California Serpentine: To Assembly Member Lieu - A Question of Openness and Fairness

Senate Bill 624 in the California legislature calls for serpentine to be removed as the state rock of California. The bill is in the Assembly, and if passed there, will move on to the Senate, where it will be voted on by August 31. I and many other bloggers, geologists, biologists, mineral collectors, and teachers have objected to the bill (see here for my posts on the subject, and the Silver Fox compilation of media reports). There are many important reasons to oppose the bill, and the problem at this juncture is that the Assembly members simply do not have the time to hear and consider what we have to say. They must act on 300 bills in the next two weeks. This is no way to pass smart legislation.

Assemblyman Ted Lieu is the floor manager for SB624 (His website and contact information are here). I am calling on Assemblyman Lieu to please consider withdrawing his sponsorship of this bill. There has not been a full discussion in the Assembly of the possible problems with this bill, and opponents have not had the time or opportunity to express our views. Only one witness spoke at the assembly hearing on the bill, and the opponents (there are many) are not listed in the Assembly analysis of the bill. It is a matter of fairness. Removing a valid state symbol is a serious issue, and should not happen at the behest of a single constituency without a full hearing of all of those concerned.

I have offered an alternative approach that would meet the goals of both sides of the issue of serpentine as a state rock. Our Assembly people need to know that such alternatives exist, but they won't hear anything in the crush of legislative battles taking place this month in Sacramento. Please contact Assemblyman Lieu today.

A Call for Education About Serpentine

As the California legislature prepares to vote on Senate Bill 624, it is important that our senators and assembly members know that issue is important, and that they know the full story about serpentine. To this end, I agreed to a joint statement with Linda Reinstein of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization and Jon Christensen of the Bill Lane Center for the American West calling for increased education on the issue. We seriously disagree about the way our goals should be accomplished, but nothing good can come from ignorance on the issue. The bill may be undergoing changes in the legislature today, so please contact your assembly member as soon as possible and let them know your views. I will be updating on the issue as I learn of any developments in the legislature.

The press release follows:

For Immediate Release

August 9, 2010

Opponents seek common ground over California state rock

Contacts:

Jon Christensen, Bill Lane Center for the American West, Stanford University, 650-759-6534, jonchristensen@stanford.edu

Linda Reinstein, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), c/o ADAOMedia, Doug Larkin, 202-391-1546, media@AsbestosDiseaseAwareness.org

Garry Hayes, Modesto Junior College, 209-575-6294, hayesg@yosemite.edu

The California legislature is currently considering a bill to take the official title away from the state rock serpentine. A lively and at times angry debate has erupted online — on Twitter, Facebook, and blogs. And the unusual story has been picked up by hundreds of newspapers around the world.

But now some of the key people involved in both sides of the debate say the ruckus has gone too far. They are calling for both sides in the debate to stop throwing rhetorical stones at each other and instead use the debate over Senate Bill 624 as an opportunity to educate Californians about serpentine and asbestos, which is found in some forms of the rock.

“As this debate exploded on the internet and in the media over the past month, the arguments about serpentine have become mostly about things other than the rock itself,” said Jon Christensen, an environmental historian and executive director of the Bill Lane Center for the American West at Stanford University. “We shouldn’t be surprised. Symbols, such as a state rock, mean different things to different people. What has been surprising is how powerful this symbol is to many people, and how strongly people feel about serpentine as a symbol.”

Over the weekend, Christensen joined with Linda Reinstein and Garry Hayes, two vocal advocates on opposite sides of the state rock controversy, to try to find common ground on serpentine.

Reinstein is co-founder of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to education about asbestos and support of patients and their families, which advocates for removing the official state rock designation from serpentine, because some forms of the rock contain asbestos. Hayes is a geology professor at Modesto Junior College, past president of the Far Western Section of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers, and one of the most active voices in an online campaign to retain the state rock honor for serpentine.

