Eco-Bulletin ~ March 15, 2007

Follow ecologist Dr. Les Bowker to a part of the Elfin Forest not often seen by Forest visitors. At 9:30am on Saturday, March 17, Dr. Bowker will lead you off of the boardwalk along the little-used Habitat Trail in an easterly direction toward South Bay Blvd., and then down into the Don Klopfer Grove, the largest oak grove in the Elfin Forest. Les will help you to see the plants, trees, lichens and the life that lives on and under them with new eyes. You'll learn to think in terms of the homes or habitats of the plant and animal occupants of the Elfin Forest, and how they establish and then live in their own piece of the Forest. You'll have an excellent adventure--off the beaten path. Be sure to wear long sleeves & jeans to avoid being scratched by the under-brush.

According to the Association for the Study of Peak Oil, worldwide oil production is currently reaching its peak and beginning a decline.

ECOSLO and the SLO Air Pollution Control District (APCD) are hosting two Electric Vehicle Forums to explore our energy and transportation options as we plan a smooth transition to a sustainable economy. The first forum will be Thursday, March 22 at noon in Room C-40 at the Forum in Santa Maria. The second forum will be Sunday, March 25 from 1:00-4pm at the San Luis Obispo Veterans Memorial Building.

Former Pentagon analyst, Sam Smith, is an insightful, articulate and visionary speaker who will discuss the financial opportunities in the emerging EV industry, energy security and the need for rapid commercialization of alternative technologies such as electric vehicles and solar-thermal power generation. Smith has worked on numerous electric vehicle development programs and is currently a financial analyst with an international brokerage firm. As a military program analyst in the 80's, he reviewed the viability of multi-billion dollar programs and applies that experience to the current economic viability of electric vehicle and alternative power generation technologies. He also served as a speechwriter for President Reagan. Mr. Smith has a B.S. in Engineering from the University of Oklahoma and a Masters of Science in Systems Management from the University of Southern California.

Learn Ancient Wisdom to fine-tune your sacred space...and help ECOSLO’s bottom line! Feng Shui Expert Holly Ziegler, MA.Ed. invites you to her upcoming workshop in San Luis Obispo, “Feng Shui Secrets to Empower Your Home, Your Office, and Your Life!” Learn techniques you can put to use immediately in any property or environment at the workshop, from 12:30 to 4pm on Tuesday, March 27 and Wednesday, March 28, in the Community Room at First American Title Co., 899 Pacific St., in San Luis Obispo.

Enroll now for $99.00 (regular price is $149.00) and Holly will generously donate 15% of your ticket price to ECOSLO. Included in price of the course:

• Holly’s books, “Sell Your Home FASTER with Feng Shui” & “Buy Your Home SMARTER with Feng Shui” (compliments of Rockview Lending Group)

• A beautiful, personalized Feng Shui Certificate of Training

• REALTORS receive 6 CEUs from Calif. Dept. of Real Estate

The seventh event in the SLO Green Build Educational series entitled LEARN BUILD SAVE will be held at the San Luis Obispo City/County Library. While geared towards building professionals, all interested members of the general public are welcome to this free event on Wednesday, March 28, from 6:30 – 8:30pm at the San Luis Obispo City/County Public Library, 995 Palm Street.

Hike with a Natural San Luis Docent at enjoy the wildflowers in bloom at Guidetti Ranch at 9am on Saturday, April 14. Make reservations thru ECOSLO, 544-1777, as there are a limited number of spots available. The hike is 5 to 6 hours (depending on the speed of the group). There is a hill at the very beginning and some gentle inclines throughout the hike. People should bring lunch, snacks and plenty of water.

Vote for ECOSLO as the “Best Friend to the Environment” in the New Times “Best of San Luis Obispo County” readers poll. After all the votes are collected and counted, the winners will be announced in the April 26 issue.

The California Regional Environmental Education Community (CREEC) Network is offering docent-training sessions on Saturdays in February and March in the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden.

- Adult Docent Training (for adult, family, and community group tours) will occur from 9am to 11am on March 17, 24, 31, and April 7 at the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden. Contact Ron Kindig by emailing ronkindig@charter.net or calling (805) 481-4451.

Message from Al Gore:

On March 21st, I'm going to hand-deliver your messages on television when I testify at Congressional hearings on global warming. This is an incredible opportunity to show Congress the energy behind this issue. I need your help to really make it count. Can you commit to getting 10 of your friends to sign a message to Congress before March 21? To get your friends involved in our effort, please forward them this note or direct them to www.algore.com/cards.html

Thank you,

One Percent For the Planet www.onepercentfortheplanet.org is a powerful way for your business to help drive positive environmental change, gain recognition for your commitment, and promote further action on the part of consumers and companies. Join this exciting and rapidly growing movement and contribute to ECOSLO.

Each business member contributes 1% of its revenues to any of the environmental organizations listed on this website. In an effort to reduce attendant bureaucracy and encourage members to develop independent relationships with the groups they support, member companies disburse their own contributions. To maintain membership and use of the 1% FTP member logo, 1% FTP annually certifies that member companies have granted at least 1% of their sales to approved environmental organizations.

The Bureau of Reclamation has signed the Record of Decision (ROD) for the San Luis Drainage Feature Re-evaluation Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Reclamation has selected the In-Valley Water Needs Land Retirement Alternative as the alternative for implementation. The selected alternative would fulfill the requirements of a District Court Order and a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that Reclamation has a statutory duty to provide drainage service to the San Luis Unit (Unit). Reclamation worked closely with other Federal and State agencies, agricultural interests, and environmental interests to develop numerous alternatives for evaluation, including alternatives with land-retirement components. Under the selected alternative, a total of 194,000 acres would be retired from irrigated agriculture in the Unit (44,106 acres have already been retired). The alternative also includes drainage reduction measures, collector systems, drainage water reuse facilities, treatment systems, evaporation ponds, and mitigation measures.