Ojai Valley Green Coalition

California Cash for Appliances program expands!

2010-07-20T22:36:15Z

The California Cash for Appliances rebates program is adding more choices for Californians to save - high energy efficient dishwashers, freezers, water heaters, and heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems will soon all be included in California Cash for Appliances PLUS. Consumers have up to 120 days from the purchase date (beginning July 29, 2010) to submit their rebate application by mail. Read details by clicking the link below! ]]> www.cash4appliances.org/products/index.html. Instructions on how to complete an application for the California Cash for Appliances rebate is available here: www.cash4appliances.org/consumers/Rebate-Form.pdf Current eligible energy efficient appliances and rebate amounts available are: refrigerators $200, clothes washers $100, and room air conditioners up to $50. Proposed energy efficient appliance rebate include: dishwashers $100, freezers $50, water heaters $300-$750, and HVAC systems: $500-$1000. For information on how to properly recycle an old appliance, visit: www.cash4appliances.org/consumers/recycle.html Additional information is also available through retailer locations across the state and consumers can call the toll-free number for questions at: 1-888-390-4034.

July 2010 E-news

2010-07-12T15:43:18Z

* Our July Community Presentation: The Film Coal Country * Andy Lipkis Inspirational at Dirt! The Movie * Executive Director Deborah Pendrey on "Facing the Facts about Where Our Energy’s Been Coming From" and “State Measure 94 Becomes Proposition 23” * An Update on the Draft Ojai Light Ordinance * The Progress of the Ojai Creek Restoration * Linda Harmon Interviews Thacher Grad William Logan, Author of Dirt (the Book) Read the .pdf version: http://www.ojaivalleygreencoalition.org/OVGC_Enews_0710_Web.pdf

COAL COUNTRY Film Showing - July 24

2010-07-12T14:00:06Z

Don't miss the July Community Presentation from the Ojai Valley Green Coalition: Coal Country, Saturday July 24. Coal Country tells of the dramatic struggle around the use of coal, which provides over half the electricity in America. - Watch the film trailer - Download the event flyer - Read the press release

Culinary Club Tasting Social - July 31

2010-07-12T13:30:04Z

The Culinary Club of the Ojai Valley Green Coalition would like to invite you to their Recipe Swap and Tasting Social on Saturday, July 31, 2pm - 5pm. Join in with your favorite recipe featuring this seasons local, fresh produce - the social will be held on a small urban farm with chickens, veggies, and native plants and trees! - Download the event flyer for details!

Light Pollution in the Ojai Valley

2010-06-17T08:10:42Z

On May 11, 2010, at the Ojai City Council meeting, during Unscheduled Items, Ojai resident Martin Potter spoke eloquently for three minutes on light pollution. He gave a history of how he has been trying to get the City to enforce their own ordinance for five years! Here is what he said: My name is Martin Potter and I live at 108 East Eucalyptus Street. I’m here tonight to speak about enforcement of the City of Ojai Zoning Regulation which deals with light pollution. Light pollution is the nighttime spill of light upward and outside the boundaries of the property which the light is installed. Light pollution tends to light an otherwise dark sky and interferes with our ability to see the stars, and it is a global problem. ]]> Posted by Suza Francina

Creek Restoration Workday - June 19

2010-06-07T20:22:35Z

A final spring Ojai Creek restoration volunteer workday will begin at 9:30 A.M., Saturday, June 19, in Libbey Park to weed and mulch the areas already planted with native vegetation. This project is sponsored by the Watershed Committee of the Ojai Valley Green Coalition in partnership with the Earth Island Institute, the Wetlands Recovery Project, and the Coastal Conservancy of Southern California.]]> DETAILS: Wear sturdy work shoes, long sleeves, and long pants. If you have gloves, shovel, rake and/or wheelbarrow those would be helpful, but not necessary. Meet at the Libbey Park Gazebo for initial training. For more information please call 669-8445.

