Green Traveler: Southern California

Signs in Los Angeles Union Station touting L.A. Metro's progress in building more mass transit.

A recent visit to San Diego and Los Angeles demonstrates how both areas are making progress in going green. Here are some observations along with photos and videos.

• Waste Management trash and recycling trucks in Southern California are powered by natural gas. The company also uses landfill gas for energy and converts waste into energy.
  
  
• Priuses. Lots of Priuses and other hybrids roaming the roads of SoCal. I saw a San Diego solar company driving a Prius fleet, and in both San Diego and Los Angeles many taxis have converted to hybrids. I saw plenty of Prius hybrid cabs cruising Hollywood Boulevard for passengers while in L.A. and when I arrived at San Diego Lindbergh Field I was pleasantly surprised to see a number of Prius V hybrid taxis lining up to pick up passengers.



• While visiting a friend in the Silverlake neighborhood of L.A. I saw solar powered LED street lights. The Street Lighting Energy Efficiency Program is a collaboration between the Los Angeles Bureau of Street Lighting, the Department of Water and Power, and the Clinton Foundation.



• And as San Diego and Los Angeles invest more in public transit, alternative modes of transportation are becoming more popular in Southern California. I rode on the new Expo Line light rail between Culver City and downtown. And I took the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner train from San Diego to Los Angeles.

Here are photos.

Green San Diego:

Green Los Angeles: