>> 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.

>>  The Green Business Network is holding their monthly networking event this week. Refreshments will be served and there will be a raffle and discount certificates for Pepe & Sherina Designs.  Bring any old batteries, cell phones, shopping bags and dry cleaning bags you want recycled.  The event takes place on Tue., Nov. 8 from 6-9 pm at the Working Village, 212 Marine Street, Suite 100, Santa Monica.  Cost: $15 at the door or $10 online.

>>   Come and support the LA premiere of THE BIG FIX, a documentary about the continued damage caused to the Gulf of Mexico by the BP oil spill last year.  The screening will feature a Q&A with the filmmakers and takes place on Sat., Nov. 12 at 12 and 2:30 pm and Sun., Nov. 13 at 12 and 7 pm at the AMC Loews Broadway 4, 1313 3rd St. Promenade, Santa Monica.  Cost: the price of a movie ticket.

>>  Come out this weekend for the BAGS FOR BNEATO event.  Donated, reusable bags will be distributed along with tip sheets (in English and Spanish) on how to organize your reusable bags so that you always have them when and where you need them.  Come out this Sat., Nov. 12 from 12-4 pm to either the Echo Park Vons (1342 N Alvarado St, 90026) or the Silver Lake Trader Joe’s (2730 Hyperion Ave, 90027).  Cost: free.

>> Update, 11/9/11: This event’s been canceled. CalRecycle invites you to the Santa Monica Pier for a day of outdoor fun and education as they kick-off CalRecycle’s “Check Your Number” campaign.  CalRecycle is offering free parking to visitors who stop to check their car manuals to learn their oil change interval this Sat., Nov. 12 from 10 am – 3 pm.  Cost: free.

>>  Come ride bikes with the mayor of Burbank! The Burbank BikeStop is a high-capacity indoor bike parking facility located at the downtown Burbank Metrolink Station. Ride with the Burbank mayor to the Metrolink Staion for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Mon., Nov. 14 at 10 am.  The meeting point is Burbank City Hall, 275 E. Olive Ave, Burbank.  Cost: free.

>>  Cornerstone Theater Company continues their first annual “Creative Seeds: An Exploration of Hunger.”  This two-week event has some of LA’s most innovative artists, food activists, farmers, chefs, food critics and thought leaders address the issue of hunger through an artistic lens.  The festival ends on Nov. 20 and events take place throughout Los Angeles.  Cost: some events are free and some have suggested donations.  See website for details.

In case you haven’t heard yet: L.A. cyclists raced against a JetBlue plane from Burbank to  Long Beach over the weekend — and the two-wheelers won by over an hour. Even more interestingly, public transit taker (and also a cycling advocate) Gary Kavanagh beat the plane too. So did a tweeting woman on rollerblades!

Clearly, fighting traffic to the airport, making it through security, and relying on a cab driver to know the way is not as efficient as traveling across town in more eco-friendly ways. Slate has the unofficial finish times, calculated by @bcgp:

Bike: 1:34
Metro/Walk: 1:44
Rollerblades: 2:40
Plane/Lost Cabdriver: 2:54

For those new to the story, Slate’s Tom Vanderbilt provides a nice comprehensive article on what went down — and waxes lyrical about the possibilities of cycling and public transit in the city:

In the face of this fanciful idea (a traffic-busting flight!) it became possible to demonstrate that cycling, often taken as a non-serious or marginal or even annoying (to some drivers) form of transportation in the United States, could seem eminently reasonable: not only the cheapest form of transportation, not merely the one with the smallest carbon footprint, not only the one most beneficial to the health of its user, but the fastest….

But the race today wasn’t only about the cyclists. Gary Kavanagh*, who had reacted enthusiastically to my initial daydreaming about a “Tour de Carmageddon,” was the day’s dark horse, revealing the secret efficacy—and perhaps, for some remote Twitter spectators, the existence—of Los Angeles’ oft-derided subway system. (When I thought of a cyclist racing a jet, I admittedly wasn’t even aware one could take mass transit between BUR and LGB).

Many Angelenos who weren’t even aware of this race talked about how the freeway closure actually made for quite the pleasant weekend. KPCC’s Molly Peterson picked up on this tweet from L.A. County’s public transit agency Metro:

That’s one big idea — and GOOD asked for more this morning by kicking off a new project: “Imagine Your Los Angeles Street Beyond Cars.” Submit your best car-free vision by Sunday, July 31 for a chance to get it seen at the A+D Museum on Thursday, August 11 during the Moving Beyond Cars party. One winner will get GOOD goodies and other prizes. RSVP for the party now to find out who the winner is then.

