>> Happy St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow! Here are 11 green ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Los Angeles.

>> The fourth annual Green Lifestyle Film Festival promises a weekend of inspiring eco-themed films, healthy food, and creative entertainment. Experience it all from March 19 – 21 at the James Bridges Theater at the University of California, Los Angeles.

>> Come learn and talk about pedestrian-friendly streets, healthy livable communities, economic development, and more at the 2010 LA Street Summit: Biking, Walking and Beyond. The summit’s free, and happens Sat., March 20, 10:30 am – 5 pm at  L.A. Trade Tech College, 400 W. Washington Blvd., Los Angeles

>> Take a FREE tour of LEED Platinum certified homes in Santa Monica. Santa Monica has 6 of about 150 LEED Platinum homes in California. During this tour, the architect or owner of the homes will answer questions about sustainable features and the green building process. The tour happens Sat., March 20 from 10 am – 3 pm. RSVP required on Eventbrite to get a map of the homes.

>> See green fashions on the runway at the The Green Initiative Humanitarian Fashion Show, which will benefit Green Youth Movement, a student-run organization with the goal of eco-educating teens. The show happens Sat., March 20 starting at 1 pm at Sunset Gower Studios, 1438 N. Gower, Los Angeles. Cost: $25.

>> TreeHugging Day II — with a public group tree hug and tree hugging march — happens Sat., March 20 from noon to 1 pm at Palisades Park at Ocean Ave. and Colorado Ave., Santa Monica.

>> Take a class called “The Native Plant Garden: An Artist’s View” with Andreas Hessing, artist and landscape designer, who’ll help you “explore a personal approach to landscape design that incorporates artistic expression and practicality with green construction strategies.” The class happens Sat., March 20 from 1 pm – 3 pm at The G2 Gallery, 1503 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice.. Cost: $30 ($25 for Theodore Payne Foundation members). Call 818.768.1802 to register.

>> Learn from a free seminar, Secrets of Growing Delicious Heirloom Tomatoes, in time for the tomato season. The free class happens Sun., March 21 from 9 am – 10 am at the Ocean View Farms Community Garden’s’ 6th Annual Tomato-bration in West L.A. on S. Centinela at Rose Ave.

>> See a free screening of Tapped, an eco-documentary about bottled water, preceded by a new film from Surfrider Foundation and followed by a presentation from Marcus Erikson of 5 Gyres. Part of the Venice Green Film Series, this event begins Sun., March 21 at 7:15 pm at Electric Lodge, 1416 Electric Ave., Venice.

>> Volunteer for the Orange Line bike study, happening March 24 and 27. According to Metro’s blog The Source, “Volunteers will survey bike riders, walkers and car drivers who utilize Orange Line park-and-ride lots. Volunteers also will count bike and pedestrian trips on the Orange Line’s bikeway.”

Photo by swanksalot

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Started avoiding dangerous pesticides by eating organic? If fear’s the big motivator pushing you towards a greener lifestyle, here’s how you can avoid the secret dangers of everyday things that lurk in things in your kitchen — and the fast food drive thru window:

1. Ban the can. Already got a reusable water bottle free of bisphenol A — a.k.a. BPA, a chemical lining linked to everything from sexual dysfunction to heart disease to reproductive problems? Then you’ll want to avoid canned foods — since almost all cans are lined with BPA. Here’s how to get the cans out of your kitchen without making grocery shopping or cooking more difficult.

2. Don’t nuke plastics. Even plastic containers labeled “microwave safe” have been shown to leach chemicals, so stick to glass and ceramic containers when using the microwave.

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>> Transportation Freedom Day is when a median-income household’s earned enough money to pay for transportation for a year, as calculated by The California Public Interest Research Group. For the City of L.A., that day’s today; Santa Monica celebrated it March 9, while Koreatown’s day came and went Feb. 22. (via LAist)

Better public transit usually means earlier Transportation Freedom Days — which made me wonder why Orange County celebrated its day on March 5. The reason: Modeling transportation costs is complicated. Here’s the methodology.

