Category: Environment

By George J. Janczyn / Groksurf / July 1, 2010

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders just yesterday announced a new recycled water hookup with Canyonside Park for landscaping irrigation (see video of announcement).

In his speech, Mayor Sanders proclaimed:

“Finding more uses for recycled water is an important way to maximize resources.”

Councilmember Sherri Lightner also spoke, saying:

“I have always and will continue to support the expansion of recycled water in San Diego as a smart reuse of water and as a water conservation measure.”

Was this really a sign of wholehearted support for water reuse, or was it just lip service?

[ALL DETAILS AND LINKS INSIDE]

* Will the City Ban Floatopias?

* Petition puzzle: Pulling back the curtain on Carl DeMaio’s costly signature-gathering campaign

* San Diego City Council Gives Go-ahead to Central Library Construction

* Mayor Sanders Now Wants Half Cent Raise In Sales Tax

* Mayor sued to enforce rope barrier for seals in La Jolla

(Originally posted on July 16, 2009.)

by Frank Gormlie

For 26 years now, OBceans have been lobbing marshmallows at each other once the fireworks die down on July 4ths.

Since it began in 1985 with warring parties of neighbors at the beach all the way to this year, hundreds if not thousands of participants have joined the virtual free-for-all around the bonfires.

But now calls to end this particular brand of totally-local OB shenanigan have surfaced …

Editor: San Diego is fortunate to have a watchdog on water issues here in our seacoast desert like Groksurf . Run by George, the blog keeps track of anything to do with our liquid necessity. Here is a recent sample of George’s work, as Groksurf observed Councilman Carl DeMaio’s tactics of disruption as he pursues his goal of privatizing water and other city services.

by George/ Groksurf’s San Diego /

Councilmembers Sherri Lightner and Carl DeMaio took advantage of councilmember Marti Emerald’s absence at [the June 16] Natural Resources and Culture Committee meeting and threw a wrench into the gears of San Diego’s Indirect Potable Reuse/Reservoir Augmentation Demonstration Project (IPR Project).

At least 80 people left the OB Street Fair on Saturday, June 26th, to join the “Hands across the sands” movement. They literally crossed the beach and linked hands with each other at the ocean’s edge to form a human wall against any further off-shore oil drilling. The line stretched from close to the pier all the way past the lifeguard station.

The OB event was one of over 800 such happenings across the country, and it was coordinated by Mike James.

On Saturday June 26th, people from around the world will join hands for 15 minutes at local beaches to say no to offshore oil drilling and yes to clean energy. The event, called “Hands Across the Sand,” is a movement of people from all walks of life and political affiliations. This movement is not about politics; it is about protection of our coastal economies, oceans, marine wildlife, and fishing industry. Nearly 700 sites are planned worldwide.

By now, we’ve all seen the photos of wildlife drenched in oil. We’ve seen Gulf Coast fishermen stranded on their docks, and we’ve seen maps estimating that oil could reach as far north as New Jersey before flowing on to Europe.

It’s easy to feel helpless, but we’re not. There is something you can do right now to help stop the spill: BOYCOTT BP. Go inside for Pledge to Boycott BP.

Progressives and environmentalists all over San Diego County are being urged to send emails and letters to stop the movement toward creating a North County landfill in Gregory Canyon. The deadline is June 18th, so we at the OB Rag are urging our readers to send emails out today – June 17th.

The proposed Gregory Canyon Landfill is an environmental disaster in the making and would ruin sacred Native American lands.

For about one week, we asked our readers what they thought the Federal government should do about BP – British Petroleum – the oil company responsible for the worst American environmental disaster in history.

With our readers’ progressive bent, we were not surprised with the results. Three-quarters of our respondents either want the Feds to begin criminal prosecution of BP – 61%, or nationalize it (or at least their American holdings) – 15%. Another 5% asked what would we take BP over with? (This was a reader answer and I’m not certain what they meant.)

On the other side, 9% wanted the Feds to allow BP to “finish the job.” Another 9% agreed with GOP candidate for gov in Kentucky (a Tea Party favorite), Rand Paul who made a public statement criticizing President Barack Obama for taking BP to task, and that it was “un-American” to criticize BP.

Sunday June, 9th, half a dozen or so volunteers descended on Pescadero Avenue to take part in a joint project between San Diego Food Not Lawns and a local meetup.com group called SD Community Farms and Gardens. Their goal: to help local residents transform their water guzzling grass lawns with sustainable vegetable gardens.

On this Sunday, the group was helping a couple local residents to dig up their lawns and plant an assortment of vegetables. The group provides a great way to get a head start as a homeowner who may be thinking of converting their lawn but lacks the resources or manual labor to begin the process.

by Annie Lane / Special to the OB Rag / June 15, 2010

First of Two Parts

The California State Assembly has passed a bill to ban single-use plastic bags. The next stop is the State Senate where, if passed, the ban would prohibit all supermarkets, retail pharmacies and convenience stores from distributing the bags at the point of sale. The ban would come into effect as early as January 2012.

The State Senate is set to vote on the ban no later than mid-July, …

By Jeremy W. Peters / The New York Times/ June 10, 2010

A pilot wanted to take a photographer from The Times-Picayune of New Orleans to snap photographs of the oil slicks blackening the water. The response from a BP contractor who answered the phone late last month at the command center was swift and absolute: Permission denied.