holy weekend batman!

ok kids, lots going on this weekend so here's the skinny:

tonight, friday, december 1st:


>>santa monica critical mass coming at ya at 6:30 pm.

"Come to a rolling celebration of bicycles, an organized coincidence that happens every 1st Friday at the Santa Monica Pier (Ocean Ave @ Colorado Ave.) Gather at 6 PM, depart at 6:30 PM."

tomorrow, saturday, december 2nd:

>>free intro to permaculture class from 10am-4pm at the audobon center at deb's park 4700 north griffin ave., 90031.

"We are living on a planet in crisis; often individuals feel powerless to effect change but Permaculture offers positive solutions to the problems facing the world; using ecology as the basis for designing integrated systems of food production, housing, technology and community development, you can learn to create a self-sustaining environment, on a farm or in your urban backyard or apartment. The Permaculture Design Course is for anyone interested in gaining skills and perspective for sustainable living and productivity. A Permaculture Design Course is a way to share accumulated information with others. This Introduction to Permaculture Class is an outline of the science and art of Permaculture. It will define the term and its history, its founders, the curriculum of the design course certificate, its ethics and foundations. It will describe the benefits and show some of the most important work undertaken by permaculture designers. For More Information contact: David Kahn 323 667 1330 or info@susltainablehabitats.org www.sustainablehabitats.org"

>>join c.i.c.l.e.'s car-free hauliday toys & mittens ride to benefit the hollywood sunset free clinic and the homeless family christmas day luncheon. bring toys and warm clothes to share with families in need and deck out your bike for this festive ride! 12:30 pm meet at the vermont/sunset red line station (1500 n. vermont ave, la)

>>saturday evening, head over to equator books in venice (1103 abbot kinney) for the world changing book release party...el lay style. this one is also hosted by good magazine and more info can be found on their website. i'll definitely be at this one, so come out to meet other world changers and grab your copy of the book.

>>tales of wonder, tales of woe, a solo exhibition of work by darrah danielle will be hosted at one of my favorites...the transport gallery. the opening reception is...you guessed it...saturday! from 6-11 pm. this is the transport gallery's final exhibition so come out and support local artists. darrah's work is fantastical...

"Reminescent of a colorful cabinet of curiosities, the mixed media pieces in this collection draw you into an enchanted realm where fragments are transformed into petit fables that sing the heart."

>>and don't forget the the hive gallery and studios presents "dolls, dolls, dolls show" saturday from 8pm-12:30am. the featured artist for the night is myna sonou and the featured installation artist is none other than the talented miss jesse spears...daughter of shrine, and co-creator of the making love out of trash exhibit that i posted a while back.

phew!! hope to see some of you at these events...remember to walk, bike, public transport, and carpool!

what can i do?

"it's not that easy being green
having to spend each day the color of the leaves
when I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow or gold
or something much more colorful like that

it's not easy being green
it seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things
and people tend to pass you over 'cause you're
not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water
or stars in the sky

but green's the color of Spring
and green can be cool and friendly-like
and green can be big like an ocean, or important
like a mountain, or tall like a tree

when green is all there is to be
it could make you wonder why, but why wonder why
wonder, I am green and it'll do fine, it's beautiful
and I think it's what I want to be"


last night, i found myself in a room full of people with one burning question on each of our minds...what can i do today for a greener el lay?

that was the theme of the speakeasy hosted by smartgals that i attended right down the street. the evening began with holly ramos' live set and her sweet rendition of the muppets' "it's not easy being green" (lyrics above). a quiz on sustainability was given to warm up conversation, as the guest speakers for the evening: colin bogart, president of the la bike coalition, anna cummins, founder of bring your own, jose angel orozco, creator of the coffee cellar, katura reynolds of treepeople, and james roja of the mta got settled in. each of the panelists introduced themselves and their visions for a greener los angeles, and then opened up for a short q&a from the room.

