Environment
A solar micro grid, now being shipped in pieces, will arrive in Uganda early June. Once assembled on site, it is designed to carry enough energy to power around 20 businesses and homes on Kitobo, a fishing island. “Most of the locals’ electricity is delivered to the wealthy,” said Jalel Sager, a PhD candidate studying in the Energy & Resources Group, an interdisciplinary graduate program at UC Berkeley. “We are going to replace the expensive and noisy diesel generators with…
No matter how busy or stressful the day, a cup of tea is an invitation to slow down, says Reem Rahim, chief brand officer and co-founder of Numi Organic Tea, a privately-owned, triple bottom-line company based in Oakland. As a benefit corporation, or “B Corp.,” Numi pursues not just profit, but a trio of goals: economic, social and environmental benefits. Numi plans to donate 1 percent of its net profits to water access projects in 2015. The goal is to…
The California Grizzly bear has been immortalized on the state’s flag, but the four-leg symbol is not around California anymore—at least not since 1924, when the last specimen was spotted in Santa Barbara County. However, other creatures inhabit California’s land, water and sky. The East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) includes more than 100,000 acres, 65 parks and more than 1,200 miles of trails in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. These parks, like the Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline in…
Under the morning clouds, the Frank Ogawa Plaza in downtown Oakland was chilly as organizers got ready for the 20th Annual Oakland Earthexpo Environmental Sustainability Fair. At 9 am on Wednesday, around 100 tables were in place to start the fair, but most of them were empty. Slowly, vendors began to drift in, setting up their signs, merchandising and sign-up forms, as the sun started to warm the place and curious people began to visit the stands. But by noon,…
It is just shortly after noon on a Saturday, and the sun stands high over the historic Atchison Village in Richmond. Not a single cloud is in the sky. In its northwestern corner, a small crowd has gathered in front of one family home. The housing complex was originally built during World War II to accommodate workers from the nearby shipyards. In a small revolution, it was later sold to its residents and turned into a mutual housing cooperative. Today,…
Daughters exposed to second-hand smoke while in the womb are predisposed to developing the disease later as adults.
“Way beyond the water source to millions of people downstream, and water to irrigate farmland, the river is a wildlife sanctuary,” said landscape artist Julie Trail, speaking about the mystical Mokelumne River. Trail is one of the 50 artists participating in an exhibit organized by AmadorArts, currently on display at East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) in downtown Oakland. The exhibit focuses on the Mokelumne River, which extends about 90 miles from the Sierra Nevada to the East Bay, and…
City Horse will help alternative and continuation high schools partner with nearby stables to offer a 12-week program for students who will earn academic credit for learning the basics of taking care and riding the horses. The first partnership will be between Oakland Street Academy and Alta Vista Equestrian Center in Hayward.
Despite early signs of rain, thousands of people converged in Oakland on Saturday in what organizers are billing as the largest anti-fracking demonstration in U.S. history, calling on Governor Jerry Brown to put an end to hydraulic fracturing in California.