Bottled Water in Hermosa Beach: A Waste of Money, Resources and Perfectly Good Tap Water

March 22, 2010March 22, 2010carbon producers, environment, Environmental Politics, fossil fuels, Sustainability1 Comment

Some of my friends on the Hermosa Beach City Council don’t believe that drinking water out of a new, disposable plastic water bottle at every Council meeting does any harm – so they crack open a new bottle of water at every meeting to quench their thirst. Despite being asked for months now to bring their own reuseable water bottles and to filter their drinking water from the tap, the Hermosa Beach City Council doesn’t believe the example they set every two weeks at their televised meetings matters very much… And they don’t see what this has to do with sustainability.

Here’s a little video that will enlighten them to the facts:

Mayor DiVirgilio: “Why Hermosa Beach is Going Carbon Neutral”

March 17, 2010March 17, 2010carbon producers, citizen volunteer, climate change, electric cars, energy efficiency, environment, environmental legislation, Environmental Politics, fossil fuels, green building, green education, green jobs, plug-in cars, politics, recycling, renewable energy, Saving Energy, sea-level rise, solar power, SustainabilityLeave a Comment

Hermosa Beach Mayor, Michael DiVirgilio, has on Op Ed piece in today’s Daily Breeze on why he is leading his city to a carbon neutral future.

In an era when most elected officials offer no substance and no positive vision for our future, DiVirgilio is downright JFK-like in his view of what must be done:

“But now is not the time to narrow the vision for our own future, to diminish our expectations for the better days ahead or to downsize the ambitions for our children’s quality of life.

Now is the time to step up and seize the opportunities available to those who act on new realities before they become mainstream trends. Now is the time to use the stimulus, grant and foundation money available to those who lead before the map is even drawn.

Now is also the time to act because we are standing at another threshold, the threshold of climate-change tipping points that may diminish the future prospects and possibilities for young and old alike.”

So we choose to go carbon neutral, not because it is easy, but because it is our best possible future, and the best path to preserving the small-town beach community and culture we all cherish and want to pass on to the generations who follow.

ToxicTown Torrance to Hold Public Forum on Chemical Threat

March 16, 2010March 16, 2010citizen volunteer, environment, environmental legislation, Environmental Politics, Sustainability1 Comment

Your friendly neighborhood Greenius wrote seven months ago about the chemical problems in the City of Torrance, known throughout the South Bay as ToxicTown (when it isn’t going under its new official designation as a Blighted Community), but not a single person on the City Council, in City Government or connected with the city in any way cares enough about this issue to address it. They have been silent and impotent regarding the over 157 schools and hospitals located within a five mile radius of the JCI Jones “high risk” chemical plant here in Torrance.

That’s why my friends at Greenpeace are doing the civic work for them and offering this terrific Public Forum next Sunday, March 21, at the George Nakano Theatre right across the parking lot from City Hall. Maybe Mayor TowTruck will amble on over and learn something. After all, Frank Scotto is running unopposed in the next election so it’s not as if he’s busy campaigning and doesn’t have the free time.

Fortunately, my pal, Jenny Binstock, from Greenpeace has put together a terrific program including Diane Moss from Congresswoman Harman’s office, who will be there to introduce the subject and some great panelists. I’ll be in the audience and I hope you’ll join me to learn what no one connected to the City of ToxicTown has the guts to tell its citizens – including self-appointed “Environmental Champion” Councilman, Cliff Numark.

Check out the flier with all the details after the jump

Continue reading ➞ ToxicTown Torrance to Hold Public Forum on Chemical Threat

Getting To Work In Hermosa Beach – The Carbon Neutral ClueTrain Leaves the Station

March 12, 2010March 13, 2010campaign, citizen volunteer, climate change, energy efficiency, environment, environmental legislation, Environmental Politics, fossil fuels, green building, green education, green jobs, News Media, plug-in cars, politics, recycling, renewable energy, Saving Energy, sea-level rise, solar power, Sustainability, Yes We Can!1 Comment

Courtesy of YouTube and the Hermosa Beach City website, and converted and enlarged through the magic of Greenius, we bring you this exclusive look at the Carbon Neutral ClueTrain leaving the Hermosa Beach station this week. Local mainstream media missed this story completely but fortunately for them this on-line record will exist for them to use as research. So will the reporting that the new Patch.com news group will be providing.

