Cargill Salt Pond Development a Bad Idea for San Francisco Bay
On a recent trip to Coyote Hills, a park on the east side of the San Francisco Bay, with a class of kindergarteners, we learned about marshland and a bit about salt ponds. Standing on the top of a hill, we looked out across the bay, and touching a flower one boy remarked that it “feels beautiful.” I was reminded of the mind of 5 year-olds and how sometimes they hit each other without realizing and you have to remind them to be aware of their surroundings. Coyote... Read More
EcoTuesday’s Sustainable Network Celebrates Four Years
Clad in a green dress, Fenja Blobel, EcoTuesday’s Silicon Valley Ambassador enthusiastically welcomed each participant to the first event of the year held at SimplyBe Salon & Spa in downtown Palo Alto in January. The meet-up was one of nine concurrent events across the country on the topic of sustainability. The Silicon Valley event featured Paul Kotta, owner of Mellow Monk Japanese Green Tea and was sponsored by Frey Vineyards, the first organic... Read More
Irrational Fear of Smart Meters in California
A smart meter is an improved electricity or gas meter that allows the energy utility and the home user to monitor energy usage in real-time. It will help reduce energy consumption. That is a good thing. But not to some people as it turns out. A paranoid anti-smart meter alliance has sprung up in Northern California. Comprised of Tea Party libertarians and left-wing health-alarmists, this loose movement has been successful at blocking installation... Read More
Managed Retreat from Rising Sea Levels Begins at Surfers Point
What is likely the first example of what lies ahead for many coastal communities worldwide, Ventura, CA is beginning its retreat from the ocean. Sea levels are projected to rise at least 45-55 inches this century, wreaking havoc on coastal infrastructure. Surfers Point, Ventura, CA (Photo: Flickr user Michael McCarty) 20 years ago Ventura built a bike path along the beach next to the famous surf spot Surfers Point, but within only a few years erosion... Read More
California Council Adopts Sea Level Rise Projections
Projected SLR in Monterey, CA (in blue) The California Ocean Protection Council, has released a draft resolution that calls for state agencies to account for sea level rise (SLR) of up to 55 inches by 2100 in their planning processes. They based their SLR projections on a publication by Vermeer and Rahmstorf in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science. A 100-year storm event coupled with SLR caused by climate change could cause as much... Read More
Prop 23: US Climate Change Fight Hinges on California Voters
(Photo: Flickr user fd) Whether or not you live in California, you might have heard about the battle going down over Proposition 23 on next Tuesday’s ballot. On one side of the climate show-down, two Texas-based oil companies (Valero and Tesoro), who wrote and funded Prop 23, joined by a host of other out-of-state corporate polluters including the energy conglomerate and Tea Party financiers the Koch brothers. On the No-side, an ever-growing list... Read More
Green Light for World’s Largest Solar Power Plant
Parabolic mirrors on a CSP power plant (Source: California Energy Commission) The US government has given the green light to begin construction on what will be the world’s largest solar power plant in southern California. The $6 billion project by Solar Millennium will break ground before the end of the year, and is expected to provide 1000 MW of electricity, enough to power over 300,000 homes. This single plant will effectively double the current... Read More
Visualizing Climate Change at the Ventura Boardwalk
Do You Know How Climate Change and Sea Level Rise Will Impact YOU? As a surfer, I often think about how my local surf spots—as well as the world’s most famous surf breaks—may change completely in the future due to sea level rise. Last week, though, as I got out of the water at Surfer’s Point in Ventura, CA, climate change was the last thing on my mind—until I saw my first SLAP stick. A SLAP stick on the Boardwalk SLAP stands for the Sea... Read More
Sublime Vistas in Yosemite Valley
Yosemite Valley One of my favorite classes from undergrad was “Picturesque Suburbia,” an art history course that traced philosophical and historical origins of modern-day suburbia. The aesthetic of The Sublime was a key influence in the early history of the suburban ideal. The British philosopher Edmund Burke, in his Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful argued that the strongest emotion which... Read More
A Drive Through Water, Weather, and Erosion in Southern California
Everything always looks a bit brighter after it rains This past week my girlfriend and I headed south through California to enjoy a little retreat together before an extended time apart. It is a drive I have done countless times, but it is considerably more enjoyable with company. We started off in Davis, and drove all the way south to San Diego, with plans to head back north through Los Angeles and then Santa Barbara on our way home toward San Francisco,... Read More
CALGREEN: New California Green Building Code
California has approved a statewide green building code (CALGREEN) that sets minimum standards for green building in the state. This initiative is designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and conserve water, and by incorporating it into the existing building code, should minimize compliance costs. Governor Schwarzenegger of California Last week, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that the California Building Standards Commission had approved... Read More
Welcome to 2010
Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a great holiday season. The two of us rang in the new year here in San Francisco, and then made a quick camping trip down to Santa Cruz with some close friends. Sunset on the beach in Capitola After a necessary break, we are back in business and ready to bring you more great content about our changing planet. But before we delve into some projects, we would like to ask what topics you, the reader, would like to... Read More
California’s Water Reform Takes Shape
Source: DWR (http://www.water.ca.gov/newsroom/photo/ag/groundwater_banking1.jpg) Last week California passed a landmark water package. In a state facing its third year of drought it is an important step, but before the state’s political leaders congratulate themselves on a job well done, we should remind ourselves that it just that, a step. The state’s aging water infrastructure and conveyance system are still decades overdue for repair,... Read More
