>> 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.
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
>> 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.
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.
Enviro-fans of Dwell magazine: You'll be glad to know that the focus for the 3rd Annual Dwell on Design will be sustainability in the L.A. area. The conference and exhibition will showcase and discuss modern design, architecture while examining ways to encourage sustainable living in an increasingly dense city.
And you can check out the exhibition -- with more than 200 exhibitors -- for free! Just use the codes below.
When: Conference on June 5 and 6; Exhibition on June 7 and 8 (exhibition preview for conference attendees on June 6). Where: Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles. Cost: Exhibition tickets cost $25 online (free with code BDODEC) or $50 at the door; conference registration costs $349 ($50 off with code GRP22SP). Register here.
The exhibition include lots of green panels that examine everything from what L.A.'s new green building codes will mean to new resource and energy efficiency innovations to sustainable interiors. Lots of panel members are also LEED-accredited professionals!
If the conference and tour aren't enough, you can sign up to take a tour of green homes in L.A. And on June 6, you can watch 16 L.A. designers produce 2D sustainable and modular dwellings, rooms and furniture in a tournament-party at MOCA. $50 gets you into the evening event, featuring an open bar and a live DJ.
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...
>> L.A.'s greener than San Francisco and New York City, according to a study by think tank Brookings Institution. But Margot Roosevelt delves through the fuzzy math: "The calculations did not account for the fact that half the city's electricity comes from coal-fired power plants. Instead, Brookings used a state-wide average that included the hydroelectric and nuclear plants in Northern California. Omitted from the data are emissions from industries and commercial buildings, and from local roads apart from federal highways." Also omitted were CO2 emissions from long-distance commuters.
>> Your own private L.A. traffic island. Guerrilla gardeners are taking over unkempt public spaces, bringing greenery to urban blights. "One of a slew of DIY gardening currents, such as permaculture (design of highly sustainable ecosystems), urban homesteading, composting and free fruit movement, guerrilla gardening is a response to dwindling green space, limited land and suspicions about food sources, say experts."
>> Go species scoping in the Santa Monica Mountains. BioBlitz 2008 starts at noon to end 24 hours later! Join scientists, naturalists, and fellow Angelenos to observe and record as many species as possible in a 4-hour-shift. Register on-site at one of the stations (PDF).
(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.?
>> Up to 24,000 Californians die from fine particulate pollution each year, according to state researchers. The revised figures are based on a review of new research across the nation about the hazards posed by microscopic particles, which sink deep into the lungs. "More measures will be needed, air board officials said, including eventually lowering the maximum permissible levels of soot statewide."
>> A Senate panel overturned the U.S. EPA's decision against California's bid to limit greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. "In December, EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson turned down California's request for a Clean Air Act waiver that would have allowed the state to require that automakers cut global warming emissions by 30% in new cars and light trucks by 2016. Boxer's bill would deem the waiver approved."
>> Polluting paints are getting phased out from SoCal. "Starting July 1, all flat paints made, sold and used within Orange and major portions of San Bernardino, Riverside and Los Angeles counties must have 50 grams or less of volatile organic compounds per liter."
The good news: Our beaches are cleaner and healthier! The bad news: They're cleaner and healthier because we're in a drought! That means less rain -- which means less urban runoff and less ocean pollution.
That's the latest news from enviro-nonprofit Heal the Bay's 18th Annual Beach Report Card released earlier today. The Report Card monitors the water quality from more than 375 California locations year-round (517 locations in dry weather from April to October) -- then grades them on an A to F scale based on the risk of adverse health effects to beachgoers.
Los Angeles County still has the lowest beach water quality in the state -- for the third year in a row. However, our water quality still improved considerably from last year. Plus, our stats are a little skewed by the fact that we collect our samples directly in front of flowing storm drains and creeks, where water tends to be dirtier. Most other counties haven't made the switch to this more accurate sampling method -- something Heal the Bay is pushing to change in the future.
