Earth Day Pasadena: Family Fun (video)

Xochitl, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Katrina Hoven; CityofPasadena.net

Most of us now rarely think about where our food comes from. This video documents the story of a small urban lot and what a sustainable farm looks like. PathtoFreedom has an "urban homestead" on a successful half acre in Pasadena.

Earth Day L.A.: Pasadena Earth and Arts Festival 

Earth Day with WQ, Pasadena, California

FREE all-ages event in Old Pasadena... Live music from local bands, dancing, and an interactive drum circle you can join... Singles, kids, and parents get creative with art workshops... Eco-friendly exhibitors will display and sell green products and services... Sample tastings...

Celebrate nature, art, music, and community at Pasadena’s 12th annual Earth and Arts Festival (cityofpasadena.net/earthday) from 11-5 pm, Saturday, May 3, 2014 at Memorial Park, 85 E. Holly St., at Raymond Ave., and across the street at the Armory Center for the Arts, 145 N. Raymond Ave.  Pasadena’s Earth and Arts Festival is one of the biggest free “green” events in SoCal with family-friendly activities, Aztec dancers, drum circle, solar, electric vehicles, wildlife, building better homes, green jobs, gardening and art exhibits, vegetarian food, and entertainment for all ages.
 

North East Trees Earth Day Fest 

FREE admission, free on-site parking, plus 100 free trees to LA homeowners. Come to the Earth Day festival, where local artists, environmental organizations, and sponsors will exhibit and sell at this FUNdraiser for North East Trees. Learn what local environmental groups are doing and ways to can get involved. Be a part of the mayor's "1 Million Tree Initiative."

• Earth Day becomes Earth Fest in the Valley (Woodley Park)

Free Tibet or get a quake

Sharon Stone, 56, sizzles on cover of GQ
Sharon Stone may be 56 years old, but she has never looked hotter! The "Fading Gigolo" actress graces the cover of the May issue of GQ Italia posing in black lace lingerie and black heels. The blond beauty is pictured flirtatiously smiling with smoky eyeliner and tousled hair...

UFO people did it.

Solved! How ancient Egyptians moved massive pyramid stones (LiveScience.com) The ancient Egyptians who built the pyramids may have been able to move massive stone blocks across the desert by wetting the sand in front of a contraption built to pull the heavy objects, according to a new study. Physicists at the University of Amsterdam investigated the forces needed to pull…

Happy Earth Day (video)

Ashley Wells, Seth Auberon, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Amy Goodman, John Gonzalez

In an EARTH DAY special, Democracy Now! looks at the history of the global environmental movement.

The story is told in the sweeping new documentary called "A Fierce Green Fire: The Battle for a Living Planet" (airing tonight on PBS).

Extended highlights from the film show New York housewives who take on a major chemical corporation that polluted their community of Love Canal, Greenpeace’s campaigns to save whales, to the struggle by Chico Mendes and Brazilian rubber tappers to save the Amazon rainforest.

The film’s Oscar-nominated director Mark Kitchell explains, "We were really looking to tell stories of the movement. We thought it would be a more engaging and impassioned approach to what are very difficult subjects. Usually environmental films, no matter how good they are, are an eco-bummer....These people succeeded against enormous odds. And that should give us some kind of hope..." More

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

Garden of Marvels: Flowers have SEX (audio)

Seven, Isoceles, Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly; author Ruth Kassinger (ruthkassinger.com), Host Sonali Kohlhatkar (UprisingRadio.org, March 7, 2014)

You smell so loving and sexy, and now I know why! (The Commons Getty Collection)

 

BOOK: A Garden of Marvels: How We Discovered That Flowers Have Sex, Leaves Eat Air, and Other Secrets of Plants

Danielle Harangody, Palm Beach (FayEtte Bikinis)

For centuries, much has been known about human and animal physiology. But the study of plants, called botany, is a relatively new field. 

 

Plants and trees are a mystery to us. They do not seem to move except in the wind, they do not have mouths we can see, and we do not actually see them eat. They reproduce in mysterious ways, quite unlike animals. Yet, they are the basis of all animal life on the planet.
 

Author, gardener, and guest Ruth Kassinger

Now gardener Ruth Kassinger, author of Paradise Under Glass, has a new book tracing the history of botany. It makes it accessible to anyone who wants to understand house plants, backyard vegetables, and larger questions about ecology and the environment. LISTEN

Hiking to Native American Los Angeles

Xochitl, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly; Arroyo Seco Foundation; SaveHahamongna.org

Which "devil"? Hungry Sasquatch, angry watershed floods, silly rock formation? (ASF)

Pasadena opposes what LA proposes: future site after removal of all life and silt (ASF)

  

L.A. watershed (savehahamongna.org)

HAHAMONGNA, Arroyo Seco - "Learn to identify local native plants on this hike through the Arroyo, along with the various food, medicinal, spiritual, and practical uses that this rich habitat provided to the area's original inhabitants" screamed the poster.

 

Tongva villages of the Los Angeles basin

We were in! We met up at the world-famous Rose Bowl Stadium ready to hike to the Jet Propulsion Lab site Saturday morning. Everyone gathered, eager to learn, socialize, and smell the aromatic chaparral, flowers, and berries. 

  

Volunteering to clean the Arroyo (ASF)

There are Hollywood (toyon), elder, and manzanita berries. Wild buckwheat and a variety of acorns are staple foods. Coyote bush cures poison ivy and oak rash. Mule fat wood is best for fire sticks, and mugwort gives sweet dreams and keeps embers burning. Outreach Coordinator Tim Martinez taught us well. Meanwhile, on another ridge miles to the east, the Colby fire was smoldering and only 30% contained.

Tongva/Los Angeles River, foothills, and San Gabriel Valley (Hometown-Pasadena.com)

   

Who were the Native Americans here, the First Nation people of Los Angeles? They were the Tongva (Gabrieliño, Fernandeño, Nicoleño -- Europeanized names after Spanish colonization). The name is disputed; the people are not. There were various minor tribes, and everyone fled to Mexico to save their lives from the Anglo invaders from the east coast.

WILD PLANTS: In Australia, a walkabout is a sacred rite of passage one undergoes to find oneself by being immersed in nature. In SoCal, the Hahamongna Walkabout, hosted by Tim Martinez (ASF), seeks to inspire by guided tours through this rare spot near JPL (kcet.org).

 

Healing With Medicinal Plants

Save Hahamongna from bulldozers!
HOW TO: Wilderness Survival Skills (PrimitiveWays.com)
Healing with Medicinal Plants of the West: Cultural and Scientific Basis for Their Use (by Chumash healing woman)
Medicinal Plants of the American West 

Study proposes L.A. River/Arroyo Seco confluence urban riverfront

WITS (Minn. Public Radio)

First Buddhist University, USA

"The Kingdom of Plants" (video)

Dev, Dhr. Seven, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; David Attenborough; Jackal Safaris (video)

Plants can feel, communicate, heal, and maybe even think (Lila Daley)

Saving Native American LA: "Hahamongna"

Ashley Wells, Xochitl, Seven, Pfc. Sandoval, Wisdom Quarterly; SaveHahamongna.org; TongvaTribe.net; Andre Coleman (PasadenaWeekly.com, Jan. 2, 2014)

Mountain watershed north of Los Angeles's tangled freeways (SaveHahamongva.org

Tongva of Los Angeles, Chumash of Malibu, Acjachemem of Orange County (tongvatribe.net)

 

JPL, waterway (swartzentrover.com)

DEVIL'S GATE - In the Pasadena foothills (Los Angeles County), there is a dam placed above the world-famous Rose Bowl. 

This is sacred First Nations (the Tongva, the original inhabitants of L.A.) land known as Xaxaamonga. It was taken over by an imperial army long ago, and that military force built a jet propulsion and skunk works laboratory (JPL) affiliated with nearby Caltech University.

Chris Nyerges in Hahamongna (latimes.com)

The Hahamongna basin was once a great meeting place, a periodic city set up as the site of great gatherings of Native Americans from what is now the Los Angeles metropolitan basin, its eroding foothills, crowded coastal zone (particularly Malibu), Catalina (part of the Channel Islands), and modern Orange County.

That is all to be destroyed.

 

Angeles Nat'l Forest foothills, JPL (SH)

A new plan aims to remove the land and truck it away in the name of "sediment clean-up." At an estimated cost of $70 million, the Hahamongna Watershed Park will more or less cease to exist as a natural habitat. No tree or vegetation will be left standing. In its place concrete, dirt, and rubble will remind local hikers of what was once pre-European-invasion life in the area.

The original inhabitants, the Tongva tribe of the Los Angeles basin (tongvatribe.net)

 

Save Hahamongna!

LA County Flood Control District's EIR

Hahamongna is a rare spot in the Arroyo Seco at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains where the natural watershed meets the urban plain. Periodically, flash floods roar into this basin. Bounded on the north by the mountains and an ominous Jet Propulsion Lab, on the south by Devil's Gate Dam, Hahamongna contains five unique habitat zones that only exist in alluvial canyons near the mountains as well as wildlife (birds, hawks, lions, deer, foxes, toads, bobcats). Most sites like this in Southern California have already been destroyed. Can we afford let Hahamongna go the way of other lost environmental treasures in Southern California. LATEST NEWS

The trucks are coming: 200,000 double-bed, diesel-spewing, street-clogging machines will cause noise, dust, and air pollution, destroying precious habitat (savehahamongna.org).

 

Scraping the Bottom

André Coleman

Hahamongna trees (SH)

City officials and local residents join forces against sediment removal plans for Devil’s Gate Dam. Pasadena officials opposed to a five-year, $70-million sediment clean-up of Devil’s Gate Dam in Hahamongna Watershed Park, which they say could increase health risks and negatively impact local traffic, are making their feelings known in a letter to L.A. County officials pushing the controversial project. County Public Works Department officials want to remove up to 4-million cubic yards of sediment and build up around Devil’s Gate Dam, located in the southern portion of the park, but the excavation would also force workers to remove trees and vegetation in the area. More

Did climate change cause typhoon? (video)

Ashley Wells, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Amy Goodman, DemocracyNow.org, 11-13-13

Eye of Typhoon Haiyan (a.k.a. Super Typhoon Yolanda) travels over islands (wiki)

"Listen to the people, not polluters" (DN at the UN Climate Summits)

What would the devas say?

It's 90+ degrees in sunny SoCal as Thanksgiving (a rare Thanksgivukkah) approaches. But the temperature is about to drop and rain is looming by the weekend. My petty chores need doing to contribute greenhouse gases to the global warming problem. Meanwhile, people are dying crushed under flimsy houses demolished by the super storm in the Philippines. Better send a check. More importantly, better address climate chaos and think of a better solution than the "magic of the marketplace" after captitalizing on the sale of "carbon credits" as major polluters, multi-millionaires like Al Gore, and Wall Street dream. We can all go vegetarian, waste less, bike more, plant trees, pre-cycle (buy in a way that minimizes post-consumer waste) and recycle, stop war, promote peace, turn toward sustainable power sources (like free energy), conserve water, collect rainwater, boycott multinational corporations, thwart the NSA and CIA, share, love, meditate, care, go green, vote green, occupy...
 

Science on climate change

Desperate survivors of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines are struggling to receive aid in the aftermath of the worst storm in recorded history. In Tacloban, a city flattened by the typhoon, survivors marched in a contingent three miles long to seek water and food at the local airport. Eight people died in the province of Leyte when a crowd of thousands stormed a government rice warehouse in search of food. The victims died under a collapsed wall. On Tuesday, Philippines Pres. Benigno Aquino cited a lower death toll for Typhoon Haiyan, saying he believes around 2,500 people were killed. Initial estimates put the toll at around 10,000. More than 670,000 people have been displaced. The United Nations, meanwhile, has launched a $300 million appeal for relief aid. Speaking in Manila, U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said the Philippines is facing its worst-ever crisis:

"This is such a major calamity for the Philippines, a country which over this year has already seen so many crises, but by all accounts, this one is the most deadly and destructive. While it’s still too early to tell the full scale of the destruction, it’s clear that the needs are huge."

