Starting tomorrow, June 22, all my green L.A. lifestyle blogging will happen on my own website, green LA girl.
Though Emerald City will no longer be updated, LATimes.com will always have fresh, green, Pulitzer Prize-winning news reporting from L.A. and beyond on its Environment page. And a new blog called Greenspace, written by the LA Times' environmental reporters, will launch Thursday.
>> The second Westside Permaculture Gathering will be an "Intro to Permaculture" primer, put together by community permaculturists, as well as a local potluck. All are invited to the free event: Monday, June 23, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room of the Santa Monica Main Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica. Contact Sean Jennings at swjennings@gmail.com with questions.
>> At the "ReGreen: Green Home Improvement" event, everyone from homeowners to design professionals can find out about the ReGreen program -- "best practice guidelines and targeted educational resources for sustainable residential improvement projects" developed by the American Society of Interior Designers' Foundation and the U.S. Green Building Council. The free event happens Tuesday, June 24., from 6 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. at the Multi-Purpose Room of the Santa Monica Public Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica. RSVP to gbrc@globalgreen.org are appreciated but not required.
>> Join artist Jane Tsong and curator Donna Conwell for a conversation at the Farmlab Public Salon, " 'Everything is Alive' and Other Street Projects." "Everything is Still Alive" is an art project in which native California poppies were planted on patches of exposed earth in the L.A. area: "where the poppies survive, orange blossoms reveal the disparate patterns of land management." The free event takes place Friday, June 27 at noon at Farmlab, 1745 N. Spring Street #4, Los Angeles.
>> With more people opting for less travel or more eco-travel, airlines are suffering -- but also getting greener, sort of. Wired's Dave Demerjian has the scoop from the Eco-Aviation Conference this week.
So-called biodegradable or compostable flatware come with their own problems, an L.A. Times article pointed out yesterday. Since most of these only biodegrade in industrial composting facilities that get things really hot -- and since few cities have such facilities, let alone city-wide collection programs for these newfangled disposables, most of the allegedly greener food containers and utensils go to landfills, just like non-recyclable goods.
But if you live in Santa Monica and have a green bin, you're in luck. The city of Santa Monica's green bins now accept compostable food containers and utensils, in addition to yard waste and food scraps. To make sure all the compostable containers break down properly, the collected waste's then taken up to an industrial composting facility in Sun Valley.
Although the city's already trucking all the green bin waste to Sun Valley, public outreach about the program hasn't yet begun -- which, according to Wes Thompson, solid waste supervisor for the city of Santa Monica, means the program hasn't officially launched. "Our fliers are at the graphic designers," Thompson says.
Santa Monica residents don't have to wait for the fliers to hit their mailboxes, however. Start putting their compostable containers and food scraps into your green bins now!
Of course, if you live in an apartment like I do, you don't yet have your own green container. "We're working on that," says Thompson, who says multifamily housing units in Santa Monica tend to be landscaped more -- and thus produce more yard waste -- than similar units in other cities. "If we're going to get to zero waste, [expanding the green bin program] will be the only way."
Getting a city-wide green bin program in place for multifamily housing units, however, will likely take a couple years, says Thompson. In the meantime, Santa Monica will get a smaller program: Green bins where people can drop off their compostables will be placed in a couple spots around the city. Thompson doesn't have the spots picked out yet, but said the bins will definitely be in place by the end of the summer.
If you don't live in Santa Monica, this green bin program sadly does NOT apply to you. The city of L.A., for example, cannot handle compostable food containers in its green bins -- though vegan food scraps are allowed. You can try to push the city to go the Santa Monica route -- or just get into the habit of using your own, non-disposable utensils.
When: Saturday, July 19, 2008 at 2 p.m. Where: Private home in Simi Valley; RSVP to judibikel@aol.com for address Cost: Free -- with RSVP and swappables (read on).
Twenty-five jammers and canners will gather over coffee and tea, each bringing to the table at least four 1-pint containers of canned or frozen jam, jelly, preserves or chutney -- along with a small tasting sample and a copy of the recipe to swap with other members. Serious jammers can take eight pints to the party, to leave with eight pints.
