Chasing Clean Air

Steve Lopez and L.A.'s Bottleneck

So I'm making the six-and- a-half mile trek from West L.A. Library to Brentwood, doing the 45 minute stop-n-go tortoise yawn crawl.

The challenge is I must not nap on my steering wheel. This stop-n-go traffic is beyond BOR...

Wait!

Steve Lopez's bottleneck blog.

Bring me more good traffic-saving ideas!

I come home and type away, finding Steve Lopez's Bottleneck blog just where I left it days ago, only now there's a plethora of worthy new ideas.

www.latimes.com/bottleneck

Great ideas!

Politicians are you listening?

One idea I loved was up the driving age to 18 and only allow high-school graduates.

Another great idea was creating major arteries as one way thorough-fares. Example: Pico one way, Olympic another.

San Francisco is like this and, sometimes, it drives me crazy since I haven't lived there in awhile, and when I visit I forget which streets are this way or that.

Wrong way!

Ahh!

There was also a link to another blog http://www.autobloggreen.com where the author wrote about the head of L.A.'s transportation department, Jaime de la Vega, who....DRUM ROLL....drives a Hummer H3.

A Hummer H3 weighs almost 2 1/2 tons!!!

And its contribution to global greenhouse emissions... I'll get back to you on that.

Chevron are you banking him? Or banking on him?

SHAME ON JAIME!

But there's time to improve and buy something new, Jaime, so don't fret.

Our elected officials MUST be an example and accountable. Especially in light of the fact California is leading the environmental clean-up way.

Thanks to Schwarzenneger, who said, "We will soon be recognized as the leader in clean technology..." And "I propose California be the first in the world to develop a low carbon fuel standard that leads us away from fossil fuel..." we are on the right path, going toward a a future where companies and government will be accountable, and, yes, regulated, for the betterment of all.

So elected officials, please get with the program. And make decisions based on a more economical and environmentally friendly future.

And consider one of my favorite traffic solutions: Tax incentives for employers to have employees work from home.

As for my work, I'm helping companies find energy and pollution-saving solutions, and writing their environmental progress reports. If you're interested to learn more and about my credentials: www.environmentalprogressreports.com 

P.S. I found this nifty Hawaiian sustainability blog http://kauaian.net/blog/ The writer has a breezy style... island influence no doubt.

Palm Springs - Light, Sounds, Visuals

I fell in love with the smorgasboard of sights, sounds, textures, and light that make up Palm Springs, California.

We spent the weekend at the Hyatt Regency Suites in downtown Palm Springs, which I loved for its elegance and spacious rooms until...

Midnight.

Groans from next door grew until the bed's frame crashed against the wall, and a man said,

"Are you okay?"

To which the woman replied,

"Yes."

X-rated sounds vibrated through walls that could rival paper-mache.

1 a.m.

We wondered who these Hyatt neighbors were, and why were the walls that thin? And what would happen in an earthquake? Would we crumble into a paper-ball?

Or poof!

A paper airplane?

But more importantly, would these lovers pull an all-nighter?

Through their moans and cries for God al..migh.. I wondered:

What did they look like?

How long had they been together?

Did they just meet in a ball of fiery passion or had they'd known each other for a long time and kept the passion fully alive?

2 a.m.

The moans elongated. Accelerated. And slowed, sequing into a closing door.

The distinct clicks of high heels pattered down the long hallway, and became fainter and fainter.

I listened through silence for half an hour, thinking she might come back.

But she never did.

As I fell into dreamland I had a revelation: This mystery woman was no lover but a hooker, who'd put on a good show. And, somehow, that fact or fiction made me feel better.

Needless to say, I can't recommend the Hyatt Regency Suites' acoustics, though I loved the downtown location, and walking anywhere we wanted without need for a car.

Before I leave the Hyatt Regency Suites here, let me recommend a visit there Friday or Saturday night between 6-10 p.m. because an amazing singer with a wide range of music and voice lights up the entire lobby with her sultry sound and high energy. Gennine Francis. Check her out. She had everyone dancing. And Sunday mornings, the Hyatt has a great buffet.

Yes, Palm Springs is a high energy small town, clean, quaint, a health-conscious oasis in the desert. I enjoyed just walking but the highlight of the weekend  was hiking in Indian Canyon.

A must see.

And hear.

Experience quiet.

Birds.

Babbling creeks.

The sound of your footstep on soft ground.

As we climbed higher, we found ourselves in cactus country.

Magnificent views of mountains, palm trees above and below.

I'd love to return to Palm Springs, and find a quieter place to stay. We passed an interesting looking hotel in the middle of town called Hotel Oso, may check out. And on Sunday morning the festive restaurant Las Casuelas was hopping with a live band and people dancing. I can also recommend Ruby's across the street where we had a great sandwich and salad. Great 50s decor.

The air went down pretty easy, though they get a lot of wind, which kicks up the desert dirt. All in all, a great vacation spot. To live? Not sure.

Crown Auto Environmental Progress Report

I wrote an environmental progress report for Fernando's Crown Auto in West Los Angeles. I've created a blog for his business that highlights his report so individuals can give him feedback. Please check out www.crownauto.blogspot.com and let me know what you think. Also my temporary new biz web site www.environmentalprogressreports.com

Environmental Progress Reports

I wrote an Environmental Progress Report for a company that desires public recognition for its environmental operations progress.

They implemented new operations and management procedures. I'm happy to report many suggestions were based on homework you've read here.

Today I created a web page about my new service, www.environmentalprogressreports.com while my upcoming Environmental PR Web site is under construction.

Snow in Los Angeles!

It might not look like much to you, but that's Los Angeles snow.

This is outside near where I'm staying in West L.A.

I've never seen snow here in my seventeen years.

A heavy burst of what I thought was hail but turned out to be snow came down in buckets this afternoon. A girlfriend put a snowball on her boyfriend's head. Wish I had camera; this is all you get to see for now.

Climate change is happening everywhere.

Los Angeles Traffic

Steve Lopez of the Los Angeles Times did a column yesterday Traffic peril towers over us; send your gripes, solutions.

He's got a great blog www.latimes.com/bottleneck

It got me thinking about my possible solutions:

Tax incentives for employers who encourage employees to work from home.

Tax incentives for people in over-populated L.A. County to have no more than one child.

Tax incentives for people in over-populated L.A. County to leave.

Tax on gas, cigarettes, and other polluting industries, that go directly to subway fund. Design and build a subway system that includes stops in Downtown (Music Center and Staples) Beverly Hills, Century City, Westwood, and Santa Monica.

Question and prosecute, or fire, companies that do environmental impact studies, which are completely erroneous in their findings, as if they are on the developers side, not the facts of environmental impacts.

Hire environmental consultants with integrity.

Hire city planners with integrity.

Hire regulators with integrity.

Case in point: 483 new condos are being built in over-crowded Century City. This project was approved after an environmental impact report said the building wouldn't cause more traffic. Any five year old would know otherwise. Let alone a wise adult. Personally, I no longer go to Century City because of one reason, and one reason only.

Traffic.

I used to go to the Music Center almost every Saturday night. I haven't done that in years due to traffic. My world became so small and polluted, living in over-crowded Los Angeles that I started this blog, documenting my travels, toward eventually finding a new home.

I also evolved my business to specialize in environmental issues. I write environmental progress reports for companies that want to publicize their operational and managerial changes that positively impact the environment. If you're interested to learn more: www.environmentalprogressreports.com