DIRT! Film Showing - June 26

2010-06-07T19:45:15Z

Dirt! The Movie takes a humorous look into the history and current state of the living organic matter that we come from and will later return to. Join us at a screening sponsored by the Ojai Valley Green Coalition on Saturday, June 26, at the Ojai Theatre. Making a special appearance at the screening will be Andy Lipkis, the founder of TreePeople.]]> DOWNLOAD THE EVENT POSTER HERE

June 2010 E-News

2010-06-05T17:27:11Z

* Our June Community Presentation: Dirt! The Movie, Saturday, June 26 * Welcome to the New Chair of the Building Committee - A Perfect Fit for the Job! * Come Meet and Greet at Libbey Park Sunday, June 6! * Executive Director Deborah Pendrey: "The State of the Planet Leaves Mulch to be Desired." * November Ballot Initiative Would Overturn AB 32 Read the .pdf version: http://www.ojaivalleygreencoalition.org/OVGC_E-News_0610.pdf

Open Letter to Vons Corporation - Bike Racks Needed

2010-06-04T21:02:33Z

Ojai Valley Green Coalition recently wrote to Vons Corporation asking them to promote alternative transportation by installing bike racks at their Ojai location.Given the recent efforts by the City of Ojai to install bike racks around the city, plus the many citizen complaints regarding the lack of bike racks and scarcity of parking spaces for cars in the shopping center where Vons is located, we felt it important to initiate a campaign to correct the situation. Download our letter HERE, and please send your own letter in support: Tom Keller Vons Corporation 618 Michillinda Avenue Arcadia, CA 91007

Join me for a Coalition social - June 6

2010-06-01T18:04:40Z

Ruth Cooper is extending an invitation to a Coalition social on June 6, 3 pm - 4:40 pm, in Libbey Park. Plan to attend to learn about current goings on and meet some of the Coalition's active members! "A coalition brings together several groups and individuals for a common aim, and the Ojai Valley Green Coalition does just that. At the events and meetings I have attended, I've met farmers, building contractors, representatives of non-profit organizations, and community leaders and interested citizens of all ages who show up to educate themselves about sustainability issues. Some get more involved and join with others to promote sustainable policies and practices, or to do hands-on things like planting trees, cleaning up trash, and helping people start their own vegetable gardens. Every time I help with a project or attend a presentation, it helps me feel more part of the community, and gives me a good feeling to have done something positive for it. There's going to be a Coalition "social" at Libbey Park on Sunday, June 6th from 3-4:40. You can bring a snack and a lawn chair if you like, and come play and visit. It's a great way to learn about the Coalition's current goings on and meet some of the active members, without having to attend a formal meeting. Or just come to have some fun and meet some local residents. What we all have in common is a love of the Ojai Valley, a desire to care for it, and a willingness to learn." Ruth Cooper Ojai

"Cycle of Insanity: The Real Story of Water" - May 26

2010-05-18T19:36:45Z

THINKING LIKE A WATERSHED Thinking like a watershed is what Brock Dolman of the WATER Institute would like all of us to start doing. On May 26 he’ll be in Ojai to comment on a 20-minute documentary produced by the Surfrider Foundation called Cycle of Insanity: The Real Story of Water and speak on water issues. Dolman, who is cofounder of the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, is a wildlife biologist and a permaculture, erosion control and watershed restoration consultant. He maintains that we’re not in a water crisis; it’s our water-management system that is in crisis. This affects how much water we have in our reservoirs, storage tanks, and groundwater basins. Decision makers have focused on short-term solutions to long-term watershed problems. Members of the audience will receive a free copy of Dolman’s booklet Basins of Relations: A Citizen’s Guide to Protecting and Restoring Our Watersheds. The May 26 presentation (click to download a pdf flyer) will take place at the Chaparral High School Auditorium, 414 E. Ojai Avenue in Ojai, at 7 P.M. A $5 suggested entry donation will include a copy of the Basins of Relations booklet. ]]> coordinator@ojaivalleygreencoalition.org.

