Two-day shipping may have some environmental consequences, the story of Nazis in Los Angeles, one CA assemblywoman leading the charge against sexual harassment.
How 2-day shipping is hurting the environment
The holidays mean Black Friday madness and a Cyber Monday frenzy. But the holiday shopping - and shipping - will be going on all month.
After snatching that deal of the century on that perfect gift for mom, you might be tempted to click on free two-day shipping. But there's an environmental cost to getting your orders faster, according to new research out of UCLA.
"As we've gone to wanting more things instantaneously, we've lost some of the advantages of consolidation and planning," says Jon Christensen, professor at the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA. Generally, two-day shipping means:
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More packaging for individual items as opposed to a consolidated box
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More trucks on the road that are less filled than they typically would have been
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More returns from customers that may double the carbon footprint per-item
"Just by waiting and choosing the standard shipping option," says Christensen, "you could reduce your carbon footprint dramatically."
Speedy shipping during the holiday season is the subject of the latest "Climate Lab" video, a collaboration between the University of California and the news site Vox.
To learn more about how an everyday consumer can reduce the environmental impact of holiday shopping, click on the blue media player above. Read more about the negative consequences, of e-commerce, including traffic and air pollution, click here.
Muir Woods' to become first Nat'l Park to use a parking reservation system
Visitors to national parks have spiked in recent years, causing traffic jams, parking lot squabbles and harming natural resources. To try and deal with the problem, Muir Woods National Monument recently announced that it’s instating a parking reservation system.
Beginning in January, cars that do not have a reservation will be turned away at the gate. It’s the first national park in the country to use a reservation system. The U.S. National Park Service spent five years researching the problem and holding public meetings to try and find the best solution. It's a delicate balance between reducing congestion and preserving the tranquility of park experience while still making it accessible to the general public.
Visitors can still walk, bike and take shuttle to the park. Take Two spoke with National Park Service spokesman Andrew Muñoz for the Pacific Region Andrew Munoz who explained the new parking reservation system and what it could mean for parks here in So Cal.
TO HEAR THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW, CLICK THE BLUE PLAYER ABOVE
Laura Friedman: 'If voters knew what people did, they might vote differently'
More than a month has passed since some 300 women in California politics signed a letter putting a huge spotlight on sexual misconduct in the state capitol.
Glendale Assemblywoman Laura Friedman, a former movie producer, was among the signatories. She's also chairwoman of a subcommittee that will be evaluating the Legislature's anti-harassment policies. Here's what she had to say about their strategy to change the culture at the Capitol, and the insights she gleaned from her experience in Hollywood.
On what's changed since the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke
I’ve been getting a real education about what the culture [at the state capitol] has been like over the years. I’ve only been in office since November, so it’s new to me, and I’ve been very glad that some women have been willing to come forward and tell their stories, to call me in my office and talk privately about their concerns... As we start the subcommittee process, it’s going to be even more of an education for the whole public.
On understanding the spectrum of sexual harassment allegations
It’s important that the Legislature develops a code of conduct for senior staff and for legislators because just because something is legal doesn’t mean that it’s ethical or correct, especially for people who have positions of authority. Having a code of conduct that all legislators sign on to would give much more of a bright line for folks and make those kinds of determinations easier if somebody violates that code.
What's missing from the state capitol's past response to allegations
We need to rewrite something that will work for years and be truly protective for victims, while at the same time giving due process to people who are accused. That’s not going to be easy, but it’s very important that we do that. Certainly, the part of protection for victims — that’s something we haven’t had in the past nearly as much as we should. People have been retaliated against. People are afraid to come forward. We need to acknowledge that as a body and we need to make sure that we fix it.
On how her experience as a Hollywood producer shapes her perspective
I certainly understand what it’s like to be the person that is powerless and feels vulnerable and has somebody take advantage of their position and you have to go work everyday with that person. I’ve been in that place and I’m sensitive to that. I understand the culture that leads to these kinds of behaviors — a culture of imbalance, of people feeling like they’re not held accountable, that they can do things that’ll be kept secret — and that’s not going to be easy to overcome. Politics even more than Hollywood can hold people accountable, because voters get to vote, and if voters knew what people did, they might vote differently. Every single politician is afraid of that.
To hear more from Assemblywoman Laura Friedman, click the blue player above.
Answers have been edited for length and clarity.
Can't afford an apartment in Los Angeles? Rent an RV
Making a van or an RV into a home
Homelessness has grown in Los Angeles County—with nearly 60,000 people on the streets, in shelters, and in cars as of last count. And as homelessness has become a normal part of LA life, some unusual economies have also grown up around the phenomenon.
As homelessness has risen in Los Angeles, there has also been an increase in non working, or barely working vehicles sitting on streets around the county. For many, these vans, cars and RV's have become a type of shelter for thousands of men, women, and families.
Take Two's A Martinez spoke about a new report by KPCC’s Rina Palta.
After 20 years James Cameron lets ‘Titanic’ fans know: Jack was always destined to die
The Thanksgiving holiday weekend raked in a lively box office, with Disney and Pixar's film about Day of the Dead, "Coco," generating a cool $72 million. Vanity Fair's Rebecca Keegan spoke to A Martinez about the film's cross-cultural appeal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0lchjz1RQg
It was unapologetically full of unsubtitled Spanish, Spanglish and cultural references, and yet still it found a way to appeal to Latino and non-Latino audiences alike.
