Coastal Clean Up Day

Sign up for Coastal Cleanup Day, September 19 in San Luis Obispo County by calling ECOSLO at (805) 544-1777 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit their website: www.ecoslo.org.

Coastal Cleanup Day also kicks off Coast weeks—three weeks, September 19 to October 11, of coastal and water-related events for the whole family To see locations of activities visit:
www.coastal.ca.gov/publiced/coastweeks
/coastweeks.html.

Learn what impact Marine Debris
has on ocean life, visit these web sites:
www.oceanconservancy.org,
www.montereyaquarium.org
and  www.Greenpeace.org

Last month, Information Press focused on the North Pacific Gyre and the role Americans can take to reduce the use of plastics from ending up in the landfill. This month we focus on local coastal clean up. As the Ocean series continues, we will take a look at sustainable seafood and how aquariums are leading the way in conservancy. Stay tuned, as we “call out” local grocery stores for harboring unsustainable seafood, and give kudos to those who are making great strides forward!

The combined influences of high fuel prices and tighter emission standards are forcing automobile manufacturers to new technological heights, with several of them vying for builder of the most fuel efficient car or truck sold in America. The new Audi A4 Dle sedan tops the Toyota Prius in Europe with a combined city/highway driving economy of 51 MPG but it may not be available stateside for some time.

The Audi uses stop/start technology, which is now ubiquitous among fuel sippers and even larger hybrid guzzlers. The engine management computer shuts off the engine at stops and immediately restarts it (if the battery is in the ‘charge’ mode) when the gas is pushed. I have only driven the Prius and Honda Civics with this feature but it is almost spooky to be sitting at a light in complete silence, only to have the engine fire up on its’ own as you pull away. The A4 also uses regenerative braking to charge the cars battery. This feature has been exclusive to hybrids in the past, but apparently the engineers thought that the small fuel economy gain derived from using the car’s weight as you brake to charge the battery was worth the additional cost.

Here in the States a close cousin of the Audi, the new Volkswagen Jetta TDI direct injection turbo diesel, is EPA rated at 29MPG city and 40 MPG highway. Unlike most cars, which usually get worse fuel economy than the ratings in real world driving, owner reports suggest that real world economy will be more like 44MPG average with up to 54 MPG on the highway. The Prius still beats up the Volkswagen around town, but on the highway they are neck and neck. We have one Prius customer at Morin Brothers that regularly commutes to San Diego and back; he reports that his typical trip average is up to 55MPG. Pretty phenomenal considering he is driving on the freeways in Los Angeles!

Fuel economy is only one of the considerations when looking at buying a car. Another, of course, is style. Do you like the way the car looks and drives? Yet, another consideration is the difference in cost between regular unleaded gasoline and diesel. The diesel is always more expensive and often not as available. And then there is power. The Jetta not only accelerates like a car with a small V8, but it handles like a sports car, neither of which can be said of the Prius.

Other manufacturers are hard at work trying to increase fuel economy and decrease carbon dioxide emissions. Volvo has a diesel/electric hybrid in the works that can be charged overnight from conventional household current, allowing the car to travel up to 31 miles on its lithium-ion battery pack alone. This technology in a midsize car will allow Volvo to leapfrog over its competitors in a single bound, with dramatic improvements in fuel economy and reductions in carbon emissions. Fiat/Chrysler (well, actually, Fiat) is working on a “Multi Air Valve Control” gasoline engine that can open and close intake and exhaust valves with precise control. Current valve control technology can advance and retard cam timing; even, in the case of Honda’s Vtech, increase valve lift, but none can vary the valve timing and lift to suit the conflicting demands of economy, power, and low emissions simultaneously. Fiat claims that this technology, since it is confined to the cylinder head and computer software, is readily adaptable to a variety of engine and drive train configurations, so it may appear on some of the smaller Chryslers in the not-too-distant future.

For more information:
Prius vs. VW Jetta: http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars/4284188.html 
Fuel economy comparisons: www.fueleconomy.gov/
Google “Volvo diesel/electric” or “Fiat multi air valve control” for more info.

