Greeneroo

TODAY — FREE!!

This film is a fascinating documentary covering two eleven-year-old multi-racial city kids as they explore their place in the food chain. ‘”What’s On Your Plate” is exactly the film we need now.’ – Michael Pollan

Directed by Catherine Gund; 73 min; 2009.      The showing of this community building film is sponsored by Chipotle.

Date:  7/30/2010   Time: 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM

Where:

Fair Oaks Library
2510 Middlefield Rd
Redwood City, CA 94063

For more great events, movies, music, art, check out the Redwood City Event Calendar: 

 http://www.ci.redwood-city.ca.us/calendar/calendar.aspx

I love chickens (they eat slugs), I love fresh eggs (they taste better), I love this decision (it’s about time!)

Chickens can now live “un-hassled” in unincorporated San Mateo County. Chickens in unincorporated San Mateo County can now legally come home to roost thanks to a unanimous board of supervisors vote Tuesday that permits homeowners to keep the birds in their backyards.  The unanimous vote, happened Tuesday July 27, congratulations to our supervisors for doing the right thing and not being “dumb clucks”!

The regulations approved by supervisors allow for up to six domestic poultry on parcels that are at least 2,500 square feet and up to 10 chickens and ducks on sites that are 7,500 square feet or larger.

The birds must be kept within property limits and housed in backyard coops no bigger than 100 square feet set back a minimum of eight feet from adjacent buildings. In addition, the sites must be “kept in a sanitary condition and free from offensive odors.”

The board asked county staff to report back within six months to discuss any poultry-related complaints. County Community Development Director Jim Eggemeyer told supervisors that, to date, the county has received “very few complaints and situations involving chickens.”

The effort to legalize poultry in unincorporated parts of the county began in 2009, when a neighbor complained about a couple in Emerald Hills, Jessica Holcombe and Vincent Van Gerven, who were keeping chickens, hens and two roosters on their property.

 

The full article appeared here: http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_15616769

September 30 – October 3 – Don’t miss this!

Sunset puts on the best events. http://www.savorcentralcoast.com/

And once again they have it ALL, and focused on a spectacular area of California with reduced ticket prices for locals. Take a look:

• Meet the Growers
• Kitchen Garden – a 2 acre demonstration garden
• Wineries – from Monterey to Ventura
• Things to see and do – regional events
• Meet the Greats – local authors, chefs, and foodies
• Movable feast – food on carts coming to you
• Chickens – why, how, where
• Tour the Santa Margarita Ranch by Train
• and so much more!

      Special Events:

• Winemaker’s Dinners
• Western Wine Awards Gala, VIP Tasting
• Chris Isaak concert with a fireworks finale on Sunday

This looks like the most fun you can Pack into one Weekend!!

• Admission to The Main Event for Saturday or Sunday with a single day ticket is $85.00, 2-day (Saturday and Sunday) admission ticket is $150.00
• For locals. $75.00 for one day OR 2-day (Saturday and Sunday) $130.00  Local ticket purchases are based on the ZIP codes of San Luis Obispo County.

Watch out for your dangling jewelry and leave that tiny dog at home!

Come out to see a huge collection of carnivorous plants!

Oh no! They’re back, and they’re more frightfully fun than ever! This summer, the Conservatory of Flowers becomes a Little Shop of Horticultural Horrors with “Chomp 2! Return of the Carnivorous Plants.” Immerse yourself in a swampy paradise for meat-eating plants like the statuesque white trumpets of the American Southeast, the sinister pitcher plants of Borneo and the glistening sundews of South Africa. The extraordinary beauty and diversity of species on display will dazzle even the most squeamish.

“Chomp 2! Return of the Carnivorous Plants” features expanded displays of these natural born killers with dazzling, new additions like the Dionaea B-52, the world’s largest Venus flytrap with traps up to two inches square, and the aptly named (for a bug, that is) ‘Abandoned Hope,’ a pitcher plant hybrid that can grow up to two feet tall. Visitors can feast their eyes on hundreds of multi-colored, meat-eating plants arranged in swampy, living bogs that showcase species both by their trapping strategies and by their native regions and countries.

