CONTENTS

• Quote of the Month – Chosen by Maggie Young, Mercy HS, Burlingame
• Poster by Corey Largent, Ida B. Wells Continuation HS, San Francisco
• Youth Environmental Summit 2004, Fairlee, Vermont – by Meika   Hollender, Vermont Commons School, Charlotte, VT
• Photo by Jeremy Hardie, Richmond HS
• Biodiesel: The Earth-Friendly Fuel, an interview with Ryan Townsend,    by Natalie Nava, Monte Vista HS, Danville
• Action of the Month
      •Help the Bay Area Take the Next Step for Solar Power
      •Protect Sunol Wilderness From Destructive Mining
• Photo "The Simple Things" by Allison Quan, San Ramon Valley HS
• Poetry: Two prize winning poems from EarthTeam’s Visuals and Voices – a Year-Long Traveling Eco-Art, Photography and Poetry Show
      •"Earth Poem" By Chris Bissell, Pittsburg HS
      •"No Dice" By Christian Munoz, Pittsburg HS
• The Serenity of the Maasai Mara By Jane Ndunge Muthoka, Wakan Academy  – Thika Central Region – Kenya
• Movie Review The Day After Tomorrow”: Fact and Fiction, by Amy    Lam, Amador Valley HS, Pleasanton
• Book Review Plan B: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble by Lester R. Brown Reviewed by Vrinda Manglik, June 2004 graduate of Acalanes HS, Lafayette
• Responses to June's Question of the Month
• Question of the Month for July
• New - "Let's hear your rant and rave!
• Join Now
• The Green Team
• Previous Issues

Mission Statement: Our mission is to strengthen and unify the young environmental community in the Bay Area by sharing interests, information, and calls to action. We seek to inspire participation in projects and events between groups, strengthen journalistic skills, and foster career exploration.

July 2004
Issue 18

Quote of the Month

“The universe is not required to be in perfect harmony with human ambition”.  – Carl Sagan

Chosen by Maggie Young, the Green Team, Mercy HS, Burlingame

Youth Environmental Summit 2004 Fairlee, Vermont

By Meika Hollender, Vermont Commons School, Charlotte, VT

On the weekend of May 21st I attended my first environmental summit meeting, scheduled and put on by teens for teens. A steering committee made up of high school students from all over Vermont, planned this three-day environmental weekend extravaganza. They created an application for High School students to fill out and selectively submitted fifty teens from around the state to attend this “moving from vision to action” themed weekend.

Upon being accepted to attend this summit meeting, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Would it just be a bunch of “hippies” sitting around, preaching about the greatness of nature? I was ready for anything. A few weeks before the event I received a letter in the mail explaining that while I was at YES (Youth Environmental Summit) 2004 I would work on an “action-plan” for my school that I had already created beforehand. I thought about this for a while, and realized that when it came to recycling, composting, and using energy efficient light bulbs, my school was pretty set, so instead I decided to work on strengthening and unifying the somewhat disconnected environmental club at my school. As I arrived at the retreat, I was greeted by High School students who seemed organized and excited about the weekend to come. I received my cabin number and hiked up a hill to find a cluster of old brown log cabins. After settling in, the entire group of students, teachers, chaperones, and coordinators attending this summit gathered together in one of the wooden barns. As we sat in a huge circle and introduced ourselves, I learned that each individual at this event was extremely dedicated to helping the members of this conference, their communities, and the world.

Poster by Corey Largent, Ida B. Wells Continuation HS, San Francisco (Click photo to view large image)

Right after discussing the weekend’s schedule and doing a few team-building activities, we jumped into our first three workshops: Youth Activism, Enviro-Mural Car Painting, and YEC (Youth Environmental Coalition) and You. These three seminars really helped me understand the purpose of being at this summit meeting, and helped alert me to the fact that every student at this event was extremely dedicated, and by sharing our successes and failures about implementing environmental activism at our own schools, we were able to help encourage, teach, and support each other.

