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Here's a bright spot (literally) in an otherwise gloomy time.

The wildflowers are in bloom and it looks like it's going to be a great season!

Alison Sheehey, a wildlife expert who lives in the Kern Valley, sent this photo taken yesterday of the hills blossoming with poppies and Fiddlenecks. She says the Kern River Canyons is "blazing" just above the power plant.

Closer the Bakersfield, you can see splashes of orange from Panorama Drive to Hart Park, Sheehey says.

Last year, we put up an interactive map on bakersfield.com so people could post their wildflower sightings. I'm hoping to get that back up soon so stay tuned. We will also run a map of good wildflower locations in the paper. Check for it sometime next week.

In the meantime, please post your sightings here and feel free to send me pics to add to this post at sshepard@bakersfield.com.

Here's some other ways to get local wildflower information:

Kern County Wildflower Hotline: 322-WILD (Activates March 1)

Alison Sheehey’s Wildflower Report

California Wildflower Hotsheet

Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve

Carrizo Plain National Monument

Red Rock Canyon State Park

Death Valley National Park

Duraflame has filed a lawsuit against a fireplace no-burn rule adopted by the Bay Area air pollution district in July.

The company claims its fire logs don't produce as much pollution as wood logs, and therefore shouldn't be banned on no-burn days. The company also says labeling requirements under the rule are burdensome. Apparently, the logs must carry a label urging consumers to check the day's no-burn status.

The San Joaquin Valley air district's fireplace rule has been in place since 2004. I don't believe it has the label requirement.

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I remember hearing once that some communities on the Central Coast had banned drive-thrus at fast food restaurants, banks, etc. to cut down on idling vehicles and the pollution they create. And I immediately wondered, especially in light of the air pollution problem in Bakersfield, why haven't we done that here?

So, I wanted to ask, have you ever heard of something another city or community has done to improve/protect the environment, reduce greenhouse gases or promote energy efficiency and wondered, why aren't we doing that here?

Another example would be curbside recycling -- something almost every other community in the state incorporates as part of their standard trash collection program. But not Bakersfield. Here, you have to pay if you want a separate recycling bin and pick-up.

If you think of something, please post it here. I might like to look into some of these issues and find the reasons for why they aren't being done.