Environment

Edward Hume, a Pulitzer Prize winner, wrote that the average American throws out three times more trash now than in 1960: “Rethinking waste as our arch-villain isn’t just a word game – it’s the secret sauce that turns anxiety and inertia into hope and...

“One man’s rubbish may be another man’s treasure.” —Hector Urquhart West Valley Recycles (WVR) has an outreach team to help us learn to recycle correctly. Forget what you knew about recycling guidelines. Things have changed, and we have new laws to ensure we recycle in the most...

The inventor and artist Robert Seals has spent the majority of his almost-80 years on Earth transforming junk into desirable objects. His invention (and company) Klean Kanteen became famous for its metallic water bottle. But his finely crafted recycled-metal sculptures are almost invisible. You have...

In Dec. 2022, Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District agreed to a $100,000+ deal with Nomad Ecology of Martinez, Calif., to study the population of the “critically imperiled Santa Cruz Kangaroo Rat,” which had just reappeared on the Santa Clara County side of the Santa...

The Santa Cruz Boardwalk Giant Dipper has drawn over 60 million thrill-seekers to scream while careening around the roller coaster’s hairpin turns. But more than 65,000 motorists a day know that roller coaster ride pales compared to the high-speed, white-knuckle turns it takes to...

On Aug. 12, Daniel Alpert, a software engineer at Afresh, headed towards Sausalito, with friends, snacks, tents and sleeping bags in tow. Their destination? Haypress Campground, near Mill Valley. Their mission? Taking in the Perseids light display in the skies above. “I had never seen...

On May 29 around 2pm, Shadi Allen, a resident of Mountain Laurel Lane in Los Gatos, became aware of a possible fire while she was on the second floor of her home. She smelled smoke wafting through the bedrooms, then looked out of a...

There wasn’t a specific address, just a crossroads. A good 20 minutes out of town, the intersection of Sears and Wright Station roads is definitely somewhere in the middle of nowhere. The hills were looking dry and not so green, even after the rain of...

Just three miles south—or 11 minutes away—from downtown Los Gatos, we have Bear Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve, nearly 1,500 acres of unbridled nature. It features six miles of hiking and equestrian trails that meander along perennial creeks. This acreage was acquired for us...

On Saturday morning, Los Gatos Kiwanis boardmember Nancy Pearson arrived at Old Forbes Mill with coffee and donuts in-hand, prepared to guide members of the Los Gatos High School Key Club, and other volunteers, on an environmental spruce-up.  While embarking on this green clean, Pearson...