"I don't know if I'm more sad or more angry," Treesavers founder Jerry Rubin said this morning as he witnessed Santa Monica workers cut down 23 ficus trees on 2nd and 4th Street. He stood on a stump where one of the trees used to stand for over 40 years -- it only took a matter of minutes to cut it down. "We'll be back again, and we won't get caught with our pants down......

The Cahuenga corridor/crawl night spot formerly known as Tokio Lounge is undergoing a complete rennovation and being transformed into Ecco. Using natural and environmentally friendly materials and products, Ecco is calling itself "Hollywood's first eco-friendly lounge." Expected to open in July, the new lounge will feature an organic menu, eco-friendly cement (waste materials added to pack cement), an LED lighting system, waterless urinals and air pressure toilets. Power for the club will be supplied by the......

Cloud Cult plays at the Knitting Factor tonight | Photo via their MySpace Visiting from Minneapolis, the amazing orchestral-indie band, Cloud Cult of Minneapolis, will spread their magic tonight at the Knitting Factory. Complete with string instruments and two live painters, their tour is promotion of their latest album, "Feel Good Ghosts (Tea-partying Through Tornadoes)". From their MySpace: "Despite offers from major labels, Cloud Cult has chosen to remain independent, recording and releasing their......

Photo by ninjapoodles via Flickr On Monday night, Malibu took a big step for the environment: they forbid the distribution of both plastic and compostable carryout bags. It's the most aggressive plastic bag action to date for any Southland city, according to Heal The Bay. "Grocery stores, food vendors, restaurants, pharmacies and city facilities have six months to comply with the ordinance. Smaller sized retailers have one year until the measure is operative," the......

Photo by phogel via Flickr After a one year hiatus, one of the best green festivals, Worldfest, is back. Two years ago, the solar-powered festival scheduled near Earth Day was a gem among the numerous green events around the city. Located at Woodley Park in Encino, steps away from the eponymous Metro Orange Line station, a slew of eco-friendly vendors showed off their wares, vegan chefs shared their creations and music and recognizable faces......

Photo by Matt McGee via Flickr It's certainly not new news, but still worth a mention: Conserve water, people! This time the urging comes from the folks who work in water at the state level, and who hope to avert a "water crisis," reports abc7.com. We've endured some mighty high temperatures in the past week or so, and with the scorching some may be tempted to soak their lawns and gardens, which happens to be......

Taken yesterday, the Tesla Roadster electric car sits in a showroom during an event to celebrate the opening of the first Tesla Flagship Store near the corner of Santa Monica and Sepulveda (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) Definitely one of the hottest energy-efficient green cars around, the fully electric Tesla Roadster can travel over 200 miles on a single battery charge and can go from 0 to 60 mph in a short 3.9 seconds. Lucky......

LAist met Marc J. Sahara, of The Inconvenient Bag at The Earth Day celebration last week. We asked Marc to share his tips for being green in LA. Marc: Living the Inconvenient Lifestyle, or eco-friendly lifestyle in Los Angeles, is not easy, and I must admit, I struggle with it because I’m also used to living conveniently and care-free. However, I have decided to make that lifestyle change and now learn everyday new ways to......

Photo by Sundogg via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr FESTIVAL Stop by the Santa Monica Pier for a Celebration for the Arts pier party today and tomorrow. There will be a lot of stuff to do and see including live silkscreening by Alternative Apparel, Guitar Hero contests, Improv, celebrity appearances, and of course lots of live free music. All proceeds benefit the arts. 11 a.m. // Santa Monica Pier // 350 Santa......

Last weekend, the homeowners, docents, and designers who are taking part in today's Green Gardens Tour gathered in the beautiful Santa Monica library to talk with each other and to be honored by the tour organizers at a thank you breakfast. The event was highlighted by brief talks from actress Amy Brenneman and TreePeople's Andy Lipkis, both of whom spoke about the power of conservation, and in appreciation of a few individuals who are doing......

It's almost the weekend... | Photo by Kim Shattuck via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr See, I prefer the silent treatment to the stabby treatment: "A woman was in custody today for allegedly fatally stabbing her boyfriend during an argument at their South Los Angeles home." Watch out, flight-goers: get drunk and mean on a plane ride, and your fellow passengers might just duct-tape you to your seat! It happened to one......

Photo by nailmaker via LAist Featured Photos So maybe some of you kids have it easy when it comes to eating green: you're a vegetarian or vegan, you don't eat dairy, and you shop at your local farmer's market every week. You probably bike a lot and never talk on your cell phone while you're driving. Congratulations, you're our editor! But for the rest of us mortals, the recent explosion of articles and blog......

Keith Millhouse, vice-chairman of the board of Metrolink speaks during a roll-out ceremony of Metrolink's cleanest locomotive, background, in LA. The locomotives, which cost nearly $2 million each, use computer technology and electronic fuel injection to reduce emissions and a shut-down feature to reduce idling. (AP Photo/Nick Ut) Just in time for Earth Day, Metrolink officials announced the arrival of a new kind of train yesterday -- one that's cleaner for the environment and......

Starting in November, Los Angeles will begin enforcing a new ordinance, one that significantly reduce carbon emissions into the air. Today, the Los Angeles City Council voted to approve the new measure that will "reduce the use of natural resources, create healthier living environments and minimize the negative impacts of development on local, regional and global ecosystems." It will also... Lower more than 80,000 metric tons of carbon emissions in Los Angeles annually by 2012.......

