Climate Action Santa Monica invites high school and college students to apply for the CASM Climate Corps 2024 program.
Since 2016, Climate Corps have engaged in local climate action for an informative, fun and empowering summer confronting the global climate emergency. Climate Corps is a program of Climate Action Santa Monica (CASM) to engage in climate action in our local community for an informative, fun and empowering summer experience.
A primary partner of the program is the City of Santa Monica, which has integrated sustainability goals and rights into its laws, regulations, and operations through the Santa Monica Climate Action & Adaptation Plan. This plan aims to profoundly reduce greenhouse gases by 2030, and aims for the City of Santa Monica to be carbon-neutral by 2050. CASM Climate Corps members help bring climate policy and action to life in our local community.
In collaboration with our partner, the City of Santa Monica, Climate Corps ages 15 to 21 learn about and have real-world experiences in:
causes and impacts of climate change
local sustainability policies and programs
communicating feedback to leaders.
engaging with and educating the community on sustainability issues.
building relationships with leaders from business, government, and community organizations to provide a youth perspective, ideas, hopes, and solutions.
If you have questions, email us at casmcommunity@gmail.com
Presented by the City of Santa Monica and Sustainable Works
Take action and make a difference. Create your climate change vision and develop a roadmap to achieve it.
Together let’s amplify the voices of the next generation of climate leaders in the civic process and help guide City decision-making for a sustainable and resilient future for all.
The event is open to High School and College age participants and is free of charge. However, registration is required.
To register, click register on the Eventbrite form below.
This event is sponsored by Climate Action Now UCLA, a grassroots committee.
UCLA is an important Santa Monica neighbor. The policies, plans, and innovations they undertake can significantly impact and set the pace of climate action by others. UCLA students and faculty will rally on Earth Day to push for accelerated action by UCLA leadership. The students are calling on the administration to aim for 100% clean energy usage by 2035. This means dealing with the gas-burning co-generation plant they have on campus. The facility uses up to a million gallons of water a day. CASM will attend the rally and Co-Chair Laurene von Klan will be one of the speakers.
Come and be a part of it! The rally is scheduled for April 22nd from 11:30 AM to 2:00 PM at UCLA’s Murphy Hall.
How are other California cities reducing single use plastic food ware?
By Nancy Sanchez
Approximately 4.7% of Santa Monica’s greenhouse gas emissions come from landfill waste. In Santa Monica and throughout California, the movement to reduce waste and carbon emissions from single-use plastics is gaining momentum.
Senate Bill 54 requires that by 2032, all packaging in California needs to be recyclable or compostable. Plastic production would be reduced by 25%, and 65% of packaging would need to be recycled after use.
In Oakland, five hundred businesses are switching to reusables through programs like ReThink Disposable. This program helps restaurants find the best strategy for them and provides education and grant opportunities. In LA County they are moving forward to eliminate single-use plastics at local restaurants through 1) Banning single-use food service ware (examples: utensils, plates, cups, etc) that aren’t compostable or recyclable, 2) Banning expanded polystyrene (example: styrofoam) products, 3) Requiring reusables for full service, dine-in eateries (reusablela). The legislation will help small businesses while permanent eateries will have 1 year to reach compliance. Reusable LA shows how support for restaurants can help encourage the switch. CASM sees reusables as a critical climate strategy throughout our community and economy.
As a leader in sustainability and as an ocean community, Santa Monica adopted waste ordinances that also protect marine ecosystems and clean water. Acknowledging that littered plastic foodware harms Santa Monica’s coastal environment, we adopted ordinances that promote marine degradable food service ware. We also have rules to eliminate single-use carry-out bags and provisions for reducing the amount of waste that comes with foods ordered online. Specifically, Santa Monica requires that food service ware be requested when ordering online. Delivery companies such as Doordash and Uber Eats need to make it easier to request foodware, and also make it clear on the app that these will not be provided unless requested. Since bio-plastics are NOT marine-degradable, they are not permitted under the Santa Monica ordinance. Exemptions exist for beverage cup lids at this time. However, with many new options now available, we hope that can soon be changed. Fines are possible for restaurants that do not comply. There are also exemptions for hardship.
