Environmental Politics

Hold Onto Your Butts!

Categories environment, environmental legislation, Environmental PoliticsLeave a Comment on Hold Onto Your Butts!

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I live at the beach.  Well technically a half-mile from the beach, but I can see the ocean from my house and I get the beach weather here.  As somebody born in Flatbush, Brooklyn in 1957 I know how lucky I am to live where I do.  I count my blessings every day and I try to give back.

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Photo courtesy of Palos Verdes Daily Photo Blog. Photo by Tash

So I’m a member of Surfrider and Heal the Bay, and I try to never miss our annual beach clean up days. And I don’t limit my beach trash pick up to just those days either.

Every year that I have participated in those Torrance beach clean up days, and whenever I walk the beach throughout the year, the one type of trash I pick up more than any other is cigarette butts.  It’s not just the beach either.  I picked up hundreds of cigarette butts in Old Town Torrance when I joined the Old Town Torrance Neighborhood Association in their neighborhood clean up in January of this year.

Continue reading ➞ Hold Onto Your Butts!

Frankly, I’d Rather Be Getting Arrested with Bill McKibben Today

Categories campaign, carbon producers, climate change, environment, Environmental Politics, fossil fuels, Killer Coal, renewable energy, Saving Energy, Sustainability, Yes We Can!1 Comment on Frankly, I’d Rather Be Getting Arrested with Bill McKibben Today

I just got the email below from author/activist/environmentalist, Bill McKibben of 350.org   He’s in Washington DC with thousands, protesting the coal-fired Capitol Power plant–a dirty symbol of our dirty energy history.  Bill’s helping to create the largest ever civil-disobedience on climate change in history.  It’s happening right now.

Along with Al Gore, Dr. James Hansen and Joe Romm, Bill Mckibben is one of the climate change activists I admire most.

Bill asked us all to be there, but for those of us who couldn’t, he’s asking for our help by signing onto a statement of support.  If you haven’t already done so, can you take just a few seconds out of your day to add your name by clicking on the 350 link?  I just signed it, added some scathing comments and now we all need to stand together on this one.

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After the jump, Bill McKibben’s email –

Continue reading ➞ Frankly, I’d Rather Be Getting Arrested with Bill McKibben Today

Dr. James Hansen Has Something To Tell You

Categories carbon producers, citizen volunteer, climate change, election, environment, Environmental Politics, fossil fuels, Killer Coal, politics1 Comment on Dr. James Hansen Has Something To Tell You

This just in from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, via her blog (thanks to Joe Romm of Climate Progress)

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Today, Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sent the following letter to the Acting Architect of the Capitol, Stephen T. Ayers, asking that the Capitol Power Plant (CPP) use 100 percent natural gas for its operations. They write, “the switch to natural gas will allow the CPP to dramatically reduce carbon and criteria pollutant emissions, eliminating more than 95 percent of sulfur oxides and at least 50 percent of carbon monoxide…We strongly encourage you to move forward aggressively with us on a comprehensive set of policies for the entire Capitol complex and the entire Legislative Branch to quickly reduce emissions and petroleum consumption through energy efficiency, renewable energy, and clean alternative fuels.”

Your Greenius says, the threat of Monday’s civil disobedience got this letter written and I hope the action itself moves us from letters to legislation.  I strongly encourage Speaker Pelosi to join the Capitol Climate Action civil disobedience protest and get arrested on March the 2nd to show where she stands.  She’s already in DC, it’s only a few blocks away, Speaker.  Go ahead and march on over, even if it’s cold.

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Greenius On The South Bay Scene – The Green Report

Categories citizen volunteer, environment, Environmental Politics, green education, renewable energy, solar power, SustainabilityLeave a Comment on Greenius On The South Bay Scene – The Green Report

If you want to have your finger on the pulse of what’s happening on the South Bay green scene being on Dency Nelson’s Friends for A Green Hermosa Beach e-mail list is a pretty damn good place to start.

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The green story of Dency Nelson is worth an entire blog onto itself, but he’s far too busy and actively involved to ever have time for that.  His green roots go back to the 1970s along with those of his friend, Ed Begley Jr.

Ed became a star in front of the camera, Dency became a superstar on the other side of the camera.  Today they both drive electric cars powered from the charge generated via their rooftop solar panels.

Today, I think a new TV series called “Living With Dency” has the potential to be an even bigger hit than “Living With Ed”  has been.  After all, Dency lives in the far more telegenic South Bay and his solar panels have an ocean view…

Continue reading ➞ Greenius On The South Bay Scene – The Green Report

Greenius Is Fired Up Over Obama’s Green Economic Recovery Bill!

