climateactionsantamonica SAMOCAN, Uncategorized

Nuclear Power Isn’t Green Enough… And America Can’t Deal with the Waste!

Watch The Recording

 

CASM December SAMOCAN Webinar

How much do you know about high-level radioactive waste policy in the United States? In the face of a global increase in demand for electricity, many nations are looking to nuclear power as a low-carbon, round-the-clock power source to bolster electricity grids. However, only one permanent high-level nuclear waste repository has been established worldwide.

This webinar discusses the current status and history of radioactive waste legislation in the United States, explaining the struggle to establish a national nuclear waste repository over the last few decades. Then, explores the first permanent geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel, which has been established in Finland. Finally, we make some rough calculations to compare the buildout of nuclear power and nuclear waste facilities with renewable energy sources and battery storage facilities. How do these two advanced energy technologies compare to addressing the global demand for more electricity while also supporting people, planet, and future generations?

Mackenzie Devilbiss is a PhD physicist and environmental consultant. Through her background in particle physics, she has taken many radiation safety training courses and even used radioactive sources in experiments. Her environmental work recently brought federal radioactive waste policy to her attention, this webinar serves to start an informed discussion about the topic.

climateactionsantamonica SAMOCAN, Uncategorized

Understanding and Adapting to Climate Change with Bill Selby

Watch The Recording

 

In June, CASM hosted Understanding and Adapting to Climate Change with Bill Selby, an inspiring Zoom talk, in which the professor emeritus shared what future effects of climate change could actually look like. As he said in one of our conversations, “put on your seat belt, we’re in for a ride!”

What will future effects of climate change actually look like? Everyone seems to have different views about climate change nowadays. There’s a lot of misinformation floating around out there. Which of the current changes are part of natural cycles and which are caused by humans? Will some places get colder, while others get much hotter? Put on your seat belt, we’re on for a ride! Let’s use some critical thinking to explore these greatest scientific experiments and learn how they are changing our landscapes and impacting everyone.

The good news is there are still plenty of opportunities for us to join together and make positive waves. From native plants to habitat restoration, and from greening urban heat islands, to living more efficiently, let’s explore the many ways Californians are reacting and adapting to climate change, severe weather events, and other environmental stresses. Join professor emeritus, naturalist, and author William Selby, with his most recent publication, The California Sky Watcher as we search for some silver linings during these uncertain times. You can follow his stories at www.rediscoveringthegoldenstate.com.

 

climateactionsantamonica SAMOCAN, Uncategorized

RECORDING: CASM’s September SAMOCAN with CJC Mario Melgarejo and Mia Levenson

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WxaDSbuWbIGhAbKqvZnQ483OY5Ph-2LE/view

For CASM’s September SAMOCAN we will be hosting two of CASM’s Climate Jobs Corps (CJC) Mario Melgarejo and Mia Levenson present their projects structured around their interests in sustainability. Mario will report on our recent initiative to promote non-car commutes at Samohi. This effort involved engaging with students during the “Get Your Stuff” days, leveraging Climate Corps, student input, and CASM resources to emphasize sustainable transportation as a priority for the school year. Mia will be presenting her research on Mass Timber. She has been working with the Office of Sustainability and the Environment over the past few months to conduct this research. A general overview of mass timber building as well as the market in Santa Monica, with an emphasis on emissions reduction in the building sector, will be discussed.

……..

Mia attended SAMOHI and recently graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a BS in Environmental Science and a minor in Sustainability Studies. She has interned at Natural Bridges State Beach where she has worked with youth on environmental education and restoration projects. She has also studied abroad in Costa Rica examining the relationship between the people and the natural ecosystem. Now, she is studying for the LEED Green Associates. Mia joined Climate Action Santa Monica in April as a Climate Outreach Fellow. During her time she has worked on green building research, electrification projects, and community engagement events. As a Santa Monica native, she is excited to be back working on climate issues in the community.

Mario Melgarejo joined CASM in early 2023, as a member of CASM’s Climate Jobs Corps, a division of the State of California’s Youth Jobs Corp program. Since then, he has worked on a variety of outreach projects in electrification and transportation, been present at various community events, and assisted in the running of a summer youth program. Mario graduated from UC Davis in 2020 with a degree in Sustainable Environmental Design, and participated in a study abroad program on housing and urbanism in Barcelona in 2019. Inspired by his educational and personal experiences, Mario now seeks to dedicate his professional career to addressing social and environmental problems in California, particularly in the area of transportation and urban design.

climateactionsantamonica SAMOCAN, Uncategorized

RECORDING: Enjoy a Discussion with Denny Zane from Move LA!

Denny Zane created Move LA in 2007 to bring together business, labor and environmental leaders and community organizations with the goal of raising significant new funding for LA County’s transit system. Denny presents and discusses how we in Southern California can create a coalition and a regional voter initiative for a measure that if approved by a simple majority of voters will raise a boatload of money to invest in strategies to end air pollution, dramatically reduce climate pollution and enhance zero-emission regional transit mobility. 

Denny Zane is the Founder and Executive Director of Move LA, a housing and transit activist, and a former mayor of Santa Monica. He will investigate a “Grand Boulevards” strategy to promote transit-oriented, mixed-use multifamily housing along currently underutilized boulevards designated as Bus Rapid Transit corridors. He believes that a transit investment can create an affordable housing solution.

climateactionsantamonica SAMOCAN

Transformation is inevitable, what is CASM’s Role? with Rob Lempert

Enjoy a Discussion with one of CASM’s Advisor’s Robert Lempert!

