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In CARLESS IN L.A., Katie attempts the impossible: going car-free in a city where cars are everything. An aspiring screenwriter who "gives a damn," she sells her minivan for a camera, then ventures out into the concrete jungle with a bicycle and the bus route map. Her goal? To have zero carbon impact while maintaining her life as a single woman on the scene. We follow her as she dates, tackles her long commute to work, and struggles to get to important meetings. But will her efforts make a difference? And can she keep her sanity (and mascara fresh) while finding out?
The narrative story of Katie will follow a strict set of rules; the primary objective is to eliminate any carbon from entering the atmosphere on her behalf. The rules are as follows:
Rule No. 1: No driving. Period. She must give up her keys and sell her car.
Rule No. 2: She can bike, walk, or take any transportation already en route to her destination (e.g. buses, light-rail trains). No taxis or similar forms of transportation. Carpooling is allowed, if and only if, the carpooler is already going in her direction or to the destination of choice. However, no pickups are allowed as this would add carbon impact.
Rule No. 3: During filming, everyone participating in the film is not allowed to use their cars, either. This includes anyone on the crew, even the cinematographers, who must learn to shoot and bike simultaneously. (:
(...and now...a poem)
"Southbound on the Freeway" by May Swenson
A tourist came in from Orbitville,
parked in the air, and said:
The creatures of this star
are made of metal and glass.
Through the transparent parts
you can see their guts.
Their feet are round and roll
on diagrams or long
measuring tapes, dark
with white lines.
They have four eyes.
The two in the back are red.
Sometimes you can see a five-eyed
one, with a red eye turning
on the top of his head.
He must be special -
the others respect him
and go slow
when he passes, winding
among them from behind.
They all hiss as they glide,
like inches, down the marked
tapes. Those soft shapes
shadowy inside
the hard bodies - are they
their guts or their brains?
