Stormwater Pollution

Our 12 Tips to Prevent Stormwater Pollution Runoff

| September 22, 2016 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Architecture and Design, Environment, Green Roofs, Sustainable Living, Water and Water Conservation
I heard the weather report like everyone else, but I never expected the steady amount of rain we received in San Diego County this week, did you? After more than 100 days without measurable rainfall, it was a welcome sight. Rainfall has many benefits, but there is one downside. When rain falls in San Diego after many months of dry weather, pollutants that build up on surfaces like rooftops, parking lots and streets get washed into our storm drains. The reason it’s a big deal: those storm drains dump out directly into the Pacific Ocean, and all those pollutants end up in the water hurting sea life.… Read More

Help Good Earth Plants Save San Diego Watershed

| April 27, 2016 | Categories: Agriculture and Farming, Environment, Good Earth Plant Company, Green Roofs, Nature and Wellbeing, Water and Water Conservation
One of the reasons I’ve always been so enthusiastic about green roofs is their contribution to stormwater management. Green roofs can capture 60-80% of rooftop rainwater runoff so less water is directed into storm drains and ultimately the ocean. A green roof becomes a strainer for whatever water does end up flowing to the storm drains, removing a lot of the particles, chemicals, pollution and other “bad stuff” which would otherwise run into our ocean. So I was extremely happy to see the City of San Diego’s new Sustainable Landscape Guidelines created in partnership with the San Diego County Water Authority.… Read More

Catch Up With Top Reader Recommended Blog Posts

| March 9, 2016 | Categories: Blog, Green Roofs, Living Walls, Nature and Wellbeing, Newsletters, Sustainable Living, Water and Water Conservation
Catch up with our top blog posts so far for 2016 on topics including stormwater pollution, nature and well-being, and how to recognize and treat seasonal affective disorder (SAD). If you aren’t receiving our newsletter, sign up here on our home page. We don’t sell your information or spam you, and you can unsubscribe anytime. We don’t like spam either!  

Do Your Part to Stop Stormwater Pollution

| January 7, 2016 | Categories: Environment, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Green Roofs, Indoor Plants, Living Walls, Sustainable Living, Water and Water Conservation
El Nino has arrived in San Diego, and with it a lot of stormwater runoff polluting our waterways and ocean.
Just a few months ago, the Good Earth Plant Company blog was full of advice about surviving our Southern California drought. Now here we are in 2016, and our first blog post of the year is about too much rain. The anticipated El Niño winter rainstorms have hit our area. While we are all grateful to get some relief from our drought, watching our reservoirs fill back up and enjoying the sight of snow in our Laguna Mountains, we also have to be concerned about managing the negative effects of all this water, especially stormwater pollution. Stormwater runoff is the single biggest contributor to poor water quality in the ocean off San Diego.… Read More

Water, Water Everywhere: Tips to Prep for El Niño

| November 4, 2015 | Categories: Environment, Indoor Plants, Living Walls, Sustainable Living, Water and Water Conservation
Having sandbags standing by is a smart precaution. Photo: Courtesy City of San Marcos
It seemed like just a few days ago we were still wearing shorts and flip flops while watching our bone dry yards hang on for cooler, wetter weather ahead. Suddenly we have freeway offramps and neighborhoods flooding due to rainstorms. Is this San Diego or the Pacific Northwest? Weather forecasters tell us an El Niño winter is ahead, and based on this week’s weather you can call me a believer. It seems like the temporary answer to our drought problems and your long-suffering landscape plants. But an overabundance of water can create its own set of problems. Some of them can turn out to be destructive and very expensive to fix if you don’t take measures now to prepare.… Read More

What Have You Done For Me Lately?

| July 9, 2015 | Categories: Good Earth Plant Company, Green Roofs, Indoor Plants, Sustainable Living
It's a small step in the right direction toward preserving our planet's resources.
Some days the news is a little hard to take, full of reports about shootings, natural disasters, and drought. I thought I would write about it, but then I realized the topic seemed familiar. Check out this blog post I wrote two years ago this month. Not much has changed, has it? The location of the shootings is different, that is about it. As for our weather, it only seems to get drier and hotter. My observations and my advice then wouldn’t change now either. We know what needs to be done and we have many of the solutions at our fingertips, even more than we did two years ago.… Read More