Los Angeles Official Visitor Guide 2008 - (Page 13) Photos (left to right): Metro subway station; Ciudad restaurant; Echo Park; Los Angeles Convention Center ©LA INC., Ciudad, LA INC./Robert Landau, LA INC. Volunteer If you’re truly serious about conservation, take some time out of your vacation to volunteer with a local environmental organization. The Surfrider Foundation, for example, is dedicated to protecting the world’s oceans, waves and beaches. You can join them and participate in a beach clean-up day. Another organization, Friends of the Los Angeles River, exists to protect and restore the Los Angeles River and its riparian habitat through planning, education and wise stewardship. They offer educational river tours six times a year. their excellent fuel economy and help ease your environmental conscience with their lower emissions. Hertz is another rental company operating at LAX and specializing in hybrids such as the Toyota Prius, Honda Civic and Toyota Highlander. Green Belts and open Space Setting aside land in its natural state hasn’t always been a big priority for cities. Fortunately, LA’s leaders were wise enough to do just that. With more than 214,000 acres of conservation area, LA is filled with air-cleansing trees and plants, abundant wildlife and plentiful opportunities for recreation. With Angeles National Forest, more than 22 miles of beaches and countless parks, such as Echo Park, LA is a city that’s definitely at the forefront of green activity. The top nature reserves in LA include the 15,095-acre Santa Monica National Recreation Area, the 55,000-acre Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and the 4,014-acre Griffith Park. Public transit LA’s Metro public transit system continues to be at the forefront of developing a transportation network capable of getting people out of their cars and into more sustainable modes of transportation, including light rail and subway lines throughout the city. They also have one of the largest fleets of natural gas buses in North America, with plans to eliminate diesel buses entirely by the end of 2008. If you’re staying Downtown, you can get just about anywhere using public transit, including quick subway trips to Hollywood, Universal Studios HollywoodSM and the San Fernando Valley on the Red Line. There’s also the Gold Line to Pasadena and the Blue Line to Long Beach. Taking one of these public transit options means fewer vehicle emissions and better air quality — as well as convenience and low cost. rental cars If you need to rent a car but want to minimize your carbon footprint, check out one of LA’s enviro-friendly rental agencies. Bio Beetle offers vehicles powered by alternative fuels such as recycled vegetable oil. Located near LAX, they’ll set you up with a Volkswagen designed to run on biodiesel fuel that gets more than 0 miles per gallon. If you’d prefer to skip the biodiesel in favor of a hybrid, head to Enterprise Rent-A-Car. They offer a variety of hybrid vehicles that’ll go easy on the wallet with For more information about going green in LA, check out the greenthemed itinerary on our Web site at www.discoverLosAngeles.com. 1
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