WHAT COUNTS: Trash Talkin’

2.5 Million: Number of new plastic bottles used by Americans every hour.

6: Number of times more plastic than plankton floating in the world’s oceans.

200,000: Number of cigarette butts that hit LA streets weekly.

800,000: Number of those discarded cigarettes that end up in Santa Monica Bay each month.

46 Million: Number of tons of trash created by Californians annually (enough to fill 2 freeway lanes 100 feet deep from the Mexican to Oregon border every year).

90: Number of developing nations whose combined GDP adds up to less than the amount Americans spend annually on garbage bags.

Statistics provided by Sustainable Works, a Santa-Monica based project promoting sustainable practices in the urban environment (sustainableworks.org).

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WORTH REPEATING

“I love many aspects of the New Age, but there is that discernment we have to bring for it to be truly reliable. This phrase, ‘You create your own reality’ —it’s really hard for me. I look out the window every day and remind myself that it may be a good many miles beyond these hills, but somewhere is Darfur where today children are attacked, their eyes gouged, women are raped, houses burned down. Are those people creating their own reality?”
—James O’Dea, Executive Director of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, in an interview for Common Ground magazine, 7/06.

“In 35 years Los Angeles has exterminated more than 5 million animals. The toll is at once appalling and abstract…We romanticize some breeds and write off others, often on the most superficial of grounds. If the animals being killed in our shelters were shih tzus, the practice would have already come to a halt. But they are not.”
—Journalist Jesse Katz, “What’s a Dog Worth?” Los Angeles magazine, 5/06.

“Everyone knows the ground rules. One thing you can control is the journey. You have to approach things with calm and logic. At age 56, to be grouchy is not terribly becoming. I can control my state of happiness by how I respond to things around me.”
—Martin Short to the LA Times, 4/30, talking about the process of creating his new production, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me.

“Forget the heart, think of the belly. When the stomach is mellow, the heart will follow.”
—Lyricist and musician Tom Waits through a character in Black Rider, Ahmanson Theatre, 5/06.

July 2006 | Mindful Living

Where Cowabunga Meets Namaste

As we work our way into the hot heart of summer, maybe it’s finally time to make good on a few of your Southern California resolutions: do more yoga and learn to surf. For an easy two-in-one, check out SoCal’s original Yoga Surf Camp, run by local yogini Marne Semick. The camp caters to the yoga- and surf-curious of all experience and ability levels with a one-day class staged on the sand and beginner waves of Venice beach. Starting with seaside asanas at sunrise, Marne coaxes budding yogis to unwind, stretch and strengthen before hitting the waves, escorted by an expert. Wetsuits and surfboards are provided, along with ample guidance, warmth and encouragement. For info, visit yogasurfcamp.com.
—Eliza Thomas

Films With Feeling
If the hoopla surrounding Cannes and Sundance has you rolling your eyes, maybe it’s time for a festival with a little more heart. The second Elevate Film Festival kicks off July 21, bringing together like-minded artists to create socially conscious films. Fifteen directors will randomly choose a script, documentary subject or music video and produce an 11-minute film—within 48 hours. But the real twist? The actors and musicians have already been cast and come complete with their lines, wardrobe and even location ideas. Each film will screen outdoors at the Ford Amphitheatre, followed by audience votes on the best of the fest.

Filmmakers Mikki Willis (featured in this issue on page 54), Nadia Salamanca and Darya Danesh produced the inaugural festival last December, which they pulled together just months after conceiving the idea. Their goal is to challenge other artists to collaborate on the kinds of positive, spiritual films that define their own careers. Topics like human rights, enviro concerns and heroic tales are all on the slate—but don’t expect a haphazard assortment of feel-good films. The organizers have already turned away hundreds of submissions, hoping to produce only the most thought-provoking works to heighten social awareness within the community. For more information, see elevatefilmfestival.com.
—Sarika Chawla

CONSCIOUS BUSINESS

Patagonia’s Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Card
You’ve probably already heard some of the great green gossip about Patagonia: that their fleece is made from recycled soda bottles rather than crude oil, that the company has given more than $20 million dollars to grassroots environmental groups, or that they converted their entire sportswear line to organically grown cotton.

