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Local, Seasonal, Sustainable
tulip magnolia

Magnolia soulangeana

IN BLOOM: Tulip Magnolia

Wildly popular in the south of England, in Marin the tulip, or saucer, magnolia is a wintertime delight. The large pink and white blossoms burst open in February and last well into early spring. The flowers are even more dramatic and lovely to the beholder because they bloom before the tree's leaves emerge.

Falling for Life

GLOBAL ACTION ALERTS

In a new feature, we're promoting nonprofit fundraising efforts, beginning with "Falling for Life," an event to benefit people and the planet. It's a one-man effort by well-known conservationist Michael Stewartt of Santa Fe, NM. We're impressed with his high-flying attitude. Read more.

MARIN OUTSIDER

It's gray whale-watching season, and lucky for us Pt. Reyes National Seashore is again offering the expertise of its rangers to help us see -- and learn -- more about these fascinating creatures. Even better, the vantage point for this free weekend activity is the historic Pt. Reyes Lighthouse. Weekends through April 25.

See "Journey of the Whales" at www.nps.gov/pore/index.htm


TM Archive
Articles from Issues 1-4

lizard

Lizard tests the air: almost warm enough!
Nature photos by Jocelyn Knight

NEARLY SPRING | March 2010

pt reyes cow
Greener Pastures

Trees along the nation's Eastern Seaboard are growing two to four times faster than normal, apparently in response to rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, according to a report released in early February. "My guess is that they are sopping up some of the extra carbon," says its co-author, Geoffrey G. Parker.

The symbiosis between plants and CO2 that gave those trees back East a boost is the focus of the ongoing Marin Carbon Project. Its goal: to investigate and document exactly how new land management practices could enhance the natural process to soak up man's unwanted CO2 -- and make the good earth itself even better, for plant and animal.

For more information:

Study Finds a Tree Growth Spurt (NY Times)

Marin Carbon Project

'Sinking' C02 Naturally (TerraMarin)

Study in West Marin fights global warming (Marin IJ)
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Get Involved!

SPAWN (Salmon Protection and Watershed Network) is always looking for volunteers to help save the salmon in Marin -- and learn more about nature in the process. The group is currently hosting native plant nursery days every Friday and Saturday between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Samuel P. Taylor Park.

For a complete description and list of events, visit SPAWN at
www.spawnusa.org/upcomingevents

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Water Use and Our Solar Future

MMWD is the county's largest consumer of electricity: Water is heavy (a gallon of water weighs about 8 pounds) and it takes a lot of energy to process and deliver it. What doesn't waste water, according to SPG Solar in Novato, is its product: solar energy. "Solar photovoltaic energy creates almost no water footprint because it does not need to be cooled," says CEO Tom Rooney.

While that may be true for residential and commercial installations, it's not the case for large solar farms, like those in California's Mojave Desert, which can use upwards of 500 million gallons of water a year for cooling purposes -- one example of the growing controversy over the disconnect between what's renewable and what's environmentally sustainable.

Squirrels

Squirrels just want to have fun

Editor's Corner

Climate as Battle Front

The climate is heating up and not just atmospherically -- the opposition has put the elephant in the room and framed the attack: debunk climate scientists themselves as a way to sidetrack any moves to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

In the cross hairs now, the EPA and the Nobel Prize-winning Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC has been hammered by political adversaries for comments made in embarrassing emails. As the New York Times reports, the email "climategate" episode earlier this winter scored a hit, sending IPCC'ers back to the lab to rethink their public relations stance -- as in, having a stance to begin with.

Writes John Broder, climate scientists are realizing "they are facing a crisis of public confidence and have to fight back."

While the IPCC rethinks its public persona, the EPA finds itself in the hot seat for relying on IPCC's 2007 climate change report in its groundbreaking move last December to officially deem CO2 and other greenhouse gases a public health hazard. Doing so opens the door for potential regulations on CO2 "pollution." And the action itself is an Obama Administration coup: the EPA tried, but failed, to make the same finding during the Bush years.

Last month the state of Texas, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Ohio’s coal producers filed petitions in the U.S. Court of Appeals challenging the EPA’s finding by arguing that the IPCC lacks credibility as "unearthed" when the emails were first made public during and after the Copenhagen conference.

When its suit was announced, Ohio Coal Association's president, Mike Carey charged, "These were not scientists seeking the truth. This was an organization with a political agenda, intent on showing a pattern of global warming ... We can not sit back and allow the EPA to take such drastic action.”

Lamented Carey, regulations on GHG emissions would be “certain to crush the coal industry in Ohio and throughout the United States.”

For more information:

Scientists Taking Steps to Defend Work on Climate (NY Times)

World's top scientists to review climate panel (Associated Press)