Archive for November, 2011
City Chicks at the Ecology Center Bookstore 12/1/11!
This Thursday, join us for a discussion with author Patricia Foreman on chickens and how they can help city-dwellers live more sustainably. Pat’s new book, “City Chicks”, describes in detail how to develop your own “Chicken Have More Plan” for increased self-sufficiency. Learn how to create hyper-fertile soils to produce nutritious food from your garden. [...]
Rebates and Free Services for Energy Efficiency Work
Winter is arriving, and there are funds available for keeping your utility bill low, your energy consumption down, and your toes a little toastier! Through the Energy Upgrade California program, homeowners can get between $1,000-$4,000 in rebates from their utility provider. Additional funds from the county or city may be available as well. The Pacific [...]
Reportback from Resilience Convening
The Ecology Center recently co-convened the Bay Area Convening on Resilience and Equity hosted by Bay Localize. Over 150 community advocates and policy leaders gathered on 11/11/11 to forge new connections and build the movement for a socially just climate strategy for our region. EC staff members Sharlana Turner and Johnathan Hill from our Farm [...]
Dish Up the Fresh Stuff from Today’s Farmers’ Market
Thanksgiving chefs, your market day has come! Today, Tuesday, is the last market before our favorite food-centered holiday on Thursday. Be sure to come by Derby and MLK Jr. Way in Berkeley from 2 – 6 pm. The vendors are well-stocked in lots of produce, bread, cheeses and other fresh foods to round out your [...]
Holiday Travel: Planes, Trains and Biofueled-Hybrid-Offset-Carpools
If you have to travel around the holidays, don’t let your best intentions for eco-friendly living fly out the window. Here’s a few tips to help you have a great vacation and keep your impact on the planet to a minimum. Getting There: * Take the train. A train can use up to 70% less [...]
Cottage Food Law Campaign for California
The Sustainable Economies Law Center is heading up a campaign for a Cottage Food Law in California in 2012. Cottage Food Laws have been passed in 28 states, many of these since the economic downturn began in 2007. They can reduce barriers for small-scale food entrepreneurs, allowing them to sell certain low-risk, homemade foods. This [...]
Berkeley Getting Ready to Ban Plastic Bags
Berkeley has been poised to ban disposable, single-use plastic bags for a few years now. But the plastics industry has beaten back similar measures in other cities, tying the efforts up in costly lawsuits. And then the plastics industry lobbied hard to kill a statewide bill to ban plastic bags. This time, Berkeley is ready [...]
The Story of Broke
Check out the newest release from our friends at the Story of Stuff. The Story of Broke provides solutions to concerns raised in their first video. If you’ve resonated with the frustration expressed by the Occupy Wall Street movement, but wonder how we can afford the changes we really need, be sure to take a [...]
Farmers’ Market Highlights: Tara Firma and La Tercera Farms
The most recent Census of Agriculture, conducted by the USDA in 2007 and released in 2009, revealed many trends that are encouraging for sustainable agriculture advocates. The data shows that the amount of acreage under organic production continues to grow, and that the number of small farms in the United States is rising. Strikingly, in [...]
Food Justice Weekend Reportback
The annual CFSC Food Justice Conference was in full swing this weekend in Oakland, and Martin Bourque, our Executive Director, was in the thick of it. Here’s his reportback… Since last October, the Ecology Center has played a leadership role in the Local Host Committee organizing and promoting the Food Justice Conference. The Ecology Center, [...]
Bay Area Convening on Resilience and Equity, 11/11/11
Bay Localize and co-conveners invite you to the Bay Area Convening on Resilience and Equity, a gathering of community groups, social movements, and public planners to chart a path for resilience with justice in the Bay Area! Resilience is quickly becoming a buzzword. Regional plans are being formulated for resilient economy, climate adaptation, and emergency [...]
Food Justice Conference this Weekend: Free Community Events
You have probably heard about the upcoming national food justice conference the next four days in Oakland. CFJC and the Local Host Committee believe that this event should not be exclusive and that local communities should have access and opportunity to be a part of the conference. There are a number of ways that local [...]
Solidarity Statement with Occupy Wall Street Movement
The Ecology Center would like to express our solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement in the East Bay, San Francisco, Oakland, and elsewhere across the United States and the world. We join with the 99% in seeking solutions to end structural inequalities in our economic system that bar a large number of our fellow [...]
