April 15, 2011 (Mt. Helix) -- Don't want to fight the crowds at Earth Day in Balboa Park? Now there's a local alternative.  Earth Day is coming to East San Diego County on Sunday, May 1 from 11 am – 3 pm.

This free family-fun event will be held in the Mt. Helix Amphitheater, 4901 Mt. Helix Drive in La Mesa. Co-sponsored by the Jarrett Meeker Foundation and Mt. Helix Park in partnership with the La Mesa- Spring Valley School District, East County Earth Day will feature vendors whose missions are environmentally friendly along with live music and a variety of speakers.

By Breanna Feathers

April 12, 2011 (San Diego)--While the Spring semester comes closer to an end and daunting final exams creep up on students at SDSU, an exciting project is underway to build a new, sustainable Aztec Center.

District Partners with Borrego Solar and CCSE to deploy 290 Kw solar system at  Nat L. Eggert Operations Center

April 4, 2011 (El Cajon)--Helix Water District has activated a 290 kilowatt (KW) solar photovoltaic (PV) system at the Nat L. Eggert Operations Center (OC) in El Cajon. The zero-emission system was deployed through a partnership with Borrego Solar Systems, Inc. and the California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE).

To celebrate, the District hosted a ribbon-cutting event for the new system on March 30th.

March 26, 2011 (Rancho San Diego) – Celebrate spring on Saturday, April 9 at the Spring Garden Festival, one of East County’s biggest annual events.

March 17, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – A solar project installed at the Operations Center for Helix Water District has been fully certified by SDG&E and begins producing energy starting today, with an official ribbon cutting ceremony planned for March 30th.

"This solar project is a great benefit for Helix using clean, renewable natural resources,” said Kathleen Coates-Hedberg, director on the Helix Water District Board.

March 3, 2011 (San Diego) – “Not a done deal. We are in court,” reads a flyer published by opponents of the Sunrise Powerlink project urging the public to join a march to the federal courthouse downtown, where the first federal lawsuit against the high-voltage line will be heard on March 7th.

Plant sale March 5

February 25, 2011 (Rancho San Diego)–The Water Conservation Garden helps gardeners ease into spring planting season each Saturday in March by offering expert presentations and specialized plant sales.

By: Jeremy Los

January 30, 2011 (San Diego) – The green economy is booming in San Diego County and California as a whole. In a new study titled Many Shades of Green: Diversity and Distribution of California’s Green Jobs, Next10.org finds that California’s green economy has boasted persistent growth and now encompasses over 174,000 jobs in the state. 

Between January 2008 and January 2009, the growth rate was highest in San Diego and the Bay Area; San Diego’s green jobs rate grew 7 percent while the Bay Area saw an 8 percent growth.

Options include a Valentine’s Day cooking class and tips on everything from growing vegetables to replacing water-thirsty lawns

By Miriam Raftery

January 15, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – Three local organizations and an East County land use issues expert have filed a lawsuit against five federal agencies. The suit alleges that the agencies approved SDG&E’s planned Sunrise Powerlink transition line in violation of environmental regulations—in some cases, making decisions based on the original route through the Anza Borrego Desert, instead of the revised southern route through numerous East County communities.

The suit makes other contentions, notably that key decision makers ignored fire danger and failed to consider the collective impact on public lands in East County, where several wind farms are planned as well as Powerlink in some wilderness areas.  In addition, plaintiffs claim that some decisions were made before completion of studies on endangered species and that once completed, those studies found the project could threaten endangered Peninsular bighorn sheep, golden eagles, and other species.

December 28, 2010 (Blythe, CA)-- La Cuna de Aztlan Sacred Sites Protection Circle, a Native American cultural protection group, filed a lawsuit yesterday in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of California, challenging the Bureau of Land Management permitting processes regarding six large solar facilities planned for the Mohave, Sonoran and Colorado deserts of Southern California (Case No.10CV2664 WQH WVG), including an Imperial Valley Solar project slated to hook up to SDG&E’s Sunrise Powerlink.

More than 25,000 reusable shopping bags to be given away Dec. 16

December 16, 2010 (San Diego)--To promote “green’” shopping for the holidays and beyond, San Diego County has declared Thursday, Dec. 16, “A Day Without a Bag,” with shoppers encouraged to forgo single-use bags, and retailers and volunteers planning to give away more than 25,000 reusable shopping bags at locations throughout the region.

Major new “Green Homebuilder” Survey ; Impact of Recession Gauged in Terms of Progress (and Lack of Progress) Among Major U.S. Homebuilders.

East County News Service
High fees violate state law, and discourage rooftop solar, Sierra Club says