Green Day Planner: July 4

Green Your Fourth: Cleaner Coal
Sierra Club-Green Life: 6.27.2011
Tip #1: Skip the Coal

Independence Day is, from sea to shining sea, a glorious holiday. This year, your festivities can help protect those purple mountain majesties. This week’s tips tell you how.

To help lessen the 225,000 tons of carbon emitted from Independence Day grilling alone, opt for an electric or propane-powered grill, or a solar oven, over one that burns through charcoal. If you’ve only got a coal-fired cooker and can’t replace it yet, choose briquettes* made of invasive trees, or biomass pellets from sustainably managed forests.

Not sure how to find those? Look for products marked with this seal or this one.

*Eco-Friendly Charcoal

Green Day Planner: July 2011

Burbank Library Green Pages
July 2011 Calendar

Calendar of Green Events in Burbank and Greater LA. Check out State and National events on the Green Day Planner.

Burbank
Jul 18 Sustainable Task Force @ 4:30 pm
Jul 23 Compost Workshop @ Burroughs HS 10am
Jul 28 Compost Workshop @ Emerson Elem, 6:30 pm

Southern California and California
Jul 9: Eco – Fest, Venice
Jul 16+: Eat Real Festival, Venice
Jul 21: Greening the Ports, LA
Jul 30: Green Fair, LATTC
Jul 31: CRRA Conf – Zero Waste, San Diego

June 21: Three Degrees of Preparation

Three Degrees of Preparation:
Turn Up the Thermostat on June 21
Mother Earth News: 6.16.2011 by Robyn Griggs Lawrence

June 21 is the longest day of the year, the first official day of summer—and an opportunity to start a new summer tradition. American Home Shield is spearheading an effort to get Americans to raise their home thermostats three degrees on this day, for Three Degrees of Preparation.

“Three degrees can make a significant impact; some utility companies report that every degree below 78 can add more than 6 percent to your home’s cooling costs,” says American Home Shield president Dave Crawford. “We’re asking homeowners to give the adjustment a test on the first day of summer, June 21, and participate in Three Degrees of Preparation. Your family will probably not notice the difference in temperature, but make the adjustment a daily routine and you should notice it on your next energy bill.”

Valley Green Building Education Conf & Expo

1st Annual Valley Green Building
Education Conference & Expo
June 23, 2011
California State University Northridge
Northridge Conference Center Complex

San Fernando Valley Green Team
Energy efficiency and water conservation practices for commercial and residential buildings. The focus of the event will include financial and practical considerations and real world examples and success stories in the San Fernando Valley.

The conference will have four tracks: Commercial, Residential, Financial and LEED/CalGreen.

Event Schedule

California Watch: E-Waste

E-waste law reaches a milestone: 1 billion pounds of computer junk recycled in California
L A Times: 6.11.2011 by Paul Rogers

Mountains of broken TVs, obsolete computer monitors and outdated laptops that once piled up in California's garages, attics and basements have achieved a milestone.

The state's electronic-waste recycling program has reached its 1 billionth pound of unwanted electronics. That's more than any other state has recycled — and amounts to roughly 20 million TVs and computers kept out of landfills.

"In the six short years this program has been operating, California has really gotten on board with e-waste recycling," said Jeff Hunts, e-waste program manager for the state Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. "People are understanding it's hazardous and needs to be managed responsibly."

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California was the 1st state to pass an E-Waste Law
--24 states have passed similar laws
--California is only state that charges consumers to fund program by paying recycling fees when they buy a TV, laptop or monitor
--California’s law only funds recycling of TVs, laptops or computer monitors
--it requires they be recycled in state
--old VCRs, printers, hard drives, etc. are not covered
--California law requires consumers to pay fee of $6 - $10 depending on size of screen
--the fee funds a state-run program that pays $0.39 a pound to recycling companies and collection organizations
--California’s program has paid out $436 million since 2005

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After California's law passed, however, retail giants fought similar consumer-pay laws in other states. Now environmental groups and the electronics industry both want a national law but can't agree on how strict it should be — or who should pay.

