California approves plastic bag ban

Lost in all the hoopla of the Presidential election this week was that California voters affirmed their support for a plastic bag ban that was supposed to have taken effect more than a year ago.

California Proposition 67  passed by a 52 - 48 margin, thus enabling the requirements of Senate Bill 270 to immediately take effect. A companion piece supported by the plastic bag industry, Proposition 65, would have required monies that grocers take in for selling non-plastic bags be directed to environmental causes. That measure failed, with 55% of the vote opposing it.

Photo By Andrea Westmoreland from DeLand, United States (Great Blue Heron Swallows Fish in Plastic Bag!) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

For those in the dark about the issue, or, those who simply question why it is such an important environmental issue, here is a good source of information to learn why it was enacted: Plastic Ban Info

Before the Flood - was DiCaprio too wishy-washy or not?

The new climate change film, Before the Flood, has making a lot of news lately. Currently being shown on the National Geographic Channel and available for free streaming on iTunes, the film features actor Leonardo DiCaprio as he travels the world searching for answers to what many say is the most pressing environmental problem facing the world today.


Some people have commented that the message of the film isn't harsh enough in warning of the dangers of uncontrolled anthropogenic emissions. Others say the film presents everything in just the right manner for the general public.

Have you seen it yet? What do you think? let us know in the comments section below.

Free America Recycles Day event in Bakersfield on November 12, 2016

Bakersfield and Kern County residents looking for a way to get rid of certain unwanted or unusable items should head to the Rabobank Arena next week. A free, drive-thru recycling event will be taking place on Saturday, November 12, 2016, from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. in the arena's South Parking Lot.

Items accepted include electronics, batteries, large and small household items, passenger vehicle tires (limit 4), used motor oil filters, used clothing, shoes, linens, surplus construction materials, paper shredding waste (limit - 2 file size boxes), and other recyclable material.

For further information, call 661.831.2321.

Stunning new map shows every river basin and its tributaries in the U.S.

One of the bread and butter issues that many environmental professionals deal with are spills into the navigable waterways of the United States. 

A new map that shows every river basin in the United States,and its tributaries, may cause many sleepless nights for those professionals who must determine whether a spill of hazardous material has impacted a navigable waterway, whose definition is not what the layperson may think it is.

See it for yourself at this link: U.S. River Basin Map