
In the News
Varner: Access to nature for personal, community health Posted March 18, 2010
The city of San Diego owns almost 40,000 acres of park land and open
space including beaches, mesas, canyons, and mountains. This broad
range of geography presents a wide variety of recreational
opportunities that unfortunately are not accessible by all San Diegans.
Low income communities, particularly those with disproportionately
large populations of people of color, suffer from lack of access to
recreational opportunities. A report to be released this spring by The
City Project and The San Diego Foundation will analyze this issue in
depth. Until then, this blog presents some of the concepts involved and
describes how San Diego Canyonlands and other organizations are working
to improve our communities’ access to park land and nature.
Natural spaces provide a venue for improving human health, including
both physical and mental well-being. Natural areas also provide
environmental services such as storm water conveyance, air filtration
that combats climate change, and vital habitat protection to resident
and migratory wildlife. Parks are a source of community pride and serve
as places where San Diego’s diverse cultures can be celebrated.
Additionally, parks and natural areas are an important economic
stimulus in San Diego by raising property values, enhancing local
businesses, and creating jobs.
http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2010-03-17/blog/a-more-perfect-union/varner-access-to-nature-for-personal-community-health#ixzz0iYtUcDtK
Sanders announces 12.6 percent drop in water usage Posted March 18, 2010
Overall water use was down 12.6 percent citywide in February
compared with the same month last year, marking a big drop from January
when there was a 1.5 percent spike in consumption, the mayor said
Tuesday.
Mayor Jerry Sanders thanked San Diegans for heeding the call to conserve water.
“Clearly, all of the rain in February had an impact on our latest
numbers,” Sanders said. “The more it rains, the less water we use for
watering our lawns and other things. But we had a lot of rain in
January too, and I think people sometimes need to be reminded they need
to turn off their sprinkler systems.”
Commercial customers used about 9.4 percent less water in February,
compared to the same month last year, and irrigation fell 35.5 percent
during the same period, according to the mayor’s office.
Pooling resources to clean up Lake San Marcos Posted March 18, 2010
Noxious algae blooms and fish kills that have plagued Lake San
Marcos are now a target of an unprecedented public-private
collaboration to rehabilitate the body of water.
The 80-acre lake in the southwestern part of San Marcos is the only
lake in the county that has documented a strain of toxin-producing
blue-green algae, said Chiara Clemente, senior environmental scientist for the Regional Water Quality Control Board, the agency that is overseeing the cleanup.
The organisms tend to show up in dry weather and are sometimes so dense that they turn the lake pea-soup green.
“It’s a nasty odor. It’s something you just don’t want,” said Eli Whitney, chairman of the Lake San Marcos Community Association’s water quality committee. The association represents 2,300 homeowners.
But the foul smell isn’t the only problem. Fish are dying, and experts haven’t determined the cause.
http://www.equinoxcenter.org/articles-admin/article-add.html?pid=15
CCC allows city to continue pumping sewage into ocean Posted March 15, 2010
The California Coastal Commission has agreed to allow San Diego to continue to pump 50 billion of gallons of partly-treated sewage deep into the Pacific Ocean each year, five miles off Point Loma, a decision San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders’ office called a victory for the city, it was reported Saturday.
Acting Friday in Santa Cruz, the Coastal Commission voted to allow San Diego to avoid any of the recommendations made by a $2 million study of wastewater recycling options, the newspaper reported Saturday.
http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2010-03-13/environment/ccc-allows-city-to-continue-pumping-sewage-into-ocean#ixzz0iGzsjNwL
SDG&E Gets OK to Use Renewable Energy Credits Posted March 14, 2010
After four years of often-contentious regulatory proceedings, the California Public Utilities Commission voted yesterday to allow San Diego Gas & Electric Co. and other California utilities to use tradable energy credits to meet state requirements that they obtain an increasing amount of their power from renewable energy.
California utilities need to secure 20 percent of their power from renewable sources by the end of this year and 33 percent by 2020. Using the credits could help them meet that goal without forcing them to build facilities or introduce other measures that could drive energy prices higher.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/mar/12/sdge-gets-ok-use-renewable-credits/
EPA to allow states address rising ocean acidity Posted March 11, 2010
The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency said Thursday it will consider ways the states can address
rising acidity levels in oceans, which pose a serious threat to
shellfish and other marine
life.
The agency's decision was announced in a legal
settlement with the Center
for Biological Diversity. The environmental group sued the EPA
last year for not requiring Washington state to list its coastal waters
as impaired by rising acidity under the Clean Water Act.
"It's one of the most important threats to water quality right now,"
said Miyoko Sakashita, a senior attorney at the group's San Francisco
office. "It's affecting waters around the world, and it's particularly
stark in the waters off the West Coast."
Oceans are becoming more acidic as they absorb excess carbon dioxide
from the atmosphere — a problem Sakashita referred to as "global warming's evil
twin."
The changing chemistry of the waters affects many
types of sea life,
but especially anything that grows a shell or hard covering. Some
scientists believe it is likely to blame for die-offs in Northwest
oyster stocks over the past several years.
"Protection of the nation's water quality, including
the health of our ocean waters, is among EPA's highest priorities," the
agency said in a statement. "EPA is interested in learning more about
how to protect our ocean and coastal waters from acidification."