On Tuesday, May 12, the APCD in partnership with the Carrisa Plains Elementary School flew the first Air Quality Flag in San Luis Obispo County. Using the color-coded scale according to the Air Quality Index (AQI), this flag program provides schools with enhanced tools to help children, their parents and school personnel become better informed on air pollution levels. School officials will fly the flag, which corresponds to the daily AQI forecast color, on the school flagpole. The APCD is now working to expand this Flag Program to school sites throughout the County
Used in many regions throughout the United States, this is an important outreach tool to increase awareness of daily air quality throughout the County by making information easily assessable. In addition, the AQI will increase the District’s effectiveness at reaching the community with immediate health information to take special precautions when our region is impacted by smoke from wildfires or high wind dust events.
The AQI was developed by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and is a user-friendly index for reporting daily air quality. It tells you how clean or polluted the air is, and what associated health effects might be a concern. The AQI focuses on health effects individuals may experience within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air. The AQI is currently available to the public via the APCD website www.slocleanair.org, email, pager messages, and text messages. To sign up to receive the daily air quality forecast via email, page or text message subscribe online at www.enviroflash.info/.
For more information contact Gary Arcemont at 805-781-5912.

The greenest form of transportation is attached to the bottom of your legs - your feet! The ‘carbon footprint’ of walking is about as small as it gets and it has the additional benefit of being healthy as well. However, it takes time and unless you only have a mile or less to go, getting around by foot can consume a large part of your day. Riding a bicycle, on the other hand, is a lot more efficient. Its’ carbon footprint is equally modest, and in small, relatively level cities like we have here in San Luis Obispo county, you can easily run errands and ride to work in less time than it takes to find a parking space. I began riding a bicycle regularly in my early forties and have been a member of the San Luis Obispo Bicycle Club (www.slobc.org) as well as several national cycling related organizations ever since. At first I learned a lot about cycling through trial and error, but when I began riding with more experienced riders I gained confidence, greater skill, and achieved a level of fitness that I had not felt since I was 20!  If you are new to cycling, or are attracted to the idea of human powered transportation but not sure about how to get started, I would like to share my experience.

First of all, buy a quality bike that fits you from a store that only sells bicycles. You will spend more than you would at Walmart or Costco, but you will get a bike that is more durable, lighter, and built with higher quality, longer lasting components, as well as one that has been assembled and adjusted by a trained bicycle mechanic. When you buy from a local bike shop the sales person will also make sure that the bike fits you. Nothing will spoil a ride faster than trying to learn on a bike that is too small or too large for you or is designed for a type of riding you will never engage in.

In addition to a decent bicycle, you will want a helmet, gloves, and, if you find yourself riding a lot, padded bike shorts. Again, your local bike shop can supply you with the proper size of helmet and adjust it correctly. One option for the budget minded is to look at new bikes, find out what size fits you best, and then look for that size in a used bike. I admit to doing exactly that when I first began to ride. However, when I bought my first new bike and had it fitted to me at the bike shop, it was a real revelation. I enjoyed riding more, was more comfortable and rode further with less stress on my body than with the “close enough” used bike I bought at a garage sale for $75.

Once you have a bicycle you like, I recommend that you get some training. When I began riding close to twenty years ago, you got on the bike and hoped for the best. I learned a lot more when I began riding with the San Luis Bicycle Club members, experienced riders all, but nowadays you can actually take classes put on by the City of San Luis and San Luis County Bicycle Coalition (http://slobikelane.org). In the classes trained instructors will help you learn such skills as proper lane positioning, dealing with traffic, and approaching intersections. There is also a more advanced class that teaches you how to deal with a flat tire (it will happen!) and make basic adjustments to the brakes and gears.
 
There is one thought I would like to leave you with: besides being an efficient means of transportation, bicycling can be a source of fun and adventure. My bicycles have taken me places and allowed me to do things I could only dream about, with people and friends I will treasure all my life. Everyone should have a bike and ride it!
 
