climateactionsantamonica Uncategorized

August Newsletter

Highlights

  • Opportunity to bring EV chargers to your building
  • Serve your community by adopting a BBB bus stop
  • Label your landfill, recycling, and green bins
  • SaMoHi Freshman ‘Get Your Stuff Day’ info

CASM in the Community

SAMOCAN Recap

Last month, CASM organized a SAMOCAN Webinar on the Future of Sustainable Mobility in Santa Monica. We had two City officials who are leading projects that advance zero-emissions transportation give updates on their projects and share how these infrastructure upgrades help Santa Monica reach our City’s emissions reduction goals.

Ariana Vito, Senior Sustainability Analyst in the City’s Office of Sustainability & the Environment, manages the expansion of the City’s public EV charging network. She shared details on recent and upcoming projects for public EV chargers in Santa Monica, as well as updates on how the City is electrifying its heavy-duty maintenance fleet. An interesting piece of her presentation touched on how far the City has come over the past decade on increasing EV ownership and EV charging availability: the share of registered EVs in the City has grown from 1.4% to 12.9% since 2015!

Eric O’Connor, Assistant Director of Transportation for the City of Santa Monica, leads the Big Blue Bus zero-emissions fleet transition and advanced EV charging infrastructure upgrade project. He spoke about the timeline of the project, broken into 6 different phases, which will culminate in a 100% all-electric BBB fleet. One of the main highlights of the presentation was an overview of the overhead charging system, which preserves the structure of the open parking lot in the bus depot and allows for buses to charge from either end after they park.

Our speakers closed the webinar with a few ways that the community can get involved with expanding electric vehicle charger access and supporting Big Blue Bus ridership.

The Charge4All Program installs EV chargers in multi-family buildings at no cost for qualified properties. Southern California EVen Access is now accepting applications for this program for multi-family properties with 50 or more units. The program covers the following expenses: equipment, installation, and 10 years of operations and maintenance for Level 2 EV chargers if accepted. Please visit this link and watch the LA County Charge4All Webinar for application details.

The BBB is introducing the Adopt-A-Stop program where community members can volunteer to maintain their local BBB stop. Adopt-A-Stop volunteers provide an invaluable service in ensuring the cleanliness and safe conditions of BBB’s bus stops. Adopters also receive exciting incentives for volunteering including free bus rides and exclusive merchandise to show off their BBB pride. If you are interested in adopting a stop to serve your community, learn more here!

State of the City Recap

A few CASM members attended the State of the City fair at the end of July to hear the Mayor’s address and spread the word about local climate action. We had a great time chatting with community members about how they act sustainably at home. Composting was a central topic of conversation – the City Waste Division had a fun game on what types of waste belong in the Green Bin and what don’t. We were able to win a prize for correctly sorting the waste!

Upcoming CASM Activities 

August 11: SaMoHi Freshman “Get Your Stuff Day”!

CASM will be tabling at SaMoHi Freshman “Get Your Stuff Day” with City staff on August 11th. Come visit the table for maps and information on trip planning from the GoSaMo TMO team. There will also be games of sustainable mobility trivia, so show us your transportation smarts to win a prize!

A photo from last year’s “Get Your Stuff Day” that shows CASM volunteers behind the table and ready to help!

Action Alerts

Label your garbage bins! At State of the City, the City Waste Management Division was handing out stickers for residents to put on their trash bins, recycling bins, and green bins that provide easy labels to tell you what belongs in each bin. Properly sorting food and organic matter into green bins is a powerful climate action that every household can take, and these stickers make it easier than ever to get waste where it belongs. If you weren’t able to pick up stickers at State of the City, they will be distributed at any of the City Resource Recovery and Recycling events found on this page.

A green bin sticker for quick reference for what belongs (and doesn’t belong) in the green organics recycling containers.

A landfill bin sticker for quick reference for what belongs (and doesn’t belong) in the black landfill containers.

Sign a petition to Stop Big Oil! The Last Chance Alliance is collecting signatures on a petition against state bills AB2711 and AB2716, which seek to attack environmental reviews for oil wells and weaken requirements for oil companies to pay for cleanup when they abandon oil wells. Sign this petition to tell state representatives that Big Oil needs no more handouts!

Climate News

Have you heard the recent buzz about the City removing a number of African Coral trees along San Vicente Blvd? According to a recent SMDP article, an arborist evaluated trees in the corridor and found that removal is the only viable option for 9 “high-risk” trees. This investigation has prompted scrutiny about the tree irrigation system in the corridor for the remaining trees, which was retrofitted in 2016.