>> L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa’s 30/10 plan seeks to fast track transit projects, building projects currently scheduled to take 30 years in 10 years — by getting money to build faster. Explains Metro’s The Source:

His 30/10 plan seeks to build a dozen transit projects in the next decade by supplementing the Measure R money with a federal loan guarantee or other finance mechanism. A loan would be paid back with Measure R revenues.

Here’s the 2-page document outlining the 30-10 plan and the projects included in it. The plan hasn’t been approved by the Metro Board yet, but all projects in the plan were approved by the Board in the Long Range Transportation Plan in October. According to LA Daily, U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer is behind the plan. So is Treepeople founder Andy Lipkis, who often takes the bus.

>> As expected, a group called Neighbors for Smart Rail sued the Expo Construction Authority, claiming more environmental studies need to be done before proceeding with extending the Expo line from Culver City to Santa Monica. Streetsblog LA has the group’s full 26-page petition; the more Expo-friendly group Friends 4 Expo says the the lawsuit “seems broad-brush and unsubstantiated.” Expo Construction Authority’s responded with a statement, which basically says its environmental study’s just fine and the project will be defended. Earlier: Expo Line project rolls forward to connect Culver City to Santa Monica.

>> Bikeside LA’s mapped LAPD’s bike-car collision data! The blog only has a few preview pieces of the map up now, but invites you to visit next week for more. (via Metblogs LA)

>> In other bicycle news: A big group of Angelenos attempted to cycle up Fargo Street’s 33% incline. Many succeeded. Also, blocking bike lanes with cars and trash cans is illegal.

Image via calpirg.org

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I’m really a coffee girl, but lately, I’ve started drinking a cup of tea at noon as a pick me up — and have come to realize I’ve been missing out! For the eco-ethical tea drinkers in search of a new brew, here are my favorites:

For the gourmet tea snob

Zhena’s Gypsy Tea’s line of biodynamic green teas are about the tastiest teas out there — and are organic, fair trade, and biodynamic certified to boot! I recommend the rich and fruity Caramelized Pear blend.

More locally, Beverly Hills’ Art of Tea offers delicious and beautiful loose leaf, bagged, and blooming teas. I enjoyed a tasting a few years back. Most are organic and many are fair trade certified (some blends just don’t make use of ingredients available through fair trade) — and come in scrumptious flavors like Banana Dulce and Blueberry Cheesecake. Find them at SoCal Whole Foods — or pick from a bigger selection online.

For bargain seekers

Choice, Equal Exchange, Numi, Zhena, and Traditional Medicinals all make affordable fair trade, organic teas. Co-opportunity has good selection from these brands, but many can also be found at Whole Foods and other stores.

Taste-wise, my favorites are Numi’s Puerh teas and Zhena’s herbal teas — but keep in mind that these teas, while yummy, don’t compare to the more expensive luxe teas mentioned above.

For mate drinkers:

Guayaki Yerba Mate makes rainforest-expanding tea — since the company’s business model allows for sustainable agriculture that maintains and restores rain forests.

Guayaki’s a member of the Fair Trade Federation, and its yerba mate products are all organic certified. Get it by the bag at the Co-op or Whole Foods — or invest in a whole pound of loose leaf yerba mate for just $12.

For cool thirst quenchers:

Fair trade and organic bottled tea’s now easy to find, since Honest Tea got bought by Coca-Cola and started popping up even at gas stations. I like Honest Tea, but love the taste of Numi organic bottled Puerh teas even better — and also recommend Steaz Teaz (to get caffeinated), Guayaki Lemon Elation (to get mate’d), and Adina Holistics (to not get wired) — all reviewed here.
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Last but not least for eco-friendly tea drinkers on the go: Libretea’s a handy reusable tea infuser-mug that lets you enjoy loose leaf tea wherever you go.

Photo by mat.teo

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>> After a very public protest from whale-friendly activists, The Hump apologizes for serving endangered whale meat. (via LA Daily) Earlier: The Hump could get shut down.

>> The 2nd annual Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale happens April 24 – May 2. Sign up now, whether because you’re actually vegan or because you’re lactose intolerant like me and wish for more dairy-free baked goods. The money you raise can go to the cause of your choice.

>> Sirens magazine editor Heather Wood Rudúlph went vegan for a month — and shares lessons learned. Among them: “It’s OK to eat dairy and meat—if you do it responsibly.” One of her lessons, however, is false. Wine is not always vegan, due to additives used in some wines. Earlier: Processed, imported vegetarian proteins not greener than local meat.

Image via veganbakesale.org

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For delicious eco-ethical chocolates that will delight vegans and milk chocolate fans alike, visit Sweet Earth Chocolates’s online shop. Here, you’ll find all kinds of organic, fair trade chocolates — from simple dark chocolate bars to nutty caramel turtles to peanut butter cups — almost all available in both milky and vegan versions!

My favorite Sweet Earth delicacy is the ultimate vegan peanut butter cups, which balance out a deliciously creamy, salty peanut butter middle with a 65% bittersweet chocolate coat. You get a mouthful of intense natural flavors — free of the mostly-sugary synthetic taste of, say, Reese’s. A 3-ounce bag with five cups costs $7.95.

For the minimalist, the Bittersweet bar with 72% cocoa content delivers a powerful caffeinated punch with a citrus note. That bar’s made with just three ingredients — organic chocolate, sugar, and vanilla — which shows the deliciously complex flavor’s all in the high quality of the organic, fair trade cacao itself.

In fact, Sweet Earth Chocolates does best with simple products than with more complex ones like the Ultimate Turtles — at least when it comes to vegan versions. The vegan turtles I tried — made with dark chocolate, vegan caramel, cashews, and rice crispies — tasted rather bland, with the vegan caramel almost devoid of flavor.

The box of Turtles also had some strange nutrition label issues. The 7-ounce box contained 6 truffles — but gave nutrition facts based on a 1-ounce serving size! I had to whip out a calculator to figure out that each truffle had 176 calories — not worth it for a bland turtle. I’ll have to try the classic milk chocolate with non-vegan caramel to see if the flavors work better. A beribboned gift box of 6 truffles costs $10.95.

Beyond the yummy goodness of the chocolates themselves, Sweet Earth Chocolates was founded on a delicious goal — to promote organic and fair trade practices in West African cocoa farms, where some of the worst forms of child labor are known to be rampant. Tom Neuhaus, who teaches Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and founded Sweet Earth with his sister Joanne Currie in 2004, organizes annual trips to West Africa to help educate people about the plight of cocoa farmers there, to spread awareness, and to promote fair trade. Those trips are part of Project Hope & Fairness — a nonprofit started by Tom that carries out the goals of Sweet Earth Chocolates.

Sweet Earth Chocolates doesn’t actually get its chocolate from West Africa, but from the Dominican Republic, Peru or Costa Rica, “the only countries in the world where there are farmers’ cooperatives that are certified organic and Fair Trade,” according to the company’s website. “In the meantime, a portion of our profits from our chocolate bars will go to support West African cooperatives in their efforts to become organic.” Find out more about these efforts by reading my interview with Tom here.

Shop Sweet Earth Chocolates on its web store, stop by its retail shop if you visit San Luis Obispo, or find them at some select stores, mostly in Northern California.

Earlier:
>> Equal Exchange’s new bars: Dark pleasures for eco-ethical chocoholics
>> nicobella vegan organic chocolate truffles: Decadence with antioxidants
>> Kraft-owned Green & Blacks to go 100% fair trade

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>> Walking in Beverly Hills. NetWalks & Co | Troop 90210 invites everyone who works, lives, or plays in Beverly Hills to join its weekly morning walks. Meet up every Wednesday morning at 7:30 am at the fountain at Santa Monica and Wilshire for a brisk 1-hour walk. Earlier: Discover One Mile Radius living.

>> Running in Los Angeles. The L.A. Marathon’s sold out for the first time in its 25-year history! I ran it in 2005 — and may again in 2015. Will you be running the marathon this year?

>> Making pedestrian life pretty.An iPhone app called CitySourced lets you quickly report potholes and graffiti. Just snap a photo, tag it with a GPS location, and send the info to the city. Currently in San Jose, the L.A. version’s hoped to launch later this month. The bad news is that the city plans to fill 80,000 fewer potholes this year, due to budget shortages.