the topics that were discussed were broad yet very connected. we discussed the need to reduce our disposable mentality here in los angeles (and the usa in general) that anna is tackling through her reusables campaign. anna also talked about the documentary "our synthetic sea" which inspired her through discovering the incredible effects that plastics are having on our oceans. jose talked about the importance of fair trade, organics, and shade grown in the coffee business, and why it makes a better cup of joe. colin made the point that you don't have to throw your car over a cliff and become an avid cyclist to make a difference...bicycling for your local errands instead of driving or commuting to work by bike one day a week makes a big difference, especially when a lot of people start to do it. james expressed his desire to make los angeles more of an experiential city and our need to engage ourselves in the urban fabric through walking, biking, and utilizing the public transportation system. europe, he said, is shaped by people who live in smaller apartments, use public transport, and collect experiences whereas the united states is more shaped by consumption and the collection of things. this proved to be a hot topic, and the point was made that los angeles neighborhoods (culver city for example) are creating experience locally but that the public transportation and bikeway infrastructure are not there to support it... last but not least, ketura explained that treepeople is a community service and gave many reasons why neighborhoods should utilize their community treeplantings (um, like we all need to breathe right?).

all in all, it was an evening full of great conversation and intention. it inspired me to see so many people working hard for the cause in my new community. i also got to catch up with my permaculture buddy eric from los angeles post carbon, and finally got to meet anna!

buy nothing day today

i was in san francisco last year for the annual buy nothing day (always held the day after thanksgiving on what is known as the biggest shopping day of the year). malou and i took part in my friend rene's performance piece downtown right in front of the gap. here are photos from that day and below is a letter from adbuster's bnd campaign. and if you are wondering what on earth else there is to do besides shopping today, treehugger has put together this handy bnd list.

*******************************************************************

Dear Jammers and Cultural Creatives,

This year's Buy Nothing Day has a special poignancy. Never before have
our emerging environmental crises been planted so firmly on the lips of
the policymakers and the general public. Rather than screaming from the
fringes, high-profile economists and scientists are sounding the
warnings in respected journals and the halls of parliament -- warnings
that our oceans are dying, that the ice shelves are melting, and that we
are setting ourselves up for the most massive and widest-ranging market
failure the world has ever seen.

All of this points to a profound need for a shift in the way we see
things. Recycling, protecting our waterways, driving hybrid cars -- all
the old environmental imperatives -- are great, but it's becoming
obvious that they don't address the core problem: we have to change our
lifestyles, we have to change our culture, and we have to consume
smarter and consume less.

This is the message of this year's Buy Nothing Day, and there are only a
few days left to get that message out onto the streets. From the quietly
sublime to the crazily anarchic, the ways in which you can mark BND are
only limited by the imperative not to spend. Strut your stuff as if the
fate of whole planet is resting in your hands, because even if each of
us only does one small things to contribute, 96, 847 small things sure
add up!

At the BND campaign headquarters - that's www.adbusters.org/bnd -
we've already featured upcoming actions in Japan, the UK, Canada, and
the USA, with more to come from all over the world, including Brazil,
Colombia, Denmark, Hungary, Spain and Sweden. You can also download
posters and other resources, as well as connect with activists in your
own little corner of the globe.

Remember: Make a scene. Make people laugh. Make them think. If you have
to, make them angry. Just get out there.

Cheers,
THE BUY NOTHING DAY TEAM


Shopping and consumption facts:
* Per capita consumption in the U.S. has risen 45 per cent in the last 20 years.
* Although people today are, on average, four-and-a-half times richer than our great-grandparents were at the turn of the century, Americans report feeling “significantly less well off” than in 1958.
* A recent article in New Scientist featured research suggesting that the more consumer goods you have the more you think you need to make you happy. Happiness through consumption is always out of reach (New Scientist, 4th October 2003, Vol.180, Issue 2415, p44. Available online after registering at www.newscientist.co.uk).

growing greener

after reading siel's post about the ecological footprint quiz that she took recently...i was, of course, curious as to what my footprint was and wanted to compare notes to another green girl in el lay. well, funny enough, i got the same score as her! my enviro footprint, according to this test, is 9 acres. i felt good about being much lower than the 24 acres of an average american...but then i read that if everyone lived like me, we would need 2.1 planets!!! ugh...seeing as we only have one planet to work with here, i still have a lot of greening to do!

so i signed on for slate and treehugger's green challenge. when i signed up, i went through an initial quiz (found at the bottom of the slate site) about my current living that yielded these results:

"Your annual carbon emissions are 33,500 lbs.

