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Out of sight, under our feet, groundwater (see video What is Groundwater here) is a hidden treasure that enriches our lives. Groundwater fills spaces between sand, gravel and clay in water-bearing formations called aquifers. It is invisible, but its impact is visible everywhere. Our drinking water and sanitation, our food supply and natural environment–all these rely on groundwater. Groundwater is being over-used in many areas,where more water is abstracted from aquifers than is recharged by rain and snow. Continuous over-use leads eventually to depletion of the resource. According to the Water Education Foundation, 30% of California’s total annual water supply comes from groundwater, and up to 60% in drought years. Want to learn more about California’s groundwater? Click here. Groundwater is polluted in many areas and remediation is often a long and difficult process. What we do on the surface matters underground. We must only put harmless, biodegradable products on the soil and use water as efficiently as possible. Groundwater will play a critical role in adapting to climate change, especially drought. We must protect and explore groundwater, balancing the needs of the people and the planet. We need to work together to sustainably manage this precious resource. Learn more about it (in a fun way) here and share, act and make it fun! Shoot your 60 second groundwater story and share it. What do you know about the groundwater in the Los Altos area? Do you have a well? How has drought affected the groundwater levels where you live? Is a spring a groundwater? (Video tip: I’ve seen a couple on the trails at Hidden Villa) What ideas do you have to protect it locally? What simple ways can you do to preserve it? Upload your video to YouTube or Vimeo with hashtags #MyGroundwaterStory #WorldWaterDay #GreenTownLosAltos or simply share what you know in the comment section below. Find out more at www.worldwaterday.org.

Congratulations to the Los Altos High School Green Team for hosting an outstanding “Students for Green High Scho ols” conference on February 5, 2022! In its ninth year (and second time held virtually), this student-led annual event provides a platform for local student groups to discuss environmental issues, brainstorm ideas, and share resources. The overall theme for this year’s conference was conservation. On the impressive speaker panel and joining live via Zoom from the Netherlands was Dr. Irene Dedoussi, Assistant Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Delft University of Technology. Focusing on the environmental impact from aviation, her presentation was educational and thought provoking. Who knew that changing an aircraft’s flight plan could mitigate its environmental impact? Or that business class has a higher environmental footprint than coach as it requires more space per passenger? After a short break, attendees were divided into seven break-out rooms to discuss land ecosystems, marine ecosystems, water waste, urban waste, energy, agricultural waste, and Indigenous communities. Green Team leads kept the discussions lively and tracked collaborative input. The second speaker was Dartmouth College student Amanda Sun (Homestead HS alum). Sun’s youth-run nonprofit Green2Go works with universities to replace their 8-plus million single-use plastics per year with reusable alternatives. Launched just a few months ago, Green2Go is already implemented in more than 20 universities, including Stanford and UC Santa Barbara. Wow! After Sun’s presentation, attendees shared their break-out room presentations. I was impressed by the knowledge and passion from these students! Discussions included monocropping, ocean acidification, fast fashion, and the increased waste of all kinds during the pandemic. Students suggested action items for their schools such as adding solar panels, fixing water leaks, adding water bottle refill stations, supporting school gardens by including photography and other groups, and educating students on trash/compost sorting and the importance of reducing food waste. Good ideas for homes as well. Youth activist Peri Plantenburg (Homestead HS) wrapped up the conference with an energized presentation and call to action. As student leader of Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action, Plantenburg has been involved in creating a climate change curriculum that has reached more than 8,000 HS students and more than 240 teachers. The group also offers a workshop to help students advocate for a climate action plan at their school. Wow again! The message from our youth came through loud and clear — the time to act is NOW! Let’s do all we can to join them in the fight against climate change! Email us here with your ideas which we will share on our social media.

