flapflap

fall

2010-09-27T22:58:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago I reached my 2 year car-free anniversary.
One of my "regular" bus drivers calls me the bike lady.
After a very unpleasant experience on the metro rail, I don't take the train to work anymore. I've been trying to get streetlamps fixed on my old walking route from the red line to my apartment. Amazingly this has turned into an effort spanning nearly an entire year with multiple forms filled out and council member contact. This city has some growing up to do.

bus waiting

2010-05-06T19:47:00.000-07:00

waiting at the bus stop. would you let your wife, girlfriend, sister or daughter stand here alone? would you want to stand here? what if only 50% of the streetlamps functioned?

who would you meet? who would you like to meet?

what can do to make it better for yourself? what can you do to make it better for others?

4/25/10 - Studio City, CA

2010-04-08T07:40:00.000-07:00

4/3/10 - Fryman Canyon, Studio City, CA

downtown LA

2010-02-05T06:42:00.000-08:00

1/24/10 - downtown Los Angeles, taken from the Verdugo Mountains 2 days after receiving ~4 inches of rain

we still have a great deal of work

rain power

2010-01-29T06:46:00.000-08:00

1/18/20 - after the rains

bike and squak

2010-01-28T20:01:00.000-08:00

red-lored amazon parrot, Burbank, CA 1/16/10

links

2009-12-13T10:36:00.000-08:00

saddening, but necessary images of what our waste does to other members of this place we call home

mysteries of public transit

another bike blog from a bunch of different cities around the world

human hummingbird feeder

Upcyle Christmas Wreath

2009-12-05T16:34:00.000-08:00

My apartment is one of the few in my building that faces an open courtyard. People stand across from my apartment, waiting for the elevator and facing my front door. As a result I like to decorate my door. In past years I've gone to Christmas tree lots and asked if I could have some of the branches they cut off people's trees. I was frequently told I could take what I wanted at no cost as the employees appreciated the fact that they didn't have to clean them up. I then tied them together and made a wreath for my door and decorated some of my doorways. It brought the smell of a tree in my apartment without buying a tree. This year I decided I didn't want to do that though, so I instead used things I already had around the apartment. I gathered a dry cleaner hanger, a bunch of random plastic bags in various shades of green and blue, a twist tie (from a bulk bin purchase) and a mesh bag from oranges and pulled together a wreath!

I used pliers and wire cutters to resize the hanger and make a smooth-ish circle. I cut the plastic bags into similarly sized strips and then alternated colors in a semi-regular pattern. I used probably about 7 bags, but most were much larger/thicker than a normal grocery store bag. You could easily do something more striped or a single color. When it looked full enough to me, I tied a bow with the mesh orange bag and attached it to the wreath with the twist tie!

2009-11-29T13:52:00.000-08:00

Yellow Chevroned Parrotkeet, Toluca Lake, CA 11/28/09

Costal Cleanup Day 2009 - Balboa Park LA River site

2009-11-14T14:32:00.000-08:00

I recently realized I never said anything about Coastal Cleanup day back in September!

LA River cleanups in the Balboa Park area are super easy to reach by public transportation. I caught the Red Line to North Hollywood and then got off one Orange Line stop too early (Woodley instead of Balboa) and just ended up walking to the next stop near the cleanup site. Although I was somewhat annoyed with myself, I did enjoy the walk someplace that I had never walked before.

walking over the LA River on Victory....

Although I've walked from the Balboa Orange Line station to the LA River a few times, I had never realized the street was lined with pecan trees!

Growing up in Texas we'd go to the park and pick pecans in the fall. Then we'd go home and used the hefty nut crackers and have a supply of pecans for the next year.

The Cleanup site was well marked this year, which was exciting. Last year there was a little issue at this same cleanup spot and the people with the supplies were on the opposite of the street from when the rest of the people were for the clean up. It was a little weird and confusing though because the first thing I saw was a giant truck and people bar-b-queing

I'm not sure if this is where the money went from the Friends of the Los Angeles River cleanup a few months ago or what, but there were way more accommodations at this clean up than any of the others I've attended at this same site. There were lines of tents, more junk food than normal as well as tools! Some were more suited for different areas (like the rakes and brooms), but the shovels and hoes were much appreciated.

instead of wandering east where we had just cleaned a couple of months ago, we wandered east under the bridge over Balboa to the other side of the street.

The large number of kids at this clean up when compared to some previous ones was encouraging

A peek into my bag. As usual most of the stuff was plastic - bags, straws, wrappers, random broken items. The hoe allowed us to more easily get at some thing that were otherwise unreachable during some other clean ups.

At one point my boyfriend and I were digging away and a large group of kids, maybe around 10, came stomping through the plants declaring that there was no more trash! Oh no! I wish I had more time to educate them outside of saying "there is a lot more if you look closely!" I think my boyfriend and I spent about 20 minutes just in this area and we only left before we needed more water.

unreachable plastic hanging from the trees

Progress made with the aid of the shovels! A group of people were working on this for a while and they had trouble leaving this behind unfinished. I told them there are other cleanup events here throughout the years, so I hope they get a chance to come back and make progress before it's covered again...

Another example of the work people did with the shovels and hoes! I happened to take a picture of this same bin when we went to a Friends of the LA River clean up earlier in the summer.

More people working until the last minute! This clean up was also weird in that the people sponsoring it had much of the 'stuff' they brought cleaned up and put away before noon, when the clean up ended. In the past it seemed like things didn't end so abruptly at noon.

A portion of the trash when we finished up at noon. Some of the trash had already been hauled away!

LA River

2009-11-10T20:20:00.001-08:00

la river, studio city, nov 1, 2009

I've been walking a lot recently. Something about the night and the streets is very inviting.

Free Food Inc. Viewing

2009-10-29T18:39:00.000-07:00

If you're like me and haven't had a chance to see the documentary Food, Inc. yet, on Tuesday November 17 the California Endowment will be holding a free viewing. There will be a panel discussion at 6pm followed by the film (~90 min) with a reception afterward. The California Endowment is located downtown a short walk from Union Station, so it is easy to access with public transportation, but they do offer free parking as well.

California Endowment's
Center for Healthy Communities
1000 N. Alameda St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012

I've gone to a few other events at the California Endowment about food in our communities and I've been pretty satisfied with the topics, the facilities and the people they bring in including a discussion with Marion Nestle and a viewing of King Corn, all for free and a short walk from someplace I normally am anyway.

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Also, PBS has started showing The Botany of Desire, based on the book of the same name by Michael Pollan. I enjoyed the documentary which covered how some plants have essentially thrived because of humans and what the humans get from these plants, including the tulip, apple, marijuana and potatoes. I admit I haven't read this book yet (it's on my library request list), but I have read some of his other books and I've enjoyed them and felt like I learned a decent amount. Oddly enough somehow the book I've been reading about how trees die seemed to cover some of the same topics as the movie. Regardless, PBS will continue to show this documentary in the next week or you can watch the full 2 hour documentary online.

The Source (of my time suck)

2009-10-29T06:31:00.000-07:00

Recently the LA MTA debuted their new blog The Source. It covers general events with the LA Metro system, like the upcoming Gold Line Eastside Extension, long range plan topics and other related topics. Yesterday, however, was I believe the first that it was used to provide semi-real time updates on delay problems. The particular problem was that an umbrella blew onto the power lines of the Gold Line, preventing trains from running either to Union Station or to Pasadena. This was of particular interest to me as I ride the Gold Line as part of my regular commute.

So I watched the posts to keep an eye out for my evening commute plans, but luckily at 4:40pm the trains were up and running again in both directions. I left work at my normal time only to start crossing the train tracks as the train approached. It was a few minutes earlier than normal. I hopped on and ended up at Union Station in time to catch the Red Line train I normally miss by 2 minutes! As a result of service delays on the Gold Line I ended up getting home EARLY!

On one hand, I guess I can't complain because hey, it's nice to shorten your commute and get home early, if only for a day. On the other hand, it's somewhat frustrating to see that simply by increasing service frequency or altering schedules slightly, I and many others that scramble to transfer from one train to another at Union Station every day could gain a decent amount of free time in our lives. Kinda sad, isn't it?

That's not to say I don't use my time on the train. I'm a huge fan of the Pasadena Library, which is less than a mile from my work, making it super easy to access a large number of books for no cost and my work has a "Book Swap" shelf where people deposit books they are done reading for others to pick up. Sometimes I just look out the window (especially on the Gold Line) and think. Sometimes I talk to a random train person or someone I know from work. From time to time I work on art and craft projects like colored pencil drawings, crocheting, knitting and needle felting. But even despite those things, sometimes it would be nice to get home and do something else instead. A car ride from my apartment to my work would take about 20 minutes. The train ride and walk to and from the stations takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes. It's easy to see why I have difficulties convincing others that even live on my street and work in the same area, to take public transportation instead.

I've been riding the train for over 4 years and it has improved in that time, but sometimes I am also a little discouraged to see so much time pass by and nothing really changing to make my ride more efficient or better in any other way. It's not that I keep my mouth shut either - my line of work both enhances and encourages me to exercise my skills at letting people know where there are problems in their system.

Oh well. Off for another day's commute, this time with How Trees Die: The Past, Present, and Future of our Forests in hand.

Book Review - Corvus: A Life with Birds

2009-10-26T19:24:00.000-07:00

Corvus: A Life with Birds by Esther Woolfson is a beautifully and lovingly written memoir. After receiving a few doves, Woolfson and her family soon take in a variety of wanted, unwanted and fallen baby birds including a cockatiel, rook, magpie, starling and crow to become members of the family. Woolfson understands both the costs and benefits of keeping some of these wild birds at home, but takes the time to understand and love these birds as best she can, especially the Corvids. The book itself is a mixture of her personal stories mixed in with natural history of the birds species. She researches the way they are portrayed in culture compared to their nature and personal quirks. She pulls you into her world, describing the sometimes minute details of the birds and their behavior, putting a smile on your face or tears in your eyes at the appropriate moment to make you feel something a bit more for some of the few wild animal we still interact with regularly when outside.

I must admit that I have a fascination with birds, so this book was especially relatable and touching to me. I grew up with a parrot at home, who is the closet thing I'll ever have to an older sibling, so I understood some of the relationships being described of man and bird. I also know a couple people who have had crows before and seem to gush with the same sort of love that Woolfson does. Although this book doesn't have such an intense "green" leaning, I would still recommend this book to anyone interested in birds, understanding the relationship between man and other animals, nature or if you need a little bit of light reading between some of those more intense environmental books.

birds, Solvang, CA 2007

10/24/09 - International Day of Climate Action - BBC Cleanup

2009-10-25T10:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the Internation Day of Climate Action. As part of this event, Siel from Green LA Girl and Sara from the Daily Ocean arranged a 20 minute Blogger Beach Clean-up, which is somewhat part of a large project that Sara has going on. Admittedly, my boyfriend and I did not take the most Climate friendly transportation to Santa Monica to join in, but it was the first time I had been out to Santa Monica since February and I was looking forward to meeting some people. I, as usual, had my camera on hand to tell my part of the story.

heading out to clean for 20 minutes!

I was surprised at the large number of cigarette butts scattered all over. It's like some people see the whole entire beach as a giant ashtray!

One of the two lifeguard towers that Sara focuses her clean efforts between.

