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.

Dear Friend of the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex:

I would like to invite you to join Senator Dianne Feinstein and other notables on Tuesday, September 7, from 9:30am to 11:00am, for a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating completion of work on a major piece of the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project—Pond SF2, one of the Ravenswood Ponds at the western foot of the Dumbarton Bridge.

The restoration of this former salt pond is a significant milestone. It employs cutting-edge design to provide high quality habitat for shorebirds in the South Bay, and it is a showcase for public access, with an upgraded trail and new viewing platforms and interpretive exhibits.

It is an achievement worth celebrating!

The event will be held on site at Pond SF 2. There will be a shuttle service to the event location from an adjacent parking lot (directions below). Please plan to arrive at 9:30 am to allow time for the shuttle, as the event will begin promptly at 10:00 am. It is also advisable to wear comfortable shoes.

We hope you can join us—and, please, feel free to pass this invitation along to others you think might be interested in attending.

Sincerely,
G. Mendel Stewart
Manager,
San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex

Directions to Parking (where a shuttle will take you the short drive to the event site):
From Hwy. 101 exit east on Highway 84, toward the Dumbarton Bridge. Just before the bridge, a frontage road exit to the right leads to a parking lot along the side of the bridge, adjacent to the pond site.
From Interstate 880 exit west on Highway 84. Just after crossing the Dumbarton Bridge, take the frontage road exit right and follow the road to the right, under the bridge to the parking area.
Shuttle vans and U.S. Fish and Wildlife personnel will be waiting for you in the parking lot.

San Frrancisco Bay NWR Complex
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(510) 792-0222

My daughter just moved to New Orleans. As an avid fly-fisher, this is a great water filled world for her. It is also the 5th anniversary of Katrina, so watching the news coverage from a few years ago, makes me think of the Boy Scout motto: Be Prepared.

Hurricane readiness

Hurricanes can cause physical destruction and distress to those whose lives and homes lie in the storm’s path. People living near coastlines, in particular, can feel overwhelmed by worry and uncertainty when hearing news about large storms that may develop into hurricanes. Taking practical steps to prepare physically can also help manage some of those anxieties and fears.

Chris Terzich, is an expert in preparation, management and recovery from events such as hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, severe weather, power outages, and wildfires. He has this to say:

“The key to preparedness is awareness. Know the risk in your community and know where you will get information you trust during an emergency,” Terzich said. “Social and news media are very quick with information, but often lack accuracy or context. When you know and trust your source of information, don’t hesitate or delay when it’s time to take emergency action.”

Physical preparation

Write a personal disaster plan and review it regularly. Gather basic medical supplies, light sticks, flashlights, safety tools, and powered radios and additional standard supplies to have on hand. There are many companies that stock supplies and make easy to grab backpacks with basic disaster supplies.  CERT teams (Community Emergency Response) have lists of supplies and offer free training around the United States.

Stay up-to-date on storm information from local news and other reliable sources to help determine if you’re in danger. Try to anticipate where the storm is predicted to hit, where the storm surge is expected, and how far reaching the storm is. If possible, check updates and information on the National Hurricane Center and the Red Cross websites.

Make sure you have emergency phone numbers, links to resources in YOUR AREA, including neighbors and evacuation routes mapped out, as well as additional information on company emergency and security procedures.

Emotional help & Getting involved

Pay attention to the emotional side of approaching storms by both extending support to others and being willing to reach out for help yourself.

Helping others can soothe your own uncertainties. Assist loved ones, coworkers and neighbors by exchanging emergency contact information, helping to “flood-proof” their homes, or simply by listening and offering kind words of support during uncertain times. Be especially aware of how an impending storm can affect children and seniors.

Filoli Gardens has an extensive volunteer program and they offer great training too. There are amazing perks, which include getting to know one of the most beautiful homes and areas in California, watching the garden change over the year (it is different every time I go with something new blooming), participate in special events, attend special events just for volunteers, and meet great people with a passion for gardens and gardening.

