On November 29, GreenTown hosted an incredible panel of experts, each of whom spoke about the importance of eating locally. Our three speakers, Laura Stec, Peter Ruddock, and Rosalind ‘Ros’ Creasy took us on a journey of discovery, punctuated with laughs and a hearty discussion. Chef Laura Stec Laura Stec (chef, educator and author specializing in events and products for healthy people and the planet) began the evening by explaining what local actually means and how tricky it can be to define it. It’s often “cheaper”, she said, to package food grown in California in another state or even country—clearly complicating the whole concept of local. Laura went on to talk about how our produce is grown for shipping and not flavor or nutrition and finished by sharing some incredible recipes—she’s a chef after all! Peter Ruddock Next up was Peter Ruddock (local food policy expert and historian). Peter spoke about how an economy centered around local food is better for everyone (i.e., local being defined as food where you can drive to the producer, shake his/her hand, and drive home all before dinner).  This is better for the consumer, Peter said, because they know exactly where their food comes from and better for the local economy as the benefits returned to the community are 1.78 that of a community based on industrial agriculture. Ros Creasy (Los Altos resident and internationally known expert and author on edible landscapes) finished the evening and began her talk by sharing produce and products from her garden—including lime-leaf, sugar-snap peas, honey, hops, and persimmon. Ros then moved into a slideshow of her incredible, and ever-changing, edible garden in Los Altos. More than one attendee was motivated to swap out their current landscaping for something more beautiful and edible. Ros Creasy While eating locally may be more complicated than we initially thought, we can all take steps to lower our carbon footprint when it comes to the food we eat. Whether we grow food in our yards or even apartment balconies or shop at our local farmers market, we can all make a difference.

In late October, I attended a community-based social marketing (CBSM) training by Doug McKenzie-Mohr, an environmental psychologist who has been teaching CBSM to organizations for more than 20 years. My goal was to learn, from the preeminent expert on the topic, how to improve GreenTown’s efforts to mitigate climate change through the use of CBSM. Doug MacKenzie-Mohr, Ph.D. What stood out most was that information intensive campaigns, like those on TV, radio, the internet and newsprint, just don’t work. There is little connection between attitudes and knowledge and behavior change. People know what they should do, but more-often-than-not, don’t change their behavior based on that knowledge. McKenzie-Mohr used the example of the congressionally mandated Residential Conservation Program (RCS), which requires utilities to offer energy audits. Only six percent of the public participated in the RCS and, of those, only 50 percent acted on the recommendations resulting in only a 2 to 3 percent overall savings. The solution, McKenzie-Mohr asserted, is to use CBSM to reach one’s constituents. He walked us through a step-by-step process to do this which began by identifying behaviors one wants to change, uncovering the barriers and benefits to those behaviors, developing strategies, doing pilot testing, and implementing and evaluating those strategies. The CBSM Bible Ultimately, what McKenzie-Mohr calls social-diffusion, appears to be the answer. Social diffusion is the process of identifying individuals in a community that have the social cache to lead their communities into social change. He shared about university extension agents encouraging Dust Bowl farmers to plant trees to create windbreaks. Agents began by identifying the most respected farmers in the community and had them plant windbreaks as pilot projects. Once their peers saw the success of these projects and they wanted in as well, and eventually, most farmers began practicing this method. I look forward to experimenting with CBSM as GreenTown plans for 2019 and beyond. At its core, our work is really about how each of us can change our behaviors to reduce our carbon footprint and other negative environmental impacts. CBSM will be an important tool in that process. For more information on CBSM as well as abstracts from a huge range of programs that have been designed or evaluated using CBSM, visit cbsm.com.

