San Francisco Water System

I got three beautiful posters in the mail yesterday from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.  I know I should feel a little bit guilty about generating print matter, but I like to have things I can sit in the recliner and hold in my hands.

Much more later!

Qatar and other items in the news

Whenever I get behind, which is what I usually get, I like starting with something recent and then going back.  That way I'm sort of up-to-the-moment even though there are huge gaps.

So even though I haven't yet finished summing up my Life Style Project, I'm going to spend an hour this morning going over what environmental topics are in the news.

Yesterday's Datebook section has a big article by John King, the SF Chronicle's urban design critic, on "Visionaries' grand designs for cities."  Aparently NYC was planned without any thought to hills and the need for public parks.  (I'm glad they've overcome that.)  But there's a diagram by Patrick Geddes, 1909, which shows "how natural terrrain shapes human activity." 

Is there enough laughter in the environment?  A study at Oxford University confirmed what we already knew:  Laughing cause the body to release the same endorphins as exercising and results in "euphoria mixed with serenity."  So instead of going to the Y this morning, can I stay home and laugh?  Then I can call myself an Oxford scholar.

There was an article about the importance of seniors' walking to maintain health--people in their 80's--and one consideration is finding a place where they feel safe.  Not everyone lives in neighborhoods where they do. 

The front page headline was actually "Hazards hidden in couches/Potentially harmful flame retardans remain ubiqutous" with a byline by Stephanie M. Lee.  It's ironic, but California passed a law in 1975 requirin foam in furniture to withstand "a 12-second open flame without catching fire."  That sounded like a good safe-guard, but the flame retardant is toxic, which doesn't sound like a good safe-guard!

Chernobyl workers have begun a $2 billion cleanup project.  This came as a surprise to me because I thought they'd have done that a lot earlier, but I guess they couldn't do more than temporarily cover their exploded nuclear reactor after the accident (worst in history)  that occurred April 26, 1986. 

The Amazon deforestation in Brazil has dropped to the lowest in 24 years, but that's not quite as wonderful as it may sound because 1798 square miles were deforested between August 2011 and July 2012!  It's just that a year earlier 2478 square miles were deforested!

"Plant crisis" caught my eye, but it turned out not to be flora but workers storming Europe's largest steel plant.

The governor of Washington State has ordere state agencies to do something to halt the increasing acidity of the ocean!

Nanette Assimov, who was covering City College of San Francisco, much to the chagrin of many, did an article exposing cruelty to animals at UCSF.    Even when they're experimenting with animals, they're supposed to keep the suffering to a minimum, and there were lapses.  I'm glad that we live in a society where people care and understand that animals are sensate beings. 

More than 4800 are suing Chevron over the Richmond fire because Chevron wasn't honest about the dangers in addition to their carelessness. 

Now 200 countries are in Qatar holding talks iwth the UN, and some people think that's ironic because Qatar, described as a "tiny Persian Guld emirate," is wealthy because of its gas and oil and emits ore greenhouse gases per capita than any other nation!    The Kyoto Protocol adopted in 1997 expies this year.    The Copenhagen gathering in 2009 failed, and the UN-sponsosred negotiators have given themselves a 2015 deadline to adopt a new treaty.

A fascinating report from Earthweek:  A Diary of the Planet says that La Nina (ocean-cooling rather than ocean-warming) tow years ago actually halted andreversed the rise in global sea levesl by 1/4 of an inch between 2010 and 2011.  Tell that to the people in Lower Manhattan.  EArthweek also reports on "penguin devotion."  Even though couples went their separate ways during winter feeding trips, they got back together and stayed together for 16 years--better than we do in California and certainly better than I've done (although the Club Toruno-Martin has been in existence and active for 10 years, which is getting there...)

John King featured the North Point Water Pollution Control Plant at Bay and Kearny Streets on November 25, 2012.  He points out that Fisherman's Wharf was "pat of the working city" before it became a tourist sotp.  South of Pier 39 there's a full block devoted to wastewater treatment that you wouldn't know was there except for "the faint pungent aroma." 

Thre's a documentary out now that shows the melting of glaciers from a personal perspective:  "Chasing Ice."  It's about a 60 year old mountaineer and photographer, James Balog, who has written for the National Geographic and, in addition to the documentary , has a book out, Ice:  Portraits of Vanishing Glaciers.


The Congo rebels brought attention to analysts who believe the fighting is over natural resources including minerals used in the world's smarthphones and laptops.  One of the videos we watched for the environmental science course I'm taking was about this--something totally new to me.