Following dinner, I saw one of the most inspiring and witty plays I have ever seen. A group of teenagers from a town near the conference had written a witty, comical, and informative play meant to grab the attention of teenagers and help them to realize the problems our world is facing. “The End of the World Show,” made me realize that there were effective ways for teenagers to communicate to other teens what the world is coming to, and how horrible mass consumption really is.

Saturday morning consisted of a choice of three different service-learning activities: Rerouting a section of a local trail, Trail Maintenance, and Habitat Restoration. Unfortunately all three activities were cut short due to a thunderstorm, so for the remainder of the morning we collectively built loon traps, which are used for catching and marking loons in order to study their reproductive patterns. Following lunch there was an hour allotted for student panel speakers, myself being one of them. Three of us spoke about the work we were doing in our local communities or with the environmental clubs at our schools. One student from Montpelier, VT spoke about passing tire legislation with the Senate, while another student from Harwood, VT spoke about the “Trash on the Lawn” day at her school and its successes and failures. Myself being the last speaker, I spoke about the book that I am working on and the articles I have written for “The Green”!

Then on Saturday afternoon there was another series of workshops: Environmental Action and Politics, Energy Efficiency, Vermont Institute of Natural Science, Veggie-oil Cars, Farm destruction in Palestine, and Sustainable Living. Each workshop I attended really inspired me and allowed me to question my “legitimacy” as an environmentalist. Was I living as “earth-friendly” as I could? Was I really doing everything I would to implement my ideas in my local community? All these questions that I was constantly asking myself over the course of the weekend, helped me to evolve as a young environmentalist and really create concrete goals for myself.

The final day of the summit was used for completing our individual action plans for our schools – having a seminar on how to create a timeline for a developed action plan and how to form a strong and trustworthy club, and finally attending a lecture on how to “sell” our ideas. The weekend concluded with a moving ceremony, allowing us to reflect on the amazing weekend we just experienced.

Three weeks after the summit meeting I am proud to say that I still feel inspired by each outstanding and determined person I met at that meeting, student and guest speakers alike. Each individual taught me something, and made me realize that I was not alone out there in this mass consumption society. They allowed me to recognize my allies, and shared their ideas and hopes for the future. This summit has changed and motivated me, and I think that any chance you get to connect with likeminded people is where change begins.

Biodiesel: The Earth-Friendly Fuel

By Natalie Nava, Monte Vista HS, Danville

In a world where petroleum resources are quickly being “exhausted” , it is important that we as a nation search for and convert to new forms of energy. This interview with Ryan Townsend, a student at UC Santa Cruz, outlines the basics of the environmentally friendly fuel, Biodiesel.

How did you become a user of Biodiesel?

I have always been interested in renewable forms of energy.  When one of my peers at UC Santa Cruz began talking to me about Biodiesel, it didn't register at first; I was later intrigued after visiting Biodiesel's website, www.biodiesel.org . I immediately began using the fuel.

In a nutshell, what exactly is Biodiesel?

Biodiesel is basically an incredibly efficient and clean-burning fuel.  It contains very basic ingredients such as vegetable oil, lye, and possibly an amount of regular Diesel gasoline. Biodiesel is non-toxic, so if you took a drink of it, you would be fine. 

Can anyone make or use Biodiesel?

As long as your car is equipped for Diesel, you're good to go.  I myself actually make Biodiesel in my own garage, but most people prefer to purchase it directly from suppliers.  There are also a few Biodiesel pumps nationwide, the closest of which is in San Jose.

Biodiesel is practical for nation-wide usage; however, our country relies far too heavily on petroleum for the auto industry to encourage this type of fuel.  With national crises resulting in high gasoline prices, Biodiesel is a great alternative to gasoline.  Although it takes a bit more work to use, it is worth helping protect the earth, and I believe it is the future of fuel.