NOW IS THE TIME!  Your voice matters. Council will vote on a proposed shoulder paving policy that includes a 3-foot asphalt swale to the City Right of Way. GreenTown has advocated that permeable materials, not asphalt, be the default. The item is on the consent agenda, perilously close to a final decision. The item is on the consent agenda, perilously close to a final decision. We will present Council with a letter and a list of more than 70 signatures! But, for the sake of our waterways, we are asking YOU to: Show up: Your presence in the Council Chambers really has an impact. Speak: Please join us and prepare to speak for 1 minute. The most effective message is a personal incident or viewpoint. Ask: Ask City Council to eliminate the asphalt swale from the policy in favor of organic, permeable materials. Talking points can be found below. Please choose any that resonate with you. Safety: A 3′ asphalt swale, although it is not continuous, looks like more street. Wider streets create faster traffic. An organic Right of Way is a clear distinction from the asphalt street. This makes it a safer refuge for pedestrians to escape from cars. Storm water pollution: The single largest source of pollution in the SF Bay is stormwater runoff. Current environmental thinking is to capture rain where it falls and let it sink into the ground, where toxins are captured and decompose. This is done by maximizing green scape – organic, permeable materials – and minimizing hardscape, which sends untreated water into our local waterways. The proposed policy does just the opposite by adding hardscape of a 3′ asphalt swale. Using organic, permeable materials in the Right of Way is simple, low-cost, and practical. Los Altos has a tremendous opportunity to maximize stormwater capture with our abundance of organic Right of Way areas. The policy continues to build a storm drainage system that won’t connect until every existing home is knocked down or has a large remodel. More hardscape causes water to flow to downslope neighbors. Policy revisions should correct this to the maximum extent possible. Rural character: Our natural streets are a treasured part of our Los Altos heritage, an elegant rural characteristic that distinguishes our town. This adds to our level of enjoyment and our property values. The asphalt swale is an unnecessary erosion of this character. This policy will shape our streets for the future, exchanging organic land for hardscape. If we protect our rural neighborhoods we will be an even more sought-after refuge from all the hardscape and building around us. Our neighbors in Atherton have successfully modeled the effective use of greenscape in their Right of Way for many years. Atherton prohibits asphalt in the Right of Way. We do not want our city to become all curbs and gutters. Our rural character is what sets us apart. Will Los Altos be the town that said no to hardscape, kept our neighborhood feel intact and maintained our rural character? Include a brief conclusion that specifically states what you want. For example: Reduce stormwater pollution. Replace the proposed asphalt swale with organic, permeable materials. Remove the 3′ wide asphalt swale from the new proposed policy. Protect the rural character of our streets for the future. Remove the 3′ wide asphalt swale from the new proposed policy. Don’t widen our streets. Thanks so much for your support! The GreenTown Water Team Linda Ziff, Barbara O’Reilly, Tami Mulcahy

by Samantha Enos Roundup, a widely used glyphosate herbicide. Source: Flickr Glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide in the world, is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as “probably carcinogenic” to people. The IARC has steadfastly defended that decision, despite ongoing attacks by Monsanto, which patented the glyphosate molecule more than 40 years ago and marketed it as Roundup. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken a less conservative approach, stating that glyphosate is ‘not likely to be carcinogenic to humans’ in its last study, released in Dec 2017.  Still, Monsanto faces 9,300 lawsuits on glyphosate and recently lost a suit in San Francisco, in which the company was ordered to pay $289M to a school groundskeeper who developed terminal cancer. In March 2017, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) added glyphosate to its list of chemicals known to cause cancer under Proposition 65. Despite these warnings and more research surfacing on impacts of organophosphates such as glyphosate (4), RoundUp is still sprayed in places where our children play sports, such as soccer and baseball, roll in the grass, and do all the other things kids like to do. Non-profit organizations such as the Environmental Working Group (EWG) conducted research on the topic, with alarming results (1). Yes, weed killers in our food. Yep, in the food that we are giving our kids during their critical stage of development. You may have even stopped purchasing certain cereals to avoid unnecessary exposure to this chemical or signed a petition to pressure manufacturers to clean up our food.  