Short definition: landscape elements designed to remove silt and pollution from surface runoff water. They consist of a swaled drainage course with gently sloped sides (less than six percent) and filled with vegetation, compost and/or riprap. Why should we care? San Francisco has a combined sewage system - which means both storm water AND waste water from homes and businesses go into the same pipes. Anytime we get more than 1/2" of rain in one hour, it all gets dumped raw

http://www.mercurynews.com/drought/ci_29607725/california-drought-storms-send-billions-gallons-water-into

Thousands of pesticides have "conditional" approval - here's one that may lose that designation and get taken off the market. This is a good sign, in my opinion. And - just so you all know - Trump says he will close the EPA, thus eliminating the agency that provides federal oversight and approval of pesticides. http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/03/01/468743132/in-an-unusual-move-the-epa-tries-to-pull-pesticide-from-market?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=news