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rdifalco

Butte County supervisors postpone zoning decision along Chico's green line - 0 views

  • Oroville >> The Butte County Board of Supervisors has postponed action on possibly rezoning residential property in Chico’s Bell-Muir neighborhood.The board was considering whether to keep the 33 parcels north of Bell Road and west of Muir Avenue at very low density residential with a 2½-acre minimum lots or revert it back to 5-acre rural residential. The properties lie on the agricultural side of the green line, the 33-year-old boundary between urban development and farm use in the Chico area. The neighborhood may be viewed as a buffer because it is between ag land and residential properties with a 1-acre minimum size.
  • Robyn DiFalco of the Butte Environmental Council said very low density residential zoning is a development zoning. “It’s a direct contradiction of the principles of the green line,” DiFalco said. She raised concerns about water quality in the area and indicated smaller lots increases the probability of the land being annexed into Chico.
dnbaxter

Students and community rally for the Chico Green New Deal - 0 views

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    The Chico Green New Deal was release: to make sure the city of Chico's grid is 100% clean, electricity-run by 2030 and to be climate neutral by the year 2045, with the intentions of reaching both of those goals earlier…actions will be taken to achieve these efforts by the end of 2026. While the New Deal doesn't do everything that Brown wants it to do for tenants specifically, a listening session making the connection between housing and climate change on Wednesday at the Butte County Oak center hosted by the Butte Environmental Council.
ndcarter

Chico News & Review - A green year - Sustainability - Green - December 29, 2016 - 0 views

  • In January, dogged tree activist Charles Withuhn continued his effort to replenish the urban forest by offering free trees to the public through his organization, Chico Tree Advocates. “What makes me grateful to live here is not the bushes. It’s these towering giants that have been here since Annie Bidwell, and they’re not being replaced,” he told CN&R.
  • On March 1, Natalie Carter stepped down from her post as general manager at the Chico Certified Farmers’ Market to take the reins as executive director of Butte Environmental Council.
  • In the June primary, Butte County voters showed their overwhelming support for banning hydraulic fracturing locally: Measure E, sponsored by local group Frack-Free Butte County, won by 71.5 percent of the vote.
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  • The November election also resulted in California voting to uphold the plastic bag ban, meaning grocers in other areas of Butte County (Chico had its own bag ban in place already) will have to follow suit.
becnews

Butte County Planning Commission discusses buffers between houses, land used for agricu... - 1 views

  • Oroville >> The Butte County Planning Commission has delayed making a recommendation on altering how a 300-foot agricultural buffer applies in residential areas.
  • The county’s current rules call for the agricultural buffer to apply next to properties with agricultural use, which may include properties zoned as residential. The proposal would limit this buffer to development next to agriculturally zoned properties, although an amendment would allow people to use their residential, commercial and industrial properties an acre or larger for farming and grazing.
  • John Scott said the proposal was a violation of the public’s trust as eliminating the buffer could expose residents to sprayed pesticides that drift onto their properties. He said the Development Services Department was working to bring in money from development at the risk of others. “Inappropriate development should not drive this ordinance,” Scott said.
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  • Robin DiFalco of the Butte Environmental Council said the changes don’t alter the green line, but increases the potential of development on the farming side. “It is in fact directly contrary to the goals of the General Plan and the green line,” DiFalco said.
dnbaxter

Students go green for Sustainability Day - 0 views

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    BEC board chair, Mark Stemen, tabled at Chico State's Sustainability day to,"let people know, academically, in the literature, civil disobedience is the one thing that works. Non-violent civil disobedience works over all forms of resistance, and it's been proven through history."
rdifalco

CN&R - Water blues - Sustainability - Green - April 11, 2013 - 0 views

  • Nani Teves says it’s not too late to do something about Gov. Jerry Brown’s new plan to send North State water south, and she and other local water activists have a plan of their own to inform residents on what’s at stake. Teves, water outreach coordinator for Butte Environmental Council, was referring in a recent interview to BEC’s Code Blue 2013 water outreach campaign, which kicked off on Feb. 5 with a free forum at Chico State called “Ethical Issues and Water: An Interfaith Dialogue.” The Code Blue series of no-cost, water-centric educational events—held “so that people are aware of what’s happening regarding local water, and are given the tools to do something about it”—will run throughout the year.
  • Included on the Code Blue schedule of free events: a talk titled Science and Politics of North State Water (May 1); an educational field trip (June 8) to the Bay Delta, under which two multibillion-dollar, 40-foot-diameter tunnels are planned to be built to send North State water south; and fall workshops on installing water-conserving gray-water and rainwater-catchment systems.
ndcarter