What you may not be aware of is that these same products are widely used all around us. They are used in homes, city parks, and school grounds throughout Los Altos. What’s in your cereal? Is it possible if RoundUp, or any pesticide, is sprayed near harvests that it seeps into food? Any scientists who’d like to opine, please email us and let us know your take. No Safe Levels of Pesticide Exposure The American Academy of Pediatrics says that there is no safe level of pesticide exposure for children, where the term “pesticides” is a collective term for chemicals intended to kill unwanted insects, plants, molds, and rodents. Pesticides are toxic chemicals – poisons created to kill. They are dangerous for all living things, including adults and pregnant women, and are particularly dangerous for a child’s developing organ systems. (2) Why are our children being subjected to these risks? For cosmetic landscaping purposes — to kill weeds. Dandelions do not pose a risk to children, but pesticides do. Take 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid or 2,4-D. It is one of the key ingredients in Agent Orange, an herbicide used tactically by the U.S. to defoliate trees and other plants during Vietnam War, and another of many pesticides used widely in cosmetic landscaping. These pesticides have been shown to lower IQ, cause cancer, damage developing reproductive organs and cause other significant harm.  “By allowing children to be exposed to toxins or chemicals of unknown toxicity, we are unwittingly using our children in a massive experiment”, according Dr. Bruce Lanphear, MPH, MD, Clinician Scientist at the Child & Family Research Institute, BC Children’s Hospital, and Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia. (3) This issue affects every person and pet in Los Altos. You and your family can still be affected if chemicals are not sprayed on your street. Pesticides have been shown to drift for miles and persist in indoor carpet fibers for a year after they are tracked inside. The U.S. Geological Survey found that, “After they are applied, many pesticides volatilize into the lower atmosphere, a process that can continue for days, weeks, or months after the application, depending on the compound. In addition, pesticides can become airborne attached to wind-blown dust.” (5) Further, the interactions between the many chemicals being sprayed near our homes and in our parks are unknown. What is known is that glyphosate is widespread in the environment. (6) According to David Bellinger, professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, “Impacts from multiple chemicals may simply add up, amplify one another’s effects.”  He estimates that Americans have lost a total of 16.9 million IQ points due to exposure to organophosphate pesticides. (7) Alternatives Exist Source: MVLA Soccer Club Harvard University successfully switched to a non-toxic landscaping alternative, and cities across the U.S. are banning the use of toxic pesticides, including Novato, Santa Rosa, and Benicia in Northern California, and Irvine and countless other cities in Southern California. For example, in February 2016, the City of Irvine successfully banned the use of RoundUp in public parks and schools, adopting instead organic practices.  To implement these, the non-profit organization Non Toxic Irvine set up an organic-landscaping training with Beyond Pesticides, whose mission is to help transition away from using conventional landscaping methods by adopting organic, more eco-friendly landscaping practices. Their success has inspired many other cities to take steps to reduce our kids’ exposure to pesticides. A change of this nature can be done, and has been done by switching to proven organic methods that are cost comparable and require 30 percent less water.  Let’s bring this up to the attention of our local leaders, and add Los Altos to the increasing list of cities working to protect our children and environment from the unnecessary and dangerous exposure to pesticides. For more information or to get involved in advocating for safer landscaping, email info@greentownlosaltos.org. References: https://www.ewg.org/childrenshealth/glyphosateincereal/ Roberts JR, Karr CK, Pesticide Exposure in Children, American Academy of Pediatrics, Vol. 130/Issue 6, 2012, http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/130/6/e1757 Lanphear, BP, The Impact of Toxins on the Developing Brain, Annual Review of Public Health, Vol. 36:211-230, 2015, https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031912-114413 Beyond Pesticides: https://www.beyondpesticides.org/assets/media/documents/lawn/factsheets/Pesticide.children.dontmix.pdf Majewski MS, Capel PD, Pesticides in the Atmosphere, US Geological Survey, 1995, https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1994/0506/report.pdf U.S. Geological Survey, Common Weed Killer is Widespread in the Environment, 2014, https://toxics.usgs.gov/highlights/2014-04-23-glyphosate_2014.html Bellinger DC, A Strategy for Comparing the Contributions of Environmental Chemicals and Other Risk Factors to Neurodevelopment of Children, Environmental Health Perspectives, 2011, https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/ehp.1104170 #Glyphosate #Pesticide #Pesticides #RoundUp

Do your friends sit in their cars with the engines on while waiting for their kids to get out of school? Okay, maybe you’ve even done it yourself once or twice. Do you ever get into your car, turn it on, then check your phone or eat a sandwich? What about when you go to the drive-through window at Walgreens or In-and-Out Burger? Do you leave your car on or do you turn it off?  