Greeneroo

Learn more about Climate Change from the perspective of a TROUT.  When I was living in Daly City, I dreamed of tropical paradises, and although I enjoyed the fog (it was so clean and sparkly and made the street noise quieter), I know climate change is not what I hoped for. Imagine being a trout, your living space is changing rapidly and you can’t move on, pack up and leave, or install a water temperature gauge. You have to try to stay alive…. Climate change from a trout’s eye view.

Now add the other factors that affect the streams, environmental disasters, oil spills in Louisianna, toxic runoff, loss of salt marshes, and you’ll be wishing you could live in a place where people thought about the earth.  Read SOS California’’s Native Fish Crisis.  (pdf)  If you care about Salmon or Steelhead….. read this well written report.  You do want to know.

This is depressing, but you’ve gotta know, if you are going to play in the water: 10 worst beaches

Please clean up after yourself when you go to the beach, and make sure to take any plastic bags you see (whether they BELONG to you or NOT) and properly dispose of them. It takes a minute to grab a stray bag and it can mean you saved the life of a marine animal!

If you want to help, check SAVE THE  BAY, they have outings, plantings and clean ups all over the bay area. These events are fun, and you are really making a difference, no skill needed, and the great staff explains what to do and provides tools and whatever you need.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is a provider of protection, information and conservation to species and habitats around the world.  If you haven’t enjoy meandering through their site, now is a good time! They have a Marine Fund Raising drive going on right now.

On a hot August day, many of us enjoy sandy beaches and rolling waves. But oceans are more than just great vacation spots, they are also important centers of our planet’s vital biodiversity. That’s why WWF’s marine program isworking to conserve the coldest seas to the warmest tropical waters on earth. Won’t you help support WWF’s conservation work, such as protecting and preserving marine environments, with a symbolic species adoption?

 Six critical marine regions are highlighted in this donation campaign– WWF is  intensively working at the field level in each one:

• Adopt a Humpback Whale ($25 donation)
• Adopt a Sea Turtle ($50 donation)
• Adopt a Dolphin ($100 donation)
• Adopt an Iguana ($50 donation)
• Adopt a Blue Whale ($50 donation)
• Adopt a Clown Fish ($50)

The most incredible exhibit that I ever attended was “Ashes & Snow” by Gregory Colbert. It was May 2006, and the Nomadic Museum had traveled to Santa Monica. It was the most amazing blend of photographs, movies and a stunning, innovative, mobile space. The museum building was created from several levels of stacked shipping containers which composed the walls of the portable museum in the parking lot of the Santa Monica Pier. The space was soaring, large photos were hung from wires and visitors walked along 2×4 pathways, much like you might find at the beach in a “sensitive dune” area.

The multi-media exhibit travelled to three continents, and welcomed over 10 million visitors in six years, from 2002 to 2008, ending in Mexico City.
Colbert’s incredibible photographic works, 35mm films, art installations and a novel in letters portrayed animals in their natuaral world with people. It was lyrical, the photos and movies of people swimming with elephants in the rivers are so amazing. The artistic nature of animals, and the respect and collaboration between them and the humans that share their world is thrilling. I encourage you to look through the website and enjoy again or for the very first time!
Ashes and Snow: http://www.ashesandsnow.org/en/vision/

Several of the prints and books are available in eBay.

Clean the beach and catch Jack Johnson’s free concert on the pier!

Get inspired, do a good deed! The Santa Monica Bay and Beach needs your help!

The green musician and his label Brushfire Records have organized a beach clean-up Saturday morning, May 22 on Santa Monica Bay with Heal the Bay as a splashy way to kick off the release of his latest and fifth studio album To the Sea and the summer tour. It didn’t take any time before 2,000 volunteers registered for the clean-up but there are still ways to get involved and see the show on Monday, May 24.

The non-profit A Matter of Trust, takes cut hair and fur and packs it into recycled nylons to help sop up oil spills. What Genius!

• YouTube:
• Nonprofit Matter Of Trust Uses Donations Of Hair, Fur To Clean Up Gulf Oil Spill
  The YouTube is delightful, the subject matter of OIL SPILLS is very serious, however, this time, you feel a little better after watching.

Matter of Trust has INSTRUCTIONS  for those that want to donate – and the list is also very helpful for teachers to understand how and where the hair/fur/nylons will be used, if you are thinking of a class project.
Love our Oceans!
50% of the oil in our oceans is from our dumping it into the drains, can you imagine? Completely avoidable and it is devastating.