The recent IPCC Sixth Assessment Report makes clear that climate change has advanced so far that some type of economic and societal transformation has become inevitable. No single entity can dictate such changes, rather they will emerge from competition and cooperation among many actors in governments, private sector, and civil society across many scales.  Dr. Lempert offers some reflections on some of the opportunities and dilemmas this might pose for a group such as CASM.

climateactionsantamonica SAMOCAN

Grandparenting in the Era of Climate Change with Guest Speaker Regina Pally

Grandparenting in the Era of Climate Change

with Guest Speaker Regina Pally

On Thursday January 25, 2024, Regina Pally was interviewed by Climate Action Santa Monica’s Executive Director and Steering Committee Member Laurene Von Klan. Regina discussed the importance of Grandparents in the life of grandkids and how the people who take care of children help kids manage the stress and anxiety of Climate Change.

Biography of Regina Pally:

Regina Pally is retired from private practice as a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst and currently engaged in helping the community. She is author of “The Reflective Parent: How to do less and relate more with your kids,” which emphasizes that building and maintaining a strong parent-child relationship is the single most important thing a parent can do for their child. She is Founder of Center for Reflective Communities (CRC), which provides training and educational workshops designed to help parents and other care providers build strong relationships with children by enhancing their capacity to be reflective. Reflective capacity is the uniquely human ability that enables us to make sense of what is going on inside another person and inside ourselves. Regina maintains that being reflective in our relationships with children, leads to greater empathy, understanding, and acceptance and less stress, anger, and aggression, all of which ultimately promotes healthier child development. Regina has 3 adult children, 7 grandchildren and lives with her husband in Santa Monica.

climateactionsantamonica SAMOCAN

Understanding the Santa Monica Beach Dunes Adaption Project Presentation with Alexandra Tower, Nico Predock, and Jasmine Contreras.

Understanding the Santa Monica Beach Dunes Adaption Project Presentation

November’s SAMOCAN is shore to bring excitement!

On Thursday, November 16th, the Santa Monica Climate Action Network welcomed Featured Speaker, Alexandra Tower, Coastal Adaptation Director for The Bay Foundation.  Alex discussed the success of the Beach Dunes Restoration pilot project and proposals to create additional wildlife habitat and protection from rising seas.  Nico Predock (Sustainability Analyst) from the City of Santa Monica, provided the City’s perspective and plans.  Jasmine Contreras, one of CASM’s Climate Fellows, spoke about beach grooming and provide ideas and information for adapting the way we manage the beach.

More About the Featured Speaker:

Alex was born and raised in a southern Californian coastal community, which may explain why she is a life-long advocate of the ocean and coastal environments. With a Master’s degree in Marine Ecology and a PhD in Coastal Dune Plant Physiological Ecology from UCLA, Alex has a keen interest in applying the breadth of her expertise to current environmental issues. Alex works at the interface of education, ecological research and hands-on ecological restoration. She has served in leadership positions for several institutions, and currently serves as a Commissioner on the City of Santa Monica’s Commission on Sustainability, Environmental Justice and the Environment. Alex lives in Santa Monica with her husband and teenage son.

climateactionsantamonica SAMOCAN

What Have our Climate Job Corps Members Been Doing? With Nancy Sanchez and Mario Melgarejo

RECORDING: SAMOCAN EVENT What Have our Climate Job Corps Members Been Doing?

As a part of CASM’s CJC Nancy Sanchez and Mario Melgarejo have been working on two projects structured around their interests in sustainability by collecting data to document how to move forward. Nancy’s project focused on Zero Waste and the 2019 Disposable Food Service Ware Ordinance which seeks to encourage food establishments to have marine degradable food service ware. Mario’s project focused on the trends of different modes of transportation taken by the SAMOHI students.

climateactionsantamonica SAMOCAN

National Permitting Reform with Guest Speaker Dana Nuccitelli

RECORDING: SAMOCAN with Dana Nuccitelli from Citizen’s Climate Lobby

On October 19, 2023, SAMOCAN hosted Dana Nuccitelli, the Research Coordinator for Citizens Climate Lobby.  Dana is an environmental scientist and climate journalist with a Master’s Degree in physics. He has written about climate change since 2010 for Skeptical Science, for The Guardian from 2013 to 2018, and since 2018 for Yale Climate Connections. In 2015 he published the book ‘Climatology versus Pseudoscience’, and he has also authored ten peer-reviewed climate studies, including a 2013 paper that found a 97% consensus among peer-reviewed climate science research that humans are the primary cause of global warming. With Dana’s experience he will be discussing what National Permitting Reform is and why it will help us reach our climate goals.

More about the speaker:

Dana joined CCL’s staff in 2021 after 9 years as a volunteer with its Sacramento chapter. During that time, he gave dozens of presentations all around California about climate change impacts like wildfires and droughts, and policy solutions like carbon fee and dividend. Dana has also led CCL’s Science Policy Team since 2017. In his free time, Dana enjoys playing tennis and spending time with his dogs. In recognition of his climate journalism and education work, Dana won the prestigious SEAL Environmental Journalism Award in 2022 and the National Center for Science Education Friend of the Planet Award in 2016.

climateactionsantamonica SAMOCAN

How to Create Real Change in Los Angeles with Michael Schneider

RECORDING: SAMOCAN Event with Michael Schneider

On September 21st SAMOCAN hosted Michael Schneider, a native-born Angeleno, who started Streets For All to change LA’s built environment from being car-centric to being multi-modal. Michael walked us through his story and what led him to start Streets For All. Michael focused on the impact Streets For All is having on the transportation revolution in Los Angeles and how to get involved to change the city for good. This presentation was recorded and is available to view in the video embedded above.