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San Francisco | Government & Elections | Health, Housing, and Public ServicesView other events for the week of 10/10/2012
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Saturday Oct 6th, 2012 7:30 AM
We are voting No on B and F and Yes on all the Rest. Prop B, a Parks Bond, will be passed through to tenants and that is why the San Francisco Tenants Union says to Vote No on B. See
http://www.sftu.org/ Proposition F is a lie and a disaster. We already practice water conservation in San Francisco, as our Voters Handbook states, which you are receiving in the mail soon, if not already. Proposition F as in FOOLISH is opposed by the San Francisco Tenants Union, the San Francisco Labor Council, Assemblyperson Tom Ammiano, State Senators Mark Leno and Leland Yee, San Francisco Tomorrow, and the Coalition for San Francisco Neighborhoods. The SF Green Party is neutral on Prop F as it could not reach consensus, so you know something is wrong with this proposition. The Voter Handbook may be found at: http://www.sfgov2.org/ftp/uploadedfiles/elections/ElectionsArchives/2012/November/Nov2012_VIP_Web_EN.pdf Here are quotable quotes: Prop F is a veiled attempt to destroy Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, which supplies reliable, clean water to 2.6 million people in over 30 cities across the Bay Area. Hetch Hetchy is a cost-effective system that utilizes gravity to deliver water and generates clean, greenhouse-gasfree energy. This energy powers San Francisco’s public schools, streetlights, MUNI, fire stations, hospitals and other vital city services. Prop F would: • Force the City to spend millions of dollars on a PLAN to destroy Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, which stores 85% of the San Francisco’s water and generates clean, hydroelectric power. • Pre-determine the outcome of the plan by coming back to voters in 2016 and asking them to destroy Hetch Hetchy – at a cost of as much as $10 billion. • Jeopardize the water supply for 7% of California’s population, as well our source of publicly-owned hydroelectricity. This bad idea has already been studied at least seven times in the past 30 years. These studies have shown that not only would the cost be enormous, but San Francisco would experience water shortages 1 out of every 5 years. It would also cost the City over $40 million annually to replace the clean power -- and force municipal agencies to purchase expensive, dirty power. The City is already pursuing the conservation goals that proponents are using to camouflage their true aim --draining Hetch Hetchy reservoir. We shouldn’t waste millions on a plan that would be disastrous for San Francisco. Say no to this “Trojan Horse.” ******** JUST SAY NO to MARINITES and EAST BAY TRUST FUNDERS who want San Francisco to ruin our dam, water system and pay billions for their backpacking, wine and brie. NO to $8,000,000 for 5 people and imaginary planning. NO to mud-filtered water for our kids to drink. NO to bury San Francisco’s beloved Sierra family camp under a massive dump of 900,000 tons of cement, steel and concrete. NO to airborne dam debris that is toxic for rivers, forests and people. SAY NO to $10,000,000,000 for trust funders and venture capitalists to commune with nature. ***** If the Tuolumne River had remained untouched, building the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir today would not be acceptable. However, millions of us now rely on the pristine water that the reservoir delivers and the clean, greenhouse gas-free electricity that Hetch Hetchy generates in order to power our city. The proposed $8 million “study” to drain the reservoir not only derails this progress, but undermines San Francisco’s goal of becoming a city powered by 100% renewable energy by actually draining funds we can use for programs such as the landmark GoSolarSF incentive. As we work to restore $2-3 million of annual cuts to solar, Prop. F will take away $8 million that can be used to support hundreds of homeowners and businesses that want to make the switch to clean energy. This measure is a costly, environmentally dubious idea, because it would severely contribute to, not lessen, climate change concerns. Vote No On F. Joshua Arce, Executive Director, Brightline Defense ***** The Hetch Hetchy water system is the pride of our City, and every so often, a few misguided people try to tamper with it. Hetch Hetchy now provides water to 2.6 billion people across the Bay Area, is cost effective, utilizes gravity to deliver the water and generates 1.6 billion kilowatt hours of clean energy. Don’t be fooled by the proposition’s misleading language. Its intent is to eventually drain Hetch Hetchy reservoir at a cost of billions and untold damage to the environment and the economy. Voting No on Proposition F should be a priority for everyone. Please vote No on Proposition F. ****** Don’t let Proposition “F” Fool You! Proposition F sounds really good, but it’s not! San Francisco is one of the most progressive cities in the world in water conservation, and is a leader in reducing water consumption and using recycled water. Our San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is a model agency for employing ways and means to reduce and reuse water, and has been a very good steward of this precious natural resource. What this measure is really about is spending millions of dollars on a study that would examine the cost/benefits of tearing down the Hetch Hetchy dam. This system, one of the marvels of modern day engineering, supplies over 2.5 million people in the Bay area, including San Francisco, with the best water in the world, all of it gravity-fed to our system. So why would we want to spend millions of dollars again to study tearing down this dam, especially when the SFPUC is currently spending billions to make sure our water and sewer systems withstand the next earthquake? It doesn’t make sense and it’s wasteful. Don’t be fooled by the “environmentally friendly” jargon into thinking that this is a harmless study. It’s anything but