Categories campaign, carbon producers, citizen volunteer, climate change, election, electric cars, environment, Environmental Politics, fossil fuels, green building, Killer Coal, News Media, plug-in cars, politics, renewable energy, Saving Energy, solar power, Sustainability, Voters, Yes We Can!1 Comment on Greenius Is Fired Up Over Obama’s Green Economic Recovery Bill!

environmental-progress-399-x-695President Obama Steps Up To Save The Economy & The Climate While Republicans No Longer Relevant

I wholeheartedly applaud, support and endorse President Barack Obama’s signing of the $787 billion economic recovery bill just moments ago.  I cheer his rapid action less than a month after taking office to start getting us out of the Bush Depression – both literally and figuratively.

This bill is not only the most sweeping economic recovery package in our nation’s history, it’s also the greenest.

Fortunately for all of us, climate change guru, Joe Romm of Climate Progress, has already done the heavy lifting and outlined just how green and positive this new bill is.  Read:

Here’s What’s Green In It

Continue reading ➞ Greenius Is Fired Up Over Obama’s Green Economic Recovery Bill!

Shouldn’t We ALL Be Going to PowerShift 2009?

Categories carbon producers, citizen volunteer, climate change, election, environment, Environmental Politics, fossil fuels, Killer Coal, politics, renewable energy, Sustainability, Yes We Can!Leave a Comment on Shouldn’t We ALL Be Going to PowerShift 2009?

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I know I should be in Washington DC in two weeks to help take over the capitol on behalf of green jobs, clean energy and ending our carbon-based economy.

I know I should be there contributing, blogging and shooting pictures, marching and lobbying and networking with my green brothers and sisters in arms.

I know I should be there with the 10,000 young people who are gathering in Washington to hold our elected officials’ feet to the accountability fire.

“I can’t understand why there aren’t rings of young people blocking bulldozers and preventing them from constructing coal-fired power plants.” – Al Gore

Continue reading ➞ Shouldn’t We ALL Be Going to PowerShift 2009?

The Confederacy of Dunces

Categories carbon producers, climate change, election, environment, Environmental Politics, VotersLeave a Comment on The Confederacy of Dunces

While our nation’s economy teeters on the brink of a catastrophe caused by the same defiantly ignorant individuals who supported every bonehead policy of the President who spent a trillion dollars invading the wrong country, here’s what those same failures and losers have to contribute to the debate now.  WATCH THIS:

Continue reading ➞ The Confederacy of Dunces

The Curious Case of the Torrance Enivornmental Commission

Categories citizen volunteer, climate change, environment, Environmental Politics, fossil fuels, green building, green buildings, politics, recycling, renewable energy, Saving Energy, solar power, Voters, water conservation, wildlife9 Comments on The Curious Case of the Torrance Enivornmental Commission

scoop1I attended the first 2009 meeting of the Torrance Environmental Quality and Energy Conservation Commission last Thursday night and it was curiously different from anything I expected.

First of all, I was the only member of the public who attended the meeting. Secondly, the energy level, enthusiasm and sense of urgency I’ve experienced at other environmental meetings was nowhere to be found among the Commissioners. Maybe they all wished they were watching the Lakers-Celtics game that night instead…

Your Greenius already knew the Lakers would beat down Boston, so my focus was fixed on what was going down in the room.

Continue reading ➞ The Curious Case of the Torrance Enivornmental Commission

News FAIL – L.A. Times Blows Global Warming Story

Categories carbon producers, climate change, environment, Environmental Politics, fossil fuels, water conservationLeave a Comment on News FAIL – L.A. Times Blows Global Warming Story

state-newspaper-excusesThe L.A. Times has a newsbreaking interview with new Secretary of Energy Steven Chu in this morning’s paper. Secretary Chu gave the Times an exclusive Tuesday and the paper says he warned about the threats from climate change more “bluntly” and in more “dire terms” than he ever has before.

But don’t look for this big story on the front page because it’s not there. It’s buried in the California section and it’s given just a fraction of the ink that the “news” about the tiny town of Newman gets for its move to ban a book with too much cursing in it.

If you want to hear some real serious cursing you should be hearing the string your Creative Greenius is putting together over what a lousy job the Times is doing with the biggest story of our generation.

Continue reading ➞ News FAIL – L.A. Times Blows Global Warming Story