An interesting pilot study recently found that replacing a gas stove with an electric stove at home could reduce symptoms of asthma. After replacing the gas stove in a small number of homes, researchers monitored both air quality levels in the home and asthma symptoms of the participants for 3 months after the replacement. Participants reported marked improvement in asthma symptoms, including reduced asthma-related hospitalizations and missed school and work days. Read the full study here!

Does styrofoam recycling have a future? A recent LA Times article examined the complexities associated with recycling polystyrene in its many different forms – including the vilified polystyrene foam. Though styrofoam has long been the bad boy of recycling and subject of many local bans, a producer alliance is hoping to make widespread recycling more viable.

Upcoming in the Community

August 8: Recycling Event at City Yards

August 8: Small Space Gardening Workshop

August 9: Summer of ’26 Pali Veg Fest at the Palisades Village Green

August 13: Renter Aid Program In-Person Application Support

August 15: Top Tomato in Santa Monica Contest

August 15: Westside Repair Cafe (see flyer below for info!)

August 15: Heal The Bay Nothin’ But Sand Beach Cleanup

August 22: Project Save Our Surf Beach Cleanup

August 29: The Bay Foundation & Santa Monica Yoga Morning of Mindfulness and Dune Restoration

Want to keep your action going? Climate Action Santa Monica (CASM) is looking for volunteers with a variety of talents and interests. Check out our volunteer page to see how you can get involved!

climateactionsantamonica SAMOCAN, Sustainable Transportation, Uncategorized

The Future of Sustainable Mobility in Santa Monica

Learn about zero-emissions mobility projects in Santa Monica, such as the BBB EV fleet upgrade and public EV charging station expansion.

Use this link to watch the Webinar recording!

Vehicle emissions are Santa Monica’s largest source of emissions. Sustainable mobility is one of three sectors that is included in the City’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan to reach our goals in emissions reduction by 2030. This webinar will feature City officials that are leading projects to increase access to zero-emissions transportation in Santa Monica, such as the Big Blue Bus EV fleet and charging infrastructure upgrade project and expansion projects for the City’s public EV charging stations. Please tune in to hear about the latest updates on these projects and to learn about how each project contributes to the City’s overall emission reduction goals!

Featured speakers:

Ariana Vito: Senior Sustainability Analyst in the City of Santa Monica’s Office of Sustainability & the Environment. She leads the implementation of the City’s Climate Action & Adaptation Plan, which focuses on citywide building and transportation decarbonization. She authored the City’s first Electric Vehicle Action Plan, manages the expansion of the City’s public EV charging network, and has developed policies and programs to increase EV charging access in both new and existing buildings.

Eric O’Connor: Assistant Director of Transportation for the City of Santa Monica. He has been a City official for over a decade and joined the Big Blue Bus team in 2016. He is leading the Big Blue Bus zero-emissions fleet transition and advanced EV charging infrastructure upgrade project.

climateactionsantamonica Uncategorized

July Newsletter

Highlights

  • A month of advocacy and letters of support!
  • Scholarship and fellowship opportunities for students
  • Local advocacy is happening now to defend Bird Island!
  • SAMOCAN webinar in July

CASM in the Community

June has been a productive month for climate advocacy! Members have contributed to several local climate action efforts by writing letters of support to decision-makers. 

CASM signed on to a letter with many other local and national environmental organizations to support the passage of SB 868, the Plug and Play Solar Act. This bill allows California residents in apartments, condos, and single-family residences to use small balcony solar systems in their homes, which can mitigate the high cost of electricity bills. SB 868 ensures that balcony solar devices meet strict safety standards, protecting both residents and landlords while the devices are in use. Many Californians are in regions with bountiful sunlight, ideal places to benefit from balcony solar, and we are happy to show our support for increased access to renewable energy.

And here’s what coalition building looks like!

Coalition of organizations that signed the Plug and Play Solar Act letter of support.

CASM members authored a letter to Senator Padilla in support of the City of Santa Monica’s funding request for the 2033 Virginia Avenue project. Funding for this project would enable the Community Corporation of Santa Monica, the new owners of the apartment complex, to make repairs and renovate the complex into all-electric, zero net energy buildings. This project creates affordable, sustainable housing in our city and keeps the current residents of the building in their homes, which is why we gladly show support to bring the project to fruition.

