Environmental
Bike Share In Los Angeles Announced At CicLAvia
The Huffington Post | By Anna Almendrala Posted: 04/16/2012 1:16 pm
Sunday’s CicLAvia kicked off with a major announcement for Los Angeles: we’re all getting bikes!
Angelenos will be the proud new riders of 4,000 bikes located at 400 kiosks throughout the metropolis. The stations will be installed over two years and will be located in bike-friendly neighborhoods like downtown LA, Hollywood, Playa del Rey, Westwood and Venice Beach, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa made the announcement Sunday morning, saying, “We know it’s what LA needs. As we’ve seen with CicLAvia and ‘Carmaheaven,’ Angelenos are aching for a day without a car,” reports LA Streetsblog.
The initiative is being spearheaded and funded by Bike Nation, a Southern California bike share company that will also assemble the bicycles in a Los Angeles factory. The implementation of the bike share program will cost over $16 million (no public funds will be used), and Bike Nation has committed to the program for 10 years.
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Survival / Sustainability
Prepper List : Ten MORE Things To Do Now
by M.D. Creekmore
Prepper List : Ten MORE Things To Do Now
You may remember my post “10 things to do now!“, if not go read it before continuing – go on I’ll wait… Done. great. Now let’s go back to the shopping center with another survival food and gear list and ten more things to do now. Ready? Great.
1. Go to the grocery department and pick up 5 lbs of powdered milk or the equivalent of canned, now go over to the next aisles and throw in 5 lbs of rolled oats and a case of Ramen noodles. Ramen noodles aren’t the most nutritional food but they are cheap, add bulk to the diet and store well – just don’t rely on them to provide all your nutritional needs. And don’t forget a good manual can opener.
2. While you’re in the grocery department be sure to pick up an assortment of spices to taste, such as Basil, Chili powder, Cinnamon, Garlic, Sage, Marjoram, Oregano, Rosemary, Thyme and Black Pepper. Spices can go along way toward making unfamiliar foods palatable. Also, while you’re in that area add 5 or more lbs of salt to your shopping cart, as you know salt has 101 uses.
3. Okay, counting what you bought during our first trip to the shopping center, that should do it for the grocery. Now go over to the area near the pharmacy and pick up 3 large tubes of toothpaste, 3 brushes, 100 double edge razor blades, (note: if you don’t have a razor you’ll probably have to order one from Amazon.com and don’t forget a brush and bowl), I’ve used this type razor for years and think it is a cheaper long-term solution than disposable.
Follow these easy steps to watch your seeds grow into flourishing plants even amongst the hustle and bustle of daily life. With organic gardening expert Barbara Pleasant’s simple, easy-to-follow guidelines, any seed starter can become a gardening pro in no time. Her book Starter Vegetable Gardens offers 24 plans for small organic gardens. Throughout the book she offers great ideas and tips to cut down on cost and make vegetable gardening efficient right from your own home! So what are you waiting for? Get out there and start planting!
Starting Seeds Step-by-Step
You Need:
1 small bag of fresh seed-starting mix or potting soil
1 package small disposable paper cups (4- or 6-ounce “bathroom” cups are perfect)
2 8-inch-diameter square or round baking pans
1/2-by-2-inch strips of rigid plastic (cut from discarded food container)
Seeds for planting
1 large clear or translucent produce bag
1 desk lamp with 75-watt equivalent fluorescent bulb
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Activism
Activists plan week of protests against new House cybersecurity legislation
By Brendan Sasso
In an attempt to re-create the backlash that killed anti-piracy legislation earlier this year, activists are planning a “week of action” beginning on Monday to protest the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA).
Many of the groups leading the protest are veterans of the fight against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA), including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Center for Democracy and Technology, Free Press, Fight for the Future and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Brock Meeks, a spokesman for the Center for Democracy and Technology, said the protest will rely on similar tactics as the ones used to derail the anti-piracy bills, potentially including petitions and phone calls to members of Congress. But he said the groups have no plans to blackout websites, which was a central component of the anti-piracy protests.
Outrage In Thailand: Save Aged Elephants From Confiscation And Death!
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The world-renowned Elephant Nature Park (ENP) in Thailand, which rescues aging, sick and disabled elephants from the trekking and logging industries, has been raided repeatedly by government authorities who are threatening to confiscate as many as eight elephants. Why? Because ENP founder Sangduan “Lek” Chailert, a celebrated conservationist, spoke out against the recent slaughter of elephants in Thailand’s national parks. These killings allegedly were orchestrated to supply baby elephants for tourism, with the involvement of government officials.
More raids are now feared. So far, Lek has been able to protect these elephants who have already suffered enough, but they could be taken away at any time from their safe haven. She has bravely sworn to do whatever is necessary to protect them, even go to jail.
Confiscations at other locations, including the highly respected Wildlife Friends of Thailand (WFFT), have resulted in the deaths of two gibbons and one elephant. According to the group’s press release, the elephant was chained and unable to move at a government-designated location, and there was no keeper assigned to care for her or any of the other twenty-plus confiscated elephants. It states: “There is now great concern for the physical and mental well-being and lives of more elephants there.”
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Articles of Interest
Killer stray dogs put Bulgaria on edge
By Vessela Sergueva
A stray dog passes by an elderly …
Sprawling in the sun or barking and chasing cars, stray dogs have become part of urban life in Bulgaria but after a pack mauled a US university professor to death, the mood of tolerance is over.
The 87-year-old man, who chose to spend his retirement in his native Bulgaria, was attacked in a Sofia street late last month by some 25 dogs who knocked him to the ground, tore at his face and bit his legs and arms to the bone.
He died in intensive care 10 days later, prompting the government to suggest a large-scale euthanasia program for aggressive animals and construction of emergency shelters to remove other strays from the street.
Rights groups struck back, accusing authorities of weak control over pet owners who do not register their animals and often abandon them or their litters on the streets.
“This spring there are about 1,000 more stray dogs than last year,” said Aksinia Bosneva of the “Care For the Stray Dogs” non-governmental animal rights group.
She also blamed corrupt practices when it comes to castrating dogs.
“Some dogs are only partially neutered so that castration squads can return and get double money. Dogs already neutered are captured twice and workers get paid for something already done,” Bosneva charged.
For Lolita Radeva, head of the Sofia municipal council’s environmental committee, the economic crisis has made things worse.
“The current economic crisis has forced people to increasingly abandon their pets. Many dogs were also let go from abandoned construction yards they used to guard,” Radeva said.
She put the total number of stray dogs roaming the capital, which counts two million people, at about 9,500.
A new city hall program aims to halve this number within two years and get rid of all the animals by 2016.
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