Fresh air isn't a luxury. For our kids, it's a matter of breath.

Helping Our Kids Breathe Easier -- Policy Solutions in The Fight Against Childhood Asthma by the California Endowment reports some startling facts...

The Golden State's beautiful seascapes and amazing vistas aren't the only things leaving Californians breathless: Asthma rates in California are among the highest in the country. Among California children under 18 years of age, one in 10 suffers from this chronic respiratory disease.

Asthma is responsible for the most disabilities, hospital admissions and school absenteeism among children. Children with asthma who are exposed to certain environmental 'triggers' -- such as air pollution, outdoor allergens (e.g., pollen), tobacco smoke, dust mites, animal dander, mold and upper respiratory infections -- may experience symptoms more frequently.

Fortunately, the disease is largely preventable. With proper medication and attention to environmental conditions, the symptoms of asthma can generally be well controlled. However, many communities face a number of environmental factors -- from substandard housing conditions and rundown schools, to automobile emissions and industrial pollution -- that have been implicated in causing or worsening childhood asthma. These conditions make it difficult for California children with asthma to live, learn and play.

While families can take some steps to control the indoor environment of their homes -- for example, by providing allergy-protection bedding and choosing not to smoke -- families alone cannot initiate the larger changes needed to improve their children's environments to reduce the frequency and severity of asthma attacks. Moreover, landlords, school administrators, recreational center staff and others responsible for the environments in which school-aged children live, learn and play often do not understand the circumstances that trigger or exacerbate asthma attacks or the strategies for eliminating them.

If you have family members, students or coworkers with asthma, reading this report will help you understand how you can improve the situation. If you are concerned about general health environment factors...here are some of the "Outdoor Environment" solutions we can all work for:

Support transportation and land use policies that reduce automobile use and emissions.

Improve air quality by reducing ozone and particulate matter through development of alternative transportation programs (e.g., ride sharing), restrictions on burning, greater controls on emissions (especially diesel), alternate truck routes, and restrictions on the use of toxic pesticides near populations or schools.

Establish effective policies for communicating culturally and linguistically appropriate health advisories on poor air quality (high ozone level) days in order to reduce exposure risk.

We used to believe that kids just need to get outdoors more and play in the fresh air. Today, that's the exact opposite of reality. Too many kids are at risk when they go outdoors to play -- whether in their own yards or at the baseball field. Exertion brings on their asthma.

That's not a legacy I want to leave for our children. Let's use our resourcefulness to end this problem. Nature should be healing and nurturing...that's my belief and I'm stickin' to it!

Greyfields are sprouting new housing in Anaheim

Anaheim, CA: Freeway driven development has resulted in a hodgepodge urban fabric that characterizes Southern California suburban sprawl.

In an effort to meet a growing need for housing and livable urban places in a region constrained by lack of raw land, City officials are looking to surplus asphalt-rich shopping centers. In recent years these types of under-used sites with development potential have been given the name "greyfields," in contrast to "brownfields" which typically refer to land contaminated by previous users that requires cleanup before development can proceed.

A typical strip mall utilizes less than 20% of the parcel; the rest is underused parking.

The City of Anaheim is working with The Planning Center — a Costa Mesa-based planning firm — to redevelop an aging strip mall into a mixed-use suburban village.

In addition to the shopping center redevelopment, adjacent low-intensity sites along Anaheim Boulevard are slated for inclusion in the new mixed-use Towne Center plan. At Santa Ana Street, a 4.6 acre former trucking site will be converted to 68 compact residential units featuring shared courtyards and a central pool. Architecture and housing typology is varied and the project will result in gross density levels of 15 units/acre. This kind of moderate density is enough to support businesses within walking distance and more transit options.

Using GIS technology, census and tax roll data, and windshield surveys, The Planning Center team identified over 700 greyfield sites ripe for redevelopment in Orange County. The study found that the sites range from 1/2 to 20 acres each. A subsequent analysis by the city of Santa Ana found a 40% excess in retail strip centers versus the number of trips needed to sustain them.

The Orange County division of the Building Industry Association awarded the Suburban Village concept the Ruby Slipper Award for "best promoting efforts to meet the affordable housing needs of Orange County."

For more information about the Anaheim Towne Center or the Suburban Village concept, contact The Planning Center at (714) 966-9220 or visit http://www.planningcenter.com. Additional information about greyfield redevelopment can be obtained from the Congress for the New Urbanism at (415) 495-2255 or http://www.cnu.org.

Transportation, transportation, transportation...

From the Final Climate Action Team Report...

