Photo via SLOLA website

>> Big City Forum presents Fast Forward: Los Angeles on the Verge, featuring a panel of speakers that will harness creative methods for a lively discussion around livability, sustainability, community, and the politics of place in Los Angeles. Takes places tonight, Wed., Mar. 7 at 7 pm at the Armory Center for the Arts, 145 North Raymond Avenue, Pasadena. Cost: free.

>> What exactly is a ‘genetically modified seed’? What is ‘heirloom’? How do seed saving and local food growing relate to local and global peace? Who owns the future of food? Join the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) Friends Peace Dialogue, speakers Megan Bomba (SLOLA) and Deanna Marie Weakly (Master Gardener, founder of Skid Row Rooftop Garden), and green LA girl writer Nisha Namorando Vida to learn and dialogue on these questions this Thu., Mar. 8 from 7-8:30 pm at the AFSC headquarters, 634. S. Spring St., 3rd Floor, Los Angeles. Cost: free.

>> The G2 Gallery has begun a weekly screening of Ken Burns’s six-part documentary The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. The screenings provide a deeper understanding from a historical perspective of the people and places that shaped America’s national parks. The screenings will be held every Thu., Feb. 9 – Mar. 15 at 2 pm. Check out this week’s screening “Great Nature (1933–1945)”, on Thu., Mar. 8 at 2 pm, G2 Gallery, 1503 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice. Cost: $5. All proceeds will be donated to the World Wildlife Fund and the Sierra Club.

>> Santa Monica College is conducting its 10th annual Environmental and Urban Issues Speakers Series. Join Genevieve Bertone and other Santa Monica College faculty, staff, and students to learn how we are working on transportation, energy, food and other projects that make SMC more efficient and a better neighbor on Tue., Mar. 13 at 6:30 pm in HSS 263 on Santa Monica’s Main Campus (Map). Cost: free.

Photo via Big City Forum

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If watching “Who Killed the Electric Car?” depressed you, watch the merrier, happier sequel of sorts, “Revenge of the Electric Car” — free. The eco-docu is now on Hulu!

“Revenge” basically starts off where “Who Killed” ended — with the “killing” of GM’s EV1 cars. Then, “Revenge” follows four car-preneurs — all men, as you may have guessed — as they exact revenge.

Not being a big car person, I was a bit reluctant to watch this film — but I got into it! “Revenge” frames the return of the electric car as a three-way race between Tesla, Chevy Volt, and Nissan Leaf. The men behind those companies all have big personalities and big egos — and the turbulent times, with the recession putting the simple existence of two of the companies hanging precariously in the balance.

The fourth protagonist’s an L.A. guy who goes by “Gadget” — who converts regular cars into electric cars and somehow keeps running into a strange string of trials and tribulations, ranging from an arsonist burning down his garage to a new warehouse that turns out to be full of lead and other poisons.

Celebs like Danny Devito, Jon Favreau, and Adrien Grenier, as well as politicians like Gavin Newsom and Arnold Schwarzenegger (who tells Elon Musk the Tesla would be “perfect for Maria”) all make an appearance in the movie. Los Angeles also plays a feature role, kicking off the film with shots of packed freeways and playing host to the Plug In America parade.

Though just released last October, “Revenge” already feels dated, since the electric cars in question have been on the roads for a while now. Now if only I and other apartment dwellers had somewhere we could plug in and charge those cars so we could actually consider buying them….

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>> Come join Women of the Green Generation  for a special Women of the Green Generation Holiday Event. Large Marge Sustainables will provide organic foods and GQ Eco Bartending will serve up organic drinks. The event takes place this Thu. Dec. 15 from 7:00- 10:00 pm at a private home in Santa Monica. The address will be disclosed to registered guests. Cost: $10; visit their website to register.

>>  Heal the Bay is coordinating its fifth annual A Day Without a Bag, which urges consumers to forego environmentally harmful single-use plastic or paper grocery bags in favor of reusable totes. Visit one of the more than 60 Giveaway Locations this Thu., Dec. 15 for a free reusable bag. Cost: free.