Got a bike? Give a bike. Make someone smile! When: March 12, 10 am - 2 pm Where: Los Altos High School The ReCycle Bike Drive is back and celebrating its 23rd year refurbishing gently used bicycles for kids in need! “Covid put a damper on our ability to meet, collect and fix bikes in person these last two years,” says Margie Suozzo, the bike drive’s coordinator, “but we’re back in business and we sure hope you're ready to let go of those bikes gathering dust in your garage!” The ReCycle Bike Drive will be held on Saturday, March 12, from 10am-2pm at Los Altos High School (LAHS). Stop by during that time with your underutilized bike and make someone smile! Volunteers will be on hand to accept donations. Bikes collected at the bike drive will be spiffed up, repaired, and donated to students at local schools who can’t afford them. Each recipient also gets a bike helmet and a bike lock to keep both their noggin’ and bike safe. Local school officials are key partners in identifying students in need and in managing bike placement. Beyond school placements, bikes are distributed to our partner, The Bicycle Exchange (bikex.org) which serves the local low-income community, and to Community Cycles and Good Karma Bikes in San Jose, organizations working to help the homeless population and former foster care residents, respectively, with affordable transportation and job skills training. Bicycle Intake Guidelines GreenTown welcome your donations but wants to make sure the bikes it gives away are like a new gift to the recipients, so consider the following questions before you donate: Was your bike stored outside? Has the bike been in a crash? Is there significant rust on the frame (sections larger than a dime) or on the chain/cogs? Are the derailleurs bent or damaged? Can you move the seat post up/down? If you answered "yes" to any of the following, GreenTown probably can't take your bike, but others can. In this case, here are some options: Drop it off at Community Cycles or Good Karma Bikes in San Jose. See if your waste hauler (Mission Trail Waste Systems or GreenWaste) can collect the bike through their bulky items collection program. Recycle the metal through: San Jose Metals Recycling, 1032 N. 10th Street, San Jose Ranch Town Recycling, 775 Lincoln Ave, San Jose Los Altos Hills resident, Kathleen Santora, started the bike drive more than two decades ago at St. Nicholas school. In 2012, with GreenTown’s help, the event was extended to the broader community. Partnerships with Los Altos High School and Bicycle Exchange have further improved the bike drive and our ability to get bikes into the hands of students and others who need them. “We wouldn’t be able to do this without our wonderful partners! And we’re so appreciative of our volunteers who greet donors and wash and fix bikes!” Suozzo said. “This type of event not only helps GreenTown have a significant impact in enabling kids to commute to school by bike, which is healthier for the planet and their bodies, but also it engages volunteers (they love it!) and builds community! To donate a gently used bike, stop by at LAHS on Saturday, March 12th, between 10am and 2pm. To volunteer, sign up here. For more info on GreenTown’s work, visit greentownlosaltos.org.

If your tree has an abundance of fruit this season, consider these ways to use and share what you don't need: Preserving - Learn how here. Juicing citrus. Who doesn’t like fresh squeezed orange juice in the morning? Making frozen citrus ice cubes then add them to your water as immune boosters. Learn how here. Sharing your fruit to neighbors. Put a box of fruits on the curb or drop them off at the community farm stands around Los Altos Hills. There are three locations: corner of Manuella and Fremont, corner of Burke and Fremont, and Robleda. Others bring them to work while some do a fruit exchange with friends for variety. DIY – Donate It Yourself. It’s easy, dropping off a few bags of fruit at a time rather than all the harvest. Find organizations through the Community Fruit Drop Off Locations map. There are three locations in Mountain View that are accepting donations: Hope’s Corner, Community Services Agency of Mountain View and Los Altos Day Worker Center of Mountain View. The map also has drop off day info, address and if you need to call first. These pantries will appreciate fresh fruit from homes to provide healthy food options for people in need in our community. Getting volunteers. Village Harvest can help find you volunteers. It's a local organization that brings volunteers together to help tree owners that can't harvest their own trees (no time or unable) then brings the bounty to pantries. Complete the sign up form here. If you have an orchard, Village Harvest has a sign up form for that too, here. Concerned about liability? Village Harvest Q&A section states that there are provisions such as the Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act and California Code Section 58501-58509 to protect homeowners and encourage food donations to nonprofit organizations that will help those that could use it. As long as there's no gross negligence or intentional misconduct, homeowners are not legally liable. Concerned that your oranges are not sweet? Don’t worry. Pantries will take them for their nutritional value. Village Harvest also addresses this in the Q&A. Keep in mind there is a fruit fly quarantine in parts of San Jose and Campbell so Village Harvest is expanding efforts, including in our area, while the organization is unable to pick in this zone. Read more about it here. Want to help? Village Harvest welcomes volunteers and can accommodate children, young adults and youth organizations. Register and find out more here. Once registered, volunteers can pick a harvesting event on the calendar. There’s one on the calendar for a home in Mountain View on the 6th. Sharing is fun, gives back to the community and you'll be promoting sustainable use of our urban resources. Even better, get your 15 seconds of fame by posting a picture of your fruit tree and share what you do. Tag us @GreenTownLosAltos #FruitHarvest. Share other great ideas in the comment section below. Happy Harvesting!

