July 31, 2008

NEWS BRIEFS

Carbon farm to trap carbon dioxide

Imagine a new kind of farming in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta – “carbon-capture” farming, which traps atmospheric carbon dioxide and rebuilds lost soils.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) and the University of California, Davis plan to make it happen.

DWR has awarded USGS and UC Davis a three-year $12.3-million research grant to take the concept of carbon-capture farming to full-scale in a scientifically and environmentally sound way.

Long-standing farming practices in the Delta expose fragile peat soils to wind, rain and cultivation, emit carbon dioxide (CO2) and cause land subsidence. To capture or contain the carbon, farmers would “grow” wetlands. In doing so, they would begin to rebuild the Delta’s unique peat soils, take CO2 out of the atmosphere, ease pressure on the Delta’s aging levees and infuse the region with new economic potential.

Carbon-capture farming works as CO2 is taken out of the air by plants such as tules and cattails. As the plants die and decompose, they create new peat soil, building the land surface over time.

The USGS and DWR have already partnered on a pilot project that shows the promise of carbon-capture farming. On deeply subsided Twitchell Island in the western Delta, USGS scientists recorded elevation gains of more than 10 inches from 1997 to 2005 on two seven-acre test plots as cattails, tules and other plants grew, died and decomposed. The process leaves behind roots and plant remnants that compact into a material similar to what formed the peat soils initially.

Construction on the new wetlands, covering up to 400 acres on Twitchell Island, is scheduled to start in the spring of 2009.

“This project is an investment in California’s future that could reap multiple benefits over several decades – for California, the nation and the world,” said Dr. Roger Fujii, the project director and Bay-Delta program chief for the USGS California Water Science Center. “It will build on the results of the ongoing Twitchell Island Pilot Project and assess on a large scale the ability of re-established wetlands on Delta peat islands to sequester carbon, reverse subsidence and provide an economically sustainable land-use practice.”

“UC Davis scientists will play a major role in this project. We’ll be providing the scientific expertise necessary to gain a better understanding of the factors controlling carbon capture in these re-established wetlands,” said Dr. William Horwath, a professor in the UC Davis Department of Land, Air and Water Resources and the James G. Boswell Endowed Chair in Soil Sciences.

Throughout the Delta, oxidation of the soils from farming practices has resulted in land-surface subsidence – a steady loss of elevation. As a result, most of the farmed Delta islands are more than 20 feet below the surrounding waterways and are permanently protected by levees.

The falling land surface threatens the stability of the region’s levees, which in turn protect the Delta’s rich agricultural lands and the conveyance of much of California’s water supplies. Water flowing through the Delta’s levee-protected farmland provides fresh water to more than 25 million Californians and millions of acres of farmland in the Central Valley.

Schwarzenegger announces $251 million awarded to 193 California schools

Furthering his commitment to improve California’s deteriorating infrastructure and relieve overcrowded schools, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently announced that the State Allocation Board has awarded more than $251 million in construction grants to 193 schools throughout the state.

The allocation includes more than $236 million from Proposition 1D funds, which was approved by voters in 2006 under the Governor’s $42 billion Strategic Growth Plan.

“We are taking real action with the Strategic Growth Plan infrastructure bonds to rebuild our state’s crumbling infrastructure and invest in our future,” said Schwarzenegger. “With these bond awards, we are pumping money into our economy today and preparing our students for the future.”

These grants will provide for new construction and modernization projects and help address classroom overcrowding at California schools. In addition, the grants will help some schools make emergency repairs to their facilities. The Proposition 1D grants for new construction and modernization of facilities will be distributed to 95 schools: 20 in Northern California and north coast; seven in the Central Valley; 20 in the San Francisco Bay Area and central coast; and 48 in Southern California.

Additionally, $14 million of Proposition 55 and 47 monies were awarded to pay for emergency repairs and other improvement projects at schools throughout the state and $1 million to help address critical overcrowding at Central Region Elementary #15 in Los Angeles County.

California receives $25 million in preparedness grants

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today announced California will receive more than $25 million in FY08 grant awards for programs to enhance border protection, regional catastrophic planning and preparedness and protecting non-profit organizations deemed at risk.

California will receive $13.5 million under the new Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program (RCPGP), designed to improve all-hazard planning for a catastrophic event. The money will be split equally between the Los Angeles-Long Beach area and the Bay Area (including San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose). California ’s share is 14 percent of the $60 million national total.

The Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) awarded close to $4.1 million to various nonprofit organizations in these California UASI’s including $1,139, 730 to the Bay Area including San Jose, San Francisco and Oakland.

NSGP provides funding support for target-hardening activities to nonprofit organizations deemed by DHS to be at high risk of a terrorist attack. Twenty-seven percent of the $15 million national total is going to California.

“The risks facing California are real and we’re glad to see these funds coming into the state,” said Matthew Bettenhausen Office of Homeland Security director.

For further information regarding the grants and about the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security, visit the Web site, www.ohs.ca.gov.

Sunnyvale Library to hold Jewish literature series

Starting July 30, Sunnyvale Public Library is presenting “Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature,” a reading and discussion series made possible through a grant from Nextbook and the American Library Association (ALA).

The theme chosen for five separate book discussions is “Your Heart’s Desire: Sex and Love in Jewish Literature.” The first lecture and discussion in this series was “Portnoy’s Complaint” by Philip Roth on July 30.

The programs are presented on Wednesdays from 7-8:30 p.m. in the Sunnyvale Public Library program room at 665 W. Olive Ave. Victoria Harrison, PhD, Jewish Studies coordinator and lecturer in the History Department at San Jose State University (SJSU), is the scholar and discussion leader for the programs, along with some esteemed guests.

Millions of people have gathered at libraries across the country to participate in “Let’s Talk About It” discussions on several themes since its inception in 1982. Santa Clara County Library (Los Altos Library) and San Jose Public Library (King Library and West Valley Branch) have hosted three different series of books in the LTAI Jewish Literature program within the past three years. Light refreshments will be served.

The discussion dates, books and special guest lecturers are:

- Aug. 13, “ The Little Disturbances of Man” by Grace Paley (Rabbi Melanie Aron)

- Sept. 10, “A Simple Story” by S. Y. Agnon (Vicki Harrison, Ph.D)

- Oct. 29, “The Lover” by A. B. Yehoshua (Susan Ellenberg)

- Nov. 19, “The Mind-Body Problem” by Rebecca Goldstein (Rabbi Josh Berkenwald)

Register for the discussion series by calling Sunnyvale Public Library’s Adult Services’ desk at (408) 730-7300, e-mailing: library@ci.sunnyvale.ca.us or by coming to the library. Books are available to check out from Sunnyvale Public Library. Please call Susan Denniston for more information at (408) 730-7332.For additional information on Nextbook and the Let’s Talk About It program: http://www.nextbook.org/ala.