Of course, your jam and its recipe must have some connection to slow food -- whether it's made of local, organic ingredients or created from a family recipe. For eco-preserve-making inspiration, check out Jill Davis Doughtie of Eye Level Pasadena's photo-illustrated preserve-making process, starting out with Pasadena farmers market strawberries and apricots.
Both Slow Food L.A. members and nonmembers are invited -- but again, don't forget to RSVP to judibikel@aol.com or you might be wandering around Simi Valley for a very long time.
>> Thanks to NYC Mayor Bloomberg, cyclists in the Big Apple will get a temporary 6.9-mile car-free route from the Brooklyn Bridge to 72nd St. The "Summer Streets" program will "give New Yorkers unprecedented access to the streets for exercise and exploration from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on three consecutive Saturdays in August, the 9th, 16th and 23rd." Will Villaraigosa give Angelenos something similar?
If you're inspired to bike after reading Kathryn Pope's post debunking the idea of cars as safety devices -- but are still kind of scared about biking the traffic-clogged streets of L.A. -- take an urban biking class with C.I.C.L.E. to ease yourself into the cycling culture.
C.I.C.L.E.'s "Bikes in the City" Education Program helps everyone -- from those who haven't yet learned to ride a bike to already-comfortable cyclists interested in safer riding techniques. Upcoming classes include:
Learn to Ride (for adults), happening Saturday, June 28 at 9 a.m. (already full!)
Can You Handle It?: Beginning Bike Handling Skills Workshop, happening Saturday, July 26, 9 a.m.
Handle it Better!: Intermediate Bike Handling Skills Workshop, happening Saturday, Aug. 2, 9 a.m.
All classes cost $15 and will be held in Northeast L.A.; pre-register for specific details by contacting info@CICLE.org or (323) 478-0060.
Although individual cyclists can pick up and practice lots of bike safety skills, our cities, too, can do much to make make bicycling safer and more fun for urbanites. And this weekend, city mayors at the 76th U.S. Conference of Mayors in Miami will be considering a few de-car-ing resolutions, including "ensuring bicycling is integrated into national transportation, climate, energy and health policy initiatives" and "support for public transportation in light of increasing fuel costs" (PDF of proposed resolutions here).
L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Beverly Hills' Mayor Barry Brucker are among the attendees, along with other SoCal mayors. Check to see if your mayor's on the roster, then contact him/her and urge them to sign these resolutions.
Question: Do you have any sources on recycling in Orange County? We live in an apartment [in Yorba Linda], where there isn't (apparently) recycling available. (Management says that the trash stream gets recycled separately, but I'm way skeptical.) I used to live in Seattle, and I can't get used to not recycling stuff. — Greg
Answer: Your management is actually telling the truth. The city of Yorba Linda contracts with Taormina Industries for trash and recycling services. While homeowners get 3 bins (one for yard waste, one for mixed recyclables, and one for everything else) in Yorba Linda, commercial and apartment trash all goes into one bin, which then gets sorted to fish out the recyclables.
>> How to live a $4-a-gallon lifestyle in the coming $5-a-gallon world. "The answer to living the $4 a gallon life when gas hits $5 a gallon is to get--one way or another--the equivalent of five days of commuting for the price of only four. That's like paying only $4 per gallon when it's $5 at the pump," says Colin Beavin of No Impact Man, before giving you 6 ways to achieve this lifestyle.
>> How to avoid 1,9-dioxane in your dish soap. Make your own, which is what Karina of Tiny Choices tried. Learn from her mistakes: "I think I’m going to have to try again, but next time, I’ll use a different kind of soap, a larger pot, and maybe mix in more water right at the beginning to thin it out."
>> How to save energy by saving water. Jessica Jensen of Low Impact Living wants you to consider the energy-water link, and offers seven ideas for water and energy savings.