Earlier:  Without a Car in the World: See 100 Car-free Angelenos

Photo by Michael Dorausch

TV networks don’t just weave in green themes into their shows once a year for eco-creds — They do it to win EMAs! The 20th Annual Environmental Media Awards recognized films and TV programs for bringing attention to environmental concerns at a star-studded event on Saturday at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, Calif. Everyone from Rosario Dawson (below) to Natalie Portman to Eva Mendez to Ted Turner came out to walk the green carpet and honor green leaders in media.

Hosted by Olivia Munn (Attack of the Show) and Jason Ritter (The Event), this year’s EMAs showed just how much better eco-themed programming’s gotten — even compared to just two years ago, when I last attended the event. The Television Episodic Drama category alone addressed everything from global warming to factory farming to e-waste pollution! Bones took home the prize, Michaela Conlin accepting the award for “The Tough Man in the Tender Chicken,” an episode that brought attention to caged chickens.

I discovered there’s a surefire way of winning an EMA: Get Al Gore to do a cameo! Just like in 2008, 30 Rock took the Television Episodic Comedy award home for its Gore-inspired episode. Katrina Bowden (above) accepted the award, joking that she’d biked all the way from New York for the event.

“Rachelle, you wanna go first or second?” asked Ed Begley, Jr. (below) said when he got on stage to accept the Best Reality Television Award for Living with Ed — and got a “First! First!” from his wife as she grabbed the mic from him. Rachelle credited the show for keeping the two of them together!

The most confusing part of the night for me came when Jeff Skoll, founder of Participant Media (An Inconvenient Truth, Food, Inc.) , accepted the EMA Corporate Responsibility Award. He kicked off his acceptance speech with a story:

One evening a snake slithered across my path and I reacted by taking a shovel and hacking it to death. And my uncle said, you know what Jeff, that snake wasn’t going to hurt you and it has the right to live, just like any other creature. My uncle was later eaten by a grizzly bear. I’m told that the bear is alive and well. We miss you, Uncle Ernie.

That part got a lot of laughs! Then Jeff said, “Just kidding.” Wait — Was he kidding about his uncle getting eaten? About the bear being alive? Or about missing the uncle? His closing sentence only confused me further. “And Uncle Ernie, if you’re out there somewhere, this is for you.” Can you figure it out?

And the funniest moment of the night came courtesy of Jane Fonda, who introduced Ted Turner, recipient of the EMA Lifetime Achievement Award. Talking about Ted’s financial donations to help end female genital mutilation, Jane said “He puts his money where his mouth is” — and got roaring laughter from the crowd.

Compared to 2008, the sponsor presence was much lighter during the show, with just one major sponsor — Toyota — given on-stage time. Of course, Toyota’s green cars often came up when the celebs talked about their own greening efforts, both on the carpet and on stage. “I’d just like to point out that I drive a 5-year-old Toyota Highlander Hybrid,” said James Cameron when he accepted the award for Avatar in the Feature Film Category. “It’s the only hybrid I could find that seats seven. I have five kids so — not much choice five years ago. And my wife drives a Lexus hybrid. I hope that was not the basis on which we were selected for this award.”

Other winners were Gasland for Documentary Film (above, director Josh Fox), Handy Manny for Children’s Animated Television, and Lights, Camera, Take Action! for Children’s Live Action Television. After all the winners were announced, Kenny Loggins took the stage and entertained — then partygoers got up to wander around the studio lot, tasting delicious, sustainable bites from Akasha, Jar, Grace, Real Food Daily, Mani’s on Maple, Border Grill, and other local green restaurants while sipping organic drinks — and picking up eco-shwag like organic potting soil from Kellogg Garden Products, which supports EMA’s Organic School Garden program for Los Angeles Unified School District students.

Wish you’d been there? Watch the whole show online at The National Geographic Channel on YouTube, starting Oct. 23.

Awaiting the next Avatar-like film? You’ll have to wait another three years or so. That’s according to Avatar director James Cameron, who took home the Best Feature Film award at the Environmental Media Awards ceremony at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank Saturday night.

