Ecology

Tom Soto's thoughtful article, "Ecological Issues Come in All Colors" (Commentary, Oct. 8), articulated a vital but little understood fact: that environmental matters are not exclusively the domain of the wealthy or of backpackers. While minorities have not been joiners of traditional environmental organizations, our environmentalism is personal and cultural. Our cultures value nature and respect the land. We are taught to venerate our elders, whether it's our grandparents or ancient trees.

Paolo Soleri, an Italian-born architect who created a visionary prototype for a new kind of ecologically sensitive city in the remote Arizona desert four decades ago, only to watch the suburban sprawl he detested begin to creep near it in recent years, has died. He was 93. Soleri died of natural causes Tuesday at his home in Paradise Valley, Ariz., according to an official with the architect's foundation . PHOTOS: Paolo Soleri | 1919-2013 A onetime apprentice at Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West compound on the edge of Scottsdale, Ariz., Soleri founded his own desert settlement, called Arcosanti, in 1970 at a site roughly 70 miles north of downtown Phoenix.

Los Angeles County supervisors voted Tuesday to increase scrutiny of applications to build in 29 designated ecologically sensitive areas. The changes, proposed by Supervisor Ed Edelman in March, include hiring a county biologist to analyze all projects proposed for the zones, requiring an earlier survey of the land's biological resources and mandating a review by the county Planning Commission of any project exempted from full environmental study.

A kind of crash course in 50-plus years of environmentalism, the documentary "A Fierce Green Fire: The Battle for a Living Planet," adapted from the book by Philip Shabecoff, proves a worthy reminder of how much has been done to help heal our planet's ecological woes as well as how much remains to be achieved. REVIEW: More movie reviews from the Times Writer-director Mark Kitchell ("Berkeley in the Sixties") efficiently divides the film into five acts - "Conservation," "Pollution," "Alternatives," "Going Global" and "Climate Change" - narrated, respectively, by Robert Redford, Ashley Judd, Van Jones, Isabel Allende and Meryl Streep.

Researchers from UC Santa Barbara have been chosen by the National Science Foundation to establish a new Long-Term Ecological Research Site in Antarctica, the foundation announced last week. NSF currently has 17 such sites elsewhere to monitor slow changes in the environment, but this will be the first on the southernmost continent. The $500,000-a-year project is designed to monitor the ice-dominated marine ecosystem at the bottom of the world.

The nation's schools are teaching students how to respect the environment, but the lessons often are inadequate because textbooks rarely explain the scientific and economic factors involved, according to a report by the Independent Commission on Environmental Education. The panel, funded by conservative groups, asserted that texts are biased, contain factual errors, lean too far into advocacy or ignore science altogether.

"Garden in the Sea," a lovely documentary from German filmmaker Thomas Riedelsheimer, follows Spanish artist Cristina Iglesias as she creates a sculpture that will sit deep inMexico's Sea of Cortez just at the edge of Espiritu Santo Island. It makes for a very internationally flavored film, one that ultimately relies on the language of sight and sound to speak eloquently about art and ecology and how they can be fused into something extraordinary. The film begins in Madrid not long after Mexican philanthropist Manuel Arango's foundation commissioned Iglesias to create a piece that would reflect his country's efforts to preserve the natural habitat of the island.

Forty third-graders from Westwood Charter School equipped with binoculars and magnifying glasses toured the Ballona Wetlands on Thursday for a lesson in ecology. They learned about invasive nonnative plants, scuttled after lizards and even saw a red-tailed hawk. "It's fun seeing all the animals and little bugs that you don't normally see," said 8-year-old Melanie Shaw.

Organized religion has taken increasing note of environmental danger signals. In a departure from usual themes for his annual peace message on New Year's Day, Pope John Paul II issued a call for greater awareness of environmental concerns, equating ecological destruction with a "genuine contempt" for humanity. The speech linked disregard for nature and plundering of natural resources to a decline in the quality of life.

Stressing the importance of the "three Rs"--reduction, reuse and recycling--Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon proposed this week that the city allocate $100,000 toward the construction of an ecology museum in the northeast Valley. A second motion by Alarcon asked for the release of $623,000 in previously allocated funds for the purchase of a 1 1/2-acre parcel at 12002 Osborne St.

