Save California's State Parks!

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing to cut funding to 80% of California's State Parks. We live in Southern California and regularly enjoy the State Parks. We head to them to surf, camp out and go hiking. We plan numerous vacation trips around visiting these State parks and would hate to lose any of them.

California is in a budget crises, a big part of which is because of reduced sales tax revenue. People are buying less, as they try to save more and therefore the state is losing money from sales tax. Most of those people who used to spend their money at the shopping centers are most likely spending more time at the California State Parks. In a study published in 2008, the University of California-Berkeley found that for every $1 in public money spent on state parks, $2.35 is returned to the state in taxes from tourism and other revenue they generate.


It therefore seems to us, that California can only gain tax revenue by keeping the State Parks open and funded. With more Californians taking vacations at home this year and other US State residents also cutting back on their holiday travel, we suspect that the State Parks will be even more popular this year than ever before. Even without funding visitors will come to the parks anyway and enjoy the beaches or redwoods or hiking trails. They will park on the roads outside and walk in. However without funding these parks may need to reduce the number of rangers on duty and these rangers will have a wider area to patrol. This could lead to environmental damage such as fires, vandalism and erosion because of the difficulty the rangers will have in covering a park.

Of course we hope that we can all restrain ourselves from damaging property or causing environmental damage on purpose. But the rangers are there to guide all visitors to the park and are prepared to take the correct action to prevent or reduce problems when they arise.

There must be a better way for California to save money and solve their budget problems. Eliminating funding for the State Parks does not seem to be a good solution and may result in increased spending in the future. You can send a message to the governor and other state legislaters through the Surfrider Action Network at http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/caparks05_09 and tell them not to cut funding to our State Parks.

At http://www.gogreenmug.com/ we are having a huge sale in June. Visit our Go Green Mug website and personalize your travel mug for only $14.99 including shipping. Reduce your waste at coffee shops and keep the paper and polystyrene cups out of our landfills.

Buying an environmentally clean car

The economic meltdown is causing serious difficulties for most Americans. With our investments and retirement accounts decked out in a very un-festive red, most of us cut back on our spending and reign in our shopping sprees and regular restaurant visits. Of course we could never give up a regular latte, it is the only way to start and end the work day.

According to many knowledgeable sources though, now is the time to invest. Warren Buffet (investing guru of Berkshire Hathaway) is buying shares, home prices are depressed and interest rates are low and car dealerships have great deals.

Maybe now is the right time for us to get a new fuel efficient car. Fuel efficiency is not the only criteria for a cleaner vehicle though, but for most of us finding out what is important and how a car rates environmentally is difficult.

A new law took effect on January 1st 2009 in which all new vehicles manufactured after the 01/01/2009 and sold in California must display an Environmental Performance label. This label shows 2 scores from 1-10. A smog score and a global warming score. The higher the score the cleaner the vehicle.

The Global Warming score is calculated on the greenhouse gas emissions, based on a CO2 equivalent grams per mile. The Smog score calculates the pollutant elements from the vehicle which include non-methane organic gases and nitrogen oxides. These scores are also calculated relative to other vehicles within the same model year. So think of these scores as a sliding scale test.

Battery Electric cars of course get the best scores as well as requiring zero fuel and score 10 for both the smog and global warming. The average new car sold in California has a score of 5 for both. You can get more information on the Environmental Performance label at http://www.driveclean.ca.gov/ep_label.php

California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger has been a strong advocate of raising emissions and fuel efficiency standards in California for some time and now President Obama has backed California's strict policies. California wants automakers to build cars that can get an average of 40 miles per gallon by 2020, while federal requirements are asking for 35 miles per gallon.

So there are a few ways we can evaluate the environmental effect of the new car we want to buy. We will look out for the Environmental Performance label and will aim to get a car with great smog and global warming scores. We will look at fuel economy and try to match or beat California's 2020 efficiency standard of 40 mpg. Finally we will make sure we have a cup holder for a GoGreenMug.

Speaking of mugs, remember to let us know about the coffee shops you visit and the discounts they offer you for bringing in your own mug. If you have not done so already also sign up to our cause on Facebook http://apps.facebook.com/causes/196342?m=fa5edc14&recruiter_id=35111682 so that we can build a community and put some pressure on the large chain coffee shops to offer better incentives for using a reusable mug.