“I can’t wait to make another Avatar film in another 3 years or so,” James said in his acceptance speech. “This is such a critical time, I think, in the history of the environmental movement, and there’s so much that needs to happen right now and the fight is escalating.”

I’ll write more about the EMAs as a whole later, but for now, I’ll say I was blown away by James’ clear commitment to environmental issues and inspired by his calls to action. In a near 9-minute long acceptance speech, James said that making Avatar amped up his environmental work. “The interesting thing about Avatar for me is that the work didn’t end when the movie came out,” James said. “In a funny way, it just began, because the film resonated around the world with environmental groups and activists and with people in the indigenous community who came forward and approached me and said ‘this film is important to us, it resonates with us’ or in the case of some of the indigenous leaders, ‘this is our reality. We are fighting the bulldozers everyday and we’re fighting for our habitat and our culture and life.’ They asked for ways in which we could get involved with them and do something jointly. So it’s really become this amazing journey.”

James pointed to the importance of getting people from an emotional connection with a film to taking direct action to address environmental concerns. “The movie, as much of a message film as it is — It doesn’t give you anything truly to act on. It doesn’t teach you the way a documentary does. It just creates an emotional reaction, maybe an emotional connection to nature that we’re losing in our lives. Maybe to some people it creates a sense that we do need something, that we need to do something soon. But it doesn’t tell you what to do so there’s a lot of work that needs to be done for me in parallel to that.”

One piece of that work is defeating California Prop. 23 — an initiative to halt California’s landmark global warming law (AB 23) — which comes to vote next month. James says he’s fighting this proposition — with his own money.

“The fight is in front of us, and it’s really time to really double down. I mean, the fight’s been brought to us in our own home turf with Prop 23,” James said, deriding Valero and Tesoro, the Texas companies that are the main backers of this California proposition. “The AB 32 legislation is such important, landmark legislation on climate change and a clean energy economy that we’ve just got to win this one and we’ve got to win it resoundingly. So I’ve dumped a bunch of money into that, which I don’t normally do — I just feel like it’s such a line in the sand fight that we have to win.”

>> The Sustainable Business Council of Los Angeles is holding the Electric Vehicle Roundtable and Drive-a-thon — “an evening of discussion, demos and displays on electric vehicles.” Enjoy networking, snacks, and drinks on Thurs., Sep. 30 from 7 pm to 10 pm at Valcucine DOM, 9030 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills. RSVP required. Cost: $25.

>> Architect Mark Lakeman brings City Repair — which “combines architecture, urban planning, anthropology, community development, public art, permaculture and ecological design in projects that transform public space” — to Los Angeles. Mark’s City Repair Slideshow event happens on Thu., Sep. 30 from 7 at the SAJE: Strategic Actions for a Just Economy, 152 West 32nd St, Los Angeles. Cost: $5 – $10, sliding scale. If you miss that event, another slideshow presentation happens Fri., Oct. 1 from 8 pm at LA Eco-Village, 117 Bimini Pl., Los Angeles. Cost: $10.

>> Find out about the latest and greenest in transportation at the FREE Alternative Energy and Transportation Expo — or AltCarExpo for short — happening in Santa Monica. Test drive electric cars, learn from local bicycle groups, engage with public transit, and hear from the many speakers and panelists. Take advantage of the free bike valet, or waste $9 to park your car at AltCarExpo on Oct. 1 and 2, 10 am to 5 pm both days at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, 1855 Main St., Santa Monica.

>> Enjoy cycling and folk art at the Folk Art Bike Ride, a program of Folk Art Everywhere, featuring art work from all over the world in 25 venues all over Los Angeles. Meet at noon on Sun., Oct. 3 at CAFAM, 5814 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles.

>> Green design lovers won’t want to miss Green is not the only color: The sustainable design rainbow, a panel conversation that seeks “a better understanding of the many ways and forms in which sustainability might take place in design — or even become a design practice.” The event’s part of the California Design Biennial Action/Reaction. Be there Sun., Oct. 3 starting at 3 pm at Pasadena Museum of California Art, 490 E. Union St., Pasadena. Cost: Museum admission — $7 for adults.

>>Wisteria Lane Eco Friendly Flower Shop’s having an eco-luxe bridal salon called Eco Weddings Los Angeles. There’ll be organic hors d’oeuvres and drinks and mini-manis and makeovers — as well as a chance to see the latest in green couture and decor. DJs will liven up the party and a goodie bag brighten your mood as you leave the fest. The event happens Oct. 3 from 11 am to 3 pm at The Annenberg Beach House in Santa Monica. Cost: $60 per couple.