NIESTE, Germany - The masked intruders who come regularly after dark don't fill Marga Trautmann-Winter with dread so much as irritation - lots of it. She finds evidence of their larceny at daybreak in her backyard, where plums have been pilfered, cherries picked and apples appropriated from her small orchard. But if she's lucky, she manages to turn the tables and ensnare one of the thieves, as has happened about 20 times in the last two years, including one recent morning. The bandit lay curled up in a metal cage, its drowsy expression turning to wariness, then narrow-eyed aggression as Trautmann-Winter approached.

The Ecology Center, Orange County's premiere environmental education group, will host its fourth annual Green Feast on Saturday, Sept. 8, at its lush San Juan Capistrano facility. More than 200 people will sit at a lavish outdoor table feasting on a bounty of appetizers and a family-style, four-course dinner made by notable area chefs using farm-fresh, organic ingredients sourced from within a 200-mile radius. Chefs include Matt Tobin (True Foods Kitchen), Justin Miller (Pizzeria Ortica)

"Garden in the Sea," a lovely documentary from German filmmaker Thomas Riedelsheimer, follows Spanish artist Cristina Iglesias as she creates a sculpture that will sit deep inMexico's Sea of Cortez just at the edge of Espiritu Santo Island. It makes for a very internationally flavored film, one that ultimately relies on the language of sight and sound to speak eloquently about art and ecology and how they can be fused into something extraordinary. The film begins in Madrid not long after Mexican philanthropist Manuel Arango's foundation commissioned Iglesias to create a piece that would reflect his country's efforts to preserve the natural habitat of the island.

Despite strong opposition from environmentalists, the state Assembly on Thursday approved controversial legislation that allows a solar energy developer to bypass local agencies in seeking to build a large-scale power plant in a valley that is home to desert tortoises, golden eagles and bighorn sheep. The nation's leading environmental groups see K Road Power's proposed 663-megawatt Calico Solar plant as one of the most ecologically damaging renewable energy projects in the California desert.

The very title of the subversive documentary "Surviving Progress" sounds counterintuitive. Isn't progress a good thing, the sure cure for civilization's ills? What's to survive? Plenty, according to this expect-the-unexpected Canadian film based on Ronald Wright's bestselling "A Short History of Progress. " Both brainy and light on its feet, bristling with provocative insights and probing questions, this film feels like it's expanding your mind while you're watching it. The premise of "Surviving Progress," much more dystopian in its quiet way than "The Hunger Games," is that we delude ourselves if we think the seeming improvements that growth and development bring will result in quality-of-life advances or even survival of the planet.

Just off a rutted dirt road, a beach as white as flour pops into view from behind a wall of sea grape and rustling palms. Pelicans slice over turquoise waters, and not a single person stirs the quiet. The tableau, along a little-developed segment of Mexico's Caribbean coast, is a beachgoer's fantasy of unspoiled seaside splendor. Until you look down. For as far as the eye can see, the sand glitters with bits of bright color: fragments of trash, thousands and thousands of them, strung like a vast, foul necklace.

The environmental movement has been slow to gain strength in Japan, but the country can now claim an ecological distinction all its own: a new beer called "The Earth." And if the marketing goal is not clear from the beer's name, its advertising slogan--"Suntory is thinking about the Earth"--appears in English, in letters even larger than the actual name, on each can and bottle. Masahide Kanzaki, a spokesman for the giant brewer and distiller Suntory Ltd.

Myanmar's president ordered a halt Friday to work on a controversial $3.6-billion hydroelectric dam backed by China, a rare concession to the political opposition and public displeasure. President Thein Sein said in a statement read out on his behalf in parliament that the Myitsone dam project in the northern state of Kachin should be terminated because it is "against the will of the people. " The reversal — if in fact it proves to be one, given Myanmar's often opaque governance — seemed somewhat surprising in a country where leaders have for decades paid limited attention to the public's concerns.

After half a century of oil spills, Nigeria's troubled Niger Delta is one of the most polluted places on Earth, and it could take $1 billion and 30 years to clean up the mess, according to a U.N. report released Thursday. A 14-month study by the United Nations Environment Program that was commissioned by the Nigerian government examined 200 locations and 75 miles of pipeline, more than 4,000 soil and water samples and the medical reports of 5,000 people. "Pollution from over 50 years of oil operations in the region has penetrated further and deeper than many may have supposed," the report says.