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conservation

Jan 05

2009

Water Agency Governance

Posted by Bruce Robinson in water , Sonoma , resources , policy , planning , government , environment , energy , conservation

After 20 years as a director of the Sonoma County Water Agency, departing Sonoma County Supervisor Tim Smith thinks there's a better way to govern that key department.

It is unclear if anyone on the new Board of Supervisors is prepared to take up this issue and champion it, but if and when someone does, Smith says some of the political groundwork has already been laid.

Smith says the Sonoma County Transportation Agency could be used as a successful model for a more broadly shared governance of a similar agency dedicated to managing all the county's water infrastructure and related endeavors.

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Jan 04

2009

Business Resolutions

Posted by Bruce Robinson in transportation , tourism , technology , resources , policy , planning , news , international , Ideas , finances , environment , economy , conservation , business , budget

New year's resolutions aren't just for individuals; local businesses also can, and quite possibly should, pledge to take fresh actions in 2009.

Ben Stone, Executive Director of the Sonoma County Economic Development Board (above) offers this advice to business owners as the new year begins:

For workers, 2009 will also likely be an unsettled year. In the following audio clip, Stone suggests some creative approaches to keeping paychecks coming for those who may find themselves "downsized."

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Dec 29

2008

The West at Risk

Posted by Bruce Robinson in water , Sebastopol , resources , public safety , policy , planning , ocean , history , Health , government , environment , economy , conservation , business , author , animals , alternative energy , air quality , agriculture

The seeds of the rapacious exploitation of the American West lie in the popular myths about the region's history, but there's not very much real history within those myths.

Two of the three co-authors of The American West at Risk, Howard Wilshire and Jane Neilson, are Sebastopol residents. Wilshire (left) was a U. S. Geological Survey research geologist for thirty-five years and now is Board Chairman of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.

Nielson was a U. S. Geological Survey research geologist for twenty-five years and now is President of the Sebastopol Water Information Group.

The third co-author, Richard Hazlett, is Professor of Geology and the coordinator of the Environmental Analysis Program at Pomona College.

While popular histories romanticize the "winning of the west," we now must make some hard policy decisions to keep from losing it.

At left, huge deposits of mining wastes fill the landscape near Yerrington, Nevada. Below, craters from atomic bomb tests further south in the Nevada desert.

The authors have developed an extensive website with photos, updates, extra chapters, quotations and other materials at LosingTheWest.com

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Dec 25

2008

Out of Poverty

Posted by Bruce Robinson in water , volunteer , Santa Rosa , resources , nonprofit orgs , Ideas , Health , food , fish , events , environment , education , economy , conservation , community , climate change , children , business , author

The best way to fight poverty, says Paul Polak, is to talk to and learn from the people who know the most about it-the poor themselves.

Paul Polack detailed his ideas for combatting poverty worldwide in an article in the Smithsonian earlier this year. You can read it here. Or find out more about his book on the subject, Out of Poverty , by clicking on the cover below.

One important difference between urban poverty in America and the third world, is the presence of government programs to assist the poor. But they can also pose a significant obstacle to climbing out of poverty, as Paul Polack explains.