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David Zetland (Part 2) – Water as Commodity

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Aerial view showing water running dow the Oroville spillway at Lake Oroville, California. Also showing the "energy disipators" at the bottom of the spillway.

Valuing Water as the Good It Is, Not the Good It Was
As discussed previously, economist David Zetland wants us to understand the difference between water scarcity and water shortage. Water scarcity, he says, is a perception. We worry that there may not be enough water to meet our needs, the needs of the environment, and the needs of agriculture and other business. Water shortage, on the other hand, is a fact. In the midst of a shortage there is no water to be had, at any price. Effectively managing water scarcity can prevent water shortages. Continue Reading →

Filed under: All Stories, David Zetland, The Worth of Water

Making the Most of Mendocino

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Making the Most of Mendocino

The Gualala River forms the boundary between Sonoma and Mendocino Counties. Travelers heading north will find that most Bay Area weekenders have by now tailed off, leaving this stretch of coast highway for the locals and long-haul travelers. It’s a little greener (and wetter) here than in Sonoma County, but the crescent coves and pocket beaches you appreciated along the wild Sonoma Coast continue north across the county line, one after the next, like a string of pearls.  (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: All Stories, Travel, North Coast, Redwoods

David Zetland (Part 1) – What Price Water? Living with Water Scarcity

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Aerial views of waterways & sloughs meandering through The Delta in California.

There’s a difference between water scarcity and water shortage, and economist David Zetland wants everyone to understand that distinction. Scarcity is a perception, but water shortage is a fact. Shortage is far worse than scarcity, he says, because even if you otherwise have the necessary money (or other requirement) to acquire what you want, when there’s a shortage you still can’t get it.  (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: All Stories, David Zetland, The Worth of Water

Fall Coasting from Bodega Bay to Sea Ranch

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Sea Ranch

Alfred Hitchcock considered the quaint coastal fishing village of Bodega Bay and associated inland town just perfect for filming The Birds, with its rather ominous suggestion that nature will avenge itself one day. But people come to Bodega Bay and vicinity to avoid thinking about such things. They come to explore the headlands, to whalewatch, to kayak, to beachcomb and tidepool, to catch and eat seafood (including local Dungeness crab), to peek into the increasing numbers of galleries and gift shops, and to relax.  (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: All Stories, Travel, North Coast

The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming*

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For Ross

Actually, they already came and then went back home, as any California fourth grader will tell you, after a 40-year stay. Some of these same fourth graders may even have been lucky enough to participate in living history overnights at Fort Ross, Imperial Russia’s farthest outpost. A large village of the Kashia Pomo people once stood on the site. After the Russian-American Fur Company (Czar Alexander I and President James Madison were both company officers) established its fur-trapping settlements at Bodega Bay, the firm turned its attention northward to what, in the spring of 1812, became Fort Ross. (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: All Stories, Travel

The Stuff of Life

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The Stuff of Life

During the Depression, when casinos were legal in Mexico, my grandfather worked as a bookkeeper and cashier at a club in Mexicali. My grandparents lived across the border in Calexico. They were embarrassed that Grandpa was working at a casino, but it was a job. Although recreation was limited in Calexico, they found a surprising amount of entertainment in wandering the desert and examining mineral specimens. It was a hobby that required nothing more than a guidebook. Continue Reading →

Filed under: All Stories, How We Live, Book Reviews

Going Coastal: Point Reyes and Marin

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Going Coastal

The coast will be even clearer in Fall if you can travel during the week, when families with kids are otherwise occupied (though you may encounter those kids on field trips). But even weekends are lighter in terms of fellow travelers, at least once you get well north of Marin. You may even find it possible to pitch a tent at state park campgrounds without a reservation. Kind of like California in the 1950s.  (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: All Stories, Travel, Hostels, North Coast

Go Coasting in Fall to Forget About Fog

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Go Coasting in Fall

Keep in mind, though, that fog created California’s north coast, and still defines it. Fog is everywhere, endless, eternal, there.Even on blazing, almost blinding days of sunshine when the veil lifts, the fog is still present somehow, because life here has been made by it. Stands of sky-scraping coast redwoods need fog to live. So do many other native north coast plants, uniquely adapted to uniformly damp conditions. The visual obscurity characteristic of the coast also benefits animals, providing a consistent, year-round supply of drinking water and, for creatures vulnerable to predators, additional protective cover.  (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: All Stories, Travel, North Coast

My Little Free Library: #16,408

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The Barber Neighborhood little free library stands just over five feet tall, a boxy, wooden cabinet with two plexiglass doors, supported by three posts. The bottom shelf is thirty-five inches off the ground. It sits in a shady spot right next to the sidewalk in my front yard and holds about forty adult and a dozen or so bound children’s books. As the steward of this book exchange, I am still figuring out what kinds of books people want. Many of us have books we’ll never read again (not to mention ones we just haven’t got around to reading) so sharing or trading enriches us all—without spending too much. Continue Reading →

Filed under: All Stories, In My Neighborhood

How Do We Travel Wisely and Well, Both Abroad and in Our Own Backyard?

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Rocks on a river

In the beginning the word was “ecotourism,” which quickly became a travel industry buzzword. Ecotours and associated products and services became increasingly popular tourism commodities—a trend destined to not only continue but to grow exponentially, given the degree of international interest in and concern over ecological awareness, environmental protection, and cultural sensitivity.  (more…) Continue Reading →

Filed under: All Stories, Travel