If you read green LA girl by email only, you opened up your inbox this morning to discover that, alas, you missed your chance to attend the advance screening for Discovery Channel’s LIFE on Mach 16!

Despair not: Another green documentary’s screening that day — and it’s free and open to the public, as long as you RSVP quickly for this opportunity. Get to a Community Cinema Screening of DIRT! The Movie.

What’s DIRT! about? According to KCET, ITVS, Bioneers and Youth Service America, the organizers of the screening:

It’s under our feet and under our fingernails, but what is it? And how did it get there? Inspired by William Bryant Logan’s acclaimed book Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth, find out how industrial farming, mining and urban development have led us toward cataclysmic droughts, starvation, floods and climate change. Dirt is a part of everything we eat, drink and breathe. Which is why we should stop treating it like, well…dirt.

Watch the trailer below:

The screening happens Tues., March 16 in the Silver Screen Room of the Pacific Design Center, 8687 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood. The event will kick off with an organic reception at 7 pm, followed by a screening at 7:30 pm and a Q&A with the filmmakers. RSVP’s required at KCET.

Image via kcet.org

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This post was originally written 7/19/09. Since then, L.A.’s lost one CSA program but added two new ones. Eat local in 2010!

Thanks to the growing interest in local, organic food, Angelenos can suddenly pick from a wealth of community supported agriculture programs with locations all over the metropolis. CSA programs basically let you invest in a local farm — for which you’re rewarded with weekly boxes of fresh local produce grown from that farm.

Some of the programs below have stretched that definition of the CSA a bit, to pool produce from more than one organic local farm, for example. Still, the general goal — to connect you to local, seasonal produce and the farms and farmers around you — remains the same. Your options:

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Celebrate Valentine’s Day a few days early in eco-style by sipping organic tequila cocktails, checking out the last green fashions and taking in a provocative dance performance. That all happens at EcoDivasTV’s launch party — and 20 lucky green LA girl readers can get on the VIP list!

EcoDivasTV is a website and web video series that “highlights the fabulous sides of being Eco and Divalicious,” according to its creator, Taryn Hipwell. The party will reflect that fun spirit: Models will walk around in green fashions and accessories, and dancers will entertain with with provocative performances. Plus, you’ll be able to bring in your old, no-longer-stylish shoes to the party for upcycling! Painter Sun Behr will show you how to revamp them with non-toxic paints, glitter glue, and other supplies.

When: Thurs., Feb. 11. VIP only from 7 pm – 10 pm, open party from 10 pm – 2 am
Where: Haute Lounge Night Club, 665 N. Robertson Blvd., West Hollywood.
Cost: Free!

The bar will have specials on organic tequila cocktails all night, but most of the fun happens during the VIP party early in the evening, with free drinks and nibbles served the first hour, followed by a fashion show at 8, dance performances at 8:15 and 9, and a debut screening of the EcoDivasTV webisode pilot at 9:15.

Want to be on the VIP list? [Update, 3 pm: List is now closed!] Be one of the first 20 readers to comment — Include your full name, and mention whether you’ll be bringing a +1. I’ll put up an update on this post once all the spots are filled up. The party opens to all at 10 pm.

Earlier: 10 Green ways to have fun on Valentine’s Day in Los Angeles and Green Weekender: Eco-friendly fun for Valentine’s weekend

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Bad news for eco-fashionistas in Los Angeles: The eco-chic boutique Visionary, which moved from its original West Hollywood shop to Pico Blvd. in Los Angeles last year, will be shutting down its Pico shop on January 15.

The silver lining: Visionary’s having a liquidation sale starting today, with 50 – 80% off all of its eco-friendly fashions, accessories, and other merchandise. Stop by 5285 W. Pico Blvd in Los Angeles between noon to 5 pm between Jan. 6 – 9 and 13 – 14 to stake your claim on suddenly-affordable eco-luxe fashions.

Although the flagship store’s closing, Visionary won’t disappear altogether. For one, the Visionary Mobile — a small, version of Visionary in a van — will drive on. In addition to appearing at parties, events, and festivals as it’s always done, Visionary Mobile will host events and sales — and open by appointment — at the green building store Discover Green in West Hollywood after January 18. In addition, Visionary retains its spot at SEED People’s Market, a co-op retail space in Costa Mesa featuring sustainable designers and companies.

