Inspiration

The earth is, after all, our planetary home…We wouldn’t go around trashing our own homes without ever accounting for the damage it would do, so why do we think it’s any different on our planetary home?

I read a text on a friend’s smart phone recently that said: “Save the earth; it’s the only planet with chocolate!”

As we approach Earth Day on April 22, it’s good to reflect on the value of something we often take for granted: the earth itself. People of faith, like me, affirm immediately that the earth belongs to God its Creator.  And because we believe in God, we believe in taking care of what God has entrusted to us.

Another word for this is “stewardship”, and it has crept even into secular environmental literature in the past few decades.  What we do with the resources we are blessed to enjoy for our sojourn on earth says quite a bit about us, and I daresay future generations will judge us based on how we do.

Of course we are also of the earth.  The Bible refers to humans as “earth creatures”, it’s what the name “Adam” actually means.  But we are more than merely earth; we are also spirit, which means we are part of the community of life. Read more

Judy Corbett, a longtime Davis resident, is a winner of the Cool Davis Climate Solutions Award. She is stepping down after three decades as executive director of the award-winning Local Government Commission.

“It feels better to do something than nothing.”

That’s how local environmental hero Judy Corbett describes what has motivated her life’s work. It’s an understatement, coming from a woman whom Time Magazine has named a Hero for the Planet.

Judy Corbett has spent the last three decades as executive director of the award-winning Local Government Commission.  This Sacramento-based nonprofit works with local government leaders throughout California to promote livable communities that include healthy, engaged people, a healthy environment, a more sustainable economy, and an equitable society.

The Local Government Commission promotes this by producing and sharing practical resources and by bringing local government officials together to learn from one another and from experts as they create local solutions to increasingly global challenges. Read more

Jason Moore, Jan Wright, and Matt Seitzler have been with the Davis Bike Collective since the begining. They helped establish the Bike Church which eventually became today’s Bike Forth at Fourth and L Streets.

The Davis Bike Collective models how an organization can work with people from different parts of the community work together to teach others to repair their bikes and even customize their bikes for personal needs. With their sliding scale, the collective’s workshop, Bike Forth, is affordable to all.

The Bike Collective began early in 2005, when Ted Buehler and Chris Congleton, who both came to UCD from other universities that had similar organizations, saw a need for a place at UCD where students could get help repairing their bikes. Ted and Chris soon recruited others and started a “Bike Church,” named after the one in Santa Cruz, where students and other residents in Davis could get help maintaining and repairing their bikes several days a week. Read more

Robyn Waxman checks up on Nibbles, Her sheep, on her farm northwest of DAvis. Her farm doubles as a FARM (Future Action Reclamation Mob), where people can help grow food for themselves and their community. Waxman’s commitment and passion have earned her a 2013 Eco Hero Award from Cool Davis.

Robyn Waxman is, without a doubt, the nicest revolutionary you’ll ever meet. Charming and articulate, she could be a professor, mom or farmer – in fact, she’s all three. Being nice is part of her plan for revolution. “FARM was my graduate thesis,” she says “which was a way to engage these very polite Millennials in revolution.”

“FARM” is the Future Action Reclamation Mob, “an alternative form of non-violent protest, reclaiming public space to build community, providing services for under served and transient populations and/or rehabilitating toxic land.” FARM is also a collection of physical locations where people can help grow food for themselves and their community. And FARM is, in very large part, why Cool Davis named Waxman a 2013 Eco-Hero. Read more

Dani Lee shops at the Farmer’s Market for organic produce.

Dani Lee is one of those natural beauties who sparkles all on her own. Had you seen her in the 1970s you might have thought “mellow hippy”, but Dani is full of energy and enthusiasm about  her dream job.

She is the Sustainability Manager for UC Davis Dining Services where, as an employee of Sodexo,  she oversees  myriad tasks . Dining Services feeds over 56,000 meals per week in the three campus dining commons and provides food for 1,000 events per month. It’s Dani’s job to help that division achieve zero waste as part of UC Davis’ goal of zero waste for the whole campus by 2020. Read more

Mount Whitney

Cross-posted from Davis Enterprise. Mark Earth Day and John Muir’s 175th birthday party, with a slide-show talk by author Kim Stanley Robinson of Davis, an adventure outing with Nature’s Theater for kids and presentation of Cool Davis’ 2013 Eco Hero Awards.

John Muir turns 175 on April 21, the day before the 43rd Earth Day celebration. Both milestones deserve contemplation, so Cool Davis invites the community to consider “John Muir: the Writer, Scientist and Public Figure” as noted Davis author Kim Stanley Robinson presents him. Robinson will accompany his talk with photographs chosen from his years of backpacking trips in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

The event will run from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 21, at Davis Community Church, 412 C St.

Read more

SmittleCreek-JimRose

The Berryessa Snow Mountain National Conservation Area campaign is gaining steam. On Thursday, March 7, Representative Mike Thompson re-introduced the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Conservation Area Act with co-sponsors Representatives John Garamendi, Jared Huffman, Ami Bera, and Anna Eshoo, which would protect 350,000 acres of public land just a short drive from the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento.

In addition, Senator Barbara Boxer has introduced the senate companion to the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Conservation Area Act.

Re-introduction of these bills follows nearly six years of work at the community level to permanently protect this special area.

Please check out the NEW Berryessa Snow Mountain Website for more information and a press release!   www.BerryessaSnowMountain.org

Are you looking for a meaningful yet fun way to mark Earth Day 2013?  It just so happens John Muir was born the day before Earth Day, and you’re invited to his 175th birthday party.

Cool Davis, the  Church and Society Ministry of Davis Community Church, the Church and Society Committee of  Davis Methodist Church, the Green Sanctuary of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Davis, Tuleyome and Sierra Club Yolano Chapter invite the public to…..John Muir’s Birthday Party on Sunday, April 21, from 3:00-5:00 p.m. at Davis Community Church (412 C Street).

The afternoon celebration features Kim Stanley Robinson with a slideshow talk entitled “John Muir: the Writer, Scientist, and Public Figure.”    During the slideshow, Nature’s Theater guides will lead children ages 4-10 on an adventure outing.  Afterwards, Cool Davis will present the 2013 Eco Hero Awards, followed by refreshments and party favors for all. Read more