Kids under the Zap machine at Almond Elementary August marks the start of the 2011-12 school year with most Los Altos tikes heading to their neighborhood school. Also returning is GreenTown Los Altos’ program to encourage kids to walk, bike, scooter, or carpool to school. The program, under the leadership of Michael McTighe, and in effect at numerous Los Altos and Los Altos Hills elementary and middle schools, has a new name: WoW! (Walk or Wheel), based on Springer School’s successful program. Through contests and incentives, the GreenTown WoW! program encourages and empowers kids to get to school without being driven in a car. In the process, it boosts their confidence, fosters bonding with peers, and encourages a healthy, fit lifestyle. The WoW! program also improves safety around schools by reducing traffic in parking lots and on local streets. Our goal is to increase the number of WoW! kids by 20% by the end of the school year. Each school PTA is assigning volunteers to work with students to embrace, educate, and empower kids to forget the car and think “Walk or Wheel.” Many activities and incentives are planned throughout the year to reach our goal. We invite student councils to pledge support to the WoW! program and truly make Los Altos and Los Altos Hills bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly communities. Look for future articles during the year for more about WoW! events and each school’s progress. For more information, to find PTA contacts, or to get involved, you can email us at bike@greentownlosaltos.org. #WOWWalkorWheel

Have you ever considered going meatless one (or more) nights/week? It may be worth considering because meat, especially the four legged types such as beef, lamb, and pork, require huge amounts of water, pesticides, chemical fertilizer, fuel, and feed. Livestock also generates greenhouse gases and large amounts of toxic manure and wastewater that pollute groundwater, rivers, streams and, ultimately, the ocean. Two comparisons put meat consumption into perspective: Low-flow showerheads rain 2 gallons/minute on your head. By cutting your shower time from 8 minutes to 5, you could save 6 gallons of water per day. Multiply that by 365 and you will save 2,190 gallons of water in a year. It takes at least 2,464 gallons of water (conservative estimate) to produce one pound of California-raised beef.  So, by eating one less pound of beef per year, you’ll save water and feel less guilty about your long showers. Learn more about water and food. Similarly, growing that same one pound of beef produces the same amount of Greenhouse Gases as driving 26 miles. Eating one less pound of beef is like getting free carbon credits for car trip that you need to make (although carpooling would be even better!).  Learn more about food and climate change. #meat #waterstewardship

There has been a significant development this month in the ongoing effort to eliminate single-use plastic bags. The city of Manhattan Beach (near Los Angeles) enacted a ban on plastic bags in July 2008, but a group called Save the Bag Coalition filed suit to overturn the ban until a lengthy Environmental Impact Report (EIR) could be done. Manhattan Beach had determined that an EIR was not required to enact the ordinance and had prepared a Negative Declaration supporting their decision. In a unanimous decision handed down this month, The California Supreme Court sided with Manhattan Beach in finding that an EIR was not required and that the city had “acted within its discretion when it determined that its ban on plastic bags would have no significant effect on the environment.” Learn more. This is really good news for smaller municipalities that may wish to enact single–use plastic bag bans to address plastic pollution in our waterways, knowing that expensive and time-consuming EIRs will not be required. Closer-to-home examples include: Palo Alto enacted a ban on single-use plastic bags in March 2009, only to be sued by a trade organization representing the plastic bag industry. They settled out of court to save the expense of a trial, leaving the original ordinance in effect for the seven largest grocery stores in Palo Alto, but required the City to perform an EIR before extending the ban. San Francisco has already banned single-use plastic bags. San Jose has adopted plastic bag bans, effective January 1, 2012. Santa Clara County has adopted a ban on plastic bags for the unincorporated areas of the county, also to take effect on January 1, 2012. We hope this is just the start of an irreversible trend and we will see other communities, especially in the Bay Area, eliminate the use of plastic bags to address the significant issue of plastic pollution in the Bay and the Pacific Ocean. Our GreenTown Los Altos Co-op is also focused on reducing plastic pollution, focusing initially on reducing the use of Styrofoam food containers by offering attractively priced compostable container alternatives to restaurants and schools. In cooperation with our partner, World Centric of Palo Alto, we have been calling on the Los Altos restaurant community over the past year to entice these restaurants to discontinue the use of Styrofoam containers. In April we worked with the high school Green Teams to introduce compostable lunch trays on a trial basis as a replacement for Styrofoam trays, and are now working with them to make this a permanent change. The early adopters of compostable take-out containers include Sumika, Brian’s Restaurant, Chef Chu, and Tom’s Depot. As you patronize your favorite Los Altos restaurants, we encourage you to ask the owners to eliminate Styrofoam containers. #greentownlosaltosbusinesscoop #Plasticbagban

