Wendy Greuel Our Best Bet To Get To 100% Renewable Energy In Time

May 2, 2014May 2, 2014campaign, citizen volunteer, climate change, Community Activists, election, environment, environmental legislation, Environmental Politics, fossil fuels, green jobs, greenwashing, News Media, politics, renewable energy, sea-level rise, solar power, Sustainability, Voters, Yes We Can!Leave a Comment

hero joe — Joe Galliani in Keep Hermosa Hermosa hat receiving his 2014 Environmental Hero Award from the City of Manhattan Beach and V.O.I.C.E. with Sona Kalapura Coffee, Manhattan Beach Mayor Amy Howorth, State Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, Kaye Gagnon of V.O.I.C.E and Councilman Wayne Powell.

To those of you who know me best and have been reading Creative Greenius since we started publishing in October 2007 it seems pretty silly that any candidate for elected office would seek my endorsement or think that it would do more good than harm.

And you would think that would be especially true for anyone running to become our United States representative from this 33rd Congressional District – the person who will be following the great Henry Waxman in that position.

But in fact, both Wendy Greuel and Marianne Williamson have each reached out to me and I have taken their asks seriously and with more thoughtfulness than usual given the crossroads we find ourselves at climate wise. Without Henry Waxman as our Representative we lose a giant.

I’ve spent time talking with Marianne Williamson’s policy advisor over the last couple of weeks and just this Wednesday I had the pleasure of meeting with Marianne one-on-one for about 90 minutes at my own spiritual sanctuary, our beloved South Coast Botanic Garden on a spectacular summer-like morning.

Continue reading ➞ Wendy Greuel Our Best Bet To Get To 100% Renewable Energy In Time

Hey Ted, Here’s My Card

April 27, 2014April 27, 2014campaign, citizen volunteer, climate change, Community Activists, election, environment, environmental legislation, Environmental Politics, politics, Voters, Yes We Can!Leave a Comment

My California State Senator, Ted Lieu, doesn’t know who I am because I have never made a strong enough impression on him during the many times we have talked over the 21 years I’ve lived in Torrance. Because of that Ted cannot remember my name and always asks for my card when I shake his hand and say hello. It pains a sensitive soul like myself to know I have made myself so forgettable and non-noteworthy, but all of us must live in the shadows of those who loom so much larger than ourselves.

I understand that it’s hard for Ted because he has met so many thousands and thousands of far more vivid people than me in the thousands and thousands of campaign events and fundraisers Ted has spent his time at during his decades running for and holding different offices as he moves his way up the rungs of political office. It no doubt makes it harder still because I have never given Ted any money even though he has mailed me two decades worth of requests for campaign donations. And it was my fault for not having a card with me earlier this week when I was part of State Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi’s press conference in Hermosa Beach.

So to help Ted out, I just received this big oversized card with my name on it that might help him remember me the next time we run into each other – but because I still won’t be sending Ted any money or voting for him in his run for the great Henry Waxman’s seat, I’m not counting on this either.

Continue reading ➞ Hey Ted, Here’s My Card

South Bay Parents Welcome Mexican Drug Cartel Funding For Local Schools’ DARE Program

November 17, 2013November 17, 2013carbon producers, climate change, environment, fossil fuels, green education, greenwashing, sea-level rise, solar power, Yes We Can!Leave a Comment

We have to get the money from somewhere,” say parents.

“And there were no strings attached. Since we’re using the money for drug prevention we don’t think this is hypocritical at all. We still tell our kids that drugs are bad and to stay off them. You tell us – if we don’t take the money from them where else are we going to get it? The Cartel is making billions, at least the money they give us is going towards something good for our kids.”

One of the middle schoolers just shrugged when asked if he thought the drug cartel giving their school the money for the drug diversion program was helping or hurting.

They must be helping since they’re paying for the DARE program and our summer skateboard camp too. I don’t think our parents would bring them into our schools to help if they were the bad drug people or doing things that hurt us.”

A spokesperson from the Drug Cartel said they were proud to help the community, especially kids and their education.

We’ve been doing business in these local South Bay cities for a very long time now and it’s our pleasure to give back. Many of our top cartel executives and managers live and work here. It’s our community too you know.

We have to thank our colleagues at Chevron and Exxon for setting the successful model for this kind of community support in the South Bay. We knew if local parents would embrace the biggest polluter and destroyer of the climate as their respected and honored partners with the schools, they’d have no problem with us and what we do. We’re very pleased to use our profits here this way. After all, we wouldn’t have had another recored year without the help of moms and dads from El Segundo to the Peninsula.”

Serving My Country – My Patriotic Duty

November 11, 2013November 25, 2013citizen volunteer, climate change, Community Activists, environment, fossil fuels, Killer Coal, Ocean, renewable energy, sea-level rise, solar power, Sustainability, Yes We Can!Leave a Comment

Robert Earl Bushweit (right) runs into his Detroit buddy, Percy, in a captured German town. — Robert Earl Bushweit (right) runs into his Detroit buddy, Percy, in a captured German town during WWII.

And The River Opens For The Righteous

On this Veteran’s Day 2013 I honor my father-in-law, Bob Bushweit for his service starting at the age of 18 in World War II where he fought as a member of Patton’s Third Army across Africa and Europe and actually did preserve our freedom and our democracy as part of the greatest generation.

It is not hard to see these men and women as America’s true heroes – uprooted from their lives and sent to the European or Pacific theaters under harsh, brutal and primitive conditions without any of the technology, medical advances or modern conveniences that are an afterthought for today’s military. They didn’t know if they could win, many times were on the verge of losing and the fear and isolation they experienced never stopped them.