>> The Taste of Downtown Burbank will focus on sustainability and green culinary practices! There’ll be recycling stations, zero-waste efforts, and a sustainable and organic cooking demo by Top Chef Nikki Cascone. The fun happens on Thurs., Oct. 7 from 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm on San Fernando Blvd. between Orange Grove and Magnolia in Downtown Burbank. Cost: $25 for food; $35 for food and drinks.

First thing you’ll notice when you walk into Burbank’s new favorite bar, Tony’s Darts Away: There are no bottles. This local, green-minded bar’s all about reducing waste — which means all of the 30+ craft beers are on draught.

Instead of shipping in bottles of beer from far away — that’ll simply have to be recycled again after a single use — owner Tony Yanow (below center) decided to “deconstruct what a neighborhood pub is in Southern California and go back to what it should be” and buy just from Californian brewers that supported his goal for a zero-waste bar. “Recycling glass is better, but it requires so much energy to recycle glass,” says Tony. “I advocate as little packaging as possible.”

That means no bottles. Okay — There are a few bottles, but only reusable ones. The three Santa Barbara County wines — a fruity gewurztraminer, a summery genache rose, and a great-with-sausages tempranillo created by Curran — are served in cute 1/4 liter bottles (above right; $8 for about a third bottle of wine) — or a heftier liter bottle ($32 for about one and a third 750 ml bottles). Those bottles are filled from 15.5-gallon (that would be 6.5 cases of wine) stainless steel kegs (above left)!

Second thing you’ll notice about Tony’s Darts Away: Everything’s from California, reducing your food and drink miles. Okay — not everything — but almost everything. Tony’s opts for all-Californian produce, organic whenever possible. The freshly-baked sausage buns come from San Marco Bakery down the street, and the meat sausages come from Monte Carlo Deli in Burbank or Saag’s (which offers some natural meat options) in San Francisco.

What’s not Californian? The vegan sausages are made by Field Roast in Washington and Tofurkey in Oregon, and the Daiya vegan cheese too’s not local. But that brings me to the third thing you’ll notice about Tony’s: Vegan food takes center stage.

“Vegan is not at the bottom in the corner,” says Tony, who’s almost vegan himself (he eats eggs and honey) and points out that everyone can eat vegan food, while not everyone can eat the meatier fare — which is why it makes sense to highlight the vegan stuff. From four types of vegan sausages to numerous vegan dips to vegan chili, Tony’s really goes out of its way to make pub fare vegan-friendly. You can even get your vegan sausage served on a bed of organic greens!

At the grand opening, guests got a taste of the finger foods. I loved the spicy kick in the Housemade Russet Potato Chips with Cajun Spice (above), but really got addicted to the Pyntch’s Mad Sweet-Potato Fries with maple-chipotle glaze and crushed almonds (below). Both of those, by the way, are served on photodegradable wax paper.

Tony’s Darts Away opened its doors about four weeks ago, but held its official grand opening yesterday. The bar already draws an eclectic crowd. Its restaurant status allows even high school kids in to enjoy sweet potato fries and cream soda on tap. Vegans come by for the good eats, and some locals have already become near-daily patrons, staking out their favorite seats at the bar.

Plus, Foursquare fans already have a competition going for Mayor status at this new joint — since the mayor gets a special Foursquare glass that gets her or him 24 ounces of beer for the price of a pint. Above’s Tony’s sommelier, Andy Lynch, modeling the Foursquare glass.

Which is to say — Most people come for the beer, which in my enthusiasm over the bottle-free wines, I forgot to try. Next time I stop by, I’ll take advantage of the $8 tasting flights that let me pick out any 4 beers from the ever-changing menu — revised and reprinted once or twice a day — on 100% post-consumer recycled paper, of course.

Some beers are organic, many are local, all are Californian. Visit Tony’s to taste the wide variety of craft beers that Californian breweries are creating.

Tony’s Darts Away. 1710 W. Magnolia Blvd. Burbank. 818.253.1710.

>> City of Burbank Bicycle Master Plan Update Community Meeting happens Thurs., Oct. 1 from 6 pm – 8 pm at the Community Services Building, First Floor Community Room 150 N. Third St., Burbank.