Reinstein and Hayes agreed the educational value of the debate about serpentine was in danger of being eclipsed by polarized political rhetoric over its official status as a symbol. Whether the bill passes or not, they agreed that education about serpentine and asbestos is important to Californians. Some serpentine contains asbestos, although hazardous asbestos fibers are not released from the rock unless it is broken up, crushed, or repeatedly disturbed. Common sense guidelines for limiting exposure to the asbestos fibers that naturally occur in some serpentine are readily available on the web.

In 2009, Reinstein said, ADAO joined efforts with The John McNamara Foundation and the Pacific Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, on a campaign to “Drop the Rock” to raise awareness about asbestos-related diseases. Reinstein’s husband died of mesothelioma. This spring, she told her story to state Senator Gloria Romero, who agreed to sponsor a bill to remove serpentine’s title as the official state rock.

“ADAO understands the geological importance of serpentine and respects its historical significance to our state,” said Reinstein. “SB 624 seeks to remove a symbolic title from a rock that represents pain and suffering for many patient and families who have been affected by asbestos-caused diseases in California, and beyond. Promoting asbestos mining was one of the many reasons for designating serpentine the state rock in 1965. Asbestos mining no longer takes place in California, and the use of asbestos in industrial processes is regulated. This is about education not litigation.”

“State symbols provide a great opportunity for education,” agreed Hayes. The geology professor would like to see serpentine remain the state rock, though he would prefer to have the name changed to the technically correct term serpentinite. Hayes said he understands and respects the concerns that Reinstein and others have about asbestos. His grandfather died of lung cancer.

“We should take this teachable moment to establish serpentinite as the state rock with a clear statement of why it is the state rock,” Hayes said. “Then every child who does a school project in the years to come about state symbols will learn about this fascinating and unique rock, and they will learn about asbestos at the same time.” Hayes said there is abundant information available about the special role that serpentine has played in helping geologists understand the geological formation of California, as well as the native plants that live on serpentine’s harsh soils.

While Reinstein and Hayes agreed to disagree about the current bill and prospects for amending it, they joined with Christensen in urging citizens to learn more about serpentine as the debate over the bill continues, and urging advocates on both sides to focus on education.

“Whether or not serpentine remains the state rock, it will remain an important part of California’s geology and history,” said Christensen, who is writing a book about serpentine. “The rock is not going anywhere. People’s understanding of serpentine is what is at stake.”

The Power of Words: The Debate over Serpentine in California

Oh, the power of words. What do you think of when you hear words like lobbyist, deadly, carcinogen, asbestos, toxic, no safe level of exposure? Words are used to influence opinion, and we are influenced in many different ways, both consciously and unconsciously, by the way words are utilized.

When I became aware of the effort to remove serpentine as California's state rock (Senate Bill 624), I was willing to accept at face value the accusation that the original bill was an effort by a mysterious "asbestos mining lobby" to promote their business. It made a certain amount of sense that a mining product that was not yet recognized as hazardous should be promoted by a state where ores were found. Now that proponents have posted their evidence of the influence of mining lobbyists, I am having some doubts. First, the accusation:

From the ADAO:

"Symbolism brings facts to life. In 1965, serpentine was designated the state rock through lobbyist pressure because of the once-lucrative asbestos mining industry in California. Serpentine is a host rock for asbestos, a human carcinogen."

Here is their "smoking gun" evidence. From the memorandum sent to the governor in 1965 (also reproduced above), a government official is urging passage the bill. It is not part of the bill itself. Others have emphasized and italicized the line about asbestos. I am going to italicize the rest:

"The Department of Conservation urges approval. "The bill introduced by Senator Gibson was proposed by and has the support of the California Federation of Mineralogical Societies, and the ideas for a state mineral and rock have been endorsed by the California Academy of Sciences and the California Division of Mines and Geology
....
Serpentine indirectly is of great economic importance to California. It is the host rock for the state's newest and more rapidly-growing mineral industry--asbestos, now bringing in several million dollars annually. It is an attractive rock, selected varieties of serpentine make good cutting material and are used for bookends, paper weights, etc."


