Dear Readers,
Did you ever take one of those measu-re-your-carbon-footprint quizzes? I recycle like crazy, am insanely careful with water, eat mostly veggies, work mostly from home and print this magazine on FSC-certified paper. But using a car at all makes me a loser, and it’s frustrating.
Everybody knows that L.A. is ecologically challenged when it comes to public transportation, but we recently got some good news. There are eight new stations and six new miles of track on the Metro Gold Line. Now that may not seem like much compared to San Francisco’s BART or the Paris Metro, or any number of other urban rail systems. But when we link disparate neighborhoods in our city, all kinds of possibilities emerge. The L.A. River is more accessible, accelerating the area’s demand for safe recreational use. Residents of Boyle Heights and East L.A. have better access to jobs and the kind of healthy produce that more affluent parts of the city take for granted. Little Tokyo, reportedly one of the more affordable living areas, should get enough new commerce and foot traffic to make its streets safe at all hours. That’s just for starters.
And the best news? With this section of track complete, work can begin on the stretch that eventually will go to Culver City and Santa Monica; and east into the San Gabriel Valley. Now if only we could revive the train that used to run across Sherman Way to Canoga Park. What visionary person made the 1952 decision to end that service and pull up the tracks? Possibly the same one who eliminated the rail right-of-way through Cahuenga Pass to add two additional lanes to the Hollywood Freeway. Cars seemed like the answer to our prayers in those days. Now the answer to our prayers would be a great public transport system and plug-in cars that go further than 100 miles and cost less than $109K (see this month’s Audi story). As you’ll see in City of Angels, we’ve already been named one of the state’s 10 greenest cities, but the Orange Line will never get us to number 1.
In the meantime, we can continue to make choices that reflect our concern for the planet, as we do daily with our food. Cover girl Alicia Silverstone encourages us to be kind to the planet and the animals with whom we share it, by not eating them. I’ve only tried one recipe from her new cookbook so far, but my dinner guests loved it. As always, we also offer you excellent food options for dining in—Taste of Health; or out—Eat Here Now.
Our magazine continues to grow. We’ve increased print distribution, and we’re now posting web-only content on our site, WholeLifeMagazine.com. We’re debuting an online store, and this issue includes a fabulous holiday gift guide. You may want to sign up for RSS at our website, because there are other new developments in the works. You can also sign up your relatives in other parts of the world to get our digital magazine; instead of the fruit of the month club, they’ll get ongoing bimonthly issues filled with great progressive ideas. I invite you to also check out our self-serve calendar. There are new postings every day as people discover they don’t have to wait till our next issue to let the community know about their events.
In this town it’s easy to find something fascinating to do every night of the week, without ever going to a club. Last week, for example, I attended a film that melded spirituality and intellect (The Quantum Activist), a seminar that addressed abundance and business (Kevin Trudeau), and a concert that rolled art, spirituality and pleasure into one fine evening (Deva Premal and Miten). How fantastic to live in a time and place in which all these are available!
Here’s a little holiday gift from an unexpected quarter. To encourage community service, Disneyland is offering one-day passes to anyone who volunteers to spend a day working for a sponsored organization. The WebMouster (they should definitely credit me for that one!) hasn’t yet posted the list of participating affiliates, but what a great family project: Work together for a day supporting the community—play together for a day at Disneyland. Sign up at http://home.disney .go.com/parks starting January 1.
Happy holidays, dear readers. We’re grateful to be part of your community, and look forward to sharing the fabulous New Year with you.
From my heart,
Abigail
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