Adam Jackson
It may come as a surprise to some that there are still areas of remote and relatively untouched landscape in the state of California. However, nestled between the Bay Area and Sacramento lays the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Conservation Area, a half-million acre range of inner coast land that is one of the most biologically diverse landscapes in the entire state. Clean rivers and expansive oak forests lead to snow peaked mountain tops in an area extending over 100 miles across six counties. More than twelve local,state, and federal agencies have worked to conserve this ecological corridor. Now, groups have fought to unify conservation efforts by nominating the area to be decreed as a national monument by the Department of the Interior. Read more…
Caitlin Regan
It is no secret that the Los Angles Unified School District (LAUSD) has been struggling in the face of budget cuts, layoffs, overcrowding, and numerous other problems that etch away at the foundation of L.A.’s public school system However, there is one program that seems to bring a ray of hope and vitality for the future of LAUSD. This three year old program, known since 2007 as Green LAUSD, has helped the district make cuts of the positive sort. Read more…
Dan McKay
The city of Los Angeles has the highest recycling rate of the ten largest cities in the U.S. (about 65% of L.A. population reduce, reuses, and recycles). Recently, a new pilot program was announced that will encourage an even greater participation of such practices. Known as the RecycleBank, the program allots points to residents who recycle daily with the intention of creating the “cleanest, greenest big city in America” as declared by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. According to the mayor the program will work to better the city’s reputation for sustainability while stimulating the local economy. Read more…
Kristen Taylor
“What we’re excited about is not just the offshoot conversations about public space and sustainability and carbon footprints, but it’s also the fact that one of the things we love to do is make jam with people we don’t know.”
Such is the sentiment of David Burns and his fellow artists Austin Young and Matias Viegener. The three Silverlake artists are the cofounders of Fallen Fruit, an LA-based art collective that combines and preserves fruit, art, and sustainability. The group was founded in 2004 with an initial intention to survey fruit growing in public spaces, “or on the perimeter,” as it is commonly referred to by the artists. The idea was to gather information and “fallen fruit” that had met its end on the public sidewalks, alleyways, and streets beyond the walls and yards of private property.
Think, had you ever wondered about the fate of the grapefruit, lemons, or oranges that hang upon the overburdened branches of your neighbor’s tree? More than likely you have contemplated picking the delicacies that dangle beyond the reaches of private space. Read more…
H. Koppdelaney
New green technologies and the desire for sustainable living have become the resource for a new renewable energy project soon to be underway in 2010. The project is known as the Sahara Forest Project, a center that will work as a model for the development of larger scale green complexes intended to be built in deserts around the world. The idea is to provide a sustainable “oasis” for desert communities. Scientists are deliberating between arid sites in the Middle East, Africa, Australia, and the U.S. to be the first to host this experimental facility. As with most new green developments, the project has stirred up controversy amongst environmentalists and specialists. Read more…
Cavin B
While scientists, policy makers, and engineers are working towards legal enforcement of global carbon emission reductions, the political complexity of this issue has prevented immediate and wide scale action from being taken. Consequently, innovative solutions for curbing atmospheric carbon content are being sought after. In order to combat the resulting climate change stemming from the influx of atmospheric carbon due to fossil fuel combustion, some new research results have suggested a novel idea: “sink the carbon!” Read more…
Photo Credit: Topyti
Perhaps a silver lining can be found in the political tensions between the United States and Cuba. Due to travel and research restrictions, a fragile and ancient ecosystem has been preserved. An underwater landscape has remained intact and many native species, extinct in all other areas, exist and flourish in their natural and historical state. American scientists and travelers have been denied access to this wide-ranging coral reef system, which is one of the largest in its hemisphere. Hundreds of islands, bordered by small beaches and extensive stands of red mangrove, lay off of central Cuba’s southern coast. This area was first named Los Jardines de la Reina (“The Queen’s Gardens”) by Chirstopher Columbus, and five centuries later it still remains relatively untouched or altered. There are no towns, roads, or any permanent human habitation on any island. Read more…
Daniel Zanini H.
While the world has changed since the onset of the Aguinda vs. Texaco lawsuit in 1993, the issues confronted in the case remain central to the fight for both human rights and environmental protection. The ongoing legal battle is being fought between two sides, one being a dominant oil corporation, and the other being made up of five indigenous tribes and 80 communities (approximately 30,000 inhabitants) of the Amazon rain forest. The indigenous communities of the Ecuadorian portion of the Amazon have accused Texaco of polluting their lands and water sources, as well as destruction of the rain forest that has also led to the destruction of the natives’ community and way of life. Read more…
Photo Credit: Scott LaPierre
While it is the antithesis of a natural phenomena, the Eastern Pacific Garbage Patch is a new destination for environmental exploration and it is drawing the attention of both researchers and adventure seekers. The floating patch of garbage is twice the size of Texas and is located somewhere in remote Pacific waters between Hawaii and California. Ocean currents have helped form this garbage island as plastic from all over the world is discarded and transported into our oceans. Out of the 260 million tons of plastic produced per year, 10 percent ends up in oceans, particularly in areas such as the Pacific Patch. This summer, three different voyages have the patch as their destination point. Both expeditions plan to document the pollution disaster in order to study and provide information that will inevitably call for a global awareness. Read more…
Photo Credit: Laura Ouimette
In a time of economic recession , budget cuts, and funding limitations for the California public school system, a new program aimed at sustainability and community is taking root and flourishing. Families, celebrities, company owners, and local residents are coming together to create edible gardens in public schools in Los Angeles and other urban area. Several figureheads in the food industry are striving to alleviate costs by donating soil, seeds, food for the volunteers, and other supplies from local farms and nurseries. Such projects have looked to the precedent set by Alice Waters and her Edible Schoolyard program, which now certifies other garden programs and provides advice and support. Read more…
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