In any case, only five L.A. County beaches are named and shamed on Heal the Bay's "Top 10 Beach Bummers" this year, down from seven last year. Yippee! Here's the list:
1. Avalon Harbor Beach on Catalina Island (Los Angeles County) 2. Santa Monica Municipal Pier (Los Angeles County) 3. Poche Beach (Orange County) 4. North Beach Doheny (Orange County) 5. Marie Canyon Storm Drain at Puerco Beach (Los Angeles County) 6. Cabrillo Beach harborside (Los Angeles County) 7. City of Long Beach -- multiple locations (Los Angeles County) 8. Campbell Cove State Park Beach (Sonoma County) 9. Clam Beach County Park near Strawberry Creek (Humboldt County) 10. Pismo Beach Pier (San Luis Obispo County)
[This article is the second in a three-part series on ways individuals can work to improve conditions for cyclists and encourage cycling. That's exactly the goal of bike activism, so in essence, this is a three-part series about ways to engage in bike activism. Read the first post.]
Two weeks ago I wrote about biking as the most essential act of bike activism, and talking to others about cycling as the natural followup. After you wear out your welcome evangelizing biking to your friends and family (or convert them all), one route to expanding your activism is to volunteer for an organization.
Volunteering is simple, right? You just go to the organization you choose to volunteer for, say "Here I am," and they give you a stack of envelopes to lick. I disagree. Volunteering is a complex and often creative act. There are a variety of factors to consider in choosing for whom you volunteer, and what activities you volunteer to do.
In choosing where to volunteer, you should think about what forms of activism are the most effective for cycling. You might choose a different organization to volunteer for if you believe direct outreach to be more important than advocacy. You are also tasked with evaluating whether the organization you choose is effectively utilizing your effort.
Most importantly, you need to consider what you would like to do. We volunteer our free time and excess energy, so it is important that whatever you choose to do as a volunteer is rewarding. If not, you won't volunteer for very long, and that's no good for anyone. How much energy and time would you like to devote? If you over-commit you won't be very effective, and if you volunteer for a high-energy task when you're tired, you won't be of much help to the organization. Conversely, if you have a lot of energy to volunteer, and you get stuck licking envelopes, you'll be bored to death.
In L.A., I know of five organizations where you can volunteer to help cyclists: CICLE, the three bike repair collectives - the Bike Oven, the Bicycle Kitchen, and the Bikerowave - and the Los Angeles Bicycle Coalition.
C.I.C.L.E., a.k.a. Cyclists Inciting Change Through Live Exchange, recently pulled off a spectacular event series, Bike Week Pasadena, culminating in an all-day Urban Bicycle Commuter Expo. The Expo confirmed that CICLE has the ability and opportunity to delegate to volunteers, as well as access to local government to leverage volunteer efforts. Bike Week Pasadena demonstrated an ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously. If you volunteer for CICLE you can be sure that your efforts will be fully utilized.
(Ashira Siegel staffing a booth at the Urban Bicycle Commuter Expo, volunteers for the Bicycle Film Festival.)
CICLE is a multi-faceted organization, so there's more than one way to contribute. They have a local outreach component, which focuses on events like Bike Week Pasadena as a means to reach demographics not always targeted by bike activists. Their news and views is the best aggregation of bike news (mixed with some original content) available, and has international reach. CICLE also produces a variety of beautiful literature to hand out to people interested in cycling.
If you're interested in volunteering, e-mail info@cicle.org.
Bike Repair Collectives -- the Bike Oven, Bikerowave, and the Bicycle Kitchen -- are not-for-profit bike shops that teach cyclists how to fix their bicycles. All three of these organizations have diverse needs. They need mechanics who will do the basic work of teaching customers bicycle repair. They also need people to help with the organizations' administrative functions: promotion, finances, records, policy, scheduling, etc.
Volunteering as a mechanic for a bike repair collective is very rewarding. Firstly, the organizations will train you in bicycle repair, so no prior bike repair experience is required, and you'll end up with expertise in bike repair. Teaching others how to fix their bikes, you are able to immediately witness the impact you've made in the community. You will be constantly sending customers out the door with newly functioning bikes and an education in bicycle repair. When someone approaches you months later whom you don't recognize, and thanks you for guiding them through a repair, it's a good feeling.
(Eric Weinstein, at the Urban Bicycle Commuter Expo, volunteers for the Bikerowave.)
Volunteering on the administrative side is a chance to get your feet wet steering a dynamic volunteer organization. With the Bicycle Kitchen, you have an opportunity to be part of an organization that is having tremendous impact on the community. With Bikerowave and the Bike Oven you have extremely young organizations that are just starting to structure themselves. Both the Bike Oven and Bikerowave have more administrative work to be done than they have workers, so you can have immediate impact by taking care of a task that needs doing.
