Despite the South Bay’s reputation as being a laid-back area, those of us who live here know that getting to and from work each day can be stressful.
There is nothing melodious about the cutthroat, “I’m already late and you’re in my way” attitude of the road warriors as they head to and from the office. And they’re typically still on the job while they’re in the car thanks to the smart phones that keep us tethered to work no matter where we are.
But what if we could radically change that whole scenario? What if drivers could instead ride their bicycles to work?
If you live in Hermosa Beach, you are the envy of people all over this planet. It’s easy to get jaded and take it for granted if you’re a local, or to lose sight of 99 percent of the world’s population who would gladly swap places with you if given the chance. The beach, the ocean, the weather, the fresh coastal air blowing in, the Hermosa Beach culture and lifestyle–they all combine to build an image of a SoCal paradise. If it really is all about “location, location, location,” then Hermosa Beach has got it made.
I’m a Sputnik baby–born in 1957, just a couple of weeks before that first satellite launched the Space Age. For the past 52 years I’ve had my sights fixed on the horizon and what comes next. It’s no wonder my favorite land in Disneyland has always been Tomorrowland.
But if you’d like a trip to a real Tomorrowland without ever leaving Hermosa Beach, then this Saturday, May 8, is your star date. That’s the day the South Bay’s Environmental Priority Network is sponsoring its free, 5th annual Solar Homes Tour, and three of its “E Ticket” attractions are all within walking distance of each other in Hermosa.
I asked Bill about the issues of optimism and pessimism and whether he still felt as he did a year ago when he told an interviewer that he no longer thought in terms of optimism and pessimism, he just got up every morning and got to work.
He said that today he draws his energy and inspiration from the young people, mostly in their 20s, who he works with. They’re not discouraged or to bummed to carry on. They know they’re being given damaged goods by the generation handing off to them and they’re ready to deal with it. They understand that the most powerful, most monied interests are lined up against them with a vengeance and they never expected it to be any different. They’re not ready to give up. And so… neither am I.
I asked Bill about the work my friends at GRID Alternative are doing and his thoughts on the adoption of rooftop solar in this final segment of my video interview with him.
Bill McKibben signs his new book "Eaarth" at the L.A. Times Book Festival (photo by Debra Bushweit Galliani)
I really enjoyed getting to table for 350.org at the same table author, Bill McKibben, was signing copies of his new book “Eaarth.” What I dug most was the way Bill personally connected with each person who had a book for him to sign. He took his time and had a brief but unrushed conversation with each person who came by.
Bill was just as unrushed and kind in his time with me in answering some questions for my video interview.
In this second of three video segments, I asked Bill about the work the South Bay Bicycle Coalition is doing in bringing a Master Bike Plan to the area that links the cities of the South Bay:
Bill is the founder of 350.org and we’ve only previously talked together on the radio, so it was a great joy for me to meet Bill in person and exchange hugs and fist bumps.
Bill’s newest book, Eaarth was the topic of of his wide ranging discussion with L.A. Times staff writer, Susan Salter Reynolds, well known for her book reviews and “Discoveries” column.
I got a chance to talk to Bill about a few of the things we’re working on here in the Los Angeles area and the first subject was our Carbon Neutral City efforts in Hermosa Beach.
Last Tuesday and Wednesday I lucked out and landed another volunteer slot on a solar installation gig with my old pals from GRID Alternatives. It’s the most physically exciting work I do as an environmental activist and I always feel like I’ve won the lottery when I get the email that says I’m part of the installation crew.
A low income homeowner in Inglelwood was the recipient of 14 – 215 kW primo Sunpower panels and a beautiful Sunny Boy inverter started showing the amount of carbon it was cutting just a few minutes after we turned it on
The Greenius at Sea Lab Earth Day in Redondo Beach
What an Earth Week!
The Greenius helped bring the South Bay Environmental Services Center message of saving energy, saving water, and saving the environment to Earth Day events at the South Coast Botanic Garden in Palos Verdes,
to the 18th annual VOICE Earth Day Celebration at Polliwog Park in Manhattan Beach,
to Northrup Grumman’s Earth Day Celebration at their Manhattan Beach facility on the actual Earth Day on Thursday April 22…
to today’s Earth Day event at Sea Lab
I was also happy to help the South Bay Bicycle Coalition launch our first Earth Day outreach efforts too – including the first ever bicycle parade at Polliwog Park.
Tomorrow I’ll be at UCLA with Bill McKibben of 350.org…
It’s been weeks since I’ve opined on this page and one of the reasons why is the time it’s taken launching two new columns for AOL’s Patch.com. I’m writing a weekly column on environmental issues for Hermosa Beach Patch and a weekly column on bicycling and the South Bay Bicycle Coalition news for Redondo Beach Patch.
AOL is backing Patch.com with an initial $50 million and hiring journalists to provide hyperlocal coverage in communities of 15,000-100,000 on both coasts. And I’m helping to provide that coverage in Redondo and Hermosa including shooting photos and video.
I’ve only been doing it for or a month or so, but so far I’m digging the experience and happy to broaden my local readership and Creative Greenius reach.
Unlike yours truly who has nothing BUT particular insight and perspective on not only this issue but so many more. And that’s exactly what a brain dead populace is looking for these days and exactly why I’m stretching my already overburdened schedule to bring my fellow South Bay citizens Patch pieces like these I’ve already had published:
Kudos for the brilliant work on this new Greenpeace production to my good friend, Jenny Binstock, and the great cast and crew of volunteers from Greenpeace Southern California.
This would be even funnier if it weren’t so truly sad and sadly true. Too bad Meg Whitman wasn’t available because she would have been a contender!
Creative Greenius 