Bay Area Global Warming Experts Prepare for Epic Flood

Experts in the San Francisco area are planning for a flood “of Noah’s Ark proportions” which they believe could be a possible consequence of global warming. To anyone who lives in the area, that may seem unlikely, especially given that much of California has spent the last few years clenched by a severe drought.

But that doesn’t mean that rain isn’t coming – and when it does, the parched, crusty earth won’t be able to absorb much water.

From The Daily Bulletin:

Last year, a USGS-led team of 300 scientists created a detailed scenario for a 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Southern California, followed by a “ShakeOut” drill of 5.4 million residents, a disaster preparedness record.

Many of the same scientists are now fashioning a hypothetical ARk Storm scenario similar to the mother of all known California floods – the Great Flood of 1861-62.

That flood, occurring during 45 days of rain, turned California into an inland sea. It also forced Gov. Leland Stanford to take a rowboat to his inauguration, wiped out a third of taxable land and virtually bankrupted the state.

Despite more than a century of flood channels, debris dams and levees built since, such a flood could wreak $25 billion in damage to the state capital alone, according to the Geological Survey.

And because of global warming, scientists forecast such a colossal gully-washer born by the “pineapple express” jet stream to happen sooner rather than later.

Winter rainfall is expected to increase dramatically on the West Coast with climate change, but summers will still be incredibly hot and dry. Add wildfires into the mix – which cause erosion – and you’ve got prime conditions for floods that, according to NASA scientist Bill Patzert, “will make Katrina look minor league.”

10 teams of experts are currently working on ways to prepare. They’ll be revealing their recommendations in the summer of 2010.

Link [The Daily Bulletin]
Photo credit: Science Daily/FEMA

California at the Tipping Point of Climate Change

It’s all too easy to remove yourself emotionally from the gargantuan problem of global warming because you feel like its effects are a world away. But the fact is that climate change is affecting the entire world already, including places uncomfortably close to home – or perhaps even in your own region. California, for example, is now being affected in ways both dramatic and subtle.

That’s the focus of a new episode of KQED’s multimedia series QUEST, called “California at the Tipping Point”. It’s a 22-minute special report about the science behind climate change and the environmental changes taking place throughout the state. Watch below:

KQED (San Francisco public television) also produces the series ‘Climate Watch’. Check out the latest episode, “At the Core of Climate Change”, which explores how 8-foot long ice core samples extracted from deep in the ice layer of Antarctica hold key evidence of rapidly changing climatic conditions, online at the KQED website.

Link [KQED]

Cops Can’t Stop California Electric Carmaker

California is in the midst of a major budget crisis. Crime is out of control, and prisons are bursting at the seams. You’d think cops would have more important things to do than bug an eco-entrepreneur who’s working on important clean energy tech. Apparently, they still find the time.

The Santa Monica Police began a sting operation against Paul Pearson, the man behind the hot Lola EV (pictured above) in December that resulted in two citations, one for allegedly remanufacturing cars without a state license and the other for not getting a business license from the City of Santa Monica.

From Autoblog Green:

As part of the sting, two undercover officers discussed converting a gas-only Ford Thunderbird to electric power with Pearson, Pearson agreed, which led to over a dozen local law enforcement officers storming his garage. Pearson is willing to admit he operated without a license, but will fight against the remanufacturing claim, telling the paper (and the police) that the vehicle, a small one-seater, is “legally manufactured as a specially constructed vehicle.” The City contends the charges result from the Thunderbird conversion.

Pearson told AutoblogGreen that the complaint that was issued to him lists the serial number of the single seater. The Thunderbird is “an iffy issue” because it doesn’t exactly exist. Pearson said that the California Highway Patrol told him that he would not need to recertify the fictitious Thunderbird if all he did was add and electric motor and batteries. Smog certification places can certify EVs as pure electric vehicles. “That is our defense on the Thunderbird charge.” The single-seater was certified, insured and has been so for two years. “We’ll beat them in court in a matter of seconds.”

Absurd. I know a lot of people are sticklers for black-and-white application of the law, but this is just ridiculous. Homebrew electric vehicle communities across America – and particularly in this area of California – are making headway on clean auto tech that Detroit won’t be catching up on for years. We need these guys. Luckily, Pearson has no plans of stopping. He’s still working on electric cars while waiting for his case to go to court.