But things aren't all happy on the Disney and Pixar lots. Keegan catches us up on creative head John Lasseter's leave of absence. She spoke to ten Disney and Pixar employees about Lasseter’s drinking, inappropriate behavior with employees, and fostering of a boys’ club environment.
And finally, after 20 years, James Cameron is speaking up about that infamous door scene in "Titanic" which leads to Jack Dawson's death.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3pg27yqk3s
"He said it was an artistic decision to kill Jack, this is something he wanted to do because of what the movie is about. It's about death and separation. But he also thought through the physics of it and spent two days on set making sure that the door Kate Winslet is laying on could have physically supported the weight of two people."
So there you have it: Jack Dawson was going to die no matter what.
To hear more about Rebecca's interview with James Cameron and why the "Avatar" sequels are taking so long, click the blue play button above.
Los Angeles may soon have its own real-life princess
Hollywood is full of princesses.
But now we've got the dreamy story of a real, flesh-and-blood one. Actress Meghan Markle and Prince Harry just got engaged. And Markle is our own: She was born and raised in LA.
Once they wed, the union will break new ground for a few reasons:
1. Markle is a woman of color, her mom is black and her dad is white.
2. She was raised a Catholic, which as of a few years ago would have forbidden under royal succession rules.
3. Markle would become the first American to be given the title of Her Royal Highness.
"She's known to have a humanitarian bent," explained BBC reporter Regan Morris, "so I think she will fit into the royal family in that way."
Despite this, the British tabloids have not always being kind to her.
"Because her mother is African American, there's been some coverage like she's 'straight out of Compton,' as if she grew up rough," Morris went on. "But she had a good life in LA. A lot of people were upset about the racist coverage of her in the British tabloid media.
Still, according to Morris, times are a-changing for the British monarchy: "It's a much more accepting and modern institution now. I think they have more choices than their predecessors did."
So there you have it, LA's first real-life princess.
To hear more about this story, click the blue play button above.
When Nazis tried to take over LA
Secret Nazi meetings, underground spy operations, foiled assassination attempts — no, it's not some Hollywood blockbuster. This was Los Angeles in the 1930s and 1940s; a war narrative that is finally getting told in a new book titled: “Hitler in Los Angeles: How Jews Foiled Nazi Plots Against Hollywood and America."
It tells the story of a man named Leon Lewis, a lawyer and leader for the Anti-Defamation League. Few people knew his name, but among the Nazis, he had a bit of a reputation:
"He was known very early on as the 'most dangerous Jew in Los Angeles,'" said book author Steven Ross. "They knew that Lewis had spies."
These "spies" were World War I veterans like Lewis, along with their wives. Soon after the lawyer learned that Nazi sympathizers were taking root in the city, he brought together a team to infiltrate fascist gatherings and report back on their plots. The spy ring operated out of an office building Downtown, just off Seventh and Flower.
Seeds of discord
In 1933, the US was reeling from the Great Depression. Then, to cut spending, the federal government slashed pensions for WWI disabled veterans. One-third of affected vets lived in Southern California.
That’s when groups like the “Friends of New Germany” moved in.
They held rallies around the city to recruit angry veterans. They blamed communists and Jews for the country’s problems and presented fascism as the solution.
When Lewis learned that the group was planning to turn violent, he went to the LAPD. But his meeting with then-chief James Davis didn't go as planned.
"Two minutes into his speech about how the Nazis were planning sabotage, Davis stopped him and said, 'you don't get it. Hitler's only doing what he needs to do to save the German economy from the Jews who have perverted it,'" Ross said. "And he proceeded to imply — as far as he was concerned — every communist was a Jew, and every Jew was a communist."
Leon Lewis kept trying to raise the alarm. He went to the Sheriff and the FBI, but no one did anything.
"They thought it was Jewish paranoia," Ross said.
With no help from local law enforcement, Lewis realized that he’d have to stop the spread of fascism himself.
Raising the funds
In 1934, when the money ran low, Lewis brought his findings to wealthy executives at Hollywood's most prominent studios.
"Leon Lewis told them — much to their surprise — that foremen in virtually every studio were firing every skilled Jewish worker and unskilled worker and replacing them with Aryan workers," Ross said.
Some of those workers, Ross said, were members of Nazi-connected organizations operating in Los Angeles like the "Silver Shirts" and the "Friends of New Germany."
"And he shocked them by saying 'you guys are also being targeted for death,'" Ross said.
By the time the meeting concluded, the leaders had pledged thousands of dollars to help Lewis' spy operations, which continued to report on groups with Nazi sympathies for nearly seven years without the acknowledgment of the US government.
But in 1941, everything changed.
On December 7th, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Days later, Germany declared war on the US. Ross says that within two days of the attack, 66 Germans, 12 US citizens with German sympathies, 14 Italians, and 326 Japanese fascists were arrested — all based on information Leon Lewis had provided to the authorities.
Ross says that Lewis received little credit for his efforts.
Disturbing parallel
Author Steven Ross started his book six years ago, but he thinks the timing has been serendipitous. He sees the story of Leon Lewis as a cautionary tale of what happens when people think “it can’t happen here.”
"We all need to be vigilant. When we hear hate speech, say something. When you know there's a demonstration, go there and let neo-Nazis, skinheads, Ku Klux Klan, John Birches, let them know 'not in our city and not in our nation.' There's no place for this," Ross said.
Press the blue play button to hear the full feature.