If you have pulled you last weed but would like to be around a exquisite garden, if you wish you could pull some weeds but don’t have a garden  or are tired of talking to your plants, come join us. With 1200 volunteers and dozens of groups, we have something for everyone. We have a great time!!
Become a FiloliVolunteer today!  Contact Filoli Volunteers today!

Phone (650) 364-8300,  extension 300
Fax (650) 367-0724
Email volunteer@filoli.org

Related posts about Filoli: Wine and Roses, Volunteer Open House, Celebrating Films and Flowers, Spring Fling Arrives. These are great, but going there is better.

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.

This ice cream is great, tasty, creamy, fresh! I got to taste it during a demo at Costco, and was so impressed. Laloo’s green commitment is phenomenal. The location of the happy goats and HQ is Petaluma. It naturally has less fat and lactose than cows milk and all the essential amino acids. Slow food is a priority, and they compost too, considering each step of production. They have invited us to all come and visit them at the Wednesday night Petaluma Farmer’s Market or other events.  Try Cajeta de Leche, froyo with a caramel swirl and Texas toffee bits, it will make you cry with happiness. Laloos is easy to find at the Bay Area stores (and throughout the US) below:

• Whole Food’s Market
• Mollie Stone’s
• Piazza’s Market (Palo Alto, San Mateo)
• Draeger’s Market
• Andronicos
• There is a store locator on the site, just plug in your zip code to find a store next to you

This is a list for the entire United States. It has been so hot lately that I can barely get out of my chair…. so I loved looking at National Geographics extensive list, and have pulled out some California highlights. If you can go anywhere, you’ll want to see the entire National Geographic GREAT HIKES list, it is a fantastic addition to any Just Say Yes, or bucket list.

These four choices are great, and I would add San Bruno Mountain (Daly City, CA) and Mt. Tamalpais (Marin) to the list because they are easy to get to and have the best vistas in the bay area. If it is a hot day, try San Bruno Mountain in the morning, the fog will lift your spirits and cool you off. Ahh!

A Great Lodge: Sorenson’s Resort // California
GPS: 38°35′N 119°48′W

Set in the Sierra Nevada Mountains south of Lake Tahoe, Sorenson’s Resort is a kind of hiker’s dream town, containing 33 whimsical log cabins, chalets, and homes—a sod-roof Swedish cottage and a bungalow rescued from a defunct Santa’s village among them—moved from elsewhere and rearranged here. Hikers can depart directly from the lodge into the surrounding national forest on Indian Head Trail or drive a short distance to unlimited options. In late summer try the six-mile (ten-kilometer) round-trip to Round Top Lake from Carson Pass on Highway 88. Beginning at 8,573 feet (2,613 meters), the trail wastes no time reaching timberline. Back at the resort, the café’s beef burgundy and berry cobbler can elicit Proustian nostalgia.

Vitals: $115; www.sorensensresort.com

A Classic Hiking Trail: John Muir Trail: Ritter Range // California
GPS: 37°41′N 119°11′W

Every backpacker dreams of someday hiking the John Muir Trail, that 211-mile-long (340-kilometer-long) pageant through the High Sierra from Mount Whitney to Yosemite Valley. Rightly so. The JMT traverses some of the finest alpine scenery in the U.S. But until the ol’ vacation account accrues 17 days (that’s the length of an average JMT thru-hike), content yourself by sampling one of the trail’s best and most accessible sections on a weekend-length, 31-mile (50-kilometer) route into the Ritter Range. Even if you don’t know the Ritters by name, you’ve seen their stony facades on calendars and posters, especially the shark-tooth Minarets. “There’s nothing like the Minarets elsewhere in the Sierra. They’re dark and intimidating, especially on a cloudy day,” says David Roberts, who leads weeklong backpacking trips into the Ritters for the Sierra Club. Your tour begins at Reds Meadow near Mammoth Ski Area, where you pick up the JMT northbound to Shadow Lake. Leaving the JMT, walk west to camp at Ediza Lake, which reflects the 17 Minaret spires. At this point you face a no-lose decision. Backpackers with off-trail know-how can proceed south to Cecile Lake, where the trail ends and the ad hoc Sierra High Route takes over. The less experienced should double back at Ediza Lake to rejoin the JMT to the junction with the Pacific Crest Trail. Follow the PCT southeast to Agnew Meadows, where you can catch a free shuttle bus to your car.