Link [Autoblog Green]

Environmentalists Clash Over Wildlife Conservation vs. Renewable Energy

It was bound to happen eventually. After all, it’s easy to understand why wildlife conservation activists have been quietly worrying about the impact that building new renewable energy infrastructure could have on animal habitats. Meanwhile, proponents of renewable energy feel that if we don’t get solar panels, wind turbines, power lines and other means of clean, green energy installed quickly, all of us – including the animals conservationists are trying to protect – will be much worse off.

It’s come down to environmentalist versus environmentalist, with each group passionately defending and advocating for their respective causes. The question now is, can they work together to ensure that wildlife is protected, but we don’t dally too much in moving forward on renewable energy?

The New York Times has the details:

The conflict began playing out almost a decade ago in places like Cape Cod, Mass., where a plan to place 130 wind turbines in Nantucket Sound has pitted energy-conscious environmentalists against local residents who fear harm to aquatic life and the view.

It has spread west to Mojave-area locales like flatland near the Ivanpah Valley, 130 miles northeast of here, where a proposal to install three clusters of 50,000 solar mirrors has prompted anxiety over the fate of endangered tortoises.

Terry Frewin, a local Sierra Club representative, said he had tough questions for state regulators. “Deserts don’t need to be sacrificed so that people in L.A. can keep heating their swimming pools,” Mr. Frewin said.

In California, many of these conservationists have joined an advisory group to help state regulators determine where renewable energy zones should be created. California is in a particular hurry to find renewable energy sites since a 2006 law requires utilities to produce 20 percent of the state’s electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

That will mean rapid construction of power plants and power lines, which has environmentalists understandably worried about preserving the habitats of endangered species and the state’s beautiful natural lands.

The good news is, it’s likely that the two groups will come together. The trade-offs are difficult and both sides will be forced to make concessions they’re not happy with – but in the end, it will be worthwhile.

Link [The New York Times]

Weed Could Save California’s Economy

Mendocino County, California is often called “America’s Marijuana Capital”, and for good reason: weed is this area’s number one cash crop. California, which is one of 12 of states in the U.S. to have legalized medicinal marijuana, allows residents to grow a limited amount of pot plants for medicinal use – though federal law, which bans growing marijuana for any purpose, causes clashes between state and national government agencies.

With an increase in border security after 9/11, California has become an even more popular spot to grow marijuana plants for sale in the U.S., and business is booming. With so much money changing hands, legislators are starting to recognize weed’s potential to save California’s floundering economy. Assemblyman Tom Ammiano introduced “The Marijuana Control, Regulation and Education Act”, which would go well beyond the decriminalization of marijuana to actually legalize the cultivation, sale, purchase and possession of the plant.

From The Itt List:

“With the state in the midst of an historic economic crisis, the move towards regulating and taxing marijuana is simply common sense,” Ammiano said. “This legislation would generate much needed revenue for the state, restrict access to only those over 21, end the environmental damage to our public lands from illicit crops, and improve public safety by redirecting law enforcement efforts to more serious crimes.”

As announced yesterday, the state of California would receive a $50 fee for every ounce of pot sold (which would be on top of whatever that ounce’s actual price is in a future free market). That fee and a proposed sales tax on medical marijuana would mean $1.3 billion “immediately,” according to Betty Yee, the chairwoman of the Board of Equalization who was at yesterday’s press conference. I wonder what the annual weed revenues would be, especially in a state that just barely averted a major fiscal disaster late last week. Yee called the new proposal “a responsible measure on how to work out the regulatory framework of the legalization of marijuana.”

Legalizing marijuana simply makes sense, not just for California but for the entire country. First and foremost, there are the economic benefits. The government and taxpayers would benefit hugely from diverting the billions that are currently spent each year on tracking down, prosecuting and jailing non-violent marijuana offenders to more important uses. Instead of chasing peaceful stoners and putting them in jail alongside rapists and murderers, they could be focusing more of their efforts on fighting real crime.

Plus, there are two major environmental benefits to legalizing and regulating marijuana cultivation. Marijuana operations could be brought out into the open, eliminating the need to destroy fragile forest ecosystems in an attempt to hide from authorities. And, noxious chemical spills caused by irresponsible growers could be reduced dramatically. Spills from improperly buried diesel fuel tanks and generators have leaked into California waterways, causing untold damage.

Unfortunately, this bill is unlikely to pass simply due to the ingrained negative view of the beneficial plant, courtesy of the misguided War on Drugs.

