http://ecologycenter.org/terrain Northern California's Environmental Magazine Wed, 17 Jun 2009 22:44:53 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en As I drove around the block for the fourth time, looking for a parking space near Oakland’s Jack London Square, the irony hit me: I had chosen my car to get to the headquarters of a company that hopes to revolutionize public transit. By the time I finally ditched my ... http://ecologycenter.org/terrain/issues/summer-2009/beyond-bart/ At 7:30 am on a chilly springtime Saturday, I head off to San Francisco’s Alemany Farmers’ Market, established in 1947 after a long fight with competition-wary retail grocers. It’s perfect territory to meet family practice physician Daphne Miller, author of The Jungle Effect, a different kind of diet book that ... http://ecologycenter.org/terrain/issues/summer-2009/in-the-field/ The jumbo squid arrived off the Northern California coastline sometime around 2002. It didn’t seem unusual at the time: Every ten or twenty years the squid meander up from Central America, following warm currents and the fish they like to eat. They leave a few years later when conditions change. ... http://ecologycenter.org/terrain/issues/summer-2009/for-all-the-fish-so-long/ Tucked behind Monterey’s famous aquarium, where summertime crowds line up around the block to gawk at fish in tanks, the Hopkins Marine Station has been quietly studying the marine life you rarely see. Over the last decade, the research institution has coordinated a massive tagging and tracking effort to find ... http://ecologycenter.org/terrain/issues/fall-2000/topp-secret/ Ano ang aalalahanin? asks the bulletin about fishing in San Pablo Reservoir. The bulletin’s color scheme evokes a day on the water: white lettering against vivid blue-green. In Tagalog, this means: “What is there to be concerned about?” The answer is meant to be chilling: “Certain types of fish contain ... http://ecologycenter.org/terrain/issues/summer-2009/angling-for-trouble/ During low tide on a March afternoon, Larry Knowles, hat slouched on his head like a tea cozy, stands atop driftwood and gestures towards the pristine Mendocino coastline. Below him swirl the brown, whip-like tubes of last year’s bull kelp load. Thousands of flies buzz frantically, feasting on the slowly ... http://ecologycenter.org/terrain/issues/summer-2009/sea-combers/ Bob Battalio and David Revell brace against a powerful wind as bits of litter fly past and waves crash below. It’s a bright, clear April afternoon, and we are standing on the Pacifica pier, the long, L-shaped piece of engineering that juts defiantly into the ocean. Pacifica, located just a ... http://ecologycenter.org/terrain/issues/summer-2009/a-rising-tide/ Standing on a raised stage in a small, dimly lit conference room, her head nearly touching the low ceiling, Wendy Martin is ready to call her audience to action. “I believe we are still in a drought,” she says firmly. “And I’m not going to let up and say we’re ... http://ecologycenter.org/terrain/issues/summer-2009/running-dry/ Trees: A Visual Guide Tony Rodd and Jennifer Stackhouse University of California Press, 2008, $29.95 Between Earth and Sky: Our Intimate Connections to Trees Nalini Nadkarni University of California Press, 2008 $24.95 hardcover, $17.95 paper These two books published in the same year by UC Press could hardly be more inspiring. As classroom texts, they could jumpstart ... http://ecologycenter.org/terrain/uncategorized/essential-reads-13/ Banned: methyl bromide, an extremely toxic and ozone-depleting pesticide. Banned: genetically modified organisms. And as of April 25, 2009, banned: plastic bags, packaging, and utensils at the Ecology Center’s Berkeley Farmers’ Markets. The market has always held its vendors to strict standards of environmental sustainability and social responsibility, and on ... http://ecologycenter.org/terrain/issues/summer-2009/macrame-time/