By turning engines off instead of idling, drivers can reduce air pollution that causes health problems, save money and gas, and do their part to mitigate climate change! Source: roadtrafficsigns.com Idling is bad for human health. US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) monitoring at schools during afternoon pickup reveals “hot spots” of elevated air toxics. This poor air quality increases respiratory ailments like asthma and bronchitis, and heightens the risk of life-threatening conditions like cancer. Motor vehicle engine exhaust from engines affects children and the elderly much more severely than healthy adults. Because children’s lungs are still developing, they are particularly vulnerable with exposure potential leading to permanent lung damage. Reducing idling would help improve our community’s health. Idling wastes gas and emits greenhouse gases. Each day, Americans, voluntarily idling their vehicles, contribute to burning as much as 3.8 million gallons of gasoline and emitting 40,000 tons of CO2. Additionally idling motor vehicles emit particulate matter, NO2, deadly carbon monoxide and other emissions that are harmful to health and contribute to smog formation. But my Dad told me, idling saves gas and is better on my engine. Not true. Most drivers believe that turning a vehicle on and off is hard on the engine and wastes gas. While this was true a few decades ago, now, the opposite is true: Idling actually puts more wear and tear on the engine and wastes fuel. See here for more info. The good news is that it is all preventable! GreenTown efforts. New City of Los Altos signage. In Fall 2017, GreenTown presented the issue to the Los Altos Environmental Commission. GreenTown and the Commission then conducted surveys at public spaces and schools to record the extent of vehicle idling.  The survey results were quantified in a report to the Environmental Commission in April 2018 and later distributed to City staff and school administrations. You can view the full report here. Based on the survey data, vehicle idling at schools and commercial and civic areas was estimated to contribute more than 94 metric tons of CO2 to the atmosphere. Reducing idling would not only help the City meet its climate action goals but also would reduce the concentration of toxins in the air we breathe, which are hazardous to human health. The impacts of efforts to raise awareness about the impacts of vehicle idling are evident: The City is doing its part by establishing a policy for its employees and vehicle fleet to reduce unnecessary idling as well as posting signs in the City Hall parking lot. Anti-idling signage at the drop-off at LAHS. Los Altos High School (LAHS) has also initiated educational efforts by including anti-idling messaging in its student drop-off and pick-up procedures and posting signs in  school drop-off and pick-up zones. In addition, LAHS’s Green Team is developing an anti-idling educational campaign that may include student-designed stickers, window clings, and handouts. Next up, GreenTown volunteers are working to engage the Los Altos School District in similar anti-idling education efforts and have offered to assist the LAHS Green Team, Pinewood School, and other organizations with their anti-idling education efforts. Do you have questions about GreenTown’s anti-idling efforts or wish to assist GreenTown with this or other programs? Email info@greentownlosaltos.org.

by Margie Suozzo Plastic bags and plastic film — the ubiquitous thin plastic packaging that protects our bread, tortilla chips and toilet paper — is a major challenge for local recycling facilities. The good news is that there are better ways to recycle thin plastic packaging. Sorting equipment clogged with film plastics. Source: High Country Disposal, Redmond, OR. However — like the order in the adage “reduce, reuse, recycle” — first make an effort to reduce plastic waste. For inspiration, check out Beth Terry’s My Plastic Free Life or Bea Johnson’s Zero Waste Home’s tips. If you must purchase items with plastic packaging — and frankly, it’s quite difficult not to — we have a recycling solution! Our journey into this recycling challenge began when one of our waste warriors, Barbara O’Reilly, started looking into how to recycle all the thin plastic packaging she was accumulating. First, she discovered that it is difficult for local waste management companies to reliably recycle plastic film. The material can get stuck in recycling sorting equipment and create problems. Often these plastics end up in the landfill. Next, much to Barbara’s excitement, she discovered many companies that were interested in increasing the recycling of their plastic packaging had joined forces to create better recycling labels and establish store drop-off stations that accept plastic bags and plastic film. You can find drop-off stations at many local grocery and other stores, like Safeway, Draeger’s, Lucky, Whole Foods, and Target. A significant amount of the material collected through store drop-offs actually gets recycled. Additionally, a wide range of materials can be collected through store drop-offs, including the following: Most plastic bags: grocery bags, sandwich bags, ziplock bags, newspaper bags, cereal inserts Most plastic wrap packaging: toilet paper wrappers, opaque plastic packaging disposable diapers, clear plastic wrap around water bottles Air pillows and certain pouches: Amazon Prime’s new white packaging, Seventh Generation’s plastic pouches for dishwasher and laundry soap These products, once collected, are then recycled into end products like plastic lumber used to make park benches as well as other plastic bags. So if you want to do the right thing, collect your film plastics in another plastic bag (your toilet paper packaging will do) and when the bag is full, drop it off at Safeway, Draeger’s, Lucky, Whole Foods, Target, and any other stores that have a drop-off container for plastic bags, wraps, and film. Find a location here. For more information about plastic film recycling, check out how2recycle.info or email info@greentownlosaltos.org.