That's equivalent to the emissions from 3.29 passenger cars.

Average carbon emissions per year, per person:
United States: 44,312
Qatar: 117,064
France: 13,668
India: 2,645
Kenya: 440"

wow... i can't say that this one made me feel better. but, the only option that i have for myself is to step up to this green challenge, and put my action where my mouth is. the green challenge has a topic for each week, including transportation, heating, food, clothing, electricity, holidays, water, and home/office. with each topic comes a related quiz that challenges you to take action against your polluting ways.

i have already pledged in the areas of transportation (probably the biggest for me, not that i fly or drive all that much, but this is definitely where i see my biggest changes possible), heating, food and clothing. i have set green intentions in each of these areas and will be updating you with the successes and challenges for each.

in the meantime, i invite you to take these quizzes with me. whether you're a green saint or not, you will likely discover some great opportunities for change in your life and hopefully be inspired enough to pass it on to others.

green competitions

the university of bradford has launched a sustainable student village design competition for a unique environmentally sustainable community built on its campus. the aim instead is to provide students with a self-sufficient community of terrace housing where students will share and be responsible for a house. for more information, see the fx website.

hey budding filmmakers and green enthusiasts, grab a video camera and tell the world about the steps you and your peers are taking to stop global warming, in two minutes or less. in homage to al gore's the inconvenient truth (released on dvd today), treehugger and seventh generation have launched the convenient truths video contest. they are looking for a collection of inspiring and pragmatic short videos that provide actionable answers towards stemming climate change.
sustainable prizes valued at $25,000 should get your creative green juices flowing.
(via treehugger)

santa monica takes the leed in greening parks

did you know that the first park in the united states to be awarded a LEED certification is right in our backyards? me neither, but virginia avenue park in santa monica was awarded a silver rating from the u.s. green building council for it's 9.5 acre addition in 2005.

one may think that it would be a cinch for a park to get a LEED award for environmental sustainability...it's green right? but many traditional parks are constructed and operated using wasteful systems such as grading and demolition, over-irrigation, and chemical fertilizers. even the plants that are chosen have a big impact on the "greenness" of a landscape plan.

koning eizenberg architecture of santa monica and spurlock poirier landscape architects of san diego obviously understood this in their design process for the urban park. the park at virginia avenue took advantage of sustainable techniques such as rainwater capture and use, construction waste recycling, efficient irrigation and electricity (all energy is supplied by renewable power), drought tolerant plantings, natural ventilation, and four recharching stations for alternative fuel vehicles. also, all paint, wood, and carpet materials were specified sans volatile compounds or formaldehyde.

LEED certified building is getting a lot of press (and rightfully so) but it's great to see parks joining in the mix.

(via garden design magazine nov 2006)

it is green thinks nature, even in the dark

(via inhabitat)

"riding around in city buses for a hobby is sad"

i had some errands to run today so i decided to make an adventure of it. i caught the metro bus 4 from the corner right outside my house and rode it to downtown where i took care of all of my business pretty efficiently. i picked up the red line subway back to vermont/sunset and wandered my way around the neighborhood until i reached home.

i'm always amazed how e m p t y the subways are here in el lay... they are clean, efficient, and fun to ride on compared to other cities that i have lived, but on a friday afternoon the amount of riders was very very light. after some research, i came across an article from city beat that says:

"Despite more than 73 miles of rail, the Metro system only serves about 217,000 people on an average weekday and much less on weekends. In a city notorious for its smog, car culture, and abundant highways, trains offer a much-needed alternative to driving. However, putting the “mass” in “mass transit” will depend on a massive extension of the current system – especially to both East L.A. and the Westside."

so pretty much the "the L.A. Metro Rail is clean and safe, in part, because it just doesn’t go anywhere."

