>> Support Trash for Teaching, an eco-nonprofit that upcycles discarded stuff into educational materials and projects. Trash for Teaching’s benefit event Let’s Talk Trash, which’ll feature appetizers and half-priced drinks, happens Thurs., June 25 from 6 pm - 9 pm at Rush Street, 9546 Washington Blvd., Culver City. Cover: $20, all of which goes to Trash for Teaching programs. RSVP to kathy@trashforteaching.org.

>> This month’s Car Free Fridays event will “spotlight roads we want prioritized in the Bike Plan, painted with Sharrows in and around Silverlake and Echo Park,” according to the L.A. County Bicycle Coalition. Meet at 8 am at Sunset Junction at the corner of Sandborn and Sunset on Friday, June 26, 8 am.

>> NorthEast Trees will have a Tree Planting & Community Day of Service — plus a citrus tree adoption for L.A. residents — on Sat., June 27, from 8 am - 1 pm at 850 N. Mission St., Los Angeles. Contact Simran at simran@northeasttrees.org for more info. Update: Mayor Villaraigosa will be a-planting here.

>> Diverted Destruction 2, a second annual recycled art show, will have its opening reception on Sat., June 27 from 7 pm - 11 pm at The Loft at Liz’s, 453 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles.

>> A second green exhibit’s happening Saturday: Conservation photographer Robert McGinley’s exhibit “Topography, Light and Magic” will feature photographs of threatened wetlands, woodlands, farmland and prairies — with sales from the exhibit benefiting Heal the Bay and Santa Monica Baykeeper. The opening reception happens Sat., June 27 from 6 pm - 9 pm at Blue Seven Gallery, 3129 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica.

>> Get ready for the Los Angeles Business Council 3rd Annual Sustainability Summit (PDF). Dubbed “Building a Green Economy, Transportation & Innovation,” speakers this year include U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa, and leaders from LA DWP, Metro, and green companies. It all happens on Mon., June 29, from 7:30 am - 3 pm in the Harold M. Williams Auditorium at The Getty. Register online. Cost: $135 - $300 per ticket.

Image via theloftatlizs.com

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The real estate market may have crashed but a whole bunch of green homes will be built — in time for the Dwell on Design show next weekend, Fri. June 26 - Sun., June 28, at the L.A. Convention Center. The modern design show will showcase the latest ideas in eco-friendly living — and rather unexpectedly, the latest yummy debates about sustainable food and dining.

That’s right — Dwell on Design will feature Square Meal, an entire series of events and exhibits dedicated to food. Up for discussion will be “The Gestalt of Meat,” victory gardens and farmers’ markets, and the perfect way to cook an egg. Plus, attendees will be able to nosh on healthy sustainable eats from Locali, Let’s Be Frank, and Green Truck.

But the main attraction, of course, will be eco-design. Look through the event website, and you’ll likely see a bunch of green houses you’d like to call home. Minimalists can ogle the miniHome from Sustain Design Studio and its compact sustainable design. Upcyclers will love Reclaimed Space’s rustic modern structure built with reclaimed materials. And everyone can check out all these green structures in person at Dwell on Design’s Dwell Outdoor exhibit, described as “a “pop-up” community, ready to see, touch, and inspire.”

Sustainability Forums — a series of speakers and panels focused on environmental design issues — will happen all Saturday and Sunday, covering everything from “Water Efficient Green Plumbing Design” to “Cultivating Green and Gardens in the City.” The Home Tours — one each for L.A.’s eastside and westside, feature many sustainably designed modern homes. Even the special Night at the Movies event on Saturday will feature an eco-inspired film — The Greening of Southie — “about Boston’s first residential green building, and the men and women who set out to construct it.”

Dwell on Design tickets range from $25 for general admission to the exhibit and forums — and go up to $849 for the Dwell VIP Passport that includes the Friday conference, home tours, social events and a dinner. Sadly, I won’t be able to see the show myself because I’ll be in Atlanta, visiting MNN. I’ll visit vicariously through you –

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Show your “Bananas” and we’ll sue! That’s what Dole Food Co.’s threatening in its efforts to halt the screening of a film that critiques its business practices.