Vitals: For wilderness permits, visit www.fs.fed.us/r5/sierra.

City Hike: Topanga State Park // Los Angeles, CA
GPS: 34°07′N 118°25′W

Located between Malibu and Beverly Hills, this 22-acre (9-hectare) parcel of wildland may be the most valuable park in the country. But for now, no Hollywood mogul manses or rehab centers blight the prime real estate surrounding 2,126-foot (648-meter) Temescal Peak. Everyone hikes the seven-mile (eleven-kilometer) circuit from Trippet Ranch to Eagle Rock, which is why you should opt for the 14-mile (23-kilometer) out-and-back from Trippet up Hondo Canyon to Saddle Peak, with its meadows, stream crossings, and blockbuster views of the Pacific. The ten-mile (sixteen-kilometer) backcountry trail will also lose any Vinnie Chase-style entourage.

Vitals: For maps, visit www.tomharrisonmaps.com.

National Park:  Yosemite National Park // California
GPS: 38°01′N 119°57′W

John Muir was prophetic when he wrote that in Yosemite Valley “Nature had gathered her choicest treasures, to draw her lovers into close and confiding communion with her.” That communion can get downright cozy with the park’s 3.6 million visitors in 2007. But the truth is, they don’t all need to squeeze into the seven-mile (eleven-kilometer) valley. Marvel at the temple, by all means, but look to high country, low country, and the unsung glories of the Sierra Nevada for your solitude. There’s a lot of park out there.

One-Night Stand
Just off Tioga Road in Tuolumne Meadows is the trail to Elizabeth Lake. It’s only a five-mile (eight-kilometer) hike, but one that distills all the joys of the High Sierra into an easy jaunt. You’ll take in granite outcroppings; lodgepole pines; grassy, flower-strewed meadows; and, finally, the frigid reflecting pool of Elizabeth Lake. The glacial tarn lies at 9,508 feet (2,898 meters), beneath 10,823-foot (3,299-meter) Unicorn Peak. Camp here and you’ll have seen Yosemite‚ even if you never venture into the valley.

Three Days or More
If Yosemite has a gentle side, it’s near the settlement of Wawona, in the southern portion of the park. The elevations are lower but this is still the majestic Sierra‚ just with a longer hiking season and fewer crowds. For a three-day highlights tour, forge a 22-mile (35-kilometer) clockwise loop, hiking from Wawona to Buena Vista Pass. Along the way, stop off at Chilnualna Fall, a series of foamy tumbles that would be a major tourist attraction were it in Yosemite Valley. Camp the first night just down from the pass at Buena Vista Lake, in a beautifully carved cirque below 9,709-foot (2,959-meter) Buena Vista Peak. On day two take it easy: Wind your way through forest until you reach the picture-perfect campsites at either Johnson or Crescent Lakes.

Must-Do Secret
It sounds preposterous, but there’s a hidden path in the heart of Yosemite. The 13-mile (21-kilometer) Valley Floor Loop Trail is an old bridle path that hasn’t seen much traffic since the 1950s. Still, the trail is signed and very much intact. Pick it up behind Yosemite Lodge or Camp 4 and walk west, hugging the base of El Capitan, as far as Pohono Bridge. There, the trail crosses over to the south side of the valley, then east past Bridalveil Fall, through El Capitan Meadow, and across Swinging Bridge over the Merced River for a stunning view of Upper Yosemite Fall.

