Category: Environment

Originally posted August 28, 2009

Editor: We repost this in tribute to Lou Williams who has just passed away.
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by Mary E Mann

“This whole place was the pits,” says Louie Williams, gesturing at the lush, artfully designed garden around us.

You could spend all your time in OB and still miss it. There’s a wonderful garden right next to the Blue Parrot restaurant on Niagara that you can just walk right into.

It’s Louie and Kathi’s Hidden Garden at 4973 and 4975 Niagara. It is simply an amazing place and these photos I took don’t do it justice, but at least it gives you an idea of what it is like. Look for an upcoming post about Louie and Kathi and their delightful garden. In the meantime, check it out yourself.

The endangered Torrey Pine tree on the 4600 block of Long Branch Avenue is on the agenda of the December…

    San Diego’s Progressive Women End Their Current Terms In Office By Adam Pollack / examiner.com / November 24,…

Editor: The following is from the “We Won’t Fly” website. Grassroots consumer advocate We Won’t Fly is organizing educational outreach…

Originally posted Nov. 22, 2020

By Richard Agee

It was several years back when I got up one morning, drove to the corner of my street, turned left onto Santa Barbara Street, and saw something I had never seen before.

All of the tall palm trees along Santa Barbara Street had been spray-painted with white X’s. As I drove slowly looking at the trees for several blocks, yes, every tree was marked with a white X. I made a U-turn and drove back past my street and several blocks in the other direction and saw white X’s on every palm tree. Something is going on here, I thought to myself. Usually a white X means a tree is going to be removed. Why would they remove all the trees that have been part of the fabric of the community for so long?

Many years ago, San Diego business magnate John D. Spreckels arranged to have palm trees planted along the city owned right of way on some of the main thoroughfares around Point Loma and Ocean Beach. Those mature tall palms now grace streets like Newport Avenue, Santa Barbara Street and Sunset Cliffs Boulevard. They form a historic landmark, cherished by locals, which can be seen for miles.

By Aaron Linsdau / San Diego.com

Remember the song “Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls?” In San Diego County, don’t necessarily follow that advice. Countless weekends can be enjoyed by searching out local falls. Some are found right in the middle of the city and are easily accessible. Others require more driving and serious hiking. All are best enjoyed after heavy rains.

By Joseph Nevins / AlterNet / Originally published Nov. 1, 2010

Flying is the single most ecologically costly act of individual consumption. Can we kick the habit, or at least cut back?

You’re in a hurry, and for good reason. You — or people you identify with — have to catch a flight to somewhere like Cochabamba, Detroit, London, Montreal, or Washington, D.C. ….

In researching the biological effects of the millimeter wave scanners used for whole body imaging at airports, NaturalNews has learned that the energy emitted by the machines may damage human DNA.

Millimeter wave machines represent one of two primary technologies currently being used for the “digital strip searches” being conducted at airports around the world.

The Board of Supervisors for Los Angeles County has just made the decision that companies that use one-time plastic bags can not longer use them in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Their ruling excludes those cities that have their own city council.

Yesterday the Tampa Tribune had an article in their paper that stated that they had tested more than a dozen reusable bags and found lead in some of them, including Target and Wal-Mart bags. They quickly stated that those two had among the lowest level of lead in them. Swell!

Editor: Channel 10News ran a story about some Ocean Beach residents who live in condos on the cliffs now want a seawall to be built to halt the spread of erosion, and that they are appealing to the City Council for financial assistance. These residents reside in a building that was developed right on the fabled, beautiful cliffs in southern OB – cliffs that many in the community want to preserve in their natural state. Environmentalists in the Seventies tried to prevent these condos …

SAN DIEGO — Ocean Beach residents who are worried their beachfront homes will slide into the ocean took their concerns to San Diego City Council. …

San Diego officials said Monday [Nov.15th] that the city has hit a new high-water mark for recycling — 66 percent of the waste stream in 2009. That’s up 14 percentage points from 2005 and is likely enough to keep San Diego among California’s leaders in big-city recycling.

On Monday, San Diego waste officials also announced an expansion of the city’s curbside recycling program to include most plastic containers.