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Earth lovers, be part of the solution
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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?

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: Climate solutions awardee
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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. This nonprofit works with local government leaders throughout California to promote livable communitities that include healthy people, a healthy environment, a sustainable economy and an equitable society.

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…

Davis Bike Collective: 2013 Climate Solution Award
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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.

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…

Diane Swann: 2013 Eco-Hero
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Diane Swann now commutes 4 days a week to Sacramento on her electric assist bicycle, keeping her carbon footprint low and her health tip-top.

Diane Swann now commutes 4 days a week to Sacramento on her electric assist bicycle, keeping her carbon footprint low and her health tip-top.

Diane Swann, one of the Cool Davis 2013 Eco-heroes, sets an example through her quiet pursuit of a better environment. Like many people in Davis, Diane works out of town and knows that a large percentage of her carbon footprint comes from her commute.

In the mid-1990s she rode her bike to work in Woodland. When she transferred to a job in Sacramento, the capitol region seemed out of reach for bicycling every day and she started riding YoloBus to work. Once Amtrak’s Capitol Corridor schedule increased, Swann took the train and enjoyed biking to and from the station in Davis and Sacramento. Read more…

Robyn Waxman, 2013 Eco-Hero Award
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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 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, 2013 Eco Hero Award
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Dani Lee shops at the Farmer's Market for organic produce.

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…

California Shared Renewables
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Panels-with-names-of-owners

Panels-with-names-of-owners

Did You Know Most Californians Aren’t Allowed to Choose Clean Energy?

Although California has a mandate to supply 33% renewable energy to the grid, many Californians may simply want more. California also has smart energy laws that allow customers to install their own renewable energy onsite and get credit on their bill for the production against what they use from the grid. But many homes and businesses can’t install generation onsite, because of shading, roof characteristics, or for lack of assets or credit.

Find out how we can change that by supporting the California Shared Renewables Bill. Read more…

Is Your School Being Audited? You can help!
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Davis-SRTS-1-647x1024It is not too late to give input to help with making your school site more walkable and bikeable for you and your child!

The City of Davis Walk & Bike Audits are taking place in April and May at schools throughout the city. At the audits, teams will observe traffic patterns during the morning drop-off and develop recommendations to improve walking and bicycling conditions for students around schools. We will also use results of the audits to develop suggested Walk & Bike additions to School Maps. Read more…

Cut your Electricity Use and Then Add Solar! The Discounts with Energy Benefits Yolo are Back
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EE Retrofit diagram

EE Retrofit diagram

The discounts with Energy Benefits Yolo– Group Buy are back and better in this second phase that begins this month and runs through June 30th.  Up to 250+ households will be eligible through-out Yolo County to participate in the program.  EBY is contracting again with REC Solar and Brower Mechanical.

This is a real opportunity for owners of single family homes who have been toying with the idea of Energy Efficiency improvements or adding Solar PV, to take action at substantially lower cost.  Read more…

Are You Ready for May is Bike Month?
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May is Bike Month

May is Bike Month

May is Bike Month is just around the corner and there are many people in Davis getting ready for this year’s fun and challenge.  Log on to sign up at  http://www.mayisbikemonth.com/ .

Get your workplace, school site, church etc. going with the challenge!  Folks in Davis are planning lots of ways to get involved locally and are offering a few activities in April to help you get ready.  Read more…

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