April Showers Bring… Snow? In Southern California!
Apr 11, 2011 Gardening
It was a strange weekend. It was supposed to be my kids’ first soccer game. That got snowed out.
We had some warning of the weird weather, but none of the parents believed me when I insisted that the games would be canceled. They said the league only cancels games for thunderstorms. Well, ice, snow, and temperatures below 40 degrees F at game time turned out to be quite sufficient to cancel as well. Good thing, since we wouldn’t have let the kids play in those temperatures anyhow. Soccer uniforms aren’t too good for that, and I can’t imagine parents sitting around watching a game in such cold weather.
I’ve come to regret thinking so much about how soccer was going to go, however. I completely forgot to consider my garden, so now we’re waiting to see what survived the cold.
So far the tomatoes look all right. The peppers looked bad with the snow on the, but might survive after all. Both are in containers, so we should have brought them in to be sure they’d be all right. We’ve done that before. It’s probably a good thing we don’t have any other vegetables planted quite yet.
We’ve been cracking a few climate change jokes. We know that climate change is a long term, global phenomenon, but when local weather gets so strange, jokes are easy to make. A bit over a week ago, we had temperatures up to 90. Makes the snow feel so much colder when you aren’t used to it anymore. And this week we may get into the 80s again, depending on how the weather really goes. The whole winter was on the unusual side, with days of pouring rain in December to where we got the usual for an entire year that week, then a dry January, and just a lot of ups and downs with the temperatures.
Now we’re just waiting for summer. Everyone I talk to is convinced it’s going to be a really hot summer. We’ll have to see how it goes.
Tags: april snow, california, climate change, cold weather, garden, weather
Get Out to Vote Today
Nov 2, 2010 Environmental News
I’ll be heading out shortly to vote today. I’m in California, and we have some really important issues on the ballot to deal with… most to say “no” to.
Prop 23 is an easy no. It suspends recent environmental policies until California’s unemployment rate remains under 5% for a given length of time, a year as I recall. Only thing is that even in good times, our unemployment rate is rarely that low. It’s funded by oil companies. One guess why they want Prop 23 to pass!
Prop 26 is another easy no. They’re trying to claim it’s about taxes, but it’s really about fining companies who pollute, to make them pay for cleaning up their own messes, or rather an attempt to allow companies to avoid those fines.
Prop 19′s an interesting one. I’m for marijuana legalization, even though I’d never use it. I don’t smoke or drink either. What I’m not certain of is that this one is the right way to go about it. It looks like the rules could get a little convoluted with all the regions able to set their own policies. If it fails, I want it to be a close thing, and for a better version to be on next year’s ballot.
Then there are the politicians running for office. On the big races, none of them make me happy, but I’m going Democratic because they make me less unhappy than their Republican opponents. Sometimes that’s what it comes down to.
Tags: california, politics, propositions, voting
Is Big Oil Going After California’s Climate Legislation?
Jul 19, 2010 Environmental News
Quick answer, yes, Big Oil is targeting California’s climate legislation. Proposition 23 would cause California to only enforce it’s Global Warming Solutions Act when unemployment is under 5.5% for four consecutive quarters.
That doesn’t sound that bad until you understand that unemployment has only been that low three times since 1970.
Worse, as the article at Grist points out, the clean energy law has created more jobs than it has damaged. Claiming that green energy solutions damage job creation is a common tactic used to make people think that it’s not something we can afford to do right now.
Funny, I always thought that new technology meant opportunity. Opportunity for individuals to get jobs and for new businesses to grow. Jobs are being created as new technologies become available and improve.
Of course, this isn’t about other businesses. This is about the oil companies protecting their profits. What happens to the rest of us doesn’t matter.
This is where it becomes important to pay attention to who is sponsoring a proposition, or any commercials supporting it. You can learn a lot here in California about what to vote for just by who’s trying to pass or defeat a proposition.
Keep an eye on this one. I expect some really nasty advertising to come around trying to pass Prop 23 in the coming months. I hope my fellow Californians don’t fall for it.
Tags: big oil, california, climate legislation, job creation, proposition 23
Is it Reasonable to Expect that Southern Californians Keep a Green Lawn?
Mar 8, 2010 Eco Friendly Home, Gardening
In Orange, CA, there’s a couple who has been charged for not having at least 40% of their yard covered by live landscaping. They had taken the lawn out and replaced it with wood chips to save on water. Many would consider this to be a brilliant move in a drought prone area.
Not the city of Orange, however. They’re charging the homeowner with a misdemeanor. City codes require that 40% coverage. Even his attempt at putting in drought tolerant plants after their first complaint hasn’t been enough to satisfy the city.
Frankly, I find this ridiculous. Southern California is highly prone to droughts, and the situation in recent years has been bad enough for many areas to institute rules about when you can and cannot water your yards. Anyone who finds something other than a lawn to put in is exhibiting good sense in such an area.
This is one city that needs to take a good look at what that requirement really means and if it is reasonable in this day and age. California has been suffering from years of drought, and even the occasional wet year isn’t enough to make up for the many dry ones.
Even the Rockies, where California gets much of its water has been having drought problems.
I wonder what Orange would think if instead of wood chips they had put in one of those artificial lawns. Odds are that no one would have noticed. The yard would have looked nice and green.
That doesn’t mean that artificial lawns are better than wood chips. It just point up the ridiculousness of assuming that you can tell right away.
It’s time for Californians in general, and especially southern Californians to recognize that they need to reconsider lawns. Cities need to figure out water saving landscaping guidelines, and scrap old ones that discourage people from putting in wood chips or other drought tolerant landscaping features.
The same goes for homeowner’s associations. Many neighborhoods have homeowner’s associations do much the same thing, where all homes must have a green lawn. It’s a poor requirement in this day and age for the area.
It would be better for cities to give classes on how to beautifully landscape a yard in ways that use less water. Encouraging homeowners to think beyond lawns would help with water shortages and encourage greater variety in how yards are landscaped.
I would love for this case to be the first step in challenging the law in Orange that requires a particular amount of live planting in yards. We Californians really need to think about our water use. It is not a reasonable expectation that we have green lawns here.
Tags: california, landscaping, water resources
Are You Being Water Wise?
Apr 20, 2009 Going Green
Here in southern California we’re facing some pretty serious water issues. The water supply is pretty low, and they’re talking about restrictions this summer. But since many people in the area have been working hard to conserve already there’s a bit of a challenge in making sure that they aren’t punishing people who have already cut back and just can’t cut back more.
But even if that isn’t a problem in your area just now, cutting back is a good idea. The website Be Water Wise was created by the Southern California Metropolitan Water District, and the stats are for this area, but some of the water saving advice is good anywhere.
These are some of my favorite tips and how we implement them:
1. Water the lawns less.
Our front lawn gets very little water. It’s kind of unattractive, but I’ve come to see really green lawns as a luxury we really can’t afford. I’d love to see native plants replace the front lawn.
Our back lawn gets somewhat more water for the simple reason that it’s a pleasant place for the children to play. That’s important too. But it is not the lush green of a heavily watered lawn. It gets just enough to keep going, and that’s it.
2. Shorter/combined showers, low flow showerheads.
Shorter and combined showers can save a lot of money. Combined showers can also cause water waste, so you do have to think about what it is you’re doing in there, if you get my drift. Two people in a shower can use less than two showering separately if they make that choice.
The fact that my 4 year old likes to come and play in the shower ensures that things move pretty quickly for my husband and I.
I also keep my showers shorter by thinking about how often my hair really needs washing. That’s a personal preference, but you may be surprised at how you can train your hair to need a different level of care. Make changes slowly and you may be able to decrease how often you wash your own.
Similarly, my kids still choose to bathe together. I keep expecting my daughter to get modest any time now, but so far that hasn’t happened. For now we just enjoy the fact that we have to run only one bath for the two older kids. We don’t run it deep most times, so it won’t be the worst thing when they choose to separate.
Low flow showerheads
3. Capture water that would otherwise be wasted.
We have a bit of an unusual situation in our home. The water comes into the house in such a way that the kitchen sink gets steaming hot water coming out at first during warm weather. I mean that literally. It’s painful to the touch.
Rather than waste that water when we need cold water, we catch it in an old gallon jug. It is then used for watering plants.
It’s not much water, but I figure the gallons add up.
I’m still working on convincing my husband to capture water from heating the shower. That’s a bit tougher, as it’s more inconvenient. Harder to get the water to plants, plus a bucket would be underfoot. But the amount of water would be more significant.
4. Generally avoid bad water habits.
Some of the water saving tips we read about I’ve never had to worry about because they describe habits I haven’t had.
I’ve never tended to run water while brushing my teeth, for example. Never done that, never seen the point.
Same for washing down walkways and driveways with water instead of a broom. Honestly I don’t clean them off often anyhow, but I just can’t see using water to do that. Sweeping isn’t that hard.
What are your favorite water saving habits?
Tags: california, conservation, water