CASM conducted a study analyzing the foodware provided by fast-food chain restaurants during food delivery. We found that many complied partially, and a few hardly followed the local ordinances. We are hoping all local restaurants can become heroes for zero waste. CASM is working on outreach to notify local Santa Monica food establishments of changes they can make to their foodware to become heroes and we encourage more local enforcement.
What actions can you take? How can you help?
You can join CASM’s restaurant outreach volunteers. We want people willing to talk to restaurants as customers interested in seeing those establishments commit to a more climate-friendly waste reduction strategy. If you are interested, contact .
In the Fall of 2023, Climate Action Santa Monica’s Climate Job Corps assisted in outreach for LADOT’s Westside Mobility Projects. The program is a plan to enhance safety and connectivity for four secondary bikeway corridors connecting Westside neighborhoods and adjacent cities with the goal of making bicycling more comfortable for riders of all ages and abilities.
CJC members Mario Melgarejo and Nancy Sanchez worked together to spread the word and gather community input for the potential bikeway improvements. Their strategies included posting on Social Media, attending in-person events (farmers markets, flyer distributions, etc), and distributing information electronically via email, newsletter, and on CASM’s website. These outreach activities gave the CJC team opportunities to grow their skills of communication, team work, event planning, and data collection while promoting climate-friendly mobility.
The Westside Mobility Projects will be important to an area in critical need of safer walking and biking infrastructure. With some of the most desirable weather in the country and relatively flat topography, the Westside has the potential to become one of the best biking areas in the Country. But many of Santa Monica’s bike routes stop at city limits, and the continuing paths in the City of LA are often less safe or non-existent. Improving the safety of bike routes in LA’s Westside will complement and extend Santa Monica’s plans for a robust citywide bike network. This project will make an important contribution to promoting climate-friendly mobility, connecting communities and making our streets safer for everyone.
As we collectively strive for a more sustainable and environmentally conscious future, we would like to draw your attention to a problematic and alarming issue right here in Santa Monica – the impact of beach grooming on our environment and its relevance to climate.
Beach grooming involves diesel-powered, tractor-style vehicles regularly driving up and down the coast, raking and flattening miles of sandy shores during the early morning hours. This practice has implications for carbon emissions, plant growth, carbon sequestration, biodiversity, and resilience against rising sea levels.
Last fall, CASM studied some of the effects of beach grooming. In addition to altering the beach habitat and removing trash, the process also shreds beach trash into smaller pieces, which are harder to remove. As these vehicles traverse hundreds of miles, they also emit carbon. The sandy shores of Santa Monica, artificially expanded decades ago with millions of cubic feet of imported sand, are nonetheless a vital habitat for various wildlife, including the endangered snowy plover, which nests here in Santa Monica.
Snowy plover image captured by Birds of The World
Beach grooming is carried out primarily for aesthetic reasons, with a prevailing belief that beaches should be wide, flat, and devoid of vegetation. Additionally, it serves the essential purposes of trash removal and the ability to drive trucks on the beach for emergency management. However, these well-intentioned purposes have unintended consequences, adversely impacting wildlife and the natural environment.
Images captured immediately after grooming show minimal large trash pieces but reveal a startling truth – the shredding of large items into smaller, more challenging-to-manage fragments. It’s a call to action for Santa Monica, our government, and the community.
The exciting and successful establishment of native plants on the beach also presents an excellent opportunity to think of our beach dunes as living climate resources. A living dunes ecosystem can sequester carbon, provide habitat for wildlife, make our community more resilient to rising sea levels and storm surges, and offer new types of nature-based recreation and tourism. Thriving habitats can co-exist with other uses.
It’s time to start a dialogue on beach grooming practices. As a leader in environmental innovation, Santa Monica can pioneer needed change globally; grooming affects beaches worldwide. What if we could employ smaller zero-emission vehicles when needed and promote human stewardship? Let’s promote education, outreach, and policy changes that are future-oriented and climate-smart.
For a comprehensive understanding of our study, please watch this presentation on the study by CASM’s Jasmine Contreras. You will also learn about the Dunes Restoration project led by The Bay Foundation and the City of Santa Monica.