I suggest, if volunteering at a bike repair collective interests you, volunteering at the one closest to you. Since they are an unusual form of organization, it might be a good idea to go visit in person to get a sense for how they function, before firing off an e-mail offering your help.
The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition is the oldest bike advocacy organization in L.A., founded in 1998. They have a variety of needs for volunteers, mostly centered around fundraisers and their bi-monthly socials or upcoming River Ride. You can find out more by visiting the volunteering section of their website.
(Bikes valet-parked at the Urban Bicycle Commuter Expo.)
Besides these five orgs, one other opportunity is the upcoming Bicycle Film Festival. Last year's festival was spectacular, and with the amazing show they put on, there must be a huge operation behind the curtains. E-mail volunteer@bicyclefilmfestival.com to pitch in for the Bicycle Film Festival when it is in L.A., July 16-19.
That's about it. A parting suggestion: when you volunteer for an organization, apply the same degree of professionalism you do to your life or career. When I was a volunteer manager of volunteers it was frustrating when people did not take it seriously. When you volunteer there are people who will be relying on you, so don't let them down. As always, remember: have fun!
Next week I'll write about more unconventional ways to go about activism (or arguably, just ways that aren't volunteering.)
>> 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.
>> 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.
Missed the Great L.A. River Clean Up yesterday? Too bad -- but now that volunteers have prettied things up for you, it's the perfect time to take a grand tour of our famous but relatively unknown river. On June 8, you can join a bunch of other Angelenos to check out the L.A. River -- by bike or by car!
Be one of 2,000+ cyclists taking part in The Los Angeles River Ride on June 8, organized by the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. Riders at all levels are welcome; you can pick from 100-, 70-, 50-, 10-mile rides -- or a Kids' Ride.
There'll be music, food, prizes -- and like pretty much every big event happening in L.A. these days, an Eco Expo. Register to ride for $49 ($39 for LACBC members). The Kids' Ride costs just $15.
Think it's too hot to bike? Then take a car-caravan tour of the L.A. River with the nonprofit Friends of the L.A. River on June 8, from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. See current and planned river restoration sites, including the Sepulveda Basin in the Valley, the Glendale Narrows across from Griffith Park, the historic Arroyo Seco confluence, the Los Angeles State Historic Park (a.k.a. the Cornfield), and the heart of downtown. At each spot you'll learn about the river's important role in the city's past, present and future.
Sign up by contacting FoLAR at mail@folar.org or (323) 223-0585. The tour costs $25 for adults ($20 for FoLAR members); children under 18 and dogs are free.
Question: I'm a Santa Monica resident and have a question for you: Do you think there is anything we can do to stop the use of leaf-blowers in LA/SM? I understand that they are illegal, but every single day I see one being used in my 'hood. Currently, I do call the number and report offenders, but I'm just not feeling like it's doing any good in the long term.
If the city can bother itself to ticket street-cleaning violators $47 a pop, why don't they take this environmental disaster seriously enough and have some sort of patrol? Is it because they can't make any money off gardeners? Anyway, I would really appreciate your thoughts on the topic. -- Callie
Answer: Yes, those noisy and polluting leaf blowers are indeed illegal in Santa Monica and restricted in Los Angeles. And you're not alone in hatin' on the blowers. I too dutifully call in leaf blower violations -- and I too have dealt with the frustration of calling in every week without ever seeing permanent results.
But I did a little research, and now feel a bit more optimistic!
Here's what to do if you've got a chronic leaf blower problem in your 'hood: Call your local Neighborhood Resource Officer, or NRO. Yep -- each patrol beat in Santa Monica got its own NRO in January; you can find your NRO -- along with his (yes, they are all men) phone number, e-mail, and smiling mug on the SMPD website.
Described by the Santa Monica Police Department as a "small town sheriff," the NRO is there to serve as "the direct link between the community and the Police Department." Recurring problems -- such as weekly leaf blowing -- that can't be handled via a regular call can be reported to the NRO for more efficacious resolution.
