- Clyde Butcher photograph via Florida Arts

>> This year, learn how to save money, conserve our natural resources, make your home more energy efficient and save water with Sustainable Works  6-week Green Living Workshop. First day in the workshop series starts on Wed., Jan 18 from 7-8:30 pm at the Santa Monica Library, 601 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica. Cost: free for Santa Monica residents, though there is a $25 suggested donation for the 6 weeks, and $50 for non-residents. Register online.

>> “Exploring Solutions for Sharps” explores sustainable solutions to waste management of household generated sharps (needles and syringes). The workshop brings academics, NGOs, governments, retailers, manufacturers, recyclers and waste management companies together to explore the problem and solutions. Takes place Wed., Jan 18 from 9am – 4pm at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, Bob and Delores Hope Conference Rooms A & B, 501 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank. Cost: free with online registration.

>> Celebrate the new year and set your eco-resolutions for 2012 at the 2012 Eco-Resolutions Party hosted by LA Green Drinks, Sustainable Works this Thu., Jan 19 from 7-10 pm at Essentia, 2430 Main St., Santa Monica. Cost: $5 suggested donation.

>> Tree People is hosting a community sustainability workshop on how to plant and prune trees, capture and save water, and attract beneficial pollinators like bees and birds this Sat., Jan 21 from 9 am – 1 pm at their headquarters in Coldwater Canyon. Cost: free. Register online by Wed., Jan 18 to attend.

>> Join the opening reception and artist talk for photographer Clyde Butcher, whose work showcases spectacular images of the Florida everglades and other American wilderness areas. Reception takes place this Sat., Jan 20 from 6:30 – 9 pm and the artist talk takes place this Sun., Jan 21 at 7:30 pm at G2 Gallery, 1503 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice. Cost: $5.

>> The City of South Gate is preparing a Bicycle Transportation Plan! As the first step, a public forum is being held to hear what the community needs are; for programs, for bike paths, for bike facilities and parking and problems currently faced by those who ride in South Gate and how to make the community safer and more bicycle friendly. Everyone is welcome, and childcare will be available. Takes place this Sat., Jan. 21 at 10 am at the South Gate Senior Center, 4855 Tweedy Blvd, South Gate.

>> Join local homeowners, community leaders and solar experts for complimentary refreshments and an exciting announcement about new funding to put solar panels on up to 3,000 residential rooftops in key markets including Los Angeles County this Sat., Jan 21 from 2-4 pm at the PermaCity Solar Showroom, 5570 West Washington Blvd., Los Angeles. Cost: free with online registration.

>> Please join the CicLAvia South LA Host Committee for an exploration ride for extending CicLAvia through South LA. Free bike maintenance will be available from the Bikerowave as will a training on how to use one’s phone during a bike ride to promote public cycling efforts. Roll out this Sun., Jan 22 from 10 am – 2 pm. Meet at Augustus Hawkins Natural Park, 5790 Compton Ave., Los Angeles. The ride ends at Watts Towers. Email Tafarai@trustsouthla.org for any questions. Cost: free.

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Are you the TOMS shoes wearing type — because you love that company’s buy a pair, give a pair to a kid in need business model? Then here’s a snack you’ll love to bite into while walking a mile in those shoes. Buy a Two Degrees snack bar, and you’ll send a nutrition pack to a child in need.

And you won’t be buying the bar just for its altruistic business model. Two Degrees bars are quite tasty (although sadly, not organic) — and pack a nutritional punch too. My favorite was the Chocolate Peanut flavor — which, combined with the raisins and prune puree, has a delicious peanut butter-and-jelly meets chocolate taste. The Apple Pecan made a good, healthier substitute for a fruit and nut pie, and the Cherry Almond had that nice tangy fruity kick.

Two Degrees’ buy-one-give-one isn’t quite like TOMS though. While TOMS actually gives kids in need the same TOMS shoes that you buy, Two Degrees doesn’t send the bars you can buy at Whole Foods to malnourished kids. Instead, Two Degrees sends medically formulated nutrition packs.

And comparing the nutrition packs to the bars exemplifies just how disparate the world of the bar buyers and the pack receivers are — the former a Whole Foods shopper with disposable income living in a country where being poor makes you more likely to be fat, the latter a severely malnourished child with no food, period.

The bars come in pretty, attractive, recycled and recyclable packaging; the packs in ugly but functional foil-lined wrappers. The bars’ marketing material proudly proclaims each bar contains less than 200 calories; the nutrition pack notes on the back that each pack packs 500 calories. The bars boast that they’re all natural, gluten-free, and vegan — and contain today’s popular heritage grains quinoa, chia, and millet. The nutrition pack’s basic, calorie-heavy ingredient list reads thusly: “milk powder, sugar, peanut paste, vegetable oil, vitamins and minerals.”

I tasted the nutrition pack. The goo tasted just like you would expect: Sweet, milky, peanut buttery, heavy — basically a swirl of sugar and fat. Kind of like the cheapest processed foods marketed at kids at the grocery store — but without the attractive presentation, toys, and pretty packaging. One country’s obesity bane, another’s life-saving nutrition meal.

The nutrition packs aren’t sold in stores, but the Two Degrees bars are. Each bar costs $2.49 at Whole Foods and other retailers, as well as on Two Degrees’ website.

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Love organic coconut oil as much as I do? You can get a full massage with the delicious stuff at Advanced Bodywork and Massage. There, holistic health and fitness practitioner Paula McGinness uses only pure, organic coconut oil for her intense, hands-on work — making for a rich, sweet-scented, and soothing experience.

