Blog
A space for learning.
The Probiotic Woman
There are people who hear "fermented" and think "spoiled." Not only would they avoid eating something fermented, they would steer clear of a festival dedicated to all things fermented. But those are people who haven’t yet met Katie Falbo.
Take the Pledge to Eat Local
Take a pledge to eat and drink local products October 1–31. Eat only foods produced within a 100- or 150-mile radius of your home, or within the tri-county region, or within California. Decide if you are going to make any exceptions (such as for coffee, tea or spices), but try to stay as local as possible.By taking the pledge, you will be automatically entered to win a basket full of locally-produced goodies.
The Accidental Chef
Leslie Thomas does not just have a green thumb. It’s more like a green arm. Her backyard is overflowing with kale, cabbage, peppers, cucumbers, artichokes, strawberries, eggplants, tomatoes, ghost peppers, and 35 different grape vines -- just to name a few.
Modern Day Money Trees
Ten years ago, Stephen had realized that he could either continue to pay his power company for increasingly expensive electricity, or he could invest in solar. Once he recouped his initial outlay on the investment, he reasoned, he could bask in free electricity for the duration of the panels’ life — between 30 and 40 years.
CEC to Showcase Electric Vehicles for Every Style and Budget
With 18 models of electric vehicles (EVs) now on the market—from the affordable to the luxurious—attendees of CEC’s upcoming Green Car Show at the Goleta Lemon Festival will have plenty to talk about. Join us Sunday, September 21 between 10 am and 5 pm at Girsh Park to talk directly with local owners of various pure electric and plug-in hybrid cars.
Who's In Your Food Network?
For many people, the words ‘food network’ bring to mind faces of celebrity chefs like Rachel Ray, Guy Fieri, and Emeril Lagasse. When Alison Hensley, local food enthusiast and co-founder of the SOL Food Festival, hears those words, she sees a different set of faces.
LOSS: Measure P Fails to Pass in Santa Barbara County
In Santa Barbara County, voters voted against Measure P with "no" votes outnumbering "yes" 63 percent to 37 percent. In San Benito and Mendocino Counties, voters approved bans on high-intensity oil production techniques. In San Benito, nearly 57 percent of voters supported Measure J. Mendocino’s Measure S passed decisively with 67 percent of the vote.
CEC will continue to work towards banning high-risk oil extraction techniques.
From Day One
3,292. That’s how many disposable diapers the typical baby uses in its first year, and all of them go into a landfill.
80. That’s about how many cloth diapers Dexter used in his first year, and none of them went into a landfill.
An Environmental and Economical Benefit
Despite their appreciation for the environmental benefits of solar power, Donna and Patrick Will thought converting to solar energy would never make financial sense for them. However, after hearing about the Solarize Santa Ynez Valley program, the Wills decided to take another look at solar.
The Kellys Are Driving on Sunshine Thanks to Solarize Santa Ynez Valley
Rick Kelly and his family are self-described “energy hawks,” always looking for ways to improve the energy efficiency of their home. After switching all their lighting to LED bulbs, Rick -- a business manager at UCSB -- was looking for more. Intrigued by solar electricity, he attended a homeowner workshop about Solarize Santa Ynez hosted by CEC and the Santa Ynez Valley Alliance. At the workshop, another homeowner brought up the topic of combining home solar and electric vehicles (EVs), and it spurred Rick to do his own research.
Reducing Plastic Through Refills
For years, Peter Tatikian and his wife, Kelley Skumautz, have made a game out of avoiding buying single-use plastic bags. This has been especially interesting when it comes to picking up after their terrier/chihuahua mix, Ollie. It takes a little more creativity on every dog walk. “We have become very inventive in finding bags to pick up poop,” Peter says. This has included paper wrappers, tortilla chip bags, frozen vegetable packaging, and even the plastic mailing sleeves that magazines get mailed in.
Measure P Will Protect Santa Barbara County from Extreme Oil
Here in Santa Barbara County we have co-existed with the oil industry for a long time and if Measure P passes in November, will continue to do so. The initiative exempts all current oil operations and so does not affect any current oil jobs or revenue. It also doesn’t limit future oil wells using conventional techniques.
What We're Reading: Cadillac Desert, Eating on the Wild Side, and The Climate Casino
We recently asked CEC’s Staff, Board, and Partnership Council about their roles as thought leaders in the Santa Barbara community, asking what books, articles, films, apps, podcasts, and other multimedia are influencing their work. Today we’re hearing from Megan Birney, Dennis Allen, and Karl Hutterer. Stay tuned for the next installment of this series!
Free Solar Advice and Peace of Mind
Who doesn’t dread that monthly moment of opening a mailbox or an inbox and finding a stack of bills waiting to be paid? Electricity bills, cable bills, phone bills, medical bills—like hungry young birds in a nest, they sit there silently peeping until their demands are met.
Ty Lewis, a city employee of Paso Robles, set out to eliminate or significantly reduce one of the more common ones in his pile: his electricity bill.
6,000 Years of Solar: From Solar Heated Boxes to Hot Air and Water
“6,000 Years of Solar” is a series about the history of solar energy technology drawn from John Perlin’s new book Let It Shine: The 6,000-Year Story of Solar Energy. The series profiles the fascinating people, from ancient Greece and China to late 19th century New York to today, who have made the present day solar revolution possible.
Entering the Driving on Sunshine Galaxy
When Tal first learned about ‘driving on sunshine,’ or powering an electric vehicle with solar energy produced by panels on your home, it seemed like a science fiction fantasy come to life.
In Memoriam: Joan Crowder
Long before she made a name for herself as a cultural writer for the Santa Barbara News-Press, Joan Crowder was a volunteer editor of the Santa Barbara Survival Times, a fledgling monthly magazine published by CEC in the aftermath of the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill.
Drinking It In: Eliminating single-use plastic bottles
Rethink the Drink started in 2010 with a simple concept: provide schools with an alternative to single-use plastic water bottles and see if habit change followed. Four years later, we are proud to report that habit change is indeed possible. There are now 39 water refill stations in schools and community facilities across Santa Barbara County, and they have been used more than 870,000 times. Creating a single plastic water bottle emits 2.6 pounds of carbon dioxide, thus the amount of carbon dioxide emissions mitigated by our refill stations is more than 2 million pounds.
The Last Piece of the Renewable Energy Puzzle for One Arroyo Grande Family
Kevin could never get solar panels to pencil out economically...until CEC's Solarize San Luis Obispo program came along.
A Conservative Embraces Driving on Sunshine
Aaron is not your typical “go green” kind of guy. He thinks that the country’s solar industry has been too heavily subsidized. And don’t get him started on climate change. None of that, however, stopped Aaron from installing solar panels on his home or purchasing a plug-in hybrid vehicle. Come again?