This letter to the editor was published in the LA Times Opinion section on August 2. Symbolism of the state rock Re "Don't fear this rock," Opinion, July 27 As a native Californian and mesothelioma widow, I find David Ropeik's Op-Ed to have misrepresented the controversy surrounding SB 624. Delisting serpentine as our official state [...]

Back in 1965, when asbestos was a profitable industry in California, serpentine, since it was the host rock for asbestos, was designated as the state rock. This was in response to pressure from the asbestos lobby. The designation was intended to call attention to the lucrative asbestos industry. Today, there is no asbestos industry. Asbestos [...]

Much has been said about SB 624, the recent effort to rescind the designation of Serpentine as the California state rock.  Here are the facts: According to the AB 265 bill Memorandum dated April 16, 1965, Serpentine was designated as the state rock precisely because of its relationship to the asbestos mining industry in California.  To quote [...]

I’m another nerd geologist with 26+ years of experience principally studying the asbestos issue; I’ve published widely and have spoken on this topic extensively in the US and abroad. What is obvious here is that many here do not know is that there are significant portions of CA that have soils that are inundated with [...]

The Times is having fun at California's expense--I get it.  Having lived on both coasts, I know the joy New Yorkers feel laughing at the west.  Your article focused on the geology of the state rock.  But it ignored the politics.  In 1965, Serpentine was chosen the state rock for one reason, according to the [...]