That's right, proposed and supported by the California Federation of Mineral Societies. Endorsed by the California Academy of Sciences, and the California Division of Mines and Geology. Asbestos mining can be interpreted in the statement above as a peripheral issue.

Then, there is the complete text of the original law (courtesy of Netstate):

"CHAPTER 89

SEC. 2. Section 425.2 is added to the Government Code to read:

425.2. Serpentine is the official State Rock and lithologic emblem."

Yup. A single line about serpentine. I leave it to you to decide, but if I were a lobbyist trying to promote asbestos mining, I would have tried to make sure that the law actually mentioned the fact. There is nothing in the law that says anything about asbestos.

Even the Senate analysis of SB 624 acknowledges that some doubt exists (the bold text is my emphasis):

"AB 265 (Gibson), Chapter 2, Statues of 1965, established serpentine as the official state rock and lithologic emblem of the state of California. The bill was unanimously passed through the state Senate and signed by Governor Edmund "Pat" Brown possibly in order to encourage the state's asbestos mining industry at the time."

I have dealt elsewhere why the statements in the Senate Bill 624 are inaccurate and misleading. Supporters of this bill constantly refer to the bill's beginnings in 1965 to justify their effort to remove our state rock. It doesn't really matter to me one way or another, because there are so many unique features about serpentine that make it an appropriate symbol, regardless of its origin. But I'm not sure now that their case is so clear-cut.

In the current debate, "lobbyist" is a word used for its negative connotation. So are the words used in Senate Bill 624: deadly, carcinogen, asbestos, toxic, "no safe level of exposure". I want to add some words to the debate that have a positive connotation: rare endemic species, wildflowers, beautiful jade-green rock, Mother Lode history, California's gemstone benitoite (found in serpentine), deep earth processes, ornamental stone. These are what serpentine is to geologists, mineralogists, biologists, environmental scientists, and anyone who is simply interested in a rock that represents a wonderfully unique state.

Thanks to Justin for the catch.

MJC students study serpentine in Del Puerto Canyon, California Coast Ranges

Serpentine: An Update on the State Rock Debate in California

(Update: I've removed the original first paragraph of this post. I wrote it in response to a post elsewhere that has since been removed. The discourse needs to stay civil if anything is to be accomplished. I've hoped to map out a way to work together as opposed to arguing)

Call this an update about where things stand with Senate Bill 624, sponsored by State Senator Gloria Romero, which would remove serpentine as California’s state rock. Unfortunately I do not have direct knowledge of where any legislators stand on this issue. Please let me know if you hear of any public support or opposition by Assembly members. Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro of the 1st District was quoted as saying “…it’s symbolic and has very little benefit to the public and I think particularly with all of the other things the state is facing, it’s a real question”. He ended up voting for the bill in committee, but those are not the words of a strong supporter. If my understanding of the convoluted history of the bill is accurate, it has only received a total of seven votes, those of the members of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee (Chesbro, Gilmore, Brownley, De Leon, Hill, Huffman, Logue). News reports and media releases saying that the bill unanimously passed the State Senate with the current language are wrong. The bill labeled 624 that passed the Senate was about legal language concerning composting. The language in the original bill was swapped out after the vote (“gutted and amended”), and the serpentine language inserted instead. That should mean that if the bill passes the Assembly, it ought to be returned to the Senate…unless there is something very wrong with the way business is conducted in Sacramento. The Assembly Analysis is not clear on the matter. The Assembly and Senate return to session on August 2, and will be wrapping up business by August 31st. If we are to have any influence on the bill, we must contact our legislators within that time frame. Paper letters are best, phone calls are effective, and e-mails are ok, but less influential. If the bill should somehow pass, messages will need to be sent to the governor. He will have until September 30 to sign or veto the bill.