Resources to check out:
Bicycle Coalition: http://slobikelane.org/cm/programs/workshop/home.html
SLOBC: http://www.slobc.org/Home.html
League of American Bicyclists: http://www.bikeleague.org/

Local Bicycle shops:
Arts SLO Cyclery: http://www.artscyclery.com/
Cambria Bicycle Outfitters (SLO): http://www.cambriabike.com/
Kman Bike/Run Atascadero, Paso: http://www.kmancr.com/
These are only a few of many resources in our county

 “Clean up your own messes!” I hear my Mother’s voice echoing in my own mouth as it falls upon my selective-hearing children. The four year old has two juice boxes and an empty yogurt container, smeared into crop circles on her table. The teenager has yet to acknowledge daylight before 1:00 in the afternoon and has left his chip bag on the floor to attract four-year-olds and other scavengers.
“Throw it in the trash please” and without really thinking about it, I notice that I am guiding my four year old to a giant plastic bag, placed inside another hard plastic shell, to make its arduous journey to the landfill and our Pacific Ocean, to a paradise island known as “Trash Island”.
Trash Island is a gyre of plastic rubbish, caught in the circular currents 500 nautical miles off the coast of California and NE of Hawaii while another resides off the coast of Japan. It was discovered by accident in 1997 when American sailor Charles Moore was returning from a yacht race. Roughly the size of Texas it includes debris dated back to the 50s and 60s. Estimates place it at 100 million tons of plastic circulating in the northern pacific alone, which is about 2.5 % of all plastic items since 1950.
The trouble with this pesky plastic is that it won’t go away. Even with particle break down, it breaks into smaller particulates that are filtered to the bottom of the ocean for sea life consumption. It’s estimated that over a million sea-birds and one hundred thousand marine mammals and sea turtles are killed each year by ingestion of plastics or entanglement. In addition to consumption and entanglement, there’s the added chemical bonus of becoming a “Chemical sponge” whereby the larger pieces of plastic can concentrate and absorb many of the most damaging pollutants found the world’s oceans called POPs or persistent organic pollutants. Plastic bags, toothbrushes, disposable lighters, diapers, and soda bottles are only some of the prime suspects in the gyre. Lest I think we have been such a diligent nation of “responsible recyclers” here’s another startling stat: the Environmental Protection Agency’s latest Municipal Solid Waste in the United States report (2003 Data) states that 94.8% of plastics are thrown away and not recycled in any way.
I found myself thoroughly depressed looking around my room at all the plastic I have already acquired, not to mention the thought of that hideous 80s shoe trend “jellies” in every plastic shape and uncomfortable contour floating out there in a continual spiral with the sea turtles. Maybe I “didn’t start the fire”, but it doesn’t mean that my collusion in this plastic partisanship has to continue.
Here are a few ways to purge plastic and non-recyclables from our lives:
Cloth Bags! Cloth Bags! Cloth Bags! If you can find some that are made from already recycled clothing or material, award yourself 10 extra green points! “Training” yourself to put them back in your trunk after you put the groceries away takes repetition, but it's do able. Also, refuse a bag if it's only a couple of items you can easily carry.
?Choose wisely. I am a big fan of hummus and love to use it as a spread or a snack, but there again is that plastic tub staring at me! A can of chickpeas, some olive oil, lemon juice in the blender and “presto”! You have leftovers for a couple of days and fresh hummus!
?No water bottles! Period! It's a big scam by soda companies and chances are, the tap water is better for you, especially after leaving the plastic bottle in a hot car where the carcinogens leach into the water, where it's been linked to breast cancer.
?As for plastic garbage bags, there are now trash liner bags made from compostable and biodegradable plant matter. Ask your grocery store to support carrying biodegradable plastic liners as well as biodegradable cutler. I recommend that you check out the following web sites:
Environmental Cleanup Coalition  http://www.gyrecleanup.org/
The Algalita Marine Research Foundation http://www.algalita.org/
Adaire’s children frequently practice water and resource conservation by avoiding showers, washing dishes, or doing laundry for as long as possible.

