Grove Citizen

Elk Grove City Council Member Pat Hume on Feb. 11 referred to California Northstate University’s (CNU) proposal to build a $750 million to $800 million teaching hospital in the Stonelake neighborhood by November 2022 as “awfully optimistic.”

“I know that OSHPD (Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development) and some of the standards that are put on (the construction of) hospitals are pretty onerous and that the oversight is pretty strict,” he said. “So, I don’t know. I know that they like to be aggressive and assertive in what they do. If they think it’s realistic, okay. But it seems awfully optimistic.”

Hume additionally told the Citizen that he has a variety of concerns regarding California Northstate University’s proposal to build a teaching hospital in the Stonelake neighborhood.

“I’ve got all kinds of concerns,” he said. “Does it fit? Do they address some of the concerns that were raised here (at the meeting) tonight with respect to traffic and circulation and flooding and floodplain and neighborhood issues?

Click here to read more.

Mather South Environmental Review

On January 27, 2020, the Environmental Council of Sacramento, 350 Sacramento, and the Sierra Club Sacramento Group submitted a letter of our comments on the Final Environmental Impact Report for the Mather South Community Master Plan.

Our comments focus on Chapter 7, “Climate Change.” We present general and project-specific concerns.

Click here to read our comment letter in full.

SMUD Roseville Water Transfer comments

On September 10, 2019, the Environmental Council of Sacramento and Habitat 2020 sent a letter to Sacramento Metropolitan Utilities District (SMUD) a letter regarding a proposed water transfer between the City of Roseville and SMUD. Below are some excerpts from the letter, followed by a link to the letter in full.

Recently the Environmental Council of Sacramento and Habitat 2020 became aware of the pending temporary water transfer between the City of Roseville and SMUD. Our review of the environmental assessment and decision document prepared by the Bureau of Reclamation found specific deficiencies in the analysis and a casual dismissal of the transfer’s cumulative significance. We believe that the proposed transfer of water does not contain the necessary safeguards to protect Lower American River fisheries. We request that the SMUD Board direct its staff to include provisions in the contract that will address these concerns.

We believe the transfers must be governed by the standards and requirements contained in the Modified Flow Management Standard. These standards and requirements would much better ensure that the transfer would not negatively impact the American River flow and temperature standards.

Click here to read the full letter.

Photo by George Nyberg of the American River