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.

Oil companies are consolidating and reaping record profits. And that's not a good thing, for democracy or for planet earth.

Antonia Juhasz' previous book was The Bu$h Agneda:  Invading the World, One Economy at a Time.

It's not the cost of oil at the derrick that has been driving up the price of gasoline at the pump, says researcher, analyst and writer Antonia Juhasz. A far more influential factor is the speculative trading of oil price futures, which happens outside the view or regulatory control of this or any other government.

While most big oil companies have recently begun to portray themselves as newly sensitive to the environment and open to alternative energy, Juhasz isn't buying it.

Creative financing directly from Sonoma County may soon help local home and business owners add solar and other energy-efficiency improvements to their properties.

County Supervisors have scheduled their public hearing on the proposal for 9:30 am on Tuesday March 24.

 The vast majority of the projects expected to get funding through the Sonoma County Energy Independence Program will be retrofits of existing structures. The program will also fund installation of tankless water heaters, such as the one described below.

The Petaluma River has a long and interesting history, and some new Friends who want to make that history better known.

David Yearsley is a co-founder and  Executive Director of the Friends of the Petaluma River, which has the following mission and goals:

Mission: To promote stewardship of the Petaluma River. We work throughout its watershed; providing access opportunities, educational materials, and conservation programs. We also provide a voice for the River's inhabitants and resources in public affairs.

Goals: Access, Education, and Conservation

• To establish a permanent presence in the watershed; becoming the first non-government organization to work fulltime for the betterment of the Petaluma River and its inhabitants
• To pursue outreach and educational activities that will foster enthusiasm and commitment in the watershed for long term sustainable stewardship.
• To monitor conditions and engage in activities that will reduce or prevent pollution and lessen other harmful impacts on the River and its wetlands.
• To create a River Heritage Center as a community resource. A place to archive information, host events, administer programs, and coordinate river related activities

 

For people who want to get a close-up look at the Petaluma River,  Dolphin Charters will again offer their 3 hr. River tours on April 5th, 6th, 11th & 12th aboard the Delphinus (seen at left). To learn more about them, visit Dolphin Charters’ website.