Earthships

Hi all. I have just returned from a great voyage to New Mexico where I spent time at the Earthships Compound outside of Taos.

I was really encouraged by their off-grid electrical and water systems that have been developed by Mike Reynolds and his team in Taos. Their systems can be transferable particularly to communities in need that don't have access to the "grid" and are struggling to find affordable and realistic solutions to energy and water needs.

I was particularly thrilled to learn about the tecnical features of their off-grid solar array and wastewater treatment as it relates to the EcoCenter.

Most inspiring!

Groundbreaking at Herons head Park

Hi all, we had a fantastic time at the groundbreaking for the EcoCenter at Heron's Head Park! I can't believe what an incredible turnout we had. Mayor Newsome spent the morning with us, Monique Moyer (Port of SF), Jared Blumenfeld (DOE), Sam Suchat (SCC), Sophie Maxwell, as well as an amazing turnout of folks in our community. I was really honored that so many people in San Francisco support this initiative--and really stepped up to the plate.

We got some great coverage of the day! See below!

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Pictures from Mark Palmer at the DOE!
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/viewPhoto?
uname=mhpalmer88&aid=5194159164091349233&iid=5194160010199906610

And Bill Wilson:
http://billwilsonphotos.com/photoalbums/
HeronsHeadEcoCenterEarthDayNewsom/index.html

NY Times National Edition featuring David Gavrich's newborn goat and
our very own Jamila
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?
res=9C02EFDF143CF930A15757C0A96E9C8B63

KRON4:
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1315744788?
bctid=1517521548

Fog City Journal:
http://www.fogcityjournal.com/wordpress/2008/04/23/san-francisco-
breaks-ground-on-green-education-facility/

San Francisco Sentinel:
http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/?p=12073

Bay City News:
http://cbs5.com/localwire/22.0.html?type=bcn&item=GROUND-BREAKING

San Francisco Chronicle op-ed by one of our youth:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/28/
ED2710A8QG.DTL

From the Mayor's Press office:
http://sfmayor.typepad.com/sf_mayor/2008/04/mayor-newsom-br.html

San Francisco Bay Guardian
http://www.sfbg.com/blogs/gsf/2008/04/
pics_goats_and_green_at_herons.html

Channel 20:
http://www.yourtv20.com/news/greenvideo/18066659.html

Government Tech, one of the premier sites for municipal buildings:
http://www.govtech.com/gt/290183

We also received coverage from Channel Five, Various radio stations,
and some international coverage.

Thank you all for your support! It was a wonderful joyous event for us