Archive for July, 2011
EWG’s New Meat Eater’s Guide to Climate Change and Health
Check out the Environmental Working Group’s new Meat Eater’s Guide to Climate Change and Health, which explores the links between meat and greenhouse gas emissions. The guide helps consumers make better choices by ranking protein foods by carbon footprint and also examines other environmental and health factors. Ultimately, the guide finds that not all meat is [...]
Albany Farmers’ Market Feature Vendor: Sonoma Swamp Blues
This week, Albany Patch featured an interview with Mike Gomez, who sells blueberries for Sonoma Swamp Blues at the Albany Farmers’ Market. The Albany Farmers’ Market is the Ecology Center’s newest market, opened in May of this year. If you haven’t checked it out yet, come on by! The market runs on Wednesdays from 3-7pm on [...]
Greywater, Rainwater Catchment, Earthworks Tour at the EcoHouse 7/30/11
Join us on Saturday, July 30 and learn how to turn your house and yard into a water saving site with greywater systems, rainwater catchment, earthworks, and appropriate landscaping choices. You’ll learn about the greywater system at the EcoHouse, the first permitted residential constructed wetland/greywater system in the State of California and the first greywater [...]
Berkeley Historical Society Exhibit Opening: Consumers Cooperative of Berkeley – A Noble Venture
The Berkeley Co-op pioneered consumer education and protection, ingredient labeling and unit pricing, and influenced Berkeley politics. It was the place where many initiatives were launched, including recycling, and the Ecology Center’s history is entwined with the Co-ops. ” In 1970, the Co-op began selling organic foods. On the first Earth Day that spring, volunteers [...]
Today’s Special: Zero Waste meets Farm-to-Fork Purchasing at the Ecology Center Farmers’ Market
Ecology Center Farmers’ Market Manager Francesca Costa reports on a bustling new stand at the North Berkeley Farmers’ Market: There’s a bustling new stand at the North Berkeley Farmers’ Market. Emanating alluring smells of warmed buttermilk biscuits and fresh vegetables sautéed in garlic, “Today’s Special” is quickly becoming a popular spot for farmers’ market goers [...]
Berkeley Patch Recognizes Ecology Center
Berkeley Patch recently published a post highlighting all the various services we offer at our Environmental Resource Center. Did you know that in addition to our curbside recycling program, farmers’ markets, and retail store, we offer free services, many of which are accessible online? And for members, we have a variety of books and DVDs [...]
ACT NOW: the Berkeley Edible Gardens Initiative
The Berkeley Edible Gardens Initiative is a campaign to allow neighbors to sell or trade the surplus edibles they produce in their yards (fruits, vegetables, eggs, and honey). Currently, Berkeley’s Municipal Code prohibits this type of activity unless one applies for costly permits. A coalition of local activists and organizations including the Ecology Center has [...]
Monday Produce Swaps at the Ohlone Greenway
Are you an urban gardener? Do you have a surplus of lemons that you would love to trade for lettuce? Transition Berkeley is hosting a weekly crop swap at the Ohlone Greenway, at Sacramento and Delaware Streets across from the North Berkeley BART, starting Monday July 18th. Stop by every Monday between 6:30-7:30pm to meet [...]
Two Action Alerts About Clean Water
Here are two action alerts requesting your support for clean water. 1. The U.S. House of Representatives is considering new legislation (H.R. 2018) that would eliminate the power of the Environmental Protection Agency to oversee state water quality standards. States would no longer be held to national clean water standards, allowing them to pass weaker [...]
CA Supreme Court Upholds Local Plastic Bag Bans!
The California Supreme Court today ruled that the City of Manhattan Beach can enforce a local ordinance banning plastic bags in that city. The ruling ends a challenge funded by plastic bag manufacturers and paves the way for local governments throughout California to move immediately to adopt ordinances banning plastic bags. “This is an important [...]
Summer specials at the Ecology Center Store
The Ecology Center store recently hosted two author events with strikingly different viewpoints. Hunter Lovins in Climate Capitalism discussed how businesses could thrive in a capitalist system by greening their operations. Chris Williams in Ecology and Socialism maintained that real change cannot happen in a capitalist society and advocated building a mass movement for political transformation. [...]
Seed Saving Class 7/14/11
Join Rebecca Newburn of Richmond Grows for an evening of seed saving basics, including some hands-on practice. No previous seed saving experience needed. Learn the basic vocabulary of seed saving and how to save seeds from the sunflower, pea, and nightshade families. You’ll also learn how to return seeds “borrowed” from local seed lending libraries [...]
New Seed Library in East Palo Alto
The Ecology Center houses the Bay Area Seed Interchange Library (BASIL), a sponsored project that allows members of the public to come in and sign up to trade seeds. Inspired by BASIL, Richmond resident Rebecca Newburn started a seed lending library at the Richmond Public Library last May. (Rebecca’s leading a seed saving class at [...]
Portable Cheap Growing Beds!
Urban Adamah, a new neighbor on San Pablo Avenue and Park Street, recently celebrated its grand opening, transforming an empty parking lot into a vibrant urban farm project. They’ve posted a great how-to video on building raised beds on a budget. Check it out!
Shareable Food Movement Meets the Law
The Sustainable Economies Law Center just published an article on the legalities of the “underground food movement” or the “shareable food movement,” as they prefer to call it. They’re hoping it will positively influence any precedent set while the SF Underground Market, goat herd-sharing in San Jose, food swapping in Oakland, and various other community [...]
Ecology Center Visits Dig Deep Farms
This article was written by Information Program Coordinator Carrie Bennett. On a drizzly June morning, a group of eight Ecology Center staff, volunteers, and friends visited Dig Deep Farms, an urban farming enterprise with seven farm plots within Alameda County. Our first stop was a plot of land lent to Dig Deep by the next-door [...]