"GOING TO SEED" Summer Revival Tour with legendary seedsman Bill McDorman - May 28

2010-05-17T21:14:03Z

For Immediate Release Contact: Belle Starr, belle@seedstrust.com 928.649.3315, 928.300.7989 May 10, 2010

GOING TO SEED Summer Revival Tour
The Ojai Valley Green Coalition Presents Legendary Seedsman
(Click here for the Going to Seed pdf flyer.) The Ojai Valley Green Coalition presents legendary seedsman Bill McDorman, President of Seeds Trust at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Ojai on Friday, May 28th from 7 – 9 pm. In this unique presentation, Bill will inspire his audience to reconnect with the ancient ritual of seed saving. Being on the cutting edge of sustainability and local food security is moot if a community is not saving seeds adapted to its region. ]]> “One of the greats of the seed-saving, seed-selling world.” Mike McGrath; host of Public Radio’s You Bet Your Garden Editor in Chief of Organic Gardening magazine 1991-1997 PO Box 596, Cornville, AZ 86325 • Ph: 928.649.3315 • Fax: 877.686.7524 bm@seedsave.org • www.seedstrust.com

What Rush Hour Could Look Like: The Glorious Bike Traffic of Utrecht, Holland

2010-05-16T22:29:54Z

Every Day is Bike-to-Work-Day in Europe! The following video offers a look into the beautiful country of Holland, a place where transit is clean, efficient, and safe. Translation: Everyone rides bikes and uses public transportation. http://www.good.is/post/what-rush-hour-could-look-like-the-glorious-bike-traffic-of-utrecht-holland Thanks to Ojai Trees for sending this video!

State Measure 94 Becomes Proposition 23

2010-05-13T19:56:56Z

On June 22, a ballot measure that would suspend AB 32, California’s historic climate change law, qualified for the November 2010 ballot. Prop 23, the California Jobs Initiative, would require that AB 32 and its greenhouse gas reduction program be suspended until the unemployment rate in California drops below 5.5 percent for at least four consecutive quarters. This would essentially overturn the landmark law, because since 1976 California’s unemployment rate has rarely dipped that low. This ballot measure would also suspend emission reporting and fee requirements for major polluters. AB 32 serves as a model worldwide, for it has already resulted in the growth of clean technology and given rise to many new jobs. A suspension of this climate change policy would freeze progress on both a national and an international scale. As reported by Margot Roosevelt in the Los Angeles Times on June 23, 2010, the battle over the initiative, launched (and mostly funded) by Texas oil giants Valero and Tesoro, will pit that industry against environmentalists and the state’s clean-tech businesses. Let’s get the facts and then spread the word: http://www.stopdirtyenergyprop.com http://www.suspendab32.org http://www.jobs2010ca.com

A New Look at the Top Ten Reasons for Making Ojai a Bicycle-and-Pedestrian Friendly Community