there is, of course, a west side extension in the works (there was a groundbreaking ceremony in late september 2006) ... but don't count on riding on it any time soon. the expo line will is set for completion in 2010 and will only get us from downtown la to culver city, with the second phase of development eventually extending the line to santa monica. luckily we have the friends 4 expo who have played a big role in keeping this project going, and will continue to push for the full expo extension to the beach...i just hope to ride it in my lifetime.

the los angeles metropolitan transportation authority (mta) was voted america's best recently. even though they obviously have quite a ways to go, i do appreciate their efforts in bringing safe and cohesive public transportation to a city that desperately needs it. you can plan your own el lay adventures on the metro website.

p.s. the title is a quote from a belle & sebastian song :)

the end of suburbia

barry silverthorn, the producer of the end of suburbia: oil depletion and the collapse of the american dream, uploaded a 52-minute version of the film to youtube. the end of suburbia documents how peak oil may affect our industrial society in the u.s. (and in the rest of the industrial world) as the globe faces the downslope of petroleum extraction. included in the cast are new urbanist and author of "the geography of nowhere", james howard kunstler, and urban designer peter calthorpe. if you feel the importance of this video, please forward the link on to friends & family. you can also help promote it by going to youtube and rating it and commenting on it. this will help it reach the top rated, and most commented lists.

i found the discussion of how these designers see the adaptive reuse of massive suburban homes into multi-family co-ops using their yards for food production very interesting...hmmm...sounds alot like the permablitzing of suburbs recently highlighted in australia.

a permablitz is basically a permaculture-inspired backyard makeover partay where the neighborhood comes together to share knowledge and skills about organic food gardening in urban settings while building community and having fun.

in her interview with breakdown press, asha bee says this about the permablitz movement:

"I've become excited about what permaculture and food localisation (producing and consuming food in the same area) have to offer. But then when adding peak oil and climate change to the mix, and the likely consequences of these on today's food and agriculture systems, it looks like food localisation using permaculture principles and design is going to offer more than an 'alternative' — it will become a necessity."

only in el lay

greendrinks gets press from the el lay times...they even shouted out to "permaculture!"

a ucla study exposes hollywood vip's for what they really are: very impacting polluters (via defamer)

explore the lost streams of los angeles with the el lay weekly

guerrilla bbq's and other city repair projects

saturday night, the los angeles permaculture guild and saje hosted a slide show by mark lakeman, founder of portland's city repair project. my partner in crime for the evening was geofrey collins (architect and founder of sco studio in venice). we had both seen mark's slideshow before, but we heard that there'd be booze and other local permies there...so we were of course sold.

city repair is a multi-disciplinary, non-profit organization which works with communities to recreate the infrastructure of the public commons where people live. some of the projects that mark highlights are the conversions of street intersections into public squares, or organizing other forms of permanent or ephemeral place interventions. city repair is effectively engaging citizens in the reinvention of the public landscape using natural building and permaculture techniques.

city repair also hosts the village building convergence, a 10-day event held every may in portland where citizens, natural builders and activists come together to help neighborhoods design and build their own community amenities.

after the lecture, everyone hung out on the sidewalk outside (realize that this is right downtown in the most industrial section of el lay...not a spec of green to be seen). ray brought his amazing rocket stove/oven (pictured to the right) which proved to be the hit of the afterparty as he whipped up pizza and other yummie bites and cooked it over the heat of pallets that he found in the street. now that was a real guerilla bbq if i ever saw one. people talked about city repairs and green dreams for el lay. all in all, it was quite an inspiring night.

building a global community

think of no one as "them" • don’t confuse your comfort with your safety • talk to strangers • imagine other cultures through their poetry and novels • listen to music you don't understand • dance to it • act locally • notice the workings of power and privilege in your culture

• question consumption •

know how your lettuce and coffee are grown: wake up and smell the exploitation • look for fair trade and union labels • help build economies from the bottom up • acquire few needs • learn a second (or third) language • visit people, places and cultures -- not tourist attractions • learn people's history

• re-define progress •

know physical and political geography • play games from other cultures • watch films with subtitles • know your heritage • honor everyone's holidays • look at the moon and imagine someone else, somewhere else, looking at it too • read the un's universal declaration of human rights • understand the global economy in terms of people, land and water • know where your bank banks

• never believe you have a right to anyone else's resources •

refuse to wear corporate logos: defy corporate domination • question military/corporate connections • don't confuse money with wealth, or time with money • have a pen/email pal • honor indigenous cultures

• judge governance by how well it meets *all* people's needs •

be skeptical about what you read • eat adventurously • enjoy vegetables, beans and grains in your diet • choose curiosity over certainty • know where your water comes from and where your wastes go • pledge allegiance to the earth: question nationalism • think south, central and north -- there are many americans • assume that many others share your dreams

• know that no one is silent though many are not heard •

...work to change this...


