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In This Issue:
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Help Ecology Action continue to provide innovative programs that benefit our environment by making a tax deductible donation now!
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Join us for Earth Day Santa Cruz, Saturday April 18, 2009
- Molly Attolico, Program Specialist, Pollution Prevention / Zero Waste
As one of the organizing sponsors, Ecology Action invites you to join us for Earth Day Santa Cruz, 2009. This will be a fun environmental celebration for the whole family with tons of cool activities for kids, live music, food, eco-friendly vendors, workshops, master composting contest, clean-up events, e-waste collection event and much more. Earth Day Santa Cruz will be solar-powered and aims to create no waste. Food packaging will be compostable or recyclable.
Earth Day Santa Cruz will be celebrated on Saturday, April 18, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the San Lorenzo Park Benchlands. Please come and show your support for our Planet Earth! Get there using alternative transportation: walk, bike, bus or carpool in a hybrid/electric or biodiesel vehicle. See you there!
For more information on the event go to www.ecocuz.org the environmental gateway
for Santa Cruz County. |
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Local Impacts from the State Budget Continue to Ripple
- Kirsten Liske, Vice President
Although the governor and the legislature have finally agreed on a new state budget, effects of the state’s budget crisis continue to extend well beyond Sacramento to local organizations and our environment in the Monterey Bay Area.
Ecology Action is one of dozens of local organizations experiencing significant impacts due to budget actions at the state level, especially including freezing payments on contracts. These frozen dollars mean critical environmental projects are halted, and key organizations and their staff are facing layoffs and even closure.
Read the rest of the article and our press release about the funding freeze here...
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22nd Annual Spring Bike Week is May 12th – 17th, 2009
- Bonnie McPike,Transportation Program Specialist
The eagerly anticipated spring Bike Week is just around the corner. Major events this spring include a Commuter Race, the Rail and Trail Ride, the Kinetic Art Cruz and Bike to Work/School Day. Bike Week participants are eligible to win a new laptop computer by entering the Clean Air Month drawing - simply fill out a Bike to Work Day breakfast site survey.
For more information visit bike2work.com or call 831.426.5925 x 128. |
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A Good Green Job: A Day in the Life of an Ecology Action Energy Auditor
- Caroline Hawkins, General Services Administrator & Daniel Jones, Energy Efficiency Specialist
In today’s economy, Green Jobs are touted as the growth sector to get in to. President Obama has even appointed the Bay Area’s own Van Jones as an advisor on green jobs. But what does the term “green job” mean, and what does a person who has a “green job” actually do? The definition is broad, encompassing anyone who works in the environmental sector and including a whole range of industries within this sector. One of these industries is the fast-expanding field of energy efficiency.
Ecology
Action currently employs 14 Energy Efficiency Specialists, or auditors,
through our RightLights and LodgingSavers programs. These specialists travel throughout Northern California, working with a variety of businesses and organizations ranging from elite hotels to local school districts to determine how they can become more energy efficient. What exactly does an energy auditor do all day long? I sat down with Ecology Action’s Energy
Efficiency Specialist Daniel Jones on what it is like working in the up
and coming field of Energy Efficiency.
Read the interview here...
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Calling all Composters!
Compost Contest Announced for Earth Day Santa Cruz
- Sherry Lee Bryan, Pollution Prevention / Zero Waste Senior Program Specialist
The County of Santa Cruz Master Composter Program is sponsoring an Earth Day compost contest to increase awareness about the benefits of organic waste diversion through composting. Any resident or commercial operation in Santa Cruz County may participate. All compost entries should be made from materials generated in Santa Cruz County. Compost entries should be a dark, crumbly consistency, have an earthy smell, be able to fit through a ½ inch screen, have no recognizable feedstocks present, and have a catchy name such as “Lazy Man’s Pile” or “Mary’s Black Gold”.
Compost entries will be on display for Master Composter and public judging at the County of Santa Cruz composting booth at the Earth Day Santa Cruz celebration on April 18, 2009. Prizes for worm compost, backyard compost, and commercial compost will be awarded at the Earth Day event. For more information on how to participate, call the Rotline at 423-HEAP.
