April 2007 Archives

So much to talk about ...

This Friday in Bangkok, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will release its third highly anticipated report of the year on global warming. This report will offer solutions to minimize climate change through limiting or preventing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing activities that remove them from the atmosphere.

This on the heels of last week's announcement by Canada's conservative government that it will cut greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent by 2020 and ban inefficient incandescent lightbulbs by 2012 as part of a national environmental initiative. Al Gore was quick to criticize the plan over the weekend in Toronto to promote his documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth." What's interesting, though, is that climate change was not a priority for Canadian conservatives when they were elected in January 2006, but polls show it is now one of the most important issues for Canadians. Hmmm.....

And some Inland residents at the state Democratic Party convention in San Diego over the weekend said global warming makes other issues such as raising taxes moot. Check out that story here.

And what about the conservative leadership in the White House? The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency refused to tell Senators last week how soon he will comply with a Supreme Court ruling and decide whether to regulate carbon dioxide, the leading gas linked to global warming. The Supreme Court said the Clean Air Act makes clear the agency must regulate carbon dioxide if it's found that it endangers public health.

And now, our governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, continues his stand on the issue. He notified the U.S. EPA last week that the state will sue if the federal government fails to act on California's request for a waiver to regulate greenhouse gas emissions in new vehicles.

Should be a beautiful weekend on tap for the Inland region...

If you are around Joshua Tree National Park this weekend, you can stop by a new photography exhibit on America's national parks. The exhibit, which runs through the end of June, is at the park's visitor center in Joshua Tree. The images for America's Best Idea were captured by photographer Stan Jorstad. The exhibit opened at Yosemite National Park in October and is now touring the United States at selected national parks.

On Sunday afternoon, the LandUse Learning Center at the Riverside-Corona Resource Conservation District will cut the ribbon on its new demonstration garden of native plants. The garden will help explain how to conserve water and create habitat for urban-adapted wildlife. Oscar Clarke and some of his co-authors will be on hand to sign their new book, "Flora of the Santa Ana River and Environs."

On Sunday evening, the Friends of Palm Springs Mountains are hosting a gathering at Smoke Tree Ranch in Palm Springs to discuss ongoing efforts to preserve Chino Canyon and Snow Creek. They will also discuss the partnership with the Riverside Land Conservancy, a regional group based in Riverside that has helped smaller organizations preserve their hills. The event takes place from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and includes food, drink and, they say, camaraderie. Call 760-835-5628 for more information or send an email to nixmac1@aol.com

The amazing "Planet Earth" series is not quite over. The Discovery Channel on Sunday night will air "The Filmmaker's Story" of how they captured all that amazing footage over more than a five-year period.

"Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea", a documentary about our very own desert lake, is being shown this week in a downtown Los Angeles theater. So I checked into it, and it's actually being shown in Palm Springs this summer. So no need to rush into LA.

According to Amy Hobbs, the filmmakers' publicist, it will be playing at the Camelot Theaters from June 8 until June 14. And, if you want to catch it in your own living room, it will be playing on the Sundance Channel starting June 26.

The documentary was filmed by two USC students. It has been shown at film festivals across the Inland region. Narrated by John Waters, the legendary counterculture filmmaker, the film covers the historical and environmental issues that face the salty desert lake, and profiles the often eccentric and individualistic people who populate its shores.

Somewhat timely news. The state is gearing up to release its final rescue plan for the Salton Sea, home to more than 400 bird species. Stay tuned on that one.

First organic wine, now organic beer?
And apparently it tastes better than regular brew. That's according to Jon Cadoux, the maker of Peak Organic Beer.
He said his Portland, Maine, brew is crafted with only organic ingredients without toxic pesticides, chemical fertilizers and fungicides. And he takes the argument a bit further, saying that those chemicals can cause soil degradation and chemical runoff that contaminates water sources and the ecosystems that they support.
According to the Organic Trade Association, organic beer sales are rising quickly. North American sales were $9 million in 2003 and $19 million in 2005. In 2005, organic beer sales jumped 40 percent, tying with organic coffee as the fastest-growing organic beverage.
Despite my Canadian heritage, I don't drink beer, never acquired a taste for it. My relatives say my genes are wired funny. If anyone has tried any brand of organic beer, let us know how it tastes.