:from the syracus cultural workers community:

something smells different in silverlake

anyone exploring silverlake, will likely notice something different lurking 'round these parts....my streets are lined with mercedes benz's and there is a peculiar smell in the air! (it smells pretty damn good actually... like french fries) it only takes a step out of my door to sniff to the source: lovecraft biofuels, another one of my fabulous green neighbors. lovecraft specializes in mercedes benz, but can convert any diesel vehicle to run on 100% veggie oil (new or waste), biodiesel, or regular diesel in any combination. since dr. diesel himself designed the diesel engine to run on straight peanut oil for the 1900 world's fair (um, walk in: big oil), lovecraft is really taking the diesel engine back to it's roots here in the driver's paradise (or hell depending on how you look at it) el lay. now, there's an urban greening project which gets a big thumbs up. check out treehugger tv's awesome interview with lovecraft's owner, brian lovecraft.

there are a lot of environmental pluses for getting behind the biodiesel revolution with big-name environmentalists like willie nelson (who has his own brand of biodiesel) and darryl hannah. biodiesel is a much cleaner fuel, it's non-toxic and biodegradable, and the source crops can be grown right here in the u.s. reducing our need for foreign oil. there are a lot of financial pluses to biodiesel as well. many biodiesel users match up with restaurants to collect their waste vegetable oil. the restaurants are stoked because they no longer have to pay a buck a gallon to have the oil hauled away; and the drivers are stoked because they get clean burning fuel for free. sounds like a win-win to me!

i am making the commitment to switch over within the next 6 months from my honda civic (which gets an above average gas mileage) to one of lovecraft's lean mean biofueled machines...i just can't decide which one to claim...they're all so pretty :)


this is a great article from city beat on the el lay biofuel scene as well as information on homebrewing.

get converted at lovecraft biofuels, 4000 sunset blvd. el lay, ca

vote tomorrow

lucky for us, green LA girl has been busy researching the best green choices for the election. her breakdown is super handy and may answer some of the questions that you still have for tomorrow's election...

back! from outer space

sorry for the gap in posts...i've been up to my ears in moving and working the past days. i have been clearing out the non-moving energies in the process and have found myself with a pile of stuff to hand over to the donation gods...

i have to say though that i'm loving the new digs...and for good reasons...it's a co-op!! yay, i love co-operative living! i haven't been in one since n-street up north, so i was stoked to come across such a sweet situation here in el lay. whereas n street was a grouping of 16 individual houses that broke down their fences to form a community, my new co-op is a 10 bedroom house and each roommate has their own room. there's a large communal living space and big front and back yards with a food garden :) we also have 1 chicken, 1 duck, and 1 piglet. the house gets together on tuesday evenings for meals and meetings and i have a weekly chore to keep up on. aside from that, i get a great room in a sweet house and an amazing support network of 9 other fabulous and conscious roommates...yay!

i took a walk around the new hood thursday night to check out my neighbors and get a bite to eat around the corner. on my way back home, low and behold, i ran into something that i have dreaded being sent to: reform school. i was relieved to discover that this reform school is a crafty little shop with a focus on indie artists who "reuse creatively." it's full of sustainable goodies. here you can find local art, recycled pencils and sketchbooks, re-used skateboard purses, and their children's section is a-dor-a-ble! the woman working told me that they had just opened the store about a month ago, so we welcomed each other into the neighborhood, and i assured her that i would be back to see them soon...and you should too!!

get edumacated at reform school:
4014 santa monica blvd. (@ sunset blvd. in silverLake)
los angeles, ca 90029
(323)906-8660