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:
By Mario Melgarejo
On December 10, 2023, non-profit law firm Our Children’s Trust filed a lawsuit against the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on behalf of 18 California children, arguing that the EPA is intentionally contributing to the climate crisis by failing to adequately regulate fossil fuel emissions.
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.
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.
By Nancy Sanchez
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:
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.
RECOMMENDATIONS
As a result of the study, CASM offers the following recommendations for future action:
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?
We need you!
Reach out to: casmcommunity2@gmail.com
Join us Sunday, December 17 at 9am as we ride along the Santa Monica Beach bicycle trail. We will explore the natural forces and processes that have shaped and are still shaping our coastline. It is a magical science mystery tour that spans millions of years and includes stories about how geology, coastal geomorphology, weather and climate, oceanography, and human impacts have conspired to sculpt some of southern California’s most iconic landscapes.
Join author and Earth Science Professor Emeritus William Selby on this bring or rent your own bike event that should last about three hours.
We start at 9am next to Hot Dog on a Stick near the original Muscle Beach, just “south” of SM Pier. Bring friends, family, and questions to this Everything You Wanted to Know about Nature and Landscapes on the Santa Monica Coast but were Afraid to Ask adventure.
By Nancy Sanchez
On November 2nd Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District’s Board (SMMUSD) approved a climate literacy resolution proposed by Santa Monica High School’s Team Marine. The resolution by Team Marine requested “age appropriate discussions” in elementary schools while advancing the criteria for deeper discussions of climate issues in secondary schools, as quoted by Santa Monica Daily Press. The Team Marine proposal focused on allowing District teachers to provide hands-on learning with students by having guest speakers, environmental films and various research projects. By students gaining an environmental education in school they can create their own climate actions in their lives and their community.
Past CASM Climate Corps member Maya Williams, who is also a part of Team Marine, participated in the push for Climate Literacy. She had this to say about Climate Literacy and future plans. “I think for a long time, climate literacy has been somewhat neglected within the climate movement because of the lack of instant gratification: we can calculate and track the immediate changes in emissions when a corporation or entity shifts from fossil fuels to clean energy, for example, but it’s a bit more difficult to measure the impact of educating our students on the topic of the climate crisis and the subsequent ripple effects of their climate education. But knowledge is power, and as a member of Team Marine, I’ve consistently been able to see how students that are informed on the climate crisis tend to be more motivated to take climate action and become civically engaged citizens out of concern for their communities and their planet. Nobody is going to get involved in a cause that they know nothing about, and so if our goal is to have students and young people that are more engaged not only in the climate movement, but also in the fight to create a better world, we need to start allocating the time and resources that are necessary to make climate literacy a priority in our classrooms.”
Nancy Sanchez, one of CASM’s Climate Job Corps fellows, offers this perspective: “As an environmental anthropologist, I believe climate literacy in schools is essential for students to understand their relationship to nature by addressing hands-on learning that can be applied to the world around them. Students should have an understanding of basic climate concepts and apply them to their own lives. This is just the first step of many to educate the current and next generation to mitigate climate change.”
By Nancy Sanchez -Environmental Anthropologist
On October 21st Climate Action Santa Monica’s Climate Jobs Corps (CJC) members went on a tour of the Theodore Payne Foundation to learn more about the native plants of California. During this tour Diego Blanco introduced the CJC to the ecological benefits of the California native plants in their native plant nursery and demonstration gardens. The CJCs observed the Foundation’s seed collection and storage facility, where seeds harvested from the wild are used to propagate native plants. This is known as their seed regeneration program used to offer unique native species for sale and also protect and restore wild plant populations (Seed & Bulb Program | Theodore Payne Foundation).
One of the native plants that grabbed the attention of CJC member Isis Haynes was the Dudleya edulis, commonly known as the Fingertips or Ladyfingers. Dudleya edulis are cactus/succulent plants flowering between the months of May to July having natural habitats on soil, rocky slopes, and ledges that are below 4,300 feet. CJC members were also encouraged to engage with the plants by scratching and sniffing those that were fragrant, like sages..
After the tour CJC member Jasmine Contreras had this to say, “Theodore Payne Foundation is a lovely escape from the city. Truly a hidden gem. Staff is also super knowledgeable and were happy to answer all my questions.”
With this experience CASM and its CJC members are glad to gain more exposure to native plants in their backyards.
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Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers & Native Plants is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the understanding, preservation, and use of California native wildflowers and plants.
To learn more about the Theodore Payne Foundation visit their website at:
The #CaliforniansForAll Youth Jobs Corps is a program to bring together youth across the state to help address urgent challenges in California’s communities. Participants will be paid a living wage while learning key job skills, developing career pathways, and engaging in their community.
