by Donna Staton, MD Plastic is everywhere. You’re likely wearing it right now (polyester, fleece, sneakers — check the labels) and will likely ingest some with your next meal.  While most of us recognize the problem of plastic waste polluting our oceans and harming marine life, we don’t realize that plastic and the toxins that leach from it accumulate in our bodies. Medical researchers are now examining levels of plastic-derived chemical compounds in humans to better understand the effects on our own health. How do chemicals from plastic enter our bodies? To answer this, it’s important to understand two things: 1)  Because plastic is not biodegradable, it only breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces over time, producing microparticles or microfibers, some too small to see.  Millions of tons of plastic debris in the oceans continually produce these microparticles, which are mistaken for food by plankton, fish, and marine animals, thus entering our food chain. On land, our homes are full of plastics and synthetics (upholstery, carpets, bedding, clothing, cookware, etc.) that constantly create dust and microparticles. Some skin products and cosmetics contain plastic microbeads (though they are being phased out). We breathe them in, eat them, and even send these particles from our homes to the ocean via the washing machine and sink water going down our drains. Plastic microfibers have even been found in our drinking water samples. 2)  During plastic production, chemical compounds are added to produce hardness, softness, flexibility, flame resistance, etc. These chemicals can leach from the plastic and into food that comes in contact with it during processing, cooking, packaging, and reheating and can also be absorbed through our skin. Examples: phthalates — plastic softeners, fragrance stabilizers found in shampoo, soaps, nail polish, hair spray, deodorant, etc. — which do not build up in our bodies but to which we are continually exposed and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs; flame retardants in electrical products, coatings, textiles, and  foam in furniture padding) which do build up in our bodies. Are there health risks from ingested/absorbed plastic-derived substances? So what if I eat a little plastic or absorb some of these chemicals, you may wonder.  A growing number of scientific studies is raising concern. Even at low concentrations, phthalates can interfere with the action of hormones, and exposure during pregnancy, a critical time for child development, has been associated with lower male reproductive hormones; similar exposure to PBDEs has been associated with lower intelligence. Phthalates may increase the risk for miscarriage, gestational diabetes, and premature birth. Perfluorinated alkylate substances (PFASs), used in stain-proof fabric, waterproof clothing, and some food packaging, build up in the food chain and persist in our bodies. PFASs are linked to cancer, reproductive toxicity, hormone disruption and immune system dysfunction. Of significant concern is that PFASs are found in human breastmilk and accumulate in infants the longer they nurse (think of a nursing infant as the top of the top of the food chain). How can I reduce my exposure to plastic-derived chemicals? Put simply, use and wear less plastic and eat unprocessed food that has not been stored or cooked in plastic containers. This is also great for the environment! Here are some specific suggestions: Food Buy & store unprocessed food/beverages in glass or stainless steel containers Cook in stainless steel pots/pans using stainless steel or wood utensils Minimize eating or drinking from plastic Use a wooden cutting board Decline straws and encourage businesses to only provide paper/natural straws on request Never microwave or boil in plastic containers; use glass baby bottles Environment Wear natural fabric clothing as much as possible; use cloth diapers Purchase furniture made of natural products, sleep on a natural material mattress using cotton bedding Replace polyvinyl chloride (PVC) products such as flooring, blinds, shower curtains with cotton, bamboo or polyethylene vinyl acetate (PEVA) Shower with a bar of fragrance-free soap and a cotton washcloth instead of shower gel from a plastic bottle and a mesh shower sponge Get the plastic off your skin: minimize use of lotions and deodorants; look for phthalate-free, paraben-free, fragrance-free products Buy laundry detergent in a box rather than a plastic jug When ordering shipped items, request no plastic packaging Advocacy Give feedback to companies, stores, and restaurants; discourage single-use plastics Weigh in with your legislators on plastic reduction proposals Encourage schools & workplaces to choose plastic-free cafeterias Support local efforts to reduce plastic waste in the environment Of course, we can’t avoid plastics entirely, and with every choice there are trade-offs.  