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Life & Times Transcript
3/5/07 Val Zavala>> Tonight on Life and Times -- If you remember the Northridge quake, you probably think you've been through a big one, but experts say to think again. Thomas Jordan>> As scientists, we've always hesitate to kind of emphasize the very largest type of earthquakes we might have, but Katrina taught us that we shouldn't be too shy about that. Val Zavala>> And then, former owners plundered this home's historic furnishings and only one master craftsman could restore it to its former glory. It's all straight ahead on tonight's Life and Times. Announcer>> Life and Times is made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education. And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg. With additional support for Life and Times by The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation. Val Zavala>> If you thought the Northridge quake was big, consider this: a hundred fifty years ago, a huge quake hit along the San Andreas fault and, if another one hits again -- and we're overdue -- it will cover an area twenty times that of the Northridge quake. Toni Guinyard talked to some seismologists who are sounding the alarm. Toni Guinyard>> This is earthquake country. You've heard it time and time again. Now scientists are delivering the message differently. Thomas Jordan>> "That's the type of motion that we're concerned about for an earthquake that is generated so close to the center of the city." Toni Guinyard>> And there is reason for us to listen. Dr. Susan Hough>> For a long time, I think seismologists tended to stand up and sort of sooth fears. Toni Guinyard>> Dr. Susan Hough is scientist in charge at the U.S. Geological Survey in Pasadena. Dr. Susan Hough>> In the past, we've tended to stand up and say, "Well, we don't know. There's no reason to think it might be tomorrow. If you have a big earthquake, the odds are that you'll see aftershocks. They'll die down and things will sort of get back to normal." And there's been a departure from that in recent years that we can't be too reassuring because these big quakes are in our future because it's been a hundred fifty years since Fort Tejon. Toni Guinyard>> Fort Tejon, called the last great earthquake to hit southern California. It happened along the San Andreas fault. Dr. Susan Hough>> So from here down to here is what I'm talking about with the 1857 quake. Toni Guinyard>> Scientists have determined large earthquakes, the so-called big ones, happen in cycles, but not like clockwork. Dr. Susan Hough>> They seem to happen every hundred fifty years on average and, lo and behold, this is the hundred fiftieth anniversary, so that starts to sound scary. Thomas Jordan>> We really need to make sure that people are aware of the big hammer that can hit us. Toni Guinyard>> Thomas Jordan is director of the Southern California Earthquake Center. Thomas Jordan>> We coordinate a program where people come in to southern California to study this place as a natural laboratory. A lot happens in a hundred fifty years and, in particular, this place has gone from a small population to a region with over twenty-three million people. So when that earthquake occurs, we are going to have to deal with some very severe consequences. Dr. Susan Hough>> Water and power is going to be disrupted, trains, just you name it. So the possibility to really isolate Los Angeles as a community is one of the concerns. It's going to be hard to get in here. Thomas Jordan>> What we're talking about, we think of the big one as something that's a much bigger earthquake. Toni Guinyard>> The big one will be much bigger than the deadly Northridge earthquake. Dr. Susan Hough>> That was scary. The fact that I'm a trained seismologist went out the window at 4:31 in the morning. It's like someone picked up my house and was shaking it back and forth. It was noisy, there were power lines arcing, transformers blowing up. I was thinking about my kids, so that really hits you where you live. And then for people to come along and say, "Well, guess what? That wasn't a big one." Toni Guinyard>> Now if that doesn't grab your attention, consider this: Dr. Hough says that, when the big one hits -- and it will hit -- it could be the size of twenty Northridge quakes laid end to end. Dr. Susan Hough>> You know, if you were there at the time, you tend to sort of be incredulous. But the point is that we don't really have a sense of what the bigger earthquakes are like because they are outside our experience. Toni Guinyard>> But we can look back and learn from earthquakes that will pale in comparison to the big one when it comes. On April 18, 1906, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake hit San Francisco. The shaking lasted one hundred ten seconds. Two hundred thousand people were left homeless. About three thousand people were killed. Scientists want the public to be prepared. Dr. Susan Hough>> We don't want to scare people that this is doomsday, you know, that there's this apocalyptic event out there, because that inspires you to take a fatalistic approach. Thomas Jordan>> As scientists, we've always hesitated to kind of emphasize the very largest type of earthquakes we might have. But Katrina taught us that we shouldn't be too shy about that. Toni Guinyard>> That's right. Earthquake-prone California can take a lesson from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Thomas Jordan>> I think we have to realize that, after a really catastrophic earthquake, the guys in white hats aren't going to kind of ride in and rescue us. We're going to have to be self-sufficient for at least those few days after a major event. Dr. Susan Hough>> So we're really kind of the first line of defense. It's