November 18, on agriculture, brought an article about Mary's free-range birds that showed a picutre that did NOT make them look like free range.  I'm going to be careful where  get my eggs, even if I have to pay $1 a piece!

There was an November 14 article on using algae as an alternative fuel!  "Fill'er up--with algae" by Peter Fimrite.  WE can buy Biodiesel B20 in Berkeley at 76, 849 University Avenue or in Oakland at Chevron at 350 Grand Avenue!

I wasn't surpsied to see that "diabetes rates, linked to obesity, skyrocket in South" because my cousins have their reunions at the Varsity in Atlanta!

I'll be back!

Shopping Local in Plaid

This is the day I've vowed to get at least part of my summary report for my Life Style Project online, but first I thought I'd say something about Black Friday, which I avoided by observing Buy Nothing Day.  Apparently there's a shop local movement that goes beyond food to merchandise.  It's not the same thing, of course, because a small local store doesn't necessarily have merchandise that was made locally!  Still, it's an effort to support local merchants, as we like to support bookstores that aren't chains even if all the books in them are made in China. 

The headline for the San Francisco Chronicle today (besides the announcement of the death of Larry Hagman, who played J.R., who didn't live sustainably there in Dallas) is "Black Friday spreemuch less frenzied/Longer buying binge, shop-local events ease the crush" by Carrie Kirby and Vivian Ho.  It shows a shopper clad in plaid.  Here's the link, but I'm disappointed because the picture of the plaid-clad shopper isn't featured.  You'll have to go through a slide show to get to the picture of him that's shown o the hard copy of the SFChronicle front page:

n unidentifed manager (center) refuses entry to a group of demonstrators, including three fired employees, during a rally at the Walmart store in Richmond, Calif. on Friday, Nov. 23, 2012 to protest against poor working conditions and the termination of several employees. Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle / SF

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Black-Friday-starts-early-mellows-out-4061686.php#ixzz2DA3zojEl

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Black-Friday-madness-came-and-went-by-dawn-4061686.php#photo-3784378

The SF Chronicle article includes a lot of pictures of the protesters and even one of Representatie Goerge Miller offering support to them.  But there's absolutely no indication that any shopper turned away because they didn't want to break a picket line.  In fact, in the article there's a reference to a shopper who said she supported the workers but was shopping there anyway:

"Mary Sheila, 37, of Richmond didn't pause as she pushed a car with her pruchases out of the store, but she said she supported the workers.  'May thoughts go to the workers,' she said. 'I'm also a wowrker, and I feel how they feel.'"
\So her thoughts go with the workers, but her money goes to the store they're boycotting!

There are 31 photos online with the link I've given above, but the one of the local shopper is the very last.

Two Days in New York and References to the Environment

Okay, tomorrow I plan to set aside and hour or two to start summarizing my life style project.  Today I focused on my memoir on my mother and when I took a break, I watched the Netflix DVD of Two Days in New York, which had some funny references to the environment.  One was a tree occupation in Central Park in Manhattan.  The leader said, "If I can do it here, I can do it anywhere."    (It rhymes better with there, as Frank Sinatra and Liza Minelli would attest, but they were there, which to them was here.)  Hmm.  There was another alusion to environmental concerns, but now I can't find it.

I'll be back tomorrow!

Happy Vegetarian Thanksgiving--Carve the Walnut Cheddar Loaf

I love Thanksgiving for the day-off it provides to count our blessings, and of course having a warm house is one.  This Thanksgiving I received the following link, for which I'm thankful.


http://www.draftfcb.com/holiday2011/  

When you click on it, you can put in your address and see your home in a snow globe.  Then you're reminded that some people don't have one--a message from the Coalition for the Homeless . 

Yesterday I wanted to focus on a memoir I'm writing about my mother, but I made the mistake of checking my e-mail, and it was irresistible.  It was also almost irresistible to put in addresses of previous homes and homes of friends and watch them come up.  I got myself to stop, but it was hard and made possible only through strong love for my mother.  So now I turn it over to you--the one person who reads this blog if you do.

Today my brother David, my nephew Karl, and I are having an all-vegetable Thanksgiving dinner at my sister Suzy's house in Oakland.  (Kathy and her brother are going to Pasadena to spend the day with their 95-year-old aunt.)  We've eaten out with our brother in the past to give him the meat option, but he's showing less interest in meat these days and eats meatless meals very enthusiastically, and even our meat-eating nephew Karl says he can go without meat for a meal--even this meal, associated with that hapless bird.  (Did I mention the letter to the editor that suggested providing vegetables for the feed-the-needy programs?)

