CONCRETE WORK

Robert Jones of R.A. Jones Construction wields the hose while fourteen cubic yards of concrete are poured to form a gently sloping ramp and elevator pad at the ground floor entrance to the Port Costa School. In the background at right is the entrance to the new handicap-accessible lift to the second floor, being funded by Community Development Block Grant and Crockett Community Foundation matching funds.

HISTORIC PORT COSTA CHURCH GETS FRESH COAT OF PAINT

High over St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, painter Jim Campbell carefully applies red trim to the eves to complete the sparkling new blue and white paint job completed on the historic church in June. The picturesque church, built in 1898, has served Port Costa and Crockett parishioners for 110 years.

GOATS R US R BOON 2 TOWN

Demonstrating their efficiency as genuine weed eaters, dozens of goats munched their way around Port Costa in June, mowing down fire hazardous waist-high weeds. Thanks to the East Bay Regional Park District, the weed whackers known as Goats R Us have been deployed around Port Costa and Crockett for the past several years.

CROCKETT FOUNDATION BACKS PORT COSTA REQUESTS

The Crockett Community Foundation (CCF), which has long been supportive of improvement projects at the Port Costa School, has put its stamp of approval on a plan to renovate the swings and slide area of the school grounds. At its meeting on June 5, held at the Port Costa School, the CCF Board voted to fund up to $54,000 of the cost of rebuilding and refurbishing the tanbark areas surrounding the swings, slide and jungle gym.

The project includes replacing the original sidewalk that runs from the front gate to the school steps. As well, a walkway of smooth and porous graded aggregate, similar to pathways in national parks and public gardens, will be laid down along the fence line adjacent to the swings and around the front steps of the school.

In a vote of support for the Port Costa Sanitary District, the CCF Board also voted at its June 5 meeting to match up to $30,000 in industrial grants being sought by the Community Service District (CSD) to operate the Port Costa sewer plant until tax revenues are available in December to pay for maintenance and operating expenses. Operation of Sanitary District No. 5 was officially passed on to the CSD on May 14, 2008, but transitional funding has not yet been forthcoming.

Spring, 2008

Photos: Lewis Stewart

BRAKE TIME

Peter and Kaui DeMarzo of Foster City take a welcome break at the Port Costa School during the 2007 Grizzly Peak Century tour. The school is one of four designated rest stops along the 112-mile course from Moraga to San Pablo Reservoir, the Carquinez Strait, Crockett, Port Costa, McEwen Road, Franklin Canyon, Briones Park and back to the starting point. An estimated 950 cyclists will take part in this year’s sold-out Century ride on Sunday, May 4. For details, go to www.grizzlypeakcyclists.org.

Illustration from 1944 textbook, Port Costa School

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, factories in the industrial U.S. routinely spewed thick, black smoke into the air and discharged oily waste into streams and rivers. Government oversight was virtually nonexistent, and few people questioned these practices as anything more than business as usual. Then, in 1952, the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio caught fire, and people began to sit up and take notice.

Public awareness of the environment began to change. In 1962, marine biologist Rachel Carson wrote "Silent Spring," a revealing look at the long-term effects on air, water and wildlife of toxic pesticides used in agriculture, industry and the home.

Recognizing the need for timely education, Gaylord Nelson, a Wisconsin Senator, and Denis Hayes, a Harvard student, co-founded the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970. An estimated 20 million people participated across the country, representing thousands of schools and communities. Federal legislation soon followed, establishing the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act of 1972, and the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

Today, on the eve of the 38^th anniversary of Earth Day, the effects of global warming are becoming widely known. What can individuals do to help protect and conserve the air, water and the land about them? Here are some easy, practical ideas to put into use in and around your own home:

Plant a tree. Trees absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) created by the burning of fossil fuels in cars and power plants. Hence, less greenhouse gases are released to trap heat in the atmosphere. While you’re at it, plant another tree.

Avoid using plastic bags. Americans use an estimated 90 billion plastic bags a year. Plastic bags are made of petroleum byproducts and end up littering land and sea. Plastic bags are bad, according to USA Today, and will one day be banned completely. So instead of using another plastic bag to carry your groceries, bring a reusable bag instead. Made of cloth or canvas with sturdy handles, they are on sale at most grocery stores – Trader Joe’s has them next to the cash register.

Conserve water. Take shorter showers. Don’t let the faucet run while you’re brushing your teeth. Keep a half-gallon milk jug or two at the kitchen sink to catch the cold water before the hot water gets to the tap (thanks, Mary List!). Use the water in these handy containers for your indoor and outdoor plants, or to steam your vegetables. Avoid planting big thirsty lawns. Be water-wise and choose drought-resistant plants and trees.

Save energy. A 23-watt compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) produces as much light as a 100-watt incandescent bulb, and lasts five times longer. On special sales they are two for $1.00, and PG&E sometimes gives them away free. Unplug those battery chargers when not in use (there’s a reason they’re called "energy vampires"). To produce your own power, go solar. A 2,500-watt system on your roof will pay dividends in lowering your electric bill, and help cut down the need to build more fossil-fueled power plants. If your solar panels produce more power than you use, your meter runs backwards, and that’s like putting kilowatts in the bank.

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