Most of my recent clean-up efforts have been focused on the LA River or some of the areas near my home or places where I walk. I've learned that each place has the obvious trash as well as the trash that is possibly more harmful, yet easily missed. I quickly realized there were tiny bits of plastic all over the sand and that these wads of kelp and other sea stuff also contained hidden plastic bits within. This one had some white plastic ribbon stuff. Plastic stringy things are especially alarming as they easily become tangled around animals, especially the feet of birds. I see this all the time with pigeons, which sometimes eventually lose their toes, feet or lives due to infections. I really hope the shoes belonged to someone still at the beach because I left them behind.....

Another wad, this one with some black plastic straws mixed in with some little shreds of white plastic I soon realized were all over the beach and white fluffy stuff that looked like it came from a pillow or stuffed animal.

Remains of a day at the beach, thankfully with no accompanying plastic pieces left behind.

Heading back to the meeting area after the cleanup we walked past the bathrooms and realized there was once again a large "jackpot" of plastic pieces and more cigarettes

A peek into my bag at the end of the 20 minutes. Most everything was plastic or Styrofoam including wrappers, countless plastic straws and tiny shreds or broken pieces of plastic. Based on the difficulties myself and others had at trying to figure out if what we saw was a piece of shell, plastic or Styrofoam or if something was a straw or the shaft of a feather, I can easily see how animals are confused as well. It's saddening and frustrating to see what we've done and how small careless actions can really add up.

After our 20 minutes of cleaning, everyone got together to hear some people speak briefly, including a representative from Heal the Bay, CICLE, and Sara from the Daily Ocean, while enjoying some of the complimentary snacks and drinks.

The Heal the Bay representative and the trash the group managed to pick up in only 20 minutes.

Afterward we headed over to Pourtal for some drinks before I was seduced by the beauty of a sunset on the beach, something I don't often get a chance to see, but reminds you why consciousness of the problems and efforts to fix them are all worthwhile.

Thanks to Siel and Sara for putting together this cleanup event!

I think after all of these cleanup events I've realized that a couple things really need to happen. First, people need to become more aware of what types of things are passing through their hands and into the trash. There is no need to generate the amount of waste that we do. Theoretically, if everyone picked up as much trash as they intentionally or unintentionally dropped, there wouldn't be trash all over the place. Obviously that doesn't happen. I think some people also don't see the big picture or the cycle from the comfort of their cars and from their tv set. I think after many people reach this point, they also begin to realize that it's actually very difficult in some instances to work around this waste problem because the companies that sell the products that create this waste are not held accountable for the entire lifecycle of their products. What are all of these stupid tiny pieces of plastic? If every business that handed out straws for drinks had to make sure the straws ended up in the "right" place, I don't think they'd be so generous with the plastic tubes that might end up traveling to more destinations in their lifespan than the person that once placed their lips on them to sip their soda from a plastic cup.

impact echos

2009-10-20T19:13:00.000-07:00

Today I finally got my hands on a copy of the much talked about No Impact Man book by Colin Beavan, which goes along with the blog and movie of similar names. Although it's been out for a few weeks, I was number 3 or 4 on the library waiting list. I visited the library at lunch, so it wasn't until the train ride home that I had time to start reading. If you're not familiar with No Impact Man's story, a man and his family decide to live the most environmentally friendly life they can, while living in New York City. They decide to do this for a year, unaware of what it actually means to do so. This book seems to appeal to both those that are already on this same path in that it gives them another's view point and how they got there as well as those that aren't sure where to even start. This post isn't really meant to be a review of the book though.

In Chapter 2, Colin begins with the story of his first day as "No Impact Man". In the first 10 minutes of being awake he's felt bad about using a dead tree to blow his nose, felt bad about using a diaper for his 1.5 year old daughter and realized his milk came in a disposable container. I think about the handkerchief I have tucked in my purse and how I need to remember to replace it when I do laundry tonight. I don't want to use a paper tissue at work as I quickly learned that handkerchiefs are so much more pleasant to use. I think about the plain white cloth napkins I grabbed on impulse at my most favorite thrift store ever when my total purchase didn't meet the debit card minimum and how I quickly grew to rely on them as napkins and handkerchiefs. I think about the brand new set of Hankettes I bought my boyfriend for his birthday, a month late, but handmade with organic cotton in Canada. Out the corner of my eye I see, the woman sitting next to me on the Red Line train digs in her bag and pulls out a wadded, bright white paper tissue. She rubs her nose and drops it on the floor between her legs.

I look and point at the tissue and say, "you dropped something" as I pull my eyes away from the book, the event all the more obvious as I just finished reading one of the few book passages I've ever read about blowing one's nose. She says "oh ok" and does nothing.

I can't help but to try to understand her actions. Did she really just not understand me? Does she not care because she doesn't want it anymore? Does she assume someone else will take care of it? Does she not know what else to do with it? Is she embarrassed that I said something? I realize that this No Impact Man book might be more helpful in a way I wasn't expecting. Although I try to keep others perspectives in mind and trying to understand, I know I suffer from assuming others have certain bits of information in their heads. People were brought up different ways. I pull out my handkerchief and blow my nose and tuck it back into my bag. I hope if nothing else, I can lead by example some of the time.

Park(ing) Day 2009

2009-09-20T21:07:00.000-07:00

I decided to take off work this past Friday and went out with a friend with a fairly flexible schedule to visit some of the temporary parks that appear on Park(ing) day, a day when parking spaces normally only used by cars are used for more people oriented activities. I started out trying to hit up the only Park mapped in the San Fernando Valley in Studio City. I was too early though and as I was leaving, I noticed the park components being unloaded from a couple of cars.

My friend and I took the subway to Hollywood and Highland and biked to our first stop, Hollywood Community Studio and Urban Outfitters park.

They were handing out maps with some of their favorite spots in Hollywood, including the largest tree on sunset and where the local Community Gardens are located. We asked for a drink recommendation and we ended up at the nearby Farmer's Kitchen, a small restaurant that serves in season local foods in a constantly changing menu.

Here my friend had some soup and we both had some refreshing agua fresca in an unknown lightly sweetened "purple" flavor. We were excited by the bike rack out front :)

The next stop was the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council BBQ and Pool Park. This was the largest park we visited. It was right outside of the Bicycle Kitchen and featured a pool, BBQ, a table from Guerrilla Gardens (I made some seed bombs with them!), music, shade, plants and places to rest.

We happened to arrive here just as Damien Newton from Streetsblog LA and some others arrived as well on their ride. We continued on with them to the next couple parks.

Our third park was the East Hollywood Light Yard park.

This park had more of an art related emphasis, including completed art, art materials and a guy working on a painting.

For our last park stop, we continued to Silver Lake and up a hill to JaredFood's park.

My friend and I then biked back to Vermont and Sunset and caught the Red Line back to my apartment. We both had an excellent day and got to see new parts of the city and had a lot of fun. I also got a chance to take someone on the Subway for the first time, which is always an adventure in itself. The time and effort put into the parks was rather impressive. I enjoyed interacting with and being with people that see the potential in the city to be something better and more inviting for people. I'm definitely looking forward to this event next year.

International Coastal Clean Up Day - September 19

2009-09-12T16:05:00.000-07:00

The yearly international Coastal Cleanup day is coming up next weekend, September 19 at a variety of locations. Los Angeles area locations can be found on the Heal the Bay website. Despite the name, coastal cleanup day does not just focus on coastal areas, but also more inland areas that eventually drain to the oceans. There might be an event near you! Some people like to go as an excuse to get to the beach, others prefer to focus cleaning their neighborhood. Either way, your efforts and time are appreciated and it gives you a chance to contribute to your community, better understand your community and spend time with likeminded individuals.

Some tips for clean-up events:

Don't waste!
The goal of any cleanup event is to remove trash from places where it shouldn't be. One of the rubs with sponsored clean-up events is that they can generate a decent amount of trash on their own with snacks, single use water bottles and disposable gloves being handed out, but there are some things you can do to help curb that waste
-Recycling or trash? At some events the organizers ask that you sort out recycling and trash. Others just give you trash bags and send you on your merry way. Make sure you know which approach is being used and which items can be recycled.
-Bring your own reusable water bottle. Some events only hand out water in single use bottles. If so, you'll at least prevent one new bottle from being opened by coming prepared. If you do drink any of the single use bottled beverages, make sure they end up in the recycle bin. Some event planners will bring a larger container of water for people to refill their bottles with. Either way, I'd recommend writing to the people sponsoring your event once it is over and let them know you would prefer a less wasteful water source next time or let them know you appreciate their actions to reduce the amount of waste by not handing out single use water bottles.
-Bring your own gloves. At every clean-up event I've attended, disposable gloves were provided, but they're less than ideal. I've managed to rip every disposable glove I've used at these events. Sometimes the sponsors are running short on materials and you might just get one glove. To avoid the Michael Jackson look, potential exposure to dirt and generating more waste, I'd recommend rummaging though your garage and bringing your own work or gardening gloves. Leather gloves work well, but there are also cotton coated with rubber, polyester and other durable vegan materials available. This is definitely an investment worth making if you plan on making clean-up events a more regular part of your life.
-Think about transportation. If you live next to the beach and can walk or bike to a clean-up event, by all means, use your legs. Just be aware that you might be a little more tired after cleaning for 3 hours than when you started out. If public transportation is available, it's a good option. If you must drive, see if you can carpool. It makes the event more fun, cuts down on parking issues and gives you a good excuse to invite friends along.

Safety!
As always, be aware of where you are and what the hazards are in your area. If you have children with you, be sure to talk with them about what to do if they find a dead animal, broken glass, syringes and other questionable items they might encounter.
-Sun. Remember you might be outside for hours doing manual labor. It can get rather hot. Make sure to bring along sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses. Also, don't skimp on the water. Just because a sponsor only brought water in single use bottles and you already drank up your reusable bottle reserve, that's no excuse to put your body in danger. Take breaks if necessary, make sure to keep on drinking water during the cleanup and once it's over.
-Don't throw away batteries! Most people don't know that it's actually illegal to throw batteries away in California. They are filled with all sorts of somewhat toxic metals. If you find a battery, locate a bag (this is usually way easier than one would hope) or other item to place it in. If they are leaking, be very careful to not touch them with your bare hands. Wrap up all the batteries and once your clean-up event is complete, drop them off with your household battery recycling. It's also worth talking to your event organizers and asking them if they collect them and if they don't, if they could consider doing so in the future.
-Tetanus!If you plan on making a habit of cleanup events, it's worth making sure you are up to date with your tetanus shot. You need to get a booster at least every 10 years to prevent getting tetanus (lock jaw). Your health care provider should be able to tell you when you got your last booster.

Clean up events can be a fun way to spend time together and give back to your community. They can be giant organized events or just you, wandering in your neighborhood, cleaning it up a little. Either way, you can feel good knowing you helped make things better and it gives you a new perspective on the places we stay and our place and impact in our communities.

Friends of the Los Angeles River Clean-Up - Aquarius Springs!

2009-08-25T20:16:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, Friends of the Los Angeles River held a clean-up even in near Lake Balboa in the Van Nuys/Encino area. After having a positive experience with an FoLAR sponsored clean-up this past May, I headed out to this event Saturday morning on the Red/Orange Line.

LA River before starting

One difference with this event was that it was sponsored by Aquarius Springs! water. The beginning of the event started with a few people talking, a presentation of a plaque and $50,000. Local television and print media was on hand to capture the event.

People watching the presentation. I'd be lying if I wasn't super anxious and ready to go (as demonstrated by the fact I was busy taking pictures instead of paying attention...)

I don't know if it was due to recent clean-ups or lack of rain or just that everything was buried, but there wasn't a large deal of obvious trash visible.