There will be a lecture this Friday night in Palm Desert about the Bradshaw Trail, the road to gold that began in San Bernardino and ended in La Paz, Arizona. First traversed by William Bradshaw in 1862, the trail through Riverside County became one of the greatest trans-desert wagon paths of the 19th century. Today, the trail is essentially Interstate 10. Reda Anderson will take listeners back in time through a multi-media presentation to experience the excitement and hardships of the Bradshaw Trail. Cost is $5.

In case you didn't get enough tips on Earth Day ...
National Geographic recently took over a Website that offers practical advice on how to lead a more environmentally sensitive life. Check it out here. The website is free to the public. It was started in 1994 by a former scientist who worked for the Natural Resources Defense Council. I logged on recently and found tips to make spring cleaning less toxic and other interesting tidbits. It looks like a good resource.

Riverside's own Oscar Clarke will be at the city's main library this Saturday to talk about his recently published book, "Flora of the Santa Ana River and Environs. " Arlee Montalvo, one of his co-authors, will also be on hand. It's really a beautiful book about our local plants. Check it out.

Also Saturday, if you want to buy some of your own plants, Western Municipal Water District will be hosting a sale of so-called water-wise plants that use less water -- a good thing in this time of drought. The agency hosts the sale put on by the Inland Chapter of the California Association of Nurserymen each year, with proceeds benefiting the groups's scholarship fund. It's a good chance to buy plants that can be hard to find at your local nursery. It's also a good chance to pop into the water agency's demonstration garden to see how the plants look in the ground.

Learn how air pollution is changing the face of our deserts. UC Riverside professor Edith Allen will explain how invasive grasses are moving into Joshua Tree National Park and the role air pollution plays in that. The lecture is Friday night at the park's Black Rock Canyon Campgroud Visitor Center in Yucca Valley.

On Sunday, the actual day marking Earth Day, there will be both a festival and a global warming symposium at Dos Lagos in Corona.

Organizers say they hope to attract 5,000 people for the day-long festivities include students racing their model solar cars in a "Green Prix" and a "Save the Earth" oratory contest. Click here for details. The event is sponsored by a new non-profit group called GIVE, or Green Institute for Village Empowerment.

The keynote speaker at the symposium is Edward J. Blakely, the newly appointed recovery chief for New Orleans and the namesake of the Edward J. Blakely Center for Sustainable Suburban Development at UC Riverside.

And if nothing else Sunday, you can catch the last installments of "Planet Earth" ... the amazing 11-part series on the Discovery Channel. The latest episodes will focus on forests and caves. One of the producers said she wants to show people that there are still reasons to save the planet.

What has been your favorite moment of "Planet Earth?"

It seems this year, the Inland region has more Earth Day events than in recent memory. I will list all I know and add any other tidbits in the next few days. As always feel free to post comments with other events. Tomorrow's blog entry will have details on a global warming symposium and Earth Day celebration at Dos Lagos in Corona on Sunday. Stay tuned.

Now for Saturday events.

In its 21st year, the Environmental Expo at Cal State San Bernardino is an environmental education family fair. And it's free. The event was founded by Darleen Stoner, a professor of environmental education, and she continues to be the event's director. The expo includes exhibits, student contests, an “all-species parade," a water festival and an environmental magic show.

At our state parks, you can plant new trees at the California Citrus State Historic Park in Riverside, or help build new campsites, install fence posts and remove non-native plants at Chino Hills State Park. Click here for details on both events.

And in the Coachella Valley ...

The Living Desert's annual Mother Nature's Earth Jam. Admission is $2 or free if you donate an old cell phone. Besides the usual exhibits, the event will feature two award-winning short films - "Season of the Sand Blossoms," an environmental art film set to music, and "Desert Gold," a documentary that tells the life story of desert wildflowers. Filmmakers Peter and Melanie Rhalter will be on hand.

