Let's use this thread to call out local Heros and Zeros, as Colleen offered below:
Quote:
I am pleased to help make lists of heroes and zeros; will you add to it too?
I split off Colleen's post below from from another thread. It's not entirely local, but it's a good start.
I know this will be a bit tricky, but let's try to be respectful (starting with facts) when calling out misdeeds.
On the other hand, I encourage you to be generous when acknowledging good deeds :angel:
You're welcome to comment on choices by others, but I may split it off if it gets involved.
Strictly non-commercial, please.
Barry
:gravapple:Save all the dry-farmed, organic Gravensteins:gravapple:,Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by Dorothy Friberg:
& the children! :):
:goorganic:
We need to demand a moratorium on all west county new vineyard development until a groundwater survey and groundwater management program are established. The Federal EPA has set aside a large amount of funds for clean water in CA; we need a plan fast. It will involve working with & against foes; like it or not; until there is justice.
You have no idea how many unmitigated impacts wine grapes are having here; and will not be addressed, as long as the County of Sonoma & it's DA office & courts are run as corruptly as they are.
This will not change until there is a groundswell of public support.
Merilyn Herzog's story is as important as mine on what is wrong with the justice system here, and alas in many places.
The George Zimmerman/Trevor Martin case is a testament to the necessity of the public's outcry. I'm sorry it's such work to have to keep it up so loud and long, and it puts us at risk of appearing anti-government, or anti-cop; when we are actually just anti-corruption.
What can you do?
Besides putting pressure on elected officials & agencies; we can use our voice in print and in person, move our money; & encourage others join in these actions as well.
I am pleased to help make lists of heroes and zeros; will you add to it too?
Barry can we have a new Wacco app for Wacco Voter Approved: products, services, policies, etc?
Michael Heumann developed something like it & Democrosoft capitalized on it. It would sure help city councils and boards of supervisors, as well as, consumers to know what has met the social and environmental values filters of our "Wacco" sensibilities.
Let me start with this bit of good shop local news. I was recently looking for Hobbs' 2 brands of wine on the shelf at Pacific Market in Sebastopol; Paul Hobbs and Cross Barn his other lable - both were not there!
When Hobbs got away with land theft and land rape a few years back, I/we warned the local stores that if they carried that brand, they risked being boycotted by this community. Remember that Wacco's? The power of my words, plus the power of yours and this bulletin board had an effect when we said we would move our money in the case of the Hobbs brands.
I reminded the guy doing inventory, how important it was to keep my loyalty as a customer, and that of untold numbers of others, by not selling products and brands which have negetively impacted our social and environmental standards.
Have ya'll reminded the places where you shop of what keeps you loyal? More on move your money campaigns later. This is the key to a measurable success.
A while back I also posted a list of wine brands which were known to be very good stewards. I, and I know many of you are not against wine, nor the County profiting from the industry. It's the imbalances of a monoculture, the double standards & favors for cronies, and of course serious impacts on our and the watershed's health, as well as, safety on the roads from: drunk drivers, and potholes from too many semi-trucks on unmaintainted pavement; and other bad things that overuse of alcohol & grape growing can do.
I'm going to have a lot more to say on this. I hope you will too. I've been harmed in unbearable ways for continuing to speak this truth; I feel unprotected without your continued support and actions.
The bottom line is that more than just schoolchildren are at risk because of what Efren Carillo and Jill Ravitch do, and do not do. My child is dead. Both Jill and Efren could have taken action on information I presented to prevent this; they chose to protect their sponsors, not me and Charlotte. They could have acted on information they had to prevent the theft and rape of John Jenkel's land.
They did the opposite. Only when you spoke out in large enough numbers did Efren come out against Hobbs.
The DA's newish office of Envorinmental Crimes chose to look the other way on Paul Hobbs' use of land rape for grapes 3 times without permits, and instead went after only the folks Hobbs paid to do the work. (Where is the Press Democrat's investigation on that???)
Now this grape production next to classrooms! I lived on a vineyard when my son was small; when I did not know the risks. I then saw it firsthand. My daughter went to SunRidge; being located in the country was one of the prime reasons I chose it. This will impact the greater school district if parents choose not to have thier kids' school near the impacts of a vinyard.
Several of the County Supervisors, PRMD, Planning & Zoning are infected with the lust of the almighty wine grape as the highest and best use of too much of this county's acres. How many gallons a year of our groundwater are being exported one case of fermented grape juice at a time?
