"Any fool can destroy trees. They cannot run away; and if they could, they would still be destroyed, chased and hunted down as long as fun or a dollar could be got out of their bark hides. God has cared for these trees, but he cannot save them from fools...only Uncle Sam can do that."   -   John Muir

"Shortsighted men...in their greed and selfishness will, if permitted, rob our country of half its charm by their reckless extermination of all useful and beautiful wild things."   -   President Theodore Roosevelt

"We realize Earth is special. We've seen it from afar. We realize Earth is the only natural home for man we know of, and we had better protect it."   -   Astronaut James Irwin

"Nature knows no indecencies...man invents them."   -   Mark Twain

This week on Treehuggers International, tune in for a conversation with retired California State Parks ranger and Anza-Borrego geology and paleontology authority Paul Remeika, author of Geology of Anza-Borrego: Edge of Creation and numerous other publications. Not only has Paul contributed three chapters to the new book Fossil Treasures of the Anza-Borrego Desert, but he will be leading the Anza-Borrego Foundation and Institute's 2008 Desert Hostel trip to the Long Valley Caldera and Mammoth Lakes in August.  Tune in Sunday at 5:30 for a fascinating conversation with a bonafide area geology and paleontology pro.

MORNING AFTER MESS BEACH CLEAN-UP  7/5/08 This weekend, make time to pitch in and help clean our beaches after the mania of July 4th with the Morning After Mess Cleanup Day, Saturday July 5th at 8:00 am at the Ocean Beach Pier, Belmont Park in Mission Beach, the foot of Pacific Beach Dr. in Pacific Beach, Del Mar at 15th Street (Powerhouse Park), South Carlsbad State Beach, and the Oceanside South Jetty.  For more information, click HERE.

Upcoming guests on Treehuggers International include:
-  Jerry Schad, author of Afoot and Afield in San Diego County.
-  Natalie Borchardt, of the San Dieguito River Park.
-  Sarah Miggins, from the San Bernardino National Forest Association.
-  Linda Carson, from the Anza-Borrego Foundation and Institute.
-  Lowell Linday, of San Diego-based Sunbelt Publications.

TRESTLES UPDATE  7/1/08 At last, we have a date set for the biggest hearing yet for Trestles: Friday, July 25th at the Bren Center at U.C. Irvine. This hearing is the next critical battle in the fight to protect Trestles from the Orange County Transportation Corridor Agency, and the construction of the Foothill South 241 toll road through the backcountry of San Onofre State Beach and the intact San Mateo Creek which empties into Trestles. We already won the battle in California when the California Coastal Commission struck down the toll road on the grounds it violates the Coastal Act. Unfortunately, the TCA refuses to accept the decision and has literally made a federal case of the matter, appealing to the U.S. Commerce Department. Now, we need to ensure the federal government supports California's environmental laws and upholds the Coastal Commission's wise decision. We will see YOU at U.C. Irvine's Bren Center July 25th!

Treehuggers International's recent conversation with John D. Mead, President of Adventure 16 outdoor gear stores and the founder of A16's Donate-A-Pack Foundation, and David MacDonald, president of Donate-A-Pack, is now in the Show Archive. Listen as John and Dave discuss their respective outdoor backgrounds, the beginnings of Adventure 16 and the Donate-A-Pack Foundation, the notion of stewardship, and the importance of getting kids excited about the outdoors.

State Parks saved...for the moment.

STATE PARKS UPDATE  5/19/08 Governor Schwarzenegger's 2008-2009 budget proposal, which sought to close 48 California State Parks from the Redwoods to the Salton Sea, has caused such an uproar the Governor is trying a new tactic to cover budget shortfalls, leaving for the moment threatened California State Parks open for business. To see the entire list of parks threatened with closure, and to remind Governor Schwarzenegger to keep them open with help from the California State Parks Foundation, click HERE.

SUNRISE POWERLINK UPDATE  4/28/08 Governor Schwarzenegger has thrown his support behind the construction of the Sunrise Powerlink, despite repeated, consistent objections from citizens around the region.  To hear Treehuggers International's recent conversation with Micah Mitrosky of the Sierra Club's Smart Energy Solutions campaign and learn more about the proposed Sunrise Powerlink, scroll down to the Show Archive.

