Linksploration - Bay Area

It's time for an update from Sustainable Contra Costa. Their special theme this summer is to prepare for the next drought by developing those good water efficiency habits in the Summer Water Savers Challenge. Learn what's up with Laura Wehrley. Then sign up to help Sustainable Contra Costa reach their goal!

This is the week we would normally be publishing a new episode, but I came back from vacation with an unwelcome souvenir - not Covid, thank goodness - and so we ask your indulgence until I am back at full strength.  Thanks!

There's a plan! Adam Varat from the Port of San Francisco introduces us to the Waterfront Resilience Plan and how the city hopes to protect its shoreline infrastructure.

The Concord Naval Weapons Station closed 19 years ago. After some false starts, it looks like its redevelopment is finally underway. We get the scoop from Guy Bjerke, who is the director of the project for the City of Concord.

Marsh Creek in Brentwood was engineered to be a drainage ditch, but the Contra Costa County Flood Control District, in partnership with American Rivers, is changing that. We tour the Three Creeks Restoration Project to see what is possible within the constraints of suburban living.

Rooftop solar seems like the front line answer to climate change, but there's a problem:  how to share the cost of maintaining the grid and other programs among users, as more and more homeowners opt out. In this episode we look at the latest effort to fix the problem by - yes - taking another swipe at rooftop solar. Hang on to the end to hear what our neighbor Nevada is doing!

The refinery's lawsuit against the Bay Area Air Quality Management District is settled; what's next? Let's check in with Heidi Taylor from Healthy Martinez. (Hint: there's more to keep an eye on.)

After the work comes the party! A stroll up the Richmond Greenway takes us to Unity Park and the after-party. We talk to exhibitors, listen to music, and generally chill out.

Urban Tilth work day in Richmond: Planting, weeding, mulching, and meeting the staff and volunteers who make it happen.  We met the cutest weeder, age 5 - and they found a potato!

Electrification is coming! And there is much to learn. Rebates! Tax credits! Cheaper power! And where to get help. Brenna Shafizadeh of the Climate Reality Project shares her expertise.

We have a special holiday gift for you from our friends over at the Bay Area Chapter of the Climate Reality Project, and their podcast, "Everyday Climate Champions"!  Ravinder Sehgal of the San Francisco Veg Society talks about why and how to reduce meat consumption to benefit you, the animals, and the climate. It's a win-win-win!

What's new at the Martinez refinery? They have added flares and stinky gas releases to their repertoire. Meanwhile, there is a December 21 court date with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and a class action lawsuit is getting underway. In this bonus minisode, we get an update from Heidi Taylor of Healthy Martinez.

We're back and planting! Learn about native plants, and efforts to bring them back in the Bay Area. We get to work at an annual event planting native plants, and also learn about their history, how they almost got wiped out, and the fun of resoring them to a part of their former territory. Spoiler alert: we ask about beavers.

Greetings listeners!  We haven't forgotten you.  Jeanne was on vacation in Spain, and came back with a A+ cold - (or should we say F-?).  We are taking a short break, but we will be back in a few weeks with another exciting episode.  Meanwhile, this is your opportunity to catch up on any episodes you may have missed, either on your favorite podcast player, or at linksploration.com.

Back in June, we began a conversation with Sadie Wilson of the Greenbelt Alliance about their Resilience Hotspots program.  Now we take a closer look at the Suisun Marsh, one of the first group of 5 hotspots, with Sadie and Alex Lunine of Sustainable Solano.

In honor of climate week, host Jeanne puts on her CPA hat and gives listeners a tour of the Inflation Reduction Act, the giant legislation giving tax incentives for all kinds of climate mitigation, plus rebates.  It's wild!

What's happening with rooftop solar now that the new net metering system has taken effect?  What is the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act?  What else is new in the rooftop solar market?  We thought we knew it all, but there is lots to learn.  Join us as we chat again with our solar experts, Pat Villano and Amit Roy of Your Energy Solutions.

When we think about climate change, we often focus on the big picture; after all it is an earth-wide problem.  This week we zoom in and talk with Laura Wehrley of Sustainable Contra Costa about what they do and what we can do as individuals, right here, right now.

Following a release of toxic dust from the Martinez Refinery, which looms above the historic town of Martinez, local residents banded together to form Healthy Martinez, a group advocating for cleaner air and more transparency from the refinery. We interview Heidi Taylor of Healthy Martinez about what happened, what's happening, and what they want to happen.

In this minisode, we have a blast at the Martinez Beaver Festival.  Just can't get enough of the little chompers!

The Greenbelt Alliance has been a longtime Bay Area institution. Now they are tackling climate change in five local sites they are calling "resilience hotspots".  We chat with Greenbelt Alliance's Sadie Wilson about how these places were chosen, what they mean by "resilience", and, well . . .  what's the plan?

In this follow-up minisode, we tour an active beaver colony in Fairfield, CA, and learn even more about the lifestyles of the toothy and hairy.  A visit to the home of the Laurel Creek beavers.

Climate change!  In this conversation, we talk  with Lynda Deschambault of Contra Costa County Climate Leaders about what separates the best cities from the  . . .  not so good.  Some of the factors are what you expect, but some are surprising.  And we name names.

May 6 was the Bay Area Bike Swap Festival.  Join us as we talk to participants representing all things bicycle.  There's a lot going on; the variety is astonishing.  We talk to all kinds of folks, and observe our first bunny hop!

Twenty million people showed up for the first Earth Day in 1970.  Its character has evolved over the years.  We discuss its history, meaning, and what it has become in the Bay Area, including a preview of Earth Day Lafayette with Surahbi Konkur of Sustainable Lafayette.  Also check the show notes for links to happenings around the Bay this weekend!