Central Sierra Ecological Building and Design Association (CSEBDA) Seed Pod Participant Shaelyn Strattan gives heads up on the next 50 years of California plans for dealing with global warming

The Air Resources Board (ARB) has posted its AB32 Draft Scoping Plan for public review and comment. For those unfamiliar with AB32 or the ARB's role in implementing this law, this will be the State of California's plan for dealing with Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the potential impacts of Global Climate Change (GCC) over the next 50 years....read more and take action.....

FIRST MONDAYS, FRESH MINDS

Are you interested in conversation with interested and interesting people about issues green and sustainable in Tuolumne and Calaveras County (and beyond)? Put the first Monday of each month on your calendar and join us for "First Monday, Fresh Minds"! From 8:30 -10:00am on the first Monday of every month we will gather for an informal breakfast and conversation at the Murphys Hotel dining room (they have a $4.99 breakfast special!). At each breakfast, one person will begin with a topic or "conversation starter," and we'll see where it goes from there! A group of 6-10 of us has been doing this for several months, and we want to grow the conversation and fun. It is always inspiring!

If you are planning to come August 4, please email Mickey at mickeyw@goldrush.com.

Greetings from your new Executive Director My name is Tamara Mitchell and I'm very excited to have been chosen by the Board to be the first employee of FoCuS. I became aware of FoCuS at the Wild & Scenic Film Festival two years ago. I talked for a while with Eric Taylor and finally felt like I'd connected with a group of people that had similar concerns and interests as me.

I moved to Sonora in 2002 from Los Gatos because I've always loved the Sierra foothills, because my consulting job allowed me to work primarily on a telecommuting basis, and because I could afford to buy a house here. Living in a rural, conservative community has been a learning experience, but I absolutely love the beauty of this area and now I feel like I have the FoCuS family to wrap around me. Such a warm, intelligent, and caring group of people!

My background is extremely varied. I have a masters degree in experimental psychology and did my graduate research at NASA Ames Research Center on perceptual anomalies experienced by pilots. I went on to work in the flight simulation business for several years in human factors, as a systems analyst, and as a project and functional manager. I had an interlude of 10 years where I became a goldsmith and contemporary jewelry designer with my own business selling through jewelry shows and galleries nationwide. For the past 7 years I've been consulting in ergonomics, primarily at SRI (formerly Stanford Research Institute) by writing educational articles, designing and maintaining the ergonomics website, conducting ergonomics office and lab consultations, handling product testing and ordering, and providing other support to the program manager. I also have an online store selling "green" ergonomic office furniture that is non-toxic, made from renewable and recycled materials and is recyclable. I'm proud that this business is approved by Co-op America.

My job entails doing whatever the Board feels is a priority to accomplish, so I'm truly here to serve. So far, I've been attending seedpod meetings to get acquainted with the people, signed up for a grant writing course in August, started outreach activities within the community, and am working on redesigning the FoCuS website.

 Focus on Transportation

Save money - save gas - save the air! Please participate in ridesharing when you can. Ebbetts Pass Rides is an online ridesharing group for occasional trips to the bay area, the central valley, or elsewhere. To join, go to ebbettspassrides in yahoo groups and click on "join, " or contact Sandy Kasten at aldebki@yahoo.com. For everyday ride sharing, Foothill Commuter Services, serving Calaveras, Amador and Tuolumne Counties, provides a free matching service for those wishing to share a ride to work or school. Their web site is at www.foothillrideshare.com.

The Calaveras bus schedule has been posted at

calaverastransit.com/route_schedules_nov2007.htm.

The California High Speed Rail web site at

cahighspeedrail.ca.gov features a 10 minute video about the

project.

I need your old Laptop! I am currently assessing wind as an energy source in the local area. I use computers with Windows 95' or better to log the data in real time. If you have a laptop you are no longer using, I will put it to good use. Call me at 795 6636. Thank you, Yoni.

Have a submission for us?

If you are a FoCuS member involved in making your community a more healthful one in a way that you and your great grandchildren will enjoy, why not share it here in your own newsletter?  Contact Newsletter Editor Randy Crutcher at rama50@comcast.net