Bay Nature Local Heroes | Environmental Justice | Farming and Ranching | Health | Parks | Policy | Pollution | Stewardship

People Join Hands Across the Sand, Protesting Offshore Oil

June 28, 2010 •  by

As the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico entered its third month last week, people across the country turned out on beaches and shorelines to protest offshore oil drilling. In 33 countries and all 50 states, including dozens of sites in the Bay Area, the Hands Across the Sand event drew hundreds of people to join hands on Saturday, June 26, in a symbolic line at several spots in San Francisco and all over the Bay Area.

Visualizing Futures for Redwood City Salt Ponds

June 8, 2010 •  by

We recently came across a compelling short video that uses Google Earth and historical photos to make the case against Cargill’s large proposed development in Redwood City. Watch the video — and then learn who made it, and why…

Grand Plans for Gateway Park

June 3, 2010 •  by

On June 2, about 80 people gathered in downtown Oakland to hear, and discuss, the plan for a major new shoreline park at the eastern foot of the Bay Bridge. If you’re having trouble picturing what sort of park one might have there, you’re not alone. At present, it’s essentially a no-man’s-land, but regional officials say it could be a world-class shoreline destination. With a lot of work and public input, of course…

Deciding Point Molate’s Future

May 15, 2010 •  by

On May 18, the Richmond City Council voted to extend for 10 months an agreement with a developer proposing a casino at Point Molate, a former Navy fuel depot near the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. Local activists and architects are working on their own alternative vision for the space.

The Once and Future Delta

April 1, 2010 •  by

About the only thing people agree on about the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta–the subject of countless white papers, editorials, and political debates–is that it’s in a heap of trouble. But this 1,000-square-mile patchwork of islands, sloughs, wetlands, and farmlands is also a rich and complex–if highly altered–ecosystem at the core of the San Francisco Estuary. Here we take a look behind today’s news to understand what the Delta once was, how it has been changed, and what it might become . . . with a lot of help from its friends.

Fight Over Bayshore Power Plant

March 19, 2010 •  by

A long-running controversy over a power plant proposed for the Bayshore in Hayward is heating up as opponents consider whether to appeal recent permits granted to Calpine, the company that wants to build a 600-megawatt plant in an area that has a sometimes uneasy mix of industry and important wildlife habitat.

Have Your Say in 50 Years of Restoration

February 26, 2010 •  by

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be hosting two public workshops in March to explain and hear comments on a 50-year plan for restoring the San Francisco and Suisun Bays, which have lost 90 percent of their wetlands. Find out how you can take part in the restoration…

Pinole Academy Connects Creeks, Students, and Teachers

February 15, 2010 •  by

Since 1999, students at Pinole Valley High School’s Environmental Studies Academy have been taking their college prep program through an environmental lens and getting a crash course in community action along the way. They’re partnering with other groups to provide environmental services that affect their whole human and biotic community.

Two Land Deals Protect Redwoods, Murrelets, and the Skyline Trail

February 2, 2010 •  by

In just one conversation with Reed Holderman, it’s easy to tell that he loves his job. And why shouldn’t he? As executive director of the Sempervirens Fund, he gets to help save landscapes for generations to come. With two recent land deals, the fund has come a step closer to its goal of connecting all the major parks on the Santa Cruz coast.

Open Space Council Turns 20

January 4, 2010 •  by

The Bay Area has dozens of great open space agencies. Two decades ago, during a down economy, they got together to create an Open Space Council. It turned out to be a very good idea indeed.