>> How to live with just 100 things. TIME reports on a decluttering trend, with this quote from an organizer consultant: "People are finding that their homes are full of stuff, but their lives are littered with unfulfilled promises." (via kottke)
>> How to heat up solar. Forbes tries to answer the questions: "What would it take for the U.S. to move to a 50% renewable energy economy by 2020? What would it take for India to become a 100% solar economy by 2050?"
For a mani-pedi with an eco touch, drop by Recess, a new L.A. salon with an eco-chic feel. Here you can soak your feet in a scented bath, dry them on bamboo towels, then add a massage with organic essential oils followed by a moisturizing treatment with paraben-free lotions.
The swanky and spacious 2000+ sq. ft. salon has a green mission, though the environmentally free details aren't readily noticeable. Recess' owner Nidhi Lal outfitted the salon with FSC-certified wood, low-VOC paints, LED lights and repurposed materials and is working on getting LEED certification.
Especially considering the swanky look of the place, Recess' services are quite inexpensive. A 30-minute manicure -- complete with a scented soak, warm towel treatment, and moisturizing -- costs $25, a similar 40-minute pedicure's $35. For $6 a pop ($8 for feet), you can add on extras like a salt and sugar scrub or an organic essential oil massage.
At the end of the treatment, you even get to take home the buffer, orangewood stick, nail file, and foot file used during your treatment. Recess prides itself in never re-using these items, and so gives them to you free.
The least eco part of of the salon, unfortunately, is the nail polish itself, even though the nail polish lines Recess uses -- SpaRitual and Zoya -- avoid the worst three ingredients found in some nail polishes: toulene, formaldehyde and DBP. That said, everyone from L'Oreal to Wet 'n' Wild have removed these three baddies, so Zoya and SpaRitual aren't exactly much more eco than conventional nail polishes today. Recess does still have that strong chemical smell you get at conventional nail salons; so to call the polish non-toxic may be a bit of a stretch, though it could be called less toxic.
Still, for those who can't give up their nail polish habits, Recess offers a greener option. The gorgeous interior even works well as a party spot, making Recess the perfect salon for mani-pedi parties.
Recess. 8408-B Beverly Blvd. Los Angeles. 323.782.9919
Work in Hollywood? Take a break right now and head over to the new Hollywood Lemon Grove Farmers' Market, which opened 9 a.m. today at 4959 Lemon Grove Ave.
Get there before noon and enter a free raffle to win a basket of market-fresh produce. If you have kids, take them along; Network for a Healthy California is hosting a "Power Play" event for children at 11 a.m. The market will be open until 1 p.m.
>> The greenest way to dry your hands in a public bathroom. Wiping them on your pants is one option, but Slate.com's The Lantern also notes that "The bottom line is that hand dryers will be the greener choice in about 95 percent of circumstances."
L.A. girlKathryn Popehas a goal for 2008: To get rid of her car entirely by June! Follow her de-car-ing adventures.
Maybe it's because I'm a woman. Maybe it's because I'm barely 5 feet tall. Maybe it's because I never quite lost my baby face from childhood. Whatever it is, when I tell people that I'm going car-free (riding the bus, biking, using the scooter), I often get what I call the "safety reaction."
"Oh no! You're going alone?" "I had a friend who was mugged once. You could be mugged." "You're just so vulnerable without a car."
The safety reaction comes out of concern and care, and I appreciate knowing that people in my life are concerned about me. I also understand that many people (especially women) think carefully about personal safety. The number of women who are abused by family, friends and strangers is shocking, and I know it's hard to look at the world from a fearless place, with all the fearful stories we hear. Still, this fear of car-free transportation (and especially bus-riding) is harmful, both to women and those who are often stereotyped when we react fearfully.
I didn't grow up riding the bus, so my public transit experience was limited when I hit adulthood. Since then, I've ridden public transit often (not just in L.A., but in New York, Las Vegas, Vancouver, Chicago, rural Mexico, urban Korea, New York, Seattle). The first time I rode a city bus, it was kind of scary. It felt so public and risky, compared to my trusty car.
The irony, though, is that driving a car doesn't necessarily keep us safe.