In addition, the SMPD is working on a leaf blower door tag notice to let offenders know about the law against leaf blowers. According to Sergeant Renaldi Thruston, the Community Relations person at the Santa Monica Police Department, leaf blowers are low on the priority list for police officers -- meaning that by the time an officer actually responds to your leaf blower-related complaint, the blowing's usually stopped and the blower long gone. That, as you can imagine, makes it difficult for police officers to prevent the problem from occurring again.
Enter the leaf blower door tag. These (samples at right) can be hung by the police officer on the door of the offending property. The tags explain the anti-blower law in both English and Spanish. In addition, the bottom of the tag can be torn off to be given to the gardener, informing them about the law too.
The tags aren't being used yet because they're still going through a review process. However, Thruston says that he expects the police force to start using the tags next month.
So Callie -- I suggest either calling your NRO to report your problems now, or waiting until the end of June or so to see if your problem gets taken care of by the door tags (if not, then definitely call your NRO).
I don't, however, support the idea of having a police patrol to address this issue. Why? I get a LOT of e-mails from various Santa Monica residents asking why we don't have patrols for their specific pet peeve. Everyone has a different one -- Styrofoam use, lawn overwatering, dog poop on the sidewalk, etc., etc. -- and each feels their peeve deserves its own police patrol. While I feel these are legitimate enviro issues, instituting police patrols for all these things would mean 1) paying crazy taxes, 2) living in something that feels a bit like a police state.
I think our time and efforts would be better spent simply letting the city know when something's not working, then complaining loudly enough that the city hears it. Take this leaf blower issue, for instance. Clearly, enough people complained about this that the police dept. decided they needed to do something to address it -- then came the NRO thing and work on door tags.
Sometimes, I think that if Santa Monica residents who send me complaints about city issues simply made the effort to send those complaints directly to the appropriate person in the city itself, we'd get the issues resolved a lot more quickly and efficiently...
Lastly, if you're an L.A. resident who wants the city to address leaf blower problems -- Ha ha! Tee hee! Okay, just kidding (sort of). Call it in both to your police department ( [800] 996-CITY) and your City Council member, and if you're up to it, rally your neighbors around the issue to collectively push your council member to take stronger steps to resolve the issue.
>> For the second time this year, Westside "Criminal Mass" bicyclists took to the 10 and 405 highways last Friday to protest things -- pollution, according to NBC, which aired some of the footage. (via LAist)
>> Will the Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Committee get restructured and organized? Yes, if a motion (PDF) coming before the City Council Planning & Land Use (PLUM) Committee today gets passed. Cyclists have been criticizing the BAC for 64.9% attendance record and lack of action: "During ’07, the BAC took action 10 times. 6 of those actions were to approve minutes and 4 times the Committee voted to send a letter although there is no evidence that any letters were ever sent."
>> Best place to get a used bike: Coco's Variety in Silver Lake, according to Sean Bonner of LA Metblogs. "You can pick up a solid bike in fantastic condition often for less than a brand new piece of crap at Target will cost you, and it’ll last a lot longer too."
Permaculture classes have been going on for years, but many of these are
intensive, multi-week courses for the already-converted. This month,
L.A. county's getting some beginner-level events for the
permaculture-curious.
When I think permaculture -- roughly defined as sustainable design principles that seeks to create human habitats that mimic natural systems -- the first thing that comes to mind is organic and biodynamic, get your hands dirty, old fashioned farming. But since permaculture's not only a portmanteau for permanent and agriculture but also for permanent and culture, its principles -- proponents say -- can be adapted to urban areas and systems too.
Even if you're not ready to dive in with both Birkenstocked feet, you can try dipping your toe into the permaculture pool.
A good beginner's event happens this Friday: "A Taste of Permaculture: Principles, Ethics and Zones," led by Tyrone Fay of Earthcare Design Solutions, a pro-permaculture organization. Stop by to get an overview of permaculture this Friday, May 16, 7 pm, at the L.A. Eco-Village, 117 Bimini Place, Los Angeles. The cost of the workshop's $100 (sliding scale) and reservations are required; contact (213) 738-1254 or crsp@igc.org.
Those who want to do some hands-on permaculture work can sign up for an all-day series of rotating workshops on Saturday, titled "Hands-on: Soils & Gardening, orcharding, seedball"
That happens Saturday, May 17 from 8:30 am - 5 pm, also at the L.A. Eco-Village. The workshop costs $100, and pre-registration's required.