The reviews are in and are ever changing. At this point there's a mixed bag on the reporting about gas stoves in general, but most recently (and revelatory) by the SJ Mercury News. “Gas stoves may be more damaging than thought” On Jan. 28, 2022, the SJ Mercury News reported on a new Stanford University study published Jan. 22, 2022. The report concludes that gas stoves are even more damaging to the environment than previously thought. The study measured the amount of methane leaks from stoves that were turned off, something the government has heretofore not accounted for. The study states, “Even when not running, U.S. gas stoves are putting 2.6 million tons of methane – in CO2e, into the air each year. That’s the equivalent to the annual amount of greenhouse gases from 500,000 cars” The Mercury also noted “Natural gas appliances are generally more energy and cost effective than their electric counterparts.” GreenTown Los Altos takes issue with that comment as: the provider of that quote was Frank Maisano, someone who represents gas interests that statement is simply not true. Anyone who's studied heat pumps as replacements to their gas furnaces or water heaters knows that heat pumps offer up to 300 times better efficiency than their gas counter parts. Read the article about the study published by Stanford here.

Considering gardening with local native plants? Learn the how-to by watching this recent webinar recording presented by the nursery director and botanical consultant of Grassroots Ecology. Especially with the added drought restrictions by our water companies, Purissima Hills Water District and Cal Water, to conserve more water, transitioning from lawn to a native landscape deserves more than our consideration. These water companies do provide rebates. Other benefits of native plants that you didn't know, but you're gonna love, include: providing fire resilience (Phew) less maintenance (Yay!) biodiversity (Nice!) rebates (see below) and much more. Find out more about the rebates made available from CalWater and the rebate program from Valley Water here. For more ways to conserve and other helpful resources from your specific water company, check out: Conservation (purissimawater.org) and Conservation - Cal Water. The planting season is now! Winter is the best time to establish native plants that will carry you through into the fall.

We had a lot of fun putting together our Sips and Snacks goody bags for our fundraising event in September. As you think of sipping, snacking, feasting, and giving thanks with loved ones in November, we thought we would pass along a few tips for selecting earth friendly products. Where possible, seek to find products that are local, sustainably produced, organic, climate friendly and delicious. Give bulk buying a try! Challenge yourself to keep plastic to a minimum. We know that eliminating plastic can be challenging. For example, when putting together our goody bags, we searched high and low for local crackers that did not have plastic packaging. While we were not successful in finding crackers without a plastic liner, we found a wonderful company that has taken a climate-friendly pledge and has focused on regenerative agriculture. Turns out that when you take some time to hunt down environmentally responsible products, you end up supporting some pretty cool companies. Take time this November as you are carefully making grocery lists or planning menus to thoughtfully select products that are making a difference for our planet. Have some fun with it and let us know how it goes. We are thankful for you! A few of our Sips and Snacks goodies: Chevoo - Tasty and local cheese packaged in glass (not plastic!) Husch Winery - Local. Family Owned. Sustainable. Moonshot Crackers - Delicious! Local. Climate-friendly pledge and focused on regenerative agriculture, Black female-founded and owned. Paper Culture - Every product they sell is sustainable. Every order plants 1 tree. They have planted over 1,000,000 trees! Pathwater - Local company. Very nice reusable/refillable aluminum water bottles with a mission to end single-use plastics. Renee's Seeds - Non-GMO, organic. Offers a wide range of seeds that support pollinator health and well-being. Organic Gala Apples from the Los Altos Farmers’ Market