Join CASM February 9, 2024 for our King Tides Event!
Join the 3rd Annual King Tides Event with CASM February 9, 2024 at 7:30am to 9:30am with special guest Bill Selby! We will be taking photos of the King Tides and submitting them on the California Coastal Commission! RSVP Below:
The young plaintiffs cited health issues arising from pollution, natural disasters, and extreme weather events, all symptoms of climate change which has been largely attributed to fossil fuel emissions. Among these plaintiffs was Maya Williams, a former CASM Climate Corps member. Maya has experienced negative l health impacts due to increasingly frequent wildfires in her area. Her grandparents live in Burbank and have had their backyard destroyed from past wildfires. Climate change and the sense that the government isn’t doing anything to stop it makes her anxious about her future. Maya has shown a willingness to confront federal and local environmental issues, including outreach through environmental club Team Marine, this challenge against the EPA, and a recent protest against Hyundai’s use of coal and child labor at the LA auto show.
Our Children’s Trust, the non-profit law firm representing the children in this case, has represented youths in several other climate related cases. All of their cases had failed to go to trial until Held vs Montana, which resulted in a victory for the youth climate activist plaintiffs. A Montana District Court Judge ruled in favor of their position that the state’s continued development of fossil fuels violated a clause in its state constitution that guarantees its citizens the right to a “clean and healthful environment.” Another climate related state Case in Hawaii is expected to go to trial in June 2024. For this case, Genesis B. vs The Environmental Protection Agency, OCT is awaiting a response from the defendants (EPA) in the next couple of weeks, and their hope is that this case will also go to trial.
What is Zero Waste? How can I take action and be a part of this movement?
By Nancy Sanchez
Zero Waste Blog #1
Zero Waste is a movement and principle to minimize waste production through composting, reusing, or recycling waste/material without harming the environment or human health (US EPA). It can also include reducing consumption generally. Zero waste is important for climate because it keeps waste out of landfills where it can rot and give off methane gas, which is a gas with high warming potential. Zero waste also reduces the amount of material that needs to be trucked to other locations – the trucking is itself a large contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. In Santa Monica CASM is working with the City of Santa Monica on a campaign called Hero for Zero. The campaign encourages food establishments to become a Hero for Zero Waste by following the city ordinance for Disposable Food Service Ware and reducing the amount of disposable packaging and utensils they provide, while also creating a shift to compostable and marine degradable materials. Other countries have participated in this movement by becoming more responsible with their waste production.
The zero waste movement in France- – zéro déchet– , developed through waste-reduction policies and educational opportunities encouraging people to live a zero waste lifestyle. In Roubaix residents were asked to volunteer in a year-long pilot program to live waste free or less waste. No financial initiatives were offered, only the promise that it would help the litter problem and protect their environment. The residents’ learned ways to store, preserve, and cook food while reducing waste. France has also banned plastic packaging for many fruits. The first anti-waste law was in 2022 for single-use plastic items, including plastic cutlery, straws, stirrers and takeaway cup lids. Several fast food chains including McDonalds and Burger King are even using reusable containers!
If you want to take your own actions to support the zero waste movement there are two steps you can take today. The first thing you can do is download an app called Too Good to Go which encourages people to fight food waste together by rescuing unsold food from your favorite stores or restaurants with a click of a button. Based on your geographical location the app will notify you on which restaurants will have food left over and what times you can pick up your food. Make sure you check daily because everyday has different restaurants or stores. Several stores I’ve noticed on the app include Coffee Bean, Groundwork Coffee, and Mochinut. Keep in mind that the food you receive will be a mystery and who doesn’t love a mystery every now and then while you’re preventing more food from entering the landfills!
The second action you can do is help CASM conduct outreach at food establishments in Santa Monica. CASM will be educating the establishments on alternatives to plastic food ware and personally connect to these establishments as a consumer. If you are interested in helping with CASM’s Hero for Zero initiative contact: casmcommunity2@gmail.com
Can Santa Monica and California enact some of these policies?Yes!
