EcoNews Report

Biking for transportation is a great way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. May is Bike Month in Humboldt County and the EcoNews has all of the resources you need to zip around on two wheels. Dave Ryan and Colin Fiske join the show to discuss this year's festivities (all of which are COVID-friendly), ways cities can encourage more cyclists, and even how to start cycling as an adult.

Required Reading:

Track Your Miles and Win Prizes

Improvements Coming to H/I Street

Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities

Humboldt Bay Bicycle Commuters Association

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Humboldt Bay is extremely vulnerable to sea level rise, with much of the land around the bay protected by low sea walls. According to projections, many of these sea walls will be breached in the next 50 years. How will Humboldt adapt?

A suite of bills are before the California legislature will shape Humboldt's approach. Jennifer Savage, California Policy Manager at the Surfrider Foundation joins Gang Green to discuss what is before the legislature and how California—and Humboldt—should respond to this threat.

Required reading:

Rising Seas, Shrinking Beaches

California Coast & Ocean Legislation 2021

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In 1968, Congress created Redwood National Park—or at least part of it. Nicknamed "the Worm," the park extended only one-half mile on either side of Redwood Creek.  It was apparent that this was not enough and work began on a park expansion. Of course, expansion was opposed by local logging companies. In an attempt to blunt the expansion efforts, logging companies ran crews—sometimes 24 hours a day—in an attempt to cut the remaining old-growth in the Redwood Creek watershed, with the rationale that if logged, it would be less attractive to incorporate into the Redwood National Park. That plan failed. In 1978, Congress expanded Redwood National Park and took in many of the cut over lands, with only a fifth of the new land. 

This decade of intense logging left a major impact on Redwood Creek. Large clearcuts, poorly cut roads, landslides and major floods sent a massive wave of sediment streaming into Redwood Creek. The National Park Service has spent the past 40 odd years cleaning up this mess and studying how Redwood Creek is (and is not) recovering. 

Two expert geomorphologists with decades of experience studying Redwood Creek join Gang Green to talk about their research. Mary Ann Madej is the author of the recent report, Redwood Creek Watershed Studies: Summary of Geomorphic Research at Redwood National Park and Vicki Ozaki is a staff geologist at Redwood National Park. 

For more info:

• Redwood Creek Watershed Studies: Summary of Geomorphic Research at Redwood National Park
• Expanding Redwood National Park in 1978: A Critical Act to Save the Park from Virtual Obliteration

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Government hijinx are nothing new to seasoned environmentalists but Six Rivers National Forest is taking this to a new level in the wake of the 2020 August Complex Fire. In December, claiming an "emergency" (although the fire was already extinguished), Six Rivers National Forest authorized a logging company to start falling timber in the forest without completing the required environmental analysis ahead of time. Fast forward to now, Six River National Forest is now attempting to bypass environmental review in the "Three Forks Project" by claiming that roadside logging is exempt from a federal requirement to study environmental impacts—this despite an EPIC victory at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that found otherwise. 

Longtime forest defender Kimberly Baker joins Gang Green to break down what Six Rivers National Forest is proposing and why this lawless logging should concern North Coast residents.

Required Reading:

Three Forks Project Page

Biscuit Fire Controvery

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There's a proposal to remove the fish-blocking Scott Dam on the Eel River but looming problems still remain. Cape Horn Dam, just downstream of Scott Dam, technically allows for fish passage through its fish ladder--but that's only when the ladder is properly functioning and the trouble is that fish often can't use the ladder because it gets so choked with rocks and debris. So what good is the removal of Scott Dam if salmon still struggle to get past Cape Horn Dam?

Friends of the Eel River is pressing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to address persistent issues with the fish ladder and--shockingly--FERC admitted that Friends of the Eel River is right! In an important win for salmon, FERC has agreed to consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service as required by the Endangered Species Act. 

Find out what this victory means for salmon and dam removal across the West Coast on this week's EcoNews Report.

