 >> The battle over the Expo line continues, with the latest being a parade of anti-at-grade crossings people during Tuesday's community meeting about the light-rail line. Steve Hymon of the Bottleneck Blog also takes a closer look at the controversies.
>> "Bottlemania" author Elizabeth Royte shares her thoughts on America's bottled water culture. "An entire generation has grown up thinking that fountains equal filth, and the bottled water people are happy to exploit that. Some of the ads for water and even for water filters play on this, hyping this idea of public fountains being not quite pure." Earlier: A prize-winning, almost-free drink: L.A. tap water.
>> Bears: The reason for yet more lawsuits. Two enviro groups -- The Center for Biological Diversity and Pacific Environment -- plan to sue under the Endangered Species Act to protect the bears, alleging that "Bush administration officials have been so keen to grant offshore leases, they have not given proper consideration to the potential harm to polar bears." (via Grist) Earlier: Polar bears to plastic bags.
>> Burning garbage to create energy still means a lot of pollutants get produced in the process, but Britain's going to put into action a gasification plant that does just that because the country's running out of landfill space. "A big reason for Britain's landfill addiction is that it's relatively inexpensive to bury rubbish," but E.U. fines will take effect in 2010, changing that cost-benefit balance.
>> Bamboo flooring: Green or not? Bamboo floors can be eco, but not if the bamboo's grown by clearing old-wood forests, fed chemical fertilizers, and treated with formaldehyde. On the bright side, there is a bamboo flooring company that has obtained FSC certification. "The bottom line is that the onus is on you to ask questions before you fork over thousands of dollars for new flooring," writes the Lantern at Slate.com.
Image courtesy of metro.net
>> Why we have horrific traffic snarls in SoCal. The fact that we haven't invested enough on public transit's obvious, but Jeffrey L. Rabin and Dan Weikel of the L.A. Times point to a second reason: "For years, elected county and city officials across Southern California have put economic development and jobs ahead of mobility, approving major commercial and residential developments without requiring builders to pay enough for improvements needed to handle extra traffic."
>> The psychological toll of long commutes. Symptoms range from road rage to "a feeling of being out of control."
>> The health toll of long commutes. "One stark study, published in 2004 in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that nearly one in 12 heart attacks was linked to traffic. Left unresolved was whether the culprit was stop-and-go car exhaust, which can starve the heart of oxygen, or stress, which spikes blood pressure, leading to strokes and heart attacks."
>> How to save $10+ on your next day on the beach: Take the bus! Tara tries out the Culver City bus for 75 cents, avoids $10 parking fee plus $4.38 per gallon on gas, enjoys sunny sands.
>> Earlier: De-car-ing. Fight traffic less, enjoy the city more and avoid being a designated driver -- all while having fun out and about.
>> Also earlier: Q&A: De-car-ing in the Valley, Q&A: Greening a cheap renter's long commute.
Photo: Richard Hartog / L.A. Times
>> A Q&A about the subway to the sea, written by Steve Hymon of Bottleneck Blog. Summary of his post: The route for the subway hasn't been picked yet, the money isn't there, and assuming those obstacles are overcome, it'll still be 2 years until the line starts getting built.
>> Summer excursions, car-free! That's the next live Web chat topic with Metro Board Chair Pam O'Connor, happening noon to 1 p.m. on June 18 at metro.net/chat. According to Metro's press release, "Chair O'Connor will also be available to discuss the potential half cent sales tax dedicated to Los Angeles County transit projects and other transportation issues."
>> The L.A. River Ride happens tomorrow! Tune up your bikes now, and register on-site early tomorrow morning; online registration's now closed.
>> L.A.'s Bike Advisory Committee comments on the City’s Bike Master Plan. Top item on the BAC's comments: "Identify why many policies and recommendations in the previous bicycle master plan have not been implemented." The BAC's action comes after much critique from the bicycling community about BAC's inaction and ineffectiveness -- perhaps a contributing factor as to why not much has been done with the previous master plan.
>> Yet another reason why nuclear energy's unpopular: "Under current plans, the casks of nuclear waste material awaiting burial at Yucca Mountain could be sent into a "chaotic melee of bouncing and rolling juggernauts" in an earthquake, according to Holtec International, one of the nation's largest manufacturers of nuclear waste storage systems.
Photo by Liz O. Baylen, L.A. Times
>> The fight over the Expo line, continued. Steve Hymon writes about his chat with Rick Thorpe, chief executive of the Expo Line Construction Authority, who provides a counterpoint to Damien Goodmon's concerns that some at-grade crossings are unsafe. "If the project must build over- or under-crossings, [Thorpe] said the line would likely be delayed at least two years, presuming money could be found to build those structures."