For those on the west side, put the "Santa Monica Community Permaculture Gathering" in your calendar. Intended as the first of a series of monthly meetings, this gathering's hoped "to begin to build a community of local citizens interested in bringing about real sustainable change in the neighborhoods that we live in," according to Sean Jennings, the organizer.
"My hope is that this meeting will be permaculture in action," says Jennings. "That means we will be meeting our neighbors, discussing problems and possible solutions, and identifying action that we can take as a community and actually make it happen."
The gathering happens on May 20 at 7 pm at the Santa Monica Main Library, Community Meeting Room, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica. For more info, email Jennings at swjennings@gmail.com.
Photo of people studying urban permaculture in Santa Cruz by matt bennett via Flickr
If you live or work in downtown L.A., you've probably heard of Bringing Back Broadway, an initiative to revitalize the historic Broadway district. The backbone of Bringing Back Broadway is a plan to revive the L.A. streetcar -- a plan that's under study by the city, with the help of consultants from IBI Group.
When: Thursday, May 22, 8 am - 4 pm, followed by a reception. (draft PDF schedule here) Where: Orpheum Theatre, 842 S. Broadway, Los Angeles. Cost: $25 for L.A. residents and business and property owners; $75 for everyone else. The price includes a continental breakfast, lunch and reception; those paying $75 also get a free copy of the "Street Smart" book.
What do streetcars do for business? For Mike Powell of Portland bookstore Powell's Books, who spoke at the Portland workshop, getting a streetcar on his block meant just one week of disrupted business due to construction -- followed by a 300% rise in property values. So sign up for the workshop to learn how streetcars can stimulate the local economy and create walkable, vibrant, de-car'd neighborhoods around the U.S. -- because we may be seeing new ones in downtown L.A., as well as in Pasadena, Culver City, Beverly Hills and other SoCal cities.
According to the organizers, this workshop will allow everyone, whatever their interest, to talk with national streetcar experts about topics ranging from environmental benefits to urban density. Speakers include L.A. City Council members Jose Huizar and Jan Perry, who'll make a case for the streetcar as a catalyst for turning Broadway into "one of L.A.’s most important neighborhoods." Michael Dilijani of the L.A. Theatre will talk about "the vision of downtown property owners for the reinvention of Broadway, L.A.’s historic streetcar corridor." In addition, Powell and other speakers will discuss Portland's and Seattle's experiences with streetcars.
Pasadena isn't the only city celebrating Bike to Work week next week. Events are happening nationwide, Metro's getting in on the bike riding fun with a weeklong schedule of activities (PDF), including lots and lots of giveaways, free bus rides and a guest appearance by -- Shrek.
Shrek will be working the giveaway table at the kick-off event for Metro's Bike to Work Week, happening 9 am on Monday, May 12, at the Universal City Metro Red Line Station. Take your bike on a train ride to see the event, and you'll get freebies ranging from bike water bottles to sunscreen samples to Clif bars. L.A. City Councilmember Tom Labonge, Glendale Mayor John Drayman, and Metro CEO Roger Snoble will all be there.
Can't commit to riding a whole week? Then at least commit to riding Thursday, May 15 -- the official Bike to Work day. Between 7 am and 10 am, bikers can take breaks at "pit stops" all over the city that will be giving out snacks and other freebies.
You don't even have to bike your whole commute. Many transit agencies are offering free bus and rail rides to bikers; all you need is to board with your bike or helmet on Bike to Work Day.
If you do plan to bike it on May 15, make your pledge-to-bike here to be put in a drawing for a folding bike from REI! Other prizes include gift cards for REI and other companies, passes to the Laugh Factory, and bike messenger bags. Oddly, pledges are accepted until May 16, a day AFTER Bike to Work day -- so you could technically "pledge" post-ride.
And to see just how much you'll be saving -- both gas money-wise and carbon-footprint-wise -- check out the new Bike to Work calculator on the Metro website. To the right's the calculations for a person who decides to bike instead of driving a Santa Monica to downtown L.A. commute (I grant you'd have to be a pretty hardcore biker to do this, but anyway....). The boxes aren't labeled very well, but after a call to Metro, I found out that the numbers under "Gasoline savings" mean this: You'd save $15.41 of your money and 3.75 gallons of gas if you switched to biking, assuming that your car gets 20 mpg and gas costs $4.11 a gallon.
