A Slice of College Life

High school students shown dissecting kidneys as part of USC’s high school summer seminar program.

For the complete story and more of my photos of USC College’s high school seminars, click here.

What’s Really in San Diego’s Water?

At Imperial Beach, San Diego’s southernmost beach before the U.S.-Mexico border, surfers may need not just a wetsuit, but also a hepatitis A vaccination before going in the water.

The California coastline from Imperial Beach to the international border is home to San Diego County’s best surf spots, but it is also where the Tijuana River empties a dangerous amount of sewage, chemicals and other pollutants into Imperial Beach waters when it rains.

Continue reading the story here.

Check out My Photo of USC’s Master of Liberal Studies Students

Click here to read the full story: USC’s Master of Liberal Studies Students Head to Stanford

Check out my videos about USC’s Overseas Studies Program

Emily Yu goes to Italy and Taiwan

Sophack Srey goes to Japan

Adam Benkato studies in Egypt

Study Abroad Video Home Page

L.A. Zoo Celebrates Earth Day

Los Angeles Zoo Celebrates Earth Day

(Click here to see my broadcast package about the event)

Temperatures pushing 100 degrees didn’t deter visitors from the 2009 Earth Day Exposition at the Los Angeles Zoo, as lines up to an hour long snaked around the ticket booth late into Sunday afternoon.

“I’ve not seen lines like this at the zoo in ages. This is like Disneyland,” said Laura Schultz, who has been a Los Angeles Zoo member for two years. “It’s very thrilling to see this kind of financial support in this economy and it’s because of this event. There have never been lines like this at the zoo.”

See the full interview with Los Angeles Zoo member here:

The zoo, in partnership with the “K-Earth 101” radio station, held a festival Saturday and Sunday to celebrate Earth Day, which featured earth-friendly activities and information booths for kids and families. People tie-dyed shirts, drank water out of bottles made of corn, and played games to win prizes, all in the name of celebrating the earth and wildlife.

Juan and Lisa Gonzalez and their two children came to spend a day at the zoo, but ended up stopping by the Earth Friendly Products booth, which featured environmentally friendly cleaning products.

“It’s great, the whole eco-friendly thing is cool. We’ve been looking for products that are eco-friendly, mainly for the kids, so we’re happy about it,” said Juan Gonzalez.

His wife, Lisa Gonzalez, added, “It’s also important for our health. It’s a better way to breathe so you’re not breathing all the fumes when you’re cleaning. It’s also a plus to help out the planet.”

At the Earth Friendly Products booth, Monica Nieto and her son handed out dishwater detergent testers and educated people about the benefits of using their products.

“People are not so educated about all the eco-friendly products in the market and sometimes they have the wrong idea that they’re too expensive. They’re actually pretty affordable,” said Nieto of the products, which are sold at supermarket chains such as Ralph’s and Costco.

Nieto became involved with the company because her children were getting sick with asthma and skin allergies from the harsh chemicals found in most cleaning products. “My son and I are also allergic to fragrances, so we use any of these products with a plant-based fragrance so it’s really soft and doesn’t give us any allergies,” said Nieto.

Despite January’s controversy over the containment of elephants at the zoo, in which the $42-million elephant exhibit was halted before Los Angeles City Council voted to continue the construction and keep elephants at the zoo, there were no protests from the Earth Day visitors.

“I love supporting the zoo even though people can be very negative about animals in captivity,” said Schultz. “I support them even though there was a huge backlash of people, including tons of celebrities, who are totally against it. But, I know eventually there are going to be animals that won’t exist on the planet unless we have zoos.”

At the Theodore Payne Foundation booth, an organization dedicated to preserving the native flora of California, outreach coordinator Lisa Novek also demonstrated her support for the zoo by participating in the event.

See more of the interview with Theodore Payne Foundation’s Lisa Novek Here:

“This is a fabulous experience because anyone that comes here is interested in wildlife and saving the animals that we have not already made extinct on the planet.”

Novek also believes that President Barack Obama’s administration is making the right steps to encourage Americans to prevent future climate change.

“I think the current administration understand that we are at the tipping point and if people don’t start making decisions on a day-to-day basis about how to live more lightly upon the planet, then 100 years from now we are not going to recognize it.”

The recognition of environmentally friendly practices continued after the festival to Earth Day on Wednesday, when President Barack Obama made an environmentally friendly pitch in Iowa for alternative energy plan. Vice President Joe Biden also announced that $300 million in federal stimulus money will go to purchasing fuel-efficient vehicles for cities and towns.

Click below to see some extra footage of animals at the Los Angeles Zoo:

Visualizing Allen Ginsberg

A Word Tree of the way “moloch” is used in Allen Ginsberg’s Howl

Word Cloud of Allen Ginsberg’s Howl

Rain causes Mudslides in Sierra Madre and threatens to cause Mudslides in Malibu

February always brings rain to Los Angeles, but the past year’s wildfires in the greater Los Angeles area have left hillsides susceptible to mudslides, causing mudflows in Sierra Madre and threatening slopes in Malibu.

“I’m very surprised, to be honest,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Jamie Meier of the fact that there have only been minor mudslides this winter in Sierra Madre and Sylmar. “They’re something we’ve come to expect at this point.”

Although this past week in Los Angeles has seen the stormiest weather of the winter season thus far with February rainfall totals 1/3 inches above the average, Meier says that this year’s rainfall total is still 1 and 3/4 inches below normal. “The past few years have been abnormally dry, so now when we have rain it’s a big deal to everyone.”

Watch my Video about Mudslides in Malibu

Meier is also part of NOAA-USGS Debris Flow Warning System, a partnership project between The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association and the U.S. Geological Survey, that began in 2005 to study the phenomena of mudslides. According to Meier, the study of mud flows in burn areas is an evolving process, but the project is getting a better understanding of how soil characteristics, vegetation, and the steepness of slope can effect a burned hillside.

This past week in Sierra Madre, mud flowed from the San Gabriel Mountains down Skyline Drive and resulted in a build-up of mud up to two feet deep. Sierra Madre Fire Department Capt. Larry Giannone, whose department helped to clean up the mudslide, said that they have been expecting something like this to happen for a while as a result of past wildfires. “The mud’s going to come down no matter what. All we can do is help divert it from the houses.”

Along with the Fire Department and Public Works Department, the California Conservation Corps assisted with the clean up. Scot Schmier, who oversaw the operation, said, “There’s nothing like good old fashioned hard work and shoveling, shoveling, shoveling.”

See a Timeline of Major Malibu Mudslides

History of Malibu Mudslides on Dipity.

While the crew cleaned up the mess from Thursday night until late Saturday, cleaning up the debris flow and putting down sandbags behind residents’ houses, Schmier noted that the fact the mud didn’t flow into resident’s houses or cause injuries.

In the western region of Los Angeles, residents and businesses in Malibu are preparing for future mudslides. Capt. Tim Foy with the L.A. County Fire Department in Malibu said that they were already handing out sandbags to nearby residents to prepare for future mudflows.

Businesses and residents along Carbon Canyon Road off of Pacific Coast Highway have already seen parts of land start to slide. “We haven’t seen anything major so far, but we’re going to keep people prepared just in case.”

A Picture A Day

Day 5

Malibu

A Picture A Day

Day 4

Playing basketball at sunset in Venice Beach

A Picture A Day

Day 3

Waves crashing off of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu