>> Spot birdies for The 13th annual Great Backyard Bird Count starts Fri., Feb. 12 and runs through Mon., Feb. 15. Sierra Club’s The Green Life points out that “identifying birds in your neighborhood will help researchers at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the National Audubon Society, and Bird Studies Canada monitor and protect avian populations.”

>> Trap arachnids for the Los Angeles Spider Survey. According to LAist, the survey’s a Natural History Museum’s Citizen Scientist Project where “residents can bring or send in spiders they find around town for scientists to study (added bonus: you’ll get a call-back from a scientist who will identify your spider and tell you all about it).”

>> Tree killers caught on Google Camera. Those Google’s images could help prosecute for illegal tree removal, but future Google images may not be so helpful for law enforcement: “After the Canadian privacy commissioner and others raised questions about whether the roaming cameras were legal … the company implemented an automated feature that blurs faces and license plates.”

Image via birdsource.org

0 Comments

>> First, for alt fuel newbies unclear as to what’s wrong with corn ethanol exactly: Catch up by reading an oldie but a goodie — Rolling Stone’s “The Ethanol Scam: One of America’s Biggest Political Boondoggles.” You can also watch Fuel – or read my review.

>> Now that you know the environmental and farming-related problems behind ethanol, you might understand why a Cali regional panel doesn’t want more ethanol fueling stations. The Southern California Association of Governments “turned down nearly $11 million in federal stimulus dollars targeted to build 55 ethanol fueling stations across Southern California.” This issue’s still a somewhat controversial one among environmentalists though.

>> The current debate over fuels in California has a lot to do with our tough global warming mitigation law, a.k.a. AB 32, and how best to meet its requirements. That law is under attack, by the way — by a group that wants to block it from being implemented until California’s unemployment drops below 5.5% for four consecutive quarters. Despite the fact that such a move would block efforts to create new green jobs, the anti AB 32-ers wanted to put it on the ballot as “California Jobs Initiative.” California Attorney General Jerry Brown renamed it “Suspends air pollution control laws requiring major polluters to report and reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.” Yay Jerry!

>> Unfortunately, the U.S. EPA’s embraced ethanol — as well as “clean coal” and nuclear power. Writes Tom Philpott at Grist: “The Obama EPA has signed off on the absurd, abysmal Renewable Fuel Standard established under Bush a couple of years ago—ensuring that farmers will continue to devote vast swaths of land to GHG-intensive corn, of which huge portion of will ultimately be set aflame to power cars—but not before being transformed into liquid fuel in an energy-intensive process.”

Image via thefuelfilm.com

0 Comments

>> The Alliance for Bicycling and Walking’s Bicycling and Walking in the United States: The 2010 Benchmarking Report finds that “10 percent of trips are by bicycle or foot, yet bicyclists and pedestrians make up over 13% of traffic fatalities and receive just 1.2% of federal transportation dollars.”

Damien Newton at Streetsblog LA looks at the implications for L.A. County:

In Los Angeles, twelve percent of all trips, not just commuter trips, but all trips, are done by either walking or cycling. That’s well above the national average of 9.6%. However, thirty six percent of all crashes involve pedestrians or cyclists which is well above the national average. One reason for this? Los Angeles spends only 1.2% of its federal transportation dollars on bicycle or pedestrian infrastructure.

The City Fix also looks at the report and points out that more bike and ped funding could save lives. Relatedly — Did you know a sculptor wants to build a 100-foot-high fountain by the 10-110 freeway interchange that constantly reminds drivers of auto accident fatalities?

>> The Union of Concerned Scientists’ first Hybrid Scorecard found that fuel-efficient cars are unnecessarily expensive because they’re loaded up with costly “forced features” like 19-speaker surround-sound audio systems and intuitive parking assists: “The worst offender is the Lexus LS 600h L, which comes with more than $17,000 of extra features on top of an already luxury-laden base model.” Use the scorecard to make sure you’re getting the best value — both environmentally and economically. (via Autopia)

>> Obama’s 2011 FY budget proposal seeks to eliminate “more than $2.7 billion in tax subsidies for oil, coal and gas industries,” according to TriplePundit. As a result, more than $38.8 billion dollars in tax revenue could be generated for the federal government over the course of the next ten years.”

>> GreenBiz.com’s annual State of Green Business Report is available for your perusal. The basic summary: Despite the recession, the green economy’s surviving — but no one really knows what’s gonna happen next.

Image via peoplepoweredmovement.org

0 Comments

>> Environmental pollution’s the suspected cause of birth defects in the San Joaquin Valley. Both the U.S. EPA and the state are now looking into the scary number of birth defects in babies born in Kettleman City, which is near a huge Waste Management dump.

Community members say that five babies out of 20 live births in a recent 14-month period had facial deformities. A review by the Kings County Public Health Department found that six of 63 babies born over the same period to mothers living in the town had various birth defects…. The community of 1,500 sits in a region heavily polluted by pesticides and fumes from diesel-powered trucks.

The EPA’s regional director’s already paid the city and dump a visit.

>> You know how California set stricter standards for greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles? As you may have expected, oil, chemical and trucking industries have sued to void Cali’s tougher car emissions standards, claiming they interfere with interstate commerce.

>> Somewhat relatedly: California’s putting together a greenhouse gases monitoring network. We currently rely on estimates based on the amount of gas sold in the state, but new greenhouse gas measurement devices — made by a company called Picarro — are going to be installed to measure the actual amount of methane in the air.

>> You know how California sets high efficiency standards for electronics and appliances? Jaymi Heimbuch at Treehugger says Cali’s tough electronics energy regulations are spreading to other states.

Photo by teresia

0 Comments

>> L.A. got a new medical marijuana shop law. “The ordinance caps the number of dispensaries at 70 and creates a buffer zone around schools and places of worship.” It’ll be at least 45 days before the new rules will start being enforced.

>> Vaccines and autism aren’t linked — and a 12-year-old paper linking the two was formally retracted by the medical journal the Lancet. Slate republishes an article about why the myth that vaccines can cause autism lives on; NPR has an interview with risk consultant David Ropeik discussing how the risk of vaccines got so overblown.

>> Relatedly, Wired published a great feature piece a few months back: An Epidemic of Fear: How Panicked Parents Skipping Shots Endangers Us All.

>> Can a heroin maintenance program work for addicts? Vancouver’s experiment sounds promising: “88 percent of the heroin maintenance group stayed on their course of treatment, versus 54 percent in the methadone group.” Why this news should be interesting to non heroin addicts: “An untreated heroin addict costs the state $45,000 a year in legal and medical bills; heroin maintenance costs $7,000.”

Questions remain, though, about whether other programs might be safer or more effective, or whether this program is flawed because it doesn’t actually get addicts unaddicted.

Photo by Anthony Citrano

1 Comments

>> I’m not sure how I missed this, but a couple years ago, Chris Balish, author of How to Live Well Without Owning a Car, was featured in a little video on Planet Green about living car-free in L.A. The upbeat piece is a bit too complementary of Metro’s janky trip planner, but that’s okay because Metro info’s on Google Transit now.

I was on a panel with Chris a few months back, and must check out his book, which Fred Camino at The Source says “makes the argument that by forgoing on car ownership and getting around using the many available alternatives you can save a ton of money and reap all the happiness that comes along with having extra dough.”

Both Chris and I live in Santa Monica — a very car-free-friendly place that many people who think they can’t afford to live in actually could — if they were open to living less car-centric lives. Earlier: Free parking isn’t free — and a Cali bill could make drivers pay.

>> 3 months after its expansion, L.A.’s car-sharing program with Zipcar’s exceeding expectations. Unfortunately, city budget issues are stalling efforts to further expand the program. More news in 120 days.

>> Obama announced $8 billion in grants to high-speed rail on Thursday. $2.25 billion of that’s coming to the California high-speed rail project that, once built, would let us get from L.A. to San Francisco in 2 hours and 40 minutes. With the new funds, rail officials say building will begin by September 2012. A couple years ago, Cali voters approved $9.95 billion in bonds for this project.

Image via simpleliving.net

5 Comments

You already know that some of the most innocuous-looking things are creating big long-term environmental health problems. Sometimes, the bad news gets seriously overwhelming — and this week’s been worse than most, IMHO. Among the new things to stress about:

>> Toilet seats. Apparently, toilet seat dermatitis is making a comeback, thanks in large part to overly harsh chemical cleaners. Clean green for a pain-free tush, everyone! Earlier: Sunday solutions — Green cleaning.

>> Sofas. The Guardian reports that PFOA, a chemical used to make nonstick or flame-retardant products like sofas, carpets, and pans “has been linked to an increased risk of thyroid disease, in the first major study carried out on its effect upon health.” (via mnn) Earlier: PFOA linked to infertility.