Photo by ILoveButter via Flickr There are still many comments to be left today by readers, but torrmoz's comment on an earlier story about vegetarian eating highlights points from a New York Times Mark Bittman story (Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler) about meat production and the environment. These are well worth bringing to the forefront: If Americans were to reduce meat consumption by just 20 percent it would be as if we all switched from a......

So, which city is more eco-friendly when it comes to building codes? After reading the LA Times, San Francisco comes out the winner, but that's not to say Los Angeles is some black hole of environmental actions. Both Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom want their respective cities to be the greenest in the country (doesn't every mayor say they want that?). Villaraigosa wants to lower greenhouse gases to 35%......

Photo by delera-photos via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr There were a lot of earthy things to do this weekend, but the true Earth Day is tomorrow. And after that, Earth Day-like events continue through May 10th with one of the best Earth Day festivals around -- WorldFest in Encino. Tomorrow and as previously mentioned, Wilshire Blvd. is being closed down between Western and Harvard. Since it's also Car Free Day, the event abut......

This upcoming Saturday, April 26th, marks the 4th Annual Green Gardens Tour, which gives attendees a backstage pass to see six home gardens on the Westside that "demonstrate sustainable designs, practices, and technologies." With conservation issues a hot-topic in the Los Angeles area--and all over the world--the tour is a wonderful hands-on opportunity to see what some people have done in their own yards to pitch in to save our precious resources while creating beautiful......

Photo by puck90 via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr. FILM COL COA (City of Light, City of Angels) French Film Festival ends its run today with five screenings, including a series of short films. The program aims to promote French films and the industry’s diversity. 12 p.m. // Directors Guild of America Theater Complex // 7920 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles // $10 FESTIVAL The Green Apple Music Festival takes place today at......

Here's some food for thought. Last Fall, TreePeople founder Andy Lipkis told a group at a Farmlab Salon that "the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) send a request to the Governor and President to declare a state of emergency regarding the 5400 environmental/pollution related deaths a year. That equals out to be one and half 9/11's a year."...

The Metropolitan Water District is asking residents to conserve water by watering their lawns one day less a week, according to KNBC. If that happens, the water saved could equal "as much water as the cities of Anaheim, Burbank, Long Beach and Pasadena use in one year." A 13-week advertising campaign is being launched to request voluntary conservation. And while watering the lawn is something many do, apartment dwellers do not have to deal with......

Photo by kpeII via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr The elderly women known as the 'Black Widows' have been found guilty of murder conspiracy. Partial verdicts were read today against 77-year-old Helen Golay and 75-year-old Olga Rutterschmidt for their roles in two murders. A 27-year-old man from Sherman Oaks jumped to his death this morning from an overpass on the 210 Freeway at Sierra Avenue in Fontana. He had left his car......

Photo by Tha_Sco via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr Because it’s supposed to be such a beautiful day, I suggest heading out to the beach immediately, and then enjoying some of these free (or close to free) events going on in the evening. But that’s just me… LISTEN Ann Whitford Paul, author of the children’s books If Animals Kissed Goodnight and Snail’s Good Night, will be hosting a signing and reading of......

Today is Day 2 of a 2-day visit for the Green Living Expo, taking up residency in the West Hall of the LA Convention Center. The event includes a plethora of eco-focused vendors and exhibitors on hand to demonstrate their products and pass on information, including "green" body care, groceries, sweet treats, cleaning products, clothes, cars, and many more. There are big names like Ford and Vons, and smaller companies (a couple of which, like......

The quarter might become a triple-threat of the coin world soon if LA County and Heal the Bay have their way in Sacramento. Adding to the two biggest reasons why the 25 cent piece is the most coveted piece of cupronickel in your pocket--laundry and parking meters, of course--bill AB 2829 calls for "a mandatory fee on the distribution of single-use plastic shopping bags at all large grocery stores and pharmacies statewide." The bill differs......

One of the first major stores in the US to initiate a surcharge per plastic bag, IKEA, has announced that they will stop providing customers with disposable bags entirely in October of this year. The decision to ban the bag in the States comes on the heels of the same move the Swedish-based furniture and home design store implemented in their UK and Australia stores last year. Since instituting the 5 cent per bag charge......

Photo by pink_fish13 via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr Getty has its first fridays program. So does the Natural History Museum. However, there's a smaller First Friday in Los Angeles, one with a less grandiose budget, little advertising, but is worth a look at. For the past couple years merchants of Abbot Kinney in Venice stay open until 10pm and often host art gallery openings, live music, or in store events. And if you......

Announced and passed last Friday in a Los Angeles City Council session, a hybrid owners perk of parking free was extended to 2011. Then yesterday, they reversed the decision. If it makes you angry, blame Bill Rosendahl who brought it up. "This was a great incentive when we first did it," Councilman Bill Rosendahl as quoted in Daily News. "But hybrids don't need assistance from us. They already are getting a benefit from the savings......

Tomorrow night, cities all over the world will be participating in Earth Hour, when citizens are asked to turn out the lights and go unplugged for one hour to inspire awareness about global climate change and energy conservation. The annual event originated in Sydney, Australia, and is being championed in major metropolitan areas world-wide. But a quick check of the official participating cities list reveals that LA has opted to be in the dark for......

Photo by timsamoff via Flickr Last night, approximately 120 Eco-Village neighborhood residents, friends and family gathered at Virgil Middle School for the LAUSD's 4th site selection meeting and to hear the District's final recommendation on the location of the new school. In a stunning tribute to the Eco-Village's reputation as "problem-solvers" the LAUSD site selection representatives announced that they would be recommending to the School Board that the Eco-Village proposal be accepted, which means......