the individual, and that's the message that we're trying to get people to really accept and embrace. Toni Guinyard>> We are walking on and driving across fault lines every day. Thomas Jordan>> As a geologist, I can look at Los Angeles and see the faults. They're pretty obvious once you get the hang of it. Dr. Susan Hough>> If you go over I-5 through Gorman where the road bends around, you are within the fault zone. Toni Guinyard>> Photographs from Dr. Hough's book, "Finding Fault in California", shows us that fault lines are right underneath our feet even if we don't know what to look for. Dr. Susan Hough>> I mean, you expect the Hollywood chasms. It's all very dramatic and they're not like that. They create hills and subtle features to the untrained eye. The corner of Hollywood and Vine, you know, the famous corner in Hollywood, if you stand on that corner and look north, you know, you see the street and then you see this very sharp hill that sort of starts and then it ends. Well, that's a fault. The Mission at San Juan Bautista is sitting on the San Andreas fault. The Ritz Carlton Hotel right here in Pasadena is sitting on the Raymond fault. The Mormon Temple is sitting on a fault. You can just go down the line. It's really kind of remarkable how people have gravitated to these features that are dangerous places to be. Toni Guinyard>> In her latest book, "Richter's Scale: Measure of an Earthquake, Measure of a Man", Dr. Hough focuses on Charles Richter, the Caltech seismologist best known by the public as the man who developed the Richter's Scale. Dr. Susan Hough>> It is not a device. It's not a measuring tape. It's a formula. The word magnitude didn't exist in seismology until Richter introduced it in 1935. What does a magnitude value mean? I say magnitude three and you know what it means, I know it, the public knows. Those are small shocks. That definition was Richter's definition. Toni Guinyard>> Although when we talk about earthquakes, we no longer talk in terms of its size on the Richter's Scale. Dr. Susan Hough>> And I think that's not quite right. Toni Guinyard>> It's clear that scientists agree the big one is coming. They just don't know when, but they want us to be prepared. Thomas Jordan>> We're going to have to live with earthquakes forever. They're not going to go away and, as our cities develop in these earthquake-prone regions, they're going to get hit in irregular intervals by very large earthquakes. That kind of destruction is something we're going to have to deal with. Toni Guinyard>> I'm Toni Guinyard for Life and Times. Announcer>> Kcet.org is the place to look for the very latest on Life and Times. You'll find previews of upcoming stories, plus transcripts and audio of past episodes and links to some of our most interesting features. Just go to kcet.org, scroll down the page and click on "Life and Times". Val Zavala>> Is your lawn killing our oceans? Well, believe it or not, millions of gallons of water loaded with pesticides and fertilizers flow into our oceans every year. But now the city of Newport Beach is doing something about it. It's looking for volunteers willing to try a new high-tech satellite-controlled sprinkler system for free. As Orange County reporter, Roger Cooper, tells us, it could make a big impact on our marine environment. [Film Clip] Roger Cooper>> Few spots on the California coast can match the beauty and serenity of Little Corona in Newport Beach. Look in any tidal pool and you can see marine life in abundance like sea anemones or hermit crabs performing Herculean feats. But the peace in this place is deceptive. Beneath the beauty, Little Corona is in real danger. The threat comes from urban runoff, the millions of gallons of water that drains down to the sea from the land. Although it hasn't rained for weeks here, the flow of water in this stream leading to the ocean is constant, all day, every day. That's because the source of this water is irrigation, urban runoff from yards. Chris Lowe>> And what happens is, as coastal development is increased, people are putting in lawns and those sorts of things and have to water those lawns to keep them green. Nancy Gardner>> It's been interesting because, when we started this chapter sixteen years ago and we mentioned urban runoff, nobody cared. Nobody even knew what it was. Roger Cooper>> Nancy Gardner, who co-founded the local Surfrider chapter, has just been elected to the Newport City Council where she's begun a fight against urban runoff. Nancy Gardner>> And what's happened over the years as we've built up the watershed, we've seen what was a dry canyon with cactus become a stream that runs twenty-four hours a day, every day of the week, and the problems are several. One, that water is urban runoff and it picks up whatever is in somebody's yard, pesticides, herbicides, nutrients, animal waste. Roger Cooper>> Chris Lowe is a marine biologist at Cal State Long Beach. He says even clean fresh water is upsetting the delicate balance in the marine creatures' saltwater habitat. Chris Lowe>> Some are more tolerant to fresh water exposure than others and what happens is, as they become constantly inundated with fresh water at low tide, some of the organisms that aren't tolerant to that simply can't survive there. Roger Cooper>> The threat to marine life is so serious that the state has placed Little Corona on a list of areas of special biological significance. It's one of thirty-four places in California at such high risk. And just down the coast, Crystal Cove is on the same list. The culprit is once again urban runoff. City officials say that this is a big part of the problem, automatic sprinkler systems that aren't set properly and over-water, sending excess water heading toward the ocean as urban