Opinion: Dorothy Green

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Los Angeles lost a singular citizen with the passing of Dorothy Green, who died after a long battle with cancer on Monday.

More than most of us, Dorothy, a founder of Heal the Bay, cared. She cared about California’s environment, and especially its water, and all the ways we use (and abuse) it. Dorothy cared about the minutest details of water governance and she believed that speaking out could make a difference.

She also cared about people, worrying enough, when staff cuts came to The Times, to send one writer an e-mail: I was thinking about you. Are you okay?

It is fitting that in the last days of Dorothy’s life she did more to promote her cause than many of us accomplish in a lifetime, sitting down for an interview with Steve Lopez September 17 and just last week penning this Op-Ed.

Reading her opinion piece and knowing how sick she was, one Web commenter marveled, “Mortals are supposed to slow down and enjoy life, swinging in hammocks and sipping pina coladas. Keep slugging!”

Hopefully Dorothy is drinking that pina colada today. It’s now up to the rest of us to start caring, whatever our missions may be.

*1995 photo of Dorothy Green by Cassy Cohen/Los Angeles Times.