If you socialize regularly at Green Drinks with local environmentalists, note the new location for the event tonight. What used to be East Side Green Drinks, meeting at Good Luck Bar in Silver Lake every third Thursday of the month, has now mysteriously become the West Hollywood / Silver Lake Green Drinks, despite the fact that the two neighborhoods are nowhere near each other.
I think the new multi-city alliance of sorts was created simply because the organizers decided to hold tonight's Green Drinks at Cisco Home, which is far, far west of Silver Lake. However, Cisco Home -- located at 440 N. La Brea -- isn't in West Hollywood either. It's more accurately in Hollywood, though the building is actually about a block south of the area officially considered to be Hollywood.
Quibbles about the location aside, L.A. Green Drinks has really changed quite a bit since its inception a few years ago -- so much that I've, um, stopped going. That doesn't mean that the event's made a turn for the worse; Green Drinks is simply different. What used to be a relatively unstructured monthly social event at a local bar, where everyone entered for free and bought their own drinks, has now turned into sponsored events at furniture stores requiring a cover and featuring environmental speakers.
Some may love the opportunity to hear local environmentalists speak. But because of what I do, I hear environmental speakers all the time -- and am a little sad that what used to be a relaxed night of socializing's turned into yet another speaker series, with drinks on the side. Most of my friends are also very involved in the enviro-world; all of us probably complain about the change in Green Drinks' structure and venues way too much.
Still, tonight's speaker sounds interesting: It's Tom O'Leary, the Communications and Development Specialist, from Forest Ethics. Here are the details for those who want to hear O'Leary:
When: Tonight, Thurs., May 15, 7 p.m. - 10 p.m. Where: Cisco Home, 440 N. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles Cost: $5 donation
I'll be elsewhere. In the meantime, some friends and I are thinking of starting a structure-free Green Drinks Santa Monica. Want to be kept in the loop? E-mail me.
>> 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."
>> One-way plan goes nowhere. Villaraigosa's plan to turn Pico and Olympic boulevards into one-way streets gets stalled by a judge, who says an environmental impact study must be completed before moving forward with the plan.
>> Greasoliners: Technically outlaws evading taxes. People who run their cars on veggie oil face a complicated myriad of taxes and fees and insurance requirements. "The regulations are so burdensome that even Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, trying to set an example for Californians by driving a Hummer that burns cooking oil he buys at Costco, had not complied."
Meanwhile, Donna Barstow's angry the DWP hasn't refilled the reservoir already. Of course, the L.A. DWP has promised to start refilling the reservoir on Wednesday -- but Donna predicts "they will drag out the refilling until it finishes on their all important target date of June 1." She then criticizes the L.A. Times for not covering her "story," while simultaneously critiquing the L.A. DWP for holding a press conference about the refilling -- an event that might, you know, encourage the press to cover the story. Hmmm...
>> Five less toxic major brand nail polishes, reviewed by Sarah Van Schagen at Grist. Part of her conclusion: "The chemical smell from all of these suggests that pursuing your polish habit may not be the best bet for your health."
Fruit growing on branches overhanging public property -- like sidewalks -- is free for the taking in Los Angeles. The Fallen Fruit collective -- a collaborative project by David Burns, Matias Viegener & Austin Young -- encourages and helps more Angelenos to take advantage of the city's fruitful bounty by providing free fruit maps of city neighborhoods, advocating for more fruit tree plantings, and putting together fruit jam-making or fruit foraging events, such as this loquat-specific one.
When: Wednesday, April 30, 2008, 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Where: The triangle park at Edgecliffe and Sunset in Silver Lake, Los Angeles Cost: Free RSVP:info@fallenfruit.org
Why a nocturnal walk? According to Fallen Fruit's website, "We like to do these walks at night because it heightens people's senses; most of us associate fruit with sunshine in the country, not urban darkness."
All loquat eaters are invited to forage! Bring just a a flashlight and a bag, and go home fruitified.
Here the shopping ranges from the practical to the purely aesthetic. You can find lamps made from eco-friendly materials, gorgeous sustainably-made tables, candlesticks, eco-friendly kitchenware, and much more.
And by the register are the cutest mini-garden tools -- the cute little items you just have to plant and water -- or even just water -- to get herbs to grow.
I love the handcrafted, one-of-a-kind goods made with recycled materials on Etsy, but to find the good stuff, you usually have to slog through all the crunchy-looking duds. But at Reform School, a cute little eco-store in Silver Lake, the owners have doe the hand-selection for you, collecting together all the artsy, whimsical, pretty eco gems that don't look like the product of a sad home ec project.
Plush pillows are made of everything from organic cotton to reused car seat belts. Journals, calendars, and cards are made with recycled paper -- and look pretty too. Shoes made of recycled materials are all the rage -- including cute teensy shoes for tots.
Find all sorts of green books, from Slow Food Nation to Myspace / Our Planet. Reform School also seems to have a soft spot for recent TED prize winner Dave Eggers' press McSweeney's; you can pick up the latest edition of The Believer or artsy tomes by David Byrne.
You'll find lots of DIY books too, to instruct you on guerilla gardening, guerilla art, and pretty much any type of eco-related guerilla activity.
Reform School's also a one-stop-shop for chic home decorations. Eco-friendly candlesticks, paintings, drawings, and mobiles are all ready for you to take home and get compliments about at your next house party.
I got myself a mousepad, made by Remarkable from a recycled car tire! My mouse feels v. eco atop it now.
Reform School. 4014 Santa Monica Blvd. Los Angeles. (323) 906-8660.
Flore Vegan Cuisine's been on my list of restaurants to try for a long while. Vegan, organic, and -- according to other people'sblog reviews -- very yummy. The one problem: Flore's all the way in Silver Lake -- which is practically a different country from Santa Monica, where I live.
But on Wednesday, I braved the traffic -- and was rewarded with a tasty quinoa tabouli wrap (above), served with a side of fruit (you can also opt for a potato or side salad). With it, I sipped an organic juice concoction called "Refresh" -- mainly fresh carrot juice with a healthy kick of ginger.
Everything at Flore's organic and vegan, including the Intelligentsia Coffee, Frontier Tea, kombucha, and organic cola. The Silver Lake crowd seems to love Flore; most tables were full at 4 pm on a Wednesday. The outdoor seating can get a tad noisy from the heavy traffic on Sunset, but it's not so loud that you can't hold a good conversation.
I'm going to try one of the decadent desserts the next time I go back -- though considering the fact that the drive took me 1.5 hours in midday traffic, I might have to wait until L.A. gets a full rail system....
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.
If you socialize regularly at Green Drinks with local environmentalists, note the new location for the event tonight. What used to be East Side Green Drinks, meeting at Good Luck Bar in Silver Lake every third Thursday of the month, has now mysteriously become the West Hollywood / Silver Lake Green Drinks, despite the fact that the two neighborhoods are nowhere near each other. 
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