CASM members authored two letters of support for improvements to local transportation corridors:

We sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Washington in support of the City of Santa Monica’s application to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s 2026 Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant program to implement Phase 2 of the Lincoln Neighborhood Corridor Plan (LiNC). The LiNC plan improves the public right of way on Lincoln Boulevard through both physical streetscape and policy-level improvements to the corridor.

We also sent a letter to the California Transportation Commission in support of the City’s application for Cycle 8 Active Transportation Program funding for the Santa Monica Boulevard Safety and Connectivity Improvements Project. This project would bring a number of local benefits, including enhanced pedestrian crossings, improved mobility for bicyclists and access to transit, protection for children walking and rolling to school, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and increased “foot traffic” downtown to help local businesses thrive.

We hope that our letters of enthusiastic support for local infrastructure improvements make Lincoln Blvd and Santa Monica Blvd safer for all! 

Upcoming CASM Activities 

Our July SAMOCAN webinar will be on sustainable mobility in Santa Monica. The City of Santa Monica has an ambitious Climate Action & Adaptation Plan (CAAP) that includes an overarching goal to “achieve an 80% reduction (below 1990 levels) in community carbon emissions by 2030.” Sustainable mobility is one of three sectors that is included in the climate action part of the CAAP to reach that goal. Vehicle emissions are Santa Monica’s largest source of emissions. This webinar will feature speakers from the Big Blue Bus team as well as the City’s Department of Transportation to discuss zero emissions transportation projects in Santa Monica. Please stay tuned for a specific date and time!

Action Alerts

Scholarship Opportunities

There are many scholarship and fellowship opportunities accepting applications right now for the upcoming school year! If you are a current high school or college student, you may be eligible. Deadlines are approaching, so be sure to visit links below for full application and deadline details for each program.

California Climate Action Corps Fellowship — Deadline: July 31, 2026 

Paid 11-month fellowship (starts Sept 2026), $35,250 stipend + $10K education award. Age 18+. Arguably the best opportunity in the state right now. → Applications opened May 1 and are accepted until July 31, 2026. 

Visit the application link here and find more details here.

Ventana Surfboards Ocean Conservation Scholarship — Deadline: July 15, 2026
$3,000 for California-based students who have completed at least one year of college with a major related to ocean conservation. Essay: 400–600 words on why you care about protecting the ocean.

Visit the application link here.

Apprentice Ecologist Initiative Scholarship — Deadline: August 31, 2026

Open to high school juniors (Class of 2027) and seniors (Class of 2026). Lead or join an environmental stewardship project, write a 750–1,500 word essay, submit photos. Three scholarships totaling $1,750.

Visit the application link here and find more details here.

City of Santa Monica REACH Program

The Office of Sustainability & the Environment’s new Renter’s Energy and Cooling/Heating (REACH) program addresses climate challenges for Santa Monica renters by offering free portable heat pump HVAC units, air purifiers, and portable power stations to income-qualified renters in Santa Monica. The program has plenty of funding still available after distributing the first group of appliances, so please apply for these appliances if you qualify and spread the word to neighbors! Flyers in English and Spanish are attached below. To learn more about the REACH program, visit this link.

Climate News

Data center regulation in California:

Data centers have been a hot topic amongst CASM conversations as of late, due to their huge energy impact and the many bills percolating through California legislative pipelines. At a time when the world needs to urgently transition to renewable energy, adding huge new power consumers to the grid stands to hinder climate progress. Regulations are needed to mitigate community impacts of the data centers, but proposed requirements to merely disclose resource consumption don’t go far enough. The LA Times recently published a story about Governor Newsom’s views on data centers, the various proposed pieces of legislation, and the tension between local residents and big tech about siting data centers in California communities. California’s laws have the potential to create a national model for data center regulation, in absence of federal regulation. As a state, we have the power to impose regulations that make data centers responsible for the impacts that they have to people and planet. The question is, will we?

Local advocacy for Bird Island:

Bird Island is a precious piece of open space at the confluence of Ballona Creek and Centinela Creek, right at the edge of the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve—the only state ecological reserve in all of Los Angeles County. Recently, a misguided and illegal development proposal threatens to destroy the habitat and open space of Bird Island. The group Defend Ballona Wetlands has been actively advocating to protect Bird Island, including preparing for a hearing at the West LA Area Planning Commission to speak out against the development projects. Please see the July 1 event link below to support the hearing and visit this link for more details.

Upcoming in the Community

July 1: Show Up to Speak Up for the Birds! with Defend Ballona Wetlands

July 5: Surfrider x Faherty Beach Cleanup at Tower 28

July 8: Rewilding Santa Monica: Dune Restoration Update

July 11: Compost Giveaway at City Yards

July 11: Plastic Free July – Santa Monica Beach Cleanup

July 12: Restoring California, a Double Screening & Panel

July 13: Santa Monica Conservancy: Shotgun House Tour

July 15: Downtown Farmer’s Market Anniversary Event

July 18: Waste Sorting 101 with Kayla

July 18: Introduction to Seed Saving

July 19: Beach Cleanup at Santa Monica State Beach

July 23: State of the City 2026

climateactionsantamonica Uncategorized

June Newsletter

Highlights

CASM in the Community

Last month, CASM partnered with Downbeat 720 to host the Let The Youth Speak event. At this event, we featured wildflower seed ball making around some climate-themed posters. The open mic encouraged participants to share their ideas about how to grow community; a few newcomers as well as Downbeat regulars took the opportunity to share music and poetry from the heart. We look forward to co-hosting future climate-themed open mic events, so stay tuned if you or any youth in your life are interested in sharing at our next event!

Let The Youth Speak participants gather for a group photo after the show.

In May, a few members of CASM also gathered to celebrate the organization’s wonderful leadership. Our Executive Director and Co-Chair, Laurene Von Klan, has been in that role overseeing our grants and administration for 7 years. The evening was filled with laughs and good company – the perfect way to thank Laurene for her thoughtful and inspiring leadership!

CASM members smile around a shaded picnic table at Santa Monica Brew Works to celebrate Laurene.

In early June, CASM and Climate Corps Club members went on a tour of the Sustainable Water Infrastructure Project (SWIP) on Main Street. The SWIP facility provides a drought-resilient water source for Santa Monica by recycling stormwater, urban runoff, and municipal wastewater into clean, drinkable water. SWIP has the capacity to treat and recycle up to 1 million gallons of wastewater per day and up to ½ million gallons of stormwater per day, providing a sustainable source of groundwater replenishment for the city’s drinking water supply. Touring this facility reminded CASM just how precious water is as a resource; as drought and extreme weather intensify, new, local water sources are a cornerstone of water resilience and help Santa Monica reach its goal of water independence. 

CASM members hear from Sunny Wang, the Water Resources Manager for the City of Santa Monica, about different stages of water treatment at SWIP. Pictured behind members of the tour is the reverse osmosis membrane system.

Upcoming CASM Activities

We will be bringing back our SAMOCAN webinars at the end of June! 

Our next SAMOCAN webinar will be on sustainable mobility in Santa Monica. The City of Santa Monica has an ambitious Climate Action & Adaptation Plan (CAAP) that includes an overarching goal to “achieve an 80% reduction (below 1990 levels) in community carbon emissions by 2030.” Sustainable mobility is one of three sectors that is included in the climate action part of the CAAP to reach that goal. Vehicle emissions are Santa Monica’s largest source of emissions. This webinar will feature speakers from the Big Blue Bus team as well as the City’s Department of Transportation to discuss zero emissions transportation projects in Santa Monica. Please stay tuned for a specific date and time, likely during the last week of June!

Action Alerts

Take action to improve food labeling and reduce food waste!

In the United States, over 30% of food goes uneaten. Right now, there are two bipartisan bills in Congress with the power to cut food waste in half: 

  • The Food Date Labeling Act standardizes expiration date labels nationwide. No more confusion about “sell by” vs. “best by” vs. “use by.” This will help you determine when food has gone bad versus when it just might not taste quite as fresh.
  • The NO TIME TO Waste Act establishes a federal Office of Food Loss and Waste, funds critical research, and launches a national campaign to cut food waste in half by 2030. 

To get these policies into action, representatives need to hear from supporters like us. Sending letters to congress in support of these two bills will send a clear message that Americans are ready for coordinated effort to reduce food waste. To use your voice, visit the attached link from the World Wildlife Fund to use a template and send a letter to your representative. This action is quick, easy, and will have a meaningful impact on food labeling and waste policy!

Climate News

19th Street Community Farm:

The 19th Street Community Farm is finally opening! This community agricultural space was purchased by the City in 2019 and has gone through several phases of community planning and development to bring the project to fruition. The City is hosting a block party on June 14 to celebrate the opening of our new Community Farm and 50 years of Community Gardens in Santa Monica. To get involved with the Community Farm project, learn more by visiting this link.