New devices come on the market every year. So even though the state collects roughly 5 million used TVs and computers a year, Californians replace those by buying about 9 million a year. READ MORE !

World Oceans Day: June 8

June 8th is World Oceans Day

Welcome to the international community’s online resource for World Oceans Day—our planet’s biggest celebration of the ocean held every June 8th.


Why Should I Celebrate World Oceans Day?
• Generates most of the oxygen we breathe
• Helps feed us
• Regulates our climate
• Cleans the water we drink
• Offers us a pharmacopoeia of potential medicines
• Provides limitless inspiration!

A few tweets about WOD on Twitter.
More @ #worldoceansday

NOAA Ocean Today
Celebrate World Ocean Day !
Check out these amazing photos from the National Ocean Service photo contest.

WiserEarth
Happy World Ocean Day - See 10 things you didn't know came from the ocean.

PBSNature
Happy World Oceans Day! Eat ocean-friendly seafood by following seafood.

Burbank - Smart Grid System

Some Glendale and Burbank residents resist new smart-grid system
L A Times: 5.17.11 by Melanie Hicken

Glendale and Burbank officials are touting their new "smart meters" project as an exciting technological advancement that will help the utilities and customers track real-time water and electrical use.

But a small group of residents is resisting, saying they're worried about the health effects of the radio waves emitted by the meters. They also say the utilities' ability to view electricity and water usage as it occurs is intrusive and could change the rate structure.

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Utility officials say residents have no reason to be concerned, citing studies that say the wireless smart meters fall within federal guidelines for radiofrequency emissions and expose residents to far less electromagnetic radiation than other common appliances.

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Officials at both utilities say they will postpone installing the meters for concerned residents while they await a ruling from the California Public Utilities Commission, which has ordered Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to create ways for customers to opt out of the new wireless meters.

Although the state commission does not regulate municipal utilities, Glendale and Burbank officials said they would probably follow the agency's direction for a potential opt-out provision.

Glendale has installed 76,000 smart meters so far, and only a dozen residents have asked to have their installation put on hold, said Ned Bassin, assistant general manager for Glendale Water & Power.

And in Burbank, where crews will begin installing the smart meters next month, even fewer concerns have been expressed, officials said. READ MORE !

Power up the 'smart meters'
The devices have sparked an irrational fear of electromagnetic radiation in the Bay Area.
L A Times: 6.05.11 - Editorial

You don't have to be a tinfoil-hat-wearing paranoiac to be worried that the electromagnetic radiation from modern wireless devices may be harmful to your health. But are the "smart meters" being installed by utilities throughout the state frying homeowners' brains, as many consumers and even municipal governments fear? The risks are vanishingly small, while the economic and environmental benefits of smart meters are wide and obvious. In fact, we wish L.A.'s municipal utility would get busy installing the devices, though that isn't likely to happen any time soon. READ MORE !

COB: Urban Water Management Plan

Urban Water Management Plan
Public Hearing
June 7 - 6:00pm

The City of Burbank has prepared a Draft version of its Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP). California law requires the Burbank City Council to adopt an updated UWMP by June 30, 2011.

Public involvement and comment are encouraged.
A public hearing regarding updating Burbank's UWMP in the Council Chambers, Burbank City Hall, 275 East Olive Avenue, Burbank, California.

The Plan includes the following:
Assessment of past and future water supplies and demands
Evaluation of the future reliability of our water supplies
Information regarding water conservation and water management activities
Discussion of water recycling activities
Contingency planning for water shortages

Follow the link below to review the 2010 Draft version of the Plan.
Draft: Burbank Urban Water Management Plan 2010

For more information, contact Matt Elsner, Principal Civil Engineer at (818) 238-3500