But we can and should educate ourselves and others about this issue, and demand that more consumer goods be made of natural or biodegradable materials.  Recycling, though vital, is NOT the answer, as it only postpones the inevitable deposition of plastic somewhere in our environment. Among their many efforts to protect our environment and our health, Green Town Los Altos members are advocating for local restaurants to use fewer single-use plastic items, beginning with a “Skip-the-Straw” campaign. To learn more, contact Green Town at info@greentownlosaltos.org It will take some effort, but we can all make a real difference in protecting our health and our environment! For more information on plastics and our health: KQED’s 6-minute video “Is Your Fleece Polluting the Ocean?” https://www.kqed.org/lowdown/29456/how-plastics-took-over-the-world-and-created-an-environmental-mess-a-brief-disposable-history?utm_medium=Email&utm_source=ExactTarget&utm_campaign=20180113EducationNewsletter&mc_key=003i000000UOaUWAA1 National Geographic’s Short Film Showcase “Are You Eating Plastic For Dinner?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjT8GG0ETQg

by Gary Hedden and Linda Ziff Drought-tolerant landscaping looks good and it’s still a good idea. GreenTown Los Altos led a walking and biking tour April 21 in the Dos Palos neighborhood to learn all about it. The walking group came from the Terraces at Los Altos and included several other guests. The first stop was at Linda Ziff’s. She is our water lead and has a well-established drought-tolerant yard. She switched from regular spray heads to high water efficient heads last year and received a rebate from the Santa Clara Valley Water District. Her favorite part? “The yard takes care of itself.” Our second stop was at Eric Cox’s home. Prior to installing his new yard, he carefully measured his water use and found that the lawn was taking 2/3 of it. That was all he needed to know! Out with the lawn and in with attractive new plants. An added bonus is that the gardening is much less work and uses little fertilizer so his gardener charges less money. That’s a pretty nice arrangement. Our next stop was Emily Thacker’s. We visited her yard two years ago when it was brand new. Now it has filled in and it looks great. We especially like the rocky bio-swale that helps capture storm water. Two houses had yards planned by landscape designer Debby Ruskin. Debby is knowledgeable, generous with her time, and we all enjoyed hearing her words of wisdom. The final stop was at Santa Rita’s Living Classroom garden. This program began at Oak school and is now at 23 schools. It gets kids started with gardening, connects to their school programs and builds an appreciation for the natural world. GreenTown certainly approves of that! ~Gary Hedden and Linda Ziff Linda Ziff and Gary Hedden led the walking and biking tours. Linda Ziff describing good water management, “slow it, spread it, sink it,” to the group. Debby Ruskin explaining good landscape design Neelima Bandla taking notes. #biketour #droughttolerantgardens #lawnbegone #WalkingTour

By Margie Suozzo and the DesignX Team Imagine this. If all people on our precious planet consumed food, clothing, and goods at a rate that Americans consume, we would need more than 5.1 Earths to sustain us. The problem is, we have only one. The products we consume impact people and the planet throughout their lifecycle: from extraction, production, and distribution, to consumption and disposal. Businesses are producing products to maximize profits. Consumers are purchasing to minimize costs. But the costs to the environment and our future are often not included on either side of the equation. Our overconsumption habit is filling up landfills and polluting our air, soil and water. The Newby Island Landfill, where most of your garbage goes, was slated to close in 2025, though a recent permit approval increased the height to which garbage could be piled to 100 feet, extending the landfill’s life. Enter visions of “Wally”, after the humans had escaped the ravaged earth, piling garbage evermore. So what is the solution? BUY LESS! LIVE MORE! Consumers can buy less and reuse and share more. Buy less. For most