Photo by Jeremy Hardie, Richmond HS
(Click photo to view large image)

Action of the Month

1. Help the Bay Area Take the Next Step for Solar Power

The Bay Area is on the threshold of building the largest Solar Power network in the country. Voters overwhelmingly passed Propositions B and H, which allow the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to use the city's buying power and low-interest financing to make Solar Power and other clean energy technologies affordabhe and available to the residents and businesses of San Francisco.

Now, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission needs to hear from you to take the next step in implementing Propositions B and H, keeping San Francisco, the Bay Area, and the country on the right track to cleaner, more independent energy.

Write to S.F. Public Utilities Commission President, Dennis Normandy, and ask him to make implementation of Propositions B and H a priority.

Write directly to:

PUC President Dennis Normandy
SF Public Utilities Commission
1155 Market St., 4th floor
San Francisco CA, 94103

2. Protect Sunol Wilderness From Destructive Mining

Help protect 680 acres of remote wildlife habitat in the upper Alameda Creek watershed, which is the home range of the East Bay's only Tule Elk herd as well as endangered species such as the California Red-legged Frog, Alameda Whipsnake, and Western Burroughing Owl.

Write Director Bazar and urge him to save the last remaining San Antonio Elk herd and conduct further environmental review of the project before extending the Calveras Road into the Apperson Ridge.

Write directly to:

Planning Director Chris Bazar
Alameda County Planning Department
224 W. Winton Avenue, Room 110
Hayward, CA 94544

Poetry

"Earth Poem" by Chris Bissell, Pittsburg HS In the woods at night Feel the wind take flight See the stars above Feel the Earth around As feet touch of the ground Feel the fire inside The Earth lives In me

"The Simple Things" photo by Allison Quan San Ramon Valley HS (Click photo to view large image)

"No Dice"

by Christian Munoz, Pittsburg HS

And yet no dice.

THE SERENITY OF THE MAASAI MARA

by Jane Ndunge Muthoka, Wakan Academy-Thika Central Region - Kenya

Gazelles, Impalas, cats… name it, and Maasai Mara has got them all.  Along the cool and hush waters that flow in the reserve, are herds and herds of buffalos.  The comic of the plains’ is what they are called.  For time immemorial, these beasts have occupied our lands.  So famous are they that Maasai Mara has been flocked by scores of tourists both local and international.

The roads leading to same of the spectacular sites are actually dilapidated but I must say that the roads to Maasai Mara are in perfect condition.  Not only have the people living in areas around the reserve learned how to cohabitate harmoniously with the wild animals but also to maintain roads for the benefit of the Maasai Mara.

The vicinity of the reserve beats them all in terms of marvelous sites and amazing animals.  North, east, west, south and even centre are acacia and baobab trees.   

The tall giraffes are constant companions to these trees and so are the chirping birds that have for a time so long made the reserve their dwelling place.  In the trees, our distant cousins ‘primates’ have made playgrounds.  Suffering, poaching and culling have become just but alien words to the animals.  In the great Maasai Mara they have found a home, food, protection and most satisfying of all happiness.

Hostility is non-existent in Maasai Mara.  Unlike many other parks and reserves, the animals at the Maasai Mara are social and peaceful.  The lions, cheetahs and leopards come together to make up the wild cats.  The giraffes, elephants, and topi; come together to make the browsers.  All in all they both come together as one to make the eco-chain of the Maasai Mara.

Apart from being a tourist haven, Maasai Mara is a piece of heaven on earth.  An inerasable mark has been left in my heart by the reserve; A mark that will forever show the splendour and chain of our wildlife.  Maasai Mara is indeed the pride and heritage of Kenya and Africa.