At first it looks like maybe there is a single piece of trash there...

... but when you examine things up close, you notice the plastic stuck all over the place.

more trash.....

I'm sure I was neither the first nor the last person to try to pick this up that day. It's the only part of a much larger shopping cart stuck in the ground. I know areas of the LA River near my home don't have the high rate of shopping carts that this area does. A little further up the river, there's a huge pile of shopping carts stuck in the river tangled up and stuck together. Wandering in that area you can find and see shopping carts from stores you forgot even existed.

This guy was telling this woman he was just walking through the park this morning, noticed the clean-up happening and decided to participate. Awesomeness.

So many dried thistles. Back in May they were purple.

The lighting was bad, so this photo does not do justice to the intense and iridescent colors on this beetle. There were also a large number of small intensely blue colored dragonflies that I was too busy watching to take pictures of them.

The opening to a small clearing in a bamboo forest. I could have spent the rest of the day in there.

At one point my boyfriend and I wandered a little bit away from where most people were and stumbled upon what ended up being a huge amount of embedded plastic bags, random items and stringy things. While I was digging and pulling at this plastic, a LA Times reporter came over and briefly interviewed me for a story about the clean-up. I said much more than what ended up in the story, including some comments about companies making the items that end up in places like this should be made responsible for the whole lifecycle of the the items they make, including packaging. Green LA Girl picked up on and brought up this conflict of sorts and how it wasn't mentioned in the article. While I agree since I said something very similar to the reporter, at least there seems to be a decent enough collection rate on CRV items that my boyfriend and I only collected a single crv item - a glass drink bottle, during our 3 hours of cleaning up.

don't be fooled by the beauty...

...there's still trash and other things everyplace. The tree actually grew around the cart. There's plastic in the trees and stringy plasticy things all over.

a trash bin, mostly buried.
When I saw this, I couldn't help but to think to myself about people finding this crap stuck in what used to be the only freshwater source in this area of California, wondering what on earth us 20th and 21st century people were thinking. Why is there plastic, Styrofoam and carts everyplace? Any answer I could give, even today, doesn't speak positively of the society we've created. Because no one told us or showed us? Because we were too lazy? Because we figured it was someone elses' responsibility? Because we figured the part we could do was too small to matter?

Because of the Aquarius Spring sponsorship, the water provided at this event was a bit more wasteful than at the past FoLAR event I attended. At that event I brought along my Klean Kanteen, but FoLAR also provided reusable water bottles and access to a water cooler. The result was no single use water bottles! I was curious how this would be handled this time, but brought along my water bottle anyway. As expected, we received water in single use plastic bottles. On one hand I was disappointed as I know that FoLAR knew how to do things in a less wasteful way. At the same time, I understood and could sympathize with the reply I got from a FoLAR representative in that some things come at a cost. FoLAR also sold and gave away reusable bottles that day in addition to the bottled water.

Overall it was a good event. We had some difficulties with the water situation, but it seems that FoLAR is very receptive, understanding and willing to try to fix these things. I was happy to find out that FoLAR is helping with the Heal the Bay/Coastal Clean-up Day event this year after some problems with the Heal the Bay sponsored event last year at the same location. It does make me frustrated and sad and countless other things to see all of the trash in the LA River, obvious or buried deep in the river beds. This section of the LA River is endlessly fascinating to me after getting a chance to spend time there over the past few years and conveniently easily accessible from public transportation. I find the experience to be somewhat meditative, wandering through tiny slices of nature, cleaning up the city along the way and learning things that nothing else has taught me in such concrete manner.

If you have time this next weekend, FoLAR is holding another clean-up event in Cypress Park.

Review: Skid Row

2009-08-09T20:42:00.001-07:00

The first time I ended up in the Skid Row area, it wasn't on purpose. I didn't even realize I was there. I was driving to a concert at the smell, an odd venue with the entrance in an alleyway on the edge of skid row. I was in the general area, but couldn't see any addresses or signs and was having problems finding parking. I kept on driving, searching, looking for the destination. Eventually I realized there weren't many cars around, but there were tons of people in tents all over the sidewalks, people wandering in the streets, yelling at me.
At another point someone ran across the street with a gun in their hand. After spending most of my time in California in Claremont, I was somewhat terrified, but I had to give someone at the concert a ride home. I tried calling the radio station I volunteered at to find out more info about the venue, but no one knew anything and no one answered the phone at the venue. I made it to the concert alive that night, eventually. The following concert were all fitting for the night (the artist said the smell was their favorite venue to play because of the atmosphere!) but I've had various, less terrifying, but more intentional experience with Skid Row since then.

This past week I came across a documentary called Skid Row, "starring" Pras Michel of the Fugees. Essentially Michel lives on Skid Row for 9 days with a body guard under cover, $9 and a tent, discretely filming a documentary of life on skid row. Michel has to deal with still trying to maintain his normal self in the atmosphere and realizes that in some ways, the living situation changes your person. They seemed to have picked one of the few rainy periods each year in the Los Angeles area, bringing more drama into the documentary including rats running around due to their homes being flooded. Although the footage is a bit jumpy at times, the film accurately shows what I've observed while walking around Los Angeles. The random seeming altercations, people clearly under the influence of hard drugs, the debris, the tents and rats and gatherings. They don't really interview or show any individuals clearly suffering from major mental disorders. It's worth watching if you are at all interested. It can't bring the smell and chaos or make you feel the same way as walking past many people living in this situation does, but it does prepare you for the experience to some degree.

One reason I bring this up is that living in a more car-free manner in Los Angeles and means dealing with more homeless individuals. Just this afternoon while on a bike ride I saw a guy urinating in the Universal City Metro parking lot with a limo parked nearby. A little further up the street in front of an apartment building, a guy smelling strongly of alcohol was laying in the bushes. Many people in cars just put up their window and keep looking straight ahead. I've been on the train when someone gets on, smelling strongly of urine, sweat and whatever other things collect on clothing and the rest of the people on the car gather down on the other end, but you can't help but to notice the homeless individuals' shuffle and that they must be suffering in some physical way. I've seen the same woman rant loudly about Jesus and her husband and Satan on the trains and staying at bus stop after bus stop in my neighborhood, talking to no one in particular. I've seen children innocently getting into conversations with some homeless individuals only for the child to be completely confused once the homeless individual starts talking about something unrelated or something that isn't there. As the Gold Line leaves Union Station, there are various sites visible on both sides of the tracks that are common gathering places where I've seeing rats running around and trash piling up. A couple of weeks ago I saw a woman standing in the LA river near downtown with a t shirt on, washing her pants in the river. One thing I found to be so difficult is seeing so many extremely poor and extremely wealthy people living so closely in a city. I've heard people covered in all sorts of sores with densely tangles hair talking eagerly to one another about where they would go to get drugs once they got off the Red Line at Pershing Square. While some people are going through things in life that live them few other options, some people make decisions that someone leave them in this situation. It's hard to keep your eyes closed and ignore it when it's in front of you though once you start moving throughout the city without a car. That's why I was torn when I saw the guy taking the recyclables out of the recycle bin last week.

Friends of the Los Angeles River Clean-ups

2009-08-09T16:49:00.000-07:00

On August 22, 2009 from 9am-noon at the Sepulveda Basin at Balboa Park in Van Nuys, Friends of the Los Angeles river will be having another river clean up. I am hopefully going to make it there! This part of the LA river is super pretty and somewhat natural. The last FoLAR clean up I attended was also well organized!

There is also going to be another clean-up event on August 29, 2009 from 9am-noon at Taylor Yard in Cypress Park.

wild fennel

2009-08-09T15:59:00.000-07:00

wild fennel, 8/2/09, hiking in Franklin Canyon Park

daily days

2009-08-06T20:45:00.000-07:00

Another day, another 5 bags and a couple of hands full of trash. I picked up some new, better fitting gloves yesterday, which made picking up trash and cleaning up the ground a little easier.

A woman from my apartment building who owns dogs was out this evening and talked to me a little. She always asks me about riding my bike. She previously lived in Japan and would ride all of the time, but feels unsafe riding a bike here in LA. She also told me she has been picking up some glass in that area (so her dogs aren't hurt!) so she was happy to see me cleaning. At another point a somewhat dirty man carrying a bag and a guitar walked by and smiled and said something about building your community! That was odd, yet also again very encouraging. I stayed out for about 40 minutes, picking up trash and cleaning up the land a little.

Toward the end, a guy appeared with a grocery basket, trying to pick up the few recyclables I had left in the bushes. Then he walked over to the blue bin I had been filling with recyclables and pulled out all the cans and bottles, including the ones I had just put in there. On one hand, I wanted to pull out the ones I just picked up and give them to him and gently remind him that removing stuff from the blue bins isn't exactly legal. On the other, I knew many of those bottles and cans had been sitting in the bushes since last week because I didn't pull the out of the bushes at that time and I don't know if he would have even gone through the effort of removing some (I had gloves and some tools to help). Then again, most of the time when people are digging through the recycling bins, things aren't great. But the money for the recycling program comes from the things being recycled. I didn't say anything in the end, but I could tell he was trying to avoid me.

After reading about The Daily Ocean where beach trash is collected every day and weighted and photographed in some ways, I thought I would share some of the gross/weird things I found today (although I didn't have my camera):
-beer can still filled with beer and a condom (gross!)
-most of a roasted chicken from the nearby Ralphs in a plastic container
-a few security tops from bottles of alcohol (looks like some stole some alkehol)
-a bottle of arnica montana homeopathic medicine
-tons of styrofoam cups and very few plastic bags

----------------------------------------------

In other news, yesterday morning as I approached the Gold Line at Union Station, I saw a sign saying something to the effect of "You agree to have your bag searched if you step beyond this point", this point being the ticket area leading to the Gold Line. Blood boiling! I knew these bag searching were happening with the Metrolink, but I was not happy to see this. I'm not really sure how I feel about riding the train knowing this is happening now, even though I don't have anything to hide. I just don't want people's noses in my bags when I'm just trying to get to work.

There is also something weird going on with the sheriffs on the metro in general. Today while riding the Gold Line to Pasadena, sheriffs came on the train twice to check tickets, in about a 10-15 minute period. When I maybe foolishly asked what was going on, another regular on the train mentioned this happened earlier in the week too. The thing that I find so weird is that someone that rides the train or bus every single day would only have to be caught once every month to 3 months to make it more cost effective to pay for your daily rides instead of getting fined! I don't know if someone is trying to artificially raise the sheriff costs before they install turnstiles, if they've had some sudden rash of problems and are searching for certain people or are just hoping to make people's day horrible when they legitimately can't find their pass/ticket or what, but this is rather odd.
-

calm

2009-08-04T20:21:00.000-07:00

8/2/09 - Ducks at Franklin Canyon Lake at Coldwater Canyon Dr. and Mullholland.

1 Year Car-Free

2009-08-03T19:33:00.000-07:00

I've been so busy the past week that I forgot to mention it was my 1 year anniversary of being car-free! For the most part, the year was what I expected. I saved more money that I thought I would (although my work increased the reimbursement for not driving to work as well). I've discovered countless small businesses in my neighborhood near home and work that I simply wasn't looking for in the past. I can now confidently rack up bike mileage in the double digits in a day without feeling like I was about to die. I've found beautiful little gardens and places to bike. I've still been able to make sure the recycling program continues at work (one of the last errands I did weekly with my car!) It's been good for the most part.