Chico News & Review - Gathering momentum - Sustainability - Green - March 31, 2016 - 0 views

  • Environmental groups get together to gain support for local efforts following sustainability conference
  • “It’s not just what we need to do, but ‘this is what we’ve done,’” Stemen said. “The amount of activity that’s happening around these types of issues—sustainability, environmental justice, basic peace with the planet—is really vibrant in this community so having a night like this allows people to find out what’s going on and be re-energized. When you’re just one group, sometimes it’s a little lonely, then you realize, ‘No, I’m just one of many.’”
rdifalco

Chico News & Review - Hormonal disruption - Sustainability - Green - March 13, 2014 - 0 views

  • This article was published on 03.13.14.
  • Of all the toxins confronting people daily, endocrine disruptors rank among the most insidious. These chemicals can have stealth effects—not only impacting the hormones of those exposed, but also creating a genetic legacy that can continue for generations.
  • Lane refers to endocrine disruptors as “legacy constituents,” and Julia Murphy, a dioxin expert at the Butte Environmental Council, adds that they are “persistent through generations.” Murphy says these chemicals act as “a system disruptor rather than a body disruptor,” meaning they trigger wide-ranging changes that can be heritable—passed on genetically to children, grandchildren, and on down. In addition, the compounds are relatively stable, so they can remain potent for decades.
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  • “It’s one of those Pandora’s Box situations,” said Chico geologist John Lane, of Chico Environmental Science and Planning.
  • In that vein, Lane and Murphy reviewed the EWG list and highlighted some endocrine disruptors of particular concern in the North State.
rdifalco

Chico News & Review - Water activism and purposeful postcards - The GreenHouse - Green ... - 0 views

  • Nani Teves, Butte Environmental Council’s water-outreach coordinator, sent me a press release announcing “phase two of the Code Blue water engagement campaign.” As some readers may recall, BEC’s 2013 Code Blue water-outreach campaign kicked off on Feb. 5 with a free educational forum at Chico State called “Ethical Issues and Water: An Interfaith Dialogue”; the ongoing series of no-cost, water-centric events will run throughout the year. Phase two—the “action” phase, which will begin Sept. 19—will include gray-water and rainwater-catchment installation workshops, and “actions related to statewide strategies to solving some of the more controversial and political water issues.” Thus, next Thursday (Sept. 19), a free action workshop related to the proposed Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta twin-tunnels project will be held at the Blue Oak Charter School community room (450 W. East Ave.), from 6-7 p.m.
rdifalco

Chico News & Review - Another historic tree on the chopping block - The GreenHouse - Gr... - 0 views

  • Butte Environmental Council appealing anti-tree decision by Architectural Review & Historic Preservation Board
  • This article was published on 11.14.13.
  • Tearing down another beautiful historic tree CN&R photo contributor Karen Laslo first gave me the heads-up on this one, followed by Butte Environmental Council board president Mark Stemen. It seems that the very huge—what some would term “heritage”—valley oak tree that lives in the vacant lot on the corner of Salem and West Eighth streets is slated for removal so that a couple of single-story duplexes can be built there.
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  • “We believe that the project has not had adequate review by the public to date,” wrote BEC Executive Director Robyn DiFalco in the appeal, before pointing out that the Oct. 30 meeting was scheduled outside of the normal ARHPB meeting schedule: the first and third Wednesdays of the month. “The approval in question was made at a special meeting of the ARHPB held to suit the schedule of the applicant,” wrote DiFalco.
rdifalco

Chico News & Review - Wildlife tours, old paint and drones - The GreenHouse - Green - O... - 0 views

