Students and their parents pay for artificial turf injuries. A great deal of public money has been spent by school boards and park departments on artificial turf fields over the past decade. The consensus thinking was that the high initial investment would be offset by greatly reduced water use and maintenance costs over the fields’ […]
In Santa Clara County, both the Fremont Union High School District and the Los Gatos-Saratoga High School District have faced significant decisions to make regarding the construction of new fields: will they be natural grass or synthetic turf systems? School districts have made some mistakes in the past. Now that we in California are wiser, […]
Sustainable Silicon Valley strongly recommends investing budget, maintenance and water resources in natural grass athletic fields and replacing synthetic turf fields with natural, living grass as they wear out. This transition is essential to prioritizing the well-being of playing field users– children, teenagers, and adults– and to fostering a healthier environment and aligns with practices adopted […]
Our Northern California climate has been changing and our weather really reflects it lately. Here’s a look at reliable meteorological sources that you can use to keep up to date on the latest weather news and developments in our area. More than fifty percent of our precipitation in California is delivered by Atmospheric Rivers (ARs) long, […]
We’ve checked this list twice… Last year we published a blog article entitled Home for the Holidays that included a number of sustainable tips for the holiday season. Well, the happy days are here again, and we think that these suggestions still help, so take a look. And in case you missed anything or just […]
SSV’s BackPaqAQ app screen El Niño is starting to make its presence felt this winter. With the inevitable rainstorms El Niño brings, we’ll definitely be living a lot more indoors, where the average American already spends over 90% of their time. The concentration of some air pollutants is 2 to 5 times higher indoors than […]
Introduction In many communities, poor air quality remains an invisible threat. Sustainable Silicon Valley (SSV) is on a mission to change this through their Youth Air Quality Advocates (YAQA) program. This initiative, funded by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), is a vital step towards addressing air pollution and its profound impact on communities. In […]
Richard Vogel / Associated Press Build your own rainwater harvesting system for outdoor use Let’s start with a quiz: say you have a roof that measures 1700 square feet (average for the US) and your area has a rainstorm that yields half an inch, how much water can you potentially collect with a home rainwater […]
As has been noted, we had a great BIG time over the two days of Sustain-a-Palooza! Here’s a bit of a recap incorporating the “gems” from the ongoing session chat, which is not to be confused with chaat, which come to think of it would have been an excellent (sweet, sour, tangy, spicy, crunchy) accompaniment. Lyngsø Sustainability […]
Acta Non Verba Farm via California Academy of Sciences How can SSV exert its expertise, experience, and influence to promote environmentally friendly, sustainable, livable, and workable new construction in the Bay Area? Answering this question is at the core of our developing project, Regenerative Communities. We see an opportunity to inform and educate Bay Area […]