News
TCEC members receive the Eco-Logic Newsletter, which is published monthly except for July/August and November/December issues. Each issue is full of local environmental news, events and activities, and ways you can get involved in environmental issues. Review a sample (past) issue.
Online, we feature the Closer Look column, written for our newsletter by TCEC Publications Chairperson, Donna Olsen.
Closer Look — May 2017
TCEC Makes a Splash with Ducks for Bucks
Big thanks to everyone who supported TCEC in the Kiwani’s Ducks for Bucks Race on April 22nd. The ducks all swam valiantly. They faced a mild headwind and had to be urged on to the finish line by our local firefighter’s water hose. One finally popped out of the chute at the end, and we had a winner. A handful of ducks made a break for freedom while everyone was listening to the race results and a boat had to be dispatched to corral them. Remember these are Racing Ducks…
It was a fun day out by the lake with the local college radio station, games for the kids, and drawings for lots of prizes. The ducks then headed to their next event in Walla Walla, Washington. 5550 ducks raced and the TCEC raised $890! Well done everyone! Source: Ann Morrison
Earth Day Enthusiasm
The annual Earth Day Fair at Washington Hospital was well attended; the guests enthusiastic. TCEC added seven new members to its roster, including students working hard on climate change and water conservation. Caroline Harris brought a fantastic educational display on bees that attracted young and old alike. This display is now in the Fremont Main Library.
Many thanks to our volunteers: Kyoko Comerford, Phil Stob, Caroline Harris, Gus Morrison, Donna Olsen and Rich Godfrey. Also thanks to Ann Morrison, Dan O’Donnell, and Janis Stob for staffing the D4B table at Lake Elizabeth.
Shining Star
On May 4, at the TCEC Board meeting, we had the honor of hearing (and seeing) a presentation by Shreya Ramachandran, an eighth grade student from Fremont. Her subject was The Grey Water Project which began during the drought and is as valid today as it was then, perhaps more so. Her discussion was both scientific and entertaining. Next month we will offer a complete picture of her subject and Shreya’s accomplishments. Thanks so much, Shreya!
Kudos to the Niles Pie Company
Union City’s Niles Pie Company has kept more than 1700 pounds of single-use cardboard boxes from the landfill. How? By offering reusable wooden ones that customers can bring back and use again. The project was awarded by Alameda County’s Stop Waste agency. Source: Joseph Geha, Bay Area News Group.
Bees at the Fremont Main Library
Don’t forget to see the wonderful bee display in the Fremont main Library. Caroline Harris has done her usual stellar job in bringing us another display that is both educational and creative. Display will there though May.
Expanded Reusable Bag Ordinance for Alameda County Went Into Effect May 1, 2017
Plastic bags are one of the most common litter items found in our waterways, and plastic pollution is a growing threat to oceans and marine life. Plastic bags take hundreds of years to break down or decompose, causing a cumulative litter problem. Shopping with reusable bags helps reduce litter and waste, protects creeks and the bay, and conserves natural resources.
Since May 1, 2017, this ordinance has expanded to include ALL retail stores in Alameda County, and will include all restaurants starting on November 1, 2017. For more information about the expanded reusable bag ordinance for Alameda County, and how it may affect your business or visit, visit reusablebagsac.org. Contributed by: Jennifer Makin, Republic Services, Source: reusablebagsac.org
Second Niles Canyon Stroll & Roll – Sat., September 30, 2017
Save the date: Alameda County Supervisors Valle and Haggerty have announced that there will be a second Niles Canyon Stroll & Roll this fall, with Niles Canyon closed to cars for a day and open for walking and bike tours of the canyon and sites of the proposed Alameda Creek Trail through the canyon. Source: Alameda Creek Alliance
Complete the Bay Bridge People Path all the way to San Francisco
After decades of advocacy, the Bay Bridge People Path opened for seven-days-a-week access toYerba Buena Island. Lawmakers in Sacramento are discussing whether to fund the West Span Pathway. BikeEastBay has a letter you can sign on to support the authorization of Regional Measure 3 (RM 3) to ensure it includes full funding for the construction of the bicycle, pedestrian, and maintenance path on the West Span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. https://bikeeastbay.org/news/complete-bay-bridge-people-path#rep
Planners currently estimate that 10,000 people would use the completed, 4.5-mile path to cross the Bay every single day. This has real potential to reduce auto congestion on the Bay Bridge, relieve crowding on BART, and lower carbon emissions, while increasing the health of residents by providing a healthy, active commute option.
You can help complete the path by emailing your state representative today. Find you Assembly and State representatives’ addresses at http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov. By Ann Morrison, bicycle enthusiast
Great News! Vargas Plateau Park Reopened May 15
The 1249-acre park has been closed since mid-July when two neighbors sued the East Bay Regional Park District for not completing road improvements to the park before it opened. With about $100,000 from the EBRPD, the City of Fremont completed the work of widening and paving portions of the shoulders on Vargas Road. Done! The park’s reopening has been greeted with great anticipation and enthusiasm. Hikers, bikers and equestrians will share the park.
About The Park….This 1,249-acre regional park provides tremendous views from its setting in the Fremont Hills. The plateau rises quickly and steeply from the bay plain to an elevation 1,000 feet above the streets below, overlooking Niles Canyon, Fremont, Union City, Newark and the San Francisco Bay beyond. Atop the plateau a pastoral landscape predominates, and golden eagles, hawks, deer, bobcats, frogs, snakes and a variety of other animals make their home in the open grasslands, ponds and steep wooded canyons. These characteristics, with the Bay Area Ridge Trail along the ridgetop, make the park a great place for outdoor recreation and nature appreciation on the urban/wildland threshold.