While Angelenos unpeeled the socio-political history of the banana through participatory art at the Fallen Fruit exhibit on Tuesday, more socio-political banana history was being created in L.A. around the Los Angeles Film Festival.

The fruity battle’s over “Bananas!*: A Case Study”, a documentary made by Fredrik Gertten about the legal clash between Nicaraguan banana plantation workers and Dole. The story follows the workers’ taking on a multinational company for spraying the pesticide dibromochloropropane, stuff that’s been banned in the U.S. since 1979, according to the L.A. Times, and stuff that the workers say made them sterile. However, the story’s apparently more complicated than portrayed in “Bananas!” Reports the L.A. Times:

In a 2007 jury trial before Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Victoria G. Chaney, Dole lost and was ordered to pay $1.58 million to four of the dozen Nicaraguans claiming injury in that case, several of whom are depicted in Gertten’s film. Dole is appealing that case.

Then this spring, in a dramatic reversal of events, Chaney threw out two other lawsuits against Dole after being presented by Dole investigators with evidence gathered from Nicaraguans who said that they had been recruited and coached by lawyers, outfitted with false work histories and falsified medical lab reports, and promised payouts to pose as pesticide victims.

Because “Bananas!” was finished before this spring, the film doesn’t cover the new developments. Still, many environmental and social justice activists are weighing in with their own opinions. The Fair Food Fight blog, for example, argues that one bad lawyer’s actions doesn’t change the reality of Dole’s use of the harmful pesticides — and their consequences (via Small Farmers):

Dole acknowledges that it used a devastating pesticide (called DBCP and known by friends as “nemagon”) in banana planations in Nicaragua, the Philippines, Honduras, the Ivory Coast, Costa Rica, and other banana-growing countries, and that that pesticide in all likelihood caused sterility in thousands of male banana plantation workers, miscarriages in women, and other serious health effects back into the mid-seventies…..

Dow Chemical, the producer of DBCP, said it wouldn’t sell the pesticide to Dole anymore because the chemical was too dangerous…. Dole threatened Dow Chemical with a breach-of-contract lawsuit if it didn’t keep selling the chemical to the fruit company (from the book Banana by Dan Koeppel)…. Dole has settled quite a few of these farm worker cases out of court.

For now, the LA Film Festival has moved “Bananas!” from the “competition” to the “case study” category, with a promise that “the festival screenings will be prefaced by a statement, written and delivered by festival organizers, that the organizers intend to place the controversy surrounding the film in context,” then “followed by a discussion of the issues the movie raises.”

Dole, however, is still threatening defamation lawsuits. Assuming the screens go on as planned, you can watch “Bananas!” on Sat, Jun 20 at 7:30 pm at James Bridges Theater, or Tue, Jun 23, at 9:15 pm at Landmark 8. Tickets cost $12 each.

Earlier:  My review of Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World

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L.A. neighborhoods have been battling big, digital billboards as urban blight, but one gallery’s reusing vinyl billboards as eco-canvases for green-themed art. Last Saturday Eco-LogicalART gallery unveiled the latest recycled billboard creation at its Second Saturday at Eco-LA event.

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It’s true — Pasadena does have something Santa Monica does not: Majestical Roof — pro-local, pro-handmade store that serves as a hub for artists, craftsters, and the neighborhood fans who support them.

Getting to The Majestical Roof is in itself a pleasant adventure. This eco-conscious boutique is tucked inside a cozy courtyard, decorated with colorful murals and shady trees.

Once inside the store, explore carefully – because each item is a one-of-a-kind, handcrafted gem. “No MPP (no mass manufactured products)” brags the poster for Majestical Roof’s recent Alternative Art Market event.

Recycled fashions make a big comeback in this boutique: vintage ties recrafted into cellphone holders, funky purses made from repurposed fabric, and even cute doggie clothes revamped from old sweaters. This shop prides itself in supporting local crafters and artisans who create everything from handmade jewelry to bamboo T-shirts.

A few more highly recognized eco-brands, like No Sweat sneakers and ecoist purses made of recycled gum wrappers, also share the boutique’s space. And if you want artwork for the apartment, the walls here double as a gallery of sorts for unique paintings by local artists.

When I stopped by about a year ago (why does it take me so long to write these posts?) I ended up buying a unique book by a local artist called Joey Chou. The title: Crazy by the Letters: Mental Problems From A to Z.

