Stop the Aerial Spraying!

Recently the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) announced plans to conduct aerial spraying in the Bay Area to combat the Light Brown Apple Moth. Aerial spraying of the pheromone-based product Checkmate over San Francisco, Marin County and the East Bay would begin in August. The spraying is controversial, particularly because the product has not been tested for this use and health reactions have occurred from recent sprayings in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties. Get more information and find out how you can get involved. [Photo by jomike]

Terrain Magazine, Spring 2008

The Spring 2008 issue of Terrain Magazine is now available. Read about the aftermath of the Cosco Busan oil spill, local herbal medicine, the future of California's water, a Q&A with Derrick Jensen, and more.

Check out Terrain's fully searchable on-line archives.

Catalog Choice on Today Show

Catalog Choice, a sponsored project of the Ecology Center, was recently featured on the Today Show! Students at a Massachusetts grade school competed to see who could cancel the most unwanted catalogs. The kids used Catalog Choice’s free online service to cancel over 4000 catalogs! Click here to watch the clip, which also explains the environmental impact of unsolicited mailings.

Green Collar Jobs Report Released

Dr. Raquel Pinderhughes, professor of Urban Studies at San Francisco State University, recently released her Green Collar Jobs Study and Report, which highlights the Ecology Center as a local provider of green collar jobs. Green collar jobs represent a growing part of the economy that holds much promise for low income residents with barriers to employment.

To read the Executive summary of the research study, click here.
To read the more extensive report, click here.

Terrain Reporters Interviewed about Drug Trade

Terrain editor Linnea Due and Terrain reporter Nicole Edmison were recently interviewed on KPFA’s Morning Show about the environmental impacts of large-scale marijuana growing operations and meth labs, which are cropping up in rural Northern California. To listen to the interview, click here. The segment occurs at 95:30 of the clip.

Watch the "The Story of Stuff" Online

GAIA, a sponsored project of the Ecology Center, presents "The Story of Stuff." This short film offers a fast-paced, fact-filled look at the dark underbelly of our materials economy. It'll teach you something. It'll make you laugh. And it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.

EcoHouse's Constructed Wetlands/Greywater System Passes Code and Breaks Ground

On October 24th, 2006, the Berkeley EcoHouse’s constructed wetland and greywater hybrid design became the first to pass code in the state of California, and became the first permitted, residential greywater system approved by the City of Berkeley. Redirecting household water towards yard use conserves water, and can create backyard habitat as well as beautify a landscape. We hope this demonstration system will pave the way for many future permits! Read coverage in the East Bay Daily News and the San Francisco Chronicle. Listen to the segment called "Using Graywater" from the California Report.

The True Costs of Petroleum

Want to learn about the many ways in which petroleum and petroleum products affect us and our environment? Collect all four of our True Costs of Petroleum maps: World, Community, House, and Body.

Teacher Resources

If you're a teacher, be sure to check out our improved online educator resources. Terrain for Schools is an environmental education curriculum program designed to use the articles in Terrain Magazine. The lesson archives are searchable on our website, complete with printable PDF versions! The Bay Area Environmental Education Resource Guide is a great place to find information about field trips, free and low-cost educational materials, and more!