A great deal of time has been devoted recently to fund raising, and to establishing a Fund Raising Committee for the MEC.
The Fund Raising Committee had its first meeting on February 17th. Discussion included the current financial status of the MEC; what strategies have been used, thus far, for fund raising; what people's visions for the MEC are, and what ideas people have for generating more funds from a wider variety of sources.
Currently, it costs approximately $4,000 per month to operate the MEC. This includes salaries for two full-time staff. We need, at the minimum, two additional staff people. Memberships (your support) constitute, by far, the major portion of the MEC's income. Some money comes from sales of recycled paper, t-shirts, books and other merchandise, and some money is raised from benefits and special events. The most effective fund raising has occurred from people who are friends of the MEC asking their friends to join.
A number of sub-committees are forming to focus on specific fund-raising strategies:
(a) Membership Campaign Committee: some initial ideas include a contest to see who can bring in the most MEC members in the next year; and the formation of a MEC Monthly Membership Club.
(b) Benefits and Special Events Committee: initial projects include a production of "Queen Salmon" at the Ukiah High School, 8:00 P.M. on Friday, March 26th (a partial benefit for the MEC).
(c) Educational Events Committee: ideas include applying for grants for specific educational events and environmental projects. An initial project of this committee was co-sponsorship, with Ukiah Aikido and Gymnastics Studio, of a talk and slide show featuring Fusako deAngelis of San Francisco, regarding the transport and stockpiling of plutonium in Japan. It was held at Ukiah Aikido and Gymnastics Studio, 782 Waugh Lane, on Saturday, March 13th.
A second project of this committee was a presentation by Kukra, who represents his Kaiapao Community in the Rainforest in Brazil. Also co-sponsored by the Ukiah Aikido and Gymnastics Studio, this was an exciting opportunity to learn more about the development pressures these people are facing. They are mounting a struggle to preserve their traditional culture and customs in the face of incredible pressures from outside corporations and their government. (For more information about Kukra and his community, you may contact the MEC).
If you are interested in helping with any of these fund raising efforts, in any way - from stuffing envelopes for membership appeals, to organizing a benefit, organizing an educational event, or writing a grant proposal - please call Betty or Gary at the MEC 468-1660. We need your assistance and would welcome your fund raising ideas!
Caspar Dump leaks and must be closed; the Laytonville Dump is leaking and endangering hundreds of people; the Ukiah Dump leaks. These are just the dumps that are known to be leaking and contaminating who knows what and whom. What about all the other dumps in the County? Chances are, they are leaking, too, or will eventually. It is a known fact that all dumps leak!
Congratulations to Peggy Smith and all the people who are working with her! Peggy, Anna Marie Stenberg, Julie Musun, Rick and Kathi Cloninger, Kathy Reynolds and a host of other people in the Laytonville-Branscomb area are to be commended on their successful efforts to close the Laytonville dump. These organizing and direct action efforts were necessitated because, once again, the County Government is dragging its heals and not dealing with a crisis situation. An organized community effort is on-going to teach people to recycle, and to teach people about the hazards of the landfill. With their efforts, tons of recyclables will be properly diverted and people will learn that their active involvement does pay off. If you would like to help with the efforts in Laytonville, call the MEC 468-1660, or the Laytonville Community Recycling Center 984-8354.
We were gratified to learn that the County Solid Waste Management Authority has decided not to site a new dump in Mendocino County - at least for the moment. What they are going to recommend, instead, remains to be seen. However, it appears they are leaning toward shipping our garbage out of the County either to an existing mega-landfill, or to a regional landfill yet to be constructed. Neither of these options are acceptable, either. We'd only be shipping our problems to someone else's backyard.
The MEC is meeting with people county-wide who wish to create a real solution to our garbage problem; one that emphasizes source reduction, re-use, and recycling. Our garbage can, in fact, create whole new industries for the County, and help our economy while alleviating the incredible burden on our environment. If you would like to participate in creating a real solution to our garbage problem, please contact the MEC and give your name and phone number to Gary or Betty. They'll let you know when and where the next meeting of the group will be.