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If you’re concerned about bisphenol A — a.k.a. BPA, a chemical lining linked to everything from sexual dysfunction to heart disease to reproductive problems — you’ve probably opted for a BPA-free reusable water bottle. What many would-be healthy environmentalists aren’t as aware of, however, is the fact that BPA’s in pretty much all canned foods. Even green-thinking companies have a hard time getting BPA out of their cans — which is why for now, I’ve just learned to avoid canned food altogether.

Now, I know banning the can sounds daunting to many who’ve relied on canned beans and dolphin-safe tuna as greener alternatives to factory farmed beef and overprocessed veg meats — but once you get a few simple habits in place, I’ve found de-canning’s actually fairly simple — and less troublesome than relying on canned food! Here’s how I do it:

1. Shop light. Buy beans in bulk, and you’ll save a lot of energy — that you used to spend lugging those heavy cans from the store. In fact, if buying heavy canned and packaged foods are what’s forcing you to drive to the store to bring everything home, simply de-canning could lighten your load enough to consider making the trip by bike or on foot.

After all, if you’ve been eating local to reduce the huge carbon footprint associated with food miles, then shopping car-free should be part of your locavoring strategy. Even when food’s locally grown, driving long distances to buy the stuff is less green than getting less local groceries delivered.

I really enjoy walking to my local co-op to get my groceries — especially since I get to pass a fig tree that, when in season, yields free dessert! Go can free and get back on the streets.

2. Go bulk. I eat almost all organic and local — and still spend less money on food than most people. How? In addition to being mostly vegetarian, I make use of the bulk bins at my co-op, where I can get fair trade, organic coffee for $7.99 a pound, organic rolled oats on sale, and — more relevantly in terms of this de-canning issue — all sorts of beans on the cheap!

Do the math, and we’re talking serious money savings on beans. According to the California Dry Bean Board (yes, there is such a board), a pound of dry beans will yield 5 to 6 cups of cooked beans, while a 15-ounce can equals about a cup and 2/3 of cooked beans. A pound of dry organic black beans at Co-opportunity costs $1.69 — or about 28 to 38 cents a cooked cup. A can of organic black beans costs between 99 cents (when on sale in a can that contains BPA) and $2.19 (for Eden Organics’ BPA-free can) — or 59 cents to $1.31 a cooked cup. Why pay double or more for the same stuff?

3. Cook simply. Of course, dry beans require that you cook them. This is much simpler to do than most people believe the task to be — especially if they’ve cooked them incorrectly before and felt the process took forever!

The main bean cooking tip: Soak them first, for 6 to 8 hours. Post-soak, they’ll cook up pretty fast — between 60 to 90 minutes. I like to soak them overnight, then put them on the stove in the morning. By the time I’ve finished journaling and caffeinating, the beans are done!

4. Save energy. Once cooked up, let the beans cool to avoid heating up your freezer with still-hot beans. Then put a half to one-cup of cooked beans in small, individual containers. This way, you can simply take out one or two containers as you need them — instead of having to thaw a vat of beans whenever you decide to make something.

How does storing beans in the freezer save energy? In addition to saving you the energy and space used by a can opener — or your own arm strength struggling with manual can openers (I never really mastered those), a full freezer will retain its coldness better and run more efficiently. Plus, once you’re ready to use the beans, you can move the containers from the freezer to the fridge the night before — and the beans will keep your fridge cooler as they dethaw.

5. Eat yummier soup. If beans aren’t so much the issue as an addiction to canned soup, I strongly recommend a Hipcooks class to cure this costly addiction. Make your own yummy fresh soup!

6. Feel healthy. Going can-free for beans and soup will help you dramatically reduce your exposure to BPA. And if you decide to take it easy on the canned tuna too, you’ll cut your mercury consumption. Did you know that if you’re a woman who weighs less than 200 lbs, eating just one can of albacore tuna a week puts you over the FDA’s recommended limit for mercury?
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Got additional tips for canned food addicts? Share them in the comments.

