Eco-Bulletin ~ January 16th, 2007

HopeDance FiLMS presents "Go Further," the new film by award-winning documentary filmmaker Ron Mann, at 7pm on Friday, January 19, at the SLO Public Library (suggested donation of $5). “Go Further” explores the idea that the single individual is the key to large-scale transformational change. The film follows actor Woody Harrelson as he takes a small group of friends on a bio-fuelled bus-ride down the Pacific Coast Highway (stopping at Cal Poly and a farm nearby in SLO County). Their goal is to show the people they encounter that there are viable alternatives to our habitual, environmentally-destructive behaviors. The travelers include a yoga-teacher, a raw food chef, a hemp-activist, a junk-food addict, and a college student who suspends her life to impulsively hop aboard. We meet an entrepreneur who runs a paper company that does not harm trees; an organic farmer who believes nature is his partner; a man who teaches environmental activists to use humor as a strategic weapon. Harrelson tests his belief that the transformation of our planet begins with the small personal transformations that are within the grasp of each and every one of us, after which... we'll go further. For more information, call 544-9663, visit www.hopedance.org or the "Go Further" documentary's official website.

Natural San Luis Docent-led hikes are free and held on Saturdays. Join them for a hike on Felsman Loop at Bishop Peak at 9am on Saturday, January 20th. To reach the trailhead and meeting place, take Foothill Blvd. west and make a right turn at Patricia Drive. Continue north on Patricia Dr. and the trailhead will be on the left just past Patricia Court. For more information, please call 781-7211 or 544-1777. Click here for a map to the trailhead.

Small Wilderness Area Preservation (S.W.A.P.) is conducting an Animal Tracks Walk in the Elfin Forest on Saturday, January 20 at 9:30am. Who lives in the Elfin Forest? What are the mammals, reptiles & birds that leave footprints in the sand? Except for the occasional brush rabbit & lizard, we seldom see Elfin Forest animals because they hunt or graze at night. Evan Albright, an animal track expert, will explain how to identify an animal by the shape & size of its track, and to know where the animal was heading & how fast it was going. This walk will open up a complex world of the Elfin Forest's inhabitants, one that we would never suspect while walking along the boardwalk during the day.

Walks in the Elfin Forest meet at 9:30 a.m. at the north end of 15th St. off of Santa Ysabel in Los Osos (unless otherwise noted). Proceed up the path to the boardwalk, where the walk will begin. Wear comfortable shoes, long sleeves and pants to avoid poison oak. Please park carefully, avoiding driveways and mailboxes. We ask that you not bring dogs or other pets. The easy paced walks last 1-1/2 to 2 hours. For more information, please call (805) 528-0392. Click here for a map to the Elfin Forest meeting place.

Join us for a champagne brunch at Chez Patrick* in San Luis Obispo from 11:30am until 2:30pm. Chef Patrick Kirby will prepare delicious dishes, including frittatas, along with fruit, juice, and coffee, at his house located at 1821 Morro Street (at Church Street). Seating indoors and out. The cost is $20 per person with proceeds benefiting the community programs and activities of ECOSLO. Complimentary mimosas will be served. Parking is limited downtown, so please carpool. Guests of all ages are welcome. Reserve your spot by January 15th by responding to this email message or calling (805) 544-1777. Click here for a map to 1821 Morro Street.

Dr. Gordon F. Hartman will present two lectures based on his recent article in the Jan/Feb issue of HopeDance magazine: "Converging Ecological Crises: Are We Up to the Challenges?" One lecture will be at Cal Poly on February 2. The public lecture will be held at 7pm on February 3, at the SLO Library Community Room (Palm St., across from City Hall). Passion for Peace and HopeDance will sponsor Dr. Hartman's lecture. Suggested donation is $5. If any individual or group is interested in co-sponsoring his lecture and thereby helping to defray his air travel expenses from BC to SLO and return, please contact Richard Krejsa at (805) 544-3399, before January 22. Click here for background information on Dr. Hartman.

For more than two decades the Morro Bay/Cayucos sewage plant has dumped sewage containing high levels of bacteria and other pollutants into the ocean, and the bay's surrounding waters have become a hotspot for sea otter deaths. Otters are especially important because they are "sentinels" that indicate the overall health of the marine ecosystem. Studies have traced the otters' decline to infections from land-based contaminants found in sewage wastewater and urban runoff. These pathogens, parasites, fecal bacteria and other contaminants also threaten other marine life, pose a danger to public health, degrade coastal habitats, cause beach closures and damage the local economy.

The sewage treatment plant submitted an application for yet another waiver from basic federal standards in July 2003. Although the necessary construction time is less than two and a half years, the plant proposes to complete the project and improve water quality by March 31, 2014. However, the plant's own documents show that a faster, more efficient upgrade is not only possible, but would be less expensive as well. In fact, the average upgrade for larger plants along the Central Coast is just five years—over three years less than the time Morro Bay and Cayucos are requesting. Send a message, urging the officials of Morro Bay and Cayucos to upgrade their outdated sewage plant to tertiary treatment in less than 5 years. You can send an official comment to Morro Bay and Cayucos directly from NRDC's Earth Action Center at http://www.nrdc.org/action/. Or use the contact information and sample letter below to send your own message.

Contact Information:

Morro Bay City Council, Attn: Janice Peters, Mayor (flamingos@charter.net) or Cayucos Sanitary District Governing Body, Attn: Bonnie Connelly (bonniecsd@charter.net)

Sample Letter:

Subject: Reject the proposed Morro Bay/Cayucos Settlement Agreement

Dear Members,

I urge you to shorten the 2014 upgrade timeline now proposed by the Morro Bay/Cayucos sewage treatment plant. The Clean Water Act and state law require that this sewage plant shorten the proposed upgrade timeline so that it is as rapid as possible. Moreover, it is critical that specific measures be included in the sewage plant's permit assuring that it will protect the California sea otter.

There is no reason that the Morro Bay community cannot meet the standard established by many similar small cities around California that have accomplished a similar upgrade in a fraction of the time. Adopting a shorter timeframe for the plant upgrade and requiring measures to protect the sea otter and other marine life are the only ways to preserve local waters, including Morro Bay's extraordinary estuary, for future generations. I am counting on you to take the necessary steps to protect these valuable coastal resources.

Sincerely,

Presentations from the 2006 Energy Summit can now be accessed individually at www.slo-span.org.