Page 24 - Sonoma County Gazette Oct. 2019
P. 24

   Help Keep the Leaves & Debris out of Storm Drains
preventing us from doing so!
Fall is here and many of us will be spending our crisp Saturday afternoons trying to catch up with the week’s falling leaves and debris from our trees and landscaping that are preparing for the winter months ahead.
For the folks in urban areas with storm drains on their neighborhood streets, extra precautions should be taken in maintaining these drains. All of the water that hits these storm drains goes untreated and is sent directly into our creeks, rivers, bays, where eventually it reaches the ocean. Storm water is not sent to the local wastewater treatment facility. It is our responsibility to make sure that nothing but rain water flows from our yards into storm drains.
The rainy season will start soon, and clogged storm drains
can lead to localized flooding.
In June, 2017, he said the US would exit our agreement with 196 other nations and the EU at the earliest date possible—November 4, 2020. In so doing, he ceded US leadership in the climate crisis and said that the US will no longer be part on any international solutions. The US is second only to China (which has over four times our population) in current greenhouse gas emissions at 15%, but what really counts is cumulative emissions—we lead with 27% of total world emissions between 1850-2011. It’s these cumulative emissions that have driven the climate breakdown we are now experiencing.
You can help by placing yard waste in appropriate bins that come with your local trash services. Never rake or blow leaves into the street. Blow the grass trimmings and leaves back into your yard and advise your neighbor of the same. Allowing yard
waste into the street or
down the storm drain can
cause blockages or serious
damage to the storm drain
infrastructure.
Not just climate denial, but distortion and suppression of climate science. Several federal agencies—the EPA, the Department of Interior, the
© Tish Levee, 2019
California’s led the way, but now the feds are
California’s been a leader in clean energy for years; our higher standards
for fuel efficiency helped raise standards nationwide and spurred the federal government to enact higher standards in 2015. Now the current administration has not only proposed repealing those higher standards, but on September 18th the administration canceled the waiver under which California’s had higher standards since the 1970s. Gov. Newsom and Attorney General Becerra declared California will fight back in the courts. This latest move by the administration is in addition to the many ways it’s turned the clock back on efforts to reign in the climate emergency, including 53 completed roll- backs of environmental rules with another 32 in process as of September 12th, according to the NY Times.
In 2017 the President declared the US’s withdrawal from the Paris Accords.
 Don’t miss out on
helping with drainage
from your property when
it rains- rake up that pile
of leaves in your front yard. If you choose to mow instead, set the mower to mulch or collect the grass clippings in a bagging attachment. You can also collect this yard waste and add to your garden compost, just ensure your compost bins are contained to keep the nutrientrich water from leaching into the storm system as well. For those of us who utilize a landscape maintenance company, remember that we are ultimately responsible to make certain the landscaper does not blow any leaves or yard trimmings into streets or storm drains.
Department of Energy, the State Department, the Department of Transportation, and many others—have either been suppressing climate crisis communications or distorting the facts about it rather than giving us needed information to deal with this emergency.
Some make the argument that leaves fall naturally from the trees into the streams, but we should not be adding to this effect. Excessive decay of this large amount of organic matter can add carbon and nitrogen to our area waterbodies through its decomposition. This can create algae blooms and harm the wildlife that are living in the water.
Climate change has been omitted from research plans and report after report. Between 2016 and this July, 25% of references to “climate change,” “clean energy,” and “adaptation” have disappeared from federal reporting while there’s been a similar increase of terms such as “energy independence,” “resilience,” and “sustainability.” One only needs to note that in May the Department of Energy rebranded fossil fuels as “molecules of freedom” and “freedom gas.” A lengthy report, “The New Digital Landscape: How the Trump Administration Has Undermined Federal Web Infrastructure for Climate Information,” available at tinyurl.com/y2mn3rf9, details this process.
Here are some additional do’s and don’ts that we should keep in mind in addition to our yard waste:
Friday, September 20th, will see millions of young people—and their adult allies— striking worldwide for the climate before the UN Climate Action Summit in NYC. At the Climate March in 2014 before a similar UN meeting, 400,000 of us marched in NYC, joined by 375,000 worldwide. This will be much, much larger—the biggest climate action in history. And it needs to
• Do not dump items such as household paints and cleaners, garden pesticides and fertilizers, or used motor oils into storm drains. Not only is this illegal, it will pollute the watershed causing harm to wildlife.
be, because the crisis is so much greater than only five years ago; then we were told we had 40 years to make the changes we needed to, last fall the IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change) gave us 11 years, and recent estimates are less! I’ll be joining the Global Climate Strike in Chico, as I’m going to be in Trinity County that weekend.
• Pick up after the dog so the rains do not wash bacteria from the waste into the storm drain.
• Maintain your irrigation system. Adjust the sprinkler heads to ensure you are only watering your lawn and fix any leaks that may pop up.
• Take charge for your neighborhood’s storm drain and make sure it is not clogged with branches, leaves and other debris.
County of Sonoma passes a Climate Emergency Resolution.
Check with your local municipality and see if there is a special fall collection event for pickup of yard debris. If this service is available to you, place the yard waste curbside in bags and bundle and tie the large branches for easy pick up. If you see a clogged storm drain in your neighborhood or anything but rain going down the drain, please report it immediately. For reporting numbers in your area, head over to www.rrwatershed.org/spill-reporting.
On September 17th the Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution that many activists faulted as inadequate; while strongly affirming this, the Supervisors voted to pass it AND start working on a bold, meaningful Resolution for the future. Get involved and give your supervisor your input!
Remember—“Only Rain Down the Drain.”
This article was authored by Jason Benson of the City of Ukiah, on behalf of RRWA. RRWA (www. rrwatershed.org) is an association of local public agencies in the Russian River Watershed that have come together to coordinate regional programs for clean water, habitat restoration, and watershed enhancement.
24-www.sonomacountygazette.com -10/19
In January Luxembourg became the first country to offer free public transit for all, but several months earlier Dunkirk, France led the way as the first city to let everyone ride free. Ridership there’s increased 60% on weekdays and 200% on weekends. Could we do this here? Population figures aren’t that different: Luxembourg’s population is 614,000 versus Sonoma County’s 504,000. Dunkirk’s has 89,000 to Santa Rosa’s 175,000 (all 2017 approximate figures), so we could do something similar here. Wouldn’t that be great?
In a survey of government scientists conducted by the Union of Concerned Scientists, hundreds reported being asked to refrain from communicating publicly about climate change.
OK, enough of my rant ...Here’s the good news...
Free transit increasing ridership, reducing emissions.























































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