Sonoma County's main dump, seen from the air at left,  has been closed since 2005, but its future continues to be hotly debated.

Operating a landfill anywhere in northern California is a difficult prospect in today's regulatory climate, observes Assemblyman Wes Chesbro, and even a well-funded private company must surmount those obstacles.

A proposed Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) for Sonoma County could eventually be able to sort out and reuse as much as 90% of the region's waste stream. Alan Strachan, one of the backers of that project, suggests that through composting or other processes, even most of the remaining 10% could someday be reused.

Longtime recycling advocate Mike Anderson is one of many voices taking up the call for setting a goal of zero waste.

 The March 30th forum on the future of the Sonoma County landfill was co-hosted by the Climate Protection Campaign and the  Leadership Institute on Ecology nd the Economy.

The entire public forum was recorded and will be broadcast at the following times on Community Media Channel 26 in Santa Rosa:

 More information and background about Ecoleader .

To learn more about the Landfill.

Genetically modified organisms are not the villain in the newest mystery novel by Susan Arnout Smith. But they play a key role all the same.

Smith says she had a background awareness of the GMO issue, but began to see it in a new light-as potential subject matter-when she witnessed an impassioned public demonstration by concerned activists.

Some longtime NPR listeners may recognize Smith  (right) from her past work as a regular essayist on Weekend Edition Sunday. That's something she stopped doing a few years ago, as books plays and screenplays demanded all her available time, but she still thinks of her NPR experience fondly.

Some creative new measures have helped Sebastopol's Palm Drive hospital climb back out of bankruptcy.

Providing outpatient medical services to the inmates of San Quentin prison has become a helpful additional source of revenue for Palm Drive. Getting that program started with the California Department of Corrections (CDC) mostly required a little extra entreprenurial initiative, according to hospital CEO Jim Russel (below).

Palm Drive is also  trying something new by having psychologist Dr. David J. Murphy (below) on call to assist with mental health crises in the hospital emergency room.

By assisting and intervening as the individuals are admitted, he is often able diffuse volatile situations,and avoid the involvement of law enforcement personnel.This both reduces costs at county facilities, and enables the patients to receive treatment closer to home. 

They call it "the pedagogy of place"--  using the natural environment as a learning tool for kids. And it may be the best available antidote to passive, media-dominated childhoods that can result in obesity, diabetes, and other health problems.

Rocky Rohwedder (left),  a professor of Enviromental Studies and Planning at SSU, believes that kids in today's industrialized societies  are not spending enough time outdoors  and are missing out on what nature has to teach them.

The term "nature deficit disorder " was coined and popularized by writer by Richard Louv in his 2005 book Last Child in the Woods. You can hear him interviewed about it on NPR's Morning Edition here.

Louv is also the co-founder and chairman of the Children & Nature Network, which was created to encourage and support the people and organizations working to reconnect children with nature.

With rainfall again filling our area's creeks and rivers, it is possible to conduct precise measurements of the changes in water quality in those streams.

Dutch Bill Creek is relatively short, beginning in the hills above Occidental, and flowing northerly downslope through Camp Meeker and on to the Russian River. This is the waterway that was dammed to create the old Camp Meeker swimming area many years ago. Here's a map of the entire Dutch Bill Creek watershed.

 The close up map below shows the locations where the Community Clean WaterInstitute has set up water sample collection points along Dutch Bill Creek (DBC).  DBC 005 is closest to the creek's outfall into the Russian River, while DBC 060 is near the stream's beginning.

The water quality testing conducted in Dutch Bill Creek is done primarily by local volunteers, with training ad assistance from CCWI staff. Find out more about volunteering here.