About 115 people die each day in car accidents in the U.S. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there are about 43,000 people killed and about 2.9 million people injured each year in car accidents. Drivers and passengers account for around 37,500 of those deaths, while pedestrian and cyclist deaths only account for around 5,500. Of course, there are more drivers and passengers on the road than pedestrians and cyclists, but the numbers do show that cars aren't exactly havens of safety.
And what about crimes that somehow involve cars? I think of car theft, carjacking, the creepy feeling I get in parking structures (day or night), but also the shocking rates of crime at gas stations, in Wal-Mart parking lots, and even inside our cars, with the string of freeway shootings this year and last. It seems that we may not be safe from crime and accident in our cars.
Then why do cars feel safer?
Still, the idea persists that we're all safer when we're driving than we are when taking the bus, biking, or using some other method of transit. In a car, we can lock the doors. We navigate the steering wheel. We feel in control. I don't have to be in public if I drive. I can carry my private space with me. This creates an illusion of safety. According to Winifred Gallagher, who writes about the psychology of home, this feeling of refuge is psychologically comforting, especially for women. It's no wonder then, that we feel safer, somehow, in our cars. Cars feel like a refuge from the city, even when that refuge is an illusion.
Cars make our neighborhoods less safe too.
When everyone is driving, fewer people are walking and biking in our neighborhoods. The fewer the people around, the more we're tucked away in cars and houses, and the more deserted our neighborhoods, the more crime there is. I feel safer when I see my neighbors outside, walking their dogs, carrying groceries, complaining about the Hummer limos at the business at the end of the block. And I feel doubly safe when I start to recognize the people, wave to them, and smile. When I can see a person walking by, no matter what race, gender, age, or sense of fashion, and nod or wave instead of wondering if I'll safely pass, this is true safety.
So what do we do?
It's important to notice that our instinctive reaction to fear is to isolate ourselves in our cars and homes -- and that the true solution is not isolation. Going out without a car helps us (especially women) feel and be more free in the world (anyone remember the "Take back the Night" campaign?) -- and it helps to create a world of walkers and bikers, to begin creating community in our neighborhoods and cities. It can't happen overnight, but I think it can happen, and each trip we take without a car, we speed up the process.
Recently, the students in one of my classes, upon learning that I don't come to school with a car, began the safety reaction. Stories began circulating about women who had been mugged, hurt, or worse. Statistics were recited. Then, the only man in the class, a Vietnam veteran, finally spoke. "Some people I worry about," he said, "but I'm not worried about you at all, because you're not afraid. You'll do all right."
I think we can all do all right and feel safe, if we give it a try.
* * * An update: June has arrived, and I'm finally ready to sell my car and become officially car-free. Thank you, everyone, for the motivation and inspiration to keep going with my car-free experiment over the past few months!
>> Venice boardwalk got 12 new recycling bins! Purchased with proceeds from a tax on private trash haulers, the bins will be emptied and maintained by homeless people working for a local non-profit agency called Chrysalis Enterprises. The recycling program will pay for itself by selling the collected materials to recycling companies. Above is L.A. Council member Bill Rosendahl at the bins' "unveiling" on Thursday.
>> Chat about "staycations" -- and the potential half-cent sales tax for L.A. County transit projects and other transportation -- with Metro Board Chair Pam O'Connor tomorrow at noon.
>> Respected eco-blog WorldChanging bans "skeptical" comments on climate change. "We will delete comments which deny the absolutely overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change, just as we would delete comments which questioned the reality of the Holocaust or the equal mental capacities and worth of human beings of different ethnic groups."
>> State Republicans are trying to roll back policies that address climate change, such as curbs on greenhouse gas emissions and regulations banning some diesel engines. "None of those laws has any direct connection to the state budget; changing them will do nothing to close California's $15.2-billion deficit."
>> Read an interview with Jane Goodall, best known for her work with chimps. Now, Goodall's working on saving the environment -- and encourages you to do the same.
Fast food's gone organic, with the opening of O! Burger in West Hollywood late last month. This cute burger joint uses only certified organic ingredients, bringing grass-fed beef, free-range turkey and spinach-and-corn veggie burgers to the masses.