  • BEC board boss says thanks! On the heels of the Butte Environmental Council’s recent gala fundraiser and awards ceremony honoring local environmentalists Wes Dempsey, Dave Garcia, and Susan and Stephen Tchudi (see “BEC bestows honors,” Earthwatch, Oct. 24), BEC board chairman Mark Stemen wanted to extend his appreciation to the Butte County District Attorney’s Office for helping close down the dioxin-spewing Pacific Oroville Power Inc. (POPI) co-generation plant in south Oroville, and also to thank CN&R News Editor Tom Gascoyne for his coverage related to that controversial plant.
  • Don’t forget Anti-GMO activist Pamm Larry wanted me to remind folks of the Uniting Generations for Action community-building event on Nov. 2 at Trinity United Methodist Church (285 E. Fifth St.), from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (See “Let us unite,” Guest comment, Oct. 24). “This will be an unforgettable event and a prime opportunity to pair new activists with longstanding organizations and individuals,” said Larry in an email. Go to www.facebook.com/events/397543767021567 for a schedule of events.
rdifalco

Chico News & Review - Thanksgiving giving - The GreenHouse - Green - November 21, 2013 - 1 views

  • DiFalco weighs in In last week’s column, I devoted a considerable amount of space to the plight of the huge historic valley oak tree
  • growing in the vacant lot at the corner of Salem and West Eighth streets. Thanks to the recent actions of the city’s Architectural Review & Historic Preservation Board, the grand, towering tree is slated to be axed to make way for a couple of duplexes. However, the Butte Environmental Council has (thankfully) filed an appeal, scheduled to be heard next month. Robyn DiFalco, BEC’s executive director (who penned the appeal), sent me a few words by email recently, expressing her thoughts about the situation of this valley oak, as well as that of other heritage trees still standing in Chico. “The mature street trees of Chico are one of the things I love most about this city—and I’m concerned that they’re vulnerable these days,” DiFalco said. “At present, the city has no urban forester or tree crew on staff, the Tree Committee isn’t meeting for lack of city staff, and consequently, the Urban Forest Management Plan is still just a draft. “This is not just about one small project and a few trees—it’s partly a concern about the future of Chico’s urban forest.”
rdifalco

Chico News & Review - RARE program returns - Earth Watch - Green - September 26, 2013 - 1 views

  • The Butte Environmental Council (BEC) recently announced the revival of the Recycling and Rubbish Education program (RARE), aimed at teaching schoolchildren about recycling and garbage reduction. “[A]fter more than a year of negotiation, a proposal submission process and a vote by the Butte County Board of Supervisors, BEC was selected to carry on the successful legacy of the RARE program,” said a BEC press release. The program—which was in existence from 2001 to 2012, thanks to the Chico State Research Foundation—“will travel to schools throughout Butte County providing [no-cost] hands-on, interactive workshops that emphasize the importance of the 4 R’s—reduce, reuse, recycle and rot (compost).” For more information, go to www.becnet.org/RARE or call 891-6426
rdifalco

Chico News & Review - Cinderella and other holiday goodness - The GreenHouse - Green - ... - 0 views

  • Along the thank-you lines, Butte Environmental Council board chairman Mark Stemen offers these words, in reference to BEC’s recently dropping its appeal to save the historic valley oak tree and other trees at the corner of West Eighth and Salem streets. The trees are slated for removal to make way for the building of Salvation Army transitional housing (as covered in this column and in a recent CN&R Downstroke news brief). “I want to thank the folks at the Salvation Army and the Blitz Build program at the university. They have worked with us at BEC, and they are fully committed to doing the right thing,” Stemen wrote in a recent email to me. “They have agreed to plant three times the number of trees they are required to plant by code.
  • “The tree species will be of the valley oak mixed-riparian vegetation type, as identified in the [city of Chico’s draft of the] Urban Forest Management Plan, and they have agreed to put the fallen trees to a use that is ‘as beneficial to the City and planet as possible,’ also called for in the Urban Forest Plan.” Thanks, Mark!
rdifalco

Chico News & Review - Going car-free and other good things - The GreenHouse - Green - O... - 0 views

