May 6, 2023 VC Star It is tacky to leave a price tag on a Mother’s Day gift, but some other kinds of tags and labels are useful. Labels printed on the back of Mother’s Day greeting cards might be convenient if you want your mother to know how her card affected the environment. The…
April 29, 2023 VC Star In the Oxnard Costco parking lot last month, I saw someone open his car door, drop a cigarette on the ground and stomp it out while exiting. As he walked away, I said: “Oh, you dropped your cigarette.” He responded: “It’s biodegradable.” He was partially correct. Tobacco and wrapping paper…
April 22, 2023 VC Star A Jacuzzi hot tub sits in a fenced-off section of a parking lot at the Ventura County Government Center. Next to it, in a locked storage container, is an inflatable Zodiac raft. Neither is an employee perk. The tub was rescued from disposal and is used by the Ventura County…
April 15, 2023 VC Star It is bad enough to get stuck behind a slow truck on the long, one-lane sections of Highway 118. But far worse is when a fast truck without proper mud flaps, or sometimes just any vehicle with large tires, kicks up a rock and sends it into your windshield. With…
April 8, 2023 VC Star “California government is regulating the color of my trash cans; in times like the present, we should really focus on trash can colors.” That was a sarcastic posting on a neighborhood-based social media platform in Ventura recently. The truth is, there is a good reason to standardize trash and recycling…
April 1, 2023 VC Star Since this year’s Earth Day, on April 22, falls on a Saturday, most events will be held on the official day of commemoration. However, as usual, gatherings throughout the month will celebrate Earth Day. Here are some local events, listed by city: Fillmore • April 22, 10 a.m. to 1…
March 18, 2023 VC Star In an area so eager for water most of the year, why do we let our rare rainfall flow into the ocean? In the case of our local waterways, from the Ventura and Santa Clara rivers to Calleguas Creek, the answer is related to environmental protection. Raising dams on waterways…
Eco-tip: Why not dynamite? Matilija Dam project illustrates value of watershed David Goldstein Special to Ventura County Star No matter where you live in Ventura County, recent progress on removal of the Matilija Dam may be inspiring to you because it reveals the relationships inside our local watersheds. A watershed is the area draining rain…
VC Star March 11, 2023 “It’s not what you know; it’s who you know.” That pithy proverb is sometimes said by people who are not advancing in their career, dismissing the accomplishments of those who do move up. However, at least in the public sector, beginning a successful career starts with not just what you…
February 18, 2023 VC Star Does anyone ever question the basic assumptions of recycling? How do we know energy consumption and pollution created during collection, transportation and recycling of some items does not exceed the environmental benefit of making a new product from recycled material? On Feb. 7, the Mattress Recycling Council presented a detailed…