Already, the small restaurant's doing a brisk business. A steady stream of customers dropped in for their burger fix when I stopped by mid-afternoon on Sunday; many stuck around to enjoy their meals in the small dining area or at the sunny sidewalk tables.
In addition to the burgers, customers can get organic hot dogs and fries -- and pick from drinks ranging from kombucha to organic sodas to an organic shake made with Aseel dates, bananas, chocolate and live-culture yogurt.
O! Burger's burgers are pricier than those at chain fast-food places -- my veggie burger (above) cost $7.99, for example -- but come with organic cucumbers and grilled onions -- as well as the health benefits of eating organic.
O!Burger 8593 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood. (310) 854-0234.
Top photo courtesy of O!Burger; other photos by Siel
>> Spring St. in downtown L.A. got a new pair of bike racks in front of 626 Gallery. Writes Eric Richardson of blogdowntown: "While certainly every rack is helpful for a cyclist looking to park, the excitement the sight of just one or two new racks can generate illustrates how far off the mark our city is as a whole."
>> Existing bike racks get busy. The usually half-full rack at Variety/E Channel Meridian Club building on Wilshire was packed, forcing Peggy Archer of LAist to tie her bike at a meter.
>> Free Bike Fridays on Governors Island in New York lets visitors try out NYC's sustained bike share program for free every Friday until Oct. 4. Streetsblog made a short video of people -- including a tourist from California -- taking advantage of the free bikes.
Have questions about public transit? Check out The Transit Coalition's bulletin boards for answers. The Transit Coalition's a nonprofit that advocates for better public transportation in the greater L.A. area, and the coalition's bulletin boards are used to promote a free exchange of ideas about transit.
Especially compared with the disorganized comment streams of most transit blogs, the Transit Coalition's boards are fairly well organized by topic and transit line, allowing you to quickly follow a discussion about the issues that affect you. More importantly, these boards attract some serious transit wonks -- which means that if you ask a specific question about the Gold Line, you'll likely receive a detailed, informed answer. In fact, your burning questions may already have been answered on the board; just read through the discussion to find out everything you wanted to know about transit in L.A.
According to Bart Reed, executive director of the Transit Coalition, open access to and free exchange of transit information is imperative to creating a viable public transit system. "How do you grow if you don't provide information?" he asks rhetorically. Thus the boards allows a diverse group of people to weigh in -- though the discussion here is of a much higher level than on most blogs, with fewer inane questions of the "why don't they build a monorail from my doorstep to the elevator at my job?" variety.
About 200 people are active participants on the boards; thousands from all over the country are active readers. The Transit Coalition also informs people of transit happenings via its weekly e-newsletter and monthly print newsletter. Reed points to a growing interest in transit issues among Angelenos, and is optimistic about the future of public transit in L.A. "All of these things haven't been in alignment for so very long are finally lining up," Reed says. "This is the year where the citizens of L.A. are frustrated enough that they may actually say yes to something."
Want to get more involved with the Transit Coalition? Everyone's invited to the coalition's monthly meetings; the next one happens June 24, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Philippe The Original, 1001 N. Alameda St., Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, I've never been able to attend these meetings -- because I can't find a viable public transportation method to get me to and from there that late in the evening. Maybe after the subway to the sea gets built ...
Going a step further, the Orange County Transportation Authority's declared this week Dump the Pump Week. What you get out of it: A free OCTA bus pass valid any day this week and a chance to win prizes by entering a drawing for gift certificates, movie tickets, Dump the Pump T-shirts or Metrolink Tickets.
Relatedly, the Kiss My Gass protest kicked off yesterday (via LAist). The campaign basically asks people to avoid a chosen oil company -- at the moment, ExxonMobil -- for a month. The point is to simultaneously protest high gas prices while encouraging people to rethink their dependency on gasoline.
The only good news about driving has to do with cars that aren't available yet. For example, hydrogen cars are getting celebrity drivers behind their wheels -- though layperson ownership remains very impractical: BMW's Hydrogen 7 "can be filled only by a trained professional, who takes it to Oxnard and refuels it with liquid hydrogen cooled to 423 degrees below zero, a round trip that can take three hours."
