Green Options

Editor’s Note: This was a multi-party contribution involving Kim Komenich (photos) Kwan Booth (text) NewsDesk.org (editing) Spot.Us (financial support). This is part of a series that we’ll be posting over the next week.

Talking to Dr. Washington Burns the other day I learned some pretty shocking information: 37 percent of the adults and 20 percent of the kids living in West Oakland have asthma and children living in this community are seven times more likely to be hospitalized for breathing related illness than any other children in California.

And Alameda County as a whole is no prize, with one of the highest overall hospitalization rates among 5-17 year old youth.

California officially leads the nation in recycling, according to a report published by the California Integrated Waste Management Board announcing the state has reached a 58% waste diversion rate. Of the 93 million tons of solid waste produced by Californians, nearly 54 million tons have found renewed use in places other than landfills.