The controversy that has erupted over the bill in newspapers and websites throughout the state of California and across the nation speaks of a need to have a dialog with all of the interested parties involved with the issue. Geologists, biologists, historians, mineral collectors and teachers have raised objections over the bill, based both on the scientific inaccuracies in the bill itself, and whether there are legal implications that have not been fully explored or vetted by objective legal experts. As an educator who has worked for years teaching about serpentine, I have great concerns about what this bill would do to education and scientific awareness, whether the subject is geology, biology, botany, or public health. For this reason, I am hoping that Senator Romero will simply withdraw this bill from further consideration.

The issue of raising awareness of asbestos and the role it has in causing lung cancer and mesothelioma was the stated reason for the bill. As I read editorials from across the state (see the excellent compilation by Silver Fox at Looking for Detachment, or check my incomplete list below), the only message in the media seems to be that many scientists and teachers object to the bill because of the inaccurate scientific language, and that there are more important problems faced by the state of California. The bill will not save anyone from getting mesothelioma. The bill makes no provision for increasing awareness about asbestos and mesothelioma. In fact, if the bill passes, any "awareness" will evaporate. As I have said in nearly all of my public statements, serpentine is a rock with a rich history that is both fascinating and tragic: there is the role the rock played in the Gold Rush, its role in geological research about the Earth’s mantle and in crustal processes, the many different kinds of unique minerals that have been mined from it, and the many unique endemic plant species that grow on serpentine and nowhere else in the world. Every child doing a project on state symbols in coming decades will discover these facts about serpentine, including the fact that it sometimes contains asbestiform fibers which in industrial settings can cause serious disease. If this bill passes, the learning opportunity will be lost. I would hope that we can find common ground and consensus about how to best educate the public about serpentine and its relationship to the residents of California. An example of an alternate legislative effort might be a call from the state of California to ban the industrial use of asbestos in the United States. This would put the spotlight on the health effects of asbestos, and off of a rock that is basically harmless in a natural setting.

Several years ago Senator Romero found a rather Solomon-like solution to a controversy over another state symbol. The issue was whether Bodie or Calico should represent the state’s history as an official ghost town. Instead of picking one town over another, Senator Romero found a way to designate a state gold ghost town, and a state silver ghost town. Mining has always been a messy business with a checkered history of environmental effects and pollution problems. But she clearly recognized at the time that there was value in understanding the history of mining in the state, in both its positive and negative aspects. I am hoping Senator Romero will adopt a similar insightful stance in the present controversy over the use of the rock serpentinite as a symbol of the uniqueness of California’s geologic landscape.

Andrew Alden, Justin Zzyzx, Silver Fox, Jon Christiansen, Nishanta Rajakaruna, Malcom Ross, Eldridge Moores, and many others have been working hard to publicize this issue. I am hearing that numerous concerned scientists, researchers, and interested citizens are contacting their legislators, and that the issue is becoming well-known among legislative staffers. Your actions are having an effect! As the story fades in the media, the real work begins in the offices of the Senators and Assembly members. They are hearing your concerns (as well as the press releases of those lobbying for the bill’s passage). Keep up the good work!

This is a partial listing of some of the many stories on the issue that have run in newspapers, radio and television across the country, and even internationally:

7/9: Dan Walters: California state-rock bill has serpentine agenda, Sacramento Bee, http://www.sacbee.com/2010/07/09/2878528/dan-walters-california-state-rock.html?pageNum=3&mi_pluck_action=page_nav#Comments_Container

7/12: California Legislature Considers Throwing Out State "Rock", Ronald Bailey, Reason.com, http://reason.com/blog/2010/07/12/california-legislature-conside

7/13: Outcry as State Rock Toppled, Annette Fuentes, The Bay Citizen http://www.baycitizen.org/blogs/pulse-of-the-bay/outcry-state-rock-toppled/#comments