CASM supports Resilient Palisades:

Are you curious about how Pailsadians are rebuilding their community?  Then you might want to follow Resilient Palisades.  Their work includes youth education, native plant stewardship and landscaping, electrification, and more.  They report great news in their recent newsletter: “As of April, LADWP’s HOME LA program has received 31 applications from Palisades-area home rebuilds, with 5 already approved and approximately $100,200 in rebates committed, pending project completion. That might not seem like a high number but 2025 ended with only 14 applications.   Hypothetically…If applications kept doubling every four months, we’d be looking at something like 5,600 applications by the 2028 deadline.”  Wouldn’t that be great?

To get the Resilient Palisades newsletter, visit https://www.resilientpalisades.org/join-us 

If you are a Palisadian, please reach out and share your ideas for how CASM can support the Pacific Palisades community.

Research on how ocean warming is weakening sea breezes:

The most recent volume of the Nature Climate Change journal features an open-access article titled ‘Ocean warming weakens the sea–land breeze in coastal megacities.’ In this paper, researchers use simulations to study how rising ocean temperatures may affect liveability in coastal megacities by reducing the number of days that the cities experience sea–land breezes. The study simulates that rising ocean temperatures will slightly reduce the number of sea–land breeze days in Los Angeles. To read the full paper, visit this link.

Upcoming in the Community

June 11: The Last Dive Film Screening and Panel Discussion

June 13: The Comedy Swap (clothing swap and comedy event)

June 14: The Garden Series at Tongva Park

June 14: 19th Street Community Farm Block Party

June 20: UC Master Gardeners at Pico Farmer’s Market

June 24: Annie Leonard & André Carothers present Protest: Respect It, Defend It, Use It book tour

June 25: Santa Monica Beach Cleanup

June 27: The Bay Foundation & Santa Monica Yoga Morning of Mindfulness and Dune Restoration

climateactionsantamonica Uncategorized

May Newsletter

 
 
  

 

CASM in the Community

CASM’s Climate Corps Club leader, Sarrie Thompson hosted an Earth Month Event in April at the Main Street Farmers Market. The event featured seed ball making, planting, climate tarot cards, and CASM’s Wheel Of Knowledge.

 

 

  
 

 

 

Farmers Market goers spin CASM’s “Wheel of Knowledge” to learn about Climate topics at our Earth Month Celebration

 

 

  
 

Little hands hold earth, making seed balls from soil and wildflower mix

  
 

 

Climate “Tarot” cards playfully ask passersby to make connections between their own lives, personal benefits, and collective climate actions. View the deck

  

 

 

 

We also wrapped up the Climate Corps Club, with an end of the year celebration last week at the beach. We’re so proud of our amazing teen leaders who have given their time and energy to the  program this year – tabling at local events, sharing powerful climate actions, advocating for climate at city council meetings, and more. Thank you!

 

 

 

  
 

 

But wait! We’ve still got a couple of youth climate events coming up… 

  
 
  

 

Upcoming CASM Activities

 

May 12th, 6:30pm: Let the Youth Speak: Growing Community Together

  
 

 

Join other youth activists for a night of gardening, music, poetry and community!

What would you like to see grow in the world?

Get involved with local organizations that are committed to improving our community. 

Show up, sign-up, and speak up!

6:30pm – Let’s seed our intentions for community, growth and change! Join us for seed ball making at Reed Park Community Garden, mingle, and sign up for local volunteer opportunities

7:20pm – Bring  your intentions to life at Downbeat 720, a youth open-mic sponsored by the City of Santa Monica, now in its 25th year! Bring your words, your music or just yourself!

Special guest poet: Raquel “Rocky” Perez 

Special guest singer: Downbeat alum, Makeda

 

Wednesday June 3rd, 4pm: SWIP (Sustainable Water Infrastructure Project) Tour

Calling all youth! Join us for a tour of the Sustainable Water Infrastructure Project (SWIP) led by Santa Monica water resource manager, Sunny Wang. SWIP is a first-of-its-kind project that utilizes water recycling to provide a drought resilient water supply for the City. Please join us for this event as we witness this powerful climate adaptation strategy first hand. Closed toed shoes required.

  
 
 
  

 

Action Alerts

Looking for easy ways to support impactful climate legislation? The Climate Center has action alerts with email templates, so all you have to do is add your name and hit send. Sign up at the bottom of their webpage for action alerts like this.

