Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Hello Fellow California Golden State APLS!

Thanks for the warm welcome. I'm Bobbi and I’m excited about being the APLS (Affluent Persons Living Sustainably) coordinator for California.

Some factoids about me: I'm a work-from-home suburban LA publicist, former journalist, former associate producer with an unproduced screenplay in the file drawer. Your basic SoCal resident.

I’m married 20 years and have 2 daughters, 19 and 16. So if you’ve got questions about teenage girls, shoot them at me. I am a survivor.

I’m a nonfiction reader, dinner party thrower, spice and herb experimenter, media fiend and avid kickboxer. Got a political science degree from UCLA but will interact politely with USC grads. For those of you who don’t get that, it’s our cross town college rivalry.

Southern California has been home since I was a teenager. My family moved here from New Rochelle, NY for the usual reasons – the weather and a better job. I know the state and its people in my bones. My own blog, ToLiveLocal, is not only about living green, but also about living local, becoming native to a place.

I’ve been a volunteer in the community for nearly 20 years. I was fortunate to be a stay-at-home mom during the early kid years and turned my energies to working in the schools and most especially in my religious community, our synagogue. Plus I was a staff writer for our local weekly, The Acorn, as well as a local columnist for the LA Times.

I’m newly committed to the green movement. Just started composting and turning the side yard into a kitchen garden. Discovered how much paper we can recycle. Turn off lights as I move from room to room. And have done some heavy duty sweating this summer by turning off the AC.

If I had to share with you what signifies California for me, I’d say the mountains. Sure, others might mention the Pacific. Then there’s Hollywood and our redwoods, the wine country and the Golden Gate Bridge. Maybe our orange groves or the desert for those of us who can stand the heat.

But I see the mountains every single day whether I walk out to pick up the mail in the front yard or poodle poop in the back. The power of nature is always in front of me, reminding me that when the ground rumbles, it’s not always a truck going by!

Can you see that I love my state? So the rest of you Forty Niners out there, let’s band together, share green tips, local events, products and how to’s. I’m hoping we can be an Environmental News Central for each other and the other APLS. And when it comes to civic organizing, we can get the word out to each other on California issues and national issues as well.

Plus I need help and feedback. What do you guys want? Who wants to be a co-coordinator? You there in Northern California? The Central Valley? Don’t be shy. My email is bobbiwords@aol.com .

So the great state of California casts all its Golden State APLS votes for a green tomorrow!

…can you tell I’m a political junkie too?