Transportation is the largest source of climate change emissions in California. The California Air Resources Board’s vehicle climate change standards address a significant portion of the transportation sector. However, an aggressive alternative fuels program will signifi cantly reduce climate change emissions. The California Energy Commission, working with Cal/EPA and its boards and departments and the California Department of Food and Agriculture, are currently developing an aggressive biofuels program that will be available this Spring. This biofuels program should be considered an essential component of the effort to reduce California’s carbon footprint.

Have you heard the metaphor of filling a bottle with large pebbles first, then medium size, then small, then sand....and then water? It applies to prioritizing one's time based on what's important to you...personally.

The same metaphor can apply to the climate warming challenge. First the big stuff. Then the medium. Then the small. Then the seemingingly inconsequential. And then some more!

When you mix in the increasing population, our individual,easy adjustments just aren't going to be enough. Those are the medium size pebbles.

The big pebbles are still industrial. And governmental. The simple fact that the Los Angeles schools have over 100 in-house restaurants -- illustrates that government still plays with the big pebbles.

Where we come in is citizen input. Oversight. Vendors of sustainable solutions offering our services to these government buyers. And letting it be known that buying local not only supports the local tax base -- but it reduces transportation emissions.

Buying local is an ecologically sound way of doing business.

Need an example. Think wetlands. This ecologically local way of processing water is a good role model for us, both personally and "biz-wize".

California Forest Legacy Program

The Pacific Forest Trust submitted an informative letter in response to the Climate Action Team's report. It included these interesting tidbits (among others):

The Forest Legacy Program is a conservation program that facilitates conservation throus use of perpetual easements, of productive forestlands that are threatened by development. Preventing the conversion of forestland to another use provides climate benefits, as it prevents or minimized the CO2 emissions that are associated with forestland loss.

Forest-based breenhosue gas emission reduction projects can achieve many local environmental benefits. The conservation, restoration and management of forestland to protect and increase carbon in our forests can foster the biodiversity and resiliency of our forests. These activities can also protect and enhance water quality and habitat for species.

Conversion of forestland is driven by a number of factors:

population pressure

rising real estate vaues

aging demograhics of landowners

relative costs of regulation

increasing global competition in the timber industry

By creating cost savings or providing financial incentives such as new income streams for carbon -- for forest landowners, can help overcome the factors that are behind forestland conversion and the associated loss of forest climate benefits.

California has roughly 7.4 million acres of privately owned forestland with 4.2 million acres classified as industrial.

Hydrogen cars by GM, Honda and BMW

Hydrogen cars are on their way. Hydrogen as a motor fuel is the answer to many environmental problems since there are no harmful emissions, no depleting of resources, no danger to the atmosphere, and it can be produced from a variety of renewable resources.

General Motors (GM) is showing off their new "Sequel", a minivan that runs on hydrogen. I saw a news story this morning and the van is a small suv/station wagon model that was reported to deliver high quality driving experience. GM says the vehicle can go for up to 300 miles on a full tank and is a generation ahead of its previous work on fuel cell prototypes. The technologies embodied in the Sequel include fuel cells, by-wire and wheel hub motors. "Today, with Sequel, the vision is real – not yet affordable, but doable," says a GM spokesman.

Honda, American Honda's FCX hydrogen car is on the road with a fleet of 20 test cars on the road in California. Honda is the only automotive manufacturer to certify its fuel cell vehicle for regular daily use and the first to offer its technology to an individual customer. The Los Angeles area, will be among the first individuals to begin utilizing the first of California’s Hydrogen Highway refueling stations, a statewide infrastructure build out underway to offer hydrogen refueling station access to private individuals. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the state’s commitment to a Hydrogen Highway in April of this year, creating a public and private partnership to build California’s Hydrogen Highway by 2010.

BMW announced in September, 2006 that they will be rolling our a hydrogen car, the "7 Series" in 2007. They claim: it will run on water, emit water vapor at the tailpipe, can be filled automatically with robots and it will use hydrogen made from sunlight. The BMW solution is a clean energy system where liquid hydrogen is produced from water using solar power, the hydrogen is dispensed from automated filling stations and it powers modified BMW production vehicles.

On a slightly different front: Natural-gas cars

In 2005, Honda announced it had begun limited retail sales of its natural gas-powered Civic GX Sedan paired with a a new home-refueling appliance called Phill. The Civic GX is the cleanest internal combustion vehicle ever certified by the U.S. EPA and, with the introduction of home refueling, has the lowest fuel cost per mile of any new vehicle. The California Air Resources Board gave the GX an AT-PREV emissions rating.

Brea in Northern Orange County sprouted a "Charette" before it blossomed

The construction of Highway 57 in 1972 and the development of new shopping centers drained the downtown. The decline of the old downtown along Brea Boulevard and nearby residential areas continued through the 1980s until City officials decided to intervene and organized a design charrette in 1989.

