August 19, 2023 VC Star University of California’s Cooperative Extension in Ventura County has opened a training opportunity and will accept up to 40 new applicants to become master gardeners. Master gardeners develop expertise and use their knowledge to educate the public. Master gardeners also have great social gatherings centered on food more delicious than…
August 12, 2023 VC Star By David Goldstein “How is recycling really going?” Versions of that question come to me by phone and email every week. Scott Meckstroth, a professional engineer and deputy director of Ventura County’s Water and Sanitation Department, explained the reason for his and others’ challenging questions about the intentions and results…
August 5, 2023 VC Star By David Goldstein In an online banner, the Plastic Free Foundation claims over 100 million people were inspired by the organization’s Plastic Free July events, challenges and pledges last month. Locally, Ventura County’s sustainability division awarded prizes such as reusable metal straws to participants in a waste reduction challenge event.…
July 29, 2023 VC Star The latest effort to boost participation in countywide food waste recycling programs features a charismatic crying carrot. “Please don’t throw me in the landfill,” the cute root pleads. “I want to help create compost.” Harrison Industries, a trash collection and recycling company based in Saticoy and serving much of Ventura…
July 22, 2023 VC Star Where is the coolest place to hang out this summer? Is it a dive bar, a swanky restaurant, a microbrewery or a trendy dance club? It might be a public library. Every city in Ventura County, except Santa Paula, has at least one public library planning to keep air conditioners…
VC Star July 15, 2023 Founders of Plastic Free July, an initiative of the nonprofit Plastic Free Foundation, have been trying since 2011 to “work towards our vision of seeing a world free of plastic waste.” Perhaps the phrasing of this vision statement on their website, at plasticfreejuly.org, is idiomatic to Western Australia, where they…
July 8, 2023 VC Star As summer heat soars, some people might think the easy solution to climate change is to turn up the air conditioner. Others instead look for ways to be “eco-cool,” feeling cooler in their homes while also looking stylish as part of the movement for planetary solutions. Window coverings provide one…
VC Star July 2, 2023 Some items are obviously prone to cause clogs in your home’s pipes or downstream in sewers if you flush them down toilets. Last November, the Responsible Flushing Alliance, a nonprofit funded mostly by manufacturers of wipe-related products, sponsored a survey of 1,417 respondents and found 97% of them knew feminine…
June 24, 2023 VC Star We have been invaded! Troops of foreign plants have marched across local hillsides, and this is the season when they probe the defenses of gardens on our very doorsteps. Yellow blooming mustard may create a colorful slope in the distance and may even look cheery on a barren patch in…
June 17, 2023 VC Star What does Earth’s solar system have in common with the recyclability of our solar power systems? They both rank just “one star.” Why are solar panels optimistic? Because they keep their “sunny side up.” All jokes aside, recycling and disposal options for solar panels have been terrible worldwide, but locally,…