  “The Day After Tomorrow”: Fact and Fiction

by Amy Lam, Amador Valley HS, Pleasanton

A couple of weeks ago, I watched The Day After Tomorrow, a science fiction movie that stresses the importance of taking care of the environment because of the catastrophic effects of global warming. However exaggerated scenes from the movie may be, there is reason to believe that the events that take place in the movie could happen in real life, though most likely not as dramatically nor as quickly. It is a widely accepted fact that the Earth is warming up. As we burn fossil fuels and deplete the forests, we release a blanket of gases (mainly CO2) in the air which traps heat. This heating of the Earth’s atmosphere changes ocean currents. The “Great Ocean Conveyor Belt” (the Gulf Stream) is the Atlantic current that pulls warm salt-water from the tropics north into cooler areas. A disruption in this current could lead to abnormally low temperatures in the northern areas of the globe. Extreme weather has already been experienced like droughts, extreme heat, and erratic rain patterns. Abrupt climate changes have happened in the past, such as during the Younger Dryas, which was an abrupt cooling period interrupting the last Ice Age. Like the scenario in The Day After Tomorrow, past events have been linked to changes in ocean currents due to the warming of waters and the extra inflow of cold fresh water due to melting ice. However, these past events have occurred over decades, not days. Also, the overall trend of global warming would not allow a global ice age to occur; cooling will only occur in certain regions; so overall, the world would continue to grow warmer while some  areas (Western Europe) would now be freezing.

Works consulted

Union of Concerned Scientists. Global Environment: Abrupt Climate Change. 28 May 2004. 6

Union of Concerned Scientists June 2004. www.ucsusa.org/global_environment/global_warming/

Book Review

Plan B:  Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble by Lester R. Brown

This is a book that everyone should read – soon.  Brown, the founderand president of Earth Policy Institute, writes a readable report on current world environmental issues and the changes that must be implemented.  He deals with over population, water shortages, food supply, climate, erosion, renewable energy, and third-world poverty, among several other issues.

“Plan A”, the way things currently work, is "business as usual". Brown explains quite explicitly why we can no longer continue with business as usual. The alternative, “Plan B”, includes stabilizing the world's population at 7.4 billion (through investments in education, health care, and family planning), drastically increasing the efficiency of irrigation, and moving from a carbon-based to a hydrogen-based economy.

This book is jam-packed with good information, and it is written in away which is enjoyable to read. I liked it so much that I read it in just one sitting!  Okay, so it was a long sitting. On a flight. A very LONG flight. But still! Point is, there are options to “Plan A”. Plan B: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble makes me feel good about the future because it means we have a plan. Sure, the plan may be distant from reality, but at least we know that the Earth doesn't have to be destined to doom. The choice is ours.

Responses to June ’s Question of the Month -

“If The Green had a ‘Rants and Raves’ section, would you contribute?”(Answered at the June Youth Coalition Meeting)

• Yes          7
  
  Gnazal Gnafari,
  Kim Schroder,
  Hanako Hjersman - Acalanes HSs
  Diamond Hunter - Pittsburg HS
  Rosie O'Hara St. - Ignatius HS
  Victoria Yoon - Albany HS
  Jenny Leonard - College Park HS

• Probably or Maybe   5

Elaine Chen - Palo Alto High School
Skler Hamilton - Pittsburg High
Ben Lerch - Washington High
Elizabeth Yoon - Albany High
Madison St. Clair - College Park High

• No or Probably not   1

Abby Cannon - Redwood High

See below for your chance to rant or to rave!

Question of the Month for July - Let’s hear your answers!

“What are your sources of trustworthy information about the environment?”

Send your answer by July 25 to TheGreen@earthteam.net

NEW - “Let’s hear your rant or rave!”

Wanna rant? Just gotta get it out there to feel better?

                                   -or-

What’s amazing, incredible, just so good you have to tell somebody?

"The Green" is 100% student written and edited. We're looking for anything about the environment - what your class or club is doing, opinion pieces, facts, actions and more. The students who commit to monthly or every other month articles receive a small monetary compensation. To find out more, contact TheGreen@earthteam.net