CONTENTS

• Quote of the Month – Chosen by Maggie Young, Mercy HS, Burlingame
• Volunteering at Dow Wetlands by Lizeth Soto, Pittsburg HS
• Photo "Budding Buckeye"- By Jeff Martin, Acalanes H.S. class of 2004
• Let the Restorations Begin! by Jenny Leonard, College Park HS,   Pleasant Hill
• Take Our Poll
• Poetry – “Earth As I Know It” by Skyland McGaugh, Pittsburg HS “Mother Earth” by Evan Ekpa, Pittsburg HS
• My Journey: Economics and Environmental Science by Meika   Hollander, Vermont Commons School, Charlotte, VT
• Is President Bush “A Good Steward of the Land”? by Natalie Nava,    Monte Vista HS, Danville, Ca
• Real Big by Gleb Podkolzin, College Park HS,   Pleasant Hill
• Green Computers by Suz Loshin, June 2004 graduate of Drake HS, San   Anselmo, and current freshman at Boston University
• Question of the Month for November “How do the results of the election affect your commitment to the environment, and why?”
• Action of the Month – Take Action to Save the Arctic National Wildlife  Refuge
• Letter to the Editor – Read one from Texas!
• Join Now
• The Green Team
• Previous Issues
• Editor’s  comment  - We encourage you to send comments  to the   writers.   Their emails are below their articles.

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.

November 2004
Issue 22

Quote of the Month

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

Volunteering at Dow Wetlands -

by Lizeth Soto, Pittsburg HS

I went to the Dow Wetlands on October 2, 2004. It was a great experience. We didn't just go to get our community service hours, we also learned a lot of things about our own community that we probably didn't know. Like me for instance, I didn't know we had our own creek or even a wetland. In this visit the group that went had a chance to help the environment by saving important regional plants We also fed the local birds by taking down corn plants and throwing them to an empty field. Everyone that went had lots of fun. We even had an opportunity to make friends with students from College Park High School. I highly recommend for you to try this. Once you go the first time, you'll know that you want to go back, because I know I did – this is my second time going!

“Budding Buckeye ” by Jeff Martin,
2004 graduate of Acalanes HS, Lafayette, CA

By Jenny Leonard, College Park HS, Pleasant Hill

Saturday, September 18 was California Coastal Clean-up Day.  Earth Team used this day as its kickoff restoration event, joining the effort to keep our coast clean. The City of Berkeley and EGRET, a non-profit organization that is working to create the native habitat at Aquatic Park, supported us in our endeavors to clean our special bit of coast located at Aquatic Park in Berkeley.  Volunteers came from Acalanes HS, College Park HS, Oakland HS, St. Joachim's MS, Moreau Catholic HS, San Ramon HS, and Monte Vista HS. We had 71 volunteers – 67 students and 4 adults.  The event was led by Chicory Bechtel (the EarthTeam Restoration Program Director), CarlosGonzalez and Laura Grossmann (EarthTeam’s Youth Coordinators), and myself. 

A lot of the trash we picked up was little bits of plastic, bags, cans, and lots of cigarette butts.  Picking up cigarette butts was tedious, but we learned from Chicory that birds use cigarette butts in their nests and that the material in the cigarette butts is bad for the baby birds to be rubbing against when they hatch.  We even found an abandoned nest during the cleanup that was composed almost entirely of trash and cigarette butts! 

We found a lot of interesting things on the shoreline.  There was a contest for who could find the weirdest thing. It was hard to choose between the preserved dead turtle, the outfit of wet clothes, and the beautiful painting; but the painting, hardly damaged at all, won.

All kinds of waterfowl live in Berkeley’s Aquatic Park.  We saw all sorts of ducks and geese. My favorite birds were the egrets, the cormorants, and especially the terns. On the shore itself, there were large garden spiders and little fast black ones with beautiful webs.  Lots of plants grew in and out of the water including cattails and fennel. 

This kickoff restoration event was a big success.  We cleaned up over 37 bags of trash and more than 9 bags of recyclables! The volunteers were energetic and willing in spite of the cold and the fog. Way to go team! I hope all you volunteers out there had as fun a time as I did. I hope to see all of you (and more) at the next restoration event.

Results for October

Are people you know aware of the global warming issue?

• I know a lot of people who could care less about global warming and their future.

  32.4% Votes: 12

• I know a lot of people who care about global warming and don't know what to do.

  24.3% Votes: 9

• I don't know what my friends think about global warming.

  43.2% Votes: 16

How do the results of the election affect your commitment to the environment and why?

1. I am definitely going to put more time into environmental change

2. I'll keep taking action similar to what I had been doing

3. I'm going to do less. What difference do I make?

Two Poems

Basketball courts shot up playgrounds

witnessing the struggle and police

shakedowns

All the husalahs

Hoes drugs and .44’s

This is the life

for everyone looking out

project windows

When our dough

is low we go to the block

w/ those hard white rocks stuffed

in our socks

So when everything

aint going right and yo

pockets is low, think about

everyone lookin out

project windows

Why do we call it mother earth?

It isn’t our mother, it didn’t give us life

Yet it sustains our being by providing what we need

The earth is part of us from every rock to every tree

From the water we drink to the air we breathe

The earth listens to us, it knows what we need

The earth provides for us as if we were one of its own

It has given us a beautiful home

Even though we don’t always treat it as we should

It still loves and provides for us, like any mother would

My Journey: Economics and Environmental Science

By Meika Hollander, Vermont Commons School, Charlotte, VT

Ever since I was ten, I have annually attended the Social Venture Network conferences with my family. Each year we pack up the car, and drive to the chosen location of that year’s retreat. Hundreds of CEO’s as well as regular employees gather together for a 3-day weekend and discuss the importance of running, or working for, a socially responsible business. When I was younger I didn’t even realize where my parents were dragging me, but as I got older and attended the lectures and workshops I grew interested in understanding the global economy and helping to enforce the idea of a business being fair to its employees and partners, as well as not harming the environment: a socially responsible business.

During the summer before I entered eleventh grade, I worked for my dad at Seventh Generation, a company that produces environmentally friendly cleaning and personal care products. Even though I spent the majority of my hours as an administrative assistant, I was able to get a feel for the dynamics among the employees. The mood at the office was very positive and uplifting. People seemed excited about their jobs, rather than having the typical “Monday morning syndrome.” That was when I realized that this is what I want to be doing. I want to make a difference, and I want to help create and implement a socially responsible blueprint for business all over the world through my understanding of economics and environmental science.

People constantly complain about “what is wrong with today’s world,” but rarely do they try to come up with solutions for these dilemmas. I believe that economics and an understanding of the environment are the catalysts of the world’s future success or failure. We live in a world dominated by multi-national corporations, and I think the key to a successful future, is creating socially responsible businesses. By this I mean taking the businesses that already exist, and reconfiguring them to benefittheir employees, their customers, and the world.

By Natalie Nava, Monte Vista HS, Danville

If it had stood alone, the Second Presidential Debate on October 8, 2004 would have been enough to convince me that voting for George W. Bush would be a mistake. This second debate was the only one, which revealed environmental issues and the true colors (definitely not shades of green) of the Bush administration’s policy.

“I’ve got a plan to increase the wetlands by…3 million.  We’ve got an aggressive brown field program to refurbish inner-city sore spots to useful pieces of property.”

This may sound like a great plan to some, but in reality Bush has relaxed his wetlands policy under the Clean Water Act. How exactly does Bush plan to find space and resources for 3 million wetlands?  Does he mean restoring wetlands which already exist, or attempting to import thousands of native species and throw some water on inadequate undeveloped land in the mid-west?

“I proposed to the United States Congress a Clear Skies Initiative to reduce sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury by 70 percent.”

