March 8, 2012 (Santee) -- County officials and community partners unveiled the new volunteer garden at Edgemoor in Santee yesterday.

The volunteer garden, located at 255 Park Center Dr., is open to both community residents and County staff to increase access to fresh produce and physical activity. Residents of Edgemoor, will be involved in the garden through the Recreational Therapy Unit.

By Miriam Raftery

March 7, 2012 (San Diego)—The U.S. military is tackling a major battle: striving to rely on renewable energy to meet half of all energy that it uses by 2020. 

“That’s a tall order,” Captain Marko Medved, Operations Officer for Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest.  Marko spoke last weekend at Forging a Sustainable Future, a two-day symposium sponsored by UnitedGREEN.  Captain Medved’s job? Makinge the military bases of the Southwest energy efficient.   That’s over one million acres—and he reports, “We’ve made significant gains.”

March 6, 2012 (Sacramento)--Scientists from the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) and PRBO Conservation Science have completed a study on the effects of climate change on vulnerable birds. This first-of-its-kind study prioritizes which species are most at risk and will help guide conservation measures in California. The study was published last week in the journal PLoS ONE.

We still have tickets left! Students $10; $35 tickets for ECM subscribers

March 1, 2012 (San Diego) – If you care about the future of our region, come join a grassroots movement and discussion to shape the energy, water, transportation and food policies of tomorrow.  Should we be investing in rooftop solar or wind farms?  Algae-based fuels or offshore drilling? Greenbelts and community gardens? These are questions that can dramatically affect the future for our children in San Diego and East County.

The Conference will be held in ENS 280; park in lot 2.  Find a map and details at www.unitedgreen.org .  The event kicks off at 9 a.m. Saturday with a continental breakfast.   Famed environmental leader and nationally-known “Ring of Fire” radio host Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will deliver the keynote speech at 3:30 on Saturday. Other participants include members of Congress and Congressional candidates,  scientists, environmental planners, authors and educators. 

Student tickets $10; $35 tickets for ECM subscribers

February 28, 2012 (San Diego) – Named among Time Magazine’s “Heroes for the Planet”, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has led legal battles to protect clean water, help indigenous tribes preserve homelands, and defend our environment around the world. 

The famed environmental lawyer, author, “Ring of Fire” radio co-host, and member of one of America’s most prominent political families will be the keynote speaker Saturday, March 3 at the “Forging a Sustainable Future” conference at San Diego State University.

February 24, 2012 (San Diego) -- What if San Diego produced its own electricity with solar on rooftops and parking garage covers?  Imagine if San Diego became its own utility provider—instead of SDG&E.  

That’s exactly what Congressman and mayoral candidate Bob Filner proposed in a brainstorming session with top regional experts at part I of “Forging a Sustainable Future.”  (Part II takes place March 3-4 at San Diego State University. Filner will be among those speaking.)

The implications of his proposals are staggering.

Learn how the Navy is going green, plus hear national and local leaders' visions for the future of our region and nation

February 20, 2012 (San Diego)-- Navy Captain Marko Medved, Congressional members Susan Davis and Bob Filner are the latest speakers confirmed to join UnitedGREEN’s Forging a Sustainability Symposium March 3-4 at San Diego State University. They join a long list of distinguished national and international presenters and panelists, including keynote speaker Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

How many massive energy projects are too many for one rural community to absorb?

“They want to put these all out here, because we’re throwaway country people.” – Howard Cook

By Mia Myklebust and Miriam Raftery

February 16, 2012 (Jacumba) – Walking along the shores of Lake Jacumba, it’s clear that Howard Cook has big dreams for his community.  Chairman of the Lake Restoration Committee, he has wrested a pledge from the Audubon Society to restore the once-dry lake.

“We want to have fishing, boating, and recreation,” he says.  Cook is working with others who dream of “making this another Taos—art, wildlife, hiking, Indians and birds.”

But there’s trouble on the horizon.  Multiple industrial-scale wind and solar farms soon stand to surround this tiny town, jeopardizing its most cherished natural treasures. Sites include publicly owned recreation lands, notably a spectacular scenic gorge known to locals as “our Grand Canyon,” Cook points out.

Jacumba is a proverbial canary in the coal mine—a warning of what other publicly-owned preserves and rural communities across America may soon face. 

Part II of the Forging a Sustainable Future Conference will be held March 3 and 4 at San Diego State University.  For tickets and details click here. If you missed Part I of this important event, ECM is publishing a series of articles highlighting presentations by key speakers last November, starting with these colorful opening statements.

February 9, 2012 (San Diego) – Councilwoman Marti Emerald, a former TV consumer affairs journalist called on San Diegans to join with her in calling for sustainable practices here in our community, and around the world during Part I of United Green's Forging a Sustainable Future conference in November 2011 . “This is survival, folks,” she said. 

She brought a surprise guest: Cassis, a green-winged macaw who joined her onstage during opening remarks to drive homeher message. "You won't find these in the wild," Emerald said. "Their habitat has been destroyed." 

February 6, 2012  (Washington D. C.) -- The Interior Department’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries), the two federal agencies responsible for administering the Endangered Species Act (ESA), today announced a 30-day extension of the public comment period on a draft policy interpreting the phrase “significant portion of its range” (SPR) in the ESA’s definitions of “endangered species” and “threatened species.”

Special early-bird rates for ECM members now available

January 28, 2012 (San Diego)--Environmental law professor Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. will be the keynote speaker at UnitedGREEN’s second Forging a Sustainable Future Symposium March 3 and 4, 2012 at San Diego State University.