 Gov. Schwarzenegger has declared a drought, and L.A.'s about to get mandatory water use restrictions. On the upside, lots of eco-themed water-related events are happening around town to help you adjust by finding smart ways to curb your water habit.
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.
Photo by Third Eye via Flickr
 Good news: Best Buy's going to let you drop off your e-waste at its stores, free of charge! (via grist) Bad news: This e-waste recycling effort's only a test program in 117 U.S. stores -- none of which are in SoCal.
Hopefully the program will expand, because it'll be a nice, convenient, eco-friendly recycling option for those of you storing old TVs and VCRs in your garages. In the meantime, you can take advantage of Best Buy's haul-away and pick-up program; the company will pick up and recycle your old electronics if you buy a replacement from one of its stores.
Best Buy will also pick up your items without your buying a replacement -- if you're willing to cough up $100 for the service. A better option, in that case, would be to recycle the e-waste via Staples for $10 (downside: no TV take-backs) or via your nearest city e-waste recycling center (downside: inconvenient hours). Here's your full range of options for getting rid of e-waste in eco-fashion.
While reading about Best Buy's test program, I found out more about some of the company's other cool eco-programs that have already been instituted in all stores. Did you know that each Best Buy has a recycling kiosk at the front that will accept small items for free recycling? The stuff you can recycle there ranges from the more common ink cartridges, rechargeable batteries and cellphones, to more difficult-to-recycle products like CDs and DVDs.
I have a huge stack of CDs collected from press kits (many companies use CDs to distribute images) over the last few years, and will be making a trip to drop them off this week!
Photo by Lief K-Brooks
Green eco-boutiques are springing up all over the Valley. Already, there's greenROHINI in Sherman Oaks and Deborah Lindquist's boutique in North Hollywood. Now, Valley Village is getting its own eco-boutique: Green and Greener.
Self-described as an "eco-living general store and design center," Green and Greener will carry everything from sustainable clothing to clay plaster to gardening supplies. In addition to the products, Green and Greener will showcase eco-living inspired art, as well as offer eco-consulting services. Alegre Ramos, who owns Green and Greener with her husband Sean, is an LEED-certified Accredited Professional as well as a businesswoman, and will continue her work in green interior and landscape design too. In fact, Alegre re-did the Green and Green building itself in eco-fashion; you can see the green transformation the building went through here.
Get there on opening day, June 10 from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., and you'll get 10% off your purchase -- in addition to a free gift with your purchase.
And while getting around the Valley without a car isn't always easy, Green and Greener shoppers will be rewarded for their de-car-ing efforts. Customers get a 10% discount on their purchase any day they get to the store without driving. Green and Greener's put together a handy public transportation map to help you out -- and bike racks are right out front!
Green and Greener. 4838 Laurel Canyon Blvd., Valley Village. (866) 337-5602
Photo by Joshua Targownik
 Recycling odd, small items brings out two camps: The "Why're you wasting time with small meaningless things when we've got big problems" crowd, and the "Finally -- a solution for my mini quandary" crowd. This post's for the people in the latter granola group.
And I mean "granola group" literally, as in people who enjoy eating granola. Sign up for The Energy Bar Wrapper Brigade to get 2 cents per used granola bar wrapper and the peace of mind that those trashy things'll get upcycled into backpacks, purses, and other more permanent products.
That program's sponsored by CLIF bar, which has teamed up with the worm-poop eco-fertilizer company TerraCycle to create this upcycling project. CLIF isn't alone; companies ranging from the Stonyfield Farms yogurt company to the rather biz-as-usual Nabisco are also sponsoring TerraCycle projects. Got a Chips Ahoy or Oreo addiction? Pack your kids Capri Suns every day? Save the trash, earn money, and feel saintly green.
Of course, some die-hard environmentalists will argue that the real problem is not the disposal of the packaging but our addiction to single-serving convenience foods -- especially unhealthy, processed stuff like Oreos. I hear that, but still eat the occasional CLIF and Maya bar. I also get the local Redwood Hill Farm's yogurt sometimes, and once, I bought organic oreos.
The companies selling the food products are the ones paying for the projects, from the shipping costs of the materials to the 2-5 cent incentives. This allows TerraCycle to obtain zero-cost materials. "We don’t make a profit from the funds that [the sponsor companies] provide us with," says James Artis of TerraCycle. "We simply use those funds for operating expenses. Where we as a company look to turn a profit is the affordable eco-friendly products that we make from the garbage."