Honoring our Oceans!

On THURSDAY, JUNE 3, you won’t want to miss NightLife, featuring the debut of “Ocean Voices”
6:00 – 10:00 pm (“Ocean Voices” performances at 7:30 and 8:30 pm).

This is an ongoing event, on June 3 it has a speciall Ocean theme:
Every Thursday night, the Academy opens its doors from 6-10 pm for NightLife, a chance for adults to explore the museum in a whole new light. This week, the Academy celebrates World Oceans Day and the 100th anniversary of Jacques Cousteau’s birth with the debut performance of “Ocean Voices” by sound artist Halsey Burgund. Two of Jacques’s grandchildren, Celine Cousteau and Fabien Cousteau, will give a brief talk before each performance of “Ocean Voices.” Additionally, Crucible Industrial Arts will be on hand to create underwater scenes from blown glass, and Plastic Century will be unveiled, a new installation created by scientists, futurists and artists about the increasing amounts of plastic in our oceans since Jacques Cousteau’s birth. As always, visitors can also dance to one of San Francisco’s most popular DJs, enjoy food and cocktails, and mingle with the like-minded while exploring the Academy’s world-class exhibits and meeting aquarium critters. NightLife is for those ages 21 and over; a valid ID is required for entry.  Admission is $12 per person ($10 Academy  members). California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park.  (415) 379-8000. www.calacademy.org/nightlife.

CalTrout’s 11th Annual Auction and Gala is now only 5 days away but tickets are still available. We sell out every year so RESERVE YOUR SEATS NOW.  This is an amazing organization, take a look at their site and please consider supporting them.

Preview the Live Auction Items here. And if you can’t make it, why not buy a raffle ticket? For a $100 ticket you could win a collection of rare wines valued at more than $15,000! Only 500 tickets will be sold. GET YOUR TICKET TODAY.

Here is just a highlight of the amazing wines being raffled: 2002 Insignia, Joseph Phelps Vineyard — Wine Spectator Magazine’s 2005 Wine of The Year 2001 Casanova di Neri, Brunello di Montalcino — Wine Spectator Magazine’s 2006 Wine of The Year 2000 Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Paulliac — Perfect 100 point scores from Wine Spectator & Robert Parker 2000 Léoville-las-Cases, St-Julien — 100 point score from Wine Spectator & 99 point from Robert Parker 1982 Pichon-Lalande, Paulliac — 99 points from Robert Parker and 97 points from Wine Spectator 2005 Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserve — “Bacchus”, hand painted and signed by Margrit Mondavi. and… a VERY RARE trio of 2004 Marcassin Pinot Noirs.

Where:  Julia Morgan Ballroom, San Francisco

When: Friday, May 7th, 6:00pm

For more information visit www.caltrout.org or contact Shannon Moon at 415-392-8887 ext. 107 or smoon@caltrout.org.

I met an amazing woman last weekend, and she told me about an Inspiring group. Casting for Recovery is a non-profit support and education program for women who have or survived breast cancer. They offer week end retreats that center around Fly Fishing.

Why Fly Fishing? It is a beautiful way to get outside, enjoy the quiet, participate in gentle exercise and its something new and different for many women. Each participant learns many new skills in this catch and release fishing. Take a look at their site, and please share the information that there is another bright light in our world, a group that is ready to support women in this struggle. Casting for Recovery  provides retreats at no cost with trained facilitators on each trip.
PHONE 1-888-553-3500.

This is the most exciting green news I have heard in ages. Quick summary:

• Los Angeles PORT goes to electric motors, cuts pollution
• Toxic diesel fumes have sickened area’s children and adults, air will be cleaner now
• Local company, gets the research money and develops the technology for the port
• Idea is repeatable benefitting all ports and even rail yards and recycling companies where big haulers are used
• Now this innovation will be shared and the port will benefit again, with royalties of $1000 for each hauler estimated at $1 million for the port
• 43 new green jobs

Here is a link to Morning Edition which reports the news: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101177695

The port, in a project with the South Coast Air Quality Management District, plans to spend $5.6 million for 25 of the electric “yard hostlers,” developed by Balqon Corp., Santa Ana, Calif.

In addition regulations have become more stringent on the air qualtiy at the port. On Jan. 1, a regulation from the state Air Resources Board takes effect, requiring that ship operators use low-sulfur or other low-emitting diesel fuels.

I wonder who did the financing…. The $500k seed money came from somewhere. Or maybe it really was a government loan.