From SF Weekly:

Ammiano told SF Weekly that he doesn’t expect his bill to pass “overnight,” but doesn’t see it as merely a “placeholder.” As far as superseding federal law, he pointed to a similar bill recently introduced in Congress by Rep. Barney Frank; hopefully the law of the land will change. If not, Ammano hoped to exploit “fuzziness” regarding state and federal laws and the low priority this state has given to busting marijuana users entitled by Proposition 215. He predicted that, in these dire economic times, “support will fall all over” for his bill. Perhaps, perhaps not.

Legalizing weed would solve two of California’s most pressing problems: prison overpopulation and an unprecedented budget deficit. It’s a no-brainer.

Link [The Itt List] via [The Huffington Post] + [SF Weekly]

Great Green Job of the Week: Administrative Assistant, TheGreenOffice.com

TheGreenOffice.com is a values-driven, investor-backed company dedicated to accelerating the transition to sustainability in the workplace. Our mission is to make office greening easy and cost effective by offering the widest selection of green office products and services available anywhere online. Founded in 2005, the San Francisco based team has forged key relationships with industry, academic, and non-profit leaders, established a compelling brand and online presence, and succeeded in growing a customer base that spans the continental US. The result is a company poised to capture a dominant share of the rapidly expanding market for business solutions that deliver socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable results.

Position
TheGreenOffice.com seeks an organized, energetic, and highly independent Operations Associate to join our team. This individual will be excited to work from a home office providing the company with support in operations, administration, and customer service. The hire will be integral to the success of our business and must be able to learn quickly on the job, adapt roles and responsibilities to a changing business environment, identify problems early and solve them efficiently. The ideal candidate will have the following qualifications and be eager to take on the responsibilities listed below.

Qualifications
• Details oriented with strong ability to multitask
• Positive attitude, willing to learn on job, results oriented
• Happy to work remotely from home office 4-5 days a week
• Strong computer skills and ability to quickly learn complex enterprise software
• Bachelor’s degree preferred
• Knowledge of office products industry a plus

Responsibilities
• Review all customer orders and ensure accurate, prompt delivery
• Handle all incoming phone and email communication
• Provide outstanding customer service, account management, & sales support
• Manage accounts receivable and accounts payable
• Oversee inventory of “dark green” product catalog
• Administer green service offerings, e.g. consulting & carbon offsetting

Compensation
This is a salaried position with a full benefits package and an incentive plan that rewards loyalty and results. TheGreenOffice.com is an equal opportunity employer that believes sustainable business is built upon diversity in all forms.

Application
For prompt consideration, please submit your resume and cover letter by email with “Administrative Assistant” in the subject line. Qualified candidates will be contacted shortly to arrange an interview.

Link [Treehugger Jobs] + [TheGreenOffice.com]

Climate Change Might be Altering Waters Along U.S. West Coast

Climate change might already be altering waters along the west coast of the United States, according to University of California Santa Cruz climate scientist Mark Snyder. Snyder noticed a large number of dead shellfish, sea stars, rock fish and other marine life in Oregon and began wondering whether nearby California faced a similar problem.

Scientists say climate change is responsible for stronger and more persistent winds along the coast, which drive more upwelling of nutrient-rich deep ocean waters. At normal levels, this upwelling supports a rich variety of life, but too much of these waters ultimately results in “dead zones” starved of oxygen.

From The Guardian:

To assess future wind and upwelling scenarios along the California coast, Snyder and his colleagues at UC Santa Cruz ran climate simulations for two time periods. One spanned from 1968 to 2000, verifying the accuracy of the modelling. The second simulated the region’s estimated climate from 2038 to 2070, using the intergovernmental panel on climate change “high-growth” emissions projections. Snyder said he chose the high emissions scenario because today’s are exceeding earlier IPCC estimates.

The results showed increases in wind speeds of as much as 2 meters per second, a 40% increase from current wind speeds, which now average 5 meters per second, Snyder said.

The change in wind speeds is already happening, Snyder said. California winds have been growing in strength in the past 30 years.

“It was just chance they found the dead zones in Oregon,” Snyder said, describing how fishers reported to marine scientists an alarming number of dead or dying crabs they were pulling up in traps. “It’s quite possible these areas could be off the California coast,” he said.

Researchers have been sending a robot equipped with a video camera to record images of the dead sea life, and have also deployed a fleet of robotic ‘gliders’ to measure oxygen levels and other conditions along the Oregon coast. Oregon State marine ecologist Francis Chan said they’ve seen areas “carpeted with dead marine life”.