The Clear Skies Act may sound like a good deal except for the fact that it is actually weakening initiatives to clean the air.  It is much easier today than it was 4 years ago for polluters to get away with doing harmful damage to the air, as the Bush administration has not been firm in enforcing its policies and the act actually allows for more emissions.

“I proposed a hydrogen automobile -- hydrogen-generated automobile. We're spending $1 billion to come up with the technologies to do that.”

Well, Al Gore invented the internet, so I guess anything is possible.  Whether or not Bush “proposed” the hydrogen car, he does support it. This type of vehicle, which does not significantly improve emissions of greenhouse gases, since hydrogen must be extracted from oil, would not be nearly as efficient or cost-effective as the hybrid cars we see on the streets today.  It would be wiser for the administration to improve incentives for people to drive the Hybrids now than waste money on the hydrogen car of the future, which is poorer for the environment and may further increase our dependence of oil in the long run.

 “Well, had we joined the Kyoto treaty, which I guess he's referring to, it would have cost America a lot of jobs.”

It’s great that Bush has America’s workers’ interests at heart.  However, one can only wonder what Bush has in store for helping the global warming problem if he is unwilling to work with global leaders.  Bush’s flat-out rejection of the Kyoto Treaty is not just an environmental issue, but a foreign policy issue as well.

“I guess you'd say I'm a good steward of the land.”

In short, while George Bush is a poor debater as well as a poor steward of the land, he is sometimes able to persuade an American who is not fully informed on the issues. Tragically American voters did not dig deeper into the Bush administration’s environmental policies to the truth of the matter instead of blindly believing the president.

By Gleb Podkolzin, College Park HS, Pleasant Hill

A few weeks ago International, an American truck company, announced the biggest and the baddest truck on this planet. The International CXT (Commercial Extreme Truck, because naming it anything else would be a sign of, well, weakness) weighs a paltry 14,500 lbs, carries 5 passengers, can haul a Hummer H2 in the bed, and is the same dimensions as an average commercial truck. At 258 inches long and 110 inches tall, it is more than 5 feet longer and 2 feet taller than an H2. The CXT does not fit in a garage; it does not fit in any current parking spots; it does not fit on many roads.

So why does the company feel a necessity to provide regular drivers with vehicles this big? The company is trying to market this behemoth as a status symbol. It is practically the largest vehicle one can drive without a commercial license, which means the average Joe can buy it to drive his kids to school. Or soccer moms can drive to practice loads upon loads of kids both in the cab and in the bed of the truck.

With a price roughly $100,000, it is affordable to anyone who remotely considered buying a Hummer H1, which costs approximately the same. Arnold Schwarzenegger, one of the more famous Hummer drivers, is expected to be interested in the CXT.

Many people are concerned about fuel economy and our dependence on foreign oil sources. Just how bad is it? International’s website does not even quote a miles per gallon figure for the truck. After all, who cares about fuel? As long as you can haul the Statue of Liberty in the back, paying $140 to fill up the entire 70-gallon fuel tank doesn’t seem too bad. The CXT consumes 1 gallon of fuel every 6 miles. Keeping in mind that that figure was achieved in a laboratory, the actual consumption is most likely more jaw dropping than expected. Only 220 horses pull the truck, which lends itself to an amazing 66 lb/hp weight to power ratio. By comparison, an average mid-size sedan has a ratio of approximately 17 lb/hp. What this translates to is slow acceleration, slow braking, and combined with the brick-like aerodynamics, bad gas mileage. Just remember, if you are being tailgated by a CXT, kindly move over. Do not attempt to brake – the CXT driver won’t even notice the extra hood ornament or the pancake that resembles something like your car.

Emissions? Who watches those? The CXT fits through a loophole in the law, which allows vehicles over a certain weight to be exempt from testing. Much like those smoking heaps of junk that somehow manage to hold together with some duct tape and string, the CXT will clog up the air with the dirtier diesel emissions.