by Lia Evard While most of us notice an increase in spending during the holiday season, we don’t always see the increase in what we send to the our landfills.  Americans throw away about 25 percent more trash between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve than the rest of the year. If every American family wrapped just three presents in reused materials, we would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields! The idea of changing the habits that we’ve all become accustomed to can seem daunting, but even the smallest actions can help you reduce your carbon and ecological footprints. In the past few years, my focus has been on how to cut down on the number of products I consume. Below are some ways you can cut down on your consumption around the holidays and go green! Choosing a few of these actions will take a small amount of effort but have a big impact. Not only will you contribute to sustainability and health, but chances are you will also simplify your life and discover new interests. Going green can help sort out what really matters from the chaos of the holiday season: enjoying the company of family and friends! Decorations Make sustainable choices regarding your holiday tree. Buy an artificial tree that you can reuse for years to come. If you must buy a real tree, buy a living tree that you can plant outside or keep as a houseplant after the holidays, or purchase one that was grown locally to help cut down on the environmental costs of transporting trees from afar. Dispose of your tree through your waste company’s curbside collection so it can be chipped and composted. Flocked trees are NOT compostable. Choose energy-efficient LED lighting. Use energy efficiently and be creative with what you already have. Consider using fewer or no lights in your holiday decorations. If you must use lights, decorate with energy-efficient LED strings. Plug your decorative indoor and outdoor lights into a timer to save electricity. Decorate creatively and inexpensively with natural materials from your yard or with items you already own. Gift-giving Be thoughtful when shopping for gifts. Don’t buy things simply for the sake of having something to give someone. About 35 percent of Americans have an unused Christmas present from past years collecting dust in their closets! Use fewer resources when you shop, give presents, and wrap gifts. Save money and resources by making your own gifts: knit, sew, bake, or build something, or create art, make calendars or recipe books using your own photos. Give in ways that support your community: tickets to local theater performances, concerts, sports events, local attractions, museum memberships, gift certificates for dinner at local restaurants and cafes, a massage at a local spa, and as to local gift shops or consignment/charity shops. Give your time and skill: coupons for doing household chores, preparing meals, gardening, cleaning, window washing, car detailing, dog walking, or teaching computer or smart-phone use for seniors in your life. Give the gift of shared experiences. Donate to a favorite charity or a service organization in the name of a friend of relative who supports that cause. Give gifts that are durable, energy-efficient, recyclable, or made of natural products. Purchase gifts that are fair-trade, locally made or grown, or organically grown. Remember to bring your own bag (keep them in the car or near your bike so they’re always available). Conserve energy when shopping by combining trips, using mass transit, carpooling with a friend. Use creative materials for wrapping gifts: scarves, fabric, handkerchiefs, old maps, sheet music, advertisements, reusable tins, baking pans, or other home or garden items. Consider sustainability when buying toys. Look for toys made from natural materials and fair-trade toys. If you give electronics, choose energy-saving items. If you must provide batteries for a gift, be sure to buy rechargeable ones. Green your holiday greetings Send email cards or make your own. Buy cards made from “post-consumer” content and printed with non-toxic inks. Reuse the fronts of old cards as holiday postcards or gift tags. Give cards that are eco-friendly, such made from recycled paper, or that consider sustainability in their production. Paperculture.com prides itself on its sustainable cards. Minted.com also offers eco-friendly options. Or give cards that support an organization that you care about. Holiday food Eat sustainably-sourced food and avoid disposable containers and extra packaging. Research sustainable food choices in your area. Buy locally, such as at your local farmer’s market. (Note that the Los Altos Farmers’ Market is closed for the season, so visit the Mountain View or California Avenue Farmers’ Markets instead). If buying seafood, use Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch guide to sustainable seafood. Consider eating lower on the food chain to reduce your carbon footprint. Consider the energy efficiency of your cooking. Purchase snacks and beverages in bulk to avoid extra packaging. Serve food with washable/reusable utensils, plates, and glasses, rather than disposable items. Make homemade eggnog, hot chocolate or iced tea to avoid additional packaging. More information on greening the holidays, can be found on the Center of A New American Dream’s Simplify the Holidays booklet.

