by citisven [Subscribe]

via dailykos.com

This morning I hopped on my bike, took the BART train to North Berkeley, and rode the Ohlone Greenway to participate in a 350 work party to restore and clean up Codornices Creek on the border of Albany and Berkeley. Organized by Friends of Five Creeks and Ecocity Builders, the task was to thin the willows, remove bindweed and fleshy white roots, and bag any trash. Being someone with a fascination for what comes out the other end of our consumer society I wasn’t surprised to end up in the garbage crew.

For those who may ask yourselves what this has to do with climate change, my brief explanation goes like this: Creeks and rivers are the arteries of the planet we live on. If they’re clogged, buried, polluted or cut off, the natural ability of the ecosystem to cleanse and restore itself is severely impeded. More creeks = less concrete = more biodiversity = less CO2.

• citisven’s diary