Photo by pinwheel

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Extra virgin olive oil evokes images of pretty olive groves. Eco-foodies, however, know all too well that not all EVOOs are environmentally-friendly. At Grist, Tom Philpott points out that industrial-scale olive production causes serious ecological destruction — and that some cheap olive oils are cut with cheap sunflower and hazelnut oil!

Thanks to my farmers’ market, I’m able to avoid these olive oil-related eco-worries entirely. I simply get my EVOO fix from Adams’ Olive Ranch in Strathmore, Calif., which offers a few different local olive oil options as well as very tasty whole olives!

Once in a while, though, I want to try something different — since olive oils, like wines, each have their own unique flavors and characteristics. Here’s a couple I’ve enjoyed:

Alter Eco Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil. For olive oil with serious environmental and ethical creds, go with Alter Eco. This fair trade company works to counter all the bad news about war, conflict, and razed olive groves by working with family farms in Palestine.

Alter Eco’s gourmet olive oils are organic and fair trade certified — and also technically carbon neutral, since an Alter Eco cocoa farming co-op in the Amazon plants trees to offset the amount of carbon emissions created in making these products. According to Alter Eco, these fair trade olive mean “an over 30% increase in farmer revenue over conventional prices” that go toward “financing scholarship funds, micro loans for women’s empowerment programs, and olive tree planting.”

I loved the buttery flavor of the “Robust” olive oil made with Rumi olives — perfect as a high-quality finishing oil. A “Mild” flavor made with Nabali olives is also available. A 12.7 oz. bottle costs $19.99 and can be found at Alter Eco’s web store as well as many Whole Foods, local co-ops, and health food stores.

Gaea Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Organic. Give Greek olives a try by tasting this organic olive oil, made from handpicked olives. Gaea’s an olive company that has made some eco-friendly moves, like buying carbon offsets through myclimate and incorporating what the company calls “non-depletion policy on wild products, recycling policies, and integrated crop management” — but details on these policies remain a little vague, and only a few their many products are organic certified.

Still, Gaea’s organic EVOO is definitely worth a try for those curious what Greek olive oil tastes like. The slightly fruity flavor of this everyday oil drew raves from Steve Balogh of Groovy Green. Gaea products can be found in many supermarkets. A 17 oz bottle costs $13.99 at MyBrands.
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Can’t get enough organic olive oil? Read Tom Philpott’s review of 5 organic olive oils — mostly from Italy — at Grist.

Photos by Kevin H., Alter Eco, Gaea

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Shopping for spring sandals? Strap on a classic, stylish pair from soleRebels, a shoe company that’s merging eco-friendly fashion with fair trade business.

Would-be ethical consumers in the U.S. like to support green-minded companies with a mission to help less privileged countries — whether it’s through fair trade, community projects, or charitable donations. Many of those do-gooder companies are led by American entrepreneurs; less common are similar companies led by entrepreneurs in those so-called third world countries. SoleRebels is one of the latter, founded by an Ethiopian entrepreneur called Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu — along with her husband and brother — to create jobs in their village Zenabwork in in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

And soleRebel’s cute shoes are making big strides into the American and European markets! These eco-friendly kicks are made by local artisans in Ethiopia who upcycle used car tires and vintage camouflage fabrics, handloom organic cotton fabrics, and prepare greener shoe leathers through an artisan process and vegetable tanning — all to create fashion-friendly styles designed after traditional Ethiopian footwear.

soleRebels is a brand of Bostex, which stands for “By Our-selves Textiles,” emphasizing the company’s commitment to preserving traditional heritage and creating its own economic successes. Bostex is the first registered Ethiopian member of the World Fair Trade Organization, and is committed to fair trade practices like sustainable production, healthy working conditions, and better wages for workers.

Though purchasing directly through soleRebel’s website’s cumbersome, American shoppers can browse and buy with soleRebel shoes with ease at Endless and Amazon. Some Urban Outfitters and Whole Foods also carry soleRebel designs. Prices range from about $15 for some slip-ons and flipflops to $60 for sturdy lace-up sneakers.

Photos via SoleRebels

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