>> An open meeting about the City of Pasadena Bicycle Master Plan happens Thurs., Oct. 1 from 6:30 pm to 8:30 mp at Jackie Robinson Center, 1020 N. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena.

>> Culver City Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan Workshop happens Sat., Oct. 3 from 10 am – 1 pm at Garden Room, Veterans Memorial Auditorium, 4117 Overland Ave, Culver City.

And don’t forget: the L.A. Bicycle Master Plan meetings happen:

>> Harbor Area: Thurs., Oct. 22, 5 pm – 7 pm at Peck Park, 560 N. Western Ave., San Pedro.

>> Central/South Los Angeles: Sat., Oct. 24, 10 am – noon at Exposition Park – Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Regional Library, 3900 S. Western Ave., Los Angeles.

>> San Fernando Valley: Mon., Oct. 26, 5 pm – 7 pm at Marvin Braude-San Fernando Valley Constituent Services Center, Conference Room 1B, 6262 Van Nuys Blvd, Van Nuys.

>> West Los Angeles: Wed., Oct. 28 from 5 pm – 7 pm at Felicia Mahood Multi Purpose Center, 11338 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles.

Hopefully, more community meetings will be scheduled in addition to those with the help of local transit groups and neighborhood councils.

Photo of cyclists touring the future Expo Line on Bike to Work Day by Damien Newton

>> EcoStiletto’s Girl’s Night Out happens tonight, but if you need to network more and shop less in this economy, drop by tonight’s Green Business Networking. The dour talk about the economy will be sweetened with samples of Coconut Bliss plus wine and other snacks. As usual, the monthly event happens from 6 pm – 9 pm at the Ambrose Hotel, 1255 20th St., Santa Monica. Cover: $10.

>> Architects and developers: LEED for Existing Buildings: Case Studies Presentations and Discussion is an event that’ll detail the LEED for Existing Building process, looking case studies including the MGM offices and The Ambrose Hotel. Greg Reitz of REthink Development, Anne Carmack of The Ambrose Hotel, and Blair Seibert of Verde Concepts will serve as panelists.

The FREE event happens Thurs., March 12, 6 pm – 8:30 pm at the Santa Monica Main Library, 2nd Fl., 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica. RSVPs appreciated but not required to Traci Reitz at reitz_traci@smc.edu

>> The 14th Annual MED Week Awards Ceremony and Networking Luncheon (PDF) has an eco-theme this year: “Launching Green on the Global Scene.” Plus, a new “Green Business of the Year” category’s been permanently added to the list of awards. This event’s part of MED (Minority Enterprise Development) week, which recognizes and promotes minority-owned business enterprises and their supporters.

The ceremony will take place at LA Live, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, on Wed., March 18, from 10 am to 2 pm. Admission tickets cost $75 each; contact Personal Services Plus Inc./Courtney Gladney at 626.791.3847 or courtney@personalservicesplus.com to buy one.

>> An awards luncheon’s coming up in Santa Monica too: The Sustainable Quality Awards Luncheon, which recognizes sustainable businesses in the Santa Monica area. Former State Senator Sheila Kuehl and TreePeople founder Andy Lipkis will speak at the luncheon.

The event happens Wed., March 25, 11:30 am – 2 pm at Sheraton Delfina, 530 W. Pico Blvd., Santa Monica. Buy tickets online before March 18, and you’ll get them at a discount — $55 for Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce members and $60 for non-members. After March 18, tickets will cost $65 for everyone.

>> Burbank restaurants: Take the Restaurant Waste Reduction Workshop, a hands-on, interactive event that, according to planners, will give you all the info you need so that you leave the event with a solid action plan. Hosted by the City of Burbank and Earth Resource Foundation, the workshop happens March 25, 2 pm – 4 pm at the Community Services Building, First Floor Community Room, 150 N. Third St., Burbank. RSVP by March 20 to the Burbank Recycle Center by calling 818.238.3900.

>> Hybrid taxis are getting more props in Burbank. Once-skeptical cabbies say both they and their passengers like the fuel-efficient taxis.

>> This Tomatomania dude grows more tomatoes in his backyard than you do, unless you harvested more than 10,990 tomatoes last year. But where exactly is Winnetka?

>> Get more bloggy via 2 FREE teleconfrences featuring my friend Britt Bravo, who btw is also a career consultant whose services I’m currently getting a lot out of!

Photo by jeffsmallwood