7/13: Romero takes on a deadly rock, Paradise Post editorial, Rick Silva http://www.paradisepost.com/opinion/ci_15499017

7/13: Pasadena Star News (Dan Walters article) http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/ci_15509970

7/14: California May Drop Its Official State Rock, Jennifer Steinhauer, New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/14/us/14rock.html?_r=4&src=tptw

7/14: The Buzz: 'Geoblogosphere' atwitter about state rock Sacramento Bee, Fresno Bee, Torey Van Oot http://www.sacbee.com/2010/07/14/2888499/the-buzz-geoblogosphere-atwitter.html

http://www.fresnobee.com/2010/07/14/2005437/the-buzz-geoblogosphere-atwitter.html

7/15: Calif may dump 'state rock' that contains asbestos: (Trevor Hunnicutt AP), Google
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hbdeSCuOvpxz0Tsk9jVInGY3UX1AD9GVD5480

(This Associated Press story ran in dozens of major newspapers across the nation, a few examples below)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38255962/ns/health/

MSNBC Associated Press report

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/07/15/ap/national/main6680035.shtml

CBS news, AP report

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jul/15/state-rock-in-a-hard-place/ Washington Times AP

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/15/lawmakers-look-to-change-_n_647514.html

Huffington Post

7/16: California State Rock May Lose its Honored Status (Video, KCBA News, Monterey, Santa Cruz) http://www.kcba.com/Global/story.asp?S=12822028

7/16: Californian health lobby sets sights on state rock, Guy Adams, The Independent, UK
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/californian-health-lobby-sets-sights-on-state-rock-2027724.html

7/16: Geologists protest bill to remove state rock, Peter Fimrite, San Francisco Chronicle, http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/16/MN3T1EE9KS.DTL

7/17: My Word: Rocky stance on serpentine status as state rock (editorial by Brandon Schwab, Humboldt State geologist, Times Standard of Eureka http://www.times-standard.com/othervoices/ci_15539073

7/17: Political call to 'defrock the rock' New Zealand Herald, Guy Adams of the Independent, UK, http://www.nzherald.co.nz/government/news/article.cfmc_id=49&objectid=10659415&ref=rss

7/17: Robert Rector: A pet rock bill and other pebbles of wisdom Pasadena Star News http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/ci_15539650

7/18: Our Opinion: Between a rock and a hard place, Imperial Valley News, http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2010/07/18/our_opinion/ed02_07-18-10.txt

7/20: California May Defrock Its Rock Because It Contains Asbestos, Bonnie Hulkower, Treehugger.com http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/07/california-may-defrock-rock.php

7/20: California’s Great De-Rocking Debate, editorial, New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/21/opinion/21wed4.html

7/21: In Defense of a Rock, Nicholas Neely, High Country News, http://www.hcn.org/blogs/goat/in-defense-of-a-rock?utm_source=SPO&utm_medium=email

7/21: Serpentine: State rock no more? Asbestos may cost "incredibly cool rock" its lofty status Anthony Skeen, The Daily Triplicate, Crescent City http://www.triplicate.com/20100721109621/News/Local-News/Serpentine-State-rock-no-more

7/23: Legislator wants to roll California's official rock, James Gardner, San Francisco Business Times,
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/2010/07/legislator_wants_to_roll_californias_official_rock.html

7/25: Between a rock and a hard place: California’s rock debate, Patt Morrison, Southern California Public Radio, includes podcast) http://www.scpr.org/programs/patt-morrison/2010/07/23/between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place-californias-rock-d/

7/27 The irrational fear of our state rock, David Ropeik, Los Angeles Times, http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-ropeik-risk-20100727,0,6050134.story

Fighting For California's State Rock: What's Right With Serpentine?

California's state flower, the Golden Poppy, grows on serpentine soils at Hells Hollow on Highway 49 in California's Mother Lode. Few plants can tolerate the chemical conditions in these soils, so many endemic plants grow there and nowhere else (the poppy is an obvious exception; it is classed as serpentine-tolerant plant, but grows in many environments). This brings us to the other side of the coin. In seeking to remove serpentine as the state rock of California, supporters of the move condemn the rock as somehow evil because it contains a form of chrysotile asbestos at times. In my last post, I outlined the factual errors and inaccuracies that the bill would codify into law. If you have followed Geotripper for any length of time, you know that I prefer to talk about the wonders of geology, and I wish to do so now. There are many good reasons for keeping serpentine (or more properly serpentinite) as the state rock of California. I've gathered these items into a single fact sheet that could help legislators better understand the concerns of not only geologists, but also teachers, biologists, botanists, environmental scientists, mineral enthusiasts, and others who feel that Senate Bill 624 is a bad idea. Pop me a note if you want the word.doc.

Let the California State Assembly know this week if you want to keep our state rock. They may vote as soon as August 2. Calls are great. Letters on paper carry more weight than e-mails. Be cordial, we want to educate people who may not know a great deal about geology and biology!

• Serpentine, or more properly serpentinite, is a rock made up of as many as 20 different minerals. It is found in at least 42 of California’s 58 counties, and makes up a significant part of the Sierra Nevada Mother Lode, the Klamath Mountains, and the California Coast Ranges. It is a relatively common rock in California and rare in most other parts of the country.

• The rock is variable in color, ranging from deep jade-green to black or blue. It often displays polished surfaces due to its mode of emplacement along fault zones. The minerals making up serpentine are complex magnesium iron silicates with varying amounts of heavy metals such as chromium, mercury, nickel, and cobalt.

• Serpentinite is derived from the metamorphism (alteration by addition of heat and water) of peridotite and other ultramafic rocks from the Earth’s mantle. As such, serpentinite provides researchers a window into the deep crustal and mantle processes of the planet.

• Serpentinite is often brought to the Earth’s surface by forces related to subduction zones. Subduction occurs when oceanic crust containing ultramafic rock is driven beneath oceanic or continental crust where it is partially melted to form volcanic rock, like that seen in the Cascades volcanoes like Mt. Shasta; or plutonic rock like the granite seen in the Sierra Nevada, the Peninsular Ranges, or the Mojave Desert.

• Serpentinite and related ultramafic rocks have served as an ore for numerous valuable minerals, including chromite, mercury, magnesite, platinum, nickel, and cobalt. Many of these minerals are exceedingly rare, and most must be imported from foreign sources.

• Serpentine is used as a colorful ornamental stone, in sculpture, in carved jewelry, and in buildings. Jade is sometimes found in association with serpentine, and the world’s only source of California’s state gemstone benitoite is a serpentine deposit in the California Coast Ranges.

• Soils developed on serpentine are rich in heavy metals like chromium, nickel, and cobalt, and depleted in essential nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. As a result, plants growing in these soils are highly adapted, and about 10% of California’s endemic species are found in serpentine areas, even though the rock covers only about 1% of the land area of the state.

• Serpentines and related rocks are increasingly viewed as a possible repository for sequestering carbon dioxide (CO2), because these rocks can chemically combine to fix the CO2 in the solid mineral magnesite (magnesium carbonate). Serpentine may thus play an important role in global efforts to control greenhouse emissions and climate change.

• Serpentine was chosen as the state rock of in part to promote a growing asbestos mining industry and to promote serpentine’s use as ornamental stone, but the law itself does not mention these things, and asbestos has not been mined in the state since 2002. The original promoters of serpentine had little knowledge of the educational value of the rock they chose as a state symbol.

For more information about California’s state rock, check out:
http://www.consrv.ca.gov/CGS/information/publications/cgs_notes/note_14/note_14.pdf

http://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/information/publications/cgs_notes/note_14/Pages/Index.aspx

Contact Garry Hayes (Geotripper) at hayesg (at) mjc.edu