Imagine the possibility if we could get inner city kids, the ones we all know have the toughest road to success and to get out of the terrible cycle of poverty, to get interested and involved in technology. In developing tech, not just using FB and Instagram for selfies. Imagine the run up if inner city kids starting pouring into technical college to become programmers, computer engineers, software developers, and technological entrepreneurs. Imagine what could be accomplish if the pent up aggression, angst, disparity and frustration of a cycle of poverty were broken and those that had been trapped starting using that potential from Silicon Valley and Silicon Beach. Inner city kids look to rappers and athletes and say," That is the way I am getting out of here." What a minuscule portion of them can actually be elite athletes or make a living selling records. But how many could make a legitimate career out of programming, coding, computing? Life changing things could happen. A resurgence of the true middle class that is all but gone in America today, especially in large cities like Los Angeles.
That dream, that possibility, is being explored by Oscar Menjivar. Born and raised in Watts in South Central Los Angeles, Oscar was given a chance to succeed at an early age, and he took advantage. After earning undergraduate and graduate degrees in Information Technology and starting a successful consulting firm, he decided to give back to his community. Oscar is one of the few people that sees potential built up in the inner city, especially here in the lowest income portion of Los Angeles.
With no funding, Oscar started his Technology Summer Program called Urban TxT, Teens Exploring Technology. Originally the would meet at Starbucks or on the campus of USC in range of free WiFi since they had no funding the rent a space. Now a few years on, they rent a small work space they call the "Cube" in South LA.
Oscar and his team of dedicated mentors and teachers encourage the students to develop something person that will help solve a need in their local community. Find a local problem, and find a way technology can solve it. With the credo in mind, the students set out to change everything from safe running paths through unsafe neighborhoods, to apps that match up a students interests with a non-profit that they can team with to complete school mandated community service hours. These are small problems with small solutions, but the value of the education in learning how to find a need and come up with a way to solve it cannot be understated. This is exactly what entrepreneurship is, finding solutions to problems that no one else has come up with yet.
In a world constantly embittered by the shrinking middle class, the lack of resources or the waste of given resources to the most underserved, the government struggles with compromise and leadership, and an ever growing fear that the next generation of Americans will not be as well off as the last... I am glad Oscar has found a niche to help. Found a place where he can get his hands dirty and really watch as he shapes young lives in unexpected ways. I can only imagine the possibilities that are in store if this movement really takes off. If the kids buy into it and more kids start signing up. If we can get a couple great success stories that become a catalyst for change. I love Los Anegeles, and if we can get our most impoverished communities to start utilizing tools being given them while having the rest of the tech world really embrace and empower this movement, we are in for a bright future in the Southland. I can only imagine...
Cheers
TJ Franco
To see Oscar explain his story in his own words... watch this TEDx talk.
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Much Ado about Water
Pick up ANYTHING written about California these days, and inevitably something will be mentioned about the drought and the current crisis of water in our State.
Make no mistake, we brought this on ourselves! We in Southern California have grown a vast empire of citizens in a barren desert. Those farmers mid-state who love to blame all our water issues on the Real Lawns of LA are just as much to blame, planting water thirsty crops in an area that does not have the annual average precipitation to sustain them.
Breaking News - we have no water. So what are we going to do about it?
I previously posted here and here about the major initiatives California is trying to push through in this time of vast uneasiness about the future of water in our state. CA Assemblyman Roger Dickinson was recently quoted by the LA Times saying," This falls under the category of: Never let a crisis go to waste." We are finally getting major agricultural interests together with Sacramento policymakers, local utilities, and environmentalists to push through, or at the VERY LEAST negotiate and brainstorm ideas that can improve our water situation.
One topic on the table today is groundwater management and regulation. Since the Gold Rush days of California, groundwater has been a right of the property owner. This means big agricultural interests mid-state can dig wells on their acres of farmland and use it to their desire to supplement the surface water they are getting from the aqueduct and, of course, rain. This becomes a problem when a drought such as this comes along and groundwater becomes the major source of fresh water for people. We have done a horrendous job at recapturing rain water for use. We have so many non-permeable surfaces in SoCal that the water goes into the gutter and out to sea, never to be used by our population or retained back into our groundwater reserves. Bad news!
Ok, local focus. What can we do? Obviously the homeowner's among us can cut back on landscape water. We can do all the little normal things that really do add up - turn the water off while brushing your teeth and shaving, take shorter showers, load the dishwasher and clothes washer to max fill before cycling, install low flow or dual flush toilets for maximum efficiency.
