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.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
The Source (of my time suck)
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.
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.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Book Review - Corvus: A Life with Birds
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
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
Sunday, October 25, 2009
10/24/09 - International Day of Climate Action - BBC Cleanup
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.
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.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
impact echos
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.
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.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Park(ing) Day 2009
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.
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.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
International Coastal Clean Up Day - September 19
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.
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.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Friends of the Los Angeles River Clean-Up - Aquarius Springs!
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.
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.
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