>> Homes built before 1978. Lead in paint’s been banned for decades, but the lead-related health issues continue. EWG’s Enviroblog reports on a study that “found evidence that kids with blood lead levels (aka “BLLs”) as low as 2.9 micrograms – 7.1 below the federal “safe” limit – showed signs of damaged, slower-functioning kidneys.”

>> Breast milk from young moms. Hello friends who recently had kids: “A new study of breast milk samples from more than 300 women in North Carolina found PBDEs, or flame retardants, in the milk from almost three-quarters of the woman in the study. The younger the mom, the more contaminated her breast milk was likely to be.” PDBEs are “associated with altered thyroid hormone function, hyperactivity and poor learning and memory.” Earlier: Less neurotoxic TVs: Scary flame-retardant to get phased out by 2013.

>> Antioxidants. This news is actually overblown, IMHO — though if you’re taking antioxidant supplements, you might rethink those pills. A new study says antioxidants can sometimes impair muscle function — but don’t panic over pomegranates just yet.

Expect a post soon about why you shouldn’t give up and declare “pollution nihilism” in the face of all this bad news –

Photo by A. Dawson

0 Comments

>> L.A. City Council voted to develop a cyclist anti-harassment ordinance. Councilman Bill Rosendahl introduced the ordinance and says he wants to see “an ordinance that has teeth in it” by the end of March. Read Damien Newton’s post at Streetsblog L.A. for more details on the timeline for this ordinance.

>> Comment on the draft pedestrian and bicycle facilities network for the Culver City Bike and Pedestrian Initiative! (via Be a Green Commuter)

The downloadable PDF documents are rather confusing: A “network memo” provides definitions the new and proposed bike and ped”facilities” — ranging from bike lanes to “pedestrian improvement corridors” — while the Bicycle Network Map and Pedestrian Network Map show via colorful maps where these facilities are, or hopefully will be in the future.

Weigh in on the draft at a public workshop on Sat., Jan. 30 from 10 am – 1 pm at or submit your comments online.

>> Biking in Long Beach is about to get a lot more pleasant. L.A. Times reports:

At a time when cities are cutting expenses across the board, Long Beach has raised $17 million in state and federal grants to improve its bike system through traffic improvements, education and bike share programs. In the next six months, the city will be resurfacing 20 miles of streets to include new bike lanes, part of a plan that includes painting and paving more than 100 miles of bike infrastructure.

>> Locked out by bike gates after the rains? Joe Linton at L.A. Creek Freak shares how to get the bike gates open so you can ride free through the clean, post-rain air.

0 Comments

I was in Washington D.C. this weekend — and missed a bunch of big green events that happened in Los Angeles. Luckily, other green bloggers stayed in town:

>> L.A.’s Go Green Expo showcased some great eco-friendly products. Emily Ho at Re-Nest shares her top 10 great finds.

>> City Labs’ first community service fair brought out “nearly 50 Los Angeles non-profit organizations and featured demos and workshops as well as raffles and prizes for attendees.” Andy Sternberg at LAist’s got lots of photos of CicLAvia, Cocoxochitl, and more.

>> In rainy news: SoCal beaches are awash in post-rain garbage and Venice beach got eroded by the storms. Sean Bonner at Metblogs LA says “The impact of the storms, the shoreline is about 15 feet closer in than it used to be.” He’s got photos to prove it. Despite the heavy rains, Cali’s drought isn’t necessarily over yet.

>> And in non-eco news: Sex, drugs, and even cold hard cash are losing battles. Huntington Beach bans beer pong in bars, L.A. bans smoking in outdoor dining areas, a school district in Riverside County nixes dictionaries that define oral sex, airlines do away with cash transactions.

Photo of last year’s Go Green Expo by Siel

0 Comments

>> Flummoxed by all the health advice out there? Thomas Goetz, author of a new book called The Decision Tree: Taking Control of Your Health in the New Era of Personalized Medicine, says “health is really just a system of inputs and outputs” and there’s a lot you can take charge of — by creating a simple decision tree and using iPhone apps or other next-generation monitoring gadgets to make healthier habits permanent. Try creating a simple tree below, or read more at MNN.

>> Which is greener — Glasses or contacts? Slate tackles this question — and doesn’t really come to a concrete conclusion. What the article doesn’t consider, however, is that pretty much every contacts-wearer also owns glasses, while full-time glasses wearers are unlikely to own contacts. Thus my conclusion is that the glasses-only people are the greenest. The bigger question, perhaps, is whether eco-boys make more passes at green girls who wear glasses.

5 Comments