I had some difficulties until I learned what I needed to do to plan my transportation. My boyfriend was extremely helpful at times in filling in the holes with public transportation service gaps, getting places that are more difficult to reach without public transportation and helping carry larger things. I actually haven't driven at all since my car accident where my car and I parted ways. Granted I know my car-free transition was already most of the way there compared to some others - next month will be 4 years since I started riding the train to work, but taking that last step is scary in some ways. I had already flirted with the idea of getting rid of my car, but I still didn't know how to handle my pets, the recycling at work, my recycling at home and other thing. I managed to work around them all and purchased a new bike to help me out with getting to some of those places on my own (I still dream of biking to the Burbank airport at some point, only I doubt they have long term bicycle parking!) and only had 2 flats along the way :)

at a unknown intersection in the West Hills/Canoga Park area, 7/24/09

Summer Evenings

2009-07-26T20:55:00.000-07:00

Near my apartment building, there is a somewhat abandoned, yet regularly used piece of land. Over the years, I've watched how people use the land and talked to some of those people. No one has ever said they liked how it is being used right now. The current plant coverage and accommodations brings many issues with it including trash, rats, homeless individuals, tagging and lack of necessary pathways. Pretty much everyone would like to see it in more of a park-like state friendly for people sitting, walking their dogs and possibly some community garden aspects. I've been trying to work with some of my neighborhood associations, but it seems to be a semi-slow process.

Next to this piece of land is another little strip of land that no one seems to pay attention to and no one claims to own. It pretty much consists of trash, dead plants, plants with giant burrs and dandelions.

For the past couple of weeks I have been trying to spend time outside dealing with these areas. On one hand, I just want it fixed and what better way than to do it myself. I use this land every day when walking to my destinations and it bothers me. I am sure the trash there only makes people see it as being ownerless.

The first evening I went out with a plastic grocery bag and went to work. After only a couple of minutes someone came up to me and asked if I was being paid to do this. In the conversation that followed I made a friend and found someone that was older, but excited to see someone doing something. He gave me some suggestions and encouragement and was excited to see what I could do. I ended up collecting probably 8 bags of trash that evening. I picked up bag after bag, easily recycled cans and bottles, paper of all sorts, plastic wrappers and other random plastic pieces.

A week later, the plants were already filled with trash again, but I held back and instead started focusing on the little, somewhat super abandoned land without anyone claiming it. I started intensely weeding it, getting deep at the roots of the plants and digging into the ground. I was surprised to find it's quite a few inches of rocks with some dirt.

I haven't made too much progress with that, but the process of digging in the soil, sifting it through my fingers and picking up things is somewhat soothing. My friend came out again this evening while I worked, excited as ever, wondering what I have in store. I guess he's been trying to get someone to do something with this land for a while, trying to find the owner, but no one wants to claim it. I managed to pick up some baby aloe plants on freecycle recently, so I'm thinking about adding some of those. I'm somewhat interested in the possible challenge of trying to fill the space with freecycle or gathered plant seeds/sprouts, but we'll see. In some ways I've started approaching this as a challenge to myself to see what I can do. While I always played in the dirt growing up and helped my mom and whatnot in the garden, I've never done something like this as an adult.

morning walk

2009-07-21T20:40:00.000-07:00

7/10/09 - looking south to the Hollywood Hills while walking to the train station

Subway Adventures

2009-07-14T20:14:00.001-07:00

This morning seemed pretty normal. I woke up, took care of my pets and plants and left for the train on time. The Red Line train arrived at Universal City station as expected. Somewhere along the way between Universal and Hollywood and Highland while I was enjoying music on my mp3 player, I heard the driver announcing something. I didn't think much of it as they frequently announce train stops and what train and direction you're riding in. A guy standing near me suddenly had a taken aback expression on his face, so I pulled off my headphones only to find out the announcement was over. We gradually slowed down, a horrible smell began permeating the air and then we stopped.

Everyone stood and sat in the train quietly as the driver announced he was going to see if he could repair the train. The air turned off an on as he ran up and down the side of the train along the subway tunnel walkway. When the air was off, the car was oddly quiet. Considering everyone was sitting there silently save for the occasional cough or sneeze and the quiet buzzing of people listening to music that's maybe a little too loud. At one point the guy that made the expression that first alerted me to the situation said "Why can't we go? I thought they said it was a power problem. The air is on."

After about 30 minutes, we got an announcement saying we would evacuate the train and walk to the next station or a cross walk. Although I could sense some people were starting to get anxious, this was suddenly getting more exciting. They gave us some general direction on only opening one door of each car and everyone exiting from the car, one car at a time. As soon as the announcement stopped, one woman got up from her seat and started walking towards the end of the car where I was standing and most everyone else on that end of the car followed.

While standing around trying to figure out what was going on, I noticed a stream of riders walking along the outside of the car. Someone asked what was going on because based on the evacuation announcement, we expected people to walk through the middle of each car to the front car and from there, exit through a single door onto the pathway, however the people walking outside of the car were walking toward the front of the train. People inside of the car I was in stood with their cameras flashing, taking pictures of the stream of people walking by and periodically stopping.

I heard some noise on the end of the train car with the driver area and some metro officers appeared and told us to travel through the middle of the train cars. 2 guys in front of my walked their bikes through, but I wondered how this would have worked with some of the people I've seen in wheelchairs in the past, as there were decent sized gaps between the doors on each car. It was an odd sensation to walk in a line through the middle of each train car (I think we went through 3 cars) while watching people travel along a somewhat dark path in a parallel line on the other side of the train windows.

Finally we got to the front of the train where more metro officers were standing and we had to exit the train and integrate into the line of people traveling on the walkway. Since I had just traveled through the train up until then, I have to admit I felt a little nervous as I stood in the tube shaped tunnel with the 2, maybe 2 1/2 foot wide walkway pressed against the left side and nothing on the right. It's somewhat surprisingly clean and empty outside of odd patterns all over the walls. Maybe every 20 feet along the walkway on the wall is a florescent light tube and along the entire way there is a railing. The floor was bare concrete and there was a straight drop to the tracks below. Just like walking along the train tracks in the station, but with a somewhat narrow walkway and less lighting.

A girl behind me said "I bet no one was expecting this today!" and another girl in front of me had out her video camera and was recording the whole walk. The walk was stop and go and occasionally I'd look back at the train and try to look ahead. I didn't realize that we were walking uphill until we were almost to the station and when I looked back to the train, it was suspended there shining it's crazy train light-eyes at us. I forgot to look for the little plaques telling you how many feet in either direction to the nearest station, but I think we probably walked between 600-800 feet before we walked down some steps and past a weird metal cage looking area that allowed you to see through to the train on the other side of the tracks and a giant marked area on the wall that said "DANGER DO NOT DRILL HIGH VOLTAGE" with giant yellow lines over it. We then walked up a few more stairs and we were at Hollywood and Highland on a jammed platform.

In all, the trip between Universal City and Hollywood and Highland took about an hour. I know some people were agitated with the delay because they were late, but in all I don't feel like it was a bad experience. In fact, I thought it was fun in some ways and outside of the horrible smell at the beginning (I didn't smell it when we walked through the trains) and a little bit of discomfort when the air was off on the train. I image the experience might have been a little confusing for people that didn't speak English as I only heard English announcements and no one did any sort of translations on the car I was on. Walking along the tunnel was exciting if not a little scary as well. Not that I'd want to do this every day or anything, but I felt reasonably safe throughout the process.

Book Review - The Organic Food Shopper's Guide

2009-07-12T17:07:00.000-07:00

The Organic Food Shopper's Guide by Jeff Cox, a former editor for Organic Gardening Magazine is a straightforward book that gives one information on the basic components of a healthy organic diet. The book begins by explaining what it means for good to be considered organic. This includes an explanation of the wordings you might see on food labels in the U.S., how pesticides, compost, genetic engineered foods fit in with organics and some information on how grocery stores must handle organics.

The rest of the book is divided into 6 sections on vegetables, fruits, nuts/seeds/grains, herbs & spices, meat/fish/dairy/eggs and kitchen staples. Each has a similar structure in that foods in that category are organics in alphabetical order. Each food has it's own section with information including:
-when the food is in season
-notable varieties of the food
-how to pick out the best/ripe foods
-how to store and prepare the food
-major nutritional highlights
-complimentary foods/flavors
-general information on the food
-the "organic advantage"
-uses
-recipes featuring each ingredient

Some of the information in this book is truly interesting. I had been searching on information about eating wild fennel I see all the time while hiking and this book finally told me what parts were usable. Some of the organic advantages were interesting, but some of the reasons were a little weak and repetitive when reading from the beginning to the end. The end of the book includes a list of resources to buy organic varieties of the food, mostly through the internet.

Even for someone like me that's been visiting the local farmers market for years and cooks nearly every meal at home, there was some new information in this book for me on ingredients I just wasn't sure about. I'd recommend this book for anyone that is just learning to cook at home or becoming more interesting in whole food and organic food cooking. I don't know if I'd read this book from beginning to end, but it's a good reference book. I could see using it as a compliment to discovering new farmers market foods, especially here in California. This book is also a bit refreshing in that you don't feel as if there are hidden motives in this information.

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-04T11:40:00.000-07:00

SOUTH COAST AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT DISTRICT

PARTICULATE ADVISORY

Valid: Saturday, July 4 and Sunday, July 5, 2009

Air quality is likely to reach unhealthful levels in localized areas throughout the South Coast Air Basin and in the Coachella Valley, starting in the evening of July 4th and continuing through the morning of July 5th. Emissions from fireworks are expected to contribute to elevated concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), which can reach the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups category, or higher, after the evening fireworks displays on Independence Day. The smoke and combustion products from fireworks add to the fine particles already present in the Basin that are primarily caused by motor vehicle emissions, as well as fugitive dust and industrial emissions.

Such is life in Southern California! This morning was beautiful bicycling weather with fewer cars than normal on the road. I didn't even mind when another biker came up next to me and biked with me for a few seconds -- enough time to say hi to one another and then continue on our own ways.

Valley Bikery

2009-07-01T19:40:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago I ran into a couple of people from the San Fernando Valley based biking group Valley Bikery at the Studio City Farmers Market. The group isn't based out of a specific location yet, but their focus is biking in the San Fernando Valley. They seem particularly interest in reaching out to people that might be new to various aspects of biking as a transportation method. I was super excited to see someone was doing something like this and signed up for their mailing list. I haven't made it to any events, but I am looking forward to it. Some of the things they mentioned are holding beginner or intermediate level bike rides and workshops with basic bicycle maintenance.

On Sunday July 5th and Sunday July 19th from 12pm to 4pm at Lake Balboa (right at the Lake), they are holding clinics on basic bike maintenance. If you don't feel comfortable biking to Lake Balboa from your home or can't fit your bike in your car, Lake Balboa is easily accessible from the Orange Line.

It seems like this group is fairly new, but I am excited about the possibilities!

Gardens in the City

2009-06-24T19:12:00.000-07:00

I've now been living in an apartment without any outside space for 5 years. At first, I dealt with it, but my 5 inch wide windowsills have gradually been overgrown with plants. As the years have gone on, finding a place to garden has become more of a priority to me as I learn more about my food and take more interest in producing food on a more local level and see the benefit in putting time instead of just money into good food that can also benefit those around me. I currently grow chives, sage and have a few sprouted avocado pits on my windowsill.

