CAP: Sonoma County

Sonoma County and Bay Area
Action and Information

Here are some of our favorite local sources of information and collaborative action towards a healthier, happier, less-toxic world for everyone.

"We've done the research for you!"

* Sonoma County Waste Management Agency (Eco-Desk) <www.recyclenow.org>
Excellent and specific information on: naturally managing pests; identifying household and business toxics, and disposing of them in a safe manner (including drop off dates and locations); local recycling options; home composting; and their green school (award) program (focussed mostly on waste and recycling issues). Also see their SonoMax (Sonoma County Materials Exchange) service at <www.recyclenow.org/sonomax>, where you can find notices for free or very cheap building materials and other waste items. <Eco-desk@recyclenow.org> (707) 565-DESK(3375)

* University of California Cooperative Extension <http://cesonoma.ucdavis.edu/>
UC Cooperative extension offers information to area gardeners and farmers - which can sometimes include less-toxic options. Sections of interest include: * Their Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program, which primarily supports local apple and wine grape farmers. * Their Master Gardeners program, for local gardeners. * Their Viticulture newsletter, which gives current news about local winegrowing, including phylloxera. * The UC's online and print publications on agriculture, gardening, and common pests. * Their agriculture site links.

* County Agricultural Commissioner's Offices
In California, the County Agricultural Commissioner is responsible for ensuring that pesticides are used in a legal manner. Call them to find out about pesticide use in your area, or to report illegal pesticide use (such as pesticide drifting onto your car or property). Sonoma County (707) 565-2371. Napa County (707) 253-4357. Mendocino County (707) 463-4208. For other counties, look in the government pages of your phone book. Also see the Sonoma County Government page <www.sonoma-county.org>.

* Environmental Center of Sonoma County <www.envirocentersoco.org>
Coalition of Sonoma County environmental groups. Includes the Sierra Club <www.redwood.sierraclub.org/sonoma>, Conservation Action <www.ConservationAction.org>, and more. Operates the Environmental Center in downtown Santa Rosa. Also see Conservation Action's list of links to local environmental groups <www.ConservationAction.org/links/links.html>.

* Freestone Website <http://freestone.com>
Find out about local environmental and political activities, especially but not exclusively focussed in west Sonoma County. Includes activities regarding independent radio and KPFA <http://freestone.com/kpfa> and local forestry <http://freestone.com/westernwatershed>.

* Sonoma County Government <www.sonoma-county.org>
Information on the County government, including parks, Agricultural Commissioner's Office, UC Cooperative Extension, voting, Board of Supervisors, courts, etc. And see the listing for the County Agricultural Commissioner's Office.

* Bay Area Transit information <www.transitinfo.org>
Support the environment by taking public transportation to where you want to go! This site makes it much easier. Includes links to all the area public transportation modes - bus, train, etc. - as well as resources for carpooling, vanpooling, biking and more. Find alternative ways to get to work, the airport, concerts, sporting events, friends, a fun ferry ride - etc.!

* Sonoma County Library <www.sonoma.lib.ca.us>
Includes their book catalog, hours and locations, the Wine Library in Healdsburg, book sales, children's programs, literacy programs, how to support the library, etc. Libraries allow the community to share information - making more information available to more people, preserving historical information, and conserving natural resources.

* Bay Area Progressive Directory <www.bapd.org>
Summary information on a bounty of area groups working on a wonderful wide range of wonderful health, environmental, and political issues.

* Public TV and Radio. How do you get good information about what's going on in the world. Publicly-supported media allows more independence in reporting. These sites have schedules and more. Listen to, watch, and support public media!
KQED San Francisco, TV Channel 9, Radio 88.5 FM, <www.kqed.org>.
KRCB, Rohnert Park, TV Channel 22, Radio 91.1 FM, (707) 585-8522.
KPFA, Berkeley, Radio 94.1 FM, <www.kpfa.org>.
Public Broadcasting System (PBS). Includes list of stations. <www.pbs.org>
National Public Radio (NPR) <www.npr.org>

* The Bohemian <www.metroactive.com/sonoma>
Focusses on political issues as well as entertainment in Sonoma County. You can do keyword searches across the site, making it easy to find information on desired topics in the papers in this chain. (Previously the Sonoma County Independent.)

* Press Democrat newspaper <www.pressdemo.com>
The major mainstream paper in Sonoma County. You can do keyword searches across the site, making it easy to find information on desired topics in the papers in this chain.

* San Francisco Chronicle <www.sfgate.com> and San Francisco Examiner <www.examiner.com>
For regional news. SF Gate also includes KRON TV (channel 4).

EMAIL ADDRESSES OF ELECTED OFFICIALS. Email is often an easy way to communicate your goals and concerns to your elected representatives. For a convenient list of some of the addresses that we know, see our Email Address for Political Action page. Please let us know about any others that you know about!

For additional government information, see our Government Resources page.

Have a special site or group that you'd like to suggest for this list? Please let us know!

Thanks for your support!

Information courtesy of:

"Information Empowering Action for a Healthier World"

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