Because David lives in a 24-hour locked facility where his life is safe but not exactly joyous, we indulge him in some ways.  For example, a Thanksgiving tradition has been to let him see the gigantic edition of the SF Chronicle with all the ads so he can circle what he wants for his December 10th birthday, so I'll be lugging that over.  But I won't be participating in ANY buying on Black Friday.  I love the movement that started in 1992, Buy Nothing Day.  

This year I'm thankful for the way the election turned out in most cases...for the new plants that have just been added to the center space on 19th Avenue...for the wonderful environmental science course I'm taking and for our passionate instructor Peggy...for the memoir-writing course online at UCLA and for Liza Monroy and all the other insightful readers and writers...For Javier, now in Costa Rica texting...for good health...for wonderful friends and family...

Creating a Safer Environment on 19th Avenue

This is just a place holder for what I hope will be a better picture, but if you look closely, you'll see that yesterday, Tuesday, November 20th, just before I left the house for my environmental science class, the San Francisco Public Works people closed two lanes of 19th Avenue so they could place plants--plants that are, I assume, succulents, but which look like pineapples!  I'd love to have pineapples growing on 19th Avenue and I'd promise to almost never pick them for an upside cake.  Anyway, whatever these plants turn out to be, it'll be nice to have something other than dirt or concrete.

I need to do some serious writing today, but I'll be back tomorrow, when the topic might be Buy Nothing Friday.

Pipes in and out of Home

I've gotten a reply to my query of November 10.  I had given my exact address because I didn't want generalities to my question, "How does water get piped out of my house to the treatment center?  How does fresh water get piped into my house?" 

I knew I wasn't far from the waste treatment center on Sloat Blvd.  I asked about a tour, too.

              I closed by saying, "I would really appreciate this information.  I think, too, that I can pass it on.  People think of water as a renewal resource that we can waste without any problems, but I think if we had a better understanding of all that’s involved in bringing us fresh water, we’d be less wasteful."

               

               

Hi Tina.

1.       Sewer pipes will direct waste away from your home by gravity. Our combined sewer system directs your wastewater (water that goes down your toilet and drains), rainwater and street runoff to the Westside transport box along the Great Highway. The wastewater is then pumped to our Oceanside Treatment plant. Learn about our combined system here http://sfwater.org/index.aspx?page=396

2.       Fresh water reaches you by way of the Merced Manor Reservoir on Sloat Blvd. If you’d like, we can send you a poster about our water and sewer operations in the City. The posters are very fun cartoon drawings by the late Phil Frank. Send us back your address and we’ll send them out to you.

3.       SF residents can sign up for one of our monthly tours of the Oceanside Plant here http://sfwater.org/index.aspx?page=95

Thanks for the great questions and have a great weekend.

Benito Capuyan

Communications and Public Outreach

415.554.1885

bcapuyan@sfwater.org

San Francisco Water, Power and Sewer | Services of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission

I really like Phil Frank, so I'm sending for the poster!  But is that an eco-friendly thing to do?

Sustainable Birthday Gifts

Continuing with the theme of the gifts I received as a result of my eco- mission, I want to explain these pictures.  At the top you see the use-it-again birthday card Kathy gave me.  She had gotten it from the very-enivronmentally aware woman who runs the Alzheimer's day program.  The idea is that you can use both the envelope and the card again by putting a small personal note inside.  Of course, that means that you don't choose the card, but it's a nice idea to pass it on the way we've been doing for years with gift bags.

I'd told them that I really didn't need anything, so I thought the best thing would be just to have a meal together, and Suzy said she was abiding by that until she happened to see, at the book store next door to Greens, a book about sustainable shopping.  The irony is that it says on the inside cover "Manufactured in China."  "How sustainable is that?"  Suzy asked.  Just now I googled sustainability and books made in China, and this came up:

The new book “A Year Without ‘Made in China’” details business journalist Sara Bongiorni’s efforts not to buy any products made in that booming country for 12 months — from sneakers to mousetraps, toy swords to cargo pants.

Seven-Year Pen

From Friday, November 16th birthday celebration:

One aspect of my Life Style Project that's been successful is that I've gotten the word out!  People know!  For my birthday, when people thought of meals or gifts for me, they thought of the environment. 