things, you probably don’t need it. When you do buy: Look for products that use circular economy principles on the Cradle to Cradle Certified Registry Choose durable, quality goods that have a lifetime guarantee or that you know will last a long time Reuse/share. Purchase goods second hand from local and online re-sellers, like Thred-Up and PoshMark. Organize a clothing swap with friends. Local bloggers, Kanesha Baynard (boldlivingtoday.com), Suzanne Bell (asksuzannebell.com), and friends run an annual Sip and Swap, where one woman’s trash is another’s treasure. Encourage “repair cafes” in your community. Amateur tinkerers can help extend the life of household appliances, consumer electronics and other products in disrepair. Repair cafes started in the Netherlands but have made their mark in Palo Alto, Mountain View and Sunnyvale. Participate in the sharing economy. Nextdoor.com and other resources can help make sharing easier for you. Neighbors, more often than not, are willing to lend baby gear, tools, or other “stuff” on a short-term basis. RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS! Many businesses operate on a planned obsolescence model, designing and building products that they know will be obsolete in 3-6 months. Or they produce fast fashion that they know will not be desirable in short order, ensuring that customers will keep coming back for more. But there are excellent examples of companies taking the lead on sustainability through “cradle to cradle” or “circular economy” design, in which manufacturers design products for durability and reuse. Patagonia: Patagonia focuses on creating quality, durable products that can be repaired and recycled. It backs up this effort with a lifetime guarantee. To “close the loop,” the company created a fleece made from recycled plastic bottles and shared the technology with other manufacturers. LooptWorks: Looptworks creates products from pre-consumer excess fabric as well as from goods that would otherwise be thrown away. They partner with a range of companies, to secure materials and create ”meaningful, long-lasting and limited edition products.” For example, LooptWorks worked with Southwest Airlines and subsequently Alaska Airlines to repurpose old seat fabric into products such as high-end handbags, duffles and soccer balls. Thred-Up and PoshMark: Thred-Up and PoshMark don’t produce products but rather provide a platform for users to buy and sell gently-used apparel and accessories online. Products are offered a second life at deep discounts off of retail! Looptworks creates beautiful luggage and accessories out of excess material. This bag is created from an old airline seat. Source: Looptworks. REcycling, DOWNcycling, UPcycling! The triangular recycling symbol is intended to remind us that recycling closes the loop. Materials created with energy and other inputs, once recycled, are put back into the economy as another product. In the ideal world, all products could be recycled into the same products – a plastic bottle becomes a plastic bottle or office paper becomes office paper. But typically the material degrades on recycling, known as downcycling, as a result of contamination or processing. Plastic bottles may become furniture, office paper becomes lower grade paper, and so on. In contrast, upcycling reuses or re-purposes items, making them better than the originals. In fashion, this often means taking something that doesn’t fit or is stained and refashioning it into another product. Upcycling reuses textiles, that would most likely end up in the trash, in a creative way. Creative ReCycling! DesignX knows something about upcycling. Founded by Los Altos resident Durga Kavalagunta, DesignX provides afterschool and summer programs in fashion design for kids. Children learn how to ideate, sketch, sew and embellish their own stylish wearable products. Since its inception, DesignX has proudly used post-consumer “waste” fabric, either donated by the community or left over from student projects, for design challenges and small projects. Creative use of scrap fabrics by DesignX students. The DesignX team also regularly scours through tons of fabric samples donated by design houses to FabMo, a local non-profit dedicated to fabric and textile recycling. FabMo provides unique, high-end materials, that individuals can rescue and reuse for creative purposes, diverting about 70 tons of material from entering the landfill each year. DesignX students repurpose these designer fabrics converting them to iphone cases, pillow cases, wallets and other accessories.