Lately, I’ve been having some extra back pain — thanks to too much time in front of the computer and not enough yoga. So when I read Paula’s extensive and impressive bio, I jumped at the chance to try a postural assessment and eco-friendly massage for review. Paula’s no regular masseuse. Yes, she’s certified in shiatsu from the Tao Healing Arts Center and Swedish massage therapy from the Institute of Psycho-Structural Balancing — but she’s also certified in the more woo-woo sounding neurostructural bodywork from the Kali Institute for Massage and Somatic Therapies, where she also picked up Rolfing and Hellerwork to integrate into her massages.

That means that a massage with Paula is no regular massage. Yes, there’s the usual relaxing kneading, but Paula’s bodywork’s a lot more intense. She bent, stretched, and twisted my body to relieve tensions, instructed me to breathe into her deep, Rolfing-esque prodding, pinched skin and muscles into relaxation — and even cracked some bones! The deep, interactive session ended with a luxurious scalp massage — which had the extra bonus of moisturizing my hair with coconut oil.

Before the massage though, I got a postural assessment — which basically let me see the small habits that are causing my back pain. Paula snapped photos of my posture (above’s one), and even took a little video of me walking — then explained what I’m doing wrong. Apparently, my right hip is really tight, which is contributing the pain in my back — and perhaps even my left knee. Paula made suggestions to stop practices that could be contributing to the pain — and since she knew I did yoga, encouraged me to spend more time in pigeon and warrior poses. I left with instructions to visit her friend and fitness coach Kurt Elder’s website, which has at-home stretches and exercises for pain relief. I’ve since been doing these seven stretches for desk workers every day!

Paula works with many of her clients long-term, who seek her out to relieve pain sans drugs — so they can again enjoy doing sports and other activities that they thought (or were told by doctors) were no longer possible. I plan to become a long-term client. In the meantime, I’m taking very seriously Paula’s advice to learn to relieve my own pain at home — I’m already sitting up straighter, being more careful about my posture — and feeling extra motivated to kick my yoga practice into high gear again, since the seven stretches I’m doing are basically all included in any good yoga class.

Want Advanced Bodywork and Massage to massage away your pain? Neuro-Structural Bodywork starts at $50 per half hour ($40 for a basic massage).

Advanced Bodywork and Massage. Culver City. 310.403.1608. paulam09@msn.com. Call or email for appointment and address.

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Can you be a healthy organic foodie — and enjoy delicious chocolates too? Yes, if you ask Nichole Dandrea, a nutritionist and yoga instructor behind the organic, fair trade, and vegan Nicobella chocolate truffles and Munch treats. I caught up with the health-conscious chocolate lover at the Women of the Green Generation conference, and she shared how you can mix a lean green business with chocolatey pleasures.

When I think nutritionist, I don’t usually think decadent chocolatier. But you’ve combined the two roles — Can rich chocolate snacks really be healthy?

Yes! I’ve always been a lover of dark chocolate and was beyond excited when they started releasing studies several years ago, highlighting all of the benefits of dark chocolate. Once there was evidence I thought, wouldn’t it be great to use dark chocolate as a vehicle to deliver other healthy foods? That’s how the truffles were born. Starting with 70% dark chocolate, we substitute oat milk and coconut oil for the cream, then infuse wholesome ingredients such as blueberries, green tea, and pumpkin. They are rich and decadent but not too sweet, making them a high antioxidant, healthy treat.

Your chocolate treats are about the greenest in the market — organic and fair trade certified, and packed full of antioxidant rich ingredients — and even packaged with all FSC-certified paper. Was it tough to make the truffles as environmentally friendly as you did? Or are greener ingredients and packaging easier to find now?

Greener ingredients are definitely much more available compared to when we first started experimenting with the truffles in our kitchen about four years ago. But organic and Fair Trade certifications are costly to our suppliers and to our manufacturer (Theo Chocolate), making the product a little pricier than non-organic and Fair Trade chocolate. However we truly believe in eating organic and supporting the farmers, therefore want to stay true to our values.

FSC certified material is very accessible now and using FSC certified material seems to be a standard with many green companies. This is comforting knowing that companies are supporting the environment and consumers are becoming more aware of the benefits of FSC certification.

For the health-conscious chocoholic who wants to eat a little chocolate every day — How many truffles are okay to indulge in on a daily basis? Which truffle is your personal favorite? (more…)

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>> Get safe sunscreen for the summer. Environmental Working Group’s released its latest annual sunscreen guide — along with a list of 9 surprising truths about sunscreens, which includes this: “The common sunscreen ingredient vitamin A may speed the development of cancer.” Read it to find out more — and to find best-in-class sunscreens for your skin.

Earlier:
>> Sunumbra: A Safer sunscreen that won’t leave you looking pale
>> Elemental Herbs Sunscreen Sport: Safe sun protection for the pinkish
>> California Baby: Safe, effective, and pricy sunscreen
>> DIY sunscreen: Not a cool green idea

>> When bikes and cars collide, who’s more likely to be at fault? NPR’s Shots blog looks at the question, but no clear answer emerges: “The federal government, for one, doesn’t know. ‘Fault is difficult to determine,’ a spokeswoman for the Federal Highway Administration tells Shots. Her office has never produced national data answering this question.”

>> A long-distance commute increases the likelihood a marriage will end in divorce. Another study makes a case for living near work and traveling green. Earlier: How to decide to be happier.

Photo via California Baby

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