>> The fight over the L.A.-to-S.F. bullet train. Union Pacific railroad says it doesn't want to share its rail lines with the proposed 200-mph bullet train rail line -- about which voters will vote in November. "Critics question why the California High Speed Rail Authority didn't negotiate a deal long ago with Union Pacific."
>> Schwarzenegger proclaimed California is in a drought and "issued an executive order intended to speed transfers of water to areas experiencing the most severe shortages, help local water districts boost conservation efforts, identify risks to the state's water supply and assist farmers." Earlier: LADWP's "Drought Busters" plan.
>> How to plant a green roof. Re-Nest has an illustrated explanation, thanks to a Park Slope resident who showed New Yorkers the process.
>> Organic wines, explained and reviewed by Roz Cummins of Grist -- who ends her article with a yummy recipe for Syllabub, a rich, wine-flavored dessert.
>> Seven endangered California condors got lead poisoning in the last month, which has U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials in "crisis mode." A state ban on hunting with lead bullets in condor habitat goes into effect July 1.
Image courtesy of metro.net
>> 21 (Eco)Visualizations for Energy Consumption Awareness. Check out these visuals, applications, and devices that can motivate you to conserve by making you see more clearly the environmental impacts of your (or our collective) actions. Above is one of the 21: the USA National GAS Temperature Map (h/t groby)
>> Re-visualizing trees. Artist Rob Kesseler's created strange but pretty electron microscope images of tree bits for his exhibition "Canopy" at Kew Gardens, London. According to New Scientist, "Kesseler's images are intended to show trees on a scale you have never seen before, through artistic manipulation of high-powered microscope technology."
>> Local enviro-group TreePeople will launch a comprehensive California Wildfire Restoration Initiative that will help restore forests that won’t recover on their own. The initiative will include a volunteer mobilization campaign; about 7,500 volunteers are needed to help cover about 10,000 acres over a period of 3-5 years. The effort will be funded by a $1 million grant from the Boeing Co.
>> Girl drives under speed limit, sees 14% gain in fuel efficiency. Writes Karina at Tiny Choices: "I will add ... I did my best to drive the speed limit but I was generally driving within 5 miles of the speed limit, and that there were at least 1 or 2 trips that were a little faster than originally planned because I was in a big hurry."
>> A biodiesel boat trying to circle the globe in record time bumped into an unknown object and is now "limping across the Pacific," reports Wired's Autopia. "Earthrace was on pace to beat the record, set in 1998 by Cable & Wireless Adventurer, by 15 days before the collision. With that kind of cushion, Earthrace might still pull it off, but only if nothing else goes wrong."
>> A new report, Stop Trashing the Climate shows that aiming for zero waste by reducing waste and encouraging the reduce, reuse, recycle mantra "is one of the fastest, cheapest, and most effective strategies available for combating climate change." Get involved with L.A.'s Zero Waste Plan!
>> Dwell on Design begins today! The exhibition portion doesn't start until Saturday, so you still have time to use the coupon code for free admission and see what the event's all about.
Image courtesy of gasbuddy.com
 >> L.A. city offices aren't installing CFLs fast enough, says city controller Laura Chick, who found only 102 out of 958 buildings managed by the city's General Services Department have installed energy-efficient fluorescent lighting. Installing just those bulbs costs about $5 million -- and saved the city $1.5 million off the city's annual electricity bill. Earlier: Energy Week: Roundup of savings
>> Why're people still fighting over the Expo line? Steve Hymon writes about his chat with Damien Goodmon, who's leading a group trying to force a chunk of the Expo to be built underground instead of at grade. "I asked Goodmon why he thinks high school students –- many presumably pretty smart kids –- will get hit by the train at Farmdale when there will be crossing gates.... He rejected the comparison to Blair [High School, located 2 blocks from the Gold Line light rail] -– saying many more students will cross tracks at Dorsey. He also rejected my assertion that his own argument over environmental justice and racism has a sour tinge -- that perhaps he's suggesting that Dorsey students, many of whom are minorities, aren’t smart enough to stay off active railroad tracks."
>> More solar for SoCal. Southern California Edison plans to buy 245 megawatts of power -- enough electricity for about 160,000 homes -- from solar plants to be built in the Antelope Valley by ESolar Inc. The plants are expected to begin operating in 2011.
>> No, nuclear isn't cheap, clean energy, writes Joseph Romm in Salon. "Nuclear power still has so many problems that unless the federal government shovels tens of billions of dollars more in subsidies to the industry, and then shoves it down the throat of U.S. utilities and the public with mandates, it is unlikely to see a significant renaissance in this country. Nor is nuclear power likely to make up even 10 percent of the solution to the climate problem globally."
