Local activists take part in Climate Action Day

Creating international policies to curb climate change is no walk in the park. But that is just what world leaders aim to do this December, when the United Nations Climate Change Conference converges on Copenhagen, Denmark. The goal of the conference is to draft an international resolution that will replace the Kyoto Protocol, which is set to expire in 2012.

Half a world away, here in Santa Cruz, it may be hard to imagine what impact an individual could have on the conference. But according to Micah Posner of People Power, making a difference is simple. All Santa Cruzans have to do is head downtown to the clock tower at 2 p.m. this Saturday to hear speeches from City Supervisor Mark Stone, City Climate Czar Ross Clark and bear witness to the trial of a private automobile.

Host of upcoming Green Summit encourages local eco-businesses to get onboard with foreign eco cities
The second annual Green Trade Network Summit will be held at the Cocoanut Grove in Santa Cruz on Sept. 25. This year, the summit is to focus on sustainable city and community planning, specifically focusing on how to best export United States-based green technology to countries such as the United Arab Emirates and China, which are currently moving forward on what summit organizer Tony Livoti calls “eco cities.”

Business initiative draws Inspiration from South American indigenous cultural legacy

Two years ago, when Tyler Gage hosted a Peruvian shaman in his home as part of a cultural exchange, the shaman brought with him a small bag half full of a sacred plant called wuayusa.  It was a serendipitous meeting.  The plant, Gage would learn, brews a nutritious, stimulating tea, and carries with it an Amazonian legacy of cultural responsibility and sustainability.

Bonny Doon company wants people to go electric
“About the most disgusting thing in the world,” Mike Brown says conversationally, “is to be parked in traffic, and have one of those Dodge Ram trucks with a huge exhaust pipe sticking in your window. Most of them don’t even have enough class to use biodiesel.”

‘Green’ diaper company wants to keep things clean
The life span of a disposable diaper is interminable. From the time one is thrown out and schlepped away to the nearest landfill, to the point when it has completely broken down can be up to 500 years. It will still be slowly rotting at the bottom of a toxic pit long after you, and your diaper-wearing bundle of joy, are gone.

According to Karen Nelsen, one of the founders of the EarthBaby diaper company, disposable diapers are the third largest single consumer item in landfills, preceded only by paper (Number One) and beverage containers. (Both of which are recyclable—go figure). The Bay Area alone contributes 375 million diapers to landfills each year, she says

Downtown’s new Pacific Blue Inn brightens up lower Pacific Avenue

The elderly man with a walker who didn’t want to take the stairs; the Arizonan who insisted on being “green”; the carpet-phobic Swedish couple that loves bamboo floors; the bride and groom who wanted to rent out a hotel for their wedding party without breaking the bank.

Santa Cruz and the county approve energy efficiency pilot program

Santa Cruz is a step closer to lassoing the enigmatic power of the sun after the city and county’s coinciding decisions on May 12 to move forward on a program that will make “going solar” more accessible and affordable for property owners. Both the City Council and Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to advance the Energy Independence and Economic Stimulus Initiative, which will involve launching a pilot program sometime later this year.

Learning lessons in tourism from Santa Cruz’s Central American doppelganger

A day in the town of Montezuma, Costa Rica, is reminiscent of one in summertime Santa Cruz. You can peruse organic produce at the weekly farmers’ market, lounge on the beach, eat at delicious and overpriced vegetarian restaurants and catch an evening yoga class. Even the reputations are similar—

The new electric vehicle hopes to bring some om on the range

There’s a new star in town. She’s small, electric and surprisingly low maintenance. She turns heads effortlessly as she rolls down Santa Cruz streets, collecting excited honks and hollers as she goes.