December 2008

Incinerator trashed
In November the Santa Cruz County Supervisors voted down the proposed plasma arc incinerator covered in the August Ventana. While the proponents claimed that the facility had no emissions, the data did not support the claim. The Pajaro Valley Coalition for Environmental Justice was joined by Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Brown Berets in defeating the project.

Simitian scores
State Senator Joe Simitian, who represents many of our readers, was named chair of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee for the new legislative session.

Saving Sequoia
Representative Anna Eshoo has introduced a bill in Congress which would transfer the Giant Sequoia National Monument from the National Forest Service to the National Park Service. The bill, HR 7090, would protect national forests and other federal lands from aggressive logging.

Sunny Hawaii
All single family homes built in Hawaii after 2009 must have solar hot water heaters. What a great idea. Let’s get a similar law passed in our own state.

High score
The new scoreboard for the Giants baseball games at AT&T park is powered by the sun. Almost 600 solar panels make it flash and glow. That’s a home run in any book.

How clean is my valley?
In October 87 volunteers hauled over 2,400 pounds of trash and 800 pounds of recyclable materials out of the San Lorenzo River and nearby areas. This yearly event is managed by the Valley Women’s Club with help from the San Lorenzo Valley Water District and the County of Santa Cruz.

Bag fees in the future?
The California Ocean Protection Council, a state agency, has proposed not only a ban on polystyrene food containers, but also a fee for plastic bags as a way to cut down on marine debris. When Ireland imposed a tax on plastic bags in 2002, use dropped 95%. Look for state legislation in the future.

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