Not to be too dramatic, but you can help save the planet. Yes, you! Los Altos is updating the 2013 Climate Action Plan with a new plan, the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan. A draft plan was presented to the Environmental Commission Oct. 11, and the goals presented were good but the details were lacking. The goals included: electrifying transportation energy efficiency retrofits increased landfill diversion planting trees and much more. All worthwhile goals but how they will be achieved and how quickly were not clear. Another presentation to the Environmental Commission is scheduled for Nov. 15 with the promise of smart goals - goals with a timeline, measurable metrics and cost estimates. You can help by marking your calendar and planning to attend. Even better, speak up. A lot of people, myself included, feel that the next ten years are critical and we must do more. In Los Altos, we are intellectually and financially capable of doing more. We get it, we understand it and we can afford to do more. We should be among the leaders showing what is possible. in addition, a Study Session with the City Council is scheduled for 4:00 Tuesday, Nov. 2. The targets and key actions are good, but the details are lacking. You can view it here. - Gary Hedden

YOU can be the Solution to Plastic Pollution. Here are 6 things to get you started. According to a new report by Beyond Plastics, The New Coal: Plastics and Climate Change, the plastics industry is set to surpass coal as a major contributor to climate change by 2033. Yes. It is true. But your actions can make a difference in changing the vector of plastics from up, to down. On October 14, 2021 GreenTown partnered with Compassion Week Los Altos to present a webinar Be Part of the Plastic Pollution Solution! (view recording here) to heighten participants' compassion for the Earth and spur action. The 52 people attending the event not only gained knowledge about plastic pollution's effects on the environment and our health, but also came away with strategies to make an impact both on a personal level and as an advocate for better policies. We were pleased to welcome Heidi Sanborn of the National Stewardship Action Council (NSAC) as a guest speaker, who shared their critical work on legislation to hold the plastic industry accountability for the waste they create. We compiled a list of resources for participants based on the presentation which we'll be sharing with you in two parts: This month, we'll share our recommended next steps and action items (see below). Next month, we'll share resources for further learning and networking. Recommended Next Steps and Action Items 1. Watch The Story of Plastic documentary You can do so for FREE until Nov. 30 here. Spread the word! AND…save this date! On Wed. Nov. 10, 2-3pm, The Plastic Pollution Coalition is hosting a webinar with the filmmaker and frontline activists. Register here. 2. Make your voice heard locally! Contribute to the Los Altos Climate Action & Adaptation Plan. The GreenTown Zero Waste Team will be studying the draft plan when it is released in early November. We could use your help in writing the actions we would like to see included that will reduce waste and single-use plastic in Los Altos. The GreenTown Zero Waste Team will be discussing options at our next meeting on Friday, November 12 at noon. Email Donna Staton, donna@greentownlosaltos.org to join in. 3. Do something right now to move the needle on national legislation Here are two actions that will only take a few minutes. Send a brief email to our own Senator Padilla and urge him to co-sponsor the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act. Click here to send your email. For background on the BFFPP Act, click here. Additional letters can be sent via this Action Network. Help get single-use plastics out of our National Parks. Read and sign on to this petition to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. 4. Come to the Extended Producer Responsibility Coffee Hour! On Fri., Dec. 3, at 11am Pacific, join this coffee hour for a free, informal conversation on to discuss the latest EPR proposals and how to ensure that they achieve their goals. It is sponsored by the National Stewardship Action Council, Beyond Plastic, Upstream and the Conservation Law Foundation. 5. Take the Beyond Plastic Pollution Class (online) This class, offered through Bennington College in Vermont, is with former EPA administrator Judith Enck. You can either audit it or take it for credit. It’s enlightening AND fun! The class meets Wednesday evenings from 4/13/22 - 5/25/22, see more info here. A small group of GTLA members may take this together as a group learning activity. To join us, email Donna. 6. Join the GreenTown Zero Waste Team! We meet online and share news and ideas to tackle waste locally. We’d love your help and suggestions. Our next meeting will be held via Zoom on Friday, Nov. 12 at noon. We'll be working on the Los Altos Climate Action Plan (waste section), planning a DIY workshop for making plastic-free holiday gifts, and putting together loaner kits of reusable party supplies (plates, cups, cutlery, napkins). Email donna@greentownlosaltos.org to be added to the list. Let us know which actions you take by emailing donna@greentownlosaltos.org.