This Edward Gorey-esque book has whimsical drawings of little kids suffering from psychological maladies. U, for example, is for poor little Urian: “Urian’s dream is to be a quality inspector in the factory like his dad. He doesn’t know it comes with the side-effect of Underload Syndrome.”

Crazy by the Letters now sits on my coffee table for my crazy friends to leaf through and self-diagnose their ills. Find out more about Majestical Roof in this short video by Pasadena.com — then pay the little store a visit!

The Majestical Roof. 88 N. Fair Oaks Ave. Ste 102., Pasadena. 626.844.8886. Tues-Sat 11:30 am - 8 pm, Sun noon - 6 pm. Closed Mon.

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Gucci T-shirts don’t come cheap — but buy an organic cotton Gucci T-shirt, and you’ll at least have the happy knowledge that your green will go towards an environmental cause.

$195 will get you an organic T-shirt and tote bag emblazoned with the Gucci logo using natural dyes (via ecosalon). Designed by Frida Giannini, the T-shirt’s created in support of Home, a new film by Yann Arthus-Bertrand of The Earth from Above fame. Partly funded by Gucci’s parent company the PPR Group, Home hit the theaters — and You Tube — on World Environment Day on June 5. Watch the film free online!

The eco-Ts are on sale at Gucci stores — with all profits from the sales going to GoodPlanet, Yann’s environmental nonprofit. Of course, you could go even greener by just sending the $195 directly to the nonprofit — but as evidenced by all the nonprofits who offer shwag for donations — even environmentalists want a little something in return for giving to a cause….

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A neighborhood filled with filthy garbage isn’t where most people picture their dream home — but take that garbage away, and the garbage pickers no longer have a livelihood. That painful problem’s what you see in Garbage Dreams, a documentary film that follows the lives of three teenage Zaballeen (literal translation: garbage people), who make their living by picking up Cairo’s trash.

Produced and directed by Egyptian-American filmmaker Mai Iskander, Garbage Dreams shows how the Zaballeen daily collect 6,000 tons of Cairo’s garbage — and eke together an existence by recycling an impressive 80% of it. Making a living out of garbage is hard, dangerous, and dirty work — the Zaballeen live in trash-filled neighborhoods and need to get regular tetanus shots — yet when multinational garbage disposal companies are brought in to modernize Cairo’s waste disposal system in 2003, the Zaballeen are suddenly unable to cobble together a living.

The film follows the Zaballeen as a group trying to organize, educating the young about the recycling business at a project called The Recycling School, and strategizing to implement a source-separation program at nearby neighborhoods. The film also follows the 3 teens individually — each tasked with creating a livelihood as new adults in a world that’s quickly changing.

While Garbage Dreams certainly shows both the painful economic plight as well as the courageous humanity of the Zaballeen, the film leaves a lot of questions unanswered. It’s unclear, for example, why the Zaballeen activists don’t seem to engage more at the government policy level — a task that seems necessary to create large-scale change that might improve their lot.

An attempt to encourage people to separate out food waste from other trash to simplify the Zaballeen’s work, for example, becomes not a push for a city-supported recycling program, but a painstaking task of activists going door to door, trying to convince each resident to sort her trash. We see the Zaballeen argue amongst themselves about the superiority of their own work (the foreign companies only recycle 20% of their trash, and they don’t pick up trash in front of each resident’s door as the Zaballeen do) — but we don’t see them take these arguments to decisionmakers and policymakers that are paying the foreign companies.

Perhaps this disconnect points to the Zaballeen’s sense of disenfranchisement by, and distrust of, their government. After all, the foreign companies were brought in without the Zaballeens ever being notified or warned of the pending changes — or given a chance to modernize their work. Garbage Dreams‘ task in part seems to be to give a voice to people who’ve come to believe they don’t have one.

Garbage Dreams will be screened next at the 2009 Rhode Island International Film Festival in early August. Visit the film’s website to find out about future screenings near you.

Image via garbagedreams.com

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The banana as we know it may soon be gone — but the fruit’s tortuous history and complicated reputation keeps inspiring art and activism. In Los Angeles, a new educational exhibition and playful performance called United Fruit will soon unpeel “the social, political, and pop history of the banana – from a gold mine of global capitalism to the media manipulation of a comic and erotic symbol.”