>> Discovery's new green channel Planet Green debuts at 6 tonight. Check out the lineup, including Alter Eco, "an eco lifestyle and makeover series" presented by a very grizzly-looking Adrian Grenier.
>> Going on a carbon emissions diet? Umbra of Grist recommends a few carbon footprint calculators to get you started.
Photo by Adam via Flickr
 Valley bicyclists: Want better walk-bike-rail connections in your 'hood? Then join the L.A. County Bicycle Coalition and Metro for a bike or walk tour and weigh in on a plan to improve bike and walk access to the Van Nuys Metro Orange Line Station.
When: Saturday, May 31, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
Where: Marvin Braude Constituent Services Center, Conference Room 1A., 6262 Van Nuys Blvd., Van Nuys
Cost: Free, with a free lunch if you RSVP to Dorothy Le at Dorothy@la-bike.org or (213) 629-2142.
According to Metro, this bike-walk deal is "part of a comprehensive study of existing conditions and recommendations for improvements at transit hubs across the Los Angeles County." The Saturday tour is just the first of five. The next four will all focus on Blue Line stations:
- Metro Blue Line Compton Station, Saturday, June 14, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Metro Blue Line Florence Station, Saturday, June 21, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Metro Blue Line Rosa Parks Station, Saturday, July 12, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Metro Blue Line Vernon Station, Saturday, July 19, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Put them in your calendars. Wondering what happens after you put in your two cents? The findings from the tours -- which are part of a study funded by a Caltrans Environmental Justice Planning Grant -- will be put together into a final report of recommendations, scheduled to be completed this fall. That report, in turn, "can be used by cities to apply for grant funds to improve access to the stations," according to Metro.
Yes, that means that Metro's using a grant to do a study to apply for more grants; actually bringing about the recommended changes that come out of these bike-walk tours will be contingent on whether or not we get these future grants...
Find out more about Metro Bikeway Planning here.
Photo by Frederick Dennstedt via Flickr
>> Above is the USA National GAS Temperature Map as of 10 this morning. The redder an area, the more expensive gas is -- and California's quite reddish.
>> Why gas is more expensive in Cali than in other places, and how the federal government could fix the problem with the stroke of a pen. "California's strict air quality regulations require a special blend of gasoline that only a few refineries outside of California are capable of producing. So when demand spikes in California, or a disaster (or simple maintenance overhaul) takes out even just one refinery complex for any extended period of time, prices rise quickly across the state because supply can't easily be found to replace the lost production." At the end of the article is the answer to how YOU can handle this problem.
>> Idling: Bad for your wallet and the planet. "If you're going to be stopped for more than 10 seconds, it's best to shut off your engine. The one exception is when you're stopped in street traffic — it's illegal to kill the engine in many states."
>> Driving fans are the ungreenest component at concerts. Radiohead commissioned an enviro-study of their last two North American tours. "The report revealed that 97 percent of the environmental damage done by the group's 2003 tour — nearly 10,000 tons of CO2, the equivalent of 4,000 trans-Atlantic flights — was fan-related." Stop driving to the Hollywood Bowl, people.
>> The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's getting sued all over the place:
- California joined 10 other states to sue the EPA in an effort to overturn weak ozone standards, which are said to be too weak even according to the EPA's own science advisory board. Health and environmental organizations led by Earthjustice filed a parallel lawsuit.
- A coalition of environmental groups plans to sue the EPA today to "force it to overturn motor vehicle emissions limits for Southern California, charging that the targets fail to address hazardous pollution faced by 1.5 million people who live next to freeways."
Image courtesy of gasbuddy.com
(Alex Thompson looks goofy with his tan arms and white hands . . . when will cycling manufacturers make "tan through" gloves?)
I've written about the most basic bike activism -- riding your bike in LA. I wrote about extending that to talking to friends and family, and taking that a step further to volunteer for a bike organization. What's left? A lot. There are many aspects of L.A.'s car culture that cyclists need to adjust in order for LA to be a bike friendly city. Right now there simply aren't enough people doing enough things.
So what can you do? The third way to bike activism is to get creative. You can create an organization, or become a lone wolf agitator. You could organize a group ride, pull off a media stunt, or become a regular at public meetings. You could document biking through writing, blogging, the ibikeu Wiki, film or photograph. You can take a leadership role in an existing bike organization. There are many needs, and even more approaches.
(Bike activists argue at the L.A. Bicycle Master Plan update meeting in West L.A. Photo by Franz Ellers, with Alex's camera!)