The charrette resulted in a plan for the city to acquire the land downtown and rebuild it from scratch. Noted for its high level of public participation, residents played an important role in the process thus minimizing opposition to the project and supporting high-quality development.

The area was reborn as the 60-acre Downtown District with a plan for creating a retail-rich, pedestrian-oriented mixed-use district that was developed with assistance from the planning and architecture firm RTKL.

The new downtown is centered around Birch Street Promenade — a pedestrian-friendly two-lane main street perpendicular to Brea Boulevard — located immediately behind a conventional shopping center.

The buildings along Birch Street were designed by different architects and create a varied streetscape with retail, housing above retail, restaurants and movie theaters. The short two-block long Birch Street terminates at an art deco-style building. The other end is six-lane Brea Boulevard, which is lined with major retail anchors that are built to the sidewalk with parking in the rear, ample sidewalks and compact residential development. The City continues to attract high-quality retail development that is consistent with good urban design.

For more information, visit www.ci.brea.ca.us or contact the Economic Development Office at (714) 671-4485.

New urbanism works for livable urban, mixed use spaces

New Urbanism

New Urbanism is an urban design movement that burst onto the scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s. New Urbanists aim to reform all aspects of real estate development. Their work affects regional and local plans. They are involved in new development, urban retrofits, and suburban infill.

In all cases, New Urbanist neighborhoods are walkable, and contain a diverse range of housing and jobs. New Urbanists support regional planning for open space, appropriate architecture and planning, and the balanced development of jobs and housing. They believe these strategies are the best way to reduce how long people spend in traffic, to increase the supply of affordable housing, and to rein in urban sprawl.

Many other issues, such as historic restoration, safe streets, and green building are also covered in the Charter of the New Urbanism, the movement's seminal document.

The two best resources for finding a new urbanist project are the online database provided on this Web site, and the printed list of projects that New Urban News releases annually in September. CNU's site currently includes projects that are still in planning phases, while NUN limits their listings to projects that have already broken ground. To locate professionals competent in New Urbanism, use the CNU Member Search. New Urbanism Member Search

Just 5 light bulbs!

According to ENERGY STAR(R), if every American home exchanged the five most frequently used bulbs with ENERGY STAR qualified bulbs, one trillion pounds of greenhouse gases would be kept out of the air over the course of the bulbs' lives. That's equivalent to the annual emissions of 8 million cars, the annual output of more than 20 power plants, and $6 billion in energy savings.

Global Climate Change and California

As populations grow, as we find it more difficult to find open space in which to think through our own world view, moments of reflection become even more precious. Here are some observations that are worthy of reflection...
Global Change and California is a report in support of the 2005 Integratd Energy Policy Report. (Are we redundant yet? ;-)
A 2004 study by a team of leading California scientists, Climate Change in California: Choosing Our Future, predicts substantial increases in temperatures in both the summer and winter months as a result of climate change. Using scenarios of lower and higher future emissions, and state-of-the-art climate models, the authors report significant changes in California's natural resources could result, including:

• Rising sea levels along the California coastline, especially in San Francisco and the San Joaquin Delta.
  
• Extreme-heat conditions, such as heat waves and very high temperatures, which will last longer and become more commonplace.
  
• An increase in heat-related human deaths, infectious diseases and a higher risk of respiratory problems caused by deteriorating air quality.
  
• Reduced snow pack and stream flow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, affecting winter recreation and water supplies.
  
• Rising temperatures that can affect California agriculture, causing variations in crop quality and yield.
  
• Changes in the distribution of vegetation from projected increases in temperature and high fire risk.
  

How important are our individual contributions to change?
California has the sixth largest economy, and is the tenth largest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG), in the world. The primary source of these greenhouse gases is the combustion of fossil fuels in motor vehicles, power plants, refineries, and industrial facilities.

These changes in California's climate and ecosystems are occurring at a time when the state's population is projected to grow from 34 million people to 59 million by the year 2040. Population growth and the demand for vital natural resources will compound the effects of climate change on water resources, human health and the environment.
Artists are often visionaries -- and folk artists in the fields of literature, music, crafts and independent film -- are telling us that change is critical. With themes like simplicity, back to the land straegies, alternative housing, organic gardening, urban agriculture and recycled works of art and clothing -- the concept of living with less -- is coming through loud and clear.

Is the public listening to its sages? Will we put our feeling for family and friends into self-disciplined actions that reduce our own use of polluting materials and energy -- and replace those habits with new habits that better align with our personal values such as personal friendship, health, and participation in local community?

Will I?

