Chasing Clean Air

National Trails Day

If you've been putting off that hike, may I suggest you join millions of American's on the first Saturday of June when National Trail Day takes place.
Trails throughout America will have events near you on June 6, 2009.

National Trails Day is organized by the American Hiking Society.

If you're in Los Angeles County, a 2 mile hike will take place in Malibu, check it out here.

Californians enjoy our parks while you can. Who knows? Gov. Schwarzenegger just suggested closing 220 California State Parks to help ease our budget woes.

All others, can check out your area hikes here.

Pachauri & Climate Change

Is it time to get out of the car, dump the SUV, and turn out the lights?

You betcha.

According to Pachauri, head of climate change issues for the world (chairman of the United Nation's International Panel on Climate Change) we've got to turn global emissions around by 2015, or there will be no return. As you can hear in this video, he warns that impacts of climate change will be a major drag on all civilization.

Beyond Fear & Familiarity Is Courage

I started this blog with a category Starting Over In Mid-Life but when I had trouble starting over, I chased clean air only to return to my Los Angeles nest. 

Again and again.

I've tried to develop more courage, and I got an unexpected boost the other day.

I leafed through photos of the past 30 years because I'm putting together a photo book of my girlfriend's life (close friends for 27 years) and I needed to find her photos.

Along the way, I found my own.

Emotions dripped off each photo, as the new me looked at the old me bright eyed, filled with energy and humor. But I responded to these photos with awe, sadness, and disbelief because for many years, I had everything inside and out, and I recognized none of it.

Too often I looked outside for direction, thinking others knew better and were better, and I was merely... 

Merely.

Looking back, I was naturally vivacious and bright but I gradually toned down my "natural" side in favor of acclimating to my "culture".

At times I wore too much make-up and "costumes", or, the opposite, I walked the path of the wall-flower--responding to themes around me rather than my own. 

Advertisements. Culture. Impact.

Hiding.

Malibu

Just back from dance camp in Malibu.

The days couldn't have been better with a mild coolness in the air. What Canadians call hot. But around here when it gets in the low 70s and you breathe freely it's great.

Clouds danced above, as around 400 of us danced below, and I thought how every now and again events, people, weather, and decent air quality converge in almost perfect harmony. This was one of those weekends, and I thought could I live in Malibu? Could I afford to live in Malibu? As clean air goes, outside of fire season, which keeps lasting longer--Malibu is probably the cleanest air in Los Angeles County. Away from it all. Away. Soon I'll be traveling away. The way of chasing clean air.

I'll be exploring California and Canada more, and if you have suggestions, please do write in. Meanwhile, in the distance, I spy the hills and lakes of New Zealand, glittering beyond the bend in my road.

Falling in Car-Less Love With Clean Air Hydra Island, Greece

A former colleague Jeff Brody (I used to guest lecture in his Feature Story Writing class at Cal State Fullerton) traveled to Athens, Greece for a conference, and offered to report on air quality and highlights from his trip for Chasing Clean Air.

In his own words, we learn that Athens' air quality was fit for choking, while the nearby island of Hydra offered a different story.

In Jeff's words:

After a while, a really short while, the choking congestion of Athens got to me. The car fumes, the traffic, the humid coat of smog that covered the city beckoned a hasty retreat.  

And the best place to go I'd learn was just 44 nautical miles away on Hydra Island.

I grabbed a ferry for the three hour hop and felt the difference immediately. The strong sea breeze cleared my lungs and exhilarated me. But what pleased me most was this ancient island has the progressive idea to ban cars.

No vehicles are allowed on Hydra!

Transportation comes down to walking, bicycling or hopping on a  mule.

What a break from Athens! No more diesel smells! No more smutty exhaust!

Just salt sea breezes and boundless views of the shimmering Aegean.

Hydra residents aim to preserve their lifestyle by maintaining strict architectural standards and avoiding the curse of the automobile.  

I hiked along a cobblestone road that winds around the port of Hydra. There is an ancient fort on one side. Shops, taverns and coffee houses line the harbor. But the best thing to do is to follow one of the winding path to a restaurant populated by locals. There you will find fresh calamari, sea bass, red snapper and many other Greek delicacies including a few pungent eggplant dishes.  

It's that time of year again for dance camp. So it's unlikely I'll post again this weekend. Have a great Memorial weekend. See you on the other side with a summer filled with new clean air adventures.

Photo from dance with girlfriend, Tali.