Tommy Hough is honored to be named a 2008 Clean Water Award recipient from the San Diego Chapter of the Surfider Foundation. Bill Hickman and Elizabeth Willes from Surfirder stopped by the FM 94/9 studios to present the award in person and on the air, ahead of Surfrider San Diego's Eighth Annual Art Gala.  Many thanks!

Former San Diego fire chief Jeff Bowman and Rick Halsey of the California Chaparral Institute have been in the news recently as the San Diego Regional Fire Safety Forum issued its list of recommendations regarding the 2007 Wildfires.

Kama Dean and Pro Peninsula made front-page real estate in the January 19th edition of the San Diego Union-Tribune.  Read the article HERE.

"This generation must come to terms with nature, and I think we're challenged, as mankind has never been challenged before, to prove our maturity and our mastery...not of nature, but of ourselves."   -   Rachel Carson

We live in a beautiful corner of the United States, with a coastline admired the world over and a backcountry ripe for exploration, but environmentally, there's no denying it: we've got our hands full in San Diego.

Southern California may be one of the most densely populated urban areas in the nation, but if you look around and study the land, it's easy to see how inhospitable the region can be. While our dry Mediterranean climate has made our region justly famous with vacationers, beach lovers, and sun worshippers, it also leaves us with little annual rainfall, irregular and unpredictable hydration cycles, and an overall deficit of fresh water.

Enabled by water pumped in from dams and rivers hundreds of miles away across several faultlines and two deserts, we live in an artificially-created bowl of sustainability, as we share our dwindling fresh water supply with other thirsty southwestern cities like Phoenix, Las Vegas, Tucson, and Los Angeles. Our ability to be a thriving civilization or a threatened outpost, clinging on the dry edge of the continent, will continue to be determined by our access to fresh water. The next time we have a major earthquake, and we're due in Southern California (the last "Big One" in our end of the state was in 1857) it won't just be your cellphone that doesn't work; it'll be your toilet, your shower, and the availability of fresh water.  Save some now.

Instead of staying out of river basins and flood zones, we've enabled construction in nature's "keep out" areas by corralling and straightening our river channels into concrete culverts, which "flush" litter and other built-up material onto our beaches during rainy weather. We thoughtlessly throw cigarette butts and trash out the windows of our cars and trucks and pour toxic materials into storm drains, all of which eventually winds up on the beach when we receive our occasional rainfalls. Studies continue to show our oceans becoming more sick from pollution and overuse every year, as an area of trash twice the size of Texas floats in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Despite the toughest air pollution regulations in the country and the rise in popularity of hybrid vehicles, we continue to treat our skies like a sewer from the sheer volume of humans on the road, ships in our harbors, and aircraft in our skies. We in California even have to sue the EPA in order to receive waivers to regulate tailpipe emissions to make our air cleaner. Even in Southern California's highest mountain ranges, the effects of air pollution can be found in slowly-strangled pine trees on the highest peaks, as the odor of emissions and air pollutants rise and collect in canyons and along hillsides, smogging out the views of our mountains.

Nature has genetically designed much of Southern California's chaparral-covered landscape to burn, since our long, hot summers and brief, damp winters don't allow enough time for organic matter to decay and break down. Yet developers continue to encroach upon and build in highly fire-prone areas, and our city and county remain deficient in terms of basic fire-fighting services.

We choose to live here, yet slowly, humans are extinguishing what we love best about living in Southern California in the first place. As environmental geologist Jacques Lord describes, "we're at war with nature," and when we fight with nature, "we're gonna lose."  It doesn't have to be this way.

On Treehuggers International we look for solutions to Southern California's environmental challenges, in a laid back, conversational atmosphere with newsmakers, activists, community leaders, public officials, environmental professionals, and academics, all working to keep Southern California green and clean.

We'll get you up to speed on volunteer opportunities in your neighborhood and in California's world-class national and state parks, open spaces, and wilderness areas, we'll dispense day-to-day wisdom about little things you can do to keep our region environmentally unique and special, and we'll let you know about community events and activities with environmental organizations, as well as hiking trails and outdoor activities you may not have realized are right in your backyard.

Yes, Tommy is on My Space, click HERE to be connected.

Keep e-mailing us your photos of you hugging trees outdoors on the trail, in your yard, or anywhere. We're slowly building a photo gallery of Treehuggers International fans from around the world. Be sure to include your name, where the photo was taken, and (if possible) what kind of tree it is. Thanks.

"Eventually we'll realize...if we destroy the ecosystem, we destroy ourselves."   -   Dr. Jonas Salk