Visionary owner Magda Rod says in an email that she plans “to expand the Visionary Concept into a bigger and better enterprise” by launching an educational nonprofit “to share information and inspiration to help people lead a sustainable and conscious lifestyle.”

Visionary Boutique. Mobile store open by appointment at Discover Green, 1145 N. La Brea Ave., West Hollywood. 310.659.1177. At The Camp: 2937 Bristol St., Costa Mesa.

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Heard about Concord., Calif.’s money-saving — and sad and brown — Christmas tree? I took a little walk today to find a similar friend in my own ‘hood — Santa Monica’s slightly sad Christmas tree! A treehugging neighbor must have planted the scraggly yet still living tree recently.

For the rest of you — unless you went the rental or eco-reusable route — it’s time for treecycling. Don’t just set it in your alleyway at random as that’s illegal, as per L.A. Municipal Code 57.21.06! Dry trees can create a fire hazard.

Ready to part with your holiday tree? Every city in the L.A. area has its own set of rules — so follow the guidelines for your ‘hood. Remember to take off all decorations from your tree to reuse next year — That’ll also help make the chipping and mulching process go more smoothly.

Beverly Hills: Put your tree next to your trash bin on trash collection day.

Culver City: Put your tree next to your trash bin on any trash collection day before Jan 31.

Los Angeles: You’ve got 3 options:

1) Place the tree next to your green bin or the street’s curbside for collection on trash collection day,
2) Chop up the tree and put it in your green bin, or
3) Haul the tree to one of many drop off sites on Sat., Jan. 2 – Sun., Jan. 3 between 9 am – 4 pm.

Pasadena: You’ve got two options (PDF):

1) Place your tree at the curb before 7 am on your trash collection day between Jan. 4 – Jan. 15, or
2) Drop off your tree at one of two sites: Eaton Blanche Park (3100 E. Del Mar Blvd.) or Robinson Park (1081 N. Fair Oaks Ave.) between Dec. 28, 2009 – Jan. 2, 2010 from 7 am – 2 pm.

Santa Monica: You’ve got three options:

1) Drag your tree to Clover Park (25th and Ocean Park), Douglas Park (Chelsea and Wilshire), Christine Emerson Reed Park (Lincoln and California), or Los Amigos Park (5th and Hollister) any time during the month of January.
2) Drop off the tree at the City of Santa Monica Transfer Station at 2401 Delaware Ave. during 6 am – 2 pm, Mon. – Sat., or
3) Chop up your tree and put it in your green bin, if you have one.

West Hollywood: Put your tree next to your trash bin on any trash collection day on or before Jan 16.

My neighbors are apparently really happy to declare Christmas done, because the Santa Monica park near me’s already a tree graveyard!

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Vogue and Valentino aren’t exactly names you associate with eco-fashion, but Gale Parker — who served as a fashion editor for the former and a muse for the latter — is now putting her 30 years of experience in the fashion industry towards eco-fashion. Last week, Gale opened a new green boutique in West Hollywood called Clothespin, featuring her own vintage-inspired fashion pieces alongside a collection of handpicked vintage dresses and accessories.

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For fans of The Veggie Grill who had to go all the way down to El Segundo or Irvine to enjoy the restaurant chain’s vegan meals: The Veggie Grill’s now in West Hollywood too!

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Raw doesn’t necessarily mean green, but the raw food chefs certainly tend to also support fresh local, organic food. Angelenos got to taste a nice sampling of yummy raw food at the “Celebration of Living Foods”  at Vernare’s Living Showroom in West Hollywood last night.

Organized by Women of the Green Generation,  the event attracted an almost all-women crowd — though men too were invited to this event. Raw foodies and raw-curious milled about nibbling “powerballs” from Zenergy Superfoods, “untuna salad” from the all-organic Juicy Ladies (above), and organic kale chips from Rawk-n-Roll Cuisine.

Raw naked fruit tarts from Tia’s Bakery (above) went fast, but the tastiest desserts, IMHO, were the little cake bites made by Patisseraw. The  gluten, egg, and dairy free desserts were moist, healthy tiramisu-esque morsels — made with fresh fruit and cacao.

The better-known L.A. raw food restaurants like Leaf, Juliano’s Raw, Cru, and Euphoria Loves Rawvolution Cafe weren’t there, and most of the featured companies didn’t have their own storefronts or restaurants. But many of their delicacies can be found at independent grocery stores like Co-opportunity and Erewhon — as well as local Whole Foods stores. Many of the companies also offer raw food catering services.

The trouble raw foodies go into making raw food look and taste (at least somewhat) like cooked food sometimes strikes me as odd — after all, it’s a lot simpler and often tastier just to bite into a fresh nectarine — but most of the raw food I ate was quite tasty and jam packed with great nutrients and lots of healthy flavor. I don’t think I’ll ever go all raw, but I certainly think most Americans would benefit from enjoying more fresh fruits and salads in their daily lives.

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Angelenos in green business are lucky. With Green Business Networking, EcoTuesday, green-themed BlobLive events, and even the more casual Green Drinks — not to mention more niche specific mixers and events put together by the U.S. Green Building Council, permaculture groups, and many others — pretty much every day can be eco-biz day.

But women in the green sphere now also have their own event. Dubbed Women of the Green Generation, this few-months-old, gender-specific eco-group meets about once a month, bringing together eco-thinking women eager to meet like-minded females.

Women of the Green Generation was started by Kris Willey (left), a green event planner and green product representative, back in May this year. After hearing from a number of women who expressed interest in a women-only green business networking event, Kris started hosting the events at Vernare Living Showroom in West Hollywood in June.

About 30 women showed up to the first event. What — besides the women-only thing — makes Women of the Green Generation events different from all the eco-networking events? “A lot of the time when you go to networking meetings, you don’t meet everyone in the room,” says Kris, who says the women-only event allows for a “totally completely different energy.” “In my group, we have the opportunity to introduce ourselves so everyone gets to hear what everyone else is doing.”

That really gets people networking with each other, according to Kris, who says she wants to create “this community of supporting each other, nurturing each other, connecting with each other.” After all, the women come from all walks of life and all professions. Attendees include professionals working at CNN to job-seekers with an interest in the green economy. “We’re there to inspire others — It’s not a closed group,” Kris says.

Even with the first meeting, interest and participation was high — and is only growing from there. Kris is now thinking about how to shape the future of Women of the Green Generation, which is already about to get big enough that personal introductions of all attendees at the beginning could soon get to be too much. The event could get split up into more neighborhood-specific locations — or directed towards more specific topics.

What this popularity shows though, is that a need for women-only eco-networking event clearly exists. After all, even the eco-business world, men often dominate the key power positions — and correspondingly, the keynote talks at green business conferences, networking events, and the like.

I hope more eco-savvy women across the country start similar events in their neighborhoods. Women of the Green Generation events generally have a $10 fee, which includes free drinks and food for the attendees.

This month, though, both women are men are welcome to a special Women of the Green Generation dubbed “Celebration of Living Foods” — a raw food-focused event exploring the intersection between living green and eating raw.

There’ll be lots of raw food to sample — and drinks to wash it all down with. There’ll be speakers chatting about detoxing — a practice I’m skeptical of despite having done a few “cleanses” myself. And of course, there’ll be mingling and chatting with like-minded eco-folk.

“Celebration of Living Foods” happens Tues., Sept. 22, from 7 – 10 pm at Vernare’s Living Showroom, 607 N. Huntley Dr., West Hollywood. RSVP to Kris at 310.310.5692 or bhaktiyogagirl@msn.com. Cost: $20, with an unspecified portion benefiting Whole Foods’ School Lunch Revolution.

Whether or not you can make it to that event, you can keep on top of future Women of the Green Generation events by visiting the website.

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Upcycling out-of-style clothes into new chic outfits is a fast-growing eco-fashion market today — but designer Deborah Lindquist’s perhaps the best known for turning unwanted clothes into high-end eco-chic pieces. And earlier this week, Deborah debuted her Fall / Winter 2009 line — dubbed “Goth Girl Goes to the Country” — at Point de Vue Salon in West Hollywood.

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