More research is needed, and scientists say they can’t point to greenhouse gases as the sole culprit behind windier conditions on the coast – but no other explanation fits, given the historical pattern of winds and upwelling.

Link [The Guardian]
Photo credit: Flickr user Mahalie

Tesla’s Plans for San Jose Electric Vehicle Factory Appear Doomed

Hopes for a new Tesla Motors plant in an 89-acre vacant lot in San Jose, California are fading by the day as the electric vehicle manufacturer reconsiders the site “for environmental and financial reasons”. Tesla had planned to begin construction on a factory that would employ 500 people and produce the Model S, an all-electric 4-wheel sedan, this spring.

Here’s Tesla spokeswoman Rachel Conrad’s statement to Autopia:

Tesla announced in September the intention to build a 500,000-square-foot assembly plant to manufacture our four-door, five-passenger, all-electric sedan. The site was an 89-acre vacant lot in San Jose, which is known as a “greenfield” site because there has never been heavy industry on it.

However, we reconsidered the San Jose site for a variety of environmental and financial reasons. The primary reason was that the US Department of Energy is awarding low-interest loans to automakers who develop “brownfield” sites (in other words, sites that used to be factories or plants but have been abandoned, mothballed or shut down).

Tesla is applying for a roughly $250 million federal low-interest loan that would finance a 500,000-square-foot assembly plant to build the sedan. Tesla does not want to jeopardize our low-interest loan application, and we believe that building from scratch on a greenfield site would put us at a competitive disadvantage against other automakers and suppliers competing for the $25 billion in low-interest federal loans.

We are in late-stage negotiations with another site to build our sedan, known as the Model S. We will likely have an announcement about the site soon. Tesla is still on track to begin production of the Model S in 2011. We plan to unveil the car to the media and public in March in Hawthorne, Calif., where Tesla’s design studio is located.

This is sad news for the city of San Jose, which had hoped to create 25,000 new green tech jobs.  San Jose had offered Tesla a 40-year lease with the first 10 years free of charge to entice the automaker to build there. It does make sense, though, to build on the lot of a previously abandoned factory.

It’s great to know that production of the Model S will move forward as planned. Of course, like all Teslas, the Model S is costly (expected price tag will be around $60K) so it’s out of reach for most Americans – but green techies and those with deep pockets are hotly anticipating its release all the same.

Link [Autopia]

Utilities Guilt Customers into Energy Efficiency with Frowny Faces

Would seeing a big red frowny face on your electric bill make you want to be more energy efficient? Sacramento utility companies found out that it actually works, with a new ‘grading’ system that lets you know how your electricity consumption compares with that of your neighbors. It’s keeping up with the Joneses in a whole new way, and it just might foster a competitive spirit that will help the city cut way back on energy use.

From The New York Times:

Last April, it began sending out statements to 35,000 randomly selected customers, rating them on their energy use compared with that of neighbors in 100 homes of similar size that used the same heating fuel. The customers were also compared with the 20 neighbors who were especially efficient in saving energy.

Customers who scored high earned two smiley faces on their statements. “Good” conservation got a single smiley face. Customers like Mr. Dyer, whose energy use put him in the “below average” category, got frowns, but the utility stopped using them after a few customers got upset.

When the Sacramento utility conducted its first assessment of the program after six months, it found that customers who received the personalized report reduced energy use by 2 percent more than those who got standard statements — an improvement that Alexandra Crawford, a spokeswoman for the utility, said was very encouraging.

The idea is spreading, with 10 major metropolitan areas, including Chicago and Seattle, preparing to implement it. They decided to use smiley faces only in light of Sacramento’s experience with complaints from customers who received frowny faces.

Oh, those poor frowny-face receivers. Don’t you just feel so sorry for them? Their ability to gobble up energy guilt-free like Lindsay Lohan at a coke party has been disturbed, and the utility company hurt their poor little feelings.

This is actually a really interesting idea, considering the studies that have shown that rivalry produces real results. Colleges have been doing it for years, holding competitions between dormitories to conserve energy. Hey, whatever works!

Link [The New York Times]

Obama Will Likely Allow States to Toughen Air Quality Rules

California and other states will most likely be given permission to toughen air quality rules soon after Obama takes office, forcing automakers to produce cars that are far more efficient than those allowed under current federal standards.