2010-05-13T14:47:00Z

May is National Bike Month, and the League of American Bicyclists is partnering with hundreds of cities across the country to promote Bike-to-Work Week from May 17-21 and Bike to-Work Day on Friday, May 21. If you grew up in Ojai fifty years ago, as I did, you’ll remember a time when you could safely walk and bicycle everywhere, even during peak hour traffic times. Ojai was naturally bicycle-and-pedestrian-friendly. Times have changed. According to the most recent (2008) Ojai Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan, 6,000 cars a day now travel on Grand Avenue. ]]> Share the Road! Before we get to the top ten benefits, motorists and cyclists alike need to be reminded that bicyclists are drivers of vehicles. Every day I cringe when I see bicycles on the wrong side of the street and disobeying every traffic law, including not arm/hand-signaling when approaching an intersection. But I cringe even more when I see kids and tourists forced onto the sidewalk or the dirt at the edge of the street to keep from getting run over. Traffic law in every state assigns bicycle riders all the rights and duties of other vehicles on the road. One of the most important things we can do here in Ojai to make all our streets bicycle-friendly, especially during peak-hour traffic, is to educate drivers to please slow down if a bicycle is in the car travel lane. Drivers do not have the right to force a bicyclist off the street. The moment a driver sees a bicycle or group of cyclists up ahead, that’s a cue to slow down and prepare to share the road. In celebration of National Bike Month, here are the top ten good things about bicycles: 1. Bicycling enhances family-friendly communities. A recent survey of potential home buyers found that 93 percent said quiet, low-traffic areas were very or extremely important in selecting the type of community they want to live in. More than 70 percent of the home buyers cited bicycling facilities as important to their decision. Parents recognize that children are more independent in bicycle-friendly communities. Women ages 30 to 50 tend to make far more vehicle trips than men, largely due to the "chauffeur" role they play in delivering children to after-school destinations. Safe bicycle routes liberate both parents and children. 2. Bicycling increases property values. Studies have shown that property values climb in neighborhoods near bicycle and pedestrian trails. "Community designs that deliver low traffic and quiet streets," "Lots of natural, open space," and "Walking and biking paths" were the top three priorities among 39 features identified by home buyers as crucial factors in their home-purchasing decision. 3. Bicycling contributes to community safety. Streets full of cyclists have a calming effect on motorists. Communities with high rates of cycling tend to have reduced rates of traffic deaths and injuries among bicyclists and pedestrians. It’s estimated that, for every dollar invested in bicycle and pedestrian improvements, we save double that amount in medical costs from averted traffic accidents. The most successful community-policing program around the nation is the bicycle-mounted police squad. Placing cops on bikes has proved effective in fostering goodwill among residents of crime-plagued neighborhoods, while the crime-fighting virtues of the bicycle —stealth, speed, and all-terrain mobility—are well-established. 4. Bicycling improves air quality and the health of the community. Place any living creature in a closed system and turn on even a brand-new combustion engine and death will result. Our planet’s atmosphere is a closed system about ten miles high. The burning of fossil fuels, primarily from cars, buses and trucks, contaminates the single most important element of human health: clean air. An average four-mile round-trip bike trip prevents nearly fifteen pounds of air pollutants from contaminating the air. 5. Bicycling conserves energy and resources. One quarter of our waking lives is spent in performing the involuntary activities associated with the automobile-transportation system. Bike trips are most likely to displace short car trips, which are less fuel-efficient than longer trips. Bicycle transportation saves an estimated 700 million gallons of fuel annually. By making our communities safe and practical for cycling, bicyclists can save the United States as much as three billion gallons of fuel each year, plus countless hours of time. 6. Bicycling helps relieve traffic congestion. Bicycle improvements can encourage motorists to shift some of their short automotive trips to cycling. About 40 percent of all car trips are less than two miles in length. 7. Bicycling is economical. Bicycling is the most cost-effective mode of transportation. As the cost of operating a car has climbed over 300 percent in the last twenty-five years, growing numbers of families have found that the replacement of a commuter car with a commuter bike can restore thousands of dollars to the annual household budget. 8. Bicycling is good for the economy. Besides increasing property values, we can’t afford to overlook that Ojai has a tourist-based economy. Tourists love to visit places where they can conveniently park and forget the stress of driving. "Car-Free Vacations," destinations known as a "Bicycle-Pedestrian Paradise," or "Walkable Cities" are recognized as desirable for both visitors and local residents who find noise and congestion from traffic to be the single most annoying side effect of tourism. Retailers are recognizing that healthy revenues don’t depend on heavy car traffic and lots of parking. Cars don't shop—people do! Studies show that bicycle-and-pedestrian-friendly street designs create a shopper-friendly atmosphere that increases retail business. Plus, bicycles free up valuable parking spaces for those who must drive. 9. Bicycling promotes health and fitness for people of all ages, including our older population. Bicycling is a lifelong, low-impact aerobic activity available to almost anyone. Modern gearing and electric-assist equipment allow all users to find their own level of effort. Older adults riding for the first time can use three-wheelers with large baskets. (And one study suggests that if one quarter of the nation’s sedentary adults—twenty million people—would exercise moderately on a regular basis, savings to the healthcare system would exceed $5 billion.) 10. Bicycling is fun! Riding your bike connects you to the earth and everything you see all around you. And May is a perfect month to get out and ride with your family, co-workers, and friends! Guest Editorial by Suza Francina, Ojai Valley News, May 12, 2010. Related articles: VISIT BICYCLE CITY: http://www.bicyclecity.com/ http://www.ojaivalleygreencoalition.org/2010/05/pedaling_toward_a_greener_ojai.shtml Source: http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bikemonth/ Suza Francina is Chair of the Transportation Committee of the Ojai Valley Green Coalition