Robert & Patricia Switzer Foundation

Pendleton co-author of study on how pollution controls increasing attendance on So Cal beaches

Content Type: News - Fellows Southern California beaches with storm drain diversion systems attract millions more people annually, a new study in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin shows.The study looked at whether improving the environmental quality of coastal areas through policy intervention had an effect on the way people use coastal areas. Researchers found a direct correlation between increased attendance and the...

Berger publishes article on pathways to 100 percent renewable energy

Content Type: News - Fellows Reaching the goal of getting 100 percent of the world's energy from renewable resources is technically and economically feasible today. The challenges lie in the realms of public policy and political will, as well as in finance, market development, and business development.That was the message delivered by numerous distinguished energy experts in San Francisco on April 16th at Pathways to 100...

The (San Francisco Bay) Delta Plan Adopted Today

Content Type: Blog Post - Fellow Of interest to everyone, but especially to those who attended the West Coast spring retreat:FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — A California agency on Thursday unanimously adopted a broad, long-range plan to manage the ailing Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.After several hours of public comments and protests by opponents, the Delta Stewardship Council voted 7-0 to approve the final version of the Delta Plan...

Climate Change Hits Disadvantaged Hardest

Content Type: Switzer Network News Low-income neighborhoods are more often exposed to poor environmental quality when compared to wealthier communities, and scientists are saying this gap will increase as climate change is more widely felt. This video is part of our series on the environmental impacts of the goods movement industry:When Whales and Ships CollidePlug-in Cargo Ships on West Coast of CaliforniaProtecting Ourselves...

Nazaroff warns of climate change impacts on indoor air quality

Content Type: News - Fellows "We spend almost all of our time indoors and this can impact public health in a negative way," the University of California's William Nazaroff told environmentalresearchweb. "If we don't pay attention to this issue, the forces of climate change will make things worse."Nazaroff reviewed the literature in order to bring together a number of elements that have been studied separately. The paper,...

California Retreat & Study Tour Spring 2013: Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta

Content Type: Blog Post - Fellow The “Delta” covers 738,000 acres in a maze of islands, rivers and sloughs at the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, and several tributaries. The 58 islands are framed by 1,000 miles of rivers and sloughs and the Delta receives its water from over 40% of the state’s land area.   As noted in the newly released Bay-Delta Conservation Plan, produced by the Delta...

Erika Zavaleta: Building an Energy Efficient Home from the Ground Up

Content Type: Featured Fellows And Collaborations 1999 Switzer Fellow Erika Zavaleta strives to bridge ecological theory and research to sound conservation and management practice in her work and personal life. Between 2008 and 2010, she and husband Bernie Tershy worked with Anni Tilt of Berkeley-based Arkin Tilt Architects and Santa Cruz builder Marc Susskind to design and build a home that did just that. The home won the Best New Home award...

Ditching Dirty Diesel

Content Type: Switzer Network News Diesel-powered vehicles are a significant source of pollution, impacting health and contributing to climate change. The Ditching Dirty Diesel Collaborative, a coalition of community, environmental advocacy and public health departments, is working together with the Pacific Institute to reduce the impact of this pollution on low-income communities in the San Francisco Bay Area.2005 Switzer Fellow...

Balazs study of drinking water and arsenic in the Central Valley featured on KQED

Content Type: News - Fellows Public health advocates cheered when the Environmental Protection Agency approved a stricter standard for arsenic in drinking water in 2001. Arsenic, a naturally occurring element in the earth’s crust, contaminates water supplies when it migrates from rocks into groundwater. Chronic exposure to arsenic in drinking water can cause serious skin and digestive problems and has been linked to several...

Carle interviewed for radio story about Santa Cruz restoration project

Content Type: News - Fellows With unspoiled ocean views and easy access to beaches, West Cliff Drive is prime real estate in Santa Cruz. Josh Adams, an ecologist with the United States Geological Survey in Santa Cruz, says those coastal cliffs are ideal spots for seabirds too.A thriving colony of Brandt’s cormorants lives at Natural Bridges. Adams says this colony is unique because few native seabirds nest within cities...

Beckie Menten: Whole Building Energy Efficiency

Content Type: Featured Fellows And Collaborations 2008 Switzer Fellow Beckie Menten is the Energy Efficiency Coordinator for the Marin Energy Authority, the first Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) system in California. Community Choice Aggregation allows cities and counties to aggregate the buying power of individual customers to secure alternative energy supply contracts.  Marin Energy Authority's goal is to address climate...

Benefits of energy efficient design go beyond environmental and economic advantages

Content Type: Blog Post - Fellow Editor's Note:  1999 Switzer Fellow Erika Zavaleta strives to bridge ecological theory and research to sound conservation and management practice in her work and personal life. Between 2008 and 2010, she and husband Bernie Tershy worked with Anni Tilt of Berkeley-based Arkin Tilt Architects and Santa Cruz builder Marc Susskind to design and build a home that did just that. The home won the...

Haggerty helps launch California Phenology Project

Content Type: News - Fellows To keep tabs on natural schedules in California, researchers at UC Santa Barbara have launched the California Phenology Project. Led by professor of ecology and evolutionary biology Susan Mazer, graduate student Brian Haggerty, and postdoctoral fellow Elizabeth Mathews, the project is observing plants at eight UC Natural Reserves and seven national parks, totaling more than 100 monitoring sites....

Plug-in Cargo Ships on West Coast of California

Content Type: Switzer Network News It is estimated that shipping produces 4 to 5% of global carbon dioxide emissions. In most cases, these ships are powered by diesel fuel. On today's report we learn about an innovative California technology aimed at reducing this pollution. 2007 Switzer Fellow Francisco Donez is an environmental engineer with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 9. This video is part of our series on...

Cohen on why declining transit system hurts all in Bay Area

Content Type: News - Fellows Every day, San Franciscans pay the price of an underfunded transportation system. We have all experienced painfully overcrowded bus rides ... or, worse yet, the bus that never shows up. Now, Muni is reducing service during Christmas week, as it is faced with a $7 million deficit this fiscal year.Today, we are finally facing up to the reality that our declining transportation system hurts us all....

Year Two: Cumulative Impacts and Sustainable Solutions for Central Valley Water

Content Type: Other Switzer Foundation Grant Awards The Community Water Center (CWC) received a second year of Switzer funding for Dr. Carolina Balazs's position as Research Scientist.  Carolina is developing short- and long-term research projects for CWC that will inform its advocacy efforts for clean drinking water and public health in California's San Joaquin Valley.  Carolina contributes critical scientific and technical expertise to...

Bacon speaking on coffee and sustainability in San Francisco

Content Type: News - Fellows Coffee is a daily necessity for many of us, savored quietly in the kitchen, downed at work as a mid-afternoon pick-me-up, or sipped at a cafe among friends. With the exploding popularity of coffee in recent years, there are more options than ever, and more confusing messages about what "sustainable" means. Which coffee should we choose? In the Bay Area, you won’t find any coffee farms, but you...

When Whales and Ships Collide

Content Type: Switzer Network News Ships travel around the world using shipping lanes.  Whales can be in the same areas, raising the potential for collisions between the two, or shipstrikes.  2008 Fellow Leslie Abramson works with the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary in San Francisco to coordinate a stakeholder process focused on reducing the risk of shipstrike on endangered whales off the coast of...