  
 
  

 

Climate News

 

Your Green Bin and Protecting your Local Wetlands are your Emergency Brakes for Climate Change. Check out this new article by CASM’s Super-Volunteer, Mackenzie Devilbiss to learn local solutions you can do now to curb polluting emissions fast. 

 

Big Blue Bus hosted a Groundbreaking Ceremony for their new EV charging infrastructure; CASM’s Program Lead, Makeda spoke at the event. Here’s the scoop – Santa Monica Breaks Ground on $56 Million Clean Transit Future. 

 

May is Bike Month. Riders can enjoy discounts, promotions, and events all month.  All you need to know, here.

 

 

  
 

 

California marks biggest state park expansion in decades with 3 new parks

New reports show renewable wind and solar energy sources are meeting 99% of new demand for electricity in 2025. Read or listen here. 

What if finding your role, not more information, was the best thing you could do to advance climate solutions? What if by defining and joining together our roles we can create a “mycelial network of change?” Project Drawdown shares on this topic  “Finding Clarity, Courage, and Community in Climate Action: A Conversation with Katharine Wilkinson, Ph.D.”

  
 
  

climateactionsantamonica Uncategorized

Your Green Bin and Protecting your Local Wetlands are your Emergency Brakes for Climate Change

By Mackenzie Devilbiss

Some climate solutions are particularly potent because they are high impact and they can be implemented in the near future. Called ‘emergency brake’ solutions, these actions immediately curb emissions from highly damaging greenhouse gases such as methane. Emergency brake climate solutions include preventing ecosystem degradation, reducing methane emissions and leaks, and reducing food and energy waste. A few of these powerful climate solutions can be implemented at home, and one of them is already available to you as a resident of Santa Monica!

Green Bin Program and Food Waste

Two emergency brake climate solutions that go hand-in-hand are increasing the use of composting and reducing food loss and waste. When food waste and organic matter, like yard trimmings, are disposed of in a landfill, the organic waste decays and releases methane into the atmosphere. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and has roughly 30 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. According to the US EPA, municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills are the third-largest anthropogenic source of methane emissions in the US. The agency estimates that 24% of the MSW disposed of in landfills is food waste – and this food waste is responsible for a staggering 58% of methane emissions caused by unintentional leaks from landfills. The final product of composting is a nutrient rich product that can be used for soil amending. This beneficial soil additive produces less potent emissions as a byproduct and has the potential to store carbon in the soil long-term. 

In Santa Monica, the Green Bin program is available for all residents to separate organic waste from recyclables and landfill trash. The City of Santa Monica characterizes MSW into different categories and tracks how much of our MSW is food waste. In both 2023 and 2025, roughly 24% of Santa Monica’s MSW sent to landfill was food waste, matching the national average. The City also tracks how much waste is composted through the Green Bin program. Each resident in Santa Monica can support this powerful climate solution both by using the green bin in your home and by explaining the importance of the green bin program to your friends and neighbors. In addition, it is important to reduce the amount of food waste in your home by only buying what you need and planning meals in advance to prevent impulse food purchases. According to the US EPA: “One-third of all food in the United States goes uneaten. EPA estimates that in 2019, about 96 percent of households’ wasted food ended up in landfills, combustion facilities, or down the drain to the sewer system. The remainder was composted.” By maximizing use of the green bin program and reducing food waste in every home, we can each put on the emergency brakes to reduce climate-warming methane emissions.

Ballona Creek Wetlands

CASM has also taken action to preserve local natural landscapes by supporting closure of the operational oil and natural gas wells in Playa del Rey. The natural gas production and storage facilities in Playa del Rey have regularly reported large methane leaks, releasing methane directly into the air of the neighboring communities and the atmosphere. The area is classified as a ‘Level III methane hazard zone’, the highest methane hazard level recognized by the City of Los Angeles. CASM has taken a stance to support closure of the site.  At the very least, SoCal Gas should plug all leakages as soon as possible to prevent further uncontrolled methane emissions. Gas leaks in the area can be reported to South Coast AQMD by calling 1-800-CUT-SMOG, and advocacy groups like Protect Playa Now have organized petitions on closing the site in the past. Being informed about the Playa del Rey natural gas facility and advocating for reduction of methane leaks is another opportunity for local emergency brake climate action!

climateactionsantamonica Uncategorized

April Newsletter

 
  

Highlights 

  • CASM in the Community

  • Upcoming: Climate Corps Club at Urth Caffe and CASM Earth Day Celebration 

  • LEED Gold Certified Modular Affordable Housing and other climate news

  • Earth Month events all month in the Community

  
 
  

CASM in the Community

 

Restoring the Dunes and Seeding Community

Last month, CASM partnered with The Bay Foundation to restore Santa Monica’s sand dunes by removing invasive bermuda grass and searocket. Removing these invasive plants allows native species to thrive and build habitat for coastal wildlife and pollinators. In conjunction with the dune restoration, CASM hosted our monthly picnic and had lively discussion about everyday climate action in the community.