~By Margie Suozzo Keshav on wash duty. On October 14, GreenTown collected 100 bicycles for kids in need! A great group of volunteers washed, filled tires and repaired more than 50 gently-used bicycles, which were delivered to low-income students at Los Altos High School, Castro Elementary and Graham Middle Schools, where need is significant.The remaining 50 bikes collected went to Hope Services “Cycles of Hope” program to support disabled adults. Mark on bike repair. Community activist, Kathleen Santora, started the bike drive 21 years ago at St. Nicholas School. In 2012, Santora approached GreenTown about partnering on the bike drive and we haven’t looked back! Now in its 6th year hosting the Recycle Bike Drive, GreenTown has joined with Los Altos High School (LAHS) and the LAHS Green Team. LAHS generously provides the site for the bicycles as well as storage for the bicycles after the event. LAHS Green Team kicks in with help. And many volunteers from the community come out for this heartwarming event! The washing station. Many thanks to Performance Bicycle for providing a 25% discount on purchases of helmets and locks to accompany the kids’ bicycles.

– By Margie Suozzo Honorees: Sybil Cramer and Kathleen Santora. It’s a wrap! GreenTown supporters enjoyed a magical evening of connecting with environmentally-minded community members while enjoying family-style dining and bidding on a creative array of silent and live auction items. The event was held in the beautiful History Museum Courtyard on Saturday, October 20. It featured a delicious, sustainable, locally-sourced meal, along with local wine from Portola Vineyards and beer from Lagunitas. Many local businesses supported the event through sponsorships and in-kind donations. And County Supervisor, Joe Simitian, engaged the crowd as auctioneer. Thanks to our sponsors, in-kind donors, and attendees, we met our fundraising goal of $20,000! Two community Environmental Heroes were honored at this year’s event: Kathleen Santora has worked with GreenTown on water conservation issues and in 2012 partnered with GreenTown on an event that she started started 21 years ago – the ReCycle Bike Drive – which GreenTown continues to manage! Sybil Kramer founded the Go Green Committee of Los Altos High School (LAHS), part of the Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA), with the goal of getting the high school Green Certified – which she did! She has also been a stalwart promoter of all things green at LAHS and the parent liasion for the student Green Team. Michael Hanna Band. Thank you Kathleen and Sybil for all you do to make our community greener. In addition, Jana Schlansker, GTLA Board Member, was honored with an Environmental Hero Award for her incredible dedication to the mission of GreenTown, managing our database, keeping us organized, and making sure we cross all our t’s and dot all our i’s. Thank you Jana. We would limp without you! Thanks to our sponsors, donors and attendees for making the event spectacular! #gallery-1 { margin: auto; } #gallery-1 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-1 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-1 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

By Gary Hedden From “Gee Whiz to Global Impact!” — that’s what Lindsay Hower with Nature Conservancy entitled a recent panel discussion. Held on the Google Campus, it featured the use of ‘big data’ to understand and help solve complicated real-world problems. Panelist Rebecca Moore, Executive Director of Google Earth Engine, showed us the power of maps. Rebecca Moore from Google, speaking on the panel, Oct. 10, 2018 For her, it started with a logging proposal near Lexington Reservoir, by Highway 17 on the road to Santa Cruz. The maps she created showed the true scope and impact of the project, and although it took years of effort by concerned citizens, the project was stopped and the land protected as a park. Monitoring Marine Fisheries Maps have also been put to work to protect our marine fisheries. Ships communicate to satellite for safety reasons, and this allows the tracking of fishing vessels. A recent proposal to set aside 4% of the Pacific Ocean fishing area off Costa Rica was met with an outcry from the fishing industry. Maps that showed where vessels actually fish made it possible to visualize the minimal impact of the restricted zone and this changed their opinion. Now fish in this protected zone are reproducing and adding to the fish stock along the entire coast. Tracking fishing vessels, monitoring the catch in real-time and sharing that information allows fishing vessels to target appropriate fish and avoid ‘bycatch’ loss. The use of AI (artificial intelligence) to assist in this analysis is increasingly helpful. The goal is to fish at sustainable levels. Animating our Landscapes Another effort by Google Earth was downloading the data collected by surveillance satellites since 1972. The Landsat images contain so much data that it was impossible for earlier generations of computers to manage. Now, using 66,000 powerful computers, all of the images have been merged into a timeline that shows in dramatic animation the changes to our global landscape – melting glaciers, expanding cities, loss of the rain forest and more. It’s a real call to action. Check out the work of the Nature Conservancy here.