Unfortunately, unless you know of or have signed up an organization you're involved in with the upcycling program, disposing of all this packaging in an eco-manner still isn't easy. TerraCycle's website puts the recycling program info upfront, but the sponsoring companies' websites don't have anything about the programs in a place where consumers could easily find out about it. In addition, while many organizations have signed up with the program, those organizations aren't listed in any kind of public database that would let would-be upcyclers drop wrappers off at a nearby location.
My guess is that too much publicity -- like installing collection bins at every major supermarket -- might overwhelm TerraCycle's resources. Already, TerraCycle's taking a break from adding "brigades" for energy bar wrappers, yogurt containers or soda bottles.
Still, if your school or other group wants to participate, signing up is pretty easy -- and free. Plus the money collected could be used toward fundraisers. I'm wondering if my favorite grocery store, Co-opportunity, can be talked into getting a collection box.
 Santa Monica's gotten greener and greener of late -- too crunchy, perhaps -- to the point that now, we have about a biggish eco-event a day happening within the small city.
Take next week, for example. On Tuesday, we have "Smart Growth," a city-funded FREE Sustainable Santa Monica Event that centers around a presentation by Dimitris Klapsis, LEED Accredited Professional and a senior project manager with HMC Architects in Pasadena. Green building enthusiasts can stop by the Santa Monica Main Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, at 6 p.m. to hear Klapsis speak.
Then on Wednesday, we have "Green is the new Black," an environmental panel and reception organized by the Yale Club of Southern California, who despite their Ivy League education, couldn't manage to find a more creative title than this tired, now-hackneyed one. They're smart enough to charge $15-$25 to cover costs for the event, however. It goes down in The Haworth Showroom at the Water Garden, 1601 Cloverfield Blvd., Santa Monica, from 7 p.m.-9 p.m.
Thursday will take eco-activists back to the Santa Monica Public Library for a panel on "Running a Green Household." The FREE workshop will teach you how to make the best decisions while evaluating and purchasing products and services for your home. That happens in the Multipurpose Room of the SMPL at 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, starting at 7 p.m.
I know there's green stuff happening in other parts of the city; I keep track of them here. It just seems that most of them seem to be happening in Santa Monica. Of course, I live in Santa Monica, so perhaps I get a disproportionate amount of notices about events happening here while I never hear about others. Know 'bout an eco-event that's not on my calendar? Let me know, and I'll add it on.
 L.A.'s got a new green building ordinance, and a green business certification program in the works. To keep your business ahead of the curve, check out Green West, a 3-day green biz conference and expo that starts tomorrow.
Green West isn't a crunchy hippie event. It's a rather slick business conference about making green by going green. According to the organizers, the green market's a $250-billion opportunity that's "growing at exponential rates" -- which explains the exponential growth in the number of press releases I get about green products and services these days.
When: May 20-22, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. each day
Where: South Halls (Halls J & K), Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles
Cost: $70 per one day, $110 for two days, $150 for three days. Purchase tickets online.
There'll be a free welcome reception, an expo hall to wander through, a network lounge for hobnobbing, a green careers center for job seekers, sustainable cooking demos, and lots of panels happening throughout the day.
I thought the six keynote speakers featured were pretty telling of L.A.'s business priorities. On the politics and policy side we have L.A. City Councilman Eric Garcetti, Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster, and an L.A. Department of Water and Power representative. Of the three business speakers, two -- Planet Green and Fox -- represent TV channels, leaving my friend Gil Friend, president and CEO of sustainable consulting company Natural Logic, as the lone business keynote from outside the entertainment industry.
>> Santa Monica's Green Business Certification is getting popular, with beauty shops, hotels and consulting firms all going after the green sticker. Earlier: Office eco-audits and certifications.
 >> Want a Green Business Certification for the city of L.A.? City Councilman Richard Alarcon's expected to introduce a motion to fund a $200,000 pilot certification program with city money. Call your council member to show your support for it.
>> What to expect from a home energy audit. Anh-Minh Le gets her home audited, then details the process and offers tips in the San Francisco Chronicle. (via Re-Nest)
>> D.J. Waldie on why you should take the bus and support public transit funding, even if it sucks sometimes. "All of us should know that we are actually making a new citizenry for a different city." I've actually rarely found the 720 or 704 to be as crowded as Waldie describes, but I guess I generally ride during off-hours. Earlier: D.J. Waldie and going green at Antioch College.
>> Some compromises between environmentalists and big business are beneficial, say Audubon California and Natural Resources Defense Council people as they tout the deals they helped broker between conservationists / environmentalists and oil / development companies.