I've looked into the Community Gardens in Los Angeles, but none are close enough to my apartment to be practical. I want to garden someplace I'll be every day, not someplace that is miles away (this matters, especially without a car). The other problem is that many community gardens in Los Angeles have extremely long wait lists. I've been eying a somewhat abandoned looking piece of land near my apartment building for years, wondering if it could be turned into a community garden. It's currently used by people walking their dogs, people walking to the nearby Metro station or for homeless people to sleep. The low covering bushes frequently collect trash and there are no trash cans nearby. Recently I ran into someone that could actually help turn this land into something more and have found additional people interested in the idea of fixing it up. The problem is that even if we could make it into somewhat of a community garden, I think it would be prone to theft and therefore better for less desirable things, like herbs. So I was super excited to find GrowFriend.org.

The GrowFriend site can be thought of as personal ads for the garden-minded. You can sign up as a land owner who needs help or is willing to let someone else grow things on your land or as a gardener, looking for some land to sow. When you sign up, you fill out a profile, detailing what you want to do or what you need. Once your profile is filled out, you can begin looking for others in your area and exchange information. The GrowFriend site offers a variety of guidelines helping you decide how to split costs and responsibilities with your fellow land owner and gardeners and to help maintain some of your privacy before jumping into things with someone else. The site is free to sign up and seems to be available to people anyplace. Right now there appears to be about 50 people signed up in the Los Angeles area.

It seems like this site still has a lot of room to grow, but I was excited to see gardening opportunities within a short bike ride of my home. I will still continue working on the community garden area near my apartment, but this is a really exciting solution to a common problem for potential gardeners like myself and many others living in apartment buildings and condos!

happy summer!

2009-06-21T17:06:00.001-07:00

One thing I love about the summer in California are the fruits and veggies. It's hard to resist the beautiful and unique things that you can find at the farmers market and growing on trees available for public use. The foods come with delicious smells, unique textures and a rainbow colors. Some of the flavors are so intense and delicious there is no need to do anything else with the foods besides washing them. Biking to the Studio City farmers market early Sunday morning makes for an enjoyable beginning of the summer.

my take away this week: tomatoes, cucumber, lime, summer squash and a variety of pit fruit including apricots, pluots and a peach. most of it is organic, all of it is local. total spent: $4.

These are the things in your neighborhood

2009-06-18T19:21:00.000-07:00

Sometime at the end of 2007/beginning 2008, when gas was crazy expensive, I realized I was only using my car for weekly errands, recycling and visiting friends. I already had been riding the train to work for a few years and did a bunch of errands in Pasadena, where I work, on foot. I was driving about 2000 miles a year. I realized how awesome it would be if I could actually do most of my errands on bike though. I had already walked the 4 miles round trip on Sunday mornings to the farmers market with some frequency. It was doable, but not always fun. The path was all along Ventura Blvd and in some places there are no sidewalks. My neighbor from New York that didn't own a car thought I was a little nuts for doing that. My friend and I walked from my apartment to his apartment in the middle of the San Fernando Valley and I realized I could walk and use my body to move myself much further than I had originally thought possible. So I decided I would buy a bike.

I struggled for months though, wondering where I would I store the bike. I wasn't allowed to put anything outside of a car in my apartment garage. I don't have a porch, utility room or hall in my 1 bedroom apartment and couldn't put heavy duty hardware in my walls. I didn't really have a solution to this problem, but I decided that I should start visiting the garage sales in my neighborhood and looking for a bike.

I realized how difficult and annoying it was to go to some garage sales in a car. I had to find parking on a street that generally had way more cars than normal. At one point, I found a bike, but didn't have enough cash on me. I went home to grab cash and as I managed to get my car in a parking spot, I saw the bike being placed in someone else's trunk. Grr. But I continued on and eventually came across a cheapish used bike that fit me (I'm kinda short). Almost instantly I loved the freedom that came with the bike. It didn't take long before I was able to do most of my weekend errands by bike

Now I'm to a point where I don't even have a car anymore. I bought a new bike when I realized my old bike was a little too cheap in some ways and not exactly the right size for me. I use the train a lot, I've taken way more buses than I did in the past and I still continue to walk a great deal. But I do enjoy biking the best. It's caused me to rethink where I am living and understand the area bit more. I am amazed at the distances I can travel while not even feeling tired afterward. Many of my friends now have bikes and will go out on rides. Some things are more difficult though, while others have become even easier. One of the things that has become easier is visiting the weekend garage sales in my neighborhood.

Simply due to the fact that I have a tendency to bike through more residential areas to get to my weekly errands, I'm already in the areas where the garage sales are. I don't even have to get off my bike to take a good look at what's available. I keep a mental inventory of things that I will need in the near future, but not immediately and keep my eyes open. It's awesome because I don't have to go to some special store to buy these things-- I just keep my eyes open where I already am going.

I don't buy a lot of furniture and other large items, but I generally don't need these items. If you really need that giant chest, it's worth talking to the sellers about holding it while you go get a car or find some other way to get it home. I recently bough a folding wooden chair that matched the 2 I already had at home from a previous thrift store visit. I always carry bungee cords in my backpack with me when biking, so I managed to strap the chair onto my bike rack with the legs of the chairs sticking out straight behind me. I'm sure I looked weird, but I made it home! I've found glass jars to store my bulk bin items, small gardening items, embroidery thread and an awesomely colored silk scarf for 25 cents! (ok, I really didn't actually need that, but I'm surprised at the number of ways I've found to use it!)

At garage sales I always keep an eye on my bike when I need to step away for a moment so that people don't think my bike's for sale. I must keep in mind whether I have enough space in my backpack or panniers to take home whatever I to buy. It's satisfying to know that this is one of the most local types of shopping I can do and I am buying reused things. I've had some fun moments too with people I'd never get a chance to interact with otherwise. One day a red crowned parrot appeared in my neighborhood. These parrots make me giddly like a small child when I see them in Pasadena, so I was excited to point it out to others at the garage sale and have a chance to talk with them about it. Freecycle is still great, but some things people are less likely to give away or you might be waiting for a while or need to travel longer than expected. Garage sales, especially on bike, can be incredibly efficient to visit, a fun way to explore your neighborhood and a super earth friendly activity.

NBC disappointment

2009-06-13T00:25:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's just too late, but since I was awake, I decided to put on Conan tonight. I usually never watch "late night tv", but after hearing about the trip on the show to the 99 cent store I frequent (should I be embarrassed to admit that? They actually sell a fair number of organic products and are one of the closest "all purpose" stores near me outside of garage sales), I decided I'd watch out of curiosity. Anyway, it's frustrating to watch segments on NBC covering the topic of "what I need to know about living in LA" and the first thing that is discussed is that you will be driving a great deal. This is on NBC. I thought NBC was all about the "green image". Don't they tell me that I need to use compact fluorescent light bulbs and reusable bags to be green? Now they are telling me the only way around LA is in a car? I thought they wanted to build tons of building, partially to house this show, right on top of the Metro station I use every single day so people could use the trains! They want to bring thousands of extra cars and car trips to the places that pedestrians and bikers walk and bike adjacent to this train station as well. Argh. Like I said, maybe it's just too late for me, but this is rather disappointing.

walking on Cahuenga

2009-06-11T22:26:00.000-07:00

april 2006.

on and on

2009-06-07T12:59:00.000-07:00

A few days after getting hit by a driver of a Rav4, my friend is in stable condition in the ICU. Her known injuries include a shattered ankle, a broken femur (the strongest bone in the human body), a collapsed lung, major skin abrasions including areas where large chunks of skin are missing and multiple skull fractures. At the end of last week, her family requested people donate blood, if possible, in her name.

I'd never donated blood before. Through a combination of temporarily disqualifying myself with tattoos and piercings over the years and honestly being scared of giving blood, I'd never done it before. Summer is already a slow time of the year for donations and with a specific request for blood and realizing that any amount of discomfort and pain I would experience is dwarfed by my friend's state, I decided to go ahead and do it. I'm so glad I did it because donating blood wasn't half as bad as I was imaging in my head. I went along with so coworkers for moral support and made sure to eat a decent lunch beforehand and take advantage of their food and drink offers afterward. I felt a little lightheaded in the hours afterward, but I was fine biking 12 miles this morning to do errands, 2 days later. I think previous experiences with fasting blood tests mislead me as to how much actually being able to eat and drink before and afterward helps.

This week we should find out more about my friend's injuries and hopefully more people can visit her once she is out of the ICU. It's sad and difficult at times to see how one of those 30-second simple stories about a pedestrian or biker getting hit by a car online or on the news can become so drawn out when you actually experience it. It has caused me to think a lot more about how I am living without a car. I think at moments, emotionally, I think I might be doing the wrong thing. When I really think about the whole situation though, I realize I am still doing the right thing. Walking is a perfectly natural action that people should be able to do safely. It makes sense as a form of transportation, especially in Southern California. I've hesitated at times sharing these details, but I hope that others can understand how driving without being able to see "because of the sun" can have serious consequences. I want people to realize how powerful a car is when compared to a human and how quickly it can hurt someone else. There are things that can be done to fix some of these issues, but they take more change in thought and actions than what is being done now.

Close Encounters of the Unwanted Kind

2009-06-03T19:08:00.000-07:00

Last night while walking in Pasadena, one of my coworkers was struck by a car. She is alive, but she's currently in the hospital, unconscious. She's one of my few walking pals at work (so many other people will whine and complain about the idea of walking a full mile during lunch and then go work out in a gym later on) and just a couple of weeks ago she finally sold her car.

Although there have been countless news stories recently of people being hit by cars and buses, bikers being struck and killed, her story, I suppose, wasn't sensational enough (only 1 person involved, she wasn't killed on site and there wasn't a bus involved) to make it to any of these avenues. It makes me pause and think a bit more about the true number of people getting injured in these types of accidents every day in LA, California, U.S. and the world. It's mindblowing. Then add on top of that the number of people being killed in offhand ways by cars, such as through air pollution that increases cardiovascular issues, and it's amazing that cars are used as frequently as they are.

From what I've read, there are things that car makers can do to make vehicles less harmful to pedestrians in accidents, but these are not standards or frequent.

As someone that has been walking all around Los Angeles for miles nearly every day for the past 4 to 5 years, I've had my fair share of "almost" accidents. I have walked through some signals so many times that I know when they will change when I hit the buttons, I know which ones have left turns, that people frequently blow through and to always be super careful next to the freeway and certain driveways that people simply can't see around well. I've been with another coworker when we both crossed the street, me in front, only to have a car get close enough to touch his body, but not to injure him. We had a crossing signal and there were no other cars in the intersection. The driver saw me, but somehow completely missed him. Another time a car got close enough for my hand to touch the hood when I instinctively stuck out my hand as the car turned a corner, completely ignoring me. I've almost been hit while on my bike as well and I find myself trying to not bike during certain hours when I know more cars are around. I don't like wearing a helmet, but I do it and have embroidered reflective patches for my bag.

I have already been frustrated with the number of accidents that have been popping up in the news. As a pedestrian and bicyclist I know that more needs to be done to both encourage these forms of transportation as well as make it more of a pleasant experience. New York has figured that out recently. Sometimes the things done here in LA are enough to drive me mad.

I want things to be better for myself. I want others to be able to walk as well. I want people to feel safe doing this perfectly natural thing, walking. It wasn't until I spent a large amount of time outside of a car that I realized how threatening some drivers and cars can be. As people slowly inch toward you in their car, anxious for you to get out of the way, it can be alarming. You must watch drivers because they can easily never look in your direction and just drive, completely unaware because they are just looking for cars. Despite laws on the books that make it illegal for people to hold their cell phone and talk, an extremely large number of people do this. Once you pay attention to cars with missing headlights and dead street lamps, you realize these things are not as rare as one might hope.