By Gary Hedden You have seen them. A lot of them – Waymo’s self-driving Chrysler minivans. Waymo is an independent company under the Google umbrella that started testing in 2009 and became Waymo in 2016. They have completed 5 million miles of self-driven operation and billions of miles of simulated driving. Sydnee Journel at the Grant Park presentation. Their goal is safety. The bar is pretty low actually, as 94% of US crashes involve human error. The cars you see in Los Altos are usually self-driven; the operator is there in case of emergency as required by California law. Waymo has applied for a permit to begin self-driving operations here just like the operation in Phoenix, where Waymo is accident-free. They intend to provide a ride-hailing service similar to Lyft and Uber. In a presentation at Grant Park, October 17, Sydnee Journel, Local Policy & Community Manager, explained all of this and took questions. For example: What if the painted street lines are worn out and obscure? Waymo has mapped everything to very high precision and already knows the roads very well. What if there is a sudden unexpected move by a bicyclist? Their cars track objects far in advance, the length of three football fields, and they anticipate unexpected moves and are ready for them. Who covers the cost if there is an accident? Liability is being actively discussed with the insurance companies. Admiring the Waymo car. If an accident is about to happen, will Waymo make an ethical judgment about what to hit – for example, a baby buggy or a brick wall? Tough question, but Waymo expects far fewer accidents and will base such decisions on what/who is more vulnerable, not what/who is more valuable. We also got a chance to see, but not sit in or ride, the Waymo cars. #Google #selfdriving #Waymo #EVs #electricvehicles

~by Margie Suozzo On Wednesday, September 12, GreenTown hosted a screening of the documentary film, A Plastic Ocean, at the Los Altos Library with over 50 people in attendance. Tim Giacomini of Mission Trail Waste System also presented on the state of recycling, given changes in China’s recyclable materials import requirements. The film painted a bleak picture, indeed. In the end, much of the hope for getting ourselves out of this mess comes down to changes in our personal behavior and habits. Below are a few resources that may prove useful to you both for shifting your own behavior and for helping others shift theirs. GreenTown’s Waste Cheat Sheet – This handy reference guide is designed to help Los Altos residents know where their waste goes. Tim Giacomini of Mission Trail Waste System helped inform our interns to make the Cheat Sheet as current as possible. The front indicates which materials can be recycled, composted and trashed. The back provides an overview of how to re-think disposables. Feel free to print out copies and give them to your friends! A key takeaway: recyclables need to be CLEAN and DRY! Plastic Oceans Foundation – The makers of the film provide some useful resources on their website. My favorite are the research papers. You can find them here. A Plastic Free Life – Beth Terry, an unassuming and not particularly environmentally-inclined accountant, started a blog and then wrote a book about how to live without plastic. Her decision to do so was motivated by images, similar to those presented in the movie, of baby albatrosses with stomachs full of plastic. Least Waste – This is a store that features environmentally-friendly products. What I love is their Instagram page, which I recently discovered. It offers great tips on how to live a life with less waste. If you are an IG user, check it out. If you would like to borrow a copy of the movie or have any other resources you can recommend on waste reduction or reducing plastic, please email us at info@greentownlosaltos.org!