Preventing Obesity in California -- causes and remedies

The California Endowmenthas published a report entitled, "Preventing Obesity in California". Here are a few excepts, but the report bears reading if you are fighting the "middle age bulge"...or have children at risk.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the majority of children of all ages in the United States do not get enough physical activity, with fully one-third considered inactive. In California, one in three children is considered overweight, with four in 10 estimated to be unfit. In some California school districts, fully half of all children are overweight.

Obese children are at greater risk for a number of health problems, including Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high blood lipids, asthma, sleep apnea, early maturation, orthopedic problems and depression. Before 1992, Type 2 diabetes (previously known as adultonset diabetes) accounted for 2 to 4 percent of all childhood diabetes cases. Today that proportion has reached 45 percent.

Today, addressing the obesity crisis requires both individual and community level interventions–supported by institutional practices and policies–that emphasize healthier eating and activity and in all settings, including homes, schools, neighborhoods, health care and the media.

Reversing the upsurge of overweight and physical activity among Californians will require the involvement of everyone. And the public seems to be willing to take on the challenge. A study commissioned by The California Endowment found that nearly all Californians (92 percent) believe the problem of childhood obesity is serious, and eight in 10 think the problem has worsened.

Interestingly, the majority of Californians opt for a community approach to resolve the crisis, such as improvements to school health environments and fast food restaurant and nutrition labeling...

Studies have linked the obesity epidemic to several environmental factors, including:

Excessive food portions, such as “super size”

Excessive consumption of high-calorie, high-fat, low-nutrient food, snacks and soft drinks

Lack of easily accessible places for physical activity, such as safe parks and bike paths

Insufficient physical activity opportunities for children in schools and after-school programs

Excessive time spent watching TV or playing video games

Limited access to supermarkets, farmers’ markets and other venues that carry affordable fresh produce in low-income neighborhoods

Widespread marketing of high-calorie, lownutrient cereals, snacks and drinks to children

Limited opportunities to be active at worksites

Since this blog is a member of the "marketing and advertising" culture, I must also mention the policy goals related to communications ... that are as much a matter of ethics as they are health.

Marketing and Advertising:

Eliminate marketing of unhealthy foods on school grounds and in after-school programs, including through textbooks, print materials and other advertising.

Reduce and, ultimately, eliminate television and Internet advertising for unhealthy foods aimed at children.

Increase the marketing and availability of healthy food choices and reduce portion size of restaurant meals, including fast food.

My husband and I frequently share a meal at a restaurant, now that middle age physique doesn't require the large portions that are served. But maybe those large portions aren't healthy for younger people, either! Rather than giving customers the evil eye when they share a meal -- maybe the staff should be looking at reducing the portions they serve and prices they charge. People like the variety of dining out as much as they like the food. They would eat out more often if their health and billfold warranted it.

Restaurants are in the "health business" -- furnishing nutrition for the well being of their customers. Where does responsible nutrition through portion sizes, ingredients and emotional ploys enter the business strategy equation?

Again...a matter of ethics as much as economics...

Small business will be affected by climate change - both by vulnerability and innovation

Every single small business in the nation can profit by making its own workplace more energy-efficient.

According to the EPA's Energy Star Small Business program, small firms can save between 20% and 30% on their energy bills through off-the-shelf cost-effective efficiency upgrades. The job consists largely of installing the same few simple devices—programmable thermostats, for example—over and over again in millions of small business workplaces.

If scientists are right about a warming world, all of us, big businesses, small businesses, and consumers alike, are going to have to adjust. The small business community would do well to take up the challenge now, while there is time to deliberate and to craft cost-effective responses it can live with.

There's been virtually no research on what global warming means for small business, even though 23 million U.S. small businesses constitute one-half of the economy. We need to know more.

Extreme weather events, for example, can wipe out an entire region's small businesses in one fell swoop. And they can't readily bounce back from disruptions caused by natural disasters.

Reducing energy waste in U.S. homes, shops, offices, and other buildings will rely on thousands of small concerns in every state that design, make, sell, install, and service energy-efficient appliances, lighting products, heating, air-conditioning, and other equipment.

Inventing and installing technological fixes to curb greenhouse gas emissions must rely on small business innovators and entrepreneurs to produce "clean-tech" breakthroughs in photovoltaics, distributed energy, fiber-optic sensors, and the like.

California's recent reports on how to cope with climate change emphasizes the need for innovation -- and small business is the hotbed of innovation. Large corporations are better at dispersing it -- but innovation is facing a need and solving it. Kitchen sink, garage, or small lab -- individual creativity and persistence will make the difference in our society's struggle to change our way of living and working to be more in line with what our natural systems can tolerate.

We've overstepped our natural bounds. Change is coming. Let's welcome it with creative determination and a shared sense of hope and self-discipline.