Did you know that more than half a billion disposable straws are used and thrown away every day in the U.S., alone? Most end up in our oceans, adding to the mass of plastic pollution that pollutes our water and kills marine life. If we don’t act now, it is projected that there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050. An estimated 71% of seabirds and 30% of turtles have been found with plastics in their stomachs. So what do you say? Are you ready to Skip the Straw? At this point, plastic straws are ubiquitous. Take-out sodas, smoothies, and other frozen blended beverages, come with plastic straws. Many sit-down restaurants also serve water, soft drinks, and cocktails with plastic straw To support local businesses in “skipping the straw”, GreenTown is developing: Materials to help businesses inform customers and educate staff A list of tested alternatives to plastic straws As well as other resources and information. To recognize participating businesses and increase visibility in the community, GreenTown will: Provide a window cling recognizing participating businesses as “GreenTown Plastic Pollution Prevention Partners”; List participating businesses on its website; Promote participants through recognition in print, social and/or other media, starting in June 2018 and annually, during Earth Month; and Write periodic articles for the Los Altos Town Crier, and GreenTown and SV4A blogs about the Skip the Straw campaign. There are excellent alternatives to plastic straws available for both businesses and consumers. Businesses can consider: Aardvark Paper Straws – Durable and flexible, these straws decompose in 45-90 days. Plus you can make them custom if you want. Harvest Straws – These straws are made of non-GMO, non-irrigated heritage grain grown in Southern California. Consumers have a range of additional options to take along when getting take-out or dining out: Go Strawless – If you can live without a drinking straw, simply ask for “no straw” at your favorite establishments. If you want to go one step further, urge them to only offer straws upon request (and not plastic ones). Glass – Simply Straws Glass Straws – These straws are reusable, BPA-free, and hypoallergenic. Steel – Highly reusable and recyclable, these straws can be found in straight and bent models. You may want to get a wire brush for cleaning. In addition to places like Whole Foods, which carries steel straws, you can look online for brands such as: Kleen Kanteen Steelys Bamboo – from fast-growing wood. Paper – Aardvark Paper Straws – Mentioned above, these straws don’t disintegrate as some paper straws do, yet they decompose relatively quickly, and are easy to find from online retailers, such as Amazon and Jet.com as well as in some local retail shops. Compostable plastic straws, typically made of poly-lactic acid (PLA) derived from corn or potato starch, are not a good choice, however. These straws and other compostable plastics look “green” but they’re not! Because products made of PLA take 120-150 days to decompose, they cannot be composted in our local compost facilities, where the processing time is around 65 days. Further, they act just like regular plastic straws in marine environments, breaking down into bits of plastic that are ingested by marine life. If you would like more information about GreenTown’s Skip the Straw campaign or to get involved, please contact info@greentownlosaltos.org.

As Los Altos and Los Altos Hills electricity customers, energy consumers, general consumers, residents, and members of our community we’d like to hear from you, about what features or services you’d like to receive or have access to through Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE). Our community achieved a major milestone in reducing carbon emissions from electricity use with the formation and successful launch of SVCE. SVCE supplies carbon-free electricity over the existing power lines from wind, solar and hydropower to 97% of all households and businesses in Los Altos and many Santa Clara County communities. PG&E continues to maintain the power lines and infrastructure, send bills and provide customer service. What kind of residential program would you like to see, or would you take advantage of, to help further reduce greenhouse gas emissions or limit energy waste? Or is there another type of customer assistance you would like? For more information about SVCE, visit SVCleanEnergy.org. Email your program ideas to innovation@svcleanenergy.org or GreenTown Los Altos at energy@greentownlosaltos.org or info@greentownlosaltos.org. Don Weiden is a board member of GreenTown Los Altos and member of the SVCE Customer Program Advisory Group.

