What happens when California’s landmark legislation to address global climate change meets green digital media? Find out at the next BREATHE LA Green Salon panel — titled “AB 32.0 and the Rise of Green Digital Media” — on which I’ll be a panelist!

When: Tues., March 16, 9 am – 10:30 am
Where: California Endowment Center, 1000 N. Alameda St., Los Angeles
Cost: Free with RSVP

The other panelists are Fuel’s Josh Tickell, Jennifer Gooding of EcoTuesday, Nicole Hansen of The Green Blog Network, and CEO of Veggie Van Organization Rebecca Harnell. Ray Gonzales, BREATHE LA Board Member and former Channel 5 KTLA host, will moderate.

I hope to see you there! Coffee and a light breakfast will be served to sweeten and caffeinate the discussion.

BREATHE LA’s a local environmental nonprofit that works to improve air quality and lung health in Los Angeles. This panel will be the first of of five in Breathe LA’s series of panels dubbed “Green Streets of LA,” which explore “how our community is rising up to address sustainable solutions as they relate to California’s landmark legislation, AB 32 Global Warming Act.” Future panels will discuss greening everything from the ports to hospitals.

Image via BREATHE LA

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As guest editor at LAist a few years back, I wrote that drinking and driving don’t mix — so obviously, the driving had to go. Now, Wired columnist Clive Thompson writes that texting and driving don’t mix — so obviously, the driving has to go!

Texting while driving is, in essence, a wake-up call to America. It illustrates our real, and bigger, predicament: The country is currently better suited to cars than to communication. This is completely bonkers.

Clive’s public transit-friendly column’s especially fitting right now, since the decline in driving that began a couple years ago seems to have ended. At the time, states across the country are banning texting while driving — a practice that increases your risk of collision up to 23 times, as Clive points out.

Clive’s unconvinced, however, that these laws will actually deter drivers from texting — which is why he says “we need to work urgently on making driving less necessary in the first place”:

There are other benefits to making the streets safe for texters: Dramatically increasing public transit would also decrease our carbon footprint, improve local economies, and curtail drunk driving. (Plus, we’d waste less time in spiritually draining bumper-to-bumper traffic.)

Think texting’s a total waste of time and drain on productivity? Keep in mind that on some public transit systems — like my local-ish Foothill Transit bus line Silver Streak — people have free wifi. Those buses and trains let green commuters pull out their good old fashioned laptops and get some real work done, in bigger than 140-character chunks.

Don’t text and drive! Tweet me from the bus or train instead –

Top photo by Café du Monde; bottom photo by Siel

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>> How to suck at Facebook. Do you spam all your friends with constant “become a fan of” requests? Stop being a desperate marketer –

>> Looking for publicity on blogs and social networks? Lindsay Robertson put together a fantastic list of The Do’s and Don’ts of Online Publicity (via kottke). My favorite tip: Pick Eight Blogs. Lindsay got that one from a Brilliant Online Publicist, who knew how to focus her efforts:

She picked the eight blogs that covered her client’s subject, TV, that she liked the most on a personal level, read them religiously, and only sent them only the content she thought each blog would be into. While the rest of the publicists in her company were sending out mass emails to everyone, hoping to get bites from Perez Hilton, Gawker, HuffPo, or wherever, this publicist focused on a lower traffic tier with the (correct) understanding that these days, content filters up as much as it filters down, and often the smaller sites, with their ability to dig deeper into the internet and be more nimble, act as farm teams for the larger ones. A site can be enormously influential without having crazy eyeballs, because all eyeballs are not equal.

Earlier: How NOT to pitch a story

Image via theoatmeal.com

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>> Small home sweet home: Big joys in little spaces. One family trades down to a smaller home and donates half the money — to find they’re happier in the smaller space. An eco-architect argues for a size-standard in LEED certification, because eco-mansions are an oxymoron. And a third guy does away with a home altogether — and goes cash free while he’s at it too!

>> Living on Craigslist. After rejection letters to all his job applications, one dude “called the conventional lifestyle quits” and decided to live off Craigslist: “This means, put simply, I will find jobs, housing, friends, food and other necessities entirely via Craigslist.” The Craigslist-inspired design of this blog’s cute — but a bit annoying to click through to read each post. (via Kottke)

>> Earlier:  Tiny Homes: Freedoms found in small spaces.