More than a dozen states will be able to enforce their own greenhouse gas emission standards on automobiles, rules that are key to fighting global warming.

From the LA Times:

“This is an essential piece of the nation’s environmental strategy,” said Tim Carmichael, president of the Coalition for Clean Air. Environmentalists estimate that cars create about a quarter of U.S. carbon emissions.

But it’s a nightmare scenario for automakers, which argue that complying with the California guidelines would create regulatory headaches and a technology burden that could add at least $1,000 and as much as $5,000 to the cost of each vehicle.

As such, the prospect of the waiver is creating a fierce debate about automotive regulation, pitting concerns about the environment against the deeply troubled finances of an industry that has thrown itself at the mercy of Washington just to remain solvent.

Unsurprisingly, automakers are calling foul, with GM corporate spokesperson Greg Martin complaining that asking GM to meet California emissions standards is like asking a cancer patient to “finish chemo and then go run the Boston Marathon.” Automakers have opposed California’s standards in court for years.

Honda is the only company that has accepted reality and begun preparing for new emissions standards, making plans for a fleet that’s even more efficient than is called for under the strict California rules.

Mary Nichols, chairwoman of California’s Air Resources Board, says the likelihood of getting a waver from new EPA chief Lisa Jackson to go ahead with implementing and forcing their emissions regulations is over 95%.

Automakers have had years and years to prepare for this, and most of them have dragged their feet, focusing on fighting the rules instead of figuring out how to comply with them. It’s about time they were forced to be accountable for the damage their vehicles are doing to the environment.

As Honda’s VP of government affairs said, “Any company that is not assuming a constant rate of improvement in fuel economy and carbon emissions is making a big mistake.”

Link [LA Times]
Photo credit: LeHighValleyLive.com

Dec. 18th: Day Without a (Disposable) Bag

A Los Angeles county organization called ‘Heal the Bay’, which aims to clean up the Santa Monica Bay in California, has declared tomorrow, December 18th, ‘A Day Without a Bag’. Holiday shoppers and retailers are being asked to forgo single-use, plastic shopping bags in favor of reusable bags to raise awareness about personal choices. Even if you don’t live in LA county, you can participate in ‘A Day Without a Bag’ and help keep disposables to a minimum during the busiest shopping time of the year.

From Heal the Bay, via Fake Plastic Fish:

The event’s short-term goal is to educate Southland shoppers to adopt more sustainable practices during the holidays and coming year. The event’s long-term goal is to reduce the use of single-use plastic bags throughout California by empowering shoppers, and the community at large, to take simple and direct actions to eliminate unsightly debris and save taxpayer dollars.

More than 6 billion plastic bags are used in L.A. County each year. Disposable bags cost our fiscally strained cities up to 17 cents per bag for disposal (this does not even include the environmental costs). Plastic bags are made from fossil fuels. Americans use over 380 billion bags every year, throw-ing away this precious, non-renewable resource.

Why not make this a national – or even better, international thing? Granted, we should be using reusable bags as often as we can, but this is a great opportunity to get more people involved. Buy a set of reusable bags (Delight.com, BrightandBold.com and ReusableBags.com have great selections) and give them away to your friends and family as an early holiday gift. Tell them about the goal to keep plastic bags from littering the environment and ask them to use the bag for their holiday shopping.

Link [Heal the Bay] via [Fake Plastic Fish]

California Cities Considering Alternatives to Grass

Cookie Smith won a home beautification award from the city of Garden Grove, California, for her lush, green lawn. Smith was especially proud of the reward considering that her lawn – which set her back an incredible $10,000 – was artificial, and the city couldn’t even tell. In fact, Garden Grove has a ban on artificial turf.

Ironically, Garden Grove – and many other areas of California – is under a water conservation order, yet they still require homeowners to keep their lawns alive. Smith’s neighbor was shocked when he complied with the order to conserve water and was hit with a $50 fine when his grass withered and turned brown.

From the Ventura County Star:

“It’s kind of like saying ‘We want you to look like Brooke Shields, but we don’t want you to use any makeup,’” Smith said.

Now some cities are reconsidering their lawn laws and exploring alternatives to homes with perfect rectangles of green.

The state’s ever-growing population and the threat of a prolonged drought could kill the concept of the traditional lawn in California, where some communities conduct patrols looking for signs that homeowners are lavishing too much water on their lawns or letting it dribble down driveways.

