Remember what it was like to communicate with a Sierra Club group in the old days? Photocopy your letter, then address, stuff, stamp and mail envelopes? Isn't e-mail a wonderful convenience? Yes, it is, but e-mail has a dark side. When conflicts arise, some kind of e-mail related aggravation is often a key element.

By Lore Pekrul
Chair, Green Building Committee

Three ordinances under consideration by Los Angeles County would change the face of local residential and commercial development, ushering in a new era of green building practices that would significantly reduce environmental waste, stimulate investment in renewable energy and help secure an ample supply of water for Southern California in years to come. If the plan can win approval in its current form, it will put the entire county on par with forward-thinking cities like Santa Monica and West Hollywood, which have already enacted exemplary green building legislation of their own.

As I pitched the idea of the Sierra Sweethearts feature to the Editorial Board a couple of months ago, it seemed simultaneously a great idea as well as one destined to annoy a sensible part of the membership that rejects the notion of Valentine's Day on the grounds that this holiday is little more than a ploy by the greeting card companies et al to rob us of whatever money we managed not to spend in crass commercial celebration of the recent winter holidays.