Previously, states have taken steps to address rising
acidity levels in lakes and streams under the Clean Water Act, but this
is the first time the EPA has agreed to consider ocean acidity. The
Center for Biological
Diversity is petitioning each coastal state to address the issue,
Sakashita.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100312/ap_on_bi_ge/us_epa_acid_oceans;_ylt=AmmCCskShfZkqteiKeNTojVpl88F;_ylu=X3oDMTJvZzcxMTk4BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwMzEyL3VzX2VwYV9hY2lkX29jZWFucwRwb3MDMQRzZWMDeW5fcGFnaW5hdGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawNlcGF0b2FsbG93c3Q-
Interior: Climate change threatens migratory birds Posted March 11, 2010
Global climate
change poses a significant threat to migratory bird populations,
which are already stressed by the loss of habitat and environmental
pollution, according to a report released Thursday.
U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar joined scientists
and conservation organizers at an Austin news conference to release the
study, "The State of the Birds: 2010 Report on Climate Change."
The report says oceanic birds, such as petrels and
albatrosses, are at particular risk from a rapidly changing marine ecosystem and
rising sea levels.
Birds in arid regions and forests show less
vulnerability to climate change, but the report says many species
struggling in arid regions now, including the endangered golden-cheeked
warbler and black-capped
vireo in Texas, could be further imperiled by shifting climate conditions.
"Birds are messengers that tell us what is going on
in our environment," Salazar said. "For too long, in my view, we have
stood idle as the climate
changes and as the crisis has grown."
A 2009 report on bird populations found nearly a
third of the nation's 800 bird species are endangered, threatened or in
decline due to challenges such as the loss of wetlands, commercial
hunting and pesticides.
Last year's "State of the Birds" report also
mentioned climate change as a threat to birds. But the 2010 report
focuses on that factor as a significant danger to their habitats and
food supplies.
http://www.equinoxcenter.org/articles-admin/article-add.html?pid=15
Future Looks Bright for Solar Industry’s Commercial Sector Posted March 9, 2010
After suffering a brutal year for business in 2009, the commercial
solar industry is starting to see the sunlight again. Signs of a
stronger economic forecast, combined with federal, state and local solar
tax credits and incentives have local solar companies beaming,
especially as commercial clients turn toward the sun for their energy
production needs.
“In 2009, nobody made any money in this
industry,” said Marty Reed, CEO of San Diego-based Sequoia Solar. “Some
of the market is starting to come back. In the fourth quarter of 2009
and at the beginning of this year we have installed half a dozen
commercial projects.”
Founded in 2008, Sequoia specializes in the
design, installation and maintenance of turnkey, energy grid-connected,
solar photovoltaic, or PV, power systems for residential, commercial,
state and federal agencies, schools and nonprofits.
On the
commercial front, Reed pointed out that under the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 solar owners can apply for a grant from the
Treasury Department in lieu of the former 30 percent Investment Tax
Credit, which was passed in 2008. This means that a cash grant, equal to
30 percent of the cost of eligible solar projects, can be recouped by
system owners. Projects must start construction in 2009 or 2010.
Now,
the available state rebate and federal grants subsidize the entire cost
of solar PV installations by as much as 80 percent, Reed said. The
California Solar Initiative is also helping stimulate the commercial
market for the solar industry, he said. The initiative calls for a goal
of 1 million solar roofs, or 3,000 megawatts of solar, by 2018.
http://www.sdbj.com/industry_article.asp?aID=145480
New Tactics In California To Reduce Ocean Trash Posted March 9, 2010
Environmental groups struck out last year with legislative efforts in
Sacramento to reduce the sources of ocean garbage. But this year,
several groups are adding a new strategy.
Environmental groups say plastic does not biodegrade and is bad for
marine life and the health of the ocean.
Research shows nearly 80 percent of the plastic found in the ocean
comes from activities on land.
Legislative efforts to pass bills to reduce plastic pollution at its
source have been unsuccessful.
Gina Goodhill works as an Oceans Advocate for Environment California.
"In 2009, several environmental groups, including Environment
California, were really working on a slew of bills on the statewide
level," Goodhill said.
The failed bills included a plastic bag fee and a ban on single-use
Styrofoam take-out containers.
Goodhill said the groups are not giving up on legislative efforts in
Sacramento.
But she said this year they're trying a new tactic.
"We think the local level is actually the way to go," Goodhill said.
"Because even though the state hasn't realized it, cities are realizing
it. That plastic is pervasive in the environment, it's harming the
oceans, it's harming their communities and their tourism and they need
to actually start taking a stand on this issue."
http://www.kpbs.org/news/2010/mar/09/new-tactics-california-reduce-ocean-trash/
Methane seen as growing climate risk Posted March 4, 2010
Methane, a potent global warming gas, is bubbling out of the frozen Arctic faster than had been expected.
Methane had become trapped in the permafrost over time and a
warming climate is now resulting in its release, researchers report in
Friday's edition of the journal Science.
"The amount of methane currently coming out of the East Siberian
Arctic Shelf is comparable to the amount coming out of the entire
world's oceans," said Natalia Shakhova, of the University of Alaska
Fairbanks International Arctic Research Center and the co-author.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/mar/04/methane-seen-as-growing-climate-risk/