This past week (Jan 25) the Environmental Change-Makers hosted Andrew Basmajian from the Santa Monica Environmental Programs Division.  About a year ago I was there when Andrew gave a tour of the Santa Monica recycling center to a group of schoolchildren.  So I asked him to come talk to our Westchester group about recycling.
Andrew spoke about […]

“California power companies will be barred from buying electricity from most coal-fired power plants … Thursday’s 4-0 vote by the Public Utilities Commission prohibits investor-owned utilities from entering long-term contracts to obtain electricity from sources that emit more carbon dioxide than a modern natural gas plant. …
” … about 20 percent of the state’s electricity […]

This photo essay brightened my day.Â
A 1.2 acre urban farm in the heart of the city in Caracus, Venezuela.  It’s not in some outskirts, it’s right under the shiny towers of the Hilton Hotels.  Inexpensive organic produce, a destination for school tours and university studies …
Enjoy the photos (click here)
�

“Thousands of earthworms guzzle metric tons of scrap food left over from the tables of the rich and famous at South Africa’s plush Mount Nelson hotel, quietly doing their bit to save the planet.  … [The hotel] has its own worm farm to help slash waste and, ultimately, tackle climate change. …
“The hotel is processing […]

I suspect that future generations will look back with incredulity on the 20th century as that period of history during which we squandered the accumulated energy capital of 150 million years of planetary evolution in a little over a hundred years.
–Patrick Holden, “One Planet Agriculture: The Case for Action”, Soil Association 2007, Edinburgh
The little booklet […]

“The chief executives of 10 major corporations, on the eve of the State of the Union address, urged President Bush on Monday to support mandatory reductions in climate-changing pollution and establish reductions targets. …
“… the 10 executives, representing major utilities, aluminum and chemical companies and financial institutions, said mandatory reductions are needed and that ‘the […]

“California lawmakers are … swapping gas-sucking sport utility vehicles for gas-sipping hybrids as their official state cars.
“… At least 38 [Assembly] members also have chosen hybrids; only 10 have requested nonhybrid SUVs as their taxpayer-subsidized wheels.
“… That’s a transformation since 2002, when a single member drove a hybrid and 33 had SUVs.
“… it was [Assembly […]

The radio show Speaking of Faith recently had an environmental issue.  A friend prompted me to tell my story.  It didn’t get posted there, but I file it in my collection here.
Q: Do you practice environmentalism in your daily life and in your community? If so, how does your faith tradition or other formative influence […]

” … a new study by Los Angeles-based Intellichoice.com, which specializes in automotive cost-of-ownership data, says that hybrid buyers are still the winners when you factor in costs of financing, fuel, insurance, state taxes and license fees, repairs, maintenance and depreciation.
“‘Across the board, we found that all 22 hybrid vehicles have a better total cost […]

Petunias?  Snapdragons?  Lately I’ve been growing impatient with impatiens.  Bougainvilla, ficus, bird-of-paradise – our Southern California cities luxuriate in year-round ornamental gardens.Â
Pretty bloomers, yes.  But truly, a mix of non-functional tropical plants slurping water in what is really a desert climate, usurping land use where urban space is now so precious.
Lawns and nonfunctional landscapes are […]