If you’re new to composting or need a refresher, attend a wormshop or comprehensive workshop by registering at www.compostsantacruzcounty.org Happy Spring Composting!
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Support the Mission Street Bike Safety Campaign,
Shop at New Leaf on Thursday, March 26th
- Piet Canin, Transportation Program Manager
Shop at New Leaf Market on Community Day, Thursday March 26th and 5% of your purchases will be donated to the Mission Street Bike Safety campaign. The Mission Street Bike Safety campaign focuses specifically on safety information for cyclists and truck drivers. Safety information includes brochures, maps, radio advertisements and newspaper articles intended to help truck drivers and cyclists share the road safely. Community Day donations will help continue this campaign in order to reach more cyclists and truck drivers - and ultimately help make our streets safer!
Stop by any one of New Leaf’s three locations in Santa Cruz (Westside, Eastside and Downtown) on Community Day, Thursday March 26th. Ecology Action will have Mission Street Bike Safety campaign information available, and we will receive 5% of the days market proceeds. See you there!
Please visit the Ecology Action website for bicycle safety information and local sustainable transportation resources. |
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Apartment Residents Adopt the Three R's to Reduce their Carbon Footprint
- Mandy Caruso Brooks, Pollution Prevention / Zero Waste Senior Program Specialist
The Monterey Bay Area Regional Low Income Multifamily Recycling Grant is in full swing and has completed phase one of the project by implementing comprehensive recycling programs at 31 complexes throughout Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties. During this first phase, we distributed over 2,300 internal recycling bins and provided one-on-one outreach and education to approximately 1,200 residents through. The project also hosted waste reduction workshops where residents learned how to save money and the environment by adopting the three R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and by composting food and yard waste at home. It is estimated that these 31 facilities will recycle approximately 200 tons annually!
“Many people don’t realize that recycling your cans and bottles, and composting food scraps and yard waste, can not only reduce your monthly garbage bill, but can significantly reduce your carbon footprint at the same time," states Mandy Caruso Brooks, Senior Program Specialist at Ecology Action. “Reducing the amount of items you purchase, using reusable containers and bags, and recycling as much as possible can have similar money-saving and carbon-reducing results.”
This innovative waste reduction program is funded by the California Department of Conservation and works in partnership with 12 local agencies and haulers. Together, by offering technical assistance and outreach and education, these partners implement comprehensive recycling and waste reduction programs at 100 low-income multifamily housing complexes throughout the Monterey Bay Area. This program aims to reduce waste by approximately 600 tons over the two and half year term of the project.
For more information on the Multifamily Recycling Program, please click here. |
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Sign up for Ecology Action's Transportation Membership Services
- Piet Canin, Transportation Program Manager
Ecology Action’s Transportation Membership Services offers programs that encourage member employees to use sustainable transportation when commuting to and from work. These programs help employers and employees save money, improve their health and the health of the environment!
Services include:
• Emergency ride home vouchers - a free cab ride home when you have an emergency during
regular work hours and rode the bus, bicycled, carpooled, vanpooled, or walked to work that day
• Zero-interest bike loans - borrow up to $750 interest-free for one year to purchase a bicycle and
related equipment
• Discounted METRO bus passes - purchase a bus pass for $40 per month
(normal price is $50 per month)
For more information visit www.ecoact.org or contact Piet Canin 831-426-5925 ext. 127. |
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Go Green at Cabrillo College
- Bonnie McPike, Transportation Program Specialist
Ecology Action and Cabrillo College began their third semester of the GO GREEN campaign this February, encouraging students, faculty and staff to bus, carpool, bike or walk (instead of driving alone) to school or work. By utilizing these alternative transportation options, Cabrillo students, faculty and staff can save money, improve their health and improve the health of their environment.
This semester Go Green reached over 500 students, faculty and staff with informational brochures, a detailed website, on-campus outreach and a sustainable transportation pledge. Students, faculty and staff who pledged to bus, carpool, bike or walk to school once per week during the month of March will be entered into a drawing to win great commuter prizes!
For more information on how to Go Green visit www.gogreencollege.org |
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