A Guide to Reclaiming L.A.

“The Amazing L.A. Environment,” a paperback with high-tech colors and catchy graphics, is popping up in bookstores all over town this week.

Described as a “handbook for change,” it promises “Everything you need to know about our amazing L.A. environment--the astonishing facts, the urgent problems and the down-to-earth solutions.”

The book opens with a four-page illustrated time line tracing the development of the Los Angeles Basin from ancient volcanic buildup to 21st-Century freeways. Co-authors Mary Nichols and Stanley Young have compiled chapters on water, air, energy, garbage, sewage, oceans and wilderness.

The $6.95 guide, produced by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), is a joint venture with Living Planet Press, which is also publishing a Spanish-language edition.

“It’s the first of its kind for us, and as far as we know anywhere,” said publisher Joshua Horwitz. “It gives people who live here a real historic overview and tells us how we can reclaim Los Angeles.”