Required Reading:

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Transportation planning: that’s what we are talking about on this week’s EcoNews Report. How people and goods move throughout Humboldt County is something that we all experience on a daily basis, whether you are a bicycle commuter navigating potholes and cars, a long-haul trucker cruising up the 101, or just out to grab your morning iced chai latte (with oatmilk, please). The routine and ever-present engagement with our transportation infrastructure can obscure the fact that all of this was planned. Our transportation planning choices today will have long-standing impacts on our lives into the future, whether it is reducing road-related fatalities or how we can reduce greenhouse gases from our transportation network (Humboldt’s #1 category of emissions).

The Humboldt County Association of Governments (HCAOG) is hard at work on an update to the “Regional Transportation Plan,” a blueprint for our current and future transportation needs. Oona Smith, Senior Planner with HCAOG joins Gang Green to talk about how good planning helps all road users and how the Regional Transportation Plan will shape our transportation investments in the future.

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The Northcoast Environmental Center is celebrating 50 years of activism and they want to let you in on their secrets to success. NEC staff are excited to present two new programs--Activate NEC and Thrive: Eco Grief Circle--to teach you how to be a better, more effective environmental advocate and how to avoid the doom-and-gloom burnout that can plague activists). Plus, learn about how you can help keep our streets and beaches clean with this year's trash-a-thon and how to get a *FREE* cigarette butt receptacle outside your local business!

Required Reading:

• Activate NEC
• Thrive: Eco Grief Circle
• Trash-a-thon 2021
• Butt In: Cigarette Litter Prevention Program

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What happens when a group of friends goes on a hiking trip? If they are science nerds (and employees of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife), they document and map a set of quickly melting glaciers (publishing their findings in a peer-reviewed scientific journal) and the nearby flora and fauna (in prep). Two of the adventurer-scientists join Gang Green to talk about the weird and unique life that lives amongst old ice (such as the endemic beetle, Nebria praedicta, that lives beside Grizzly Glacier) and how documenting dying glaciers can change one's perspective on life and time.

Bonus feature: Learn how to make a Glaciertini, the new rage in haute mixology. All you need is glacier ice, vermouth, vodka and olives. 

Required Reading:

• The Backpacking Scientists Who Are Watching a Glacier Die
• The Last Glacier in the Klamath Mountains
• 20th Century Retreat and Recent Drought Accelerated Extinction of Mountain Glaciers and Perennial Snowfields in the Trinity Alps, California

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Before you throw away that half-eaten sandwich, you'll want to listen to this week's EcoNews Report. Every year, Humboldt County sends thousands of pounds of organic waste to our out-of-state landfill. In the oxygenless (anaerobic) landfill environment, organic matter breaks down into greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and methane. Luckily, there's an easy solution: waste less in the first place. But by taking on food waste, we can not only reduce greenhouse gas production at our landfills, but we can also take a bite out of local food insecurity. Maggie Gainer from Zero Waste Humboldt joins Gang Green to talk about how Humboldt can (and must) do a better job diverting organic waste from the waste stream.

Required Reading:

https://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/organics/slcp

https://www.foodforpeople.org/

http://www.hwma.net/

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In 2019, the Redwood Coast Energy Authority adopted a goal to deliver 100% clean, renewable electricity to all customers by 2025 and for 100% of that power be generated within Humboldt County by 2030. Richard Engel, Director of Power Resources at RCEA, joins Gang Green to talk about their plans  to rapidly increase renewables in our power portfolio. RCEA recently contracted with a new solar farm in Kern County to deliver 100MW of power by 2022 and is working on a residential battery storage program through Swell Energy for local customers to provide consistent, dispatchable power to the grid. RCEA is also joining with other community choice energy aggregators in a new organization, California Community Choice Association, to leverage their combined purchasing and lobbying ability to more rapidly more the entire state towards a renewable energy future.

If you want to get to 100% renewable energy even sooner, sign up for RCEA's REpower+ Program today.

Required Reading
https://cal-cca.org
https://redwoodenergy.org/community-choice-energy/residential/options/
https://redwoodenergy.org/rcea-contracts-for-100-of-the-output-of-a-new-100-megawatt-solar-project/
https://www.swellenergy.com/rcea/

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