 |
 |
|
| |
|
|
| |
In This Issue:
|
Help Ecology Action continue to provide innovative programs that benefit our environment by making a tax deductible donation now!
|
| |
|
RideSurance: Emergency
Ride Home Program
Your safety net for green commuting
- Tim
Bustos, Program Specialist, Transportation
There’s no
question that pursuing alternative transportation modes to get to work is good
for the environment, your health, and your wallet. However, a big concern for
many people who want to do something other than drive alone is how to get home
in the event of an emergency. This is why Ecology Action and its partners have
created the RideSurance Program – “Your safety net for green commuting.”
RideSurance is available to anyone that lives or works in Santa Cruz
County for a low annual fee. This program can provide emergency transportation
during your regularly scheduled work shift for the following approved
purposes:
- You or a member
of family is ill.
- You or a family
member has a crisis.
- Your employer
asks you to work longer than your regular shift without advance notice.
- Your carpool
driver had to leave early.
The annual cost of
membership for participation in this program is only $24.00. It should be noted
that this low fee is only possible due to subsidies for the program from various
state and local funding sources.
For more information, please visit RideSurance.org,
or call Piet Canin at 831-426-5925 ext. 127 |
|
| |
|
Annual Coastal Cleanup 25th Anniversary – September
19th
- Anna Hirst, Communications Coordinator
There is a
lot of concern and news reports these days about the “Great Pacific Garbage
Patch” in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 1,000 miles west of California. A
2006 study by the United Nations Environmental Programme shows that the Garbage
Patch is comprised mostly of plastic. In the central Pacific, there are up to
six pounds of marine litter for every pound of plankton, and roughly 46,000
pieces of plastic litter are floating on every square mile of the oceans there,
the report found. Plastics pose a potential chemical threat to humans as they
leach chemicals in to the water as they degrade. Chemicals from plastic can also
enter the food chain when animals such as fish eat tiny particles mistaken for
plankton. Sea life also die from eating or being entangled in plastic debris,
and invasive non-native species like crabs or barnacles can hitch a ride on
floating plastic and cross the globe.
So what can you do to help? Aside
from reducing the amount of plastic you buy and recycling everything you use,
you can join over 3,000 volunteers locally and at over 400,000 volunteers
worldwide to stop garbage from entering our oceans in the first
place.
Volunteer for the Annual Coastal Cleanup on September 19th, 2009
from 9 AM – Noon at any beach or waterway of your choice. Our local
river and slough sites are especially in need of volunteers as studies have
shown that much of the garbage that enters the ocean is washed downriver and out
to sea by seasonal rains. Ecology Action staff will be captaining the
Struve Slough wetlands site at Ramsay Park in Watsonville.
Join Ecology
Action at the Struve Slough cleanup, or view a map of official Coastal Cleanup
sites in your area by visiting www.saveourshores.org
|
|
| |
|
We Can Stop Junk Mail
-
Contributed by Guest Author Charlie Fredrick, Paper Campaigner, ForestEthics
Junk Mail
does more than waste our time and invade our privacy; it also contributes to
global warming and causes the destruction of Endangered Forests. That’s why
ForestEthics has launched a campaign calling for a national Do Not Mail Registry
modeled after the popular Do Not Call Registry (www.donotmail.org)
to give people a choice to stop their unwanted junk mail. ForestEthics is also
encouraging a code of best practices for all direct mailers to help ensure that
mail goes to the people who actually want it and to minimize the environmental
footprint of their paper use. With your help, we can transform this wasteful
industry and protect our environment.
More than 100 million trees a
year are cut down and made into paper for junk mail. Those trees come from
Endangered Forests like Canada’s Boreal and Indonesia’s rainforests—forests that
play a vital role in our fight against global warming. 89% of people polled
support the creation of a Do Not Mail Registry. It’s time we had a national Do
Not Mail Registry that gives us the choice to stop receiving unwanted junk
mail.
In order to get the word out about this important effort we
need your help.
- Educate
your friends, neighbors, and co-workers about the environmental impacts of junk
mail
- Sign onto
our petition (100,000 signatures and counting) at www.donotmail.org
- Call your
state representatives – let them know you support a Do Not Mail Registry
- Take Action
by participating in our Return To Sender drive and send your junk mail back
For more
information please visit:
ForestEthics: http://forestethics.org/
Do
Not Mail: http://donotmail.org/
Or
call: Charlie Fredrick, Paper Campaigner, 415-863-4563 x.
330
For tips on what you can do now to reduce
the amount of junk mail you receive, please visit the County of Santa Cruz,
Department of Public Works, Recycling and Solid Waste Services website, santacruzcountyrecycles.org
|
|
| |
|
Bike to Work/School Day –
Thursday, October 1st
- Bonnie McPike, Transportation Program
Specialist
The fall 2009 Bike to Work/School Day is just around the corner. Use
your pedal power to stop by one of our FREE breakfast sites on Thursday, October
1st and receive a delicious and healthy breakfast. In addition to the free
food, participants who register at a breakfast site (or online) are eligible to
win a $500 cash prize! Be a part of this community tradition and improve your
health while reducing your carbon footprint.