While we honor today the service, sacrifice and loss of all our military members, there was no threat to our homeland, our freedom or our democracy from the North Koreans, the North Vietnamese, the Cambodians, the Iraqis, or the Afghanistan people. Our men and women were put in harm’s way by politicians for different reasons, none of which have ever proven to be worth it. It’s not the men and women in uniform’s fault in any way and it does not diminish their personal service but it is not the same thing as putting your life on the line to protect and defend our American way of life.

Continue reading ➞ Serving My Country – My Patriotic Duty

Creative Greenius Loves Hermosa Beach Sharrows & You Should Too

October 14, 2010October 14, 2010Bicycles, citizen volunteer, climate change, environment, Sustainability, Yes We Can!Leave a Comment

South Bay Bikes — Members of the newly formed South Bay Bicycle Coalition are happy with the Hermosa Beach "sharrows," which allow bicyclists to use a lane of traffic on Hermosa Avenue. The group hopes to see more South Bay cities install such bicycle-friendly facilities. (Steve McCrank, Daily Breeze Staff Photographer)

I’ve written before about the sharrows Hermosa Beach painted on Hermosa Ave earlier this year and how much I like them. I continue to use them and I like them even more now. I feel safer when riding on Hermosa Ave and the cars on the road don’t seem to have any real problems going around me if they need to.

Since I stop at all the stop signs, I get a certain amount of respect from the vehicles I’m sharing the road with too.

I think a lot more streets should feature sharrows throughout Hermosa Beach and the newly resurfaced Upper Pier Ave is a good place to put them next. I think most of my friends in the South Bay Bicycle Coalition and the Beach Cities Cycling Club agree with me.

My recent bicycle tour of Long Beach with their Mobility Coordinator extraordinaire, Charlie Gandy, further convinced me of the benefits of sharrows. Their green painted sharrow lane on 2nd Street in the Belmont Shore neighborhood produced 30% more cyclists with fewer crashes, 20% fewer cyclists riding on the sidewalk and a 50% reduction in car/bike crashes.

A big part of the reasons sharrows work so well in Long Beach is because of the great job they did educating their elected officials, the police force and the public. They made sure they got the word out, that people in the community understood what the rules were and what the benefits would be from working together. The result? Long Beach is fast on the way to becoming the most bicycle friendly city in California.

There’s no reason Hermosa Beach can’t follow that same sharrow story of success and indeed if Hermosa really wants to be taken seriously as a “Green Idea City” or wants to actually achieve carbon neutrality it’s going to need sharrows and a lot more bicycle infrastructure and friendliness to get there.

Step one to get there is for a strong bicyclist turnout for Wednesday (Oct 20) night’s public forum on Hermosa Beach Sharrows. Check out the details after the jump.

Continue reading ➞ Creative Greenius Loves Hermosa Beach Sharrows & You Should Too

Exclusive Greenius Video: Bill McKibben on Hermosa Beach as a Carbon Neutral City

April 25, 2010April 25, 2010carbon producers, citizen volunteer, climate change, energy efficiency, environment, environmental legislation, renewable energy, solar power, Sustainability, Yes We Can!Leave a Comment

Renown environmental author and activist, Bill McKibben, is in Los Angeles today where we met him at the L.A. Times Festival of Books.

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.

Greenius Celebrates Earth Week with South Bay Environmental Services Center

April 24, 2010April 24, 2010citizen volunteer, climate change, environment, plug-in cars, recycling, renewable energy, Saving Energy, Sustainability, Yes We Can!Leave a Comment

P1080485 — 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…

Continue reading ➞ Greenius Celebrates Earth Week with South Bay Environmental Services Center

South Bay Bicycle Coalition Scores $240,000 Grant! Huge Grassroots Victory for Brand New Bike Group

March 22, 2010April 6, 2010citizen volunteer, climate change, environment, Yes We Can!1 Comment

CDC-LAC-RENEWGrants4_Mar2010 — South Bay Bicycle Coalition members including Redondo Beach Councilman Steve Diels, with County Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas and County Department of Public Health Staff upon awarding of the grant. That's South Bay Bicycle Coalition Chairman, Todd "Elvis" Dipaola rocking the shades.

Your Greenius got great news from downtown Los Angeles on Friday when my pal, Todd Diapola called me from outside the Kenny Hahn Hall of Administration to report that he and the other representatives of the South Bay Bicycle Coalition, of which I am a proud founding member, had just been told our SBBC was getting the big, fat $240,000 grant we had applied for.

Considering that our volunteer group had scrambled and worked our asses off at a whirling dervish pace to get all the paperwork and lobbying done by the deadline, it was especially sweet news for us.

Continue reading ➞ South Bay Bicycle Coalition Scores $240,000 Grant! Huge Grassroots Victory for Brand New Bike Group

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

It’s 2010 – Are YOU Ready for The Greenius Decade?

January 11, 2010November 29, 2013citizen volunteer, climate change, electric cars, energy efficiency, environment, fossil fuels, plug-in cars, renewable energy, solar power, Sustainability, Yes We Can!2 Comments

I sure hope you’re strapped and ready to roll for the Greenius Decade because ready or not, it’s already begun and I guarantee you it will not be like any other decade you’ve ever experienced or even previsualized. The Greenius Decade will be all now and totally happening. The Greenius Decade is ready to discover the limits of the possible by venturing a little way past them into the impossible.

Continue reading ➞ It’s 2010 – Are YOU Ready for The Greenius Decade?