>> Starting this winter, L.A. plans to seed clouds to boost rainfall. Critics call the measure desperate, pointing out that public funds may be better used for water conservation measures, as the results of seeding are unpredictable and could cause landslides.
>> New eco-channel Planet Green gets a thumbs down from Troy Patterson at Slate.com: "Planet Green turns the entire Earth into a lifestyle accessory, often to uniquely awful effect." Troy does concede that "Some of the home-improvement shows are engaging and impressive, and a forthcoming show called Greensburg, about the reconstruction of a tornado-ravaged town in Kansas, has promise."
Wine drinkers: You can now up-cycle your corks! In addition to the juice pouches and cookie wrappers and other detritus from our grab-n-go culture, the eco-company TerraCycle's now accepting wine corks -- both natural and synthetic -- which the company will turn "into cool products that will be available nationally at major retailers."
It's unclear what exactly these products will be, but the illustration provided on TerraCycle's Web page looks like a doormat will be one of the goods produced.
Best part of this dealio: While other TerraCycle programs require you to sign up and are really geared towards groups and organizations, this wine cork program makes up-cycling easy for mere individuals. If you've got fewer than 100 corks, all you have to do is mail them in to TerraCycle, ATTN: Cork Brigade, 121 New York Ave., Trenton, NJ 08638.
Got more than 100 corks? Then go ahead and sign up with TerraCycle to get prepaid return shipping labels.
>> The most eco wading pool is the public pool -- or the beach! Says Umbra of Grist: "If you live in a city with a nearby wading pool, please use that publicly available resource instead of your kiddie pool. It's the public transit of summer swimming."
>> One staycation idea: Form a summer nature club. "Parents, grandparents and even kids can create clubs quickly in any neighborhood, urban or suburban. This is an approach that can reduce fear and increase motivation."
>> Summer dilemmas for the modern eco-parent. Lou Bendrick shares her best tips in Grist: "I like to approach the topic of global warming the way I approach the topic of sex: with a steady stream of age-appropriate facts. My first grader, for instance, ... doesn't need to know about ocean acidification any more than she needs know about chlamydia." Relatedly, here are tips on greening your kid this summer.
If you're in the building biz, this is a good time to get involved with the U.S. Green Building Council, since L.A., Pasadena, Santa Monica and many other SoCal cities have all passed green building ordinances. Whether or not you've passed your LEED AP exam, you can stop by the free "Kick Off Summer & Get Involved" event, organized by the L.A. Chapter of USGBC:
When: Wednesday, June 18, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. Where: Knoll Showroom, 214 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 200, Santa Monica Cost: Free! RSVP before June 16 to krobinson@usgbc-la.org with "RSVP Knoll" in the subject line.
Go network over food and drinks, and find out more about USGBC's L.A. chapter while you're at it. For more generalized green biz networking, check out this list of eco-shmoozing events.
Inspired by the green building event? Then put that energy to use by putting together a green project, design or idea and submitting it to the Lifecycle Building Challenge (via Inhabitat). Just come up with an innovative way "for reducing to conserve construction and demolition materials and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by designing buildings for adaptability and disassembly."
The contest's open and free to all! If you're one of the six winners, you'll get free passes to eco events like West Coast Green and EPA Lifecycle Construction Conference, as well as opportunities to present and promote your work. Get your submission in by the July 31 deadline.
>> Speed date environmentalists. A Green Speed Dating event happens on Sunday, 6:15 p.m. - 9 p.m., at The Hideout, 112 W. Channel Rd., Santa Monica.
>> Take a staycation in downtown L.A. Eric Richardson of blogdowntown wonders, however, whether downtown L.A.'s public transportation system is up to the task, especially for those evening hours and the weekends.
>> Get rid of those vinyl shower curtains -- and vinyl in general. "Vinyl shower curtains sold at major retailers across the country emit toxic chemicals that have been linked to serious health problems, according to a report released today by a national environmental organization."