Vitals: The cedar-shrouded cabins at Evergreen Lodge, about 500 yards (457 meters) from the park’s western boundary on the road to Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, are a good way to dodge the larger and louder campgrounds in the valley (www.evergreenlodge.com). For park info and free backcountry permits, visit www.nps.gov/yose.

This article is excerpted from the RePower America Newletter, Extreme Weather and Climate Change. To get your own copy sent to you, sign up!  The Repower America Web site is shared by the Alliance for Climate Protection and the Climate Protection Action Fund.
Learn more about the distinction between the efforts of these two organizations through Repower America.

Extreme weather is putting hundreds of thousands of lives and livelihoods at risk all around the world. In order to avoid the worst and most devastating impacts of the severe weather events that are consistent with climate change, we must begin to significantly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

Learn more about climate change and extreme weather and make sure your friends and family get the facts.

Get the Facts: Extreme Weather and Global Climate Change

Pollution from human activities is warming our climate. The 10 warmest years on record all occurred since 1990, and the last decade was the hottest recorded since worldwide record keeping began more than 100 years ago. The period between January and June of 2010 was the warmest six months on record.
A warming climate increases the chance that we will experience extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and intense storms, and ramps up the risk that severe weather events will cause catastrophic damage.
The floods, fires and droughts we’re seeing in places like Pakistan and Russia are consistent with the effects of global warming, including temperature increases, increased precipitation in some parts of the world, and droughts in others.
In early August, a 97-square mile chunk of ice–the largest since 1962–broke away from the northwest coast of Greenland. (1) Canadian officials fear the massive “ice island” could pose a risk to ships and oil platforms. (2)
Unless we significantly reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, we are likely to see even more extreme weather events and the consequences they bring.

References:
1. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Earth Observatory, “Ice Island Calves off Petermann Glacier,” August 13, 2010.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=45112
2. Randy Boswell, “Giant iceberg drifting toward Canada could threaten ships, oil platforms,” Montreal Gazette, August 10, 2010.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Giant+iceberg+drifting+toward+Canada+could+threaten+ships+platforms/3382103/story.html

City of Palo Alto Utilites puts together a great resource guide, Earth Matters, it is informative and will help you get started on a green cleaning path. The guide has more information on amonia, carpet cleaners, glass cleaners, bleach, oven cleaners and drain cleaners.  Most people don’t consider the full ramification of using these products (do you always wear gloves?), storing these products (they will fall during an earthquake and mix in your garage!) or disposing of these products (not down the drain, take them to Toxic Waste Disposal sites in your community):

• The summary includes common cleaners and their harmful components
• VOCs in cleaners
• Green alternatives

It is easy to make a switch, my favorite easy green product is BAKING SODA, it gets dark stains off quickly, even tea stains on cups. Choosing wisely helps your environment, the air quality in your home, avoiding toxic mixtures of products/chemical spills and saves you money.

It’s piling up! And why? Because San Mateo County Garbage workers are on strike!
When we pay attention to recycling, composting, using less packaging, this becomes less of an issue. I wouldn’t want to be the family with a mound of plastic disposable diapers and no trash pick-up on this very hot sweltering week. Ugh!

Garbage workers in San Mateo County started a 48-hour strike Wednesday (Aug. 25) to protest stalled contract negotiations with Allied Waste Industries, a company spokeswoman said.

Several East Palo Alto residents said their garbage bins, normally collected Wednesday at 6 a.m., still lingered on the curb by mid-afternoon. The sweltering afternoon heat accentuated the pungent smell, one resident said.

Thirteen workers at the Ox Mountain Landfill near Half Moon Bay are participating in the two-day strike over negotiations that have stalled since their contract expired at the end of 2009, Allied Waste spokeswoman Peg Mulloy said.

Labor Dispute news… more information!