  
 

Volunteers weed invasive species to prevent reseeding in nearby dunes

 

  
 

 

Snacking at chatting at the picnic, after dunes restoration

 

  

Touring Santa Monica’s Living Building

Last month, the Climate Corps Club had the opportunity to take a tour of Santa Monica’s City Hall East Building with staff from the Office of Sustainability. The City Hall East Building exceeds Santa Monica’s current sustainability standards and has set international records as the first municipal structure to receive Living Building Challenge Certification as a Net Zero Water and Net Zero Energy building. Some highlights of the tour included learning about the building’s ability to regulate temperature and air quality automatically using sensors that can open and close windows, seeing the state of the art composting toilet system, and picking tangerines from the building’s edible courtyard!

  
 

Climate Corps Club students look into City Hall East’s compost bins, where waste from the composting toilets is processed by worms

  
 
  

 

Upcoming CASM Activities

April 24th: Jan 9th: Climate Corps Club at Urth Caffe 

Meet new friends with shared interests, enjoy free food at tasty local spots, and find out what you can do right here and now to help the planet. High school and college students are welcome! This month we’ll meet at Urth and plan for our Earth day celebration ☀️

April 26th: Come celebrate Earth month with Climate Action Santa Monica with an event created by one of our Climate Corps Club students 

 

  
 
 
  

Climate News

Santa Monica’s sand dunes are mounting a low-tech resistance to rising sea levels

Berkeley Station opens as Santa Monica’s first modular affordable housing development

Santa Monica’s first modular affordable housing project opens.  The sustainably-designed (LEED Gold) Berkeley Station brings 13 affordable apartments and supportive services to a narrow infill lot, taking advantage of a challenging location with this new construction technology.

Watch the Project Drawdown webinar recording “Emergency Brakes in the News: Is mainstream media under-reporting the most urgently needed climate solutions?” 

 

  
 
  

Upcoming in the Community:

April 4: RED Kit: Introduction to Bike Care Workshop

April 4: “In the Garden” Immersive garden dance performance

April 8-15: LA Climate Week (Many Events!)

April 9: SMC Climate Week – Microforest Film Night: Celebrating Local and Global Greening

April 10: Food, Culture, Climate: Exploring Food Justice with Isaias Hernandez

April 12: SFLA x LMU OAR: University Club Network Beach Cleanup- Santa Monica T20

April 14: Surfrider Social: Ocean Friendly Restaurants Hangout

April 18: Heat Pump Week Community Fair

April 18: Santa Monica Dunes Earth Month Event

April 21: Extreme Heat & Resilience Community Workshop!

April 22: SMC Climate Week – Garden and Grow

April 23: SMC Climate Week – Sustainability Fest

April 23: Stand Up For Climate

 

April 26th: CicLAvia – a car free city active demonstration!

April 29th: Sustainable Quality Awards

For more events throughout LA and online check out the Climate Map.

 

Free Appliances for Santa Monica Renters through the REACH Program!

The City of Santa Monica is accepting applications for the Renters’ Energy and Cooling/Heating (REACH) Program, a new initiative offering free electric home appliances to renters in Santa Monica.

Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems (DERMS) Fellowship

LA Cleantech Incubator is launching the Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems (DERMS) fellowship, a FREE 8-week fellowship program to build new skills for the growing green jobs workforce. DERMS is an emerging and vital field in the Greater LA region, particularly as we look toward the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This program provides participants with an introduction to grid-optimization software essential to modern energy management, efficiency, and electrification. Application deadline: April 17, 2026 8pm. Interested Participant Info Session, April 8.

 

We hope to see you at an event soon! Until next time, thanks for acting with us 🙂

climateactionsantamonica Uncategorized

March Newsletter

CASM in the Community

Last month CASM shared simple things you can do to cut our biggest emissions, first here in our newsletter, then with community members at the Reed Park Garden and Miles Memorial Open House. We shared that a third of all trips in Santa Monica are under a mile. Just by walking a mile instead of driving a mile, you can help reduce the 60% of our emissions that come from vehicles.

