Creek Water Not Safe

Yesterday I took my 2 1/2 year-old son and 4 1/2 year-old daughter to the park for a picnic and to play for a while. They were so excited to cross a bridge and see the trickle of water in the creek. Of course they wanted to play in the water....there kids! It is a park after all. I showed them the sign posted in a couple areas along the creek and told them simply that it said no playing in the water. The picture was enough for them, "but why" I thought to myself. Is this an issue of pollutants from our parking areas and streets entering our creeks and rivers through storm drains? Perhaps if that were the case the sign would urge caution due to "contaminated water" but it specifically reads" bacteria levels".
I called the number on the sign and will finish the post when I hear back......

America and Our Lawns

Green lawns are the staple of America's residential and commercial landscape. We spend $27 billion dollars a year - ten times more than we pay for text books to grow and maintain 20 million acres of grass. Forty million lawnmowers cause five percent of the nation's air pollution and at least thirty percent of our water is used to irrigate lawns, washing fertilizers and pesticides into rivers, lakes and streams.

Now, corporations, universities, government offices and parks around the nation are looking at an alternative to Kentucky Blue Grass. They are going back to their roots to find native prairie and wetland plants.

These grasses, flowers, forbs and sedges have adapted, over hundreds of years to our climate. They survived heat and drought, extreme cold and fire, their long roots tucked deep in the ground. They provide habitat for native birds and butterflies.
- United States EPA

Proper Disposal of CFL Light Bulbs

PG&E and others like to promote the use of the CFL bulbs, and it is a great energy saver, but what really troubles me is that they do not put effort in educating the public that these bulbs must be disposed of differently than the light bulbs we are accustomed to using.