Last minute eco-Mother's Day gifts:
>> Get your fair trade flowers from Ten Thousand Villages Pasadena, or from the Fair Trade LA booth at the Santa Monica Festival today.
>> Go shopping with your mom at eco-boutique Regeneration in Eagle Rock. Mothers get a 15% discount until May 15.
>> Give your mom a night of eco-pampering by getting mom-and-daughter tickets to "Beauty and Sustainability: An Eco-Evening of Networking, Pampering and Discovery," happening Tuesday, May 13, 7:30 to 10 pm in Beverly Hills.
>> If you're reading this Monday and your gift's gonna be late anyway, check out my list of eco Mother's Day gifts for any budget.
In other news:
>> The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area could get bigger. In what comes as a surprise, at least to me, President Bush signed legislation ordering the Interior Department to consider making additions to the protected area. Many obstacles -- including the high cost of land -- still remain.
>> How science-for-hire helps keep toxic chemicals legal. Read Newsweek's review of David Michaels' new book, "Doubt Is Their Product: How Industry's Assault on Science Threatens Your Health": "'Product-defense firms' have sprung up to spin the science and manufacture doubt—proudly. One boasted on its Web site of persuading the Food and Drug Administration to let an unnamed drug stay on the market for '10 additional years of sales' before the FDA banned it for harming people." (via enviroblog)
>> Dell says it'll reduce packaging waste, after bloggers call the company on it. A similar incident happened with the iPhone way back when: A girl put up a YouTube video about her 300+ page paper iPhone bill, prompting iPhone to make some quick changes.
>> New(ish) misleading excuse from anti-environmentalists: "It'll hurt the poor." That's what one guy getting money from Exxon claims will happen if polar bears are declared an endangered species.
Photo of fair trade rose courtesy of TransFair USA
 Want a free buck? GreenDimes, a service for reducing the junk mail you receive, will now pay you to join their service. In fact, GreenDimes is offering $1 to the first 5 MILLION people who sign up for its FREE service.
Too good to be true? Well, sort of. The free subscribers won't get the full service that GreenDimes offers. What freeloaders will receive: Do-it-yourself removal from common junk mail and catalog lists. If you want GreenDimes to do the work for you -- for ex., auto-removing your name from lists and monitoring your junk mail -- you'll need to fork over $20.
You may ask how exactly GreenDimes is providing a free service when you have to, you know, do the work yourself. That's a fair question. In fact, the "service" GreenDimes is offering for free now is already offered free by Catalog Choice and ProQuo (reviewed here).
However, no company besides GreenDimes will actually PAY you to reduce junk mail, to my knowledge. Even if you're not that impressed by the free "service" GreenDimes is offering, you can still sign up to get that dollar. If you prefer, you can elect to have a tree planted on your behalf, or get a free trial issue of Plenty magazine, in lieu of the buck.
Perhaps that dollar incentive will entice some people who wouldn't have bothered to reduce junk mail otherwise. If all of them seriously take advantage of even just free service, we'd reduce paper waste fairly significantly.
I guess GreenDimes is betting some people will come on the site to sign up for the $20 or $35 services they offer, instead of just taking their free buck. I just hope this green company doesn't just end up $5 million in the red...
Earlier: Get the 'Do Not Mail' registry started
That's right -- Nau, the eco-friendly, fashion-forward clothing store, is closing its doors -- just two weeks after opening its Beverly Center boutique on May 19.
I guess the L.A. debut was very, very bad timing. According to Nau's website, the company "simply could not raise the funds to continue to move forward."
The news is a bit of a blow to the sustainable fashion community. After all, Nau was a company that was out to prove that you COULD do everything eco-friendly and socially-conscious -- AND make money at it. In addition to making sure all its clothes were made of sustainable materials under fair labor conditions, Nau donated 5% of each sale to progressive causes.
"Nau set out to show that business can be a force for positive social and environmental change. Although our current financial obstacles have proven to be insurmountable, it does not mean our fundamental goal is unattainable." That's part of the statement on Nau's website.
I hope that's true. Of course, many companies -- eco or not -- go under during its first few years. And certainly, there are many eco-conscious fashion companies that're doing just fine -- Patagonia being one fine example. In addition, new enviro-friendly boutiques are opening up at a rapid pace.
The upside: All of Nau's lines are on sale for 50% off! Enjoy.
Photo by Siel
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Gov. Schwarzenegger has declared a drought, and L.A.'s about to get mandatory water use restrictions. On the upside, lots of eco-themed water-related events are happening around town to help you adjust by finding smart ways to curb your water habit. 
Emerald City calendar