What you will do, if you get creative with activism, is fail. I know this because I personally have failed more often than I have succeeded at bike activism. I failed publicly on a joint project called Roll With It. I failed on my first project, Critical Commute, which I embarked on with almost no knowledge of existing bike activism and culture. I failed in trying to organize UCLA cyclists to lobby for a stronger UCLA Bicycle Master Plan. Ask me in private and I'll share my more recent failures. The point is to keep trying, and learn from your mistakes. It's OK to fail because, typically, when you succeed, your success will snowball and catalyze more change than you could have anticipated.
I think that documenting bike culture and bike activism is an area where more creative effort is needed. It's also an area in which one can have tremendous impact. Recently, Emerald City reader Nolen Clark recommended I watch "Return of the Scorcher," an influential movie from the '90s about a resurgence in cycling. As I watched it I felt as if the ideas it presented were useful, but unoriginal and commonplace. Then it hit me -- this movie has been watched by almost every bike activist in the United States who has operated in the last decade. It was so influential that everyone learned the ideas within it, making the ideas ubiquitous, and therefore the movie eventually made itself obsolete. It seems basic to me because it is part of today's base of knowledge; it has become an element of the foundation of knowledge from which bike activists operate. That is powerful.
(Two cyclists ride on the 405 during a traffic jam, a controversial instance of bike activism. Photo by Alex Thompson)
More recently a group called Crimanimal Mass mixed a creative ride idea with careful documentation to make a powerful statement about Los Angeles car culture. 25 cyclists (including me!), along with 3 rollerbladers, took to the 10 freeway, heading east onto the interchange to the 405 North, and eventually exiting onto Santa Monica Blvd. In the midst of the rush hour parking lots we call "freeways," I felt safe riding, since vehicle speeds were below eight mph. Organizers documented the ride using multiple video cameras and carefully crafted the footage for viewing on YouTube and Vimeo. The footage was picked up by numerous bloggers, and hundreds of thousands of people viewed the videos and read the articles.
Now, you might exclaim "what positive impact can breaking the law and riding where you don't belong possibly have?" "People are going to be put off by your wanton disregard for the law," you could argue. Many were, but the footage of cyclists passing cars stopped in bumper to bumper traffic on the gargantuan 405 raised interesting questions. Why is it that our transportation infrastructure is so broken that it doesn't function when it is most needed, at rush hour? Why is it that cyclists are better able to make use of a system designed for cars? Cyclists participating in the (second) Freeway Traffic Jam Ride succeeded in raising those questions in an intriguing way, a way not easily dismissed. They catalyzed conversations between citizens about highway infrastructure and cycling. By starting those conversations, they don't just help cyclists, but they help everyone who is stuck in traffic. It was a unique and creative instance of effective activism.
(Bikes and trees go together, a creative post-Freeway Ride use of trees. Photo by Alex Thompson)
Crimanimal Mass would have been far less effective had they received less media attention. That's the risk with more creative activism: there's no guaranteed payoff. However, the upside is that you can have impacts that conventional activism can only dream about. No mass e-mail by an established advocacy organization could have a similar impact as the Freeway Ride videos or Return of the Scorcher. This is true of other forms -- if you start a new organization there is a chance it will fail, but if it grows, then you have massive success. If you blog, there is a chance you will have trouble reaching new readers, but if you succeed you have created a powerful new voice for cyclists. These are higher-risk forms of activism, but they carry with them a chance of an avalanche of benefits for cyclists.
Next week I'll write about . . . I don't know what I'll write about. Perhaps I will write more about other forms of activism. What would you like to know about cycling in L.A.?
>> Coal: Still dirty. And now we've got a new website -- Clean Coal Body Slam -- that has "pulled together some of the best and most outspoken leaders on the environmental, public health and economic effects of America's addiction to coal." There I found the best clean coal ad ever, below.
>> Umbra of Grist has a few tips on wearing skirts with bikes, but none seem particularly easy to implement. Anyone have better suggestions?
>> If your skirt-wearing habit keeps you off a bike, check out these other ways to green your commute. I use the "Stay home" method.
>> Continue to fill up your tank and you may have to deal with a new form of theft: thieves drilling into fuel tanks to get vehicles' gas.
>> In case you were having a good day, here's a debbie downer: Thanks to climate change, we're at increased risk of crop failures, outbreaks of invasive species and insects, and depleting the nation's water resources -- and those problems "will persist for at least the next 25 to 50 years," according to the Department of Agriculture.
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>> The battle over the Expo line continues, with the latest being a parade of anti-at-grade crossings people during Tuesday's community meeting about the light-rail line. Steve Hymon of the Bottleneck Blog also takes a closer look at the controversies.
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