  • BEC hosts Chico Car Free Day Oct. 6
  • A no-cars event! I received a press release from Mark Stemen, on behalf of the Butte Environmental Council, announcing the upcoming Chico Car Free Day. BEC is inviting everyone in Chico to participate in this event, which will take place from 1-5 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 6, in downtown Chico. “[M]ultiple streets, behind City Hall, will be closed to automobile traffic to open up space for educational and fun-filled activities,” the press release said. “The idea behind Car Free Day is to reconsider urban transport with the prospect of sharing streets more efficiently,” it continued. “This day is an opportunity for us to take personal, positive and constructive measures to reduce greenhouse gases in our community as well as enjoy the company of our friends in a quiet stroll along the tree-lined streets of downtown Chico.” The event will be centered along Flume Street, between Fourth and Seventh streets. For more information, go to www.becnet.org or call 891-6424.
  • Code Blue update In more BEC-related news, Nani Teves, BEC’s water-outreach coordinator, sent me an email advising folks that the Delta water-education field trip BEC canceled in June due to excessively hot weather has been rescheduled for Saturday, Oct. 12, from 8 a.m. (sharp!) to 5 p.m.
rdifalco

Chico News & Review - LEDs, rain-harvesting and pilgrimage talk - The GreenHouse - Gree... - 0 views

  • Harvest the rain Nani Teves, the Butte Environmental Council’s Code Blue water-outreach coordinator, reminded me that on Sunday, Nov. 10, from 10-11 a.m., BEC is hosting a free rainwater-harvesting workshop. “If you’ve ever wanted to put your roofs and gutters to work collecting rain for you, this event is a must,” says the BEC website (www.becnet.org) of this informative event. “Learn how to safely and sensibly collect and store water for use in your garden.”
  • workshop—which will also offer healthful, organic snacks—is being held at a private home; contact Teves at nanibay@hotmail.com or 891-6424 for more information and to register.
rdifalco

Chico News & Review - Climate on the front burner - Sustainability - Green - May 22, 2014 - 0 views

  • When the White House recently released its third National Climate Assessment, the basic findings didn’t surprise anyone who’s stepped outside on a regular basis. The Southwest portion of the U.S., including California, has been decreed in the report as “the hottest and driest region.” What isn’t so obvious, of course, is exactly what the future will bring. But the outlook is not positive.
  • Ironically, as officials grapple with storage and shortage issues, they also have to deal with flooding. As Robyn DiFalco, executive director of the Butte Environmental Council, explains, shifts in precipitation patterns throughout the country, but even in California, can mean more intense rain and snow in places not accustomed to such levels, and warmer winters mean greater—and earlier—ice melts in California mountain areas.
  • Water may be a prime concern, but it’s not the only concern. BEC has a three-pronged approach to environmental advocacy: land, air and water, and the interrelationship between the three. As explained by Chico City Councilwoman Tami Ritter, a member of the county’s Air Quality Management District, dry land breeds a greater risk of wildfires, which breeds greater air pollution. As a result, DiFalco says her organization is pushing all three elements as Chico and Butte County implement climate action plans, and the recent reports haven’t shifted BEC’s priorities.
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  • “We do have a problem that’s human-caused that we need to respond to,” she said. “The question is whether or not we can modify our human behaviors and reduce our carbon emissions—as the [IPCC] report puts it, mitigate—effectively, in time, enough to make a difference.
  • “The studies continue to show: probably we can, [at least] some of what’s needed.”
  • Mitigation has been a longstanding local priority. The city started climate action planning a decade ago, while Butte County and Chico State CAPs have been years in the making.
becnews

Chico News & Review - Map quest - Sustainability - Green - September 3, 2015 - 0 views

  • In spots around Butte County, particularly in south Chico and south Oroville, ecological hazards threaten health and safety. Some residents know; some don’t. Polluters tend not to advertise when they’re breaking the law, and residual toxins from decades past represent some of the biggest risks.
  • According to Robyn DiFalco, executive director of the Butte Environmental Council, “a clean and healthy environment versus dirty, unhealthy, polluted environments really have a lot connected with geography.” Wealthy neighborhoods don’t have to deal with these problems because residents there tend to “squawk very loud if dirty industrial sites were in their backyard—and they would prevent them from going in, and choose not to live near those sites.” Lower-income individuals don’t always “have those opportunities to speak out and prevent those sites from going in,” she continued, and neighborhoods with less expensive housing often are located “near these sites that are visually less attractive and have these health problems that their families may be affected by. “So, to be able to see a geographic dispersion of contamination sites, environmental and public health issues, is very telling,” DiFalco continued. “That’s why it’s so important to give visibility to that—that’s why it’s so important to have the EJSCREEN tool and the one that California does … otherwise, a lot of these communities are out of sight, out of mind.”
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