I jest, but when a moderator joked that someone had suggested California, Oregon, and Washington secede and become a separate country, everyone had a good, happy laugh. The topic of this year’s LABC Sustainability Summit was: Regional Solutions for an Inclusive, Clean Economy. By inclusive, I thought they meant inclusive of all income brackets.
And Zero Motorcycles is currently leading the revolution. But perhaps not for long, considering the impending onslaught of competition coming any day now…
This adorable press release came through my inbox this week. Fiat Chrysler’s Sustainability Report is a charming bundle of puppies and daisies, isn’t it? But it’s all sugar-coated nonsense.
I just returned from the Circular Fashion Games in Amsterdam, where I had the honor of working with Enschede Textielstad, a company that uses recycled yarns to make new textiles. Not stuffing for car seats. Not shop rags. But designer fabrics that would look right at home in any designer boutique.
Last week, while the world’s eyes were on Tesla’s big announcements, the Cradle to Cradle Institute’s Fashion Positive held a workshop on circular fashion. The workshop featured innovations with EVEN MORE potential to curb global warming! We heard from Lewis Perkins, President of the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, then Annie Gullingsrud, Director of the Textile and Apparel Sector. She’s also written the book on the subject — Fashion Fibers: Designing for Sustainability.
As solar, wind and batteries only get cheaper, the natural gas industry is starting to panic. Particularly now that they may be regulated into obsolescence in California. You know, the same industry that brought us the biggest natural disaster in the US wants to ensure its continued viability as a major source of electricity.
LA. The initials conjure up many things, but everyone knows — the traffic sucks. Why it’s the most heinously congested city in the entire world has been covered thoroughly. At Friday’s Move LA Transportation Conversation, we learned what’s being done to fix that. Hint — the solution will not drive itself.
Today, Zero Motorcycles released its 2018 models. While they don’t look much different from the 2017s on the outside (except the gorgeous new silver paint!), it’s what’s inside that counts. Like — 10% longer range thanks to new battery chemistry on all ZF7.2 and ZF14.4 models! Zero is also offering quick charging — 6 times faster, thanks to the 6kW charge tank accessory for S, SR, DS, and DSR models.
That torque, though…
On National Drive Electric Day (Week), instead of celebrating EV’s like Kyle did in Santa Monica, I drove my SUV* to Sequoia National Forest where I joined over a million visitors to bear witness to the climate devastation our fossil fuel habit has wrought. Having grown up in Northern California, the Redwoods are more my home than the Sequoias. While the forest service and the department of the interior have done a lot to stop the damage to this fragile forest, I fear it may be too late. Looking out over Sequoia Kings Canyon from the Kings Canyon Panoramic Point, it seemed almost as many trees were dead as living.
While the rest of the country marched for the climate in general, Los Angeles county marched for a very specific climate problem. Tesoro has been planning to expand their refinery in Wilmington, CA to start refining tar sands oil shipped in from Canada. Well, the citizens of Wilmington and surrounding cities have had enough.