At College of the Desert in Palm Desert, you can learn how to save energy, money and the environment at a free energy conservation fair. You can also get a new energy-efficient lamp by bringing in your old incandescent or halogen lamp fixture. The lamp exchange is offered by Southern California Edison. The fair, sponsored in part by the Coachella Valley Association of Governments, will include conservation tips, hybrids and other fuel-efficient vehicles, energy efficient products and solar energy demonstrations. This event will continue Sunday.

Robert Redford has a new TV series devoted exclusively to environmental issues and it's premiering tonight on the Sundance channel. Each of the 13 episodes of "The Green: Big Ideas for a Small Planet" will focus on a single environmental problem facing the planet. They say the shows will highlight the visionary "everyday" people and cutting-edge innovations that confront the challenges.

The show tonight looks at alternative fuels --- what they are, who's using them and who's developing them. The show goes to a garage in Ojai where an inventor uses used vegetable oil to the Indy 500 race track. Future episodes will look at green building, electric cars, eco-couture, eco-restaurants, sustainable cities, eco-art, recycling, earth-friendly workplaces and faith-based responses to the environment. If anyone checks it out, share your view with us by posting a comment here.

And the folks at Discovery announced earlier this month the launch of Discovery PlanetGreen, which will be the first-ever, 24-hour television network dedicated solely to green lifestyle programming. Beginning in 2008, they will rebrand the Discovery Home Channel as the green channel. Stay tuned on that one.

Tickets went on sale Monday for "Live Earth," the concert on 07-07-07 on all seven continents brought to you by Al Gore, etc. The idea is to bring attention to global warming. In North America, the concert is in New Jersey at Giants Stadium. Click here for ticket information. But for most of us in the Inland region, you guessed it... we'll probably catch it on TV.

That's right.
Students at Riverside Community College are getting an early start on Earth Day, which is Sunday. They are starting their Earth Week today with events through Thursday. And you don't have to be a student or teacher to attend. Everyone is invited, says Cassandra Leimel. She's a member of the two groups on campus, Amnesty International and the Political Awareness Club, that are sponsoring the events.
Today, a lecture on global warming will take place in the RCC cafeteria at 12:50 p.m. by none other than Riverside's own Sam Huang. He'll talk about the art and science of global warming, two things he knows a lot about. And Sparky, that home-made electric vehicle owned by Dick Morris, will be on display outside the cafeteria on the Aguilar patio.
Tomorrow, a skit on environmental issues will be performed by the Optimists of La Sierra University in a cafeteria.
On Wednesday, Huang will show the film "Who Killed the Electric Car," a fascinating documentary, and the short film "California: On The Front Lines of Global Warming." The film was created by the Union of Concerned Scientists. Sparky will also make another appearance.
And on Thursday, Sparky takes center stage when Morris will give a PowerPoint presentation on the vehicle.

If you know of an Earth Day event in Riverside or San Bernardino counties, feel free to post a comment here.

Interesting week in the Inland region's environmental world ...
San Bernardino County was sued for allegedly not considering global warming in land-use planning guide ...
Some of the same environmental groups want to stop the sale of 20 acres from a preserve in the San Bernardino Mountains.
And a Temecula developer chose to settle a lawsuit alleging runoff issues, and agreed to give $25,000 to the same group that runs that preserve.

Now for the coming weekend ...

Several events in the Inland region Saturday will mark the first "National Day of Climate Change." Click here or see earlier blog entry for details.

At the Living Desert in Palm Desert, you can check out the annual bird celebration happening on Saturday and Sunday beginning at 8 a.m. The event is free with paid admission.

And the Discovery Channel's mesmerizing "Planet Earth" series continues Sunday night with episodes on jungles and freshwater habitats.

