Missy Higgins: Silver Lake's new environmentalist

We have no shortage of pop stars that get famous then start going in and out of rehab. But after winning a bunch of awards for her music, 23-year-old singer-songwriter Missy Higgins started -- composting.

"I just bought a compost bin yesterday," said Missy (below) when we met up at Flore Vegan Cuisine. "I think it's called Happy Farmer!"

This musician from Melbourne, Australia's been greening her tours for a while now by recycling, opting for organic produce, buying offsets, and driving in hybrids instead of flying. Now, newly relocated to Silver Lake, Missy's lost no time getting settled into a green lifestyle. In addition to composting, Missy's picked up a copy of Greenopia, started shopping at the nearby Saturday farmers' market, and embraced a pedestrian lifestyle. In fact, she walked the half mile from her apartment to Flore -- a distance many Angelenos would have opted to drive.

Here's a celebrity that literally walks the walk, instead of simply buying offsets to greenwash a less-than-eco-friendly lifestyle. While Governor Schwarzenegger has no problem commuting from his SoCal home to Sacramento by private jet, Missy's decision to move to Silver Lake was in part due to environmental reasons. After realizing her flights between Australia and the U.S. were huge contributors to her carbon footprint, Missy decided to settle in Silver Lake -- at least for a year, while promoting her latest album, "On A Clear Night."

"I really don't want to fly unless I absolutely have to," Missy says. And for the most part, Missy stays out of the car too, with the help of her fold-up bike. Silver Lake's a very pedestrian-friendly neighborhood, Missy says, with great cafes, bars, and shops nearby. Pointing to KellyGreen and Reform School, two eco-friendly stores in Silver Lake, Missy optimistically says Angelenos seem to be pretty eco-minded. "All these resources are becoming so accessible," she says.

My own less sanguine view's that many people don't actually take advantage of these resources -- whether it be green stores, walkable neighborhoods, or farmers' markets -- as much as they could. Still, if a newbie Angeleno like Missy finds it fairly easy to green her life, hopefully many others will follow suit.

To that end, Missy's been talking a lot about her own efforts to green her life and tour, even creating five little webisodes (below) that follow her on her eco-adventures, from talking to environmental scientists to visiting an eco-school in Nevada:

 

Missy starts her biodiesel-fueled tour in May, with two L.A. performances on May 13 and 14 at Santa Monica High School.

Top photo by Siel

Comments

[magkay]

EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson has shelved his agency's findings that greenhouse gases are a danger to the public, and on Thursday told Congress that he will initiate a lengthy public comment period about whether such emissions are a risk before responding to a U.S. Supreme Court order.

The move means there is virtually no chance the Bush administration will act to regulate greenhouse gases in response to the high court's decision in the time left in office.

The decision by the Environmental Protection Agency infuriated Democratic lawmakers, and attorneys who won the landmark case before the high court last spring.

"This is a transparent delaying tactic and a major reversal of EPA's position," said Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills). "The Bush administration is recklessly abandoning its responsibility to address the global warming crisis."
THIS MAN IS A THOROUGHBRED NERD & THNKS HE IS GOD'S GIFT!! The EPA bunch on top are sickening to talk about if the public really understands what these NERDS STAND FOR,,,,MORONS!! YES!! I mean what I say because this creature is talking a load of HOG WASH & is afraid he will be jobless if he does not ecert his authority. GET RID OF HIM!! Arnold was right to fight these EPA fellas. The ROB & literally make decent innocent business companies broke to feed their GREED!! If only you will investigate more about EPA,,,U will be so shocked to see how many compaies have paid in MILLIONS & became broke from this DAYLIGHT ROBBERY!!. EPA seems to be put up for them to get paid & go anywhere to harass the business for $$$$ to keep them in office. Then they ahve the audacity to tell the companies NOT TO TALK & TELL ANYONE WHAT THEY HAVE TO PAY OUT IN "FINES" IS CLEAR THEY ARE THIEVES!!

[sheila]

Thank you for pointing out that "buying offsets" is complete BS. For one thing, giant utility-scale "renewable" (snort!) power plants are putting enormous pressure on our beautiful, fragile desert wilderness because utilities want maximum chokeholds on us and maximum profits for themselves. Killing a million acres of wilderness, no matter what kind of greenwashing you do, is unsustainable and unforgiveable, and we must all STOP these projects from moving forward, and insist on policies which encourage LOCAL renewable power, preferably at point of use, but certainly only on previously developed land, and COMFORTABLE CONSERVATION and power storage R & D so all our buildings can be Net Zero without major compromises in comfort and lifestyle.

if we can build and operate a mars rover, we can certainly build and operate a 100% sustainable power economy - it is a question of political will . Call your state Assembly and Senate members today and insist on this type of policy.