In California’s ongoing battle against single-use plastics, efforts to eradicate plastic bags have been a game of Whack-a-Mole. Just as one type of disposable bag is banned, another emerges in its place, challenging legislators and environmental advocates to keep pace with the ever-evolving landscape of plastic pollution. This relentless cycle mirrors the arcade game’s ceaseless […]
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 […]
The sun and sand on Lanikai Beach. My wife and I have challenged ourselves to always use local mass transit to get around every destination we visit on vacation. We recently traveled to the Hawaiian island of Oahu and we had no problems meeting that commitment; from getting to and from the airport and the […]
Turning Brown to Go Green by Greg Larkins We always pride ourselves on having one of the nicer yards on the block. Something I inherited from my father, who had my brother and I always doing yard work while all the other kids were playing down the street. I thought then that when I grew […]
First Person Report: Foreign Travelers Using Mass Transit to The Max by Greg Larkins My wife and I recently challenged ourselves to use mass transit as much as possible on a trip to Paris and Amsterdam. This started from our journey from our home in San Jose to San Francisco International Airport and concluded with […]