Photo by billaday via Flickr If you thought Sacramento politics was like watching paint dry on a wall, then it's time to revaluate that thought... at least for the moment. On Friday, the Sacramento Bee's Capitol Alert blog picked their Press Release of the Week and if the proposed bill is passed, it could effect the roadways here in Los Angeles by letting solo drivers, including Hummers and other SUVs, gain access to car......

Santa Monica is getting ready to put a drastic bag ban measure on the table next week. Previous musings about a state-level ban have made waves already this year, and the movement by the public to carry reusable bags is steadily gaining momentum. Per a press release, their proposal includes directives from the staff, asking that the City Council: 1. direct the City Attorney to draft an ordinance banning the free distribution to customers of......

In an effort to bring solar power to those who will benefit from it but simply can't afford it, a new partnership created between the nonprofit Enterprise Community Partners and BP donates one solar panel to a low-income residence for every solar panel purchased by a celebrity. As the Downtown News reports, Downtown's St. George Hotel, a housing facility operated by the Skid Row Housing Trust, is the first multi-unit project to receive panels through......

There's some great news for pizza fans coming from Pizza Fusion, an all-organic, environmentally friendly pizza franchise: they're setting out to expand throughout California this year, starting with an LEED-certified location in San Diego and moving up through Santa Monica and Thousand Oaks. Why is this cool? Well, the company is setting trends and blazing trails in the sustainability business: Pizza Fusion, whose motto is 'Saving the Earth, One Pizza at a Time,' practices......

photo of the 2003 Pasadena Freeway bike ride by Virginia Renner Occidental Professor Robert Gottlieb's latest book -- Reinventing Los Angeles: Nature and Community in the Global City -- is going to be awfully tempting to Angelenos who care about urban planning, the environment and social change. Get a taste when he reads today at Dutton's at 2pm -- and then ask the store to order a copy for you. In his book, Gottlieb......

Get your green drink on tonight. WORDS Author and USC professor Gina Nahai and actress Bahar Soomekh (Crash) read from Nahai’s latest book Caspian Rain – about a family falling apart just before the Islamic revolution in Iran. Immediately following, there’s a discussion of the changing lives of women of the Middle East, and relationships between Iran’s Jewish and Muslim communities, as well as how these communities interact in Los Angeles, “home to the largest......

"Paper or Plastic?" is the somewhat innocuous and expected question we're faced each time we check out at the grocery store. But what if that question came with a price tag, like 15 cents for every plastic bag we required when making a purchase? Or what if we banned the bag altogether? If a Van Nuys man's proposal becomes law, shoppers might have to pony up the cash in order to carry out in plastic.......

Photo by brainylagirl via flickr LA Mill finally (soft-)opened its "boutique" in Silver Lake last Friday and we were lucky to get there in time to sample the goods -- for free. The space is impressive but the environment -- almost pretentiously over the top. But let's discuss the coffee: I had two clover-style (filtered French drip) cups, one Kenyan, was an average medium-dark blend, with an acidic yet moderately rich, roasted coffee bean......

Yesterday the National Resources Defense Council and the California Coastal Commission celebrated a new court order against the Navy in a case over the use of sonar in training exercises. US District Court Judge Florence-Marie Cooper imposed a series of detailed restrictions on current Navy training practices. The Navy is in the habit of using sonar, which can be devastating to marine mammals, in a migration corridor. The judge, who has made clear her......

New state-set limits on the bacteria found in raw milk products might impact the ability of suppliers to provide consumers with products next month. Officials emphasize that the ban would not ban raw milk and products derived from it, but that the new standards are "necessary for consumer safety," the Daily news reports. The article explains:The new standard, part of AB 1735, takes effect in January, setting a limit of no more than 10 coliforms......

Heal the Bay gives out free canvas bags for "A Day Without A Disposable Bag Day"...

When asked what I was thankful for this year, I really had to step back and think for a while. I know life is full of blessings, but writing about what makes me want to keep breathing everyday isn't as easy as it sounds. So without further ado here are some things, good and bad, big and small, that made me feel thankful this year in no particular order... 1. Guitar Hero III I’m......

After successfully getting into the habit of bringing my own bags to the grocery store and saving 40% on my electric bills with CFLs, it's time to revisit something that was my first step in going green: no more paper throw-aways. This has been one of the easiest, non-thinking green steps ever. So easy, I forgot I was doing it. I invested in about fifteen cloth towels and haven't bought paper napkins or towels in......

You remember this famous exchange from The Graduate? Mr. McGuire: I just want to say one word to you - just one word. Ben: Yes sir. Mr. McGuire: Are you listening? Ben: Yes I am. Mr. McGuire: 'Plastics.' Ben: Exactly how do you mean? Mr. McGuire: There's a great future in plastics. Think about it. Will you think about it? Ben: Yes I will. Yes, there was certainly a future in plastics -- but it......

If you leave any lights on tonight between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., your house is going to burn down because the DWP is going to oversurge the system to punish people who hate the environment. Just kiddin', but keep Lights Out LA in mind when the clock strikes eight. If you put your mind to it, anything can happen, right? Ventura County's chief executive, Johnny Johnston who is retiring, is credited with returning......

Tonight at 8 p.m., those wanting to make a statement about the environment will be turning their lights off for one hour for Lights Out Los Angeles, a city and county wide energy conservation event. Some think it's completely idiotic, some are excited to participate. One 19-year-old, who spoke to the Daily News, has the right spirit. "I'll just ride my bike with a battery-operated light ... or go to someone's house and get......

Ten years ago Long Beach native Morgan J. Freeman was minding his own business in film school back east. Doing what everyone else in his class did, he submitted his thesis film "Hurricane Streets" to Sundance for competition. Not only was it accepted - alongside the "real" movies - but it won three awards at the festivall: Morgan won best director, the cinematographer won for best cinematography, and the film got the audience award......

They're old, they're gray, they steal carbon from the air, they block the sun, they buckle the sidewalks... and they're so ridiculously green it's almost like they're showing off. They are the 50+ ficus trees who have the nerve to stand in the way of progress near the 3rd Street Promenade. And they've got to go. In order to expand the popular shopping district (once known as the Santa Monica Mall), city officials have......

Those of you living meat-free, rejoice! October is World Vegetarian Awareness Month. Some vegetarians are doing it for the health reasons, some to support animal rights and live cruelty-free, and others to protest the increasing McDonald-ization of the world's food supply. The World Vegetarian Day website is offering a free trip to Vegetarian Summerfest for one lucky winner who contributes a story about what they are doing to celebrate their lifestyle choices this month.......

Dr. Jane Goodall. Photo courtesy of Roots and Shoots. This Sunday, September 23rd, Dr. Jane Goodall (primatologist, ethologist, author, researcher, and United Nations Messenger of Peace extraordinaire) be speaking at Griffith Park as part of the Roots and Shoots Fifth Annual Peace Day. Dr. Goodall, who is most famous for her research on chimpanzees in Gombe, will be leading a parade of giant home-made dove puppets and speaking at this free all-ages event. Roots......

Jane Goodall - leading primatologist, National Geographic favorite, TED speaker -- is coming to LA. To Griffith Park. Wow, do we have monkeys? Where are the monkeys in Griffith Park? Damn. The only non-human primates in the park are at the LA Zoo. Goodall is coming not for science, but for peace. Part of Goodall's nonprofit is called Roots and Shoots, aimed at getting kids involved in positive change for the environment, animals, yadda......

In today's LAFD updates, a structure fire at Fuller and a passenger car is trapped underneath an 18-wheeler. Will fewer fast-food restaurants mean healthier citizens? The City Council will be asked to consider a moratorium on new chain restaurants in South Los Angeles. Oscar-winning actress (and first wife to Ronald Reagan) Jane Wyman died today at the age of 93 at her home in Rancho Mirage. Students at forty LAUSD schools will be competing......

Oh Jonathan, Jonathan, Jonathan Gold! Where will you eat this week? Why, Hacienda Heights, my dear foodies: at Earthen, a wildly popular new Chinese deli in - what else - a strip mall. I'll take an order of potstickers, please. Top Chef Recap: Lordy, lordy, what an upset! The underdog quartet of Howie, Hung, Sara, and Dale captured the win in Restaurant Wars, cleaning up their menu and sporting a new name: Quatre. Tre......

No, this is not "Go Metro" to a Hollywood venue, only for the concert to get out after Red Line service ends, leaving you to the streets and cabs. This is go Metro to Union Station's Old Ticket Room for a free CANON concert next month on September 8th at 8 p.m.. The catch, your entrance is your metro pass, metro rail ticket or proof of Metrolink fare. Seemingly geared towards transit optional green......

Cesar & Ruben The poster boy for the environment, Ed Begley Jr., wrote and directed this musical based on the life of poster boy activist César Chávez. NoHo Arts Center. 11136 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood, 818-508-7101. Tickets are $35. Opens Friday at 8 pm. Runs Thursdays to Sundays at 8 pm with a Sunday matinee at 3 pm until Sept. 9 The City That Never Sleeps Who knew that insomnia could be so funny?......

The Sustainable Table's Eat Well nation-wide roadtrip kicks off in West Hollywood today from 11:30a - 2:00p in King's Road Park. They're out to raise awareness about how sustainable living in general and supporting local foods in particular can have a meaningful and positive impact on the environment, human & animal health, and energy consumption patterns. They've even got their very own Google mashup tracking the progress of their sweet ride, and, of course,......

/> *Update: Read the developments from the next day. I don't think I'm a bad person. I'm nice to strangers. I gave my belt to a homeless man a few weeks ago. And I drive my car as little as possible so as not to pollute the environment or exacerbate our dangerous oil dependency. I bike everywhere. In fact, I frequently go a week or more without using my car at all. So why am......

I like to consider myself a green person. I mean every time I leave the house I ask myself if my destination can be reached without a car, which is why I find myself riding a bicycle/subway/bus often. However I always come across others who are gung-ho about nascent eco-trends (drives a Prius, shops only at Whole Foods), who are so caught up in Green Commercialism that they never stop to evaluate its benefit......

A comedian dressed as Osama Bin Ladin was spotted downtown trying to do a lame bit, but it made us realize something: fake Osamas are funny. We don't know why fake Osamas are funny. The real one is an evildoer and all. And he probably had something to do with 9/11, but given the lack of attention that our government is paying to him, we're starting to doubt it. Seriously, if bro really orchestrated......

One had never seen so much commotion on Robertson Boulevard, even on a day when Paris or Lindsey are nowhere in sight. Yesterday British designer Anya Hindmarch's limited edition, ecologically-friendly bag took center stage. All this for $15!! I had heard of the first edition of these bags long after they had sold out. I checked out the website to see what all the fuss was about. There one could register for the waiting......