that. It’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing initiative. VOTE NO on Proposition F *** Using Hetch Hetchy water is not only cost-effective and reliable for millions of Bay Area residents, it is a critical component of the region’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gases, since its pristine water is delivered by gravity and doesn’t need to be filtered. It also generates 1.6 billion kilowatt hours of carbon-free power – the upfront costs of which were paid a century ago. Eliminating this critical source of water and power, at a cost of billions, would invariably set the region’s environmental goals back ... severely. Because rather than marshalling the political energy and financial resources necessary to expand alternative energy sources and sustainable water supplies, San Francisco and the 30 cities that rely on this system would instead be scrambling to identify, implement and pay for replacements to Hetch Hetchy’s water and power. Prop. F’s direct financial costs are in the billions. The costs to our fight against global warming are incalculable. Please vote ‘NO’ on F. **** Prop. F IS MISLEADING AND DISINGENUOUS. Prop. F’s “Water sustainability” is a Trojan Horse to tear down the dam. The SFPUC has already studied alternative water supplies and is making investments in water conservation, recycling, gray water and rainwater harvesting. San Franciscans have the lowest water use in California. We wouldn’t build O’Shaunessey today. But its removal would be destructive to our water and power system, prohibitively expensive, and environmentally disastrous. The loss of clean public power would cost rate payers $40 million annually. Restoration includes: • rerouting the Tuolumne • milling “900,000 tons” of concrete, • polluting Tuolumne; • destroying Camp Mather , transfer station for 900,000 tons of aggregate; • 26,000 truck loads from Mather to Hwy 108; • bolting a 10 mile conveyor belt onto Yosemite’s granite walls; • storing our water in mud dams compelling expensive secondary filtration. Vote NO! *** Take a look at the Proponent’s Argument. Do you see the words “Hetch Hetchy” anywhere? No. That’s because the proponents know that draining the reservoir that supplies 85 percent of our drinking water would be a very unpopular idea, so they’re attempting to fool you. They slip it in at the bottom - “consolidate San Francisco’s nine reservoirs into eight” - and then sweeten the rest with harmless-sounding conservation goals. But just as San Francisco ranks at the top of the state in waste-diversion, we rank at the top in water conservation. San Francisco uses about half as much water per capita than the rest of California - because everyone agrees that water conservation is important. That’s one of the reasons why, in addition to using less water in the first place, San Francisco is already implementing a plan to recycle 21 million gallons per day, utilize another 40 million in groundwater and save 20 million more through expanded conservation efforts. But that’s not what F is really about. Read closely and you’ll see it’s a two-step plan to drain Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, at a cost of as much as $10 billion. And the environmental cost could be huge as well - according to the Bay Guardian, the loss of Hetchy’s hydroelectric power could lead to 387,000 metric tons a year in increased carbon emissions. We don’t need to squander $8 million to know that’s a bad idea. ******** Proposition F is a misleading attempt to waste taxpayer money on redundant studies in the name of environmental sustainability. The PUC has studied alternative water supplies and is making investments in water conservation, recycling, gray water and rainwater harvesting. San Franciscans have reduced their water use for four straight years. If the issue is restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley, put that on the ballot - not this faux sustainability initiative. No on F! ******* San Francisco’s Neighborhoods OPPOSE Prop F! CSFN urges you to reject this absurd measure to shell out millions of dollars to study — yet again! — the idea to destroy Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and dump the broken concrete debris in Camp Mather! This scheme has been soundly turned down countless times. Join us and all our local officials and organizations who have united against it. Oppose the well-heeled campaign of out-of-town money that wants to deprive us of our clean supply of drinking water and our green source of electricity! If we lose our water source, what will we be left with? Just millions of tons of debris and billions of dollars of debt, that’s all. One hundred years ago San Francisco had a true vision for our City; let’s fight to preserve it! Vote NO on Prop F! ******* The Hetch Hetchy water system is a critical lifeline for San Francisco, delivering high-quality drinking water to over 2.5 million Bay Area residents and businesses. Hetch Hetchy hydropower also supplies 100% of the power for city services, including public transit and the school district. Draining the reservoir — the ultimate goal of Prop. F — would not only cost billions of dollars, but would compromise our water and energy security. San Francisco is already the most water-efficient city in California. We are in the midst of a voter-approved $4.6 billion program to ensure that the water system will remain viable following a major earthquake. For years, we have invested in water conservation programs and in developing alternative sources of water. But none of these efforts will produce enough water to make up for the loss of our most important reservoir. The $8 million expense in planning studies called for by the measure could be put to far better use for ongoing water conservation, energy efficiency and other city programs. ******* Proposition F is not about water conservation, as the proponents claim. San Francisco already is one of the lowest per capita users of water in California. What’s more, we’re investing millions to improve on our already impressive water recycling and conservation efforts. | |||||||||||||||