For a while, the addition of the Thermal Oxidizer at Masonite seemed to help the odor problem. But, recently, many people have been complaining about the "paint", "oil", odor, again. And, the truth is, we still do not know what we are breathing. What are the emissions from the molded door line, now that the Thermal Oxidizer is in place? What about the emissions from the rest of the plant? What about the emissions from the boilers? After all this time, we still have no answers to these questions.
The law suits filed against Masonite by the Federal EPA and the State EPA and the District still have not been settled. We are told that settlements will be forthcoming soon, with fines assessed against Masonite, and requirements for mitigating their emissions, somehow. Feel free to call the MEC for the latest information on the outcomes of these actions.
Continue to report effects of pollution from Masonite and other sources to the Air Pollution Control District (463-4354) and the MEC (468-1660).
ARWPA has gotten a Preliminary Injunction against CDF and Georgia-Pacific on the helicopter logging plan in Salmon Creek. An incredible community effort was mounted, and everyone who participated, in whatever way, is to be highly commended! Because of the excellent public comments in the record, (which CDF ignored in approving the plan), ARWPA's attorney, Paul Carroll, was able to demonstrate to Judge Luther that CDF had erred in approving this plan; that the cumulative effects analysis was inadequate, that information about impacts to wildlife and fisheries was inadequate, that information about the impacts from erosion was inadequate, and that information about impacts from the use of helicopters was inadequate. Initially, Judge Luther set a bond that ARWPA would have to post at $10,000. However, Attorney Paul Carroll appealed this ruling, and the Appellate Court ruled that the bond order must be vacated and only a nominal bond required. It is exciting and inspiring that a massive response from the community resulted in the entire $10,000 being raised, from a combination of donations and loans, prior to the Appellate Court overruling this decision!
There will be a bond hearing at the Appellate Court in June. Meanwhile, the initial TRO against further logging and road building stays in effect, with the additional proviso that G-P is allowed to remove by helicopter the logs they got down before the issuance of the TRO. This atrocious practice by the timber companies must be halted. In virtually every instance when a plan is contested by the community, upon approval of the plan by CDF, the company (whichever company - they all do it), immediately goes in like gang-busters and fells as many trees as possible before a TRO can be obtained. They do this knowing it will put pressure on the Court to allow them to take out the (illegally) downed logs. If the Court would stop rewarding them for this "race between the chainsaws and the Courthouse" practice, perhaps they would slow down just a bit. The law needs to be changed to require at least a three working-day waiting period between plan approval and commencement of logging.
More people are organizing to monitor their watersheds and participate in the THP review process. This is encouraging, because it is going to take the involvement and site specific knowledge of people who live in these areas to curtail the devastation of our watersheds. If you wish to become involved, call the MEC, and we will either refer you to a group that already exists, or help you start one with your neighbors. We can also supply you with information about how to participate in the THP review process, and refer you to people who can assist you.
Forest Summit Took Place April 2nd in Portland
The Forest Summit promised by President Clinton during his campaign was held on April 2nd in Portland, OR. (See related article in this newsletter.). Meca Wawona and Nat Bingham from Mendocino County had the opportunity to be part of the panel discussions that took place, and give presentations to the President.
Clinton has asked his staff to come up with a plan for the national forests within 60 days. We need many letters to the editor, and letters to the President, Representatives and Senators affirming the need for true reform of forest practices, protection of all remaining ancient forest ecosystems, and a strong investment in the rural forest-dependent communities to assist through the transition that must be made. Please write a letter to the editor(s) of your local paper(s) right away, and send copies of your letter to: President Bill Clinton, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20500; The Honorable Dan Hamburg, 114 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515; The Honorable Barbara Boxer, Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510.
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 2004
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited