Chico, Sustainable

London, Sydney, San Francisco, Google and my house all participated in Earth Hour a couple of nights ago by simply turning off the lights. The city of Toronto (before and after photos above) even reported an 8.7% drop in electricity use between the hours of 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. Saturday night.

Imagine if there was an Earth Hour every night, or even just once a week.

Would the world come to a screeching halt for that hour?

Toronto seems none the worse for wear.

But would it be enough?

For those that don't think so, Earth Month starts on Wednesday, April 2 in full force at the CSU Chico campus, with multiple events taking place each week including movies, workshops, and educational faires.

Here are some of the highlights:
April 2, 3pm-4pm: How to Save Money on your PG&E Bill
April 4, 12pm-2pm: Bike Workshop, Free Speech Area
April 7, 10 am-2pm: Local Food Faire, Free Speech Area
April 8, 9am-12pm: Upper Bidwell Park Cleanup
April 8, 10am-2pm: Solar Panel Education Display, Free Speech Area
April 9, 9am-5pm: Office Energy Efficiency Demo
April 15, 6pm: Socially Responsible Investing Panel, BMU 210
April 16, 10am-2pm: Environmental Health Faire, Free Speech Area

For more information about these events and more, follow the link to Earth Month 2008.

Posted by jmiller at 04:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It would be hard to bike home from a Costco run.

Which is one of the reasons I support Chico Natural Foods.

Here are ten others:

10. There is a bike rack by the front door.

9. I can donate my 5 cent bag credit to the Chico Grange Hall or to the Butte Environmental Council.

8. I was able to bring my own jars, bottles, and bags the other day to purchase parsley flakes, hand soap, shampoo, and locally produced olive oil and honey in bulk, saving up to 25% over what the item would have cost with packaging.

7. If you request that they carry a specific item, chances are pretty good they will follow through (so long as you're not asking for Oscar Meyer bologna or fried pork skins).

6. They sell organic milk (from northern California) in glass bottles, which, when rinsed and returned for the deposit, results in the least expensive organic milk in town.

5. They carry tasty local eggs from Chaffin Family Farms in Oroville.

4. Helpful, friendly, knowledgeable staff.

3. CNF is staying true to their values by phasing out Seeds of Change products, including organic seeds and the popular Indian Simmer Sauces, because Seeds of Change is, sadly, owned by Mars, which is in turn is owned by Coca Cola.

2. In its place, they have begun to carry very reasonably-priced heirloom garden seeds produced by the non-profit Seed Savers Exchange, including the Bidwell Casaba Melon.

1. The ChicoBag Bagmonster is on the Board of Directors.

Posted by jmiller at 07:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Next time you find yourself coming down Highway 32 from Forest Ranch, look straight across the valley to the Mendocino Range and turn your head a bit to the left to glance at the Sutter Buttes. Chances are that you can't see either set of mountains clearly.

This is air pollution, and more specifically, particulate pollution. This is the nasty stuff that is hell on asthma sufferers and generally unhealthy for everyone else. To be blunt, it kills people, and contributes to more than 8,800 premature deaths each year state-wide. This means that these folks would have lived longer had they lived in a particulate pollution-free environment. This is more than twice the number of people killed in vehicle accidents.

Chico--beautiful "City of Trees," Bidwell Park Chico--has the third worst particulate air pollution in the state.

Contrary to popular belief, the burning of rice fields is not the primary culprit.

We are--Our cars, our backyard burn piles, our wood stoves and our fireplaces.

Alternatives exist for all of these--drive less, use wood stoves that are EPA approved, and decide that lighting a fire in the fireplace to simply create "mood" just isn't worth the environmental costs.

Luke Anderson wrote an excellent article in last week's News and Review outlining the issue of particulate pollution and why we all should be very concerned.

Those interested in learning more about the Air Quality Management District's time line for addressing Chico's air quality can attend a public meeting on Thursday, March 27 at 10 a.m. in the Chico City Council Chambers.

For more information on the health effects of air pollution, check out www.burningissues.org.

To view real-time data about air quality in Chico, go to www.bcaqmd.org and click on "Today's Conditions."

Posted by jmiller at 11:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If one were to try to identify Chico's greatest resource, the University and Bidwell Park immediately come to mind.

However, there are many that could make a strong argument that the year-round Saturday Farmers' Market deserves that top honor.

Not only is it a source of the freshest, tastiest food and produce in town--I am partial to Dave Miller's California Sun bread and the Pyramid Farm carrots--but is also has the highest concentration of smiling faces that Chico sees each week.

If I just want to get my food and go, I get there at 7:30 am. If I want to catch up with the friends and neighbors in my community, I get there later.

Very few folks are there at 7:30.

But if the Saturday Market has one fault, it is this:

It is too small.

This past week, on the first Saturday of the Spring, it was a mob scene. There was a traffic jam of bodies by Hearth and Stone breads, and another by the gentleman selling willow-cane furniture. People were lined up 4 and 5 deep to buy tomato starts.

The most successful vendors seemed to be the ones with multiple people working the stall.

Though I am still a Chico newbie (this is only my second spring), I predict that the Saturday Market's popularity will grow to record levels in the upcoming weeks and months.

More people are waking up to the importance of fresh food, and supporting local food producers.
More people are craving--and finding--community at the Farmers' Market.

Terry Givens, if you are reading this, I hope you and the vendors are ready. I predict a tidal wave is coming.

Posted by jmiller at 08:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

If you have a spare hour on Thursday, March 20, volunteers from GRUB and the community will be helping to put in a school garden at Chapman Elementary School at 1071 East 16th Street.

Gardening will take place from 9 a.m. to noon, no experience necessary.

Speaking of gardening, I will be doing my part to rage against the machine by planting some heirloom veggies this spring. Heirlooms are among the thousands of seed varieties that are being "lost" as big agriculture chooses instead to focus on those small handful of fruit and vegetables that grow to a uniform size and shape, ripen all at the same time, and can be packed and shipped long distances without bruising or spoiling.

Genetic diversity is nature's way of hedging against diseases that might wipe out one variety but not another. By relying on only a few varieties of each plant (like fuji apples or burbank russet potatoes) and neglecting the other thousands of varieties out there by not planting them, we place our food system at risk.

Seeds will lose their viability over time. For example, if we don't plant a specific variety of heirloom squash every few years, then that variety will simply go extinct.

One of the plants I plan to try to grow his year is the Bidwell's Casaba, a melon. I purchased the seeds from Seed Saver's Exchange:

"This melon hails from Chico California, grown by John Bidwell (1819-1900), a Civil War General and U.S. Senator who procured his stock-seed from the USDA in 1869. An enormous melon, so big that you will not believe it is true! "

Surprisingly, I haven't heard of folks having much success with them these days, at least not in Chico, and I certainly haven't seen the fruits sold at the Farmers' Market.

But I'll give it a shot. With luck, I'll post some photos in August.

Posted by jmiller at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The California Water Service Company owns a lot of land in Chico. With some exceptions, each site is home to a well, a chain link fence, and a grassy lawn, irrigated with sprinklers.

I am told that someday their lawns would be converted to drought-tolerant landscaping, but I have some ideas for the interim.

I call them up and I inquired as to whether or not the sprinklers could be used to water community gardens rather than lawn, and they mentioned that it would be a liability.

Okay, I replied. What about using the chain link fences as a trellis for raspberries, which would be there for public enjoyment?

The response was that it sounded like an interesting idea.

I would much rather the Water Company grow raspberries instead of grass. Raspberries taste better.

It could happen.

Posted by jmiller at 10:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So, I did attend the Chico 2030 General Plan Workshop on Tuesday night, along with about 70 other folks, according to the ER. Some buddies of mine were pleased that I was going: “Represent!” they said.

With a population of about 85,000 in Chico, I guess each attendee represented over 1000 citizens.

The topic of the evening was “Local Economy and Land Use.” The presenters kept the workshop moving pretty well, with a 45 minute presentation following by about an hour of wandering around and participating in various stations that tried to garner opinions about job growth, were to build (and where not to build) new housing, and related topics.

But I had a couple of questions that were not answered.

The Powers That Be are projecting, based on current trends, that Chico will have 51,000 more people by 2030.

What I want to know is, who will these people be? What kind of community will they be looking for? What kind of homes will they be looking for?

Again, based on current national trends, a large number of these folks will be retirees. Based on California trends, a large number of them will also be from the Bay Area.

But who says we have to casually accept the figure that 51,000 people will move to Chico in the next 22 years? Do we have any control over this number? Are we obligated to accommodate the housing desires of each person?

What would happen if, instead, we build the type of homes and create the type of neighborhoods that we, the present residents of Chico, want to see? What I want to see are neighborhoods that are built to be pedestrian and bike friendly, with lots of trees and pocket parks, and that de-emphasize the car by being easily accessible to shopping and amenities via sidewalk, bike path, or public transportation. I want to see attractive, energy-efficient, sustainably built housing options that are affordable by Chico standards, and not by Berkeley standards.

If people like what they see, they should move here. But if they are looking for something different, well, then maybe not all of those 51,000 people won’t be moving here.

I am sure there are folks better versed in community economics and the home construction industry than I that can point out numerous flaws in my reasoning. But I believe our environment is having enough trouble handling the development and growth of the last 20 years (Chico has among the worst air quality in the state); we simply cannot afford more of the same. And on that note, the next General Plan workshop is on April 8, and the topic will be “Environment and Sustainability.” I hope more people show up—I don’t know if I can handle representing the opinions of 1000 people again.

By the way--Dan, if you’re reading this, the snacks were delicious.

Posted by jmiller at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

If you want to have a say in the future of Chico, I cannot emphasize how important it is to attend the General Plan Workshops and make yourself heard. "Land Use and Local Economy" is the topic for tonight; I am going to at least try and make it to the "Environment and Sustainability" workshop on April 8, though all are important.

As Dan Ngyuen-Tan so deftly points out in his blog (in addition to more poignant insights), there will be snacks at each of the sessions, so don't forget to bring your own water bottle, bandana/napkin, , plate/bowl, and fork to keep from having to use disposal paper plates etc. and save our budget-strapped city a couple of cents. Kudos to those who carpool , Super-Kudos to those who bike.

In fact, I think we should have a "Bring Your Fork to Work Day, Everyday," and abolish disposable flatware altogether.

Posted by jmiller at 01:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I haven't bought frozen orange juice for 4 months. In fact, I haven't purchased any orange juice from the supermarket that originated outside of northern California.

Some of my good friends would be shocked. I once drank frozen orange juice like it was water. It was said that it flowed through my veins.

But I've change my tune over the last few months. I can no longer stomach drinking or purchasing orange juice shipped in from Florida or Brazil, especially when I can get local oranges grown in Butte County.

Also, I was drinking up to four or five glasses of orange juice a day. I have since learned that each glass contains the equivalent of three oranges. Some call that overkill--oranges contain sugar too, even if it is fructose.

I have since been eating 2-4 local oranges a week, with a glass of fresh squeezed oj perhaps once a week.

In my opinion, it is a superior and healthier system, both for me and for the local economy.

I will continue to enjoy the oranges while they are in season, and when they aren't, I will move on to a different fruit.

Local strawberries, anyone?

Posted by jmiller at 08:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

This Saturday McManus Elementary on East Avenue and Mi Escuelita Maya preschol in southwest Chico are both having school garden workdays. We will be assembling raised garden beds at McManus from 8-2 and digging up the dirt to prep the garden at Mi Esceulita Maya. Contact the Chico Food Network or the GRUB Program for information on how to get involved with these or other school garden projects.

I rank the importance of teaching and learning gardens right up there with the school library and gym. Sadly, very few campuses have school gardens.

The school garden is the classroom where students can learn first hand where food really comes from, not to mention be able to do art projects, study native american plants, learn about photosynthesis, insect adaptations, health and nutrition, nutrient cycling, ecology, soil science, appled math, poetry writing, Mendelian genetics, food webs, plant physiology. . .

Imagine if the students spent as much time in a school garden as they do taking multiple choice tests.

School gardens are not easy things for schools. They take time and effort to set up and maintain. Teacher training institutions instruct teachers in classroom management techiniques and reading strategies, but they don't teach educators how to use a school garden to satisfy educational standards. Finally, while it is expected that our schools will keep every classroom supplied with DVD players, textbooks, and overhead projectors, there is no line in the regular school budget for school gardens.

The state recently awarded non-competitive $2500 grants to schools to support school gardens. That's enough to purchase materials and equipment, but materials alone will not ensure a very long lifespan for a school garden.

The responsibility of maintaining a school garden cannot rest on the shoulders of the teachers. They are asked to do too much already. The teachers' role is to teach--just as it is not their responsibility to supply the classroom, desks, and teaching materials that they require to do their job, nor should they be required to weed, water, or tend to the school garden after hours. Nor should they be asked to take personal time to write for grants to support school gardens.

Unfortunately, school districts are not in the position of being able to properly fund school gardens either.

I would suggest that community support is the way to go. Some might suggest that that's what our taxes are for, and that their support should end there. But where would our schools be without the involvement of local businesses or parent volunteers? Where would our schools be if every teacher in the district worked only the hours required by their contract, and not a minute more?

What if our communities supported school gardens with the same enthusiasm that they support after school sports?

What if parent aides in the classroom could be parent aides in the school garden?

Teachers want school gardens on their campuses in Chico. They are asking for help, and slowly but surely the community is responding. Efforts are underway at McManus Elementary, Chapman Elementary, Chico Junior, and Bidwell Junior, and Mi Esceulita Maya to establish garden sites.

I think every school should have a school garden, period. I think they should be as open and accessible to students and teachers as the school library. And I think that our community can and should make this happen. I feel that our community can only benefit from having a student population that has learned to appreciate and enjoy gardens and gardening.

What about summer, you ask? I can imagine an "adopt a garden" program for each school, where a different family from is assigned a specific 1-2 week period in the summer to maintain the garden. School gardens can also be used by summer programs.

If you have them time and want to pitch in, there is plenty of work that needs to be done, on a year-round basis. Make yourself known.

Posted by jmiller at 08:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There is so much going on in this town, it is hard to keep up.

Between campus events, GRUB garden days, meetings and activities of various non-profits, environmental speakers, the bioneers series, the Natural History Museum Lecture series, volunteer opportunities, and countless other events, the calendar can get filled up fast.

That is, when I can find the information to put on the calendar.

This in itself is often a scavenger hunt. Events and activities are listed in the ER, News and Review, Lotus Guide, on the bulletin board at Chico Natural Foods, and dozens of websites. Some groups email me information on their events, others don't.

Having the information all in one place would really simplify matters.

Compiling a "Sustainable Chico Community Calendar" would be a labor of love, but I think it is sorely needed.

Though it is not an exhaustive resource, one big step forward in this direction is www.chicoeco.org, maintained by Nani Teves. In addition to having a calendar, it highlights sustainability efforts in and around town and also acts as a directory of green businesses in Chico. I am especially a fan of the "Projects and Topics" section, which includes excellent photographs of home-oriented sustainability endeavors, many of them doable for folks on a budget.

And, there is a link back to this blog.

Posted by jmiller at 10:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)