Those really, really psyched about the savings can download a Bike to Work day screensaver. Caveat: screensavers don't save energy; put your computer to sleep or shut down instead!
>> Not all tires are created equal, with some lowering fuel economy by 10% or more! "With no standardized rating available, consumers often unwittingly choose tires that hurt fuel economy." It seems the only way to figure out whether one's tires will allow for better fuel economy than another is by trial and error. Maybe a tire rating site is in order?
>> Riverside gets BikeLids -- which are sort of like covered parking for your bicycle. Since the BikeLid's secured with a U-Lock or padlock, it doesn't seem to offer additional security from theft -- but your bike'll be shielded from the elements.
>> Debating the future of L.A. transportation. Read the five-part debate between USC professor Peter Gordon and the Transit Coalition’s Bart Reed -- with a grain of salt, as both men make false claims on occasion. Reed, for example, claims that the HOT lanes will force carpoolers into adjacent lanes -- despite the fact that carpoolers may be able to use HOT lanes for free. (Concrete decisions haven't been made yet.) Gordon's arguments are often just bizarre, with his own conjecturing being the only "proof" for his assertions: "As more people drive, they will have more range and more options." Seriously? Have you heard of, um, the congestion problem we already have? Being trapped on the 405 -- with no option to take a train that would avoid traffic entirely -- isn't exactly what I call freedom.
>> In Washington, D.C., newlyweds ride the train from the wedding to the reception: "I think Metro's easier than driving during rush hour," said the bride. "I've taken the Metro my entire career in rush hour. And it's always quicker than cabs or cars.... I just thought it would be a fun processional march and a way of getting strangers involved in sharing our joy." (via eecue)
>> Heart sidewalks? Many do, but unfortunately, it's not the item on top of Angelenos' want lists. City Planner Deborah Murphy speaks out on why roads aren't just for cars in a new StreetFilms video. In it, she points out that while L.A. residents say they want sidewalks, they're not pushing politicians to take action en masse -- perhaps because they're too busy being stuck in traffic. The biggest problem, in her opinion, is free parking -- even in our homes. "We give up so much of our private land to cars," she says.
>> Ocean debris, sorted. Ocean Conservancy reported that their volunteers found 6 million pounds of trash on the world's coastlines -- in one day. Wired mag asked for specifics -- and got them in great detail. "Perhaps not surprisingly, there's also a disturbing amount of condoms floating around the world's oceans."
For fresh, organic salads made with local, in-season ingredients, stop by Bloom Cafe on Pico. I think the fresh, minty Seared Salmon and Citrus Salad, made with organic baby greens and grapefruit, is the best salmon salad I've ever had -- and decently priced too, at $12.75.
In addition to fresh salads, this casual dining spot serves up homemade granola in organic milk, organic egg dishes, and even organic tofu scrambles, making it a perfect place for brunch, whether you're a vegan or omnivore.
Bloom Cafe's great for dinners as well, whether your pick is the vegan soup of the day or grass-fed top sirloin steak. I hear the pizzas are tasty too. Plus you can BYOB; There's no corkage fee!
Bloom Cafe's actually divided into two parts, with a busy bakery/takeout cafe on one side, and sit-down dining in the other. The dining area isn't large, but there's also patio seating in the back and sidewalk seating out front where dog owners can enjoy their eco-friendly meal while keeping an eye on their pets.
This healthful eatery was created by Jean-Louis Bartoli and Arnaud Palatan, formerly of Louis XIV and Pastis, respectively. Calendarlive.com's got more enthusiastic details about Bloom Cafe's pancakes and pizzas -- but I recommend checking it out yourself.
Bloom Cafe. 5544 Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. (323) 934-6900.
Top photo by Siel; bottom photo by waltarrrrr via Flickr
As a teenager, Siel sped past Paramount Studios on the 10 Metro bus to get to Fairfax High School. Now she cuts through the concrete jungle of Los Angeles on her pink Townie bike to shop at local farmers' markets and socialize in pre-loved Prada heels. A contributing editor to BlogHer, Siel also keeps a personal blog, green LA girl. Send your burning green questions to greenlagirl@gmail.com.
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