Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/659479
What an absolutely beautiful planet we call home. I'm totally enamored of our mountains and oceans, rivers and forests, and feel privileged to live in an exceptionally stunning part of the globe. Not that any part of our planet was unattractive before humans started messing with it. With Earth Day celebrating its 46th year, isn't it odd that in all the rhetoric among presidential candidates, there's so little mention of the environment? Obviously there are many important issues needing attention, but literally nothing else ultimately matters if we don't have life-sustaining water and air, and clean food. We're already seeing climate change af- fect politics, particularly in the Middle East. Here in the Southland we're surprised to fi nd ourselves in the fi fth year of a drought, despite repeated warnings to expect El Niño torrents. We're fortunate to have had no major fl ooding or mountains sliding across highways, as happened in 1994 when our offi ce was in Malibu and Pacifi c Coast Highway was closed for months. But we sure could have used a bit more rain this year. At the same time, our water supply from Owens Valley, fed by runoff from the Sierra Nevada, has also dwindled. But was that water ever rightly ours? Read our story on page 22 and tell us what you think. So then, where do we get more water? We've got the "Save the Drop" campaign in place, but will it be suffi cient? Treated wastewater is already in the pipeline, but the next big push is for ocean desalination. With that huge salty res- ervoir, the Pacifi c Ocean, right outside our doors, it was only a matter of time. San Diego County is already pumping seawa- ter—sometimes resulting in a surplus—but the process is con- troversial. Read more about it on page 25. There's not just salt, but plenty of plastic and other trash in the ocean, as you can see by the numbers on page 11. Usually when I see those statistics I feel a sense of despair, but a few years ago a young Dutch student devised a way to clean up the Pacifi c gyres we thought were never going to go away (pg. 10). His invention hasn't yet been fully tested for safety, but part of what excites me is that it was devised by a teenager. That kind of creative thinking is going to go a long way toward solving our environmental challenges. Happily, our bird population is thriving. L.A. has many de- lightful, colorful birds like the one you see on our cover, and one of their relatives even made it into presidential primary news, thanks to an unexpected visitor at a campaign rally. May- be it was sending a message to all the contenders: pay atten- tion to the environment! Bird Day LA is coming right up (pg. 12), so get out and learn more about the 508 species—our county is among the most or- nithologically diverse regions in North America—that brighten our SoCal soundscape. We hope to see you there. Happy Earth Day! from the editor Dear Readers, Improve your well-being 18455 Burbank Blvd., Suite 306 Tarzana CA 91356 818.578.6730 www.vickeryhealth.com Acupuncture has the power to transform your life, helping you achieve physical, emotional & mental balance. Vickery Health & Wellness Dia Vickery, PhD(Theology) Licensed Acupuncturist Certified in Aroma Acupoint™ Therapy Certified in Aroma Acupoint 6 wholelifetimes.com