Articles by Lisa Owens Viani
Gentle Treatment
Cities run up against regulations in an attempt to go green.
Are Bay Harbor Seals Facing a New Chemical Health Threat?
Between globs of oil, six-pack rings, used condoms, and discarded sippy cups, harbor seals have plenty of hazards to dodge in San Francisco Bay. But some potential threats to their health may be more insidious.
Outside In: Renegades to the Rescue
Birders got busy as officials fluttered…
Bringing the Outside In
How can officials and volunteers work together to rescue birds? A chat with Eddie Bartley.
Dropping Drugs
What should you do with expired or unneeded antibiotics, hormones, painkillers, Viagra?
A Redder Shade of Green
A Marxist geographer celebrates green activists. Lisa Owens Viani talks to Richard Walker.
Backwater Berkeley
“All these parking lots could detain and filter water.”
Battling for Bay Shore
Richmond citizens take the lead in shoreline planning
Worm Food
The earth under your feet is a sponge—and worms just can’t say no
Sprawl Valley
Suburbs from Hell devour California’s landscapes—and our psyches.
On The Green Beat
Don’t dump used motor oil—or anything else—in Santa Rosa. This city of 175,000 has a full-time environmental cop
Delta Blues
The hundred-year flood, the next big quake—which will trash California’s water system, and when?
Eye on Target
If you’ve driven I-80 recently past Albany and were startled by the sight of a big new box with a bright red bull’s-eye peering at you from the side of the freeway, you’re in good company. Target’s new store was plopped down in what many longtime observers say is a seasonal wetland—before regulatory agencies knew what was going on.
Contra Ka-Ching!
The Sierra Club has not taken an official position on the Point Molate casino, fearing that many residents may support it.
Feathering the Nest
In today’s stingy political climate, winning arguments for restoring damaged ecosystems can depend on convincing bottom-liners that working with nature instead of fighting it saves money and boosts economies.