That exhibition’s the brainchild of the artist collective Fallen Fruit, a trio of urban fruit enthusiasts who merge fruit with community, environmentalism, art, and activism. In Los Angeles, fruits of trees that hang over public property are legally free game — and Fallen Fruit’s used this rule to organize everything from nocturnal fruit forages to fruit jams.

This month, Fallen Fruit takes its inspiration from the collective’s recent trip to Colombia — where Chiquita paid off murderous paramilitary groups as part of its business practices — for its United Fruit exhibition at Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE).

Everyone’s invited to the United Fruit opening, which will include a participatory performance called “Are You Happy To See Me?“: “Hundreds of bananas will be brought in for guests to eat and photograph themselves playing with this often comical or suggestive fruit.” The delicious games will be played on Tues., June 16 from 8 pm - 10 pm at LACE (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions), 6522 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles. The exhibit runs June 17 to Sept. 27, 2009.

For more on the complex and scary past and future of bananas, read my review of Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World by Dan Koeppel — and follow fair trade company Equal Exchange’s current series of blog posts on bananas.

Image via Fallen Fruit

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Plan for it now, since this weekend’s going to be busy:

>> The next monthly Green Business Networking happens Tues., June 9 from 6 pm - 9 pm at The Ambrose Hotel, 1255 20th St., Santa Monica. There’ll be green entrepreneurs, desperate job seekers, and organic food and drinks. Cost: $10. Earlier: About GBN.

>> The next Westside Permaculture Gathering will revisit the 100 Gardens Challenge event to see where to go from here. Bring food for a potluck and your own reusable utensils on Tues., June 9 at 6:30 pm to the Multipurpose room of the Santa Monica Main Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica. See you there!

>> LA River Community Cleanup includes a mini-fair and post-cleanup BBQ! Join volunteers from Heal the Bay, Pacific American Volunteer Association (PAVA), Anahuak, Urban Semillas and Council District 13 on Sat., June 13 from 9 am - noon. For more info, contact PAVA at pava@pavausa.com.

>> Serious yogis: Take a free yoga teacher training info session — including a short class and a Q&A — with Santa Monica Yoga. The class happens Sat., June 13, 11:45 am - 1 pm at at 1640 Ocean Park Blvd., Santa Monica. RSVP required to Santa Monica Yoga at 310.396.4040.

>> Learn about the pending water allocations from Santa Monica’s water efficiency expert. The talk, which according to the organizers “will explain how water allocations will affect you, steps to start living a water wise lifestyle and funding opportunities to help you get started,” happens Sat., June 13 from 1 pm at the Fairview Branch of the Santa Monica Library, 2101 Ocean Park Blvd., Santa Monica.

>> New art on a recycled billboard will be revealed above the Eco-LogicalArt Gallery during Second Saturday at Eco-LA. The free opening event happens on Sat., June 13 from 6 pm - 10 pm at Eco-LogicalART Gallery, 4829 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. See you there!

>> The 3rd annual No Cookie Left Behind Bake Sale will even feature vegan cookies this year, thanks to eco-foodies at Spork Foods. The events part of Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale; proceeds go towards fighting childhood hunger in the United States. Go ready to eat on Sun., June 14, from 2 pm - 6 pm at Scoops, 712 N Heliotrope Dr., East Hollywood. (Thanks for the info, Tannaz)

Images via Heal the Bay and No Cookie Left Behind

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A twice-weekly sharing of eco-shwag.

TWO lucky green LA girl winners will win an eco-friendly cookbook for organic baked goodies. Organic and Chic: Cakes, Cookies, and Other Sweets That Taste as Good as They Look’s got recipes for Red Velvet Love Cake, Vanilla-Bean Butter Cake, Double Ginger Cookies, and more.

Written by Brooklyn custom cake baker Sarah Magid, Organic and Chic will show you how to “create vibrantly colored, highly original, delicious organic cakes and other desserts that are perfect for all kinds of celebrations,” according to the publisher. Of course, you’ll use in-season fruit and organic ingredients with no weird additives and chemicals –

Comment by Tuesday to get into the drawing, which’ll happen Wednesday (more info on freebies here). US addresses only.

Image via Harper Collins

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