Typhoon a "manifestation of climate change"

Haiyan/Yolanda's eye (wiki)

Appearing with U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos, Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario thanked international donors for providing aid [after Yeb Saño declared he would respectfully be going on hunger strike until action is taken by this body of world officials at the U.N. Climate Change Summit]. But he also issued an appeal for action on global warming, saying climate change worsened the typhoon’s scale and strength:

"From the devastation, it is clear, though, that much more aid and assistance will be needed. And we thank the international community for its continued generosity and support. The unprecedented scale and strength of Yolanda [known as Haiyan in the US], a typhoon that occurred at a very late time of the year, is a clear demonstration of the changing weather pattern. Whether the world faces up to it or not, this is a manifestation of climate change." More

An emotional Yeb Saño at U.N. Summit

"Stop this madness!" - Filipino Climate Chief Yeb Saño begins hunger strike fast to protest global inaction on global warming and climate chaos.

"Get it done!": After stirring Durban speech, student Anjali Appadurai initially banned by U.N. in Doha.

A Carbon Tsunami in Doha (Nov. 12, 2013) On the opening day of the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Doha, Poland, the chief climate negotiator from the Philippines gave an emotional appeal to the world to address the climate crisis following...

• Why getting aid to survivors of typhoon is slow (The World)
• President lowers death toll as Haiyan survivors seek aid [but we guesstimate an actual death toll of 25,000 with 11,000,000 directly affected]
• Philippine climate negotiator continues hunger strike
• Obama admin seeks Congressional pause on Iran sanctions 
• Israel Freezes E1 Settlement construction, but okays 20,000 illegal new West Bank homes
• Afghan gov’t abandons Wardak probe, U.S. stonewalling
• Bangladeshi workers strike grows, 250 factories closed

Green Festival: Sustainability (LA, SF)

Seth Auberon, Ashley Wells, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; GreenFestivals.org/LA, (SF)

Green Festival rolls west stopping in Los Angeles Oct. 19-20 and San Francisco Nov. 9-10

Tabling to bring attention to and end modern slavery (WQ/FreeTheSlaves.net)

See the new Green Guide

Green Festival is headed to a new venue in Los Angeles on October 19-20 -- the LA Mart. Along with classic program favorites like Green Business, Fair Trade, Community Action, and more, the festival  is introducing brand new, hands-on programming including the Good Food Stage, DIY demos, Exhibitor demos, and two fabulous eco-fashion shows.

Meat wastes water (WQ)

Learn by doing because practical skills increase self-sufficiency while saving money. Discover fabulous recipes for a healthy, happy family. Be entertained by live demonstrations detailing energy upgrades, bike maintenance, homesteading (edible gardening), and more. 

Support a sustainable economy (take fewer showers or eat fewer animals, the raising-for-slaughter of which wastes countless gallons), zeoform, and get some sustainable holiday shopping out of the way!

 

LIVE: Amy Goodman (DemocracyNow.org) to speak

Green Festival is the nation’s largest green marketplace for conscious consumers. The research has been done: Every vendor displays a firm commitment to social and environmental responsibility. LA, SF
 

Transition Pasadena moves us from a petroleum-based society to a green one: Throop UU

 

Environment: "A Fierce Green Fire" (film)

Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly; First Run Features

From the Academy Award-nominated director of "Berkeley in the Sixties," AFGF is narrated by Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Ashley Judd, Van Jones, and and Isabel Allende.

Spanning 50 years of grassroots and global activism, this award winning Sundance documentary A Fierce Green Fire brings to light the vital stories of the environmental movement where people fought -- and succeeded -- against enormous odds. From halting dams in the Grand Canyon to fighting toxic waste at Love Canal, Greenpeace to Chico Mendes, climate change to the promise of transforming our civilization, this film is "nothing less than the history of environmentalism itself" (Los Angeles Times).