Website: http://www.conservatoryofflowers.org/

Location:    100 John F. Kennedy Drive;  San Francisco, CA 94118
415 -831 -2090

Paxton Gate Online!

Bringing the Conservatory of Flowers’ Fly Trap Theater out of Golden Gate Park and into the Mission!

The Fly Trap Theater is a fun presentation by the Conservatory of Flowers’ own knowledgeable and friendly tour guides! Learn why and how carnivorous plants are different from other plants, what areas in the world produce plants that eat bugs, why these plants hunt, and how they attack! Carnivorous plants will be dissected, their trapping mechanisms looked at up close and personally, in order to learn about the different adaptations these creatures use to lure tasty bug dinners into their plant jaws! After uncovering the mysteries of the carnivorous plants in the Fly Trap Theater, we’ll create our own bug and plant puppets replicating traps seen in nature that use gummy slime, sticky stalks, hairy triggers, and dark mazes – or use our imaginations to create totally new carnivorous creatures! – to perform our own CHOMP scenes time and again!

 WHEN: July  24, 2010

TIME: 2-4 pm (BUZZ by throughout!)   

WHERE: Curiosities for Kids at 766 Valencia, San Francisco, in between 18^th and 19^th Streets in San Francisco’s Mission District.

COST: FREE!

Please note: During the course of the Chomp! 2 exhibition, Paxton Gate is offering 15% off plants and gardening supplies at both of their stores with a ticket stub from the Conservatory of Flowers.  Also, The Conservatory is offering 2 for 1 entry if you show your Paxton Gate receipt dated during the run of the exhibit! (May 7 – October 31, 2010).

Combine AMG, 526hp and lithium-ion batteries and get the new E-cell Mercedes SLS – all electric silent supercar.

Can a 526 horsepower be really green? Mercedes-Benz and AMG are introducing the new SLS AMG E-CELL, a high-performance fully electric “muscle” car. It’s great to see multiple manufacturers show that electric cars can indeed slash our dependance on petrol.

You gotta see this and Read more…

  http://www.mercedesheritage.com/2010/sls-amg-e-cell-silent-supercar/

Bonjour! It’s Bastille Day, and what better way to revel in the joie de vivre than to be greener, happier and better prepared. I’m going to take a hike in our beautiful open space in the Rancho San Antonio Preserve which rings the Bay Area.  MidPeninsula Regional Open Space is an amazing resource to the entire Bay Area.
Go enjoy the outside world and remember why you live in paradise!

Mark your Calendars – this is one of the nicest events. Sign up for the 26th annual Palo Alto Weekly Moonlight Run & Walk! The popular event will be held Sept. 24, 2010, at the Baylands Athletic Center off Embarcadero Road in Palo Alto. Sign up for the 5K run or walk, or go all out and try the 10K run. The evening also features music, refreshments, prize giveaways, a climbing wall for kids and much more. Register now.

More Information:

http://www.paloaltoonline.com/moonlight_run/

From Michael — Stopped by the Los Altos Wine and Art Festival (didn’t realize it was going on) and found a really neat T shirt company – they create their own designs and are very “green’ and spent many months getting certified.  I’ll send you a pix of the certification and some of their shirt designs.   I like them because they do block printing instead of screen printing – it’s a much “older” and more artistic way of printing shirts – organic cotton shirts, dresses, etc.  They’re from SF.  Kinda strange name – but who knows.   Very nice people tho.   I liked their designs – simple, colorful, artistic.  Shirt quality is good too.
http://yeahyeahponyprince.com/  Here is their green certificate (thought you’d be interested in seeing what it entails, is it legit, etc. and one of their shirts on display.
Companies can get certified as a Green America business – Yeah Yeah is certified and it means they are working in harmony with the environment to create a sustainable economy within our own backyard.

Jazz on the River

This area is beautiful and although this event is crowded it is an amazing combination of river, pines, music and sun. This is a Northern California spectacular. Remember to car pool,  bring your bio-degradable paper products/soaps/ containers and let’s leave Russian River better than we found it.