For more information visit
us online at www.bike2work.com or call 831.426.5925 x 128. |
|
| |
|
Bright Ideas for Riding Your Bike in the Fall
and Winter
- Tim Bustos, Program Specialist,
Transportation
With summer winding down and fall approaching, you may have
already noticed the days are getting just a tad shorter. For bike commuters and
casual cyclists alike, that means thinking about getting lights back on your
bike. In California, bicycle lights are required by the California Vehicle
Code. The law specifies an active front headlight, a rear reflector (at a
minimum), pedal reflectors, and wheel reflectors. For maximum visibility, we
recommend the addition of a rear red flashing taillight to increase visibility
dramatically. Here are some additional suggestions for choosing bike lights
based on your biking lifestyle.
Increased research and development on
bike lights over the last few years has yielded lights that are brighter, longer
lasting, and cheaper. For twenty dollars or less, you can get a decent LED
headlight or rear light that will last for many months without requiring new
batteries, and they’re amazingly bright.
If you’re the type of cyclist
that rides frequently all winter long, or you have a long commute in the dark,
you may want to invest in a higher powered rechargeable light. You may need to
spend anywhere from $50 - $300 for such a light, but the difference is amazing
and well worth it. These lights can literally be seen by motorists from a mile
away, and they are capable of rivaling automobile headlights in terms of
lighting up the entire road.
Innovative designers have recently created a
number of options for lighting up the entire bike. One such design was
developed right here in Santa Cruz, and it’s called the “Bike Glow.” It
consists of a long wire connected to a power source that you can wrap around
your bike or helmet in any pattern you choose. Another innovation is the “Down
Low Glow,” developed in Berkeley. Although somewhat more expensive, it not only
lights up the bike, but the road underneath the bike as well! It attaches to the
down tube on a bike (the frame tube that runs down from the handlebars to the
pedals), and is extremely visible!
For more detailed information, please email Piet Canin or call 831-426-5925 ext. 127
|
|
|
|
Former Sentinel
Building will be Ecology Action’s New
Headquarters
- Chuck Tremper, Vice President
On
September 10th, Ecology Action became the co-owner of the Santa Cruz landmark
that had long been known for its beehive newsroom and 3-story printing press. By
teaming up with Cruzio and local developer Joe Appenrodt, EA took the first step
in turning the old Sentinel property into a marquee green building in the heart
of the city. Renovation plans include the use of sustainable design and
construction techniques to demonstrate the environmental advantages of
renovating older buildings rather than tearing them down. Changes to the
building will focus on energy efficiency and renewable energy generation to
minimize greenhouse gas emissions.
“We are absolutely thrilled,” said
Virginia Johnson, CEO of Ecology Action. “Purchasing this building is an
important step forward in the evolution of our local green economy. We’re proud
that the strong partnership with Cruzio and Joe Appenrodt enabled us to stay in
downtown Santa Cruz. Locating Ecology Action downtown is a key goal for us
because of its accessibility, retail conveniences and proximity to key
government entities that are essential for our operations.”
Read the rest
of this article here...
|
|
|
|
Bike Smart! Trains “Food What?!”
Youth for Farm Produce Delivery by Bicycle
- Saskia Lucas, Program Specialist,
Transportation
This July, Ecology Action's Bike
Smart! program partnered with “Food What?!” (FW), a youth empowerment group, to
hold a bicycle skills training for its teen summer crew. “Food, What?!”, based
in Santa Cruz, California, is a youth empowerment program using food—through
sustainable agriculture and health—as the vehicle for bringing about personal
growth and transformation.
After sucessful completion of
our Bike Smart! safety training program, FW youth assisted Freewheelin’ Farm
with sustainable delivery of its fresh, organic produce to local CSA (Community
Supported Agriculture) customers.
Doron Comerchero, Director of
“Food, What?!,” stated, “Both the PowerPoint presentation and the rodeo [bicycle
skills obstacle course] were great training tools for our youth program. I feel
safer about taking our youth crews on the road. Ecology Action offered a solid
review, many new skills, and helped build confidence through the on-bike portion
of the training for our youth. And it was fun! Saskia Lucas, who lead the Bike
Smart! training, said of the event, “The FW group was a pleasure to work with.
They had fun while also taking the skills training seriously. It was also a
great opportunity to see this innovative program up close and learn about the
powerful work they are doing.”
For more information about BikeSmart!
safety training, please visit the BikeSmart
website.
To learn more about "Food What?", please visit the FW
website.
|
|
|
|
