Almost eighty years ago, President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal helped America climb out of the Great Depression. Now some North Bay activists are promoting a Green New Deal to respond to our current economic crises.

 They state their mission as follows:

The Green New Deal for the North Bay is a grassroots initiative to help transform Marin and Sonoma counties into a resilient community guided by environmental sustainability and economic equity.

During 2009 and early 2010, the Commission on a Green New Deal for the North Bay will seek answers to such questions as:

• How can we create a sustainable green future that includes economic equity and social justice?
• How can agendas for economic rights and environmental protection become more integrated and more successful?

To explore such questions, the commission held eight public forums in May and June 2009-in San Rafael, Mill Valley, Point Reyes Station, Novato, Santa Rosa, Sonoma, Sea Ranch, and Petaluma. 

Having completed this first series of community meetings (notes from some of them can be seen here), Green New Deal co-commissioner Norman Solomon says the comments could be seen to reflect at least a few ideas that were widely shared throughout the region.

During the summer, the commission will assess that community input and schedule public hearings in fall 2009. In those hearings, the commission will hear testimony from experts on such issues as food, housing, water, energy, health care, and social equity.
The difficulty in reconciling valid but competing interests may be the biggest challenge facing these Green New Deal commission, as those potential conflicts  crop up in such a wide range of issues and circumstances. Solomon cites a recent public meeting in Petaluma at which the hotly disputed new Dutra asphalt plant proposal was being debated as just one example.

The commission will communicate its findings, first in draft form and then as a final report, to the public, media outlets, and government officials. To effect change through community participation and public policy, the report will also offer overall specific recommendations for North Bay residents, businesses, community groups, institutions, and government entities.

 The 17  Green New Deal Commissioners who are working to carry out these tasks are:
Co-Chairs
Kiki La Porta
Sustainability Activist, Marketing Communications & Design
Lisa Maldonado
Executive Director of North Bay Labor Council
Will Pier
Water, Fisheries, Waste Management and Ecology Specialist
Norman Solomon
Author and Activist for Social Justice and Peace.

Commissioners
Caroline Banuelos
Olivia Beltran
Steve Burdo
Julie Combs
Rue Furch
Jonathan Frieman
David Keller
Jerry Mander
Judith Newton
Daisy Pistey-Lyhne
Peter Richardson
Ginger Souders-Mason
Carolyne Stayton

Knowing what to expect from tomorrow's weather can be good for your health.

Medi-Clim is an exercise in preventative medicine, says co-founder Dr. John Bart, one that could have a huge effect in reducing the cost and demand for medical services if it becomes widely used.

 Projected decreases in hospitalizations through the application of Medi-Clim are not just theoretical, Dr. Bart says. He points to a trial study in Ontario, Canada that looked at the correlations between the weather data they track and related hospital admissions.

From Capitol Hill to downtown Sebastopol, people are finally talking seriously about climate change and clean energy legislation.

Peter Oliver (left)  is the co-owner of Make Mine Electric one of the five businesses currently incubating at the new Blue Sky Center in Sebatopol (shown below). In this audio clip, he explains the two-pronged business model he and partner Brain Hall are rolling out there.

As a demonstration of his company's electric vehicle conversion capabilities,  Oliver drives the red replica Porsche 356 seen below, which is now powered by batteries and an electric motor rather than gasoline.

Even as progressives debate the policy details embedded in the federal energy bills under consideration in Congress, Barry Vesser (right) remains hopeful that some members of the minority party there will also be able to find reasons to support the new measures.

For a more thorough explanation of the relative benefits and drawback of "Cap and Trade" versus "Cap and Dividend" legislation, click on the artwork to link to a downloadable booklet.

We tend to think of history as a record of human activity, but a natural landscape also has a history all it's own, which is what is studied in the new field called historic ecology.

The San Francisco Estuary Institute's study of the Napa River ecosystem  was a project that brought together a wide alliance of stakeholders, notes Robin Grossinger (right), and developed information that could be used for multiple purposes.