Photo by catcubed

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The health effects of cell phone radiation’s a growing concern — which is why many cell phone users have been consulting a Cell Phone Radiation Guide to figure out which phones let them keep talking and texting while limiting radiation as much as possible. That report was put together by Environmental Working Group last September — and this year, the environmental health nonprofit’s come out with an update with the new, popular cell phones of 2010.

The bad news: Some of the most hyped phones that have gotten raves from tech experts also give off quite a bit of radiation. Motorola’s Droid, Blackberry Bold 9700, LG Chocolate Touch and HTC Nexus One by Google are among the flashy phones to avoid because all four “are pushing the edge of radiofrequency radiation safety limits set by the Federal Communications Commission,” according to EWG.

The good news: A number of smart phones on the market keep you connected without leaching so much radiation. EWG notes that the Motorola Brute i680, Samsung Mythic, and Pantech Impact are phones with some of the lowest emissions — and advises cell phone users to stick to these lower-emissions phones until we learn more about the long-term health effects of cell phone radiation.

On the market for a new phone? If you’re willing to switch carriers, consult EWG’s list of phones with the lowest emissions (PDF) to pick from the best. Sticking with your current carrier? Then click on your carrier’s name on EWG’s “Get a Safer Phone” page to get a list of just the phones available through your carrier. The phones will be sorted with those with lowest radiation at the top of the list. And for added safety, follow EWG’s 8 tips to reduce cell phone radiation exposure.

Earlier: Eco-friendly phones — How green are they really?

Photo by pittaya

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>> Rambler shoes tweet your steps with sensors. The tweets are a series of taps and .s — a sort of morse code depicting your peripatetic activities. Ecouterre describes Rambler shoes as “more of a satirical statement on our navel-gazing Internet culture and the glut of completely pointless information circulating the Twitterverse” — but I’m thinking there must be a way to configure these shoes to make checking into Foursquare a helluva lot easier.

>> Stockings invite Twitter stalkers. Made by Gabby and Tal from Tel Aviv and sold for $23 on Etsy, these “stalkings” aren’t exactly eco, but may attract men who wear Ramblers.(via Craftzine)

>> Foursquare got a nice profile in Time, BTW. Right now, I’m trying out the beta Blackberry Foursquare app. My main complaint about Foursquare in general: I wish that, like Twitter, people could follow you on Foursquare without your following back.

Follow me –

Earlier:
>> Re:cycled Tweets: Upcycle lame tweets, raise money for eco-education
>> The active passivity of tweeting
>> Eating Twitter
>> Greening Twitter

Photos via popkalab and post/Etsy

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2010 seems to be the year of new electronics. After 3+ years of happiness, I finally upgraded from my old LG LX125 to a Blackberry. And after 4+ years of disgruntled complaints about my old camera Pixelle, I’m now taking pictures with a Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS, a holiday gift from my sister.

And of course, I knitted a cover for my new, lither camera — out of yarn from bamboo from South West Trading Company. The white trim’s upcycled from my taking apart a knitted hat I got from Jet Rag, and the button’s a spare from my Loomstate for Target top. The whole cover looks cuter in real life. I unfortunately couldn’t take a flattering photo of it as my new camera was in the thing; I had to make do with my phone camera.

Which is to say — I no longer need Pixelle, a.k.a. my old Canon PowerShot A510, pictured above. Want it? Let me know!

Above’s a photo of the camera now, which no longer has a wriststrap and looks scuffed up, though it still takes decent digital pictures like it always has. To the left is an older photo of Pixelle in its knitted cover.

Priority will go to someone who can offer me rabbit ears for my TV — which I currently only use to watch DVDs but hear could pick up quite a few good channels with rabbit ears. But regardless of whether or not you have rabbit ears, do let me know if you want the camera — DIY cover included — by commenting or emailing greenlagirl@gmail.com.

Happy New Year, everyone!

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Decided to upgrade to a new greener phone for the new year — only to get confused by all the conflicting green tech advice out there? You’re not alone. Research eco-friendly cell phones, and you’ll start getting bombarded with marketing speak about bioplastics and, I kid you not, seed-embedded paper outlining green features.