The impact on the environment is large; and if International begins to mass produce these vehicles, both the environment and other drivers on the road will be hit big. No human being needs to drive something this big. So, check this one out only if your neighbor attends Sierra Club meetings and you REALLY do not like him. Or if your parents made you drive a Toyota Prius. And you hate them for it.

Green Computers

By Suz Loshin, June 2004 graduate of Drake HS, San Anselmo, and current freshman at Boston University

In an age where environmental progression is vital to the stability of our planet, a machine that wastes a tremendous amount of energy every year…must be “modernized” to our new green standards. Computers have a variety of chemicals and compounds, which are incredibly harmful to the environment and to humans.

Computers are among the most inefficient devices ever invented. It’s been a hard and long process to make computers environmentally friendly because the computer industry has had little incentive, due to the fact that our society has turned them into a necessity. Whether or not they’ve been environmentally friendly in the past hasn’t really cut back on the sales or general attitude.

A computer’s energy consumption can be viewed in very simplistic terms. The machine takes electric energy and uses it to process and maintain all of our information and then releases the energy back as light, heat and noise. Therefore, these machines we use in our everyday lives are burning a ridiculous amount of energy and making a tremendous amount of heat, every second all around the world.

Fortunately, for many environmentally conscious people and communities more and more pressure has been placed on the computer industry to cut back on this wasteful use of energy, energy that we frankly just cannot afford to “give out” anymore. “Green” computers do exist! At this point in time few own them and very few eco friendly models are sold in the US. However, over the next few years these computers are hoped to play an increasingly large role in the industry.

Understandably, computers are far too pricy to just run out to the store and switch to an eco-friendly style. However, on your next computer purchase and starting now look out for these new machines.

There are a number of things that I encourage you to do currently with the machines that you already have to make them more environmentally friendly. First, upgrade your computer frequently, and look out for computers that are made especially for easy upgrading. Look for computers that are labeled as Eco-Star and Eco-International computers, as well as looking for brands that use the least amount of toxic materials. Also, flat panels are greener screens, using less energy than conventional monitors. Lastly and very importantly, RECYCLE your old computer!

We all have the potential to cut down on unnecessary waste to help make all computers, new and old, more energy efficient and environmentally friendly.

Question of the Month for November

How do the results of the election affect your commitment to the environment, and why?

TAKE ACTION TO SAVE THE ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

Write or email your congressperson about saving the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge. Politicians’ staff read each letter as representing
1,000 voters so you ARE making a difference! The following letter is a
sample and you can get your congressperson and their email or address by going to http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Date ___
Dear ___
I urge you to oppose H.R. 4529 and any other effort to open the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development. Introduced by
Richard Pombo (Republican-California, H.R. 4529 attempts to build
support for opening the refuge by linking charges to the oil and gas
companies to the cleanup of abandoned coal mines and the provision of
health benefits for coal miners.  However, ruining the Arctic Refuge is
a bad idea no matter how it is sugar coated.
Instead, I urge you to join 145 representatives as a cosponsor of
legislation to protect the coastal plain of the refuge as wilderness.
(H.R. 770) I would appreciate hearing from you about this.

Sincerely,

Your name, address, age and school.

For further information go to
www.wilderness.org/OurIssues/Arctic/about.cfm?TopLevel=About

To: TheGreen@earthteam.net

The content and concept of your newsletter is great and well written and produced.  Wish we could get something like that going in San Antonio, and all of Texas.  I became The Green Connection about ten years ago, do a lot of writing for publications, produce a Green Building / Hybrid Source Expo & Workshop for architects and professionals as well as the public, and produce / host The Green Connection weekly television show and would surely like to see at least one of our high schools follow your example. You are very lucky to have the Green Team leadership. Best wishes for continued success and many blessings on your work.

Rita Zenzen Heck
The Green Connection
email:  rzheck@cs.com

"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