>> The Los Angeles Bioneers will be screening the film The Big Fix, the newest documentary from the creators of Fuel. The Big Fix will be screened this Fri., Dec. 16 at 7 pm at the G2 Gallery at 1503 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice. Cost: free. If you want to attend, RSVP to srnichols@mac.com.

>> Cruise into the holiday spirit with C.I.C.L.E.’s 4th annual Holiday Toys and Mittens Ride, which will gather toys and warm articles of clothing for Burbank’s Salvation Army, to be given to local families and children through their Giving Tree. The relaxed-paced, 7.5 mile ride will stop at various sites in Burbank. Join the ride this Sat., Dec. 17 at 10 am at Burbank City Hall, 275 East Olive Ave., Burbank for a fun-filled and family friendly day. Cost: the ride is free, but please bring a toy or article of clothing to donate.

>> Freedom and Fashion, an organization dedicated to educating society about the global issues of modern day slavery, sex trafficking, child labor and human rights violation, is holding a fashion show featuring seven fair-trade lines. The event takes place this Sat., Dec. 17 from 6-10 pm at the Cooper Design Space Penthouse, 860 South Los Angeles Street, 11th Floor Penthouse, Los Angeles. Cost: Ticket prices range from $25-100 and are available online.

>> Join GOOD LA in creating a giant human infographic to attack L.A.’s traffic problem. Currently, 81 percent of Angelenos drive to work. On average, they spend 72 hours of that drive stuck in traffic every year. It’s time to take action. Come out this Sat, Dec. 17 at noon at the intersection of West 4th Street and South Figueroa Street in downtown LA. Cost: free. Be sure to RSVP if you would like to attend.

>> Genetically modified food is in the majority of our food items today. The FDA is allowing these foods to go untested and unlabeled. Culture Club 101 is hosting a GMO Labeling Signature Gathering Training to train people in how to gather signatures in order to put a proposition on next year’s ballot to label foods containing GMOs. The training takes place on Sun., Dec. 18 at 7 pm at Culture Club 101, 30 S. Wilson Avenue Pasadena. Cost: free. Reserve your space on their website.

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>>  The Green Living Workshop 101 is a condensed version of the 6 week Green Living Workshop which covers the following topics: water, energy, waste, chemicals, transportation, and shopping & food. Sustainability tools will be raffled off to help participants carry out the solutions discussed during the workshop. Workshop takes place this Sat., Dec. 3 from 10 am – 1 pm at the Santa Monica Main Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica. Cost: free, though please register through Eventbrite.

>>  Your banana peels, sandwich crusts, lawn clippings, and coffee grounds are precious resources that can be cycled back into the garden. Come participate in a composting lesson at the Natural History Museum by getting your hands in the mix! Workshop takes place on Sat., Dec. 3 from 1-4 pm at the Natural History Museum, 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles. Cost: admission to the museum is $12 for adults, $5-8 for children.

>>  Come out to see the documentary “Tipping Point – The End of Oil”, which addresses the largest industrial project in human history – the Alberta Tar Sands.  Speakers and the q&a will address what we can do to help heal the destructive impact of this project and options for an alternative energy economy.  Takes places on Sat., Dec. 6 from 7-10:30 pm at All Saints Church, 132 North Euclid Ave., Pasadena.  Cost: $15 suggested donation.  RSVP to info@burbankgreenalliance.org.

Image retrieved from wilderutopia.com

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When we think of children being over worked in fields, we often imagine it happening far away from here, in less developed countries. But today in America 400,000 children are migrant workers. The film, The Harvest/La Cosecha brings to light the conditions these children work in. From executive producer Eva Longoria and the producers of the Academy Award Nominated film WAR/DANCE, The Harvest follows the lives of three children working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The film will be screening on Wednesday, November 16th at 7pm at the California Endowment Center for Healthy Communities. Additionally, author and activist Eric Schlosser, migrant farm worker advocate Jose Padilla, and The Harvest’s executive producer Eva Longoria will be in attendance discussing migrant worker issues.  This event is free and open to the public, but you must RSVP.

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