Inside the Community Assessment Project, what it means for locals and why it is important for Santa Cruz County

PLUS: Take the CAP Community Goals Survey click here

"People think that how you improve quality of life is so complicated that it can’t be done, but really, it should be no more complicated than this,” says Susan Brutschy matter-of-factly.

Brutschy, the enthusiastic president of local social research nonprofit Applied Survey Research (ASR), is referring to her firm’s magnum opus, the Santa Cruz County Community Assessment Project (CAP), an extensive annual report on the county’s quality of life. The report includes a variety of data—from the acres of organic farmland (3,341) and how many miles the average resident commutes to work (26.9) to what percentage of the county’s children live beneath the federal poverty level (17.8). It also notes that, in 2009, 72 percent of residents surveyed were “very satisfied” with their overall quality of life.

But the interesting information doesn’t stop there.

Why are we so fascinated with the end of the world?
To this day, you’ll hear people say that the film Psycho has left them permanently afraid to take showers, or that they’re still terrified of the ocean because of Jaws. But no tale of terror has made a longer-lasting impression on American minds than the New Testament’s Book of Revelation. Nearly 2,000 years after John of Patmos penned this weighty prophecy of cataclysm and deliverance, adherents continue to anticipate the day of reckoning, simultaneously haunted by the fear of global demolition and elated by the promise of salvation.

Is desalination the answer? Local parties sound off.
The city of Santa Cruz plans to build a desalination plant to offset water deficits during the worst summer droughts—the kind that hit once every 10 to 30 years. Models predict that if Santa Cruz continues to grow, and UC Santa Cruz expands, we will be left bone dry—at least if current water use trends continue during the driest of all summers.

When Santa Cruz doesn’t need the water, the Soquel Creek Water District will run the desalination plant, supplementing underground water reserves that have dipped dangerously low due to prior over-use. Soquel aquifers now face the danger of saltwater intrusion from the Bay, which could damage water quality indefinitely. This is why the district needs to find an alternative water supply, or perhaps heighten conservation and the regulation of pumping from competing private wells, depending on who you ask.

Mantak Chia on life, spirit, the soul, chi and the art of guiding the inner you
If you walk through a busy park in the morning, you’ll likely find countless joggers and dog walkers, but if you’re lucky, you may stumble upon a tranquil person or group practicing the ancient Chinese art of Tai Chi. This unique form of martial arts is graceful and harmonious, emphasizing that spiritual tranquility within the individual complements Confucianism’s focus on social duty. Slow movements flow into one another in a sort of trancelike dance, as graceful as a tutu-clad Ballet Russe dancer. Mind, body and spirit seem to coalesce, and even just watching someone else perform this ritual can be a soothing experience in itself.

Editor’s Note: The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico dominates the headlines as this goes to press, which makes our annual environmental issue a fitting reminder that the call to be an eco patriot grows louder by the day. This year, we found a special group of luminaries whose work in the world somehow makes a positive difference in the environment. From the guy whose “hippie” parents gave him the high spirits he needed to become a titan on the Green landscape to the gal whose fashion designs curb environmental waste, it’s hard not to be inspired. Behold: The Eco Patriots of 2010. 
See also: Eleven Steps to Green Living in 2010 and Tips for Greening Your Business (below).