Description:In 2010 Jazz on the River and the Russian River Blues Festival will be combined. Jazz will be performed on Saturday and Blues will be performed on Sunday. For more info and pictures of the site click here Russian River Blues Festival.

Jazz on the River is a great way to spend the weekend. This Festival is also often called the Russian River Jazz Festival because earlier in the year the Russian River Blues festival takes place in the same area at Johnson’s Beach in Guerneville. The setting couldn’t be better. Huge redwood trees surround you with the hot sun shining through. Everyone hangs out on lawn chairs and just kicks back while the music plays. If you get too hot, just jump in the warm and inviting Russian River for a dip. Check out the Annual Events banner at the top of this page and also check out the Russian River Blues Festival page to get an idea of the surroundings.

Jazz on the River – Russian River Jazz Festival & The Russian River Blues Festival at Johnson’s Beach in Guerneville 2010 Line Up – COMING SOON. 

WEBSITE

Save money and promote green activities or explore your Eco-self. What are the best examples? Here are some to take advantage of:

SAVE ENERGY

1. Boil water in the microwave rather than on an electric stove top (use up to 60% less energy).
2. Lower your thermostat in the winter. You’ll save enough money to buy a beautiful organic wool sweater! Your heating bill goes down by a whopping 3% for each degree you reduce of heating!
3. Take short showers and you’ll save heating money and water. A fifteen minute shower each day costs about $310 / year. And while you are waiting for hot water, gather the cold water to water plants. Put a bucket in the shower so you don’t forget, and take it out when you step in.
4. Stop idling your car! Did you know that 10 seconds of idling = restarting your car (in terms of gas use). For 2 minutes of idling = driving a mile. Turn your engine off.
5. Evaluate gas vs. flying for a vacation, use fuelcostcalculator.com or costtodrive.com  … and when you are finished with a trip, unpack your truck. Every 100 pounds can cost you 1-2% of fuel cost.
6. Ride a bike to errands. Simple, easy and healthy.
7. Green Tax Credit. Install qualifying energy efficient windows, doors, water heating, roofing. Check the details at energystar.gov. You can get up to $1500.
8. Drive under 65 mph. Fuel efficiency goes down an average of 5 mpg for each 10 mile an hour speed increase. Jack rabbit starts from stops also reduce your gas mileage an additional 3 mpg.
9. Add Biking to your vacations. You can drive to your destination, park your car and then use your bike rather than the car for the daily fun outings. Lots of communities have great bike lanes and hiking trails, check the League of American Bicyclists or the Alliance for Biking and Walking. If your community isn’t bike friendly these links may inspire you to push for improvement.
10. For more info on CA biking + walking check the local Alliance listing.
11. Grow your Own! Tomatoes and Herbs are good plants to start with for beginners.
12. Walk to the local Farmer’s Market. This is a fun outing for kids and adults.

REDUCE your Impact!

1. Rent an extra room. You’ll meet some great people, get extra cash, reduce the housing crunch for singles, and you can arrange with your tenant to do chores like take out recycling or gardening or dog-sitting. With so many people downsizing, this is a viable alternative to apartment living. In the SF Peninsula / San Mateo County, go to HIP HOUSING  which offers an excellent  free matching service where renters (looking for Housing or with Housing to share) are interviewed and checked out  in San Mateo county.  Make an appointment for your interview and they will send you people that meet your criteria.
2. Rent space in your garage. Check out SpareFoot.com or Storeatmyhouse.com for general sites. Craig’s List also has extensive free listings on sublets and rooms.
3. Use Freecycle- don’t dump. Have Yard Sales – you can find yard sales in your area at yarsaletreasuremap.com, also garage sales are on Craig’s List.

Exploring Your World

1. Free Sightseeing! A local resident can show you the town – globalgreeternetwork.info. Walking tours are a great way to see everything, check this site, europtours.eu  and the Chamber of Commerce and Visitor information centers have walking information.
2. Bird Watching far from home! BirdingPal.org will connect you with a local birder, this sounds like great fun!
3. Craig’s List has many events and activities in local areas. Meet Up also has hiking groups in local areas, the San Jose Hiking Meet Up keeps me busy and there is a great variety of places to go that are new to me.