I do not know what I will do, but this has put a fire under my ass to want to do more. This morning I thought about the risk I take as a pedestrian every day, walking past the 101 freeway entrance across from Universal Studios and today I find out one of my coworkers and friend has been hurt in exactly this way. The things done to make Los Angeles a more walkable and bikeable city are not complete and viewed by the big picture. Major streets live Ventura Blvd don't even have sidewalks, bike lanes lead to no where. Any suggestions are welcomed.

Things to do!

2009-06-02T19:44:00.000-07:00

Recent Bicycle recalls:
-Giant 2009 model TCR Advanced SL Fork
-Dahon and REI 2008 Novara Folding Bicycles
-REI 2005 Novara Trionfo Bicycles
-Specialized 2009 Cross Trail Comp, Myka HT Comp, Myka HT Elite, Rockhopper, Rockhopper Comp and Rockhopper Comp 29 Bicycles
-Specialized 2004 Roubaix Comp and Roubaix Pro Bicycles
-Electra 2009 Model Electra Bicycles with Front Trays
-Salsa 2007- 2008 Ala Carte, El Mariachi, Casseroll Triple, Casseroll Single and La Cruz Handlebar Stems Bicycles
-Cannondale 2008 Adventure 2, Adventure 3, Adventure 2 Feminine and Adventure 3 Feminine Bicycles
-Cannondale 2009 Six 5, Six 6, Six Carbon 5 and Six Carbon 6 Bicycles

Check this link periodically for new recalls!

The City of Los Angeles Bicycle Master Plan is currently being released in pieces for public review. The current maps for the San Fernando Valley, Central/Westside and South LA/Harbor Area are available.
If you bike in LA or would like to bike in LA, but feel unsafe due to lack of bike lanes, it's worth taking some time to look at these maps. You can submit feedback by mail or email (jordann.turner@lacity.org or the address is on the website). The city needs to know what we need as bikers. We are trying to reduce traffic, reduce air pollution, get exercise, enjoy the outdoors of Los Angeles and get to know the city better, but we need help from the city. Take some time to care for the places you live, work and play and you can make it better for yourself and others!

Review for Garbage Warrior

2009-05-31T14:19:00.000-07:00

The movie Garbage Warrior follows a man named Mike Reynolds. Reynolds went to school and studied to be an architect. Once he finished, he realized that the school he just went through missed an excellent opportunity to teach people how to create buildings with the future in mind. They needed to deal with water shortages and the wasting of resources, but they weren't. Being a stubborn man, he decided to try to fix it himself and provide an example for everyone else to follow. He set out on constructing houses out of reused materials like glass bottles, aluminum cans, tires, dirt and adobe. He wanted the house off the grid and to be self sustaining. The result was the Earthship.

"You couldn't worry about what it looked like, you just wanted it to work"

Since Reynolds was exploring nontraditional ground for American architecture, he also did a large amount of experimenting. This unstandardized approach brought him issues however. His self designed, eco friendly neighborhoods and homes violated countless laws that city of Taos, New Mexico had in place. So he sets out to comply with the laws and then sought permission to have an experimental community, similar to the resources the government puts into testing out a weapon.

The documentary covers this story and shows you countless examples of these amazing, unique structures and introduces you to some of the people learning the techniques themselves. The houses are easy enough to construct that the process can be taught with relative ease to people in countless situations using the available resources. Because they take advantage of what is available, they are also generally much cheaper to construct than a normal home.

Some people might be turned off by the design of some of these buildings, but if you have any sort of ecological leaning or are interested in sustainable housing, I am pretty sure this documentary can be inspiring to you.

Los Angeles River Abstraction

2009-05-30T19:10:00.000-07:00

los angeles river, near studio city and universal city. august 2005

The Goode Family?

2009-05-27T22:01:00.001-07:00

After reading a few short articles online, I decided to make an effort to watch the premier of "The Goode Family" tonight, the new animated tv show from Mike Judge about a family trying incredibly hard to be, well, "good" and make the correct decisions about social, political and environmental issues. They are a family of vegans with a hybrid car and an adopted, South African son.

I have to admit I have a soft spot in my heart for "King of the Hill" as it captures some aspects of living in Texas I find difficult to explain to people that never lived there. It reminds me of things I don't experience everyday anymore. I knew some info about this new show beforehand, so I knew it might not hit me the same way.

With that said, the show was a little much at moments. At times I got the impression that they were trying to make fun of how much information there is to gather when trying to make an informed decision (should you buy the organic, organic local, organic local free trade or conventional apples? The only thing different is the sign and price!) At the same time I think the extreme over-the-topness at moments gives almost everyone a chance to laugh, even if you are deeply embedded in the green/socially correct/etc movements. Like the vegan dog that is obsessed with chasing after every living animal in the neighborhood. Since when does a vegan dog know he should ignore his instincts to chase & eat animals?

There is more to think about beyond that though, which of course doesn't really come across in this show. This is the first episode however, which means the characters are still not developed (I think back to the first episode of the few show I really like and they all progressed dramatically after that point.) I am happy that this sort of topic has made it to a tv show on ABC. Maybe this is the way to get the idea through to more people? I wonder how long a show like this could last on tv considering the characters are so narrowly defined thus far.

I plan on trying to catch the show a couple more times at least before I make a final decision (and before the digital tv switch over - I can't get ABC with my converter box!) It's a small piece of popular culture that maybe I can talk with other people about. As the show stands right now, it makes environmentalism, being socially aware and other things out to be some overwhelming decision without an underlying motivation (then again, I think many people have different motivations and as a result take these decisions to different degrees). If this show opens a dialog with people that normally wouldn't talk about these things, I see that as a positive thing.

Phantom Galleries

2009-05-26T21:44:00.000-07:00

A few years ago while walking past an unused furniture store front in Pasadena along Colorado Blvd., I noticed it wasn't filled with furniture, and the building wasn't even open, but there was art in all of the windows! Each set of windows had a different exhibit with a small plaque with an artists' name. The art consisted of paintings, textiles, sculptures, abstract and concrete. The exhibits rotate a few times a year. I later found of this exhibit and the others that replaced it were part of a larger project called Phantom Galleries.

Phantom Galleries are art galleries available for public viewing for free 24 hours a day. They are placed in empty store fronts. It makes the streets more interesting to walk on and gives people a place to show different types of art to pedestrians. Los Angeles has a few of these galleries in Pasadena, downtown LA and Long Beach.

Since the store fronts aren't necessarily the most ideal viewing conditions, it does lead to different impressions of the art. That in itself enhances the experience in some ways. I also never get a chance to look at the Pasadena installations during the night, which means reflections from the street sometimes interfere with the art.

I find myself excited to walk past these displays. Even if I have seen the pieces before, they look different with varying weather or window dirtiness. Based on the Phantom Gallery website, it looks either the current display in Pasadena is being switched out at the end of the month or it will go away completely.

If you're in these neighborhoods, I'd recommend trying to make an effort to walk past a phantom gallery! Check out the website for current locations.

Big Belly Tra$h cans

2009-05-25T19:31:00.000-07:00

Last week while walking around Pasadena, my coworker noticed something new -- a solar trash can! Actually it's a Big Belly Solar Trash Compactor.

This more expensive than normal Trash Can is promoted on the premise that by having the trash compacted, it doesn't spill all over the streets from overflowing trash cans, animals can't access the trash and the cans don't have to be emptied as frequently (the can supposedly holds 5 times the normal volume of a city street trash bin). The money saved and pollution reduced by picking up trash less frequently offsets the $3750 price tag + maintenance and battery replacements. The compacting is accomplished with the power of the sun, harnessed by the solar panel on top of the can.

One thing that is weird about these cans is that you have to open a door that is reminiscent of the Post Boxes on the street. There is a clear person-throwing-trash-away symbol on the front, but I can imagine some mail has made it into these bins. I also wonder if these cans are more difficult and time consuming to empty. It appears that they can't be emptied without a key and I'd image they also weigh 5 times as much as a normal trash load.

This particular can is on Los Robles near Green Street. I haven't seen any others around Pasadena, but it seems like there were a few around for 6 months a couple of years back. CalTech also seems to have had some bins at some point. The idea makes sense, but I have to admit that if they save as much money as claimed, I wonder why I don't seem them more frequently. This is the first time I've noticed one and I walk and bike around various parts of LA a fair bit. It does make me wonder if that means Pasadena is giving up on recycling as I can't imagine recycling is easier after compacting everything. There are no recycling bins on the streets of Pasadena from what I've seen.

Guilty until you prove your Worth

2009-05-19T20:25:00.001-07:00

So the Sheriffs have become more aggressive about checking passes recently on the Red and Gold Lines. At times it seems like they are at the Union Station TAP stations at the Red Line and at the top of the stairs at the Gold Line every other day. In about 30 minutes I tap my card when entering the Red Line, tap my card to the sheriff's card reader, tap my card at the Gold Line and tap my card on another sheriff's card reader.

This has frustrated me more than once. Many times the one or two sheriffs with the card readers are off talking to someone else and not paying attention for people coming toward them. The process of a flood of people trying to tap their cards at once has caused me to miss trains more than once. As it is, the amount of time I spend waiting for a transfer train can almost half of to equal to what it would take me to drive to work. Some days it is difficult not to think about this.

Today I also realized that every cent on making sure me, a paying customer (no, I've never been on the train before without paying!!) actually did pay is a wasted cent. I already paid. They aren't going to get anymore unless something horrible happens or I lose my ticket. So does that mean the money they spent on making sure me and all the others that paid actually did pay is still less than what they gain by finding the few people that actually didn't buy a pass or just had a crappy day? Suddenly riding the train took on such a different level of stress. They're waiting for me to fail so they can take as much money as possible from me? They don't care if me, a paying MTA patron, gets so fed up with the delays that I stop using their transportation? Losing that money is more than worth the money made by ticketing people after paying for the 8-10 sheriffs standing around to check my pass?

The only other explanation I can come up with is that they are gaining some other form of information by making this happen that makes the cost of sheriffs checking my pass multiple times in a day worthwhile. Maybe this is how they force some data to be collected (seeing how long I'm on the train, where I am going, how long it takes me to get to the next connection, how long they need you to stand in one place for them to get the desired image of you.)

Either way, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. When I questioned one of the sheriffs about it today she replied "Well this is what you have to do at the airport!" That's hardly a reason to bother your paying customers multiple times in a day and delay them, but I'd also never ride an airplane every single day, partially because it is such a hassle. I don't think that's the sort of idea they want to promote.

I've always been pretty bull headed. It's something I can't deny. I've always been one to question things, which can be frustrating to myself and others. I work in an industry that leaves me a bit more attuned to these types of situations as well. I sometimes wonder how many things would be different about Los Angeles public transportation, sidewalks and bike paths if the people making decisions about them had to also utilize them every day.

Friends of the Los Angeles River Clean up 2009

2009-05-17T12:45:00.001-07:00

Last weekend my boyfriend and I headed to the LA River in Balboa Park for another LA River clean up, this time for the 20th anniversary of the Friends of the Los Angeles River Cleanup. This was our 3rd LA River clean up in the San Fernando Valley's Balboa Park -- the previous 2 were with Heal the Bay.

