While winter food supplies are uncertain, Fall, 2008 brought a temporary bailout for Sebastopol's Pantry. September and October presented stark challenges to its operations. Not only were there more people needing help with food, but the amount of cash in the treasury dropped along with the economy. Fortunately a new philanthropic agency reversed that trend.

Little Red Hen Prevents Crisis at Sebastopol Pantry »

In a national survey on planet biodiversity, it was determined that seven out of ten biologists believe that we are in the midst of a mass extinction of living beings.

They rated biodiversity loss as a more serious environmental problem than the depletion of the ozone layer, global warming, and pollution, although these three together may contribute significantly to the crisis, which is occurring because of great damage to the natural systems that purify our air and water. Unlike five previous mass extinctions attributed to natural phenomena, it is believed to be caused by human activity.

In the Russian River area we are being required to immediately deal with the precipitous disappearance of Coho and Chinook salmon and Steelhead Trout, with the first on the verge of total collapse.

Sonoma County Clean Water Rapidly Disappearing »