Good Links

We don’t feel the need to add to the numbing panic that the mass media tries to create. What the world needs now is positive energy, and our website is supposed to create a little bit of that!

On the Good Links page we want to talk about individuals and groups who do great work trying to make this planet a little better. We will tell you about ideas, big or small, how to help people, animals or the environment.

Schooling for Homeless Kids — For every sad story out there, there is a happy one, and that’s what we want to talk about! For example, there is Agnes Stevens, a 71-year-old retired teacher who is the founder of School on Wheels. She and her group of 335 volunteers go to shelters, motels and even cars in and around L.A. to tutor homeless kids, and to distribute free backpacks with books and school supplies. For more information, go to www.schoolonwheels.org

Biodiesel Car Rentals — Did you know that in 2006 the Maui-based company Bio-Beetle, the world’s only all-biodiesel car rental company, opened a branch in Los Angeles? You can check them out at www.bio-beetle.com

Recycling Bottles & Cans — An easy way to make some extra cash is to recycle bottles and cans. We’ve been doing that at my apartment complex for almost two years now. All the neighbors put their empty bottles and cans in a separate receptacle, and once a week we take them to a nearby recycling center where we get 5 to 10 cents per container. We donate the money to charity. My co-worker’s 7-year old son Jack heard about this project, and he now feeds his piggy bank with the money he gets at the recycling center for the bottles and cans he collects. For more info, go to www.bottlesandcans.com.

More Trees! — If you have a green thumb but no garden, you might want to join the Friends of the L.A. River www.folar.org or the Tree People www.treepeople.org.

This is it for now, but this page will grow as we go. We will tell you about more great ideas that we hear about on KCRW www.KCRW.com, KPFK www.kpfk.org, and Link TV www.worldlinktv.org. And maybe you will send us newspaper clippings or share your own personal experiences with doing good.