GreenTown said, “Let’s Talk Traffic,” and March 14, we did just that and more in our continuing series of Traffic Talks. Arnold Ambiel kicked off the meeting by describing the new developments in Mountain View along San Antonio and El Camino. He told us that Mountain View and the Silicon Valley have been adding more jobs than housing for many years. In fact the ratio has averaged 6:1 for many years. Now developers are adding housing – 330 units are already completed in Phase 1 of San Antonio Center and 583 more are under construction at 400 San Antonio Rd. Up to 1200 are allowed. Phase 1 also has 400,000 sf of office space completed. What does this mean to Los Altos? A lot of traffic from the new housing will be going to jobs in Mountain View or Palo Alto, so maybe not much. The jury is still out on the impact of the new office space on our traffic. The new school site will also have an impact. A 10th Site Advisory Task Force to advise on the new site has recently been formed. About 25% of the students living in Mountain View attend 7 different Los Altos School District schools, and Mountain View students attend the two MVLA high schools, contributing to Los Altos traffic throughout the city. Aruna Bodduna of the City of Los Altos spoke next. She gave us an update on our North Los Altos roads and clarified the 3 categories of roads we have; arterials like San Antonio and El Camino with up to 38,000 vehicles per day, collector streets like Los Altos Ave. and Almond Ave. with up to 9,000 vpd and local streets which carry up to 800 vpd. She also updated us on current projects at two intersection crossings aimed at making it safer for kids to get to school on Portola Ave. – one at Los Altos Ave. and the other at San Antonio Rd. Next up, Zach Dahl with City of Los Altos Planning. He gave us the background on the zoning requirements and an update on projects along the El Camino Real that are underway, planned or likely to be coming soon. The density bonus law has kicked in on some projects. Developers can add affordable housing units and in return they can build a bigger project with more units. There are still parking and height requirements that must be met. When asked about the impact on traffic by these new developments, he said they are not individually evaluated, but explained that they fit with the city’s general plan, and the heavy traffic in Los Altos is from “through commuters,” not from local housing. During the discussion it was pointed out that more local housing should reduce traffic. Another point made by several in the audience was the need for regional planning. For example, development on San Antonio Rd between Foothill Expressway and HW101 is controlled by 3 different cities. Finally Agent Brooks of LAPD spoke. He is a motorcycle officer in the traffic division and his focus is on education and enforcement. He reminded us that the speed limit on San Antonio is 35 mph, but he can often write tickets for speeds above 50 mph especially during the early morning commute hours into Los Altos that begin at 5:30 am. He stated that school traffic is really bad, but it is over in 30-45 minutes and worse in the morning than during the afternoon. On El Monte radar cannot be used (see LATC Apr 5 2017), but traffic speeds can be enforced in the short Almond School Zone and the speeds are high there. The Police Department’s radar trailers do help as they are a speeding deterrent as drivers slow down as soon as they see them. He also commented that some of the previous traffic calming methods have not worked well such as those installed on North Clark Ave. He also stated his personal opinion that keeping commuter traffic moving through town is best for everyone… delays lead to other problems such as using local street to get around bottle necks. He see more traffic violations where the Safe Routes To School routes cross busy arterial and collector streets. The session ended with audience Q&A. What’s going on with the Foothill Expressway improvements at El Monte and San Antonio? Still in the works according to Aruna. It needs to have the Measure B funding resolved but could start this summer. Are there any development impact fees to fund traffic projects? Yes, says Dahl. There is also a park-in-lieu fee. What does the future look like with Waymo and driverless cars? Brooks says the department has had talks with Waymo. He also gave one of their cars a ticket for going 25 in a 15 mph school zone. The ticket went to the “driver,” also known as the pilot. That glimpse into the future was pretty much the end of the meeting. We got a lot of good information, but it was tempered with the realization that traffic is still a work in progress. ~Arnold Ambiel ~Gary Hedden Arnold Ambiel making opening remarks Aruna Bodduna describing street projects in Los Altos Zach Dahl explaining the zoning regulations Agent Brooks pointing to a traffic hot-spot