By Peg Champion, Principal of Champion Organic Communications Chef Casablanca, Katia Essyad, serves students the delicious results of her traditional Moroccan cooking class, a Slow Food South Bay spring event. It sounds too good to be true. You can live healthier, save money, strengthen family ties, build community, support local businesses and improve the environment – all with a simple choice. Would you be surprised to learn that the answer is … on your dinner plate? It’s true. Research conducted by the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and a study produced in March 2011 by the Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute finds that by filling your plate with Slow Food, you can actually achieve all those things. But what, exactly, does Slow Food mean? Slow Food is a philosophy, a movement and an organization. You can express its philosophy in just three words: “Good, Clean and Fair.” “Good” means that food should taste good and be nutritionally good for you. “Clean” food doesn’t harm the environment or our health. It’s grown and harvested with methods that promote biodiversity and that have a positive impact on our local ecosystems. “Fair” food is accessible to all, regardless of income, and produced by people who are treated with dignity and justly compensated for their labor. Founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1986, the Slow Food movement began in resistance to the opening of a fast-food (McDonald’s) restaurant at the foot of the Spanish Steps in Rome. Slow Food now has 100,000 members in 132 countries; your local Slow Food South Bay chapter is one of 800 chapters worldwide. Here, in the South Bay, Slow Food is focused on education and celebration. Through our education efforts – films, lectures, food literature group, workshops, school gardens and tours – we share information about how our food choices affect the world and ourselves. We advocate a transformation in government food policy, practices and markets that will promote environmental sustainability, improve nutritional health and ensure social justice. And we celebrate the bounty of our beautiful Valley of Heart’s Delight (aka Silicon Valley) with community events, potlucks and tastings. Rather than eating industrially produced food, which often contains harmful residue from chemical pesticides and fertilizers, a Slow Food diet comprises seasonal, local, sustainable food – such as grass-fed, pasture-raised animals, organic fruits and vegetables and sustainable seafood. By shopping at farmers’ markets and subscribing to CSAs (community supported agriculture organizations) instead of buying processed food from the grocery store, we support our local farmers, ranchers and fishermen and lower our food expenses and our carbon footprint. And finally, what’s the simple ingredient for strengthening family ties and forging stronger interpersonal connections? Sharing a convivial dinner with family and friends on a regular basis. But slowly, of course. See 11 Ways to Eat Well, for Good and a Glossary of Slow Food terms. Peg Champion is the principal of Champion Organic Communications, a strategic communications company focused on sustainability, and serves on the Board of Directors of Slow Food South Bay. Her license plate, “Locavore” displays her commitment to local, seasonable and sustainable food. #EatingWell #Organicfood #SlowFood #sustainableagriculture

By Peg Champion, Principal of Champion Organic Communications and Board Member of Slow Food South Bay It’s simple to eat responsibly, healthily and economically. Here are 11 things you can do starting today: Shop at farmers’ markets and subscribe to a CSA (community supported agriculture organizations). Support small farms, artisan producers and heirloom varieties. Buy whole, unprocessed “real” food – and if there are labels, read them. Learn to cook. If you can, start a garden. Eat sustainable seafood. The Monterey Bay Aquarium has excellent informational Seafood Watch wallet cards that indicate “best choices, good alternatives and fish to avoid.” Eat organic foods. Learn which foods you must buy organic and which are okay to buy conventionally. The Environmental Working Group has a Dirty Dozen/Clean 15 wallet card. Carry it for an easy guide when you shop. Use meat as a condiment. Eating less meat is better for you and better for the planet. Support Fair Trade foods. Fair Trade is a market-based approach that promotes sustainability and helps farmers in developing countries obtain better trading conditions. Join Slow Food. Sign up for our Slow Food South Bay newsletters, and learn what is going on in your food community – we want to be a resource for you. Educate yourself. Read books, like Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma and Food Rules, visit websites such as Grist and Roots of Change – and help us grow a more sustainable food system! GLOSSARY Conventional, Industrial or Factory Farms These farms produce crops using chemical fertilizers, herbicides and insecticides and give antibiotics, growth hormones and medications to animals. Environmental Sustainability Development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Heirloom Variety, Heirloom Plant A common cultivar previously grown on family farms, but no longer used in modern, industrial agriculture. Organic Food Food produced without synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Organic foods do not contain genetically modified organisms and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives. The state of California enforces laws to qualify and certify foods labeled “organic.” Processed Food Food manufactured or chemically altered using additives such as flavor enhancers, binders, colors, fillers, preservatives, stabilizers, emulsifiers, etc. Sustainable Agriculture A way of raising food that is healthy for consumers and animals, does not harm the environment, is humane for workers, respects animals, provides a fair wage to the farmer, and supports and enhances rural communities. For more information, read Slow Food: Eating Well for Good #CSA #sustainableagriculture #organicfoods #eatwell #slowfoodsouthbay