Not the best photo, but the Friends of the Los Angeles River had a little tent set up, making them easy to spot. That particular morning the park was packed with soccer games and army recruiting. FoLAR provided us with tshirts with a rather cute drawing on the front and as my boyfriend and I collected gloves and bags, an egret flew overhead. "It's good luck!", one of the people exclaimed. Like the other cleanups I've done, we had to sign release forms, but instead of a long formal training, they let us immediately get on our way and begin cleaning! They also provided live musical entertainment and I couldn't help but to sing along quietly to myself when they played "16 Tons".

People walking along the edge of the LA River. There is a rough concrete steep walled surface in this area of the LA River, with a more natural river bottom in the center.

Stepping into the natural river is truly walking into another world when you consider the surrounding city. It's all overgrown with vines, bamboo, thistles and uncommon trees. The bird populations are different and the sounds they make are new music after hearing the birds that live in the more concrete areas of the city. There are sounds of water flowing over rocks and prickly plants to avoid. There are challenges in trying to figure out how to move and new views around every corner. I love seeing this all - it's one of the side benefits to the River Cleanup.

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But the nearby civilization makes itself painfully present when you see the various bits of trash all over. By far, the most common we saw were plastic and styrofoam.

I came across a large mound of styrofoam peanuts, cups, plates and other random packaging mixed in with dirt. Piece after piece, each smaller than the last. Plastic appeared in the form of all sorts of bags, food packaging, many sealed single-serve toothpicks, straws, caps, lighters, breath mints, Easter grass and other random bits. This group of individuals put some serious effort into dislodging a giant piece of plastic from the river.

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We had to leave a little early, so we didn't see the final result of the day's efforts, but this was the pile of sorted recycling and trash before we left.

This was by far one of the better organized cleanup events I've been to. They also provided reusable water bottles and a water cooler to fill up bottles, which was nice. I'm always frustrated with the large amount of waste simply generated by the beverages provided at some of these events. We brought along our Klean Kanteens and just refilled at the cooler. As long as I'm able to, I think this is another volunteer event I will add to my yearly calendar!

giving and freecycle

2009-04-19T20:21:00.000-07:00

I've been on the freecycle mailing list for my area for years. From time to time I'd look through the emails, not really see anything I wanted and that was about it. I had considered offering items, but I was a little weirded out about meeting with people.

The past few weeks have been filled with spring cleaning, so I finally got a fire under my ass and decided I had to try freecycle out. I decided to offer a stack of magazines. I quickly received an email from someone interested in the magazines. We set up a meeting time in front of a close by grocery store and everything went as smoothly as possible. All of my worries, while valid in some ways since I am meeting someone off the internet, weren't too big issues when sitting in front of a grocery store with a lot of foot traffic. I also was in the process of trying to get rid of some old pots and pans when someone on my list asked for pots and pans! Awesome! Today I finally was able to set up a time to pass those on as well. How awesome to be able to set up these situations with just a few emails and a little of your time. It's not as if I would be able to deduct much on my taxes by donating these items to a charity and it can be difficult to get items to those locations. Additionally there is a bit of satisifcation knowing that someone that needs or wants these items is directly getting them, which lets me get directly involved with the transfer. I think I realized that is the aspect of volunteering on a project that I always enjoyed. That's why donating money is never quite the same to me.

Anyway, I would highly recommend looking for your local freecycle group and looking at it or just keep it in mind when you are looking to get rid of something. Even though your tv might be old and useless to you, someone else might not have a tv at all or prefer something smaller. Some people drop their magazines off at libraries or doctors offices, but this is another great way to get rid of something that would other be recycled. Reuse before recycling!

Earthquakes and Phonebooks

2009-01-24T11:56:00.000-08:00

Here in Los Angeles we've had quite a few noticeable earthquakes within the past few months. A couple years back I realized I should finally be a little more serious about preparing for earthquakes. While I keep a well stocked pantry, I never buy bottled water, so I never had any around, despite being one of the most important things to have around. There were countless other items like this. While there are many websites that do a better job of explaining what you should do to prepare, there are some things I still feel like I am missing, including first aid information.

Nothing can replace actual experience and training, but I knew I needed to start someplace. I usually use the internet as a resource, but I need to be reasonable and consider that we won't have phone access, electricity or access to a computer in an earthquake. Recently I hit up a local used bookstore near the Orange Line, Next Chapter Books and picked up a First Aid and Personal Safety handbook from the American Red Cross. I also found out that phone books have more than just phone numbers! This may sound silly, but I never really bothered to look in the front of the book. Before you reuse or recycle your old phonebook, look through the front section of the book. You should find a short first aid section. You might also find some local maps with important resources marked (hospitals, water), disaster prep lists and lists of emergency numbers (just check to make sure they haven't changed). Just tear out these sheets, fold them up and place them in a waterproof bag. These are especially good for tucking into an emergency kit you keep in the car or at work where you usually don't have a phonebook.

Farmers Market Recipe - Applesauce

2009-01-19T10:52:00.000-08:00

I love going to the Farmers market. The ones near me don't necessarily have the best prices on food all of the time, but there are some great tasting items you can't find in the normal grocery stores. Recently I picked up a couple pound of "second-rate" organic apples without wax for $1 a pound. I honestly have no idea what variety they were -- they were a molted red/green color. They were fairly sweet when snacking on little slices. I was excited to use organic apples as according to the Environmental Working Group's Dirty Dozen list apples have one of the highest pesticide loads of a large variety of produce.

I'd never made applesauce before, but I set out to turn my second-rate apples to first-rate applesauce! It is super sweet considering I didn't add any sugar.

8 medium apples
few tablespoons of lime/lemon juice (I pick whatever citrus I can find in my neighborhood that is in public areas)
water
spices, as desired: cinnamon, allspice, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger

Fill a large saucepan or pot with an inch or so of water. Add a couple of tablespoons of citrus juice.
Wash and core all apples. Do no peel! Cut into cubes and add to pot of water. Continue until all apples have been cut.
Cover apples in pot and turn on medium. Allow to simmer until the apples have become soft and begin falling apart, stirring occasionally.
Turn off burner. Using immersion blender (or some other device for mashing/pureeing), puree applesauce until it is the desired consistency. Season to taste with spices and additional lemon or lime juice.

Review for Go Green by Nancy Taylor

2008-12-15T19:26:00.000-08:00

Title: Go Green - How to Build an Earth-Friendly Community
Author: Nancy Taylor
Published: Jan 2008
Other: Printed on recycled paper

The first thing that struck me about this book was that it simply looked different than most books. It had a soft back, but was made completely out of matte (not shiny) recycled paper, has rounded corners and the whole book is printed with an aqua colored font. I do a large amount of my reading standing on the train and I found the book to fit easily in the palm of my hand while holding it open with the other.

The book begins with a simple call to action. You are seeing there is climate change occurring, something must be done about it. This book has some easy steps and ideas to get yourself and your community going in that direction. The author covers a variety of basic topics including saving energy, building remodeling and green buildings in general, transportation, food and water. Each chapter is a quick read at 20 pages or less. Each briefly explains the things that are targets of attention and why these behaviors are causing some issues. She then explains some easy steps and ideas to get yourself and other thinking about what can be done. The chapters then conclude with a list of action points. Some ideas are for the home while others are definitely more long term projects that take the support of a group of others in your community.

I would recommend this book to people looking to get into more green living. It is a good place to start for ideas for action, but is just an introduction. This book has the advantage of being more than a blurb from someone trying to sell you their "green" item while still not jumping full into a history of garbage in the U.S., for example. After picking a topic, to really get some of these projects going I'd do more research.

Homeless Count

2008-12-10T20:19:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I was approached by a woman at the Studio City farmers market. She was there asking people to volunteer for the Los Angeles Homeless Count.

Every 2 years the US Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) requires the main group dealing with homeless issues to count the Homeless in their county. This allows them to obtain funding.

This year the Los Angeles count is over a 3 day period, January 27, 28 & 29, 2009. Different parts of the county have their counts on different nights. It seems like it will be about 4 hours, from 8pm-12am, and you will be with a group. Each group gets an area to walk around and there is a training session.

I have to admit that riding the trains and subway frequently and being an avid walker, I don't carry much cash on me. By being in these places, I am also exposed to the homeless issues more frequently. There are some people I can count on seeing in certain places and others that I notice along the train and bus lines at different shelters. I realized that I felt bad many times when people asked me for things though. I've handed out bags of recyclables in the past, but I don't have enough to give to everyone every time I am approached. I realize that this volunteer project is a good way to at least try to do my part to make sure people can get more help.

If you don't have a car, don't fret! They actually ask on the volunteer form if you have a car or bike. This information helps place you in an area you can get to and move around.

NBC/Universal Red Line Project

2008-11-24T06:05:00.001-08:00

Today is the last day to send feedback on the Environmental Impact Report to jon.foreman@lacity.org about the NBC/Universal Project planned on top of the Metro Universal City Red Line station.

This particular topic hits close to home for me because this project is planned on top of the subway station I use every day to get to work and home. After reviewing the Environmental Impact report I was rather stunned in the lack of consideration for the people that are already using the Red Line in this neighborhood. I know there are those statistics floating around from a few years ago about people not using the Metro Rail Line in their neighborhood despite living close to the stations, but that still doesn't mean anyone is using them. If any of those people are like me, I honestly had no idea I lived near a Red Line station for about a year. It wasn't really advertised and frankly a little weird looking elevator structure that I passed on the street didn't scream "Public Transportation HERE" to me.

The project has no planned pedestrian or bicyclist mitigation that I can find besides a potential Pedestrian Bridge leading from the Red Line to the current Universal Studios property. Even that isn't a definite. Many of the project's significant and unavoidable impacts directly affect those that walk and bicycle to the train station. The project is expected to generate 15,000 additional car trips in the area per a day (they only expect 2000 public transportation trips from their employees per a day). The resulting traffic issues will spread all through the area past all path ways that bicyclists and pedestrians must walk. There are about 8 or 9 nearby freeway on and off ramps that will have additional traffic on as a result. Some of these ramps are already extremely unsafe as drivers are both exiting and entering at high speeds and are generally not looking for slow moving bikes and pedestrians. There is also 7 years of construction planned that would at one point include moving hundreds of trucks of dirt out of the site and onto the freeway, every day.

Air quality levels around the construction sites (that are on top of the Red Line) during the 7 years of construction will be affected negatively. Multiple air quality measurements will exceed safety thresholds. This is where people must walk and bike to get to their public transportation without the covered safety of a car. There is no mitigation planned to deal with this.

The planned project will also include excessive noise, which again pedestrians and bicyclst are particularly susceptible to since they do not have the closed in car to protect them. Construction is set to go on for 21 hours a day at some points of the project.

The end project also includes a huge number of animated, moving and illuminated signs, which again come with no mitigation to ensure that pedestrians and bicyclists will be safe while moving through this area. These sorts of signs have a tendency to draw people's attention away from the street, which is a major safety issue.

For a project that is being touted as LEED certified, I am amazed at the lack of consideration for the already existing "greeness" of the surrounding community. This project also has a stated goal of encouraging use of the transit system and as the plans stands, there is a very real possibility of this project discouraging those that are currently using the system to continue. The train stop where I get off for work has been under construction for the past 2 years. As much as I hate driving, I found driving to be less stressful than dealing with some of the construction near the rail stop, so I stopped riding the train for a period of time until the construction was completed. There was no consideration taken for those that had to walk along the sidewalks without closure warnings, past people using jackhammers, sidewalks were closed and left with huge open trenches for weeks on end. Sidewalks were constantly littered with screws, nails, stray pieces of metal and wood and who knows what else. I got my tetanus shot as a precaution. Marked sidewalk closures only lead people to even worse sidewalk conditions. Cars were equally confused by closures, which then puts pedestrians at a higher risk. If we want people to use the public transportation systems we need to not treat those riding them as 3rd class citizens. Walking and biking through construction for 7 years with a result of increased traffic and no safety measure for bicyclists or pedestrians is an alarming development for a "green" company.