Ok, a step further. Install gutters if you don't have them, and make sure the downspouts end in rain barrels or rain gardens where the water is either used by you later in your garden or can be soaked back into the earth replenishing our groundwater supplies. If the water goes to the gutter, it is lost forever.
Take out the grass. It is as simple as that. Personally I LOVE the look of a green lawn but I cannot stomach the sight of my sprinklers on anymore. It literally hurts to watch. So I made a compromise with myself, I will replace my backyard with natural landscaping and permeable surfaces and use the rain barrels to collect the water to use in the front yard. Obviously I won't collect enough to water the lawn, but it should be enough to water the local plants I have used around the edges, and those small compromises (which in my case should cut back approx 60% of my total water usage and more than 85% of my outdoor water usage) made by all of us WILL have an impact. I am going with all permeable stone and surface area in the replacement backyard so that I can capture as much of our minuscule rainfall as possible.
People of Los Angeles and California in general, we are looking at another warm dry winter. Great for tourism, TERRIBLE for us residents who will live here through the worst drought our state has seen in recorded history. We all need to pitch in, we all need to help. LADWP announced they are going to start warning and then fining water wasters $500/citation for watering on non-designated days, for washing your car in your driveway, for having sprinklers that point to the street instead of planters, and any other wasteful uses of water. This is serious stuff and we all need to do our part.
Would love your ideas and your thoughts on the best way to conserve, store, save, and recycle water in this time of need!
Cheers
TJ Franco
Make no mistake, we brought this on ourselves! We in Southern California have grown a vast empire of citizens in a barren desert. Those farmers mid-state who love to blame all our water issues on the Real Lawns of LA are just as much to blame, planting water thirsty crops in an area that does not have the annual average precipitation to sustain them.
Breaking News - we have no water. So what are we going to do about it?
I previously posted here and here about the major initiatives California is trying to push through in this time of vast uneasiness about the future of water in our state. CA Assemblyman Roger Dickinson was recently quoted by the LA Times saying," This falls under the category of: Never let a crisis go to waste." We are finally getting major agricultural interests together with Sacramento policymakers, local utilities, and environmentalists to push through, or at the VERY LEAST negotiate and brainstorm ideas that can improve our water situation.
One topic on the table today is groundwater management and regulation. Since the Gold Rush days of California, groundwater has been a right of the property owner. This means big agricultural interests mid-state can dig wells on their acres of farmland and use it to their desire to supplement the surface water they are getting from the aqueduct and, of course, rain. This becomes a problem when a drought such as this comes along and groundwater becomes the major source of fresh water for people. We have done a horrendous job at recapturing rain water for use. We have so many non-permeable surfaces in SoCal that the water goes into the gutter and out to sea, never to be used by our population or retained back into our groundwater reserves. Bad news!
Ok, local focus. What can we do? Obviously the homeowner's among us can cut back on landscape water. We can do all the little normal things that really do add up - turn the water off while brushing your teeth and shaving, take shorter showers, load the dishwasher and clothes washer to max fill before cycling, install low flow or dual flush toilets for maximum efficiency.
Ok, a step further. Install gutters if you don't have them, and make sure the downspouts end in rain barrels or rain gardens where the water is either used by you later in your garden or can be soaked back into the earth replenishing our groundwater supplies. If the water goes to the gutter, it is lost forever.
Take out the grass. It is as simple as that. Personally I LOVE the look of a green lawn but I cannot stomach the sight of my sprinklers on anymore. It literally hurts to watch. So I made a compromise with myself, I will replace my backyard with natural landscaping and permeable surfaces and use the rain barrels to collect the water to use in the front yard. Obviously I won't collect enough to water the lawn, but it should be enough to water the local plants I have used around the edges, and those small compromises (which in my case should cut back approx 60% of my total water usage and more than 85% of my outdoor water usage) made by all of us WILL have an impact. I am going with all permeable stone and surface area in the replacement backyard so that I can capture as much of our minuscule rainfall as possible.
 |
| Not actual photos of my yard, but aren't they pretty?!? You get the idea... |
People of Los Angeles and California in general, we are looking at another warm dry winter. Great for tourism, TERRIBLE for us residents who will live here through the worst drought our state has seen in recorded history. We all need to pitch in, we all need to help. LADWP announced they are going to start warning and then fining water wasters $500/citation for watering on non-designated days, for washing your car in your driveway, for having sprinklers that point to the street instead of planters, and any other wasteful uses of water. This is serious stuff and we all need to do our part.
Would love your ideas and your thoughts on the best way to conserve, store, save, and recycle water in this time of need!
Cheers
TJ Franco
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