Computer Control of Cars On the Highway

A recent article in the Business Section of the Tribune (April 8, 09 GM Plans a Segway for two) revealed General Motor’s plans to partner with Segway to build a two-wheeled, electric scooter capable of carrying two people at speeds of up to 35 miles per hour. The Trib could have just as easily headlined it “GM Grasps at Straws.” My intent here is not to bash GM, but to highlight part of the article that refers to plans to allow vehicles to interact with each other in such a manner that they would automatically avoid other vehicles, stop for red lights, and even slow for jaywalkers. One of traffic engineers’ holy grails has been computer control of automobiles on the road. Relieving traffic decisions of human input could make more efficient use of our existing roads, allowing far more cars to use the same roads with greater safety than ever before.

As early as 1997 engineers from Honda, UC Berkeley, and CalTrans built several Honda Accords that could drive themselves on the freeway.(1)  The technology available at the time made the project somewhat of an exercise in frustration, as the cars had to be quite close to one another to communicate, but reacted so slowly that the demonstration only worked on a section of freeway clear of any other cars. In addition, the cars had to be lined up before turning control over to the computers. This was all well and good in a laboratory situation, but mighty scary in the real world.

Fast-forward twelve years and the situation has changed more than a little. Faster processors, GPS, and a new form of Wi-Fi, in concert with now federally mandated stability control has given flesh to the engineers dream. An Australian Company, Cohda Wireless (2) has developed a new WI-Fi chip that allows instantaneous communication between moving vehicles. In a “wired” city, your car could “see” another car as it approaches an intersection at right angles to your path of travel. It could also see that you had the green light. If the other car failed to apply it’s brakes as it approached the intersection, your car could release the accelerator and apply the brakes independent of any action you might take. Conceivably it might even be able to steer your car. In any event, there would be no collision, you would slow safely, and the wired cars behind you would also slow rather than plow into your rear bumper.

Here in the US, all cars sold after 2010 are required to have electronic stability control, a technology that allows the cars computer to back off the gas and selectively brake all or individual wheels to help maintain stability in emergency situations. The recent deaths of several teenagers in a rollover on the freeway could have been avoided if their car had been so equipped. Integrating this with Cohda’s technology makes this doable now, not ten years from now. The Aussies plan large scale testing later this year. If all goes well, we could be seeing this technology as early as 2012.

Have your ever dreamed of typing your destination into your GPS and then having your car drive you there while you had another cup of coffee and read the paper? The reality is not that far away! The technology is just over the horizon, but our willingness is something else: Perhaps issues of privacy and control, with “soulless” machines driving about will be challenges we will have too face personally before we get that next cup of coffee!

(1) http://berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/96legacy/car.html

(2) http://www.cohdawireless.com/

This week the Bureau of Land Management announced a controversial new program that the BLM describes as a necessary move toward returning California to its natural predatorial balance. The Golden Bruin Reintroduction Program was announced in conjunction with similar plans laid out by the California Department of Fish and Game and the Environmental Protection Agency.

"The Golden Bruin Reintroduction Program will now be a multi-agency collaborative effort,’ said B.L.M. spokesman Chris Giffen

Giffen, alongside representatives from the E.P.A. and California Fish and Game, went on to explain that until recently all three agencies had unknowingly been working three separate similar programs to reintroduce the Golden Bruin to Central California.

"Had someone not been on the ball and realized the similarities in these three programs, California would’ve faced a crisis with the over-reintroduction of the Golden Bruin to its original habitat," said E.P.A.'s Vincent Aiello, who also added, "There probably would have been some very unfortunate incidents."