>> Start a no-dig garden and grow your own food using "a low-water, sustainable technique." Farmer Pat Marfisi practices what he preaches in the Hollywood Hills: "I haven't watered in 10 days," he says. "This is what I want people to know: You can have beauty and abundance without a lot of water."
>> Follow the trend and get on the bus.
"The MTA released its May ridership numbers for its buses and rail
lines and ridership on the rail side was up six percent over May 2007
from 7,192,173 in May 2007 to 7,625,541 this past May."
Mrs Winston's Green Grocery has what I believe is the greenest, tastiest salad bar in the greater L.A. area.
The huge salad bar at this unassuming Santa Monica spot boasts everything from vegan chili to organic produce to curried tofu to tuna salad to noodles to vegan Caesar salad dressing to all manner of sprouts. Mrs Winston's also has a sandwich bar and offers a number of quick, healthful snack bars and drinks -- including a couple brands of chilled kombucha -- as well as more decadent items like vegan and organic cookies.
Around noon today, a couple friends and I joined the growing but fast-moving lunch line, picked up compostable containers and filled them up with fresh, healthy yumminess. We then tried to guess the weight of our containers at the counter; on Fridays, if you guess the cost of your meal down to the cent, you get your food free (we failed). Then we took a seat in the sunny courtyard outside and enjoyed our meals.
Afterward, we composted our containers! While most places that offer compostable containers don't actually provide composting bins for post-meal disposal, Mrs. Winston's has green bins lined up -- with clear signs pointing out what goes where.
Although Best Buy's recycling page doesn't mention it, you can indeed recycle CDs and DVDs at Best Buy stores!
I first read about this recycling opportunity in Best Buy press release about its new trial e-waste recycling program. So yesterday, I stopped by a Best Buy store for the first time in years -- and found that a three-section recycling bin at the front of the store takes not just the usual cellphones and ink jet cartridges, but CDs and DVDs too.
So I duly dropped off a big stack of CDs into the bin. The sign on the bin says "drop off or mail" -- but the mail-in option only exists for the cellphones. To get rid of your CDs, you will need to go to your nearest Best Buy.
Find recycling this stuff a hassle? Just keep a little box in your closet or under your bed, and throw in your cartridges, small gadgets, and rechargeable batteries as they become obsolete. Let them collect -- it's not as if the stuff's organic garbage that'll go bad -- and make a recycling trip once or twice a year.
>> The ocean off San Clemente is getting an artificial reef made of about 125,000 tons of volcanic rock. The reef is intended to serve as the foundation for a kelp forest, which is hoped to serve as the basis for a complex marine ecosystem. The artificial reef is part of an effort to undo the damage from the nearby San Onofre nuclear plant.
>> Kleenex: Still Kleercutting. Greenpeace teams up with the Natural Resources Defense Council to step up the campaign against Kleenex-owner Kimberly-Clark, which still purchases pulp for its disposable products from destructive logging operations in North America’s Boreal Forest. The latest: A billboard displayed on the route traveled by Kimberly-Clark executives in Texas. Earlier: Kleercut campaign keeps spoofing Kleenex.
>> Wooden bicycles from around the world. "Made with whatever wood can be found, they use small wooden home-made wheels covered with discarded rubber rims. Forward movement depends on the rider pushing with their feet." (via kottke)
Love Korean BBQ? Missed the Great L.A. River Cleanup? Here's your second chance -- a big clean up of the Glendale narrows section of the L.A. River's happening this Saturday morning. You're invited to join in the cleaning fun -- then nosh on Korean BBQ afterwards.
When: Saturday, June 14, 8:45 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Where: Griffith Park Recreation Center, 3401 Riverside Dr., Los Angeles
Cost: Free. Just show up with a hat, sunscreen and drinking water.
In addition to cleaning up the river, the event's intended to bring together an ethnically and culturally diverse group of volunteers "for a day of hands-on environmental stewardship and cross-cultural connection," according to Heal the Bay's press release. The Glendale Narrows is a community hub, Heal the Bay says: "Only if all communities work together will we be able to restore and revitalize California’s natural settings."
