General

A sunny day or a pleasant breeze have long meant more than just pleasant SoCal weather. With solar and wind generation at an all-time high, California is cruising into a clean energy future with the top down. All right, that’s a sliighhhhttt exaggeration, and we didn’t get where we are by coasting. It has been a dedicated […]

This is second in the series of USGBC-LA interns sharing their impressions about green buildings. Below are thoughts from Joel Linares who describes himself as a student in progress. When we think about people, we don’t usually correlate them to emissions. That term is used when defining how much carbon dioxide vehicles emit from burning […]

Each year, USGBC-LA hosts a group of local college students looking at how to leverage their unique and varied career goals through the lens of green building. This year, students were asked to share their impressions. We’ve captured a few of their writings and will share them in upcoming blogs. This first one is by […]

Sometimes I hear about an idea and I get an image in my mind – often the wrong image. The first time I heard about ‘the heat island effect,’ it was a cool-crisp (by LA standards) kind of day and I started daydreaming of mai tais and wondering how a warm island could be a […]

On the heels of the recent Women in Green breakfast, I have been thinking a lot about how fortunate I am to have intersected with this political moment at this stage in my life. On May 22nd, a room full of people (women and men) gathered to talk about the Me Too movement, to listen to established […]

This week I’m at the International Science and Engineering Fair in Pittsburgh, watching and learning as over 3,000 teens from about 82 countries share research and innovative ideas that could change our world – inspiring stuff. There are so many young women at this event. I’m thinking about the opportunities that await those who want […]

At some point in our lives or the life of our organizations, we start thinking about legacy – what it is we can pass along to the next generation – and wonder what impact we will have beyond our personal lifetimes. In the case of my family, there are recipes, sayings, objects, and stories that […]

Seleta Reynolds, General Manager, Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) will give the morning keynote at the Municipal Green Building Conference and Expo on April 19. Los Angeles rose with the age of the automobile, and the city embraced it. We designed our entire urban landscape with it in mind and little appreciation for the […]

Let’s pretend it is the New Year and you are thinking about all the ways you want to improve. Most likely you focus on your health and relationships. You may decide to lose weight, you may decide to get in better shape, or to ride your bike more or say nicer things to your friends.   […]

Although the smart phone sitting in my pocket can help me find the answer to most any question, I don’t think of my phone as the intersection of technology and learning, but simply a tool that I use more often than I’d like to admit. However, a library is truly that space – that intersection […]

Just over a year ago I started this blog to better understand what people think about the concepts and principles of sustainability. Early in the series I wrote an entry on resilience and I haven’t stopped thinking about it. Unfortunately, the experience has been more like marbles rolling around in a labyrinth getting stuck in […]

The Athens Services Material Recovery Facility (MRF) in Sun Valley, is one of the highest-tech facilities in the industry, and receives 100% of its materials from Los Angeles. If you didn’t get a chance to go on the USGBC-LA tour, there’s a video tour here that offers a cool peek at the technology they use! […]