Officials estimate that up to 70 percent of a family’s water bill is spent on landscaping.

Still, many will be reluctant to abandon lawns entirely. Thick carpets of grass have defined the landscape of suburban America for more than a century, and a healthy lawn in this semiarid climate is a status symbol.

Okay, this is ridiculous. California city councils, what the hell are you thinking? How irresponsible is it to waste precious, scarce water resources on a lawn that does absolutely nothing but sit there and look pretty? Lawns aren’t even as attractive as native gardens can be. They don’t provide food. They don’t provide a welcoming habitat for wildlife. Californians complain about the water restrictions and then turn around and waste thousands of gallons of water on this bourgeoisie ‘status symbol’.

Sorry if I sound like your mother telling you to clean your plate, but there are people in Africa who don’t have a drop of clean, fresh water to drink. This is the sort of thing that makes people across the world view America as a land of selfish, narcissistic idiots.

And people, artificial turf is NOT THE ANSWER. For one, it’s often toxic. It’s made from petroleum. It heats up and kills all of the beneficial organisms in the soil below, essentially rendering the land barren. It can harbor germs. And when your neighbor’s dog drops a deuce on it, that pile isn’t going to decompose and disappear into the earth. It’s just going to sit there until you clean it up. Have fun with that.

Californians and residents of other parched areas of America are going to have to part with their lawns eventually, like it or not. More water isn’t going to magically appear to meet the needs of all of these people plus the millions more that will move there in the next couple of decades, and keep their stupid lawns green.

Link [Ventura County Star]

George W. Bush Sewage Plant Proposition Fails

Sadly, there will be no sewage treatment plant in California named after George W. Bush. Backers of the proposition gathered in excitement awaiting the results, only to be crushed to learn that it had been defeated by a 70-30 margin. Especially sad were Bob Katz, who flew in all the way from Florida for what he thought would be a Proposition R victory party, and Peaches Christ, the proposition’s “basket-ball player sized drag queen” spokesperson. Reality is so often stranger than fiction.

From The Snitch:

Not all of the folks gathered near the Abe Lincoln statue voted for the proposition — or even knew about it. Barbara Coleman said Bush didn’t deserve the honor of having anything named after him.

“He done fucked the country up. What I want is for him to pack up his shit and get his ass out of the White House so Barack Obama can move in — tonight!”

Jacinto and McConnell quietly puffed on cigarettes and sipped from clandestine beers in the shadow of city hall. “We gave it the college try,” noted Jacinto, a city planner when he’s not writing ballot propositions. “We got our message out far and wide to get people thinking about George W. Bush’s legacy.”

Check out one of the group’s campaign ads:

“Pansy” from Brian M on Vimeo.

Ah, San Francisco.

Link [The Snitch]

Specialty Garage in San Francisco Makes Hybrids Even Greener

Hybrid car owners in San Francisco can have their car repaired in at an eco-friendly garage so clean, you could eat off the floor. Luscious Garage has solar panels on the roof, hanging plants and paper lanterns everywhere you look, and a line of recycling containers for paper, plastic, rubber, metal and oil. The garage’s real specialty, though, is transforming hybrids into fully-electric vehicles.

From The New York Times:

Luscious is a secular temple built to serve hybrids, the cars powered by both an electric motor (most often engaged when starting or stopping, thus most efficient in city traffic) and a gasoline engine (most efficient on the open road). But its owner’s forte is converting them to plug-in hybrids, which are functionally all-electric cars that can go 12 to 15 miles on one charge.

That’s right. Fifteen miles, maximum. For a mere $6,000. (If you go farther, the gasoline motor kicks back in. )

“People do it because they are ideologically committed,” said Ms. Coquillette, the co-founder and now sole owner of the garage, which employs two other mechanics, one male and one female.

That’s certainly expensive for 12-15 miles per charge, but many dedicated environmentalists are willing to pay – especially those who have a short commute. One Luscious Garage customer said he can now go the entire week without buying gas. He used to spend $100 a month on gas, so while it would take him five to six years to regroup the cost of the conversion, he figures he can either spend that money being green and efficient or on gas.

Coquillete recycles almost everything, including air filters, and makes her own windshield-washing fluid with vinegar. The shop was named ‘green business of the year’ by The San Francisco Bay Guardian.