As with most green tech news, green phone news often tends to be overhyped, with lots of tough-to-research claims and even more unanswered questions. So how did I deal with all this excess of info? By just not buying a new phone, of course. I’m proud to say that I kept my old, beaut up LG LX125 (right) for 3+ years — since Sept. 2006, when I first switched to Working Assets, which has since become CREDO!

But finally, I had to deal with my stance against planned obsolescence, a.k.a. research-averse laziness. My beloved LG started randomly turning itself off, taking unplanned snoozes, letting me know I can rage against the machine only for so long….

So when Sprint contacted me about trying out its new “green” Reclaim cell phone (left) — complete with Twitter and Facebook features, a QWERTY keyboard, and a lot more techy features than what I’d been living with — I jumped at the chance.

Of course, once it arrived, I started realizing that my definition of green exceeded the cell phone’s — though the Reclaim does have some good features, like a 40% corn-based plastic casing, low standby power consumption, and 70% recycled packaging materials. Plus, the phone’s free of phthalates, polyvinyl chloride — and almost free of brominated flame retardants — and priced at an affordable $49.99 with a two-year service from Sprint. And from a tech-standpoint, the phone works great! I tweeted merrily through the Great L.A. Walk.

(more…)

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After a long year of cleaning up the beach and marching for clean water, don’t we enviro-activists deserve some pampering? For green thinkers in need of a little R&R in Los Angeles, Chill Out LA could provide just the eco-rejuvenation needed to start 2010 ready to take on new activist challenges.

Chill Out LA isn’t an all-green site; it focuses on “spa, beauty and wellness news, deals and events in Los Angeles.” And of course, I always encourage doing your own homework to make sure the spots you frequent and stuff you use fit your eco-standards.

That said, since many salons, yoga studios, and wellness companies are paying more attention to their increasingly eco-health minded clientele, Chill Out LA often features the latest on paraben-free facials, green yoga studios, and organic massage oils. Past reviews include Arcona and The Garden Spa’t — both of which I’ve recommended myself.

In fact, the latest Chill Out LA event — Sexy Serenity — was an eco-themed beauty and holiday shopping night co-organized with Sirens magazine, featuring hemp-happy fashion and lifestyle company Natural High Lifestyles, eco-conscious makeup company Tarte, and fair trade organic nicobella chocolates, among others. Women — and the occasional guy — packed the ROB|B OPI Concept salon/spa in Studio City to get their make-up, nails, and hair done in somewhat greener fashion.

I stopped by and had a couple cocktails with 360 Vodka — and tasted some of the best hummus I’ve ever had from The Brunette Gourmette. Every guest got to leave with a generous gift bag filled with mostly-green items — including a full-sized face mask product from the eco-renowned Eminence Organics!

Want to make sure you balance your eco-activism with eco-pampering in 2010? Sign up for Chill Out LA’s weekly email list to get the latest chillaxing news and find out about the next Chill Out LA event.

Top image via Chill Out LA; photo by Siel

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>> The tiny screen:  GoodGuide’s got a new iPhone app — that scans barcodes! Basically, you can just  point your iPhone camera at the barcode to get an instant rating on how “good” your product is, socio-environmentally. Earlier: GoodGuide: Products get green scores sans greenwash.

>> The small screen: MSNBC will air Future Earth: 100 Heartbeats, which follows naturalist Jeff Corwin as he explores 7 countries on 4 continents and talks about the “Sixth Extinction” — the extinction of many animal species happening right now due to human actions. The preview seems very doom and gloom — though with great footage of endangered animals. Watch it Sun., Nov. 22 at 5 pm or 8 pm.

>> The big screen: Movie popcorn’s a very efficient artery clogger. Watched 2012 at L.A. Live’s Regal movie theater last night? If you gobbled down a medium popcorn while taking in scenes of global disaster, then you made a disastrous decision for your health — because you ingested 1,200 calories and 3 days worth of saturated fat while sitting still.

I know what you’re thinking: But I ate a large! If so, click through because there’s good news for you –

Image via GoodGuide

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