There's something special about an old friend whose values align with yours and who's stood by you through thick and thin. Such is GreenTown Los Altos' relationship with our steadfast corporate sponsor, Epicurean Group. Based in Los Altos, Epicurean Group is a leader in sustainable practices in the food-services industry. They've been a top corporate sponsor to GreenTown since our inception. They also provide food service to some of the top names in Silicon Valley businesses and schools. Epicurean Group recently made the list of the Top 50 Food Management Companies in the U.S., for the 9th consecutive year! They're Green Business Certified, an honor signifying that Epicurean Group’s operations comply with a rigorous set of requirements ensuring sustainable operations. Such consistency of excellence, especially during these challenging Covid times, deserves a huge shout out. Epicurean Group, we salute you! For more information, about the business, visit their website here.

Plastic. It's everywhere. And in everything. It's micro, it's macro, it's ubiquitous. At GreenTown Los Altos we're all about helping our community shrink its carbon footprint. Individually and as a community. Top and center to that end is reducing plastic use in big and small ways. During July, we participated in a global campaign called "Plastic Free July" which had an obvious goal of finding ways to reduce plastic in our lives. The campaign used email and Instagram messages to educate and inspire dozens of participants to take action and to share each others' suggestions on reducing plastic pollution. If you're on Instagram, check out our posts, several of which are below. For more info on everything from how and where to shop plastic free to how to advocate for plastic-reducing legislation, check out the "Key Takeaways" summary, here. One thing is clear, we need to collectively start using less plastics. Here are some ideas, consider it a starter kit!

Key Takeaways from GTLA’s First Plastic Free July In July 2021, GTLA joined the global Plastic Free July movement and hosted its very first Plastic Free July Campaign. Thanks to everyone who participated! Dozens of members from the GTLA community pledged to learn more about plastic pollution, its health and environmental effects, and how to be part of the solution. We hope these efforts will continue! PLASTIC FREE JULY - Learn More, Do More! The goals of our weekly communications (emails and Instagram posts) were to: Raise awareness of the plastic pollution problem Provide resources for learning more and teaching others Demonstrate easy ways to reduce plastic consumption, and Inspire participants to advocate for legislation that: reduces unnecessary plastic holds manufacturers and sellers of plastic accountable for managing the waste produced (extended producer responsibility, or EPR), and moves us toward a “circular economy” where waste is either biodegradable or truly recyclable (e.g., aluminum, glass, cardboard) Learn More, Do More! Our two GTLA Summer Interns, Michael Luk and Anneli Chow from Los Altos High School, helped us compile a set of resources we hope you will continue to use and share with others. Here they are again for easy access: Essential Resources for learning more about the environmental & health effects of plastic pollution Plastic Free Shopping (groceries, household & personal care items, gifts, etc.) Everyday Swaps for reducing your plastic use Local, State and Federal Legislation to support to have an even greater impact on reducing plastic pollution Four key takeaways we hope you learned from the campaign: Understanding that plastic is a petroleum product, and its manufacture and marketing are deeply connected to oil and gas extraction and processing, and therefore to climate change and all its associated social and environmental injustices. Realizing that recycling is NOT the answer to plastic pollution! Just 8% of plastic waste in the US is recycled, and only 3% of that is recycled into a similar quality product. The fossil fuel industry wants us to think plastic recycling is the answer, but it doesn’t work. Plastic ultimately ends up in our oceans, or in landfills, or in the air as micro- and nanoparticles. It’s basically an “oil spill” in each of these locations. There are serious health effects both to humans and wildlife from the chemicals used in plastics. Toxic and often hormone-disrupting, these chemicals enter our bodies mainly from the food and beverages we consume (chemicals contaminate food during processing that uses plastic machinery and from the containers, packaging and nonstick cookware) but also from contact with and dust from synthetic clothes and furniture, carpet, drapes, etc. Individual actions at home to reduce plastic do help, and certainly protect our health, but to effect the changes needed we must confront the producers of plastic through policies and laws that reduce plastic at the source. Some plastic of course is essential (e.g., for certain medical and industrial needs), but much of it (single-use plastic packaging) can be replaced with healthier and environmentally friendly materials. The Zero Waste Team at GTLA learned a lot during Plastic Free July—we hope participants did too. We welcome your ideas on how to improve future PFJ campaigns, and/or how to reduce plastic in general anytime! Feel free to email Donna Staton donna@greentownlosaltos.org to share your thoughts.