We can make plastic drink cup lids a thing of the past. However, with the exemption for plastic lids more work needs to be done. There are some establishments that have paper lids like Gnarwhal Coffee and we should encourage other establishments to make the switch to paper. We can also lean into making reusable containers the norm. This can help us achieve some of our local climate goals, notably reductions of emissions from waste.
From June to September 2023 Climate Jobs Corps member Nancy Sanchez conducted a study to help advance participation by the business community in the achievement of the City of Santa Monica’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan (CAAP), specifically with the goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and zero waste through diversion from landfill, composting and recycling by 2030. Her study focused on the food establishments that prepared food for delivery to individual customers, often referred to as “fast food”. These establishments are required to follow the rules of the 2019 Disposable Food Service Ware Ordinance in the city of Santa Monica, which was adopted in support of the City’s CAAP goals. The study focused on the types of utensils and packaging provided by the establishments from which food was ordered for delivery. During the study Nancy and a team of volunteers photographed and documented the food service ware received from 20 food establishments.
Additional Santa Monica municipal codes and policies formed the basis for reviewing the utensils and packaging provided. These included:
Chapter 5.46 MANDATORY RECYCLING – This ordinance seeks to reduce the amount of non-recyclable, e.g., non-organic and organic, solid wastes deposited in landfills from the City’s commercial businesses, residents, haulers, and self-haulers.
Chapter 5.44 NON-MARINE DEGRADABLE DISPOSABLE FOOD SERVICE WARE- This ordinance seeks to keep disposable food service out of the landfill and also prevent disposables from posing a danger to ocean life. “Disposable food service ware” means disposable products intended for single or a limited number of uses, used in the restaurant and food service industry for serving or transporting prepared, ready-to-consume food or beverages. Disposable food service ware includes, but is not limited to, plates, cups, bowls, trays, hinged or lidded containers, straws, stirrers, lid plugs, lids and utensils. This ordinance does not address disposable packaging for unprepared foods.
Chapter 5.45 SINGLE-USE CARRY OUT BAGS- This code bans single use carry out plastic bags. “Carry out bag” means any bag that is provided by a retail establishment at the point of sale to a customer for use to transport or carry away purchases, such as merchandise, goods or food, from the retail establishment.
Panda ExpressUrth Cafe
FINDINGS
Nancy found that, for the most part, the utensils provided by the restaurant chains during delivery did not comply with the various ordinances. The majority of the foodware provided were plastics 1 to 5. Nancy also documented the type of bags used to bring the food. She found that 14 restaurant chains provided brown paper bags and 5 provided plastic bags. The study found that one restaurant chain, Yoshinoya, complies with the ordinances to a high degree which could be an example for other restaurant chains to become “heroes for zero waste.” Yoshinoya followed the ordinance going above the requirements by including paper lids for drinks. Plastic lids are allowed; they are currently exempted from the city ordinances.
Yoshinoya
RECOMMENDATIONS
As a result of the study, CASM offers the following recommendations for future action:
It should be incumbent on food establishments to disclose whether or not the food service ware is compliant with city ordinances because it is often difficult to determine this based on the product name or information printed on the item itself.
It is now possible to begin use of marine degradable lids in preparation for removing all or part of the lids and cups exemption. Paper and fiber drink lids are in use in many parts of Europe already. Outreach should begin as soon as possible.
In the absence of readily available examples of marine degradable cups, more source information for food establishments on compliant products is needed.
Early adopters could be incentivized.
Food delivery apps and restaurants need to inform customers that utensils will not be provided and must be requested. The apps need to make this easy and clear.
Reusable utensils and packaging remains highly effective in terms of reducing waste and carbon emissions and should be a priority strategy.
This study took place as a sideline activity during several meetings of CASM’s summer youth Climate Corps. Climate Corps members’ participation provided valuable educational experience addressing actions which need to take place to achieve zero waste. It also provided insights into the role that disposable consumer products play in climate-related resource consumption and demonstrated how an informative study can be performed even with limited resources.
Are you interested in helping with outreach to local food establishments, so that they switch to plastic-free low-carbon packaging and utensils?
