Resources for the Community
Wood Smoke, Public Health and Woodstove Replacement Rebates (Source: http://www.baaqmd.gov/sitecore/content/spa- retheair/home/stay-informed/particulate-matter/wood-smoke) Wood burning is the leading cause of wintertime pollution in the Bay Area. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District bans wood burning on days when pollution is expected to be unhealthy and Winter Spare the Air Alerts are called (some exceptions apply). The nine counties that surround San Francisco Bay are home to almost seven million residents and an estimated 1.4 million fireplaces and woodstoves. The particulate matter, or PM, in wood smoke from these fireplaces and woodstoves has been a health concern in the Bay Area for many years. Under certain meteorological conditions—cold, stag- nant winter evenings—surface based radiation inversions form quickly in the Bay Area and PM levels rise rapidly. By the 1980s, wood smoke became the largest area-wide sta- tionary source of PM in the Bay Area. Wood burning also generates carbon monoxide and toxic air pollutants such as benzene and dioxin. Since the 1980s, many scientific studies have been pub- lished that correlate rising PM levels with serious health effects, such as asthma symptoms, decreased lung function, increased hospital admissions, and even premature death. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set a national PM emission standard for woodstoves at 7.5 grams per hour. Since July 1, 1990, all woodstoves manu- factured in the United States have been required to meet this EPA standard. Previously, unregulated woodstoves averaged 60 grams of PM in an hour. The Wood Smoke Reduction Incentive Program was developed to improve local air quality and reduce win- tertime particulate matter pollution by helping Bay Area homeowners and landlords replace their wood-burning heating devices with cleaner options. Marin County Wood Stove Replacement Rebate Program The County of Marin is offering rebates for the proper removal and replacement of non-EPA certified wood- burning appliances (e.g., wood stoves including inserts and traditional fireplaces) with cleaner burning appliances (EPA Phase II certified appliances, pellet stoves or natural gas appliances).This program is available to homes in unin- corporated Marin County and any Marin city or town. Rebates are available on a first-come, first-served basis until funds are depleted. www.marincounty.org/~/media/files/departments/cd/plan- ning/sustainability/green-building/marincounty_applica- tion.pdf?la=en
Winter Solstice on Mt Tam by Dahlia & Jack Kamesar We wake in the dark shed our history on the mountain as the woods close in around us we feel with our feet for the path follow our own hooded shadows through wind tossed branches We pause with hope that the match will kindle a flame to guide us procession of candle lanterns flickering beams on twigs & roots shaken loose by the storms We gather silently in the meadow cold wrapped around stars turn the sky Hills in luminous mist layered to the sea cloud pageant of dragons and whales spills down the flank of the mountain The astonishing light of our own being throws itself upon the land Cacophony of sound We have come through This radiant and fragile time
Embraced by the Earth Sustained by the Light.
This is the true joy of life, the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clot of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it what I can. George Bernard Shaw
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50 th Anniversary
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