The driving of the Golden Spike, uniting the first trqnscontinental railroad (below), was a pivotal moment in the history of the American west.

The North Bay Report with co-authors Jane Neilson and Howard Wilshire continues here:

The American West at Risk summarizes the dominant human-generated environmental challenges in the 11 contiguous arid western United States - America's legendary, even mythical, frontier. When discovered by European explorers and later settlers, the west boasted rich soils, bountiful fisheries, immense, dense forests, sparkling streams, untapped ore deposits, and oil bonanzas. It now faces depletion of many of these resources, and potentially serious threats to its few "renewable" resources. (more)

To read more about the book and its authors, click here.

For information about an upcoming book discussion with two of the authors at Four-Eyed Frog Books in Gualala, click here.

As businesses across California and the country seek new ways to become sustainable in the 21st century, North Bay wineries are setting the pace for local agriculture.

Meeet John Garn, managing Partner of ViewCraft.

Our audio report on the greening of the wine industrycontinues below.

There's more information about the California Wine Institute's sustainability program here.