Local Bike Touring: A Low Carbon Alternative to a Road Trip. . . and Much More Fun
Bike touring can be a great way to take a vacation. You may be looking for an alternative to the same old car or airplane-based trip. You may want to satisfy your wanderlust in a climate friendly way. You may simply need to get out…
Drought Hits California – Again or Still? Some Facts to Ponder
A compilation from the City of Davis website and writer Michael Kluk In October 2021, the Davis City Council reinforced the Governor’s call for a voluntary 15% reduction in water usage and adopted sprinkler irrigation watering restrictions as a preventive measure to assist the City…
Goin’ All-In with an All-Electric Home
My wife Susan and I recently completed a transition to an all-electric home. Those old enough to remember the “Live Better Electrically” campaigns of the late 1950’s may think this is folly. The Westinghouse “total electric homes” promoted from that era promised a “home where…
Proposed NEM Regulations Make Rooftop Solar Less Financially Attractive
In a previous newsletter, we told you about a bill in the Legislature, AB 1139, that would have modified the Net Energy Metering (NEM) system in California to the detriment of rooftop solar owners. That Bill died in the Assembly. You would have thought that…
Investor-Owned Utilities Propose Significant Rooftop Solar Cost Increase
California’s three investor-owned utilities, including PG&E, have just made a joint proposal to the CPUC that would significantly reduce the financial benefit of owning rooftop solar. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) establishes the rate that electric utilities can charge for power, including those with…
It’s Easy to Grow Citrus in Containers
Editor’s Note: Thank you to Editor James Fowler from Yolo County Master Gardeners (UCCE) for agreeing to share this article. Michael Kluk is both a master gardener and a writer for Cool Davis. See his bio at the end of this article. In the Winter…
GM Recalls Chevy Bolt Due to Fires, Electric Vehicles Still Safer than Combustion Vehicles
General Motors has issued a recall of 2017, 2018, and some 2019 Chevrolet Bolts due to battery related fires, offering a short-term software fix and promising a longer-term fix in 2021. Owners are being asked to park their cars away from structures until the fixes…
Could You Be Induced to Switch to an Induction Cooktop?
We’ve all heard you can start a fire by rubbing two sticks together. Easier said than done, but the idea has enshrined in popular culture the physical property that friction between two objects creates heat. Lesser known, but important nonetheless, is the idea that you…
Pairing Electric Vehicles with Solar: the EV/PV Life with “Tarry Scoot”
For more about electric vehicles and incentives, visit our Drive Electric webpage. For Jon Bjornstad, the decision to install solar panels on his home was not necessarily about saving money. He’s not opposed to saving money and not in a position to ignore a good financial…
Freedom from Fossil Fuels and Respect for the Animals
Greg Stoner and Kathleen Gill live in the modest North Davis home they purchased over a decade ago. In recent years, they made a decision to create a more sustainable homestead for themselves and their community. While motivated to simply “do the right thing,” Greg…
Welcome READ-Y (Resilient Embodied Action Davis-Yolo)
Resilient Embodied Action Davis-Yolo (READ-Y) is our newest Cool Davis working group and they are committed to a big task. Formed through the energy of its two principal organizers, Gail Kennedy and Jan Beange, READ-Y will work to improve the social and emotional resilience we…
Davis Friends Host Climate Speaker Series
Thursday, February 18, at 7:30pm at the Davis Friends Meetinghouse, 345 L Street
Reducing Consumption of Animal Products
Members of the Cool Davis community are continuing to answer the call to install rooftop solar, make their next car electric, ride their bike or walk more, forgo some recreational travel, reduce consumption, and generally live a lower-carbon lifestyle. Some of these steps are taken…
Talking about Climate During the Holidays, or Conflict Resolution 101
With the holidays coming up, there will be more opportunities to converse with family, friends, and even complete strangers. There will also be more opportunities to stumble into a heated discussion over one of the contentious issues of our day. It may start with an…
The Merits of Using Salvaged and Upcycled Materials in Your Landscape Projects
The Japanese phrase “wabi sabi” means, generally, to embrace the imperfections of the world around us and to appreciate the character, charm, and uniqueness of things as they age. When applied to garden design, it highlights many of the reasons you may want to incorporate…
Meet Chrissy Backman, Our New Campaign Field Coordinator
Our new campaign field coordinator sat down with our longtime writer, Michael Kluk, for a little Q&A. See the results below: What will your new job involve? As Campaign Field Coordinator, I’ll be planning and facilitating activities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in our community….
Classic Central Davis Home Becomes a (Solar) Energy Producer
Nancy Bramberg and Richard Curley live in a neat 1950s vintage home on a quiet street in Central Davis. They’re well settled to our community and didn’t need to make any big changes to continue their idyllic Davis life. But, in 2017, Nancy and Richard…
District 3 Coalition for the Green New Deal
The Green New Deal is a resolution introduced in both the House of Representatives and the Senate in early February of 2019. The primary sponsors are Senator Ed Markley, D-MA, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY. Currently there are 12 co-sponsors in the Senate and 91…
Green New Deal Town Hall Draws Regional, Cross-Sectional Energy
More than 120 gathered May 25 for a town hall style meeting from a collection of environmental, social justice, and labor organizations — under the umbrella of the District 3 Coalition for the Green New Deal — to discuss local action to further federal Green…
Is There an eBike in Your Future?
Imagine biking along at 28 mph using the same amount of energy normally needed to go about half that speed. For those with limited mobility, imagine riding a bike again, at any speed. I recently had the opportunity to ride an electric bike or ebike…
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NEWS FLASH! We’ll start the discussion with a Q&A session with the film’s lead scientist! We are thrilled to report that we will be joined before our usual discussion by Gerard Wedderburn-Bisshop coming to us from Syndney, Austrailia (19 hours ahead). Gerard served as Principal Scientist with the Queensland Dept of Environmental Resources and Management Remote Sensing Centre. Consider preparing some questions for Gerard for this Sunday! The Debunking the Myths page on the film website is a good place to look for ideas. Learn more about Gerard via a podcast from 2020, an interview with Healthification, a YouTube interview from 2013, and his ResearchGate page.
January Climate Movie Circle: "Eating Our Way to Extinction" (online) - Cool Davis
www.cooldavis.org
Discussion Sunday, January 15, 1:30 to 3:00pm Online via ZoomThank you Environmental Defense Fund for these reasons for hope! "Temperatures soared, hurricanes roared. It was easy to feel like we were losing the climate battle in 2022. But 2022 also saw some significant wins for the environment. Looking back on the year that was, let the good news springboard you into the year to come." #davisca Davis City
Reasons to be hopeful: Six stunning environmental wins in 2022
www.edf.org
Six reasons from 2022 to be hopeful about the climate future.TWITTER FEED
January Climate Movie Circle: “Eating Our Way to Extinction” (online) NEWS FLASH! We’ll start the discussion with a Q&A session with the film’s lead scientist Gerard Bisshop coming to us from #Sydney, Austrailia.
January Climate Movie Circle: "Eating Our Way to Extinction" (online) - Cool Davis
Discussion Sunday, January 15, 1:30 to 3:00pm Online via Zoom
www.cooldavis.org
#SantaCruz Persevere 💜 #Californiastorm #storm #Capitola
