The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: climate

  • Cows. Good for climate change?

    Cows. Good for climate change?

    By Gabriel Zucker

    The Willits bypass is a stretch of the U.S. Highway 101. After being proposed 60 years ago, it was finally finished less than a decade ago. It serves an important role in decongesting Willits, diverting drivers around the small town. The bypass is also home to the largest public wetlands mitigation project in the state of California, the Willits Bypass Offsite Mitigation Project.

    This mitigation project has been joined by Justin C. Luong, a rangeland resource science professor at Cal Poly Humboldt. Recently he was awarded a $520,000 grant from the California Bountiful Foundation. He is conducting a case study on the impact of cattle grazing on grasslands. This research is important because wetlands help with carbon cycling, host thousands of endemic species, and play a key role in cattle production.

    “Federal government policies don’t allow for any grazing on any top of habitat classified as any kind of wetland at all,” Luong said. “Even though California state laws and science show sometimes grazing can be beneficial for managing natural systems if utilized properly.”

    Luong is doing this study to better understand if cows actually play a vital role in grassland ecosystems. He is using historical data from the Mendocino County Resource Conservation District to look at the impact of removing grazing in the grasslands. Luong is also using aerial images from Google and drone images to better understand the environmental differences between grazed and ungrazed grasslands. While looking at all of these images, Luong is also taking samples at the site, inspecting the biology of the plants, trying to better understand the best traits needed for a changing environment. 

    “My job is to essentially go in and evaluate how the removal of cattle grazing from these areas affected these habitats and their ecosystem properties and services, especially thinking about some of the threatened species we have out there,” Luong said. “The North Coast semaphore grass, the baker’s meadow phone. Both of these species typically require more open habitat and bare ground in order to establish well.”

    Luong is trying to find the perfect combination of native plant species for grasslands to thrive. Plants like Reed Canary grass are taking over most of the space in the habitat, leaving little room for the important species mentioned above. 

    “The managers on the ground have noted that oftentimes, cattle grazing is really important to remove some of that cover, open up some of that space to facilitate some of the recovery or establishment of those kinds of threatened plant species, while still supporting cattle production,” Luong said.

    The reason Luong is focusing on grasslands is to highlight the importance they have. They not only support the entire cattle economy, but they hold a key role in controlling carbon emissions. In a process called carbon sequestration. They hold pockets of carbon in their roots, reducing global carbon emissions. In a study by The Conservation Fund, they discovered that wetlands store 18 to 216 metric tons of carbon per acre. Making grassland restoration an important fixture in climate conservation.

    “Grasslands are really important for carbon storage and sequestration, especially with future climate risks. Because oftentimes when you have mass plant mortality, which happens in grasslands or forests you lose that carbon back to the atmosphere.” Luong said. “In grasslands, a lot of that is fibrous roots underground. We know that some native grasses that we have dug up can go up to 18 feet deep, so that carbon stays stable in the ground and helps with more stable carbon sequestration with climate change.”

    Luong is going to work on this project for the next five years with Mendocino Resource Conservation District. He is hoping to reinvigorate grassland restoration by updating the data and information people have for grassland restoration. He believes that once people have the right tools, grassland restoration will be more informed and focused.

    “My work often is really geared at being applied, and so I’m always trying to find real world issues that need solving now and try to work towards those solutions, those applied solutions,” Luong said.

  • Humboldt alum writes campus climate bill, to named after David Josiah Lawson

    by Alex Anderson and August Linton

    A bill dedicated to slain Humboldt student David Josiah Lawson is being considered by the California state legislature this year. If ratified, AB 644 would require the CSU system to collect and report back to the state discrimination data and surveys at all of their campuses. 

    It’s been nearly six years since 19-year-old Lawson was murdered at a house party down the street from campus on April 15, 2017. At approximately 2:50 a.m., a 911 call went out to the Arcata Police Department stating that someone had been stabbed at a party on Spear Ave. When police arrived, Lawson was lying on the ground with multiple stab wounds, one of which pierced his heart. Lawson was transported to the hospital and was pronounced dead at 4:07 a.m. 

    At the scene, 23-year-old Mckinleyville resident Kyle Zoellner was detained by police as a possible suspect. Zoellner’s clothes were covered in blood, which can be seen on police dash cam footage from that night. In the days following the incident, Zoellner was charged with murder and a preliminary hearing began. On May 5, 2017, after five days of preliminary hearings, the judge in the case ruled that there was not enough evidence to move forward to a jury trial and Zoellner was subsequently released. 

    Months went by following the preliminary hearing with still no new suspects. Students, advocates, and community members were outraged with the handling of the case. 

    Charmaine Lawson, Josiah’s mother, spoke at an Arcata City Council meeting on Nov. 16, 2017 where a large crowd of protestors and advocates showed support for Lawson and expressed their grievances with the city’s handling of the case. By Oct. 31, 2018, then-interim APD Police Chief, Richard Ehle, announced that APD’s investigation was ending and that all findings would be turned over to the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office. 

    In February of 2019, under immense pressure, Humboldt District Attorney Maggie Fleming convened a criminal grand jury for the Lawson case. The grand jury came to the decision that no one would be indicted for the stabbing of Lawson. Following the decision, a member of the jury spoke anonymously through a video released by North Coast news. This anonymous juror called the grand jury process a gross failure.

    “Several voted for manslaughter, four or five voted for murder,” the anonymous juror said to the reporter. “The deputy district attorney said that we could subpoena Mr. Zoellner, the suspect, but he discouraged us from doing so.” 

    About a year following the grand jury ruling, on Feb. 20, 2020, the National Police Foundation released a report nineteen months in the making. It found that APD was unprepared to investigate the Lawson case.  

    Since Lawson’s death, Charmaine Lawson has made regular visits to Humboldt County, raising awareness about her son’s case and holding vigils for his memory in front of the Humboldt County courthouse or in the Arcata Plaza. She has been an outspoken critic of DA Maggie Fleming, and started an annual coat drive in her son’s honor. 

    Former CPH student Naomi Waters drafted the bill based on her experiences as a Humboldt student. It was introduced on February 9, and was sponsored by Representative Reginald Jones-Sawyer.

    “From my specific experience at Humboldt, being a student leader, I myself was on the receiving end of hate…in the community and also on campus,” Waters said. 

    As an activist in the community, Waters said that a case like Lawson’s was bound to happen in Humboldt. 

    “I feel like the energy and the ineptitude of the institution in the CSU as a whole allowed for the conditions that eventually led to Josiah Lawson’s death,” Waters said. “And for me, I had seen that quite plainly. So when I heard about Josiah I wasn’t surprised…my friends and I who were organizing, we kind of knew something like this would happen and we were quite vocal about it.” 

    Waters says that she left  Humboldt because of the violence against her, and transferred to UC Riverside. 

    “While there I was working with the UC Student Association, and so for me that was a seat of power that I could [use to] possibly begin working on something like this,” Waters said.

  • An Update on HSU’s Climate Action Plan

    An Update on HSU’s Climate Action Plan

    The Humboldt Office of Sustainability reports good news for HSU’s Climate Action Plan

    Humboldt State University’s 2019 Climate Action Plan Progress Report revealed positive impacts for the Climate Action Plan.

    Morgan King, HSU’s Climate Action Analyst, explained how the Climate Action Plan divides campus emissions into three scopes, each categorized by how much control HSU has over reducing them.

    “We’re striving towards reducing our scopes one and two,” King said. “Scope one, the majority of that is natural gas so what we need to do is start weaning ourselves off natural gas.”

    “We’ve completed almost half of our strategies. But the most expensive ones that also have the greatest impact are the ones that we’re still lagging a little bit behind on.”

    Morgan king, HSU’s climate action analyst

    Scope one emissions are from burning natural gas on campus and the fuels fleet vehicles use. Scope two emissions are from electricity use. Scope three emissions are from commuting, business air travel and solid waste management.

    The report said we are on track to meet the 2020 emissions reduction goal. The Climate Action Plan set a course for the campus to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, to 80% below 1990 levels by 2040, and to become carbon neutral by 2050.

    To accomplish these emissions goals, the CAP includes 55 strategies that lay out the short and long-term goals necessary to achieve these goals. According to the progress report, 45% of the strategies have been completed.

    “We’ve completed almost half of our strategies,” King said. “But the most expensive ones that also have the greatest impact are the ones that we’re still lagging a little bit behind on.”

    There are three projects in the works for 2020. First is a faculty learning program intended to teach professors how to incorporate sustainability in their lesson plans. Second, over spring break, King is co-facilitating a student leadership institute in climate resilience. King is also developing a sustainability minor to enable students to better understand the methods behind creating a sustainable environment.

    “Within our initial climate action plan we saw it was critical to have an engaged campus population that are making decisions and engaged in actions to improve sustainability for the campus,” King said. “That’s potentially as important as changing out all the lights.”

  • California Cap and Trade: Climate Problems Solved?

    By | Ciara Emery

    As hundreds of bills sit on Governor Jerry Brown’s Desk for signature at the end of this legislative session, a cap and trade extension prevails as a win…for some.

    A ten-year extension to California’s landmark carbon market was approved in the middle of July this year—four years after its initial passage in 2013.

    California’s carbon market consists of caps on carbon emissions to certain sectors of the economy and includes the ability to trade allowances to meet emissions targets. These targets get smaller every year.

    The idea is simple: industries and businesses that remain under their emissions limits will be awarded with extra income from the sale of their extra allowances. Industries that are not under their emissions limits will be penalized with the extra costs of their pollution.

    This market-method of climate change mitigation is a bipartisan step forward on the path towards sustainability—with a few hiccups that is.

    While several assembly Republicans in California voted for the measure, it was far from bipartisan. No more than one month after the vote, Republicans ousted the Assembly Republican Caucus Leader, Chad Mayes, in an upset party vote. His discretion? Allowing eight caucus members to side with Democrats in favor of the measure.

    Republicans argue that concessions such as these allow Democratic legislators off the hook on tough votes. Three Democrats, including Assemblyman Mark Stone who represents the cities of Santa Cruz and Monterey, were able to vote no and avoid any wrath from tough districts.

    Republicans would also like to fall in line with national GOP stances and oppose the measure for its seemingly anti-business policies and tax-like features.

    While this debate rages on the right, the same amount of conflict has risen on the left.

    Environmental justice advocates largely find this extension a loss for low-income communities and communities of color. These communities are overwhelmingly more impacted by pollution from the sale of extra allowances than more affluent communities in California.

    While several initiatives attempt to respond to this inequality (AB 617 also passed this session, which attempts to address issues of air quality), large scale problems persist.

    California is continuously hailed as a national leader for Climate Change policy. In many cases, we act with fervor where others do not. But we still have significant conflicts to grapple with.

    California Republicans must figure out which side of history their party wants to stand on. Democrats need to commit to environmental justice concerns. The climate should not be better for some, it needs to be better for all.