PS:  While the membership drive was wonderfully successful, we remind our members that the Coalition is still in need of the following. Thanks in advance, if you can help!

·  projector and portable projector system
·  public address system

To donate contact
coordinator@ojaivalleygreencoalition.com

Thanks to funding sponsors Ojai Valley Green Coalition, Harrison Industries and the City of Ojai; the coordination efforts of OVGC members Carol Smith and Trina Grantham; and installation by Larry Yuva, several business locations in Ojai now sport signs reminding all of us to be angels by bringing in our own shopping bags.
 

Our fair community is just as much a contributor as any other to the problems plastic bags bring to our planet. The effort to get us all in the habit of using reusable bags is intended to mitigate the proliferation of plastic in our landfills, waterways, ditches, and ocean. The sheer number of bags add

up to high costs of resources for clean-up, difficulties with sorting machinery at trash transfer stations, dumps that are filling with non-biodegradable plastic bags, and wildlife that are sickened and injured by plastic debris. To top it off, lost or discarded plastic bags are unsightly litter as they blow and flow from place to place.
 

Plastic bags are either made from petroleum products or petroleum is used in the manufacturing process. Do single-use plastic shopping bags make sense in the current economy (they cost taxpayers millions each year) or for reasonable use of increasingly limited fossil fuels (plastic bags consume an energy equivalent of thousands of barrels of oil a day just to meet California's consumption)?  

For more detailed information go to www.cawrecycles.org/issues/plastic_campaign/plastic_bags/problem
 

Together we can make a difference here in our beautiful valley and beyond. So let's all bag the habit and "BE AN ANGEL. PLEASE BRING IN YOUR OWN BAGS"!

Bike Racks Installed at Y Shopping Center

After more than a decade of waiting, there are bike racks at the Y shopping center thanks to the joint efforts of Ojai Valley Green Coalition Transportation Committee, shopping center management, and the City of Ojai.

The shopping center lost its original bike racks when the parking lot was resurfaced during the Vons supermarket's first major renovation over ten years ago. The parking lot was improved, but the bike racks were removed. That left bicyclists no place to safely park and lock up their bikes.

The project is a big win for bicyclists and hopefully this will increase ridership. It is also a major improvement for retailers in the center. Before this, bicyclists had to use whatever structure was available to park and secure their bikes and that was often the posts in front of business entrances. The congestion often proved a hazard for customers.

"A Christmas miracle!" said Transportation Committee chair, Suza Francina, after bicycling over to Vons to see them with her own eyes. "They're the right kind, front bike wheel is secure and your bike does not fall over when you fill your bike baskets with groceries, and they are in the right place, with easy access to the front doors."

Way to go, Transportation Committee! To get involved with the Transportation Committee or their projects contact Francina at SFrancina@aol.com.

Mark Your Calendars!

Get ready for EarthPlay 2011 in Ojai,

a destination Earth Day Event

for your Green Business or Organization

Saturday, April 23rd, EarthPlay 2011 - 11:00AM - 4:00PM.

 Membership

Honor Roll

All are welcome as community members, but it's our supporting members who give us the financial means to do our work. Our most recent contributors: