Mission: The Valley Women’s Club is dedicated to community action, awareness and leadership in environmental, educational, social, and political concerns that affect the health and welfare of the San Lorenzo Valley and our community.
Mission: The Valley Women’s Club is dedicated to community action, awareness and leadership in environmental, educational, social, and political concerns that affect the health and welfare of the San Lorenzo Valley and our community.
Environmental CommitteeThe Environmental Committee works to protect the watershed and to educate the public on forestry issues, erosion control, hazardous waste, recycling and other issues. We also monitor government policies and procedures. Events Roadside Cleanup, Highways 9 and 236: Quarterly ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS Spring 2010 Mountain Parks Spearheading Signature Gathering in SLV Sierra Club Leads Regional Effort to “Save the Parks” The VWC has joined in the statewide effort to gather signatures on an Initiative to “Save the State Parks,” spearheaded locally by the Mountain Parks Foundation and the Ventana Chapter of the Sierra Club. Volunteers are regularly standing outside local stores informing people about the Initiative that will put an additional $18 on vehicle registration fees to provide a fund dedicated to operating our State Parks. In exchange, California drivers would have the privilege of free day use of the State Parks. (Commercial vehicles would not be charged the additional fee; RV’s would be charged.) Putting this Initiative on the ballot will give California Voters the opportunity to assure funding to keep State Parks open, to deal with the extensive deferred maintenance impacting aging facilities, to protect the Parks from vandalism and deterioration, and to assure neighboring communities that the many millions of dollars Parks’ visitors add to their economies will not be lost. Please, call Mountain Parks (335-3174) or the VWC (338-1728) to help collect signatures in the last month of the campaign. Less Fog Puts Coastal Redwoods At Risk A gradual decrease in summer fog along the California coast over the past century may be endangering the region’s giant redwoods and affecting the ecology of the area surrounding the trees, according to a study by UC Berkeley scientists. This confirms the 2004 statements of erosion control specialist, Steven Singer, at the Watershed Festival’s Erosion Control Workshop, produced by the VWC’s Environmental Committee. Steve gave a graphic and disturbing picture of the threat that global warming has on our Redwoods, now confirmed in this research. Mature redwoods are unlikely to die if the decrease in fog persists, he said. But fewer seeds are likely to sprout, take root and grow to maturity. (For the complete article by SF Chronicle Science Editor, David Perlman, click here.) Need Chain Saw Lubricant? Make it Less Harmful A product that can make an environmental difference while keeping your chain saw in top working order is now available locally. BioPlus is a vegetable oil base bar and chain lubricant for chain saws. It is less harmful to environment because, unlike petroleum-based products, it is 93.8% biodegradable in 21 days. BioPlus has excellent flow characteristics at low temperatures and high flash point, important when you’re cutting up a tree blocking your driveway after a rainstorm. It contains a concentrated tackiness additive to help lubricant stay on saw chain at high cutting speeds. It’s now available at BC Hardware in 1 qt. bottles for $5.99 (formerly only available in 2-litre size). To top it off, the container is ok to put in recycling instead of trash as with other oils because of its vegetable base. GET THE DETAILS ONLINE Coastal Commission Hearings Coming to Santa Cruz, March 10,11, 12, Board of Supervisors Chamber, County Building. It’s been years since it has met locally and this remarkable Commission has huge influence on the California Coast. You can attend! Agenda: Click here. Transition: Santa Cruz expanding into the SLV, bringing local focus to a worldwide movement, Transition Towns (NY Times magazine article). Transition Santa Cruz is bringing local folks together to create local solutions to the need to move from reliance on petroleum products with practical, workable programs. Learn more from The Transition Handbook. Click here. Extended Producer Responsibility can help solve the problems associated with hazardous waste disposal (like fluorescent bulbs or pharmaceuticals), and motivate the development of products with less waste overall. California Product Stewardship Council is working hard to make it happen in California. Check out their 2010 legislation webpage. Dive into the Ocean on Google Earth through photos, videos and stories on the new “Explore the Ocean” option on Google Earth. Santa Cruz Mountains Bioregional Council Defines “Sustainable Forestry” with a true look at extended yield logging vs. true sustainable forestry, and their impacts on the forest. Click here. Salmon Need Water, and California is beginning a process to regulate excessive vineyard water diversions to protect imperiled salmon in the Russian River watershed. Vineyards pump water for grapes from streams that are the spawning grounds of federally protected Coho salmon, Chinook salmon, and steelhead trout. See the weekly e-newsletter from the Center for Biological Diversity, No. 497, January 28, 2010. Learn more. KQED Radio Story on Central Coast Salmon
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