The saving of Preservation Ranch is a political shell game; Efren's supporter knew he could not climb to higher office with that albatross around his neck.
Western Sonoma County is increasingly at risk from more and more polices, GP & zoning adjustments which favor grapes over quality of life.
CalPERS and other mega-investors both foreign and domestic are counting on promises to be fulfilled for their trophy wineries here. You can thank Willie Brown for being the lead jester for that. Just see how much business Jerry Brown pulls in from China on his recent flag planting trip.
Of course you'll have to pay for the pipeline of "recycled" water to replace what all the newly planted grapes will suck out of the groundwater, river & streams. That's just here, his plan for pipelining water away for the rest of the state is China Town III.
Chainsaw & corporate trophy wineries are not about the craft of making organic & permaculture wine, while you restore & protect your watershed, and respect your neighbors rights, like so many Sonoma County wineries already do.
All the over-production of grapes here just hurts their value, and the market share of the family farm kind of agriculture we've loved for so long. Too much of a good thing does not make it better; just dilutes its qualities.
Replacing the land & water grab for wine grapes in Western Sonoma County with a sensible plan of balanced human and habitat qualities is achievable. And if you grow it here, and we eat and drink it here, the water cycle would remain unbroken in our region.
Exporting more water dependent crops than we import is a risk. How can we calculate it? A groundwater management plan with many layers of data. (This would also need to include the legal & illegal marijuana statisics to be accurate as well.) There are ways to collect this data while also retaining the privacy of the property owner if needed.
BTW - a groundwater management plan is needed here no matter what is grown or built. Private well owners are being hurt by not having the data. Municiple rate-payers are being hurt by not knowing the details of our big picture water supply as well. Especially as a giant casino development is poised to put some big straws at the deeper end of the groundwater bowl.
Just look at how much of the ratepayers' bill goes towards saving the endangered species of fish, and connect the dots to who is really benefiting. (Hint: it's not the native fish, or the ratepayers, or the well owners who keep having to dig deeper wells because they are next to large vinyards.)
Don't get me wrong, protecting the watershed is critical, and I'm glad that it's getting the resources to mitigate all our impacts. It's just that I've been involved in many of the details of the restoration process, and know the character of too many people involved, to trust that the needed results will be delivered in the time and fashion required to be adequate for the fish, the ratepayers, and well owners. But you can bet they sure will spend a fortune to make it look good.
Some of the investors of the Press Democrat get to profit from both the destruction and the repair of our watersheds; all while they spin the truth so fast most folks really don't know what to believe. I plan to provide clarity on this soon.
When you and your neighbors can grow enough healthy food to make a decent profit, feed yourselves, and trade with each other, we increase our GMO-free, local food security - a big bonus for intelligent land & water planning.
Legalize hemp and we can add building products & much more to the list of ways to increase our local economy in environmentally friendly manners. How many acres could we accomadate for sheep to add to the mix for milk, yoghurt, ice cream & wool? Enough to warrant investment in local mills for carpet and fabric?
Am I just dreaming, or goal setting? Depends on how many of you agree and do all you can to save the quailty and future of West County Life.
It will take multiple strategies to find success; local, national and global. We are born trendsetters, up for the continuing task.
Trust me when I tell you attention on the national front is paramount now. Reason #1: we cannot afford to invest in: Made in America, Made in California, Made in Sonoma brands while we are still blindsided with an internal/external "war" on terrorism.
Simple solution to very complex problem: fund the Department of Defense for operations limited to strickly defense. Return all servicemembers of the National Guard; employ all possible returning military vets in our: farms, parks, forests, environmental engineering & recovery projects, infrastructure building & repair etc.
Reason #2: the Federal EPA has billions of dollars for clean water projects in California, which will need to be returned if we don't step up and go for it ASAP. This will require direct cooperative action from us, our elected officials and agency staff. I've got some ideas - who else?
Let's face it, the 1% keeps its power with the tried and true divide and conquor tactics. How's that workin' for us?
Like a pheonix, it's time for a new (Mindfully) Occupied American Spring, (Summer, Fall, etc).
This time, let's look for the mutual best interest model of public & private cooperation; our civil free speech, Wacco polls, and mindful consuption can help get us there!
Patriotically in Peace,
:waccosun:Colleen Fernald