Take, for example, this Seven Year Pen from Switzerland.  In our environmental science class on Thursday, Darren, John, and I were talking about how many pens are thrown away every day, and I told them about when I was a child.  We had ink wells, and we'd fill our fountain pens with ink.  No one thought of throwing away pens.  Then along came the ballpoint.

Of course, I prefer the ballpoint, but it seems so wasteful, so here's the gift from Nicole.  (See picture above.)
It says, "Worldwide, 100 million pens are discarded every day.  Yikes!"  Then it promises that my new pen will be able to write 1.7 meters a day for 7 years!  It also promises that a portion of the purchase is donated to environmental causes!

Summary, Part 1 Cap and Trade

My very nice tenant contacted me today to say that if he needed additional heating, he would consult me to find out what I recommend because he knows I've studied eco-friendly energy use in my environmental science class.  I really am not quite sure what to recommend, but I'm glad that my evangelical zeal has been noticed and will be appealed to!

I've kept a log of my "life style" practices since Oct. 4, so I really should be summing up right now, but that will take more than one blog.  I'll just start right now. 

I've been reading the newspaper with even more interest than  before because so many articles pertain to the nenvironment, and in some case I'll be able to adapt newspaper articles for my ESL students as well as for my environmental missions.

California was, after all, the first state in the nation to pass a cap and trade law--the one started when Schwarzenegger was governor in 2006 and put into effect this past Wednesday,November 14.  That coincided with our lesson this week on climate change, too, and I see ways that I'm going to apply cap and trade in my own life and own classroom.  ESL teachers are already using the permits called allowance with students who are too chatty or too silent.  Each student gets a permit/allowance of two coins.  But they're really not allowed to sell these coins.  They're simply denied permission to emit an utterance after their first coin has been "spent" until all the other students have emited an utterance--equal spewing of carbon except, of course, an utterance is considered a positive thing, unlike carbon-in-excess and we're trying to get everyone to contribute rather than everyone to desist.    But...I can use the "offset" in my own behavior.  I can buy "credits" when I do something good to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere to offset other evil, harmful-for-the-environment things I'm doing.

More on that later. Something's wrong with the way the copy is appearing on my computer monitor, and  I can't easily go in and out, so I'll have to give links tomorrow.

Here are some articles: 

"Cap and trade--how it will work," Sunday SF Chronicle  The teacher used this graph in class on Thursday, and it's part of  "Cap and trade comes to state," David R. Baker, SF Chronicle Sunday, November 11, 2012.


I've become aware of John King's column, which is really more than "architecture."  He's the critic for urban design, and now I understand that urban design has a lot to do with sustainability.   

"Next step for green pioneer/Leader in sustainability reaches from S. F. to Walmart to NASA" is John King's column for Wed., Nov. 14, 2012.  This is about Bill McDonough, whose name I didn't even know before, but he's a giant in "sustainable abundance." 

"Climate for sustainable design hot at S.F. event" also by John King, shows a picture of RainHarvest  Systems, which make tanks and other equipment to store water underground for reuse. 

On Packaging and the Environment

I just got this response from the people who do my Vegetable Broth.  (Yes, I know.  I can and should do it from scratch.  Shame on me.)

consumerrelations@hain-celestial.com


Ms. Martin,
Thank you for taking the time to contact us regarding your recent experience with our Imagine & Dream No Chicken Broth.

Quality is very important to us. We strive to manufacture the very finest natural products and we are always interested in hearing from you when our products do not meet your expectations. We trust that you will be completely satisfied with our products in the future. Again, we thank you for reporting this issue.
Unfortunately we cannot provide a timeframe for when our products will be converted to packaging that is more easily recycled. We have forwarded your feedback to the appropriate department and thank you for contacting us regarding this issue.
Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused. If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us at 1-800-434-4246, Monday through Friday from 7 AM - 5PM Mountain Time.

Justin*

 This was in response to an e-mail I'd sent them earlier:

http://consumer.imaginefoods.com/contact-us.html

                I just called the number I found on your TetraBrik container, 1-800-333-6339 and got a message which sounded like, “This is Ted’s voice mail.  Please leave a message.”  I see that you have a different number online. 

                 I was wondering about your container, which I don’t believe can be composted or recycled but has to be put in the garbage.  If this is the case, could you tell me for how much longer you’ll be packaging your products—in this case Organic No-Chicken Broth—this way?  I like your project, but I don’t want to buy it any more if it doesn’t come in a container that can be recycled or composted.

                Tina Martin