Link [The New York Times]

California’s Proposition 2: Money vs. Animal Rights

Proposition 8 isn’t the only battle raging in California this election season, with the lives of millions hanging in the balance. Farm animals raised for food will either get a big break next Tuesday, seeing better treatment than they’ve ever received in America, or they’ll continue to be treated cruelly, confined to tiny cages so they can’t even stand up or turn around.

From Grist, via The Huffington Post:

It’s not just another one of those far-out Left Coast things. The Prop. 2 campaign is playing on a mainstream, national stage. Oprah Winfrey devoted a show to the issue of food-animal care and Prop. 2 last week, and the New York Times editorial page voiced support for the proposition.

The changes called for in Prop. 2 are small but significant. The ballot wording says simply that Prop. 2 “requires that calves raised for veal, egg-laying hens, and pregnant pigs be confined only in ways that allow these animals to lie down, stand up, fully extend their limbs and turn around freely.” It would take effect Jan. 1, 2015.

There’s a lot at stake here, not just for the animals who live such heartbreakingly sad, painful lives before ending up on our plates or producing the eggs we eat, but for the quality of our food in the future. The nation’s big factory farmers will be watching the results of Prop 2 carefully, because if it passes, it’ll be sending them a strong message from voters: that we do care where our food comes from and how it’s raised.

If you’re a California resident, please vote yes on Proposition 2. Learn more about it at the California Voter Guide.

Link [Grist] + [Huffington Post] + [Voter Guide]
Photo credit: LA Times

Orange County, California’s Sewage to Drinking Water Treatment Plant Finished

Here in America, we have a water problem – and I’m not just talking about shortages. We waste incredible, mind-boggling amounts of it. There are so many things we can do to use water more wisely, and in parched Santa Ana, California, officials are getting creative in a way that has some residents angry and disgusted. They’re recycling toilet water. Like it or not, people might as well get used to ideas like these – it’s wasting so much water that’s really disgusting.

From The New York Times:

When you flush in Santa Ana, the waste makes its way to the sewage-treatment plant nearby in Fountain Valley, then sluices not to the ocean but to a plant that superfilters the liquid until it is cleaner than rainwater. The “new” water is then pumped 13 miles north and discharged into a small lake, where it percolates into the earth. Local utilities pump water from this aquifer and deliver it to the sinks and showers of 2.3 million customers. It is now drinking water. If you like the idea, you call it indirect potable reuse. If the idea revolts you, you call it toilet to tap.

Recycling sewage into potable water was a no-brainer for Orange County; an ever-rising population meant that a new $200M sewage pipeline would have needed to be built, and they over-pumped their groundwater basin to the point of drawing seawater into their water supply. So, the sewage to water plan works out for a lot of reasons. It sounds gross at first, but the process used to clean the water really is incredibly thorough.

If you think about it, though, why are we flushing so much fresh, clean, potable water in the first place? Greywater systems that at least divert used water from the bathroom sink and/or shower could be used to flush toilets instead. It seems absurd to foul perfectly good drinking water in such a way. The way we use water is so messed up and backwards. Hopefully we’ll do a lot of catching up in the coming decades as people realize how precious a resource it really is.

To read about the full treatment process that transforms the sewage into drinkable water, read the full piece in The New York Times.

Link [The New York Times]
Photo credit: Flickr user Oracio Alvarado

No Love for Whole Foods in the Haight

If corporate natural foods chain Whole Foods thought the Haight Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco would give them a groovy welcome with open tie-dyed arms, they were sorely mistaken. Whole Foods had planned to fill a vacant spot on the corner of Haight and Stanyan with one of their food stores, topped with apartments. SF Curbed writer Sarah Hromack reports that the idea has been nixed after anger and disgust from the community.

From SF Curbed:

Is 690 Stanyan Street a dead man waking? Perhaps so, says the developer. The Whole Foods-pimped, Haight Ashbury Improvement Association-approved project, which would replace the now-defunct Cala Foods with 62 condos and a Whole Foods on ground level, has been met with staunch opposition by the Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council. (Do we have a neighborhood brawl on our hands here? Oh yes, yes we do. How very North Beach of you, Haight!) Though he hasn’t gone on record, Supe Ross Mirkarimi hasn’t exactly supported the development. Neither has the city, which is reportedly dragging its feet on the environmental review process— the developer has languished in limbo for 2 and-a-half years at this point, and sees no end in sight as the Planning Commission hasn’t even granted an initial approval hearing. The dev has spent over $1 million on the EIR, and has “little to show for it except a stack of heavy draft documents.”