runoff. Newport water officer, Shannon Swaford, sees it every day. Shannon Swaford>> I drive around all day long and I see urban runoff basically watering our gutters. People stop watering their lawns and they start watering streets with the sprinklers and a perfect example is something right over here. It's one o'clock in the afternoon and we've got a sprinkler system going off, you know, right in the middle of the day, watering the streets and the sidewalks. Roger Cooper>> If only there were a way to water more wisely. Tom Ash>> "It's the weather data from yesterday. There's a date and time stamp from when it received the data." Roger Cooper>> Now the city of Newport Beach thinks it's found a solution. The sprinklers at Teresa Pinkston's Newport home are controlled by this box, a box with a mind of its own, that she got from the city for free. Teresa Pinkston>> Apparently, there's a computer somewhere telling it when to water and when not to. So if we have rainy weather, my sprinklers won't turn on. I suppose if there's a hot Santa Ana wind, it may water a little extra. Roger Cooper>> Known as a WeatherTRAK Smart Controller, the city chose this device because it uses data it receives each night from weather satellites. Then it dispenses water using only what plants need. Tom Ash>> It's designed to put the right amount of water onto any landscape anywhere in the country. Roger Cooper>> Tom Ash is a horticulturalist with HydroPoint, the California company that makes WeatherTRAK. Tom Ash>> And it changes that water application every day as the weather changes, so it's really designed to be perfect horticulture, good science, good water application and, out of that, we get reduced runoff, healthier plants and lower water bills. Every single station asks a series of questions. It prompts me to set the sprinkler type. We're going to set it at spray heads. Next question would be the efficiency. Yes, it's a typically average efficient irrigation system. What type of soil do I have? When I turn to review, I can actually see what the irrigation schedule is going to be at this weather. Roger Cooper>> The city of Newport is offering the Smart Controllers to five hundred residents at no cost. It's funded with a three hundred thousand dollar grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. City Council member, Nancy Gardner, likes the fact that this smart sprinkler program is voluntary for citizens. Nancy Gardner>> When you explain to people, you know, this is what you're doing. You may not even be aware that you're doing it, and this is the impact, most people want to do the right thing. And if you can make it easy for them -- I mean, I think one of the problems in the environmental room is often that it's made as difficult as possible (laughter). You have to give up this, this, this and this and live a different kind of life and then everything will be fine. Well, we don't want to give up all the things we like in our lives and this is the way that we can do it with virtually no effort. It's paying even less attention to our garden in some ways than we do now. Roger Cooper>> The hope is that the smart boxes can help the city meet an order from the Regional Water Board, a mandate to cut down urban runoff going to Little Corona and to Crystal Cove. An earlier study is promising. Tom Ash>> The studies have shown, with this technology, WeatherTRAK was actually installed in communities in Irvine in a large study with all the local public agencies and fifty to seventy percent of the runoff coming out of those neighborhoods was eliminated. That also told the scientists that fifty to seventy percent of the pollutants that were in that water didn't make it to the beach, so the impact could be tremendous. Roger Cooper>> The free boxes are proving to be popular. City officials expect all five hundred will be snapped up in short order. City officials will be measuring the impact with hopes of expanding the program to even more homes. In the meantime, somewhere in some tidal pool, some marine creatures will be resting a bit easier because a smart sprinkler linked to a satellite is looking out for them. In Newport Beach, I'm Roger Cooper for Life and Times. Announcer>> To send a comment or a question to our program, you can reach us by mail at this address: Life and Times 4401 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, California 90027 You can also call our viewer comment line (323) 953-5555) or contact us the fast way by e-mail at kcet.org. Val Zavala>> It's an exquisite example of Greene and Greene architecture, the Blacker House built in 1907, but would you believe that at one time inside all the beautiful furniture and light fixtures were stripped and sold at auction and there is only one person who could recreate them in all their gorgeous detail. [Film Clip[ Val Zavala>> You're most likely to find Jim Ipekjian bent over the work table in his shop in Pasadena. Jim is a true master of his craft, one of only a handful of cabinetmakers who can recreate to perfection the stunning arts and crafts furniture from Greene and Greene homes. Jim Ipekjian>> It's been an odyssey in that it's been a process of learning. Val Zavala>> For the past decade, he and his sons have been working on reproductions for the Blacker House, a showcase home designed in the early 1900's by the famous brothers, architects Charles and Henry Greene. Jim Ipekjian>> In 1994, the current owners purchased the house. Fortunately for me, they included me in the restoration of the house. Val Zavala>> The odyssey started in 1988 with what preservationists consider a crime against Greene and Greene architecture. The owner of the Blacker House at the time was a man from Texas. He bought the home for about a million dollars, then proceeded