The story actually began last week during Hermosa Beach Mayor’s State of the City address where Mayor Michael DiVirgilio spoke about the Carbon Neutral City concept:

Mayor DiVirgilio was right back at it Monday night at the Hermosa Beach Green Task Force meeting, speaking enthusiastically on behalf of the idea:

Join us after the jump to see your friendly neighborhood Greenius and my Fratelli Verde, Robert Fortunato, following the Mayor with our own remarks.

Continue reading ➞ Getting To Work In Hermosa Beach – The Carbon Neutral ClueTrain Leaves the Station

Planet-Warming Texas Oil Refineries Embrace Communist Chinese Stance on Cutting Greenhouse Gas Emissions. CO2-Belching Texas Polluters Pony Up Millions To Overturn California’s AB 32

March 4, 2010March 5, 2010carbon producers, climate change, environment, environmental legislation, Environmental Politics, fossil fuels, greenwashing1 Comment

Your Greenius is sorry to report that there’s been nothing but more bad news on the climate action scene in the past couple of weeks.

Maybe you missed last week’s issue of China Daily with the headline:

“No Intention of Capping Emissions“

“China has no intention of capping its greenhouse gas emissions even as authorities are committed to realizing the nation’s target to reduce carbon intensity through new policies and measures, the country’s top climate change negotiators said yesterday. The negotiators also warned that rich and developing countries have little hope of overcoming key disagreements over how to fight global warming.

China “could not and should not” set an upper limit on greenhouse gas emissions at the current phase, said Su Wei, the chief negotiator of China for climate change talks in Copenhagen, at a meeting in Beijing on China’s climate change policies in the post-Copenhagen era.

But you don’t have to go to Communist Red China to find people who spew greenhouse gases but have no intention of capping their emissions.

Just mosey on over to the Republic of Texas where two of America’s biggest polluting oil companies are ponying up millions of dollars to pay for an initiative on the California ballot that would suspend our state’s Global Warming Solutions act, AB 32.

Continue reading ➞ Planet-Warming Texas Oil Refineries Embrace Communist Chinese Stance on Cutting Greenhouse Gas Emissions. CO2-Belching Texas Polluters Pony Up Millions To Overturn California’s AB 32

Greenius Presents: My Pal Governor Schwarzenegger on What’s Coming Next & Why AB 32 Needs Your Love

February 21, 2010February 21, 2010carbon producers, climate change, energy efficiency, environment, environmental legislation, Environmental Politics, fossil fuels, green building, green jobs, Ocean, renewable energy, Saving Energy, sea-level rise, solar power, SustainabilityLeave a Comment

As your friendly neighborhood Greenius continues with his efforts to help Hermosa Beach become the first carbon neutral city in the South Bay, it might help some of you to get up to speed on what we already know is coming our way here in California from climate change and global weirding.

So why not let my old pal, Governor Schwarzenegger tell it to you straight about what we’re doing here in California to prepare for what we already see coming our way:

Unlike the astoundingly large group of dumbed-down states in the USA who happily have their heads up their own asses when it comes to sharing the climate change facts with their citizens and actually taking the bold actions necessary, California isn’t lying and isn’t delaying. If we have any chance at all of stopping catastrophic climate change from making the future a moot point for your kids, the rest of the country is going to have to follow our lead with emissions cuts, energy efficiency and renewable energy use.

Many of them will have to be dragged kicking and screaming – as usual – but if we have to go caveman on them to help save ourselves, then so be it.

Continue reading ➞ Greenius Presents: My Pal Governor Schwarzenegger on What’s Coming Next & Why AB 32 Needs Your Love

BREAKING NEWS: Hermosa Beach To Become Carbon Neutral City! Acting Locally, Thinking Globally

February 10, 2010February 12, 2010carbon producers, citizen volunteer, climate change, electric cars, energy efficiency, environment, environmental legislation, Environmental Politics, fossil fuels, green building, green education, green jobs, plug-in cars3 Comments

Ever since the Copenhagen climate treaty talks ended in impotence two months ago there hasn’t been a single ounce of positive news on the international scene about our chances of cutting the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and getting CO2 levels back down to the safe 350 ppm zone. Here in the United States our President and Congress haven’t shown the leadership or sense of urgency necessary to prevent a climate catastrophe and they’ve given the people no hope for their children’s future at the national level. Many in Congress have acted unethically and immorally with the responsibility they have been trusted with.