Big surprise – a bunch of Haight residents don’t want an expensive natural food store gentrifyin’ the area. If a chain is going to move in, many people would rather have Trader Joes, which is more affordable. There are plenty of others, however, who see the area as a blight and think the Whole Foods project would have cleaned up the area. Here’s hoping they’ll come up with something that reaches a middle ground between a parking lot that stinks of urine and an ugly, car-magnet upscale shop.

Link [SF Curbed] via [Sfist]
Photo credit: Flickr user wili_hybrid

Energy Efficiency Could Cut Greenhouse Gases 30% by 2030

What’s the best way to keep power plants from polluting the earth? Cut demand for electricity. It’s so simple, and it could work so well if everyone participated. Power companies are basically paid to pollute right now, with a drop in demand being the only way to prevent them from constantly building new power plants. In 2007, consulting firm McKinsey and Co. found that we could cut greenhouse gases by 30% in just over 20 years if we improved energy efficiency in buildings, appliances and factories.

From Salon:

While a few states have energy-efficiency strategies, none matches what California has done. In the past three decades, electricity consumption per capita grew 60 percent in the rest of the nation, while it stayed flat in high-tech, fast-growing California. If all Americans had the same per capita electricity demand as Californians currently do, we would cut electricity consumption 40 percent. If the entire nation had California’s much cleaner electric grid, we would cut total U.S. global-warming pollution by more than a quarter without raising American electric bills. And if all of America adopted the same energy-efficiency policies that California is now putting in place, the country would never have to build another polluting power plant.

How did California do it? In part, a smart California Energy Commission has promoted strong building standards and the aggressive deployment of energy-efficient technologies and strategies — and has done so with support of both Democratic and Republican leadership over three decades.

Most of us already know about the more obvious ways to conserve energy – through better insulation and more energy-efficient lighting, heating and cooling. California has gone far above and beyond that, however, plugging residential air duct leaks, redesigning the outdoor lighting in parking lots, requiring flat roofs on commercial buildings to be painted white to reflect sunlight and subsidizing LED traffic lights.

Another important factor is that the state of California adopted regulations that “decouple” utility company profits from how much electricity they sell and allowing utilities to take a share of any energy savings they help businesses and consumers achieve.

Just making these sorts of changes – without going to extremes like sitting around in the dark half the time – can help us all offset all of the projected demand for electricity in 2030 AND mostly negate the need for new coal-fired electric plants! Time to get started.

Link [Salon.com]
Photo credit: Northwest Community Energy

Couple Fined for Letting Lawn Die During a Drought

On June 4th, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a statewide drought, so Anne Hartridge and Matt George, a Sacramento couple who already lived a pretty green lifestyle, decided it was as good a time as any to let their lawn die in preparation for doing something more productive with it. Not long after the grass turned brown, a neighbor complained to the city and the Code Enforcement Department gave the family a citation.

From redOrbit:

Their small brick home was declared a “public nuisance” in violation of city code section 17.68.010, which states that front yards “shall be irrigated, landscaped and maintained.”

A $746 fine will be next unless they correct the violation.

“In order to make the lawn go, I would have had to keep watering it intensely, and since the drought was declared, I decided that wasn’t a good idea,” said Hartridge. “Honestly, I think there’s a disconnect within the city about priorities.”

Two weeks ago, The Bee reported that Sacramento’s per capita water use is among the greatest in the world. Later that week, the same day Hartridge got the citation, an audit revealed that the city has lost or misplaced nearly 5,000 water meters, out of more than 100,000 it must install citywide to comply with state law.

“On one hand they’re mislaying their water meters, and on the other hand they going out and putting enforcement on people who don’t have green lawns,” Hartridge said. “And there’s water running down the gutters of my neighborhood every day.”

Food, not lawns! Seriously, this is absurd. Messed up priorities, indeed – and most of it comes from the fact that the city Code Enforcement Department doesn’t communicate with the Utilities department about water usage. Well, that and douchebag neighbors. There’s a drought, and this person goes and complains about a lawn that’s less than perfect? Unbelievable. Our freshwater resources aren’t bottomless, and someday everybody’s going to look back on all of this lawn watering with disgust and disbelief.

Furthermore, $746?!?! Sacramento needs to get their shit together. I wonder how many more cities around the nation have the same stupid, backwards laws.

Link [redOrbit]
Photo credit: Flickr user james.thompson

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