A large pack of bicyclists swarming down the north coast this week are riding to raise awareness of climate change—and incidentally to have a great time in the process.
While preliminary planning for a second Climate Ride on the north coast is just getting started, Carter says everything is in place for any riders who might want to join in the eastern route's third run next spring.
In addition to its obvious recreational aspects, the Climate Ride is also a fund-raising event, in which each rider must raise or contribute $2,400 to participate. But co-founder Geraldine Carter says that can be done in any number of creative and satisfying ways.
Click here for updates on the ride as it comes through Sonoma County.
Land-based sewage discharges into the ocean are illegal. Soon that ban will apply to big ships, too, under new EPA rules being announced today.
Jared Blumenfeld, Regional Administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, was Environmental Director for the City and County of San Francisco before he was appointed his new job by the Obama administration last January. He would prefer that the ship sewage discharge ban reached at least twice as far offshore, but says three miles is all his agency can cover.
Even these new rules will only restrict about 4/5ths of the sewage discharges into the state’s bays and other coastal waters; most of the remaining 20% comes from smaller vessels not governed by the new rules. Blumenfeld would like to see an eventual system of controlled dockside flushes into regional treatment facilities, but acknowledges that’s little more than a vision right now.
Even though we may have seen and crossed the Golden Gate Bridge many times, it’s hard not to be impressed each time by its distinctive color and historic profile. The story behind it is equally impressive.
Kevin Starr,As a native San Franciscan, Kevin Starr has spent most of his life within sight of the Golden Gate Bridge, and seen it from just about every possible perspective, even from below while swimming beneath the span. But there is one vantage point he has not tried.
The building of the Golden Gate Bridge was a popular subject for photographers of the day, and many of their striking images have endured as popular posters today. Unsurprisingly, Starr has a favorite, seen below.
Carl Mears has been studying the weather for years. Now he’s trying to do something about it.
Carl Mears will be the featured speaker at a community gathering June 30 at 5:30 pm at the Universalist Unitarian Church in Santa Rosa. His topic: “What’s really going on with the Climate? A scientists’ perspective.”
For some, the phrase "climate change" has supplanted "global warming" as this issue is discussed. Mears says he understands the scientific reasoning behind that, but dislikes the political connotations.