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!

"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 :)