Climate Change

BURBANK — A small group of demonstrators huddled outside NBC Studios on Monday, calling on world leaders to take decisive action on climate change as President Obama prepares for a series of meetings this week. Carrying signs and mobile phones synchronized to buzz at 12:18 p.m., the handful of protesters were part of a worldwide flash mob sending a rush of phone calls to world leaders urging action on climate change, said Ron Piasecki, organizer and local member of Avaaz, an online group that seeks stronger environmental and human rights protections.

As world leaders in Copenhagen last week negotiated a global response to the threat of impending climate change, a different meeting of the minds was taking place in San Francisco. As many as 15,000 of the world?s leading scientists in astrophysics, oceanography and Earth science convened at the American Geophysical Union conference in an attempt to better understand the scope of changing weather patterns and what it could mean for future generations. Among them was Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist and longtime La Cañada resident Moustafa Chahine.

GIRL SCOUTS HOST FAMILY SCIENCE FESTIVAL 2009 More than 1,000 Los Angeles area Girl Scouts and their families explored the wonders of innovation at Glendale Community College on a recent Sunday during Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles’ annual Family Science Festival. This year’s festival focused on climate change, environmental science and a variety of other topics including science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) topics. Community and troop-sponsored exhibits offered girls hands-on activities as they learned about the importance of STEM in everyday life and connected with the opportunities — both traditional and creative — that exist within STEM careers.

On Aug. 13, Path to Freedom and Messiah Lutheran Church/Iglesia Luterana Mesias will host a vegetarian, local-food potluck and a screening of the global warming documentary, The Great Warming. The dinner and screening will be held 6 to 9 p.m. in the church hall of Messiah Lutheran Church, 570 E. Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena (corner of Orange Grove and Madison.) Suggested donation is $5 to $15. Space is limited. For reservations or additional information, please call (626) 795--8400 or visit www.pathtofreedom.

I’m a longtime homeowner in Glendale who has lived here for more than 35 years. I’m wondering why the City Council is taking so long to decide whether homeowners may replace brown, dirty, dead, dried-up lawns with beautiful, lush, low-cost, water-saving artificial sod? What is taking so long? We need a decision soon! What is the holdup? Let’s save water and do the right thing! This is not brain surgery, rocket science or nuclear negotiations — it is artificial sod!

GLENDALE — Student Boris Aguilar adjusted a robot’s movement using computer codes in preparation for a competition Saturday at the FIRST Lego Robotics Tournament at Roosevelt Middle School. His team programmed the Lego Mindstorms NXT robot’s movements on a laptop computer, which through a wireless signal sent codes to the robot made out of Legos. Seeing the robot perform as it was programmed came as a great relief to Boris and his teammates because they had been working on the robot for two months.

Comes as no surprise that Glendale ranks lowest in senior pedestrian safety ("City gets another poor pedestrian safety score," Jan. 8). I know — in addition to being a driver, since moving to Glendale, I have increased walking to my appointments and errands. (It really is great not to have to hassle with parking spaces and complex meters!) So I have a couple of suggestions for both pedestrians and drivers, based on personal experiences. Pedestrians: Please cross at crosswalks.

Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge has launched a new website that has gone global, literally. The website http://climate.jpl.nasa. gov allows the viewer to explore the global climate change. ?This website has attracted more attention than any other website I have worked on,? said Michael Gunson, JPL chief scientist for Earth science technology. The website covers a multitude of areas concerning climate change from raising sea levels to carbon dioxide levels.

With an unpopular war, minority leaders in the spotlight and a heated presidential election, the political climate of 1968 had renewed relevance for Irene Tsatsos. Her current art exhibition, a contemporary blend of paintings, photographs, sculpture and video, is on display until Nov. 8 at Glendale Community College’s one-room art gallery and tries to draw common themes of political struggle between today’s tense landscape and the riots that followed the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Comes as no surprise that Glendale ranks lowest in senior pedestrian safety ("City gets another poor pedestrian safety score," Jan. 8). I know — in addition to being a driver, since moving to Glendale, I have increased walking to my appointments and errands. (It really is great not to have to hassle with parking spaces and complex meters!) So I have a couple of suggestions for both pedestrians and drivers, based on personal experiences. Pedestrians: Please cross at crosswalks.

GROUP CELEBRATES 90TH BIRTHDAYS The reunion committee of the Hoover High School Class of 1937 met at the home of Tom French to celebrate the fact that all 11 have now reached the age of 90. Four of the group are 91. They have not organized a class reunion for many years as the number of class members has dwindled. However, committee members continue to meet for lunch every three months in Glendale and remain close friends. Those attending were Helen ?Young? Ostendorf, Tom French, Clara Mae ?

As world leaders in Copenhagen last week negotiated a global response to the threat of impending climate change, a different meeting of the minds was taking place in San Francisco. As many as 15,000 of the world?s leading scientists in astrophysics, oceanography and Earth science convened at the American Geophysical Union conference in an attempt to better understand the scope of changing weather patterns and what it could mean for future generations. Among them was Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist and longtime La Cañada resident Moustafa Chahine.

I’m a longtime homeowner in Glendale who has lived here for more than 35 years. I’m wondering why the City Council is taking so long to decide whether homeowners may replace brown, dirty, dead, dried-up lawns with beautiful, lush, low-cost, water-saving artificial sod? What is taking so long? We need a decision soon! What is the holdup? Let’s save water and do the right thing! This is not brain surgery, rocket science or nuclear negotiations — it is artificial sod!

BURBANK — A small group of demonstrators huddled outside NBC Studios on Monday, calling on world leaders to take decisive action on climate change as President Obama prepares for a series of meetings this week. Carrying signs and mobile phones synchronized to buzz at 12:18 p.m., the handful of protesters were part of a worldwide flash mob sending a rush of phone calls to world leaders urging action on climate change, said Ron Piasecki, organizer and local member of Avaaz, an online group that seeks stronger environmental and human rights protections.

GLENDALE — Student Boris Aguilar adjusted a robot’s movement using computer codes in preparation for a competition Saturday at the FIRST Lego Robotics Tournament at Roosevelt Middle School. His team programmed the Lego Mindstorms NXT robot’s movements on a laptop computer, which through a wireless signal sent codes to the robot made out of Legos. Seeing the robot perform as it was programmed came as a great relief to Boris and his teammates because they had been working on the robot for two months.

With an unpopular war, minority leaders in the spotlight and a heated presidential election, the political climate of 1968 had renewed relevance for Irene Tsatsos. Her current art exhibition, a contemporary blend of paintings, photographs, sculpture and video, is on display until Nov. 8 at Glendale Community College’s one-room art gallery and tries to draw common themes of political struggle between today’s tense landscape and the riots that followed the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge has launched a new website that has gone global, literally. The website http://climate.jpl.nasa. gov allows the viewer to explore the global climate change. ?This website has attracted more attention than any other website I have worked on,? said Michael Gunson, JPL chief scientist for Earth science technology. The website covers a multitude of areas concerning climate change from raising sea levels to carbon dioxide levels.

TODAY The Glendale Religious Leaders Assn. will meet at noon at the Solheim Lutheran home, 2237 Merton Ave., Eagle Rock. Leaders of all faith traditions are invited to join the group for lunch and interfaith fellowship. Guest speaker psychologist Kathy Mathis who is director of the Glendale YMCA's domestic violence programs, will be in attendance. For more information, call (818) 577-7365. The Crescenta Valley Sierra Club presents a discussion and slide show on "Climate Change and Global Warming," at 7:30 p.m. at Citibank, 2350 Honolulu Ave., Montrose.