Fall 2003
Table of Contents
Letters
The article on herbicides in the Klamath National Forest (KNF) (Summer 2003) ignored the KNF’s reasons for spraying to control invasive non-native weeds which are destroying our biological diversity.
No Escape: Fish Farming is Not a Fix
As global fish populations hover around ten percent of historic numbers, consumer demand for premium fish products continues to rise.
So Much for Setting Limits
On June 2, just one month after introducing groundbreaking legislation on suburban sprawl, State Assemblyperson Pat Wiggins (D, Santa Rosa) bowed to pressure from builders and realtors by gutting her own bill.
When Big Oil Lives Next Door
We’re watching you! We’re watching you!” chanted activists as their colleagues were carted away by “police” in a role-playing exercise at Our Power Camp in Occidental, organized by the Ruckus Society and others, for more than 50 representatives from US and Canadian communities affected by the energy industry.
Power Plant Drains the Colorado
Residents of Mesa Verde, a small town 60 miles north of Mexico, recently won official recognition of their protest against the second power plant in their community.
The Price of Paradise
Napa Valley is small and narrow, a geological wrinkle that both dictates and follows the course of a little river. Route 29 follows the river too, and traveling on it makes the valley seem even narrower.
Crush
As space on valley floors runs out, the hills are alive with the sound of bulldozers.
Under the Skin
“I don’t see us ever gaining organic status,” says Jason Kesner, manager of Lee Hudson Vineyards. “Our economic viability on a year-to-year basis can be seriously threatened by a pest.” Then he adds a familiar refrain: “It’s hard to be green when you’re in the red.”
Muddied Waters
Water wars in California usually pit north against south, but on the North Coast, grapes suck up groundwater like never before.
Greening the Vines
More and more growers are going organic. Just don’t expect to see it on the label.
Barren Ground
To reduce weedy competition in vineyards, growers regularly spray herbicides like Roundup between the rows of trellised vines. Is Roundup as benign as growers believe?
Between the Vines
To wine country environmentalists who have seen natural communities displaced by an ever-expanding grapescape, the notion that vineyards can be viable wildlife habitat is like calling parking lots habitat.
Growing Profits
The USDA peddles the farm of the future.
The Terror Tag
One day this spring, I heard a radio ad while driving through northern Mendocino County. Over a background of shouting and unidentifiable mayhem, a smooth male voice said, “This is a terrorist attack on our community, jobs, and way of life. At PALCO, we’re committed to protecting our community.”
California’a Own
It’s a hot day in the wet section of Anderson Marsh Park in Lake County. After crossing the parched meadow, we’re taking a moment to cool off on the shady boardwalk and let the birds — jays, a black phoebe, rowdy robins, swallows above the trees — entertain us.
Along for the Ride
In the last few months, two things happened that got me to thinking about salamanders.
Trip for Trash
I arrive at the Solid Waste Transfer Station and Recycling Center at 5AM on a gray June morning. Most of you probably don’t know what the world looks like at 5. Dark and cold.
Cabbage Meets Cars
As the co-manager of the Ecology Center’s farmers’ markets, I know that birthing a market involves more than lining up growers.
Paging Dr Cluck
What do bread crumbs and compost have in common? Hint: in one end, out the other.
From Tree to Hand
As we wait for the bus in front of Berkeley’s Longfellow Middle School on a foggy morning, I find myself dancing with 20 sixth-graders.