We hope you are as excited as we are about the #CaliforniansForAll Youth Jobs Corps.
The City of Santa Monica wants your input! The City has created a simple, interactive tool to collect feedback about improvements to Broadway. The comment period is open from October 17 to November 27, 2023. Use the following link Broadway Protected Bike Lane Project – Feedback Map to submit your input.
This project will see improvements to the bike lanes on Broadway between 5th and 26th streets. It is included in the 2020 Bike Action Plan Amendment’s five-year vision, and intersects with many other protected bikeways included in the plan.
CASM recognizes the importance of safe and extensive bike infrastructure, as well as any measures that helps make the city less dependent on automobiles. The city’s 2022 greenhouse gas inventory showed that 68.5% of carbon emissions in Santa Monica come from vehicles. While total vehicle emissions fell by 19% between 2019 and 2022, the City still has a long way to go to achieve an 80% reduction (below 1990 levels) in total greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, as outlined in the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan. As of 2022, the city has achieved a 48 percent reduction in carbon emissions from 1990 levels.
By Mario Melgarejo
In August 2023, Climate Action Santa Monica engaged over 500 Samohi students and parents at back-to-school registration to spread valuable information about biking, carpooling, and taking transit to school. With the help of CASM team members, students, parents, and community members, we successfully gathered data about student travel patterns and preferences, and collected comments and feedback on current conditions. This four-day outreach event helped identify recurring concerns among students and parents regarding commutes to school, and revealed opportunities for encouraging climate friendlier transportation modes.
To get a sense of existing travel patterns, we performed a survey using a board and colored stickers. We asked students “How are you getting to school on the first day?” and asked them to place the corresponding sticker to a transportation mode on the board. This question was asked because first day habits (e.g. new job, new school year) tend to be highly predictive of long-term habits. The following is a recap of responses:
Through written and oral comments, students and parents expressed a need for safer bike lanes, better bus service along key routes, and a desire for improving congestion from drop-offs and pick-ups. Nearly 50% of students expressed being open to using another form of transportation other than the one they’re currently using, except for bicyclists, who overwhelmingly expressed a preference for biking.
Acknowledging these issues and encouraging dialogue is important, as this four-day event has proved. Several students have asked to be involved in future outreach relating to transportation, and some parents have asked how they can get involved or who they should contact about a particular concern (e.g. one parent contacted Big Blue Bus to ask why Route 18 doesn’t have more frequent service around school start times). CASM will continue to engage and receive inclusive input from students, parents, and community members on school commuting to help identify opportunities for expanding and improving alternatives, alleviate congestion, improve air quality, and address much needed changes to our biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions (transportation).
One would be forgiven for thinking this picture is from one of Santa Monica High School’s Bike It! Walk It! Bus It! events or the former Bike to School event. The truth, however, is that this is just an ordinary Tuesday morning. A morning where the set of bike racks on the North Eastern side of campus are at full capacity, which is a testament to the success of the many bike infrastructure improvements made in the past decade serving Santa Monica High School and surrounding areas. One wonders now if this infrastructure can be expanded even further, to provide even more students the ability to choose this self-powered vehicle as an option to get to class.
Getting more students to bike has a wide range of benefits for both students and the community. When used as a substitute for car travel, biking reduces vehicle miles traveled which leads to reduced levels of pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and congestion on our roadways. Students benefit from the increased physical activity, and studies have shown that biking can help boost mental health leading to better academic performance. We should continue to encourage more biking (and walking) to school, for healthier students, a healthier planet, and a healthier community.
We are excited to announce that the City of Santa Monica, working with CASM, has been awarded a grant to create our own workforce development program. Funded through the state’s Californians for All program, our local Climate Job Corps will provide passionate youth ages 16-30 with skills and experiences in occupations that will be at the forefront of our battle against climate change. Empowering local young people with opportunities and frameworks to advance their careers in caring for future generations is a step forward in CASM’s quest to enact transformative climate solutions.
This program specifically aims to engage underserved youth, including low-income, foster, justice-involved, and unemployed. In addition to providing meaningful service in the fight against climate change, it is the mission of the initiative to provide career opportunities to those who have traditionally struggled to access them. Santa Monica’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Shannon Parry, sees this as a broad-reaching opportunity. “Empowering young people to implement climate solutions will help our city reach its climate goals and open doors that can help the youth fulfill their personal and professional dreams. This is a win-win for the whole community.”
CASM is recruiting through Jewish Vocational Services, Santa Monica College, and other organizations and community leaders working with youth. In addition, the program provides career success resources such as technology and mentor assistance. If you know individuals who could benefit from this program and want to participate in climate action, they should please contact climateactionsantamonica@gmail.com.