Did you drive less? Walk, bike, or carpool more? Inspired by the Drive Less Challenge, Tom Fenstermacher, overall winner of the Drive Less Challenge in the Los Altos and Los Altos Hills area, radically changed his daily commute to San Francisco. Instead of driving both ways from here to there, Tom took his bike to the train and the train to work. Tom logged 839 green miles. Great job Tom! From April 22 through May 5, more than 70 people from Los Altos and Los Altos Hills participated in the Drive Less Challenge, a regional effort to shift people from solo driving to greener choices such as walking, biking, carpooling and public transit. In our first year with a targeted push to get folks in our area to take the challenge, participants logged a total of nearly 9,000 green miles, saving more than 5,400 lbs of CO2, a greenhouse gas, from entering the atmosphere. Several participants said the challenge motivated them to change their behavior to greener modes of travel. And the winners from Los Altos/Hills are… OVERALL – out of all participants in the 9 participating communities on the Peninsula, Los Altos/Hills: Rich Hill was #1 in green miles by bike with 374 miles by bike. Los Altos made a good showing by bike with Brian Matsuo placing in the top three in the region, with 338 miles traveled by bike. Tom Festermacher was #1 in total green miles by train. Tom radically changed his commute forgoing the drive up I-280 every day and for a bike ride to the train and a train ride to the city. During the challenge, he travelled a total of 765 miles by train. Gary Hedden placed second overall in number of green shopping trips. Gary took 26 green trips of which 17 were for shopping and errands. Biking and carpooling were Gary’s main modes of travel during the challenge. Dylan and Marvin Weitz placed on the leader board as the third and fourth most improved versus their baseline. Biking was their main mode of green travel. WITHIN LOS ALTOS/HILLS: Most green miles (top 5): All for a total of more than 2,600 green miles, saving more than 1,500 lbs of CO2. Tom Fenstermacher – 839 miles Mary Fran Miller – 548 miles Brian Matsuo – 416 miles Sue Young – 413 miles Gary Segar – 412 miles Most green miles walking: Brian Matsuo, 31 miles Most green miles by bike, Rich Hill, 374 miles Most green miles by small electric vehicle, John McBirney, 16 miles Most green miles by bus, Sue Young, 60 miles Most green miles by train, Tom Fenstermacher, 765 miles Most green miles by carpool: Mary Fran Miller, 494 miles Most green trips: Gary Seager, 34 trips in two weeks Most green shopping trips: Gary Hedden, 17 trips Greenest travel: tie: Chris Hvlaka and Marvin Weitz, using only biking and walking Most improved versus baseline: Marvin Weitz and Dylan Weitz PRIZE WINNERS FROM OUR BIKE, WALK, WIN! PARTY: Overall winner: Tom Fenstermacher won a portrait sitting at Sheldon of Los Altos (value $275) More than 275 lbs of CO2 avoided: Brian Matsuo won lunch at Rick’s Café plus 2 $10 coupons to Bicycle Outfitter Sue Young won a gift certificate to Andiamo Salon (value $60) Rich Hill won a gift certificate to Chain Reaction Bicycles (valued at $29.99) Greatest number of green trips: Gary Segar is the winner of a gift bag from Peet’s Coffee & Tea ($30 value) plus two $20 Bicycle Outfitter gift cards Over 200 lbs CO2 avoided club: Mary Fran Miller won a $50 gift certificate to Alabasta, CycleGuy 2011 John won a $29.99 gift certificate to Chain Reaction Bicycles and Steve Folkman won 2 $10 gift certificates to Bicycle Outfitter. Best blog story: Mike Gospe won a $40 gift certificate to Sumo Sushi Boat Restaurant. Honorable mention went to several middle and elementary school students for their participation in the challenge as well as to groups from Oak Avenue elementary and Almond Elementary. Great job participants! And many thanks to all of our sponsors!

The DVD of the show is now available to check out from the the Santa Clara County Library System and is viewable on YouTube. The Better Part show is produced by Cupertino Senior Television Productions and has been producing community interest television shows for over 25 years. Margie Suozzo, Chair of the GreenTown Los Altos Leadership team, and Mike Barnes, Chair of the GreenTown Los Altos Business Co-op, taped this show in January with host Bill Mannion.  The host provided us with an opportunity to talk about GreenTown Los Altos, and particularly drilled in on our work to eliminate Styrofoam containers in Los Altos by offering compostable containers at attractive pricing for restaurants in Los Altos. If you are not sure about the difference between ‘compostable’ and ‘biodegradable’, or just want to know what we have been up to in the Co-op, tune in to this 30 minute show the week of June 6. Mike Barnes Chair, GreenTown Los Altos Business Co-Op

