SCOCO INSIGHTS - JUNE 2021
Keep Cool and Carry On!
STAY CONNECTED:
Have you heard about “used” water? With drought looming this summer, this is something you should know. Let's begin with recycled water, sometimes called reclaimed or non-potable water, which has been treated to make it suitable for landscaping and gardens but not for drinking or uses such as food preparation or swimming pools. Because we often use drinking water to water our lawns and gardens, using recycled water instead can save significant amounts of the water that is used for drinking, irrigation, toilets, washing machines, and showers. Recycled water is for hand watering and should not be connected to the home's potable water systems. Much of our recycled water comes from wastewater treatment plants. Wastewater is treated through screens that remove solids, other fine filters, and beneficial bacteria that ingest organic material. Chlorine is added as a final disinfectant before the recycled water is distributed.

Water Your Garden for Free
The Central Contra Costa Sanitary District (Central San) has been recycling water since the '70s and provides more than 500 million gallons of water to our community every year. Want to get some for hand watering your garden and saving on your water bill? It’s pretty easy. You can find a use application and agreement form on the Central San website, along with some easy training and instructions on how to take home up to 300 gallons of recycled water from its facility in Martinez...
Have you submitted a nomination yet? The Leadership in Sustainability Awards give you a chance to honor the great work of your favorite individual, nonprofit, government program, school, or business.

The nomination process is fast and easy but don't miss the deadline of July 2nd!

Award winners will be showcased at the annual awards presentation on September 22nd, 2021. Stay tuned for details on that great event...
2019 Rising Star winner Charlie Keohane
What's Not Cool About Refrigerants?
Refrigerants play a vital role in our lives. They keep us cool, prevent food from spoiling, maintain the potency of vaccines and insulin, and so much more. Unfortunately, refrigerators and air conditioners use a lot of energy and contain harmful chemicals, so the cooling industry has a huge impact on the environment. As the world’s population continues to grow and temperatures rise, the challenge is in meeting surging cooling demands sustainably without creating new problems. Governments and companies around the world have pledged to crack down on climate-warming chemicals. Consumers can play their part as well.

A Brief Timeline of Refrigerants

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
Remember when shaving cream cans created a hole in the ozone layer? That was because the aerosol propellants contained a specific class of chlorine-containing chemicals known as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). These CFCs were also in refrigerants for refrigerators and air conditioners, and while they were not harmful during the working life of these appliances, once they were disposed to landfill or junkyards and started to rust, the refrigerants leaked out, went up into the stratosphere, and destroyed ozone molecules, reducing the ozone layer’s capacity to shield earth from lethal levels of ultraviolet sunlight.

Luckily, CFCs were phased out after the landmark 1987 Montreal Protocol, arguable the most effective international environmental agreement ever written. With all 200 U.N. nations signing on, 90% of the world has rejected CFCs, and the ozone layer is expected to fully heal by 2060. But CFCs were replaced with chemicals with a different problem.

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
DuPont’s Freon (which was banned in 2020) was a standard CFC used in older residential and commercial refrigerators and air conditioners, but even before the Clean Air Act passed in 1990 industries were already creating “substitute refrigerants” called hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)...
Save money and fight climate change--
Take on a Challenge this summer!
By working together, Contra Costa residents have made huge progress through the Cleaner Contra Costa Challenge! Since April 2019, we have saved 543 TONS of carbon dioxide and over one million gallons of water together. Plus, we have saved over $200,000 by taking sustainable actions in the home. Keep reading to see the top participants and instructions on how to participate this summer! 
 
From October 2020 to April 2021, groups and individuals completed sustainable actions, ranging from easy options like Go Paperless to more challenging options like Replace Lawn. 
 