Linda Ziff with GreenTown Los Altos partnered with Jeremy Merckling and Erin Banks Rusby of Grassroots Ecology Saturday, March 10, to host the annual World Water Monitoring Challenge and learn about good water management and check the quality of the water in Permanente Creek at Heritage Oaks Park. This year we still have water in the creek, so it is actually living up to its name! This hands-on event attracted volunteers ranging from Montclaire Brownie Troop 62880 to a Foothill College student studying Environmental Biology. Two Americorps Watershed Stewards, Rachel Clemons and Devon Jackson, demonstrated the Enviroscape and described how pollutants get into our water and how to prevent it. Of course, you don’t want any litter to get into the storm drains, or use too much fertilizer and you should pick up after your dog, but here’s something you might not consider – don’t brake hard when you drive. The wear and tear on brake linings shed copper and that is very harmful to certain aquatic life. The next station in the day’s program was looking at water bugs that live in a creek. Peering though a hand-held magnifying glass revealed all sorts of squiggly bugs. The kids loved it. The number and types of bugs are important measures of the health of a creek, according to Sara Witt with Grassroots Ecology. Some bugs can survive poor water quality, so if that is the only bug you see, watch out. Next, the volunteers conducted measurements at four stations, learning about the dissolved oxygen, temperature, turbidity and pH of the water. The results are shared around the world as part of the World Water Monitoring Challenge. The challenge, started in 2003, is an international effort to build awareness and protect water resources everywhere. So how did we do? Right now, our creek is in reasonable shape, but this is another dry year so by the end of the summer… it will likely be a dry creek. ~ Gary Hedden Rachel and Devon showing how water collects to form a watershed Sara having fun with the bugs Rachel getting the group ready to test for dissolved oxygen

Sunnyvale is making good progress on their Climate Action Plan, but they want to do more. They want to be carbon-neutral says Mayor Glenn Hendricks. To help them, IDEO, the Palo Alto design company, ran a six hour meeting Saturday, March 3, to gather ideas. Applying the IDEO principles of determining a need with in-depth questioning, followed by rapid-fire brainstorming, a group of over 160 participants came up with some key questions in the format, “How might we …?” With 20 tables of eight or more participants, we did not lack “How might we” questions. Some wondered about conserving every drop of water, some said straws suck- what can we do about that, others wanted easier access to good information, or easier energy audits or incentives to use public transportation. Our table wondered, “How might we make biking and walking in Sunnyvale safe, attractive, desirable, and cool?” Some thoughts- more bike events to make biking cool – city tours, bike riding birthday parties, and traffic-free zones on bike days. We also wanted contests. There’s nothing quite like a winning prize to attract some attention. Sunnyvale will collect all of the good input, and later this year there will be a presentation to the city council with the very best of it. We wish them success, and we will happily copy anything and everything they like and make it our own. ~ Gary Hedden Gary with two fellow participants Don and Cheryl studying the background information Chris, with IDEO, leading the workshop

Our electricity is carbon-free, so let’s use it, but how? GreenTown hosted a smart energy talk Feb. 1 with two presenters. The first, Steve Schmidt, provided some answers. The HomeIntel program run by Steve’s company can use your smart meter data, analyze your energy use, tell you if you are wasting energy – and most people are – and tell you how to stop. Even better, he will do this for free; the service costs are covered by ratepayer-funded programs designed to reduce wasteful energy use. Here’s what you do. Go to homeintel.hea.com to sign up for a Smart Audit of your home’s energy use. The analysis doesn’t even require a home visit since it is able to understand your energy use from your smart meter data. You will then receive customized recommendations. Some may not be surprising, for example, switching to LED lights, but some may. A lot of energy is lost to phantom energy use, the power that is used when you think your electronics are switched off. HomeIntel can help with that. The program is pay-for-performance, so Steve and his team are motivated to get you to actually make some changes. That’s how they get paid! Our second speaker was John Supp with Silicon Valley Clean Energy. Yes, these are the folks who are providing our clean electricity. John reminded us that PG&E still operates the transmission lines and still sends you the bill. Most people are fine with that arrangement, in fact less than 3% have opted out. John asked us to imagine a future of