As the Drive Less Challenge winds down, we’re gearing up for the celebration – May 12, from 5-7pm at First and Main Sports Lounge.  This is a family-friendly event with plenty of non-alcoholic beverages available for purchase at the no-host bar. RSVP at: http://bikewalkwin.eventbrite.com/ We will celebrate: Our collective effort to do less solo driving and more biking, walking, and carpooling! The joys of biking and walking more and the benefits of continuing to do so, and Those who commute to and from work by bike; after all it is Bike-to-Work day! We’ll be awarding some excellent prizes for Los Altos and Los Altos Hills Drive Less Challenge winners. Big winners include those with the most green trips and the most green miles logged, but there will be lots of other prize categories and several random drawings throughout the evening. This party is free and open to the public; there will be light appetizers and a no-host bar at Happy Hour prices. So join us at First and Main for GreenTown Los Altos’ Bike, Walk Win! Party. Stop by on your commute home from work, as it is Bike to Work Day. Visit the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition website to learn more, and check out this great video on the SF Bay Area Bike to Work Day website. RSVP at: http://bikewalkwin.eventbrite.com/ Many thanks to our local sponsors: Alabasta Flower Shop, Andiamo Salon, Andronico’s, Baskin Robbins Ice Cream, Bicycle Outfitter, BK Collections, Brian’s Restaurant, Chain Reaction, Chef Chu’s, Cranberry Scoop, Esther’s German Bakery, Firefly Willows, Hartman Fashions, John B. McBirney, DDS, Jolie Madame, Linden Tree, Los Altos Hardware, Paris Tailor, Peets Coffee & Tea, Peggy’s Health Center, Rick’s Cafe, Sheldon of Los Altos, Sumo Sushi Boat, Tom’s Depot, and Vintage Bath.

Permanente Creek, Los Altos Up a creek, literally! GreenTown will host a tour and cleanup of it’s newly-adopted section of Permanente Creek on Saturday, May 21, 9am-noon. As part of National Rivers Cleanup Day, volunteers will set out to explore both natural and not-so-natural sections of Permanente Creek, cleaning up as we go. Sign up for this free event at: http://permanentecreek.eventbrite.com/ We will meet at Heritage Oaks Park on the corner of Portland Ave. and Miramonte. This will be a great opportunity to see and learn about the channel (which is normally inaccessible behind fencing). Plus, it will give us a chance to establish how much trash is typically in our section of the creek. Gloves and trash bags will be provided. All participants must sign a waiver and children under 17 must be accompanied by an adult. Volunteer information and a liability waiver can be found here.

Join other families, friends, and bicyclists of all ages for a casual and fun group bike ride around Los Altos next Saturday, May 7, from 4:00-6:00pm. The ride will feature several hidden passageways that help you get to several shopping districts and the community center on a safe and fun route for families, kids and adults. Anything to make the ride festive, like a rolling bike party, is encouraged! The ride will organize at 4:00pm at the corner of Main and Second Streets. We will ride for 1-2 hours around town, ending up back in downtown Los Altos. Those interested can continue the party at Spot’s Pizza or other downtown restaurants at 6:00pm. Our next ride is scheduled for Saturday June 4th. For more information, please contact Monthly Bike Ride coordinators Scott Vanderlip at (650) 793-0475  or scott@inet-sciences.com, or Laura Teksler at lteksler@yahoo.com.

Guest blogger: Mike Gospe Beginning on Earth Day, I made a conscious effort to try to use an alternative to the car for at least one errand per day.  Highlights of this past week included multiple trips to markets (Draegers, Whole Foods), post office, library, Pet’s Delight, Chase Bank, and Office Depot. My most challenging ride was the day I decided to ride to Draeger’s to pick up an 11 inch fruit tart. Yesterday’s ride was extra enjoyable because I combined several tasks, including time just to get exercise on the bike: Recycle a collection of ink cartridges by dropping them off at Office Depot. Run to Whole Foods for some needed ingredients for tonight’s dinner. Include a workout by riding to Palo Alto and visiting my good friend Donkey (off of the bike/pedestrian path behind Gunn High School). Total elapsed time for today’s ride was 70 minutes, which included my workout. I’ve also gained a deeper appreciation for what it takes to ride a bike in and around town. Los Altos needs more bike parking accommodations.  It’s okay for a single rider to chain their bike to a tree or signpost. But, if more people are to take up the challenge, we need more and safer accessible places to park our bikes.  In light of the downtown construction, the bike provided me better maneuverability to get to my destination. But, as always, bike safety must always be top of mind.  Bike riders can take nothing for granted, especially for keeping safe alongside cars on streets and in parking lots. Overall, it was a great week.  These and other destinations await me, as I will continue the Drive Less Challenge next week.