to strip it of about seventy valuable light fixtures, windows and doors. He sold them mostly at auction for more than he paid for the house. Jim Ipekjian>> The light fixtures, for instance, inside the house, of which there were over fifty of them, beautiful art glass Greene and Greene designed light fixtures, had more value than the house itself. Val Zavala>> The Blacker House was built in 1907. Henry and Charles Greene were at the top of their field, leaders in the arts and crafts movement which was dedicated to integrating the whole environment, house, lighting, gardens, windows, rugs and furniture. They were all part of the design of the house and that made the loss of the Blacker House furnishings even more painful. Local preservationists dubbed it a Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Two owners and eight years later, the meticulous process of restoring the home began. Jim Ipekjian>> Many of the pieces were already in museum collections and the rest of them were in private collections and the prices that were being gotten for original Greene and Greene objects the prices were escalating practically monthly, so they just had to accept the fact that reproductions of these pieces would be the next best thing to having the originals. Val Zavala>> And the current owners, Harvey and Ellen Knell, knew the best man for the job was only a few miles away. So this is a piece you're working on right now? Jim Ipekjian>> This is a piece, yes. Val Zavala>> For the Blacker House? Jim Ipekjian>> For the Blacker House. Val Zavala>> The shop drawings by the original cabinetmakers were lost in a fire, so Jim works off of photographs and a close examination of existing Greene and Greene pieces which he's studied for twenty-five years. Jim Ipekjian>> The panel which is the part that's all carved and inlaid has actually a tree, as you can see, and the tree trunk extends out and becomes the handle, so you can pull it open like that. This is a blown-up photograph of the detail of the door, so from this I'm able to get the shape and the size and the location of the clouds and the tree trunk and all the inlay pieces and eventually I'll be cutting out all the little inlay pieces for the leaves and placing them in what hopefully will be exactly the right positions. Val Zavala>> Now how exact are you? Do you, for example, try to get every single leaf exactly like it is here? Not just do a few leaves? Jim Ipekjian>> Not a few, no. I'm not taking artistic license with this work at all. I have to count each leaf. That door I know has a hundred eighty-six leaves in it. Val Zavala>> Jim is a perfectionist. This chair is made of rich mahogany and inlaid ebony spines along the arms. Chairs are especially complex and, after days of work just as Jim was on the verge of finishing this one -- Jim Ipekjian>> I accidentally cut a notch into the side of the arm that simply wasn't acceptable. Val Zavala>> The flaw is so small that our cameras couldn't even pick it up. Jim Ipekjian>> And when all was said and done, I couldn't stand seeing this thing sitting around in parts, so I finished it. Val Zavala>> And, no, it's not for sale. In fact, Jim has a special agreement with the owners of the Blacker House. Jim Ipekjian>> That I won't reproduce any of the original Blacker House designs for anybody else. Val Zavala>> Over the years, he has become fluent in what he calls Greene and Greene vocabulary. Jim Ipekjian>> The way that you round a corner can be done with a machine. It can be done by hand. It needs to be done by hand because it creates a look, so it's that look that relates to in music a sound or in literature a certain feeling that a writer might be trying to create. Val Zavala>> Since the Blacker House plunder, the city has passed an ordinance forbidding anyone from removing fixtures from the thirty-seven Greene and Greene homes in Pasadena. As for Jim, he has his work cut out for him and a deadline to meet. Jim Ipekjian>> Since the hundredth anniversary of the creation of the Blacker House is approaching in 2007, we're hoping to finish essentially all of the original designs and I think I have about half a dozen or so left. Val Zavala>> Do you think you'll make it? How long does it take to make these pieces? Jim Ipekjian>> Well, they're time-consuming. Val Zavala>> Very. Jim Ipekjian>> I'm working towards that and that's my goal. Val Zavala>> What will you do after the Blacker House is all complete? Jim Ipekjian>> There are other Greene and Greene houses. Fortunately, concurrently I'm working with other owners. There are other houses in Pasadena that are undergoing significant restoration and I'm fortunate in being called upon to build furniture for them. Val Zavala>> So if I were a client, would I have to be put on a waiting list? Jim Ipekjian>> Well, for you, a very short list (laughter). Val Zavala>> (Laughter) I'll remember that. Although Jim is an expert in the arts and crafts tradition, he doesn't consider himself an artist and he doesn't consider his furniture art. Instead, he says, he's a craftsman, one of a long line of artisans who prize quality and beauty and lucky enough to help rescue an historic home that this time will remain intact long after his work is done. If you'd like to join Jim Ipekjian, he will be leading personal tours of the Gamble House called "Details and Joinery". For more information, go to their website at gamblehouse.org. And that's our program. I'm Val Zavala. For everyone at Life and Times, thanks for watching. We'll see you next time. Announcer>> Life and Times was made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education. And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg. Sponsored in part by:  | |
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