And no, this is not about a race.
Federal wildlife officials have proposed a plan to deal with ravens that feed on young desert tortoises, making it difficult for the threatened species to rebound.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offers up five ways of dealing with the issue, but says it prefers the option that allows for the identification of ravens preying on or attempting to prey on the lumbering reptiles. At that point, the birds would either be shot, poisoned or trapped. The option would also reduce human sources of food and water for ravens. The federal agency is looking for public comments. They must be postmarked by May 7. Click on the link above to find out how to submit comments.
Desert tortoises have lived in Riverside and San Bernardino counties for hundreds of years. The species is considered threatened with extinction.

So what does that mean?
It's the name of a national grassroots movement aimed at curbing the impacts of global warming. There are events this Saturday in the Inland region from Riverside to Redlands to Rancho Mirage to mark the "National Day of Climate Change." Click here for details on the events.
Bill McKibben, one of the event's organizers, says the day is an invitation to help start a movement to reshape the future.
"If we're going to make the kind of change we need in the short time left us, we need something that looks like the civil rights movement, and we need it now," he wrote on the group's Web site. "Changing light bulbs just isn't enough."
In Riverside, the local Sierra Club chapter will host a tree planting along historic Victoria Avenue. The idea is that trees can absorb carbon dioxide, a main greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. Meet at Washington Park at Mary Street and Victoria Avenue in Riverside.
In Rancho Mirage, Don Hedgepeth will host a 6 p.m. gathering at his house at 71757 Magnesia Falls to talk about writing letters to Congress to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050, the event's main goal.
"I think that the planet needs to be taken care of and if we don’t take care of it, it will wipe us out," he said.
You can call him at 760-776-9986 or drop him an email at red63avanti@verizon.net.
At the University of Redlands, the issue will take center stage at 1 p.m. during the Multicultural Festival at the campus.

With the use of a computer, you have always been able to find out what chemical hazards lie in your neighborhood by tapping into a website run by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
The Bush administration, however, is now allowing industries to stop detailed reporting of their chemical use and disposal as long as they don't use more than 2,000 pounds of most chemicals.
The Environmental Working Group, known for their investigations involving toxic issues and public health, issued a report today on what that means. Here in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, industries will be allowed to release 90,000 pounds of toxic compounds each year without having to tell the public, the group said.
If you've never checked out the EPA's toxics release inventory, also known as TRI, it breaks down toxic releases by city, zip code, state and other means. You can found out which companies release the most chemicals.

He may live in southern Nevada, but Mojave Max's emergence from his winter burrow makes big news among Inland students.

Mojave Max is a desert tortoise, a federally protected species threatened with extinction. In its second year for California, students in Riverside and San Bernardino counties and elsewhere guess the date of his emergence. But they just don't guess.

These students have been studying conditions in the Mojave Desert. Warmer temperatures, longer daylight hours and an internal clock are all factors that contribute to the time when tortoises climb out of their burrows. The contest is part of a wider effort by the Desert Managers Group and others to teach children about tortoises. Anne Staley, a desert tortoise outreach coordinator for the group, which sponsors the event, are developing "Tortoise Trunk" education kits for the state's schools.

Mojave Max, who lives at the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, went into his burrow lon Oct. 28 and hibernated for quite some time. He emerged from his burrow on March 26. It was at 11:34 a.m. The winner of the online contest will be announced soon. Stay tuned!

In case you haven't heard, California and Texas tied for the most species tallied during the annual Great Backyard Bird Count in February. Each state counted 333 different bird species. In California, the most species counted were the American coot, California gull, snow goose, American crow and European starling. Redding was the top community for checklists submitted.

Check California results here, and you can check your own town. Riverside residents spotted nearly 2,000 birds; Redlands counters saw 640 and those in Palms Springs tallied 555 birds.

The count allows Audubon to track and analyze state and national bird distributions. Held each year over Presidents Day weekend, the count is a joint project of the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

There's still room left in a womens-only, two-day navigation workshop at Joshua Tree National Park in mid-April. The classes held by BOW California, or Becoming an Outdoors-Woman, will teach participants about compasses, maps and how to use a GPS. The cost is $135 for the weekend.

For this weekend ....