The winners of the Fall/Winter Cleaner Contra Costa Challenge were as follows: 

Top Teams
1. Project Climate--96,940 net points
2. Carbon Crushers--66,590 net points 
3. Mamas Stepping Up--37,160 net points...
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch might as well be considered another Wonder of the World. It is made up of 1.6 million square kilometers of trash--twice the size of the state of Texas--swirling in the ocean, with no signs of becoming any smaller. 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic are estimated to be floating in the patch, which is roughly equivalent to 250 pieces of garbage for every human in the world. Thinking about this on a scale that is easier to grasp, plastic pollution would be far easier to disperse if it could be reduced just by the amount each person generated. The past decade of climate action and research has given us dozens of ways to become more responsible with our plastic use and choose more sustainable materials. While it certainly takes time to change the behavior of households across the globe, it’s not that simple. We must acknowledge a major contributing factor to the 350 million metric tons of plastic being produced each year: the plastic created by corporate production.

[Editor's note: Check out the film "Plastic Wars" as part of the Green Sofa Cinema series, listed below in the Upcoming Events section.]

Focusing on individual accountability for plastic waste is a good thing, but it leaves entirely unacknowledged the role of major plastic producers. For example, Coca-Cola was named, for the second time, the world’s largest polluter of plastics...
Keep It Cool This Summer
Are you looking for a way to keep your home cool and energy efficient as the weather heats up? This summer, Sustainable Contra Costa will be working with Energy Upgrade California and BayREN Home+ to share different energy efficiency tips, practices, and rebates for your household. By exploring topics such as staying cool during summer, energy management and energy-efficient appliances, our team will provide you with resources to make energy efficiency a viable, sustainable practice in your home. 

Here are actions you can take today! 


For more information, contact energyupgrade@sustainablecoco.org.
Sustainable Leaders in Action

Sustainable Leaders in Action, or SLIA, is the youth leadership branch of Sustainable Contra Costa. Made up of both high school and college students, SLIA works together to promote the Cleaner Contra Costa Challenge and to educate youth on how to live a more sustainable lifestyle and encourage cleaner living in our communities.




Upcoming Events
You can find virtual and remote-learning options for many wonderful events. Here are a few...  

Looking for free summertime recreation and fun for the whole family? Check out 511 Contra Costa’s Summer Bike Challenge. June-August, riders of all ages can explore their hometowns on two wheels. Simply bike to each destination and cross off the squares as you go. Pick up free prizes on select dates, take weekly Bonus Challenges, and enter the iPad Grand Prize Drawing. Ready to roll? Visit 511cc.org/go to get started.

Throughout June, July & August
Everywhere!

A unique, monthly environmental film series. Participation is free, easy and fun! Watch the month’s selected film at your leisure from the comfort of your own sofa. Then join a one-hour Zoom discussion to explore the film’s topics more deeply, often with a guest speaker.

The first film is Plastic Wars, a Frontline/PBS look into the fight over the future of plastics.

The Zoom discussion on June 15th will feature Patty Harrington of Sustainable Rossmoor, a retired educator who has been tracking the challenge that plastic presents for more than a decade. She will cover what consumers and citizens can do about it.
Zoom Discussion: Sunday, June 15th
7:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Online event
FREE

What's growing in our county, and how can you support it? Who has access to fresh, local food and how can that be improved? Join our free, live broadcast to meet Rob Bennaton, UC Co-op Extension's Urban Agriculture Advisor, to learn about the many urban farms, community and school gardens, and other food growing groups operating across the county. You'll be surprised to find out what's going on! And you'll learn how you can get involved.
 

Wednesday, June 23rd
7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Online event
FREE
Please take a moment to support Sustainable Contra Costa. Donate to help us engage thousands of Contra Costa residents in new and exciting ways to help them reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Together we can make a difference!
 

And remember, if you become a Sports Basement Basementeer, you'll receive 10% off every item every day, while 10% of profits are donated back to SCOCO!

We always encourage you to shop locally when you can, but if you need to shop online, check out GoodWallet or if you use Amazon, don't forget to use AmazonSmile, and your purchases will support Sustainable Contra Costa! AmazonSmile is now available in the Amazon app.




We are so grateful to our sponsoring Partners. Please thank and patronize these businesses and organizations!
SUSTAINBLE CONTRA COSTA sustainablecoco.org