Let Us Now Murder AB 2145 Before It Kills Community Choice Power

July 22, 2014July 22, 2014climate change, energy efficiency, environment, environmental legislation, Environmental Politics, politics, renewable energy, Saving Energy, solar power, SustainabilityLeave a Comment

When we last wrote about AB 2145 it was after a trip to Sacramento to speak out against the bill at the Senate Energy Committee hearing on it. We told the bill’s author, Assemblyman Stephen Bradford that we wanted to bring Community Choice Power to the South Bay, especially cities like Inglewood and Gardena, where lowering electricity bills will have a big impact on homeowners and business owners. We went home that day happy that the bill’s opt in provision had been removed.

But as it turns out we shouldn’t have been so pleased because AB 2145 was still alive and in its revised form now had three different ways to kill the current Community Choice programs in Marin County and Sonoma County, and to make sure no new Community Choice Power programs, like our own embryonic South Bay Clean Power efforts, can possibly succeed.

How does it do that? Pretty simply –

Continue reading ➞ Let Us Now Murder AB 2145 Before It Kills Community Choice Power

Greenius on Patch.com: Redondo’s Most Important Vote Has Nothing to Do With Zoning

August 23, 2010September 1, 2010carbon producers, citizen volunteer, climate change, energy efficiency, environment, environmental legislation, fossil fuels, Ocean, renewable energy, Saving EnergyLeave a Comment

Although local temperatures have been unseasonably low most of this summer, much of the rest of our planet has been burning (Russia’s historic fires), melting (Greenland glacier chunk breaks off, Arctic Sea Ice Loss), overheating (record heatwaves), or experiencing the extreme weather conditions climate that scientists have been warning about for decades now.

Regardless of what polling of a mostly misinformed and ignorant general public shows, the overwhelming and undeniable consensus of the world’s climate scientists, the people who specialize on the subject, says that we’ve pumped too much greenhouse gas from burning fossil fuels into our atmosphere and it’s overheating global temperatures in the air and in the ocean.

Not surprisingly the fossil fuel industries have spent hundreds of millions trying to con people about what’s happening and focus blame somewhere else. They’ve been doing exactly what the tobacco industry did until the stack of dead bodies from lung cancer victims got too big to ignore.

READ THE REST OF THE STORY ON REDONDO BEACH PATCH.COM

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

The Greenius Solution To All California’s Problems: AB 920 + AB 811 UPDATED

August 10, 2009August 13, 2009citizen volunteer, climate change, electric cars, energy efficiency, environment, environmental legislation, Environmental Politics, fossil fuels, green building, green jobs, Killer Coal, plug-in cars, politics, renewable energy, Saving Energy, solar power, Yes We Can!6 Comments

AB 920 + AB 811 = Solar Powered Electric Cars & PV Powered Charging Stations

I used to get frustrated with people when they couldn’t grok what was so blatantly obvious to me. The dots that other folks were failing to even see, already looked pre-connected to me – like those incredibly real artificial Christmas trees with the lights already set in place and ready to plug-in.

It took me about five decades to realize that I was just wired to see things a certain way and that most other people come at the same things from a very different angle.

What I’m seeing plain-as-day right now is the simple and obvious solar solution to all of California’s budget and growth problems.

But I’m also seeing something even bigger and better than that. And you’ll be seeing it too, right after the jump…

Continue reading ➞ The Greenius Solution To All California’s Problems: AB 920 + AB 811 *UPDATED*

BREAKING NEWS: Exxon/Mobil Ordered Out of Torrance, Guilty of Greenhouse Gas Pollution

May 3, 2009June 13, 2009campaign, carbon producers, citizen volunteer, climate change, electric cars, environment, Environmental Politics, fossil fuels, greenwashing, politics, renewable energy, solar power, Sustainability, Yes We Can!8 Comments

“Pack Up Your Toxic, Fossil Fuel Factory With Its Climate-Changing Products & Get Out of Town By 2020!” Greenius Rules

It’s true, I have declared it thus this very day, marking this date as the beginning of the end of the Exxon/Mobil era.

Consider this fair and legal warning, world’s largest and most polluting oil company – I’m giving you 10 years to pack up and hit the road. Otherwise I will have you evicted and we will seize your assets. Mark your calendar and let’s start collecting empty moving boxes for our poison pals in petroleum.

pack-your-bags-boys

Continue reading ➞ BREAKING NEWS: Exxon/Mobil Ordered Out of Torrance, Guilty of Greenhouse Gas Pollution

The Solangelist’s Vision Shines Brighter

March 22, 2009March 23, 2009environment, environmental legislation, politics, renewable energy, solar power2 Comments

The Greenius Plan To Spread Rooftop Solar Faster Then The Common Cold

If you’ve followed The Adventures of the Solagnelist thus far you know that I am seriously jonesing to generate all my electricity from my own rooftop solar power. The only thing stopping me – an even more serious lack of the do-ray-mi.

As the late great Woody Guthrie put it,

California is a garden of Eden, a paradise to live in or see;
But believe it or not, you won’t find it so hot
If you ain’t got the do re mi.

Woody wasn’t kidding and neither am I. And just like Woody, I’d like to sing you a song about a better way…

Continue reading ➞ The Solangelist’s Vision Shines Brighter

Heidi On The Hot Seat

February 2, 2009February 21, 2010environment3 Comments

All Global Warming Is Local

The South Bay region I live and work in covers an area of 161 square miles and encompasses 15 cities plus portions of the City of Los Angeles and unincorporated portions of the County of Los Angeles.

The South Bay is defined by the LAX Airport to the north and the Port of Los Angeles to the south – two of the biggest polluters in Southern California.

Cities that make up the South Bay include: Carson, El Segundo, Gardena, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Inglewood, Lawndale, Lomita, Manhattan beach, Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, and Torrance. The South Bay also includes the 15th District of the City of Los Angeles (the LA Strip) and portions of unincorporated Los Angeles County.

The Exxon/Mobil refinery in Torrance and the Chevron refinery in El Segundo are both located in the South Bay and are each a big part of the carbon-based economy that causes the majority of climate change – although you’ll never get either of these corporations to admit this truth or take responsibility for it. They’re kind of funny that way.

Continue reading ➞ Heidi On The Hot Seat

Inside The Green Task Force

December 8, 2008October 15, 2009carbon producers, citizen volunteer, climate change, environment, Environmental Politics, fossil fuels, green buildings, politics, renewable energy, Saving Energy, solar power, Sustainability4 Comments

main_image For more than a year now in this blog I’ve been researching and reporting on climate change, energy and transportation issues and related environmental stories covering them on both a personal and a global perspective. I haven’t been breaking any hard news, I’ve just been spreading the news that doesn’t get enough attention and adding my take on top of it for the majority of my readers who don’t have the time to dig as deep as I do.

I have to admit I’ve shared a pretty dire world view when it comes to the current and coming impacts of climate change.

That’s what happens when you start each morning reading blog’s like Joseph Romm’s Climate Progress and following the work of Dr. James Hansen and the United Nations International Panel on Climate Change.

But during this same past year, I’ve also been attending the meetings of the South Bay Cities Green Task Force.

I’m there as one of the only independent citizens – and of course as the Creative Greenius, but I’m mostly there because I’m an aspiring policy wonk and I eat the content of these meetings up. The truth is, I’m unabashedly fascinated by and truly interested in the work they’re doing. And the work they’re doing brings California’s leading edge fight against global warming right into my neighborhood and into my home. It is, as the cliche puts it, where the rubber meets the road, and the road is the street I live on.

Continue reading ➞ Inside The Green Task Force