clean electricity with no pollution from burning fossil fuels, and he assured us that it doesn’t mean we will have to suffer. Have you driven an electric car? Try it and you won’t go back. And he had plenty of other ideas. For example, when the time comes, replace your gas-fired water heater with a new heat pump water heater. More ambitiously, switch to a heat pump electric dryer, install connected thermostats, and move to induction cooking, or on-site energy storage or perhaps even a new heat pump furnace. John also offered some fascinating insight into the changing world of renewable electricity. We are now getting so much solar in the middle of the day that supply exceeds demand. That is bad news for solar providers, but the answer is we need to shift our peak energy use to match that supply. The rates don’t reflect that reality, at least not yet. When the rates do change, we’ll be charging our new electric cars in the afternoon, not the middle of the night! ~Gary Hedden Steve – Beneficial Electrification John – 2017, A Good Year. #homeintel #JohnSupp #SteveSchmidt #SVCE

A packed crowd of 100 gathered at the Los Altos Library on Wed. evening, Jan. 17, because they’d had enough. Enough PLASTIC, that is! GreenTown hosted a showing of the inspiring short film: STRAWS: A Documentary for a Sea of Change – One Straw at a Time. Following the film, we learned about the actions that students at Bullis Charter School are taking through their #Decarbonize/Decolonize club. The team that joined us focused on a pilot campaign to reduce plastic straws in school and are taking it school-wide this Spring. We also heard from the Los Altos High School Green Team about its January 27, Students for Green High Schools Conference organized by and for students. The conference hosted representatives f A GreenTown committee to develop a No Straws campaign is now forming, in cooperation with Silicon Valley for America. If you are interested in being part of the committee to develop and implement a campaign to eliminate straws in Los Altos and Los Altos Hills, please let us know at info@greentownlosaltos.org. Also, if you are interested in spreadin To get started right away, Resources on Eliminating Plastic Straws A list of straw alternatives Leave-behind place cards that you can take to businesses asking them not to eliminate plastic straws or at the very least, provide them only on request. (attached) Script for interacting with businesses. Ocean Pollution Prevention Organizations Heirs to the Oceans. Watch their video!! Blue Mind – Wallace Nichols featured in the movie Ocean Conservancy – Organizes coastal cleanups Plastic Pollution Coalition – Many take action options, e.g., the 4Rs pledge Algalita Foundation – Marine research and youth programs 5 Gyres Foundation – Science, education, adventure Inspirational Individuals Lauren Singer – Lives a zero waste lifestyle outlined in her Tedx Teen Talk. Started a company. Blogs on Trash is for Tossers. Bea Johnson – Author of Zero Waste Home lives a zero waste lifestyle with kids! Beth Terry – lives a plastic-free life. Writes blog and book My Plastic-Free Life. Beth spoke at a GreenTown event a few years back. Check out her Tedx Talk. Proposed Calif. Legislation re Ocean Pollution Follow Californians Against Waste to keep up with advocacy efforts re waste in Calfornia. They worked hard to uphold the statewide single use bag ban, for instance. AB 319  – Connect the Cap. Requires that plastic bottle caps be tethered to plastic bottles. Plastic bottle caps are a threat to many marine species, including the Albatross. Speak out. Email your representatives asking them to support the bill. Upcoming legislation limiting straw use in restaurants.

The first one ‘sold out’ almost immediately, so we scheduled two bike rides this year. One the day before the Winter Solstice and one on the day itself. We had over 20 riders each night, and with our bikes all tricked out with twinkly lights, we were a festive couple of groups. It was cold though, so the stop for hot chocolate was much appreciated. Along the way we sang a few Christmas carols and when it was all done two and a half hours later, we were happy and in a good holiday mood. Gary Hedden

Panels at Blach Intermediate School and Loyola Elementary are already up! By the end of December, installation of panels at all the schools should be complete. (You may see some on the GreenTown Los Altos “Winter Solstice Bike Ride“.  The project will reduce the District’s carbon footprint significantly and generate electricity bill savings of more than $175,000 annually. ForeFront Power, will provide an online portal for students and staff to remotely monitor the solar production at each campus and provide energy curriculum materials and training to students and faculty. With GreenTown’s help, volunteers at each school are working hard to increase walking, biking and carpooling, reducing traffic and building new habits during construction and beyond.