I urge you to please write to jon.foreman@lacity.org and email him any questions or comments you have on this project and what they plan to do to preserve the current metro ridership and help keep people out of their cars.

no-car toubles.

2008-10-27T22:32:00.000-07:00

Since I gave up my car in August (it was totaled in a car accident), I have been pretty happy overall. My car had become a burden of sorts that just cost me a lot of money, even though I rarely used it. Not having to pay for a car allowed me to finally replacemy cheap, not so great garage sale bike with a bike that actually fits me, which has made bike riding much more pleasant and fun. I've started becoming more familiar with the buses in my area (previously I pretty much just rode the trains) and I've learned when I need to ask for help.

This past weekend was hard though. It's probably the most frustrating time I've had since getting rid of my car. Friday I took the bus across the valley to my boyfriends house. He picked me up in his car and we did some errands. Hours later when we finished, he wasn't up for driving me anyplace and I didn't know how to get onto public transportation from his home, which would have involved a couple of miles of walking in the early morning, so we both went to sleep.

The next morning I needed to get home to do errands, only I couldn't get anyplace. Boyfriend was asleep and I have one of the worst sense of direction in the world and I plainly had no idea where to walk to get to the orange line or a bus station from his place. If only I had my bike with me, I felt like I would have been able to not feel so trapped and stranded. Instead I had to sit around and wait for him to wake up before continuing on with the day.

Then yesterday I took my bike out on my normal farmers market run. Instead of returning home afterward, I continued on to a friends house. After spending the day with friends and going on an unexpectedly difficult hike, I realized that it would be nearly impossible for me to bike home because I was so exhausted.

I also realized that where on Friday night, the bike would have been the key to be getting home, a couple of days later my bike became a burden I had to deal with. This is definitely something I need to work on. Just because I can get someplace at a given time using a certain method doesn't mean the same method with work coming home. With a car, unless you're drunk, it's easy. With a bike that you forgot lights for a place where you realize you left your Metro pass and all cash at home, it's a bigger problem. I don't know why this weekend was so bad, but hopefully I can learn from it and minimize problems in the future with getting both to and back home.

Human Footprint Review

2008-10-21T20:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had a chance to watch the National Geographic program Human Footprint. The idea was interesting and tied into a line of interest I've been exploring: a visual representation of what an American (not a Human) consumes during their average lifetime of 77 years and some odd months.

It follows the life time of a boy and girl, showing what they consume during their entire life at various times in their life. For example, it starts out showing you what raw materials go into make diapers and then how many diapers a child will wear in their lifetime. It's pretty overwhelming and at this point I began wondering if they would then compare other, less wasteful methods to these seemingly wasteful methods. They mention washing cloth diapers and then tell you how much water you use for washing, and nothing else.

At this point I started getting a little confused about what the real message of the movie was. Should we stop wasting? What should we use instead of disposable or cloth diapers? What is an acceptable level of usage? They continue on displaying the total number of various food items you will consume over the average lifespan, but it left me wondering what I should be eating instead of meat, eggs, bread, diary and fruits. I didn't really know what some of the numbers meant and even for someone like me that likes numbers, my eyes kinda glazed over. They overwhelmed you by actually showing you what you consumed ( like the 55 loaves a bread you'll eat each year). It left me wondering what they did with all of those loaves of bread they spread all over the ground to allow me to visualize how many loaves I will consume in my life (they didn't waste them, did they?), meanwhile causing me to ask which bread-like items I consume are included in these numbers. Only real loaves? Rolls? Buns? Croissants? Do these numbers include what people buy or what they actually do use themselves? I don't even know what they movie is trying to say anymore except to overwhelm you massive numbers of things.

I think after seeing Manufactured Landscapes recently, the attempts at using the same imagery of a super close up to a long panning shot to show me plastic ducks representing showers was a little boring. That isn't to say nothing in this movie was interesting. At one point I was completely disgusted to see that maraschino cherries are bleached before being dyed red. They stated that the average American drinks 43,371 cans of soda in their lifetime. That is 556 sodas a year for all 77 years and 8 (or something) months of one's life from birth. That is about 1.5 sodas a day and there are people like me that rarely drink soda. The average American reads 6 books a year.

Eventually, towards the end, they remind you to do things like turn off your lights and unplug appliances and other tips. For the first time my thought that this show has some point appears, but I still wasn't sure what to make of the beginning. I don't know if they wanted to say "hey stop having children" or "eat more vegetables".

It wasn't that the information isn't potentially useful, but the way it is displayed it is difficult to reach many conclusions. I think it would have been better in small parts than as 1 long 90 minute show on dvd. Watched in one stretch it just became overwhelming and lost some of the impact. I wish they explained where these numbers came from because while they were impressive, it sometimes reminded me of the information that comes to you in quick tv news segments or online news stories. It makes a big impact, but taken completely out of context has no meaning.

Cloth-ing

2008-10-16T21:01:00.001-07:00

After being busy with the presidential debates last night and errands earlier in the week, tonight became laundry night. When I opened the washer to transfer clothes to the dryer I quickly noticed the tell tale signs of a stowaway tissue gone through the wash. Argh! As I transferred many of the items I normally don't put in the dryer (because they don't take long to dry and I have space to air dry them) into the dryer to remove minuscule tissue pieces, I thought about how this was only an issue because I've become so accustom to handkerchiefs in the last year. I just accidentally forgot one at home today and so I had to resort to a paper tissue, which was left in my pocket. Then I decided I would make a post about the top reasons to use handkerchiefs instead of paper tissues.

First off: I have issues sewing with sewing machines. I am otherwise pretty good with my hands and even sew items by hand, but sewing machines and I don't mesh well, unless you're a fan of uneven stitches, crazy lines and incorrect thread tension. So I had been planning to ask my mom to help me make some napkins when I went home for Christmas last year. I was surprised when my mom told me she wouldn't help me as she normally takes up any opportunity to sew items. It was because she had already stashed away some cloth napkins and handkerchiefs from sales and family members. I was more than thrilled and took my cloth towers of napkins and handkerchiefs home.

I also have a friend who practices many earth friendly behaviors such as not even having paper towels in the home. While this was admirable, I was always a bit confused about what to do when I needed a napkin. I knew there were cloth towels around, but I had no idea where. I think most of the time her dogs ended up licking up any evidence of my clumsiness from the floor before I found the towels.

Inspired by this reusable handkerchief box and my confusion at my friends' house, I made my own reusable napkin box!

It now hangs under my kitchen counter in the holes drilled by some previous apartment tenant. It makes the cloth napkins easily accessible to everyone. I also have a place to hang up "gently used" napkins for later use to pick up quick messes. The box is made from recycled materials (cardboard, tons of papers) and glue. The napkins are folded like tissues and can be pulled out the same way. I have plans for a tissue box later on.

This box has been pretty instrumental in getting myself to regularly use cloth napkins as it allowed me to store my napkins in a place that was easier to get to than paper towels or paper napkins and left my limited counter space open. Plus it was awesomely fun and makes everyone feel like a kid again as you yank out napkin after napkin only to have it replaced by a new one (and no one is going to yell at you for taking more than your needed share).

Reasons to Use Fabric Tissues/Napkins instead of Paper (in no particular order)
-Less trash/waste created
-You never have to worry about accidentally shredding tissues in the wash
-They don't make your nose raw and red like tissues
-They won't shred apart in your hand when wet or when blowing your nose
-You never have to worry about trying to find tissues, napkins or paper towels
-You don't have to worry about buying new ones all of the time. Just drop them in with your other laundry and you're set.
-They can be obtained with a relatively small up front cost. Ask around (the handkerchiefs I got from a family member had been sitting in a box, never used for probably at least 40 years), look at thrift stores and garage sales, check out sites online. If you have old soft cloth (flannel) you can simply cut it up and hem the edges for better wear.
-Whatever your style is, you can probably find some handkerchief or cloth napkin for you. Vintage, organic, brand new, white, colored, plain, decorated, handmade. Just not disposable.
-Cloth napkins are useful to carry fruit and other foods to work and school. You also already have a napkin for yourself and in some instances can be used as a plate/eating surface.

I'd recommend having at least 1 handkerchief per a day in a laundry cycle, depending on your own needs. I usually can get away with fewer napkins. Having a couple of extras also helps for times when you have others over at your home or when experiencing allergies. Keeping random rags around can help take up some of the slack as well. I still keep a roll of paper towels around for some emergencies, but I go through about one small roll in a few months. I never buy paper napkins or tissues.

Manufactured Landscapes Review

2008-10-06T20:43:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I finally had an opportunity to watch another of my library finds, Manufactured Landscapes. I would quickly recommend it to anyone. I think one of the reasons I was so drawn to this movie was how much it reminded me of the Salton Sea at times. It's beautiful yet a disaster.

The first thing I was struck by was the method of photography and how it creates so much space that is simultaneously claustrophobic. The opening shot of row after row of boxes and people working at stations in a Chinese factory seems endless. I can't even tell what the people are working on and it's strangely quiet. I don't think I realized and thought about how much is hand assembled.

I thought I could maybe finish cooking dinner while watching this movie, but I quickly discovered that wouldn't be possible. This movie demands too much attention.

This movie looks at various man made and man destroyed areas in Asia. It helps complete the story of what happens to all of those hazardous waste items when they are recycled. We have to take them to special places and not dump it in the normal trash, yet they end up being dismembered and recovered by people, not some crazy technology. It shows people paid to destroy their own villages in preparation for large dam construction. This is primarily done through images rather than words. The photography alone is worth watching and for once I wished I had a larger tv.

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Lock Registrations

2008-10-05T11:07:00.000-07:00

I bought a new lock for my bike a while ago, but I never got around to reading the documentation that came with the lock. Today I was cleaning up and decided to look through it the papers to put them away. When reading on paper I found out that I should register my lock in case I ever need replacement keys! If you have a Kryptonite brand lock, I'd recommend doing the same. The first time you need replacement keys, they'll send you a set for free. Afterward they will charge you $3 or $6 depending on the lock type.

the beginning

2008-10-01T19:41:00.000-07:00

For the past 8 years I've lived in Southern California. The first 4 in the Inland Empire, 3 of those without a car. The last 4 in the San Fernando Valley with a car, but used minimally in the last 3 years after trading my car for the LA Metro Rail System. Recently, liberated of car ownership. I grew up in Texas where there wasn't much to walk to, but there was a great deal of space and large mammals on farms all around. Living in an urban area and walking around as part of your transportation allows you to notice different things, like that the only animals I really see outside are birds. There are squirrels and lizards and the occasional opossum, mouse, rat or coyote, but most species of animals I see are birds. There are the expected pigeons, doves and crows. There are also seagulls, finches, various hawks, hummingbirds, kingfishers, weird little birds with black mohawks and random flocks of parrots and who knows what else.

Hence the name, flapflap and the address of dribpalf.blogspot.com (flapbird, backward).

As for the blog, I'll probably focus on more of the environmentally friendly decisions I make and life as I am living it. I hope to gather a lot of the information I've picked up and observed about some of these things over the years into one place. I hope to motivate myself to do some of the projects I've been thinking about for a while. I hope it is useful to someone else and if nothing else, I hope the pictures are enjoyable some of the time.