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At the first moment of spring the Peace Bell of the United Nations will toll for Earth Day. Many people do not realize that the very first Earth Day was founded by John McConnell and that the first Proclamation of Earth Day was by San Francisco, the City of Saint Francis, patron saint of ecology, designating the first Day of spring, March 21, 1970 as Earth Day. It was to be recognized as a day to nurture neighbor and nature. One year later, on March 21, 1971, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General U Thant made Earth Day an international celebration. He spoke about it at a Peace Bell Ceremony at the United Nations in New York City. The United Nations Earth Day ceremony continues each year on the day of the vernal equinox (March 20th or 21st), with the ringing of the UN Peace Bell at the very moment of the equinox.

The most recognized and celebrated Earth Day was founded by Senator Gaylord Nelson out of deep concern for the deterioration of the environment. It was about raising awareness through education and action and was first celebrated on April 22, 1970 in the United States. It is reported that 20 million people and thousands of local schools and communities participated in the first Earth Day. The huge turnout for the first Earth Day made it the largest organized celebration in the history of the United States. Earth Day’s success helped influence the government of the United States to create stronger laws to protect the environment.

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Earth-based observances enjoy an ancient history, one that acknowledges the feminine side of Deity. With the year’s first green shoots and colorful blossoms, the ancient Romans attended festivals honoring the Goddess Libera, a bringer of fertility to the land, and Prosepina, the Roman Goddess who emerges from the dark earth bringing the Spring Season with her. She’s a counterpart to the Greek’s Goddess Persephone.
Hibernating in caves was the modus operandi for the Swiss Goddess Artio, a bear deity whose return heralded spring’s beginning in Switzerland. In Finland, the Goddess Beiwe turned the hills green offering better feed for important reindeer and Blodeuwedd, a Celtic goddess, was magically created from nine spring flowers including broom, meadowsweet and oak.
There were dozens of Goddesses of Springtime, each offering help in a different area of daily life according to the cultures that recognized and celebrated them, but one Spring Goddess who stepped across the threshold from the ancient Pagan world to Catholic sainthood, finally restored to Goddess-hood again today, is Brigid. Also known as, Bride, Bridey, and Brigantia, this Celtic Goddess and her Spring Feast Day are a joyful Celtic celebration originating in County Kildare, Ireland.
Brigid’s perilous journey through religious conquest and domination finds her emerging from a pagan Goddess to a Catholic patroness saint of motherhood, fertility, hearth, fire, healing and poetry. This female protectress enjoys a hail and hearty following even today, and has been more widely worshipped throughout the Celtic lands than any other female figure. She’s celebrated as a Pagan Goddess again today.
Brigit’s convent at Kildare, where her enshrined eternal flame is still tended, is assumed a surviving ancient college once educating vestal priestesses. Trained for thirty years, and then turned out to tend sacred wells, groves, caves and hills, these priestesses were precursors to later Catholic nuns. But unlike their centuries-later sisters, adhering to the three decades-long initiation to become a priestess of Brigid came with a prize: the pious women were then free to take husbands, who, by the way, were ordered by law to keep their wives satisfied! 
Course outlines at the Kildare School included the preservation of tradition, scientific study, healing modalities, and matters of state. Fire tending was also a priority, with nineteen priestesses, a different one each day, poking and stoking the perpetual flame. On the twentieth day, Brigid Herself was said to keep the fire burning.
Beloved as the muse of poetic inspiration and mistress of the healing arts, she is also associated with smith craft, which held special import for the early Celts. Her statuary often includes an image of her wielding a hammer on an anvil.
Fervent worshippers held fast to their Goddess, so the Catholic Church gave her sainthood, but even though her worshippers accepted Christ, they ultimately could not endorse a religion that excluded Brigid.
Springtime also found Romans partying in celebration of the Goddess of Flowering Plants, Flora. Trees and plants that bore fruit were especially appreciated during the Floralia Festival of early May. Dancing, drinking and flowers were all part of the celebration, not unlike our own Lompoc Flower Festival!
Suzan Vaughn is the owner of www.goddessgift.net, a website of ancient ‘herstorical’ wisdom that salutes the Goddess in each of us. She holds a B.A. in Psychology and an M.A. in Communication, and is the author of Dispatches from the Ark: Pages from a Pet Psychic's Notebook.