  
 

 

 

Under the partial shade of a magnificent cypress, community members gather for CASM’s monthly Picnic on the Planet, which was part of the Reed Park Garden Opening in February.

 

 

  
 
  

 

 

Upcoming CASM Activities

March 6th: Climate Corps Club Special Event: City Sustainability Tour

Calling all youth! Join us for a tour of LEED Certified Living Building, City Hall East, and presentation on city sustainability. We’ll tour the building, take a break with vegan sandwiches from B&T’s Deli, then take a dive into how the city of Santa Monica takes action towards sustainability in our community. Join us for this special collaborative event!

March 7th: Dunes Restoration and Picnic with CASM and The Bay Foundation

CASM is partnering with the Bay Foundation to assist in their dunes restoration project, followed by a picnic and climate conversations on the beach to follow. CASM brings the snacks. BYO picnic 🙂 

 

  
 
  

Action Alerts

Tell your state reps: Stop the Solar Property Tax

Without action from the Legislature, California homeowners could pay higher property taxes in 2027 if they add solar batteries, add solar panels, or install a new solar system.

 

Support Balcony Solar Legislation

An exciting new-to-California solar strategy is being considered for legalization by the Legislature. CASM encourages you to contact your State Senator and Assembly Member to encourage them to support the law, known as SB 868, Portable Solar Generation Devices. The technology is commonly called Plug-In or Balcony Solar.

Balcony solar systems can be up to 1.2 kW in capacity and are plugged into the 110v sockets we all know. The electricity generated directly offsets power being consumed by an apartment or house at the same time, such as refrigerators and computers. Balcony solar is revolutionary because it 1) is a do-it-yourself project, 2) is not connected to the local utility, and 3) does not require a permit. The systems need to meet the UL standards approved in January. Balcony solar systems currently cost about $2,000 from companies such as Craftstrom and Brightsaver. It is hoped that the cost will drop significantly with volume.

Not surprisingly, Southern California Edison is lobbying to require that these systems connect with them, which would kill the technology. Systems similar to balcony solar are being installed across the globe in countries such as Pakistan and South Africa. Utah was the first US state to legalize them, and legalization bills are being considered in many other states.

  
 
  

 

Climate News

One Year Later: Los Angeles Wildfires Reinforce Why We Must Rebuild with Less Plastic

Southern California air board rejected pollution rules after AI-generated flood of comments

The SCAQMD proposal that CASM and others supported last summer was defeated in part because of 20,000 AI-generated opposition emails. This proposal would have added a fee to gas water heaters and furnaces, while setting targets for sales of electric alternatives. From the NYT article: “The rules were expected to prevent the release of 6 tons of NOx each day, roughly the amount released by two natural gas power plants. The air district estimated nearly 2,500 premature deaths would be averted as well as more than 10,000 new cases of asthma.” Perhaps even more concerning is the use of AI in such campaigns, which produced thousands of emails of questionable authenticity. Let’s use this as an opportunity to remember the  importance of face to face engagement with real people and coalition building with respected known partners. We know it’s not always easy, but can build together through community. 

  
 
  

 

Upcoming in the Community:

March 4th: Firestorm: The Great Los Angeles Fires and America’s New Age of Disaster

March 7th: East Pico Safety Project Celebration Event

March 7th: Compost Giveaway at City Yards

March 10th: Electrify Your Rebuild: Smart Home Solutions for the Palisades Zoom

March 16th: Commission on Sustainability, Environmental Justice, and the Environment

March 21st: PEACH OUT !! Fruit Tree Planting Demo & Bare Root Fruit Tree Distribution

March 21st: Repair Café

March 21st: UC Master Gardeners at Pico Farmers Market

March 28th: The Bay Foundation & Santa Monica Yoga: Morning of Mindfulness and Dune Restoration

March 28th: Celebrating the Arrival of Spring

Earn a Sustainability Certificate online at SMC

SMC is offering three non-credit certificates in sustainability to kickstart your career. These classes are offered online and completely free to all California residents. Programs include: Sustainability in Organics Aide, Sustainability Assistant, and Sustainability Services Technician. Enroll today for classes beginning  April 20th.

Take the California Ocean Access Survey

Researchers at UCSB want to know how California residents connect to the ocean to help impact state and federal management towards a sustainable and accessible coastline. Survey participants will be entered into a raffle to win an ocean-related trip. 

  
 

 

For official rules, email Garcia at gina@sustainableworks.org or see this video.

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.