The NAACP, Pacific American Volunteer Assn., and Anahuak Soccer Assn. have all signed on! More than 2,000 people are expected to participate -- including L.A. City Council president Eric Garcetti and leaders from the involved organizations.
Everyone -- of any experience level -- is invited. Rub elbows with your neighbors and maybe pick up a few words in another language (clean-up instructions will be provided in English, Spanish, and Korean) during the BBQ.
One yummy benefit to procrastination: If you hit the farmers' market during the last hour or so, you can get some really, really great deals on organic fruit.
Yesterday, I got two 3-packs of strawberries -- for $6! Yes -- that means just a buck for each one of those little green baskets. The Bautista Family Organic Farm booth was trying to sell all its strawberries before the Wednesday Santa Monica Farmers' Market closed, and I lucked out.
Regular prices got me great deals too though. I got six sweet organic nectarines for $6!
And five heirloom tomatoes plus three zucchini -- all organic from Tutti Frutti farms, all for $6.
Best way to make sure you get the most out of your organic, local strawberries: Wash and cut them as soon as you get home, and eat the really ripe ones during the process. This morning I had steel cut oats decorated with strawberries.
High gas prices are bringing up a lot of ideas for curbing our oil addiction:
>> Go on strike. Spanish truck drivers have stopped deliveries; they want "government regulations guaranteeing a minimum price for their services, above fuel costs."
>> Develop nempimania, a new condition defined by hypermiling hybrid drivers.
>> Raise parking prices. Free parking at work and other places -- as well as too-cheap parking meter rates -- have people unnecessarily driving and and adding to the congestion.
Avoid higher water utility prices and get a bit more self sufficient by taking the "Introduction to Landscape Rainwater Harvesting" with Joe Linton this weekend. The workshop'll give you an overview of L.A. water issues, take you on a tour of the eco-village's own storm water harvesting landscape features, and get you directly involved in building a terraced swale to detain and infiltrate storm water.
The workshop will take place at L.A. Eco-Village, 117 Bimini Place, Los Angeles this Saturday, June 14, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Make a reservation by contacting (213) 738-1254 or crsp@igc.org, then show up with the $35 workshop fee and your own brown bag lunch.
For a less hands-on experience, attend Sustainable Business Council's panel discussion, titled "Water Wise: Get into the Flow." This event will connect water conservation to money -- not just saving money on your water bill, but on making money as an entrepreneur. The 5-person panel (plus moderator) is made up of business people working in the water conservation sector.
The panel takes place at Livingreen, 10000 Culver Blvd., Culver City, on Tuesday, June 17, 7 p.m.-10 p.m. [Update: This event's been postponed. Check the SBC website for new details.] Cover's $20 -- a tax-deductible donation that includes food and drinks. RSVP online.
Summer's almost here, so get some sun! Besides enjoying the beach, maybe this is the summer you'll start harnessing some of the solar energy for your home -- especially since Californians have lots of rebates and financing options available for home solar systems.
If you're fuzzy on the short- and long-term costs and benefits of installing solar panels, a sun-powered event happening on Monday can help. Titled "Solar by the Numbers: 2008 Financing Options for Home Solar Systems," this informative panel will illuminate "new ways to finance the installation of solar electric and solar thermal systems ... -- options that weren’t available even a year ago."
When: Monday, June 16 at 7 p.m. Where: Santa Monica Main Library, Multi-Purpose Room (2nd floor), 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica Cost: Free; reserve a space by calling (310) 458-4992
The event's put together by Solar Santa Monica, part of Santa Monica’s Office of Energy and Green Building Programs, so the panel discussion will be most relevant to Santa Monica residents, as well as solar manufacturers and installers, financiers, and real estate investors who do work in Santa Monica.
Speakers include Gary Groff of New Resource Bank, one of Solar Santa Monica’s financial partners; Nat Kreamer of Sun Run, a company that provides solar electricity through a guaranteed power purchase agreement; and Maurice “Mo” Rousso of Helio Micro Utility Inc., which offers renewable energy financial products.
