Archive for August, 2011
Plastics Industry Influencing CA State Environmental Education Curriculum
Early in August, Rolling Stone Magazine reported that single-use plastic bag manufacturers and the American Chemistry Council have launched well-funded campaigns to overturn bans on plastic bags and “cast doubt on legitimate scientific studies” by anti-bag activists. As a result, California’s Environmental Education Curriculum, a program launched by California’s Environmental Protection Agency to raise awareness and [...]
New Crop Swap in South Berkeley
Following the successful opening of the crop swap on the Ohlone Greenway, Transition Berkeley has teemed up with the Victory Garden Foundation to host a new crop swap in South Berkeley. Held on the third Sunday of every month, from 1 to 2pm at the Lorin Station greenspace on Alcatraz and Adeline (one block south [...]
Exposing Dow Chemical’s Greenwashing
Recently, the Ecology Center held a Regenerating Solutions Salon on the topic of greenwashing. Here’s an example of a company’s greenwashing attempt, and a great response to counter it! When a PR firm working for Dow Chemical contacted Anna Lappé, author of Diet for a Hot Planet: The Climate Crisis at the End of Your [...]
Colors from Nature: Getting Started with Natural Dyes 8/27/11
Learn how to make brilliant colors from your local environment with natural dyer and plants-person Deepa Natarajan of the Permacouture Institute. In this three-hour workshop you will learn the basic principles of natural dyes, mordanting, medicinal dyes, making patterns on cloth, and flower printing. We’ll be harvesting some dyes straight from the garden at the [...]
Living Wild: Native Plant Tasting and Book Signing 8/25/11
Join us for an evening with Alicia Funk to enjoy appetizers made from local native plants and sample wild fermented beverages. Learn how to process oak nuts (acorns) and other fall edibles, discover easy-to-grow native plants to add to the backyard this fall, and view original functional artwork from native plant materials. Copies of her [...]
Bay Trash to Yard Art
Seven years ago, North Berkeley resident Mark Olivier, frustrated at the amount of trash that washes up on East Bay shorelines, decided that instead of waiting for someone to come around and do something about the mess, he would deal with it himself. And for seven years, he has been doing beach cleanups in a [...]
Organic farmers can now sue for pesticide drift and GMO contamination
The Minnesota Court of Appeals recently ruled that large organic farms can now sue for lost crops and damages caused by the illegal trespassing of pesticides and herbicides on its property. For certified organic farms, even a small bit of contamination from pesticide drift can result in the loss of a whole season’s crops, and [...]
The Red Flags of Greenwashing: A Regenerating Solutions Salon 8/18/11
You’ve seen them on billboards, TV commercials, newspaper and Internet ads: businesses claiming to “go green.” “Going green” is trendy but how can you discern genuine sustainable action from a PR prank? How can you tell which companies are walking the talk and which are just trying to cash in by using the term “green”? [...]
Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit
On Tuesday, August 16 come down to Books, Inc. Berkeley (1760 Fourth Street) for a special book event co-sponsored by the Ecology Center. Based on his James Beard Award-winning article, investigative food journalist Barry Estabrook reveals the huge human and environmental cost of the $10 billion fresh tomato industry: tomatoes that can fly off a [...]
Seed Saving Class: “Super Easy” at the EcoHouse 8/14/11
Join Rebecca Newburn of Richmond Grows for a morning 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 [...]
Climate Action and Adaptation Tour at the EcoHouse 8/13/11
Draw inspiration to reduce your impact on climate change, and climate change’s impact on you. We’ll present ideas for do-it-yourself projects with a tour that features our toolshed built with 4 different natural building methods–strawbale, rammed earth, clay, and cob–all topped with a living roof; our ground-breaking constructed wetlands and simple laundry greywater systems; an [...]
Albany Patch Highlights Holy Cow and Pheonix Pastificio
The Ecology Center’s newest market in Albany features an old Berkeley favorite, The Phoenix Pastificio, and welcomes new vendors like Holy Cow, a coffee and tea booth that also sells at the El Cerrito Plaza Farmers’ Market. The Albany Patch recently interviewed the two vendors; click here to find out why customers swoon over Phoenix Pastificio’s [...]
Great Pacific Plastic Patch Changing the Biology of Aquatic Species
This week, Ecology Center Executive Director Martin Bourque met with Captain Charlie Moore at the California Resource Recovery Association in San Diego, CA. Captain Moore discovered the Great Pacific Plastic Patch (a mass of trash that has accumulated into an island in the Pacific Ocean), and tirelessly researches and advocates to stop plastic pollution. His [...]
Sign Up for Your Free Green Housecall: Only One Week Left!
For one more week, Albany residents can take advantage of Rising Sun Energy Center‘s free green house calls, courtesy of the organization’s California Youth Energy Services. During each house call, a team of two youth will provide energy and water-efficiency upgrades by inspecting water faucets and toilets to check for leaks; installing free water-saving faucet [...]
Berkeley Edible Gardens Initiative Part of Larger Movement
The Ecology Center is promoting changes to Berkeley’s zoning codes to facilitate the growing and raising of food. To read more about the Berkeley Edible Gardens Initiative, click here. This initiative is part of a larger movement, which this LA Times story describes: ”Although San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland are the first California cities to craft [...]
Zenith Presents Safety Award to Ecology Center
On July 15, 2011 Zenith Insurance Company presented the Ecology Center with a Safety Award on “Outstanding Efforts in the Area of Employee Safety and Health.” This award is in recognition of the success, commitment and proactive effort toward employee safety demonstrated by the Ecology Center’s staff, management, and Board. For the 2010-2011 policy year, [...]
