State Senator Gloria Romero recently introduced Senate Bill 624 to remove serpentine as California's state rock due to the presence of carcinogenic asbestos in the rock. Romero and her staffers say asbestos—and by extension, serpentine—is a bona fide health hazard. The bill has received unanimous approval from the state Assembly’s Natural Resources Committee. But the bill does not mention the importance of serpentine to California's biodiversity. For instance, it has been estimated that serpentine-endemic plant species represent 10 percent of the California Floristic Province's endemics. If you think Senator Romero overlooks serpentine's important role in California natural history, let her know at DISTRICT 24 and also tell your own state representatives in the Assembly and Senate. (from Jake Sigg's Nature News)
Post a comment
Comments are moderated, and will not appear until the author has approved them.
Your Information
(Name and email address are required. Email address will not be displayed with the comment.)
There is a lot more going on with this issue, see the Dan Walters article in the SacBee yesterday, http://www.sacbee.com/2010/07/09/2878528/dan-walters-california-state-rock.html, I think there is a bit of scandal brewing in this. Geologists are rather livid about the whole thing because there are factual errors in the bill and it shouldn't be happening. I've got a letter posted to the governor here from a geologist's point of view: http://geotripper.blogspot.com/2010/07/letter-to-governor-schwarzenegger-and.html. Thanks for your post!
Posted by: Garry Hayes | July 11, 2010 at 12:29 AM