As the Creative Greenius and organizer of the South Bay Los Angeles 350 Climate Action Group that’s just unacceptable to me. If they can’t get the job done in Washington, DC or at the UN – and it’s obvious to me that they cannot – then we will take the reins of responsibility from them right now and we will get the job done here locally.

That’s exactly what is happening now.

Last night at the Hermosa Beach, California City Council meeting, Mayor Michael DiVirgilo, confirmed that he and the City Council are committed to making their iconic beach town a Carbon Neutral City at the earliest possible date. Hermosa Beach’s Green Task Force was directed to come up with the plan and a special joint session of the Council and the Task Force was scheduled for March 30 to get the carbon neutral ball rolling. This makes Hermosa Beach the first city in the South Bay of Los Angeles County, and the first city in all of Los Angeles County to declare their intent to become carbon neutral and sustainable. And that makes them the leadership model we will replicate in all of the other 87 cities that make up this County of 10 million people.

None of this is happening by accident.

Your Creative Greenius was there on the scene to witness the historic action and to add my remarks to note the occasion. Check out the video excerpt courtesy of Hermosa Beach’s website after the jump, and discover, in classic Paul Harvey tradition, the rest of the story…

Continue reading ➞ BREAKING NEWS: Hermosa Beach To Become Carbon Neutral City! Acting Locally, Thinking Globally

Does the US Senate Have The Balls To Stand Up For Your Children? Not Without YOU Forcing Them To

January 30, 2010January 30, 2010carbon producers, climate change, environment, environmental legislation, Environmental Politics, fossil fuelsLeave a Comment

Here on my local scene in the South Bay of Los Angeles our local elected officials are doing their homework, understand the tipping point we now stand upon and are acting to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by completing their carbon inventories and creating Climate Action Plans to get us to the safe zone of 350 ppm of CO2. Here in California we know that we have t0 end business as usual and burning of fossil fuels if anyone 35 or younger is going to have a viable future with anywhere near the good life the baby boomers have enjoyed.

But if you care about our children and our childrens’ children, then do not count on the members of today’s United States Senate to do the ethical, moral or honest thing when it comes to global warming because they will not. They’ve proven it time and time again by continually folding like a cheap umbrella whenever the time came for them to lead us to a better climate and energy future. That’s what happens when you’ve been bought out and completely co-opted by business interests who place a higher value on the money they rake in then the lives of the people who pay them.

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Continue reading ➞ Does the US Senate Have The Balls To Stand Up For Your Children? Not Without YOU Forcing Them To

These Kids and the Greenius Say No Holiday Vacations for World Leaders Who Didn’t Finish Their Work

December 26, 2009citizen volunteer, climate change, environmental legislation, Environmental Politics, Yes We Can!Leave a Comment

While world leaders and a bunch of legacy environmental groups were patting themselves on the backs and raising toasts to themselves for their “accomplishments” in Copenhagen, the youth of the world, along with your Creative Greenius were not among those applauding.

Maybe someone can explain to me how the President can get so badly punked in Copenhagen by the Chinese and then not even tell us the truth about what happened? Of course, our American media played right along and you had to go all the way to England to read: “How do I know China wrecked the Copenhagen Deal? I was in the room”

We’ll talk more about this next week…

Greenius Says The Congresswoman Gets It. Harman Calls Lack of Bold or Binding Agreement to Cap GHG Emissions in Copenhagen, “Stunning.”

December 21, 2009December 22, 2009campaign, climate change, environment, Environmental Politics, sea-level rise, Voters1 Comment

When our South Bay 350 Climate Action Group asked for Congresswoman Jane Harman’s help with our October 24, International Day of Climate Action we got it. Her Environmental Deputy, Diane Moss, has been not just accessible but also terrifically responsive in a straight forward, no bullshit way the Greenius really loves.

And what I also love is the obvious way the Congresswoman studies the issues and isn’t afraid to say and do the right things – despite opposition from the far right as well as the far left of her own party.

If you’re a regular Creative Greenius reader you know that I’ve been writing for quite a while about California’s leadership on climate, renewable energy, environmental legislation and energy efficiency issues.

I’ve also been pounding away about the climate fate of the vulnerable small island states and sea level rise for many months now.

So you know how much I love seeing Congresswoman Harman call these very issues out in the powerful statement she released today with her reaction to the just concluded Copenhagen climate talks.

Continue reading ➞ Greenius Says The Congresswoman Gets It. Harman Calls Lack of Bold or Binding Agreement to Cap GHG Emissions in Copenhagen, “Stunning.”