I got a chance to join more than 1000 volunteers on Hands On Bay Area’s Be The Change Day. There were 22 projects to choose from and I was lucky enough to do invasive plant removal at the San Francisco Zoo.

I stayed away from the Tiger cages, wielding a rake just in case. I was in high demand for my wheelbarrowing skills as we transferred ice plant into a huge compost dumpster. There were a lot of cool people and if you’re in the bay area and want to volunteer, you should definitely check out HOBA’s programs.

In this episode, C-diddy gets hungry and is confronted by a supernatural egg shell. We are then transported to the Greater Portland Oregon area to visit Nigel and Angie, a couple who have a garden on their 3rd story apartment porch. We learn how to create a space-saving worm bin to process compost as well as some all-natural methods for fixing nitrogen.

After taking my camera to the Silicon Valley EV Rally at Palo Alto High School this weekend, I was inspired to put together a super-short song and video. The valley is a hub for greentech innovation and the owners/inventors were cool folks who would let you ride in their creations. Thanks to the folks at Electroportal.com for letting me ride a sweet bike that improves your pedal speed. Another environmental rap for your ears:

There will probably be not be one cure-all solution to reliance on foreign energy and carbon emissions. Luckily, there are numerous people thinking creatively to harness energy from unlikely sources. Syngas is a process in which heat is used to convert a solid material such as coal or municipal waste into a gas. “Gasification” of biomass can reduce waste and carbon emissions since the source material is renewable and organic.

The Boston Globe did a story about one company, Ze-Gen, that heats scrap metal and captures the gases for combustion. Like many of the “new” energy propositions being developed these days, this idea is not new at all. A similar process was used to extract gasses from coal in order to light street lamps in the pre-electric days. (Via Nigel)

If you’re like me, you receive a white pages and yellow pages at least once a year and never use them. I think the last time I used the yellow pages, I was 6 years old and I tried to steal my mom’s car by sitting on a stack of them. These days, I’m too internet-connected to be bothered to flip through these huge books. For better or for worse, I’m much more likely to use Yelp or Google when trying to find a business or service in my community. Now there is an organization that gives you the option to discontinue your Yellow Page delivery. Yellow Pages Goes Green has a sign-up section that allows you to stop getting these deliveries. I haven’t heard any feedback on how well this works, but it’s definitely a good idea.

Diversion of our nations food to biofuels has led to rising food costs and cuts in food surpluses. Low income workers and food banks have been hit the hardest. The Grassroots Garden is a huge community effort to supplement the diets of Lane County’s poorest citizens with fresh, organic fruits and vegetables. With support from local government, corporations, and community groups, the Grassroots Garden and Food For Lane County have addressed this challenge head on.

In Episode 11, we chat with Merry of the Grassroots Garden in Eugene, Oregon and we find out how this community effort has energized people from all walks of life to address this increasingly serious issue.

The Beastie Boys’ production company Oscilloscope Laboratories has put out a documentary about water privatization. Irena Salina’s film, which was an official selection at Sundance, builds the case against corporate ownership of water resources. The website for Flow has a link to a petition to add a 31st amendment to the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights establishing access to clean water as a fundamental human right.

Check out the preview: