Archive for August, 2009

Africa is the continent Westerners most misunderstand.  An experience my classmate, who was born in Zimbabwe, had a couple years ago here in LA sums up the knowledge many Americans share about this continent.  While the local cable guy (who was black) wired up her apartment, he asked her where she was from, and she said, "Africa," and his response was . . . "Where's that?"

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The La Canada Flintridge fire, along with the other fires consuming California, has been devastating.  Here are some pictures I took yesterday along CA-2. (more...)

We've been teasing ourselves about solar since the 1970s, when Jimmy Carter installed solar panels on the White House roof.  With oil prices skyrocketing last year, and their creeping rise this year, there's much talk about solar power being the wave (or ray?) of the future.  Recently I've been to several solar conferences, and the promise of houses in the Southwest and beyond generating their own power, and even contributing to the local grid, are tantalizing prospects. (more...)

California's budget mess is a topic that I'd rather leave to the political chattering class:  it's way beyond the scope of this site.  But if I may briefly step up on my soapbox, I will say that as long as the two major political parties are ideologically polarized, we should consider a constitutional convention to sort out some of the structural issues that leave our state's finances in a mess year after year.  One current solution debated in Sacramento, however, has my blessing:  a tax on snack foods and beverages. (more...)

With all the news about Ted Kennedy’s passing, I had no idea that we were starting another wildfire season, until I stepped outside to water the garden.  As it turns out, 600 acres of the Angeles National Forest are consumed with flames.

And then I smelled it, that sick scent of embers mixed with dust.

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I have to admit I'm a little emotional over the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy.

The youngest of nine, he was almost an afterthought in an overachieving family (his father named Edward Moore Kennedy after his closest aide), he rose to become a giant of the Senate, joining the ranks of Webster, Clay, Johnson, and Dirksen, who could reach across the aisle for our country's greater common good.

I have memories of him as far as I can remember: I was a 10 year old watching California's delegation casting its votes for him at the 1980 Democratic Convention and have a vague recollection of his "The Dream Will Never Die" speech; his decision to not run for President the next time around in 1982; his "Where was George?" speech at the 1988 Democratic Convention; the humiliation when his nephew was accused of rape in 1991; and his brilliant repudiation of Mitt Romney's attacks at a debate when Uncle Ted came closest to losing his Senate seat in the Republican tidal wave of 1994.  And most recently, who can forget his endorsement of Barack Obama and months later, his stirring speech in Denver last summer . . . I think we all knew that would be the last speech of his life.

The biographies and now news wires are amplifying this man of contradictions:  deeply flawed yet highly accomplished, an indulged kid busted for cheating at Harvard who later became labor's greatest friend.  Privileged and overprotected in youth, he later made sure that no one was left out of American society, and would, without fanfare, visit families who lost their children in Iraq.

His record on the environment is mixed, but no one will be talking about that anyway in the days to come.  I have raised my eyebrows over his stances on the issues, but in reality, that's a small blip compared to his advocacy of health care.  After all, the two issues are intertwined, and as I read Rachel Carson's work, I wonder if we're still paying a huge price--our health--for all the environmental degradation over the past few generations.

What should be mentioned is one of his greatest speeches, "The Dream Will Never Die," which must have been excruciating for him to deliver, knowing that a Kennedy had lost a race for the first time.  So let me close with a great quote:

"The same Republicans who are talking about preserving the environment have nominated a man who last year made the preposterous statement, and I quote, 'Eighty percent of our air pollution comes from plants and trees.' And that nominee is no friend of the environment." - Ted Kennedy on Ronald Reagan, Madison Square Garden, summer 1980.

Invasive species are difficult to eliminate once you plant them.  I admit I was eco-punked once:  I went to a trusted nursery and asked for good ground cover, and after I planted these shrubs where I was living at the time.  Later, I found out that I planted . . . an invasive species from New Zealand.  I was mortified, and furious at the nursery (I haven’t returned since), but had already planted them, and well, it’s just a small section.  Many of these invasive species took root when state transportation agencies planted them along highways because they required little watering.  There’s one monster, however, that vexes us year-round:  The Tree of Heaven, or Ailanthus altissima. (more...)

When one thinks of Los Angeles, palm trees immediately come to mind.  Hardly a city block lacks a business with Palm in its name, and whether you’re in affluent Brentwood or the effluent neighborhoods near downtown, palms line the streets.  When visitors send postcards home, most likely they’re showing off palm trees.  We’ve got a few on our property.  They are an LA icon.

But they are not native to Los Angeles.

And they are dying off.

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The weekend before last we had a couple over for dinner:  he’s vegan, she’s vegetarian, and I wanted to be a gracious host.  But as a proud omnivore, I was wondering what the heck I could cook that didn’t have cheese or eggs.  Well, it turned out to be pretty simple:  the trick is to use a lot of spices and herbs, marinate proteins such as tofu or tempeh, and you can get out of that carnivorous comfort zone fairly quickly.  My peanut butter chocolate soy ice cream wasn’t the best, so I’ll skip that recipe.  But here are a of couple ideas that I guarantee will please:

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I’ve eaten soy products for years, even before they came in all shapes, forms, and brands.  The funny thing is that looking back, I bought soy milk because I liked the taste—it came in plain little bottles, mixed with just a little sugar, and it was less than a dollar at the Chinese markets.  Yum!  Everyone else thought, “Gross!”

Well, now soy milk products take significant shelf space at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and even Von’s.  The freezer section at supermarkets has fake burgers of all kinds—I stock up on Boca Burgers® when I make a Costco run.  Tofu scrambles sometimes replace eggs at breakfast, and a dry rub of black and red pepper make TJ’s soy Italian sausage a wonder off the backyard grill.  I even made my first attempt at soy peanut butter ice cream, albeit with mixed results.  And soy crisps are no longer a guiltless pleasure, as TJ’s recently discontinued them . . . grrrrrr . . . (more...)

We've been talking for decades about greening L.A., so it doesn't make sense to put forth a policy that's going to make everyone's lawns go brown.

-          Matt Myerhoff, spokesman for LA City Councilman Greig Smith

Huh? (more...)

Detroit has become the butt of countless jokes and to many in Michigan and beyond, it's a national embarrassment.  The automobile industry has collapsed, crime is rampant, and hard numerical evidence is demonstrated by the fact that San Jose recently passed Detroit as the tenth largest US city.  Finally, the Motor City is one big festering eyesore, in part because of the foreclosure crisis that has left many of its residents to abandon their homes.

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