But the real shocker in Patagonia’s long list of above and beyond eco-accomplishments is its policy of offering free environmental activism training to all employees, and its promise to post bail for any program graduates whose peaceful protest ends in arrest.

Patagonia first implemented the policy in the mid ’90s when three of their employees were arrested while attempting to save Northern Californian redwoods from logging. The company now offers all interested staff a civil disobedience training program taught by Ruckus Society, a nonprofit dedicated to providing environmental, human rights and social justice organizers with the tools, training and support to achieve their goals. Ruckus schools Patagonia employees in tactics for keeping the peace in the face of conflict, and offers a clear perspective on both the risks and rewards of activism. “It helps them make choices that are in alignment with what they want to participate in and what they believe,” said Lu Setnicka, Patagonia’s Director of Training and Employee Development, a recent Ruckus graduate herself.

While no jailbirds have been freed as of late, Patagonia employees completed a Ruckus training seminar a few months ago in Ventura. The company audaciously affirms: “It may sound as if we are training and subsidizing a bunch of tree huggers, hellraisers and brassbound ecologists. We are.”
—Jolia Sidona Einstein

Gore Keeps Going and Going and Going...
It appears that as long as the planet heats up, so will Al Gore. On May 24, his global warming slideshow-turned-blockbuster An Inconvenient Truth hit theaters (reviewed last month in WLT; if you haven’t yet, go out and see it now!) The film shared definitive scientific evidence of pending eco-catastrophe—plus a host of solutions for how we can tip the planetary scales back in our favor.

Two days after the project’s launch, Gore’s book on the same topic hit shelves. And now his fight to save the world continues—he’s serving as a chief fundraiser for a group called The Alliance for Climate Protection. The group’s auspicious goal: to dump enough dough into marketing the truth about global warming that the American people are finally motivated to stand up and do something about it.

In An Inconvenient Truth, Gore implores everyone—from politicians to corporations to you and me—to use less gas, oil and electricity. His approach to raising funds for The Alliance for Climate Protection is similar. He’s not only seeking contributions from billionaire philanthropists and global businesses (such as the publishing and film companies supporting An Inconvenient Truth), he’s also soliciting the support of average Americans. “NASCAR fans, churchgoers, labor-union members, small businessmen, engineers, hunters, sportsmen, corporate leaders, you name it,” Gore told environmental webzine Grist. He’s banking on the adage, “Where public opinion goes, federal policy will follow.” To show your support, visit AllianceForClimateProtection.org.
—Jenny Rough

Don’t Just Get Mad—Get Active!
The Food Truck delivers groceries to 23 different low-income LA neighborhoods—and you can help by bagging and handing out packages to families in line. The truck hits the road Tuesday through Saturday in the morning and afternoon. To volunteer, contact The Dream Center, 2301 Bellevue Ave., LA. 213.273.7000. dreamcenter.org.

The Children’s Nature Institute is offering a three-day training intensive (7/28-30) for those interested in leading nature walks for kids at more than 50 sites around LA. Volunteers lead at least one walk per month; kids as young as six can train to be walk leaders, too! Contact Suzanne Curtis: 310.860.9484. childrensnatureinstitute.org.

The 11th Annual Los Angeles Tofu Festival needs volunteers to help bring LA together for entertainment, fun and most importantly, to enjoy an array of delicious, imaginative tofu dishes. The event is a fundraiser for the Little Tokyo Service Center, a non-profit organization that has been providing assistance to low-income, immigrant, homeless and distressed seniors and families for over 25 years. 8/11- 8/13. 2:00 pm – 10:00 pm. Contact Jonathan Liyama at the Little Tokyo Service. 213.473.3030. ltsc.org.
—Jolia Sidona Einstein