Constructed wetlands in San Jacinto that are normally closed to the public will be open this Saturday for free, guided bird-watching tours. Recent tours at the wetlands belonging to Eastern Municipal Water District revealed that burrowing owls, birds of prey and the occasional golden eagle hang out there. No reservations are needed, just show up at the wetlands at 8 a.m.

At the San Bernardino County Museum Saturday at 2 p.m., Robert McKernan will give a lecture on bird migration and southeastern California deserts. McKernan is the museum's director. He'll talk about why the area is important ecologically.

Also Saturday, the Redlands Conservancy is having its Emerald Jubilee, a free tour of the city's open space that's open to the public.

And if you can't get enough of Discovery Channel's "Planet Earth" ... the 11-part series continues this Sunday night with "Shallow Seas" and "Great Plains." Can't wait!

Sick of smog in our Inland area and want to sound off on it? Residents will have a chance this Thursday evening to chat one-on-one with air quality regulators who make decisions affecting the Inland area.

Board members of the South Coast Air Quality Management District and top-ranking staff will be on hand for a public reception in downtown Riverside from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Mission Inn. Residents who attend the event can also enter to win a zero-emission electric lawn mower.

The next day, on Friday, the agency's board will hold its regular meeting at Riverside City Hall. Click here for details. David Danelski, who reports on air pollution for the newspaper, says that, among other things, the air district will consider approving a program to label low-polluting products, including air fresheners, bathroom tile and glass cleaners, to help consumers make environmentally friendly choices for their homes.

By the way, the AQMD is still taking registration for its lawn mower exchange program. They will take your gas-powered mower and give you an electric one for $100. Although the events are not for a few weeks, you can pre-register now at www.aqmd.gov or call 888-425-6247. The events are April 21 in Indio, April 28 in Rancho Cucamonga, and May 19 in Riverside.

Perhaps one of the most important environmental rulings from the Supreme Court Monday involved global warming and it comes just days before the next report on the issue is to be released by an international panel of scientists. The Supreme Court ruled that carbon dioxide is a pollutant and and can be regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Air Act. That goes against what the Bush administration believed.

The ruling favored California and other states trying to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, like carbon dioxide, from cars. Thus, California Senator Barbara Boxer reacted quickly. She said she'll be calling EPA officials before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works later this month. She plans to ask agency officials how they will use their authority under the Clean Air Act to begin addressing the challenge of global warming. Should be very interesting.

Meanwhile, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change releases its next major report on global warming Friday from Belgium. It's expected to conclude that human-caused global warming is already increasing drought and heat waves, lessening water availability, and damaging wildlife habitat. Signs of those very things are happening in the West already, said three scientists who study the issues.

Among them is Susanne Moser, a research scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research's Institute for the Study of Society and Environment in Boulder, Colo. She had this to say in a teleconference yesterday: "If we are now at this place, where it is virtually certain climate change is going on and humans are contributing to the change, then the question becomes, 'What are we going to do about it?'"

She said some of the problem lies in the fact that agencies on the local, state and federal level say they don't have a legal mandate to consider the issue when making decisions. That attitude, she said, will deter the nation from being prepared for the impacts of climate change. In her opinion, Hurricane Katrina is an example of that.
"The challenges we are facing are considerable and we should not be nonchalant," she said.

What do you think?

Arguably the Inland region's most successul conservation group, The Wildlands Conservancy will be the topic of discussion Tuesday night at the local Sierra Club meeting. Non-members are invited to attend the 7:30 p.m. event at the San Bernardino County Museum in Redlands.

The conservancy has bought thousands of acres in the desert and mountains, and given most of it to the public. Nestled in Oak Glen, the conservancy also hosts school children for science and outdoor classes. One of their main focuses now is helping to connect the Santa Ana River trail from the mountains to the ocean.

Ralph Salisbury, program chairman of the local Sierra Club, said the featured speaker will by April Sall. She's the manager of the conservancy's Pipes Canyon and Mission Creek preserves, both near Pioneertown. The preserves were hard-hit by last year's Sawtooth Fire and she'll also talk about that.