The Sonoma County Water Agency is taking a close look at the energy-producing potential of wave power off the Sonoma County coast.

The first step in the process of determining the potential for wave power energy off the Sonoma County coast is conducting a series of baseline studies of the possible locations for such facilities. That, explains Cordell Stillman, SCWA's Capital Projects Manager, is what these federal permits will enable.

The "sea snake" seen at left  is one type of wave power generator already installed and operating off the northern coast of Portugal. Several others are also in development, including the "aquabouy" shown below.

Preliminary estimates suggest that wave power off the Sonoma coast could generate as much as 200 megawatts of electricity. Stillman says that represents a sizable portion of the county's current energy consumption.

 You can post comments regarding the study permits for each of the three locations shown above at the website of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

A bitter battle is being fought over logging plans for one of the least visited corners of western Sonoma County.

The Bohemian Club has owned the Grove for over a century, but John Hooper says that the history of logging there dates back only 20-odd years.

In this 2-minute video, John Hooper questions the Bohemian Club's rationale for seeking a long-term timber harvesting permit.

 

Even though Bohemian Grove is privately owned and operated, Hopper says the effects of what happens within it will be felt directly in the surrounding watersheds and the Russian River.

This satellite photograph of the Bohemian Gove has been marked to show areas where previous logging has scarred the landscape. Click on the image to see additional maps.

 The Bohemian Club's annual summer "encampment" at the Grove is chronicled in a lengthy feature story in the current issue of Vanity Fair which also discusses the logging issue.

For a more detailed analysis of the logging issues specifically, see this deep background story, published, ironically, in the North Bay Bohemian.

You can find updates about the Bohemian Grove logging issue, and a link to submit your commnents about it directly to the Califpornia Department of Forestry at John Hooper's Save Bohemain Grove website.

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.

A Sebastopol-based non-profit has gotten a big boost from the MacArthur Foundation.

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has awarded the Conservation Strategy Fund  $400,000  over the next three years in support of their efforts to build natural resource economics skills to sustain biodiversity conservation in the Southern Tropical Andes, an area that spans southeastern Peru and northern Bolivia.

John Reid is the founder and president of the 10 year old Conservation Strategy Fun. The North Bay Report previously focused on CFS in December of last year.

In the eventual recovery from the current economic crisis, there will be geographic winners and losers-and the Bay Area is well positioned to be among the winners.

Richard Florida, is a researcher, educator and the author of several books, including Beyond Mass Production and The Rise of the Creative Class. He also wrote the cover story for the current issue of  Atlantic Monthly, which is titled, "How the Crash Will Reshape America."In it, he explains that some American cities will be much harder hit by the current economic downturn than others.

But in both the regions that prosper in the new economy, and those that will continue to decline, Florida says the Ameircan citizenry will have no choice but to evolve new lifestyles.

You can read Florida's full article in The Atlantic here. The magazine has also prepared online interactive maps showing how population, income an, as a measure of innovation, the number of patents issued, have changed over the years between 1975 and 2002.

Richard Florida's most recent book is Who's Your City,  which is subtitled How the Creative Economy is Making the Place Where You Live the Most Important Decision of Your Life.  In it, he ranks American cities  by their suitability in terms of life-stage, rating the best places for singles, young families and empty-nesters.  Santa Rosa shows up well in both the first and last of those categories.