Ingrid's San Francisco Blog

Here are some of the other environmental stories circulating about our Bay and beyond:

• Surfrider, guardian of beaches, is asking people to take a little action toward saving the Endangered Species Act -- something the Bush Administration is seeking to undermine through the Department of the Interior. Read more on the issue and, if you're inclined, sign a letter at the Surfrider website.
• Baykeeper posted an editorial by Sejak Choksi on proposed oil spill bills making their way through the state Legislature. These bills arose in response to a report following the Cosco Busan oil spill debacle.
• Save the Bay is keeping tabs on the Redwood City/Cargill development plans (and opposition) at the salt flats on the Bay.
• The Natural Resources Defense Council just filed a lawsuit against the EPA to obtain records on honeybee colony collapse disorder. The NRDC is convinced that the EPA has evidence showing a connection between pesticides and the mysterious honeybee die-offs. (If you're interested in local resources, read more about beekeeping in the Bay Area).
• Starting in September, Friends of the Urban Forest is offering Citizen Forester training. For volunteers experienced in tree care, the classes and guest speakers will help enhance existing nature, leadership and community skills.
• Golden Gate Audubon is asking people to help protect the Western Snowy Plover. You can volunteer for special programs, or just do your part by staying out of habitat areas on beaches, walking near the water line (instead of close to nesting sites), and keeping dogs on leash, walking them only in authorized areas. At the above link, you can also read about proposed plans to build a trucking terminal adjacent to Oakland's Martin Luther King, Jr. Shoreline, a vast habitat for a variety of birds.

This month Ask a Scientist celebrates its fifth birthday with Zeke Kossover -- who will bring a crew of sideshow scientists to perform a new set of demonstrations illustrating physical principles (including iPod tricks). Kossover is a physics teacher at Jewish Community High School of the Bay. He'll be joined by Tucker Hiatt, physics teacher at The Branson School and director of Wonderfest, plus Leif Steinhour of One Off Shoppe.

The talk is on Tuesday, August 19 at 7:00p:

• Axis Cafe (on Potrero Hill)
  1201 8th Street (between 16th & Irwin)
  San Francisco, CA
  Axis Cafe Website

^{Pictured: Eddy Rubin, Director of the JGI
Photo © David Gilbert - Courtesy of Ask a Scientist}

So what's been happening since the various aquatic people (i.e. fish, penguins, and others) were moved to and from Howard Street, then back to Golden Gate Park?

The New Renzo Piano Building

The Academy website has some great, interactive previews of what you can expect.

There's a photo time lapse of the building's construction as well as a video explanation of the living roof -- created with native flora.

The exhibit spaces look stunning. And you can take a virtual and visual tour with images that pop up to show each section of the floor plan. Also check out the video tour of the building showing some familiar appointments from the old Academy of Sciences.

You can also see some San Francisco Chronicle images of the penguin's new home at the Academy.

Golden Gate Park

If you're new to San Francisco and have yet to explore the byways of the park, here's an overview to get you started -- a Map of Golden Gate Park with photos and map markers pointing to attractions.

Jennifer Alpeche also has a Guide to Golden Gate Park describing some of the park's more popular destinations.

^{Pictured: New California Academy of Sciences Building
Photo © Ingrid Taylar}

To help employers enhance their clean air programs -- to "blue" their businesses -- Spare the Air hosts the 2nd Annual Employer Summit on Tuesday, August 19. The summit is all about sharing ideas on how to better implement clean-air policies and practices at work.

The event is free and includes breakfast. Register at Spare the Air. The summit happens from 8:00a to 10:30a at Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean in Oakland (111 Broadway in Oakland, 19th Floor). Take BART to the 12th Street/Oakland City Center Station.

She is, of course, at the top of Michael Bauer's list of Bay Area food visionaries, having spawned more than a lineage of disciples. She also pioneered a culinary ethos that permeates San Francisco and the Bay Area -- the idea of ingredient over flourish, of locally cultivated over globally mass produced.

Bauer profiles ten of his intended twenty food innovators today, following up with subsequent picks in the next Food section.

Today's Chronicle piece mentions the "Marin commuter tax" issue cited by the Golden Gate Bridge District -- which argued that the proposed "congestion toll" would penalize North Bay commuters.

Instead, parking fees on the San Francisco side of the bridge -- exact plan still hazy -- will help fund the Doyle Drive seismic reconstruction. Read more details here on the Doyle Drive plan.

On September 2, the toll does go up to $6 ($5 for FasTrak users). Anyone who crisscrosses the bay most likely has a FasTrak transponder. For California newcomers, the FasTrak plan gives you easier access by way of automatically calculating tolls. No stopping to fork over cash.

In fact, if you drive the 680 north across the Benicia-Martinez Bridge, you can speed through the toll gate at a regular clip, owing to their FasTrak open road tolling lanes.

Of course, your movements are trackable by electronic read. So if you're on the lam or living off the grid, not so much a good idea.

^{Photo © Ingrid Taylar}

Through August, the Commonwealth Club features its How We Eat series. It's a program of 30 events, including talks, panel discussions, cooking demos, hands-on cooking classes, farm tours, food and wine tastings, dining experiences and field trips. The focus is on global food trends and concerns, as well as specialized features like this week's Dining Etiquette Around the World.

Programs run through the end of August when it's time to gear up for the Slow Food Nation event on Labor Day weekend. More on this later in the week.

If you're interested in the How We Eat series, check out the full calendar at the Commonwealth Club's website. If you haven't attended a program at the Commonwealth Club, here's an overview of the organization and what to expect in the way of lectures and events.

". . . just because it's a beautiful day in San Francisco."

~ So sayeth the Free Huggers at Ferry Building - August 9, 2008

^{Photo © Ingrid Taylar}

Bay-Area based In Defense of Animals has been on this issue, predating Beard's campaign with a variety of public outreach campaigns and protests.

The fur trade isn't pretty no matter how you look at it -- I should say, no matter how I look at it. And California, for all of its progressive thinking and politics, is home to fur ranches of its own. Switzerland and Austria have no fur farms. Other countries sidle closer to bans and significant restrictions in the fur trade, much to the obvious chagrin of furriers.

Check out Larry's post about Amanda Beard's campaign, with links to video footage of the farms in question. I confess, I couldn't bring myself to link here. I've seen most of the exposé videos over the years and can't spring it on you unsuspecting. For me, it's the stuff of nightmares. But, if you haven't looked and don't know, it's worth understanding why one of our Californian Olympians decided to stand up for this cause.

^{Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images}

Because anyone with a dSLR (or even some P&S cams) can freeze-frame a volleyball, one might be deluded into thinking Olympic Game photography is just that: a dude with a full-frame sensor and some free time.

People in the know realize it takes a sherpa to carry the lenses needed for pro sports shoots. But it wasn't until I saw this back-breaking load during my morning read, that I fully grasped the term hernia.

Give some respect to the images that emerge from five tons of equipment. They're worth at least the cost of a chiropractor.

Local photographers' rights . . .
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