climateactionsantamonica Uncategorized

Looking Back at 2020 and Looking Ahead

In  2020, Climate Action Santa Monica, like everyone else, adapted and shifted gears. While we stayed focused on the climate crisis, we expanded our work on personal levels and organizationally to do what we can for undoing racism, helping our community through the pandemic, and rallying the vote.  

We hold most dear our commitment to youth — those who participate in our Climate Corps, coming up to its 6th year.  Despite budget cuts and lockdowns, we keep the program going.  No longer able to send the kids to public events for“climate conversations” we helped them build their own voice as advocates with the City, role models to their peers, and project leaders. They developed individual and team projects using social media, working in gardens, exploring solutions to extreme heat events, and more. We are thankful for support from the City of Santa Monica and Metabolic Studios/Annenberg Foundation, without which this would not have been possible.  

This difficult period also demanded that we stay on top of the numerous policy issues that  these times brought with them: for example, how to have safe socially distanced transportation. It was a busy time for policy.

CASM is proud to say that we are locally focused. Climate change must be addressed at the federal level, but what we do here at home is something that we can have more control over to make change. We are committed to helping Santa Monica be a leadership community that demonstrates that positive community supported change on behalf of a better future for the planet is possible.

We hope that you will support us as we move forward with LOCAL programs to reduce the city’s carbon emissions through policy, public engagement, and urban planning and youth leadership.

As we look ahead to 2021, our efforts will be focused on the following:

  • New clean energy technology – Solar, Electric Vehicles, etc.
  • Clean and Green Mobility
  • Expanding Climate Corps to a year-round, more robust program
  • Grow our team of Climate Enthusiasts!

More detail on our 2020 Accomplishments, to date, is below.

Thank you,

CASM Steering Committee

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2020 Accomplishments

Supported preservation of funding  and staffing for the most important climate change-related programs during budget cuts.

Supported and participated in development of amendments to the Bicycle Action Plan to provide additional protected Bike Lanes and help reduce Santa Monica’s transportation related carbon emissions.

  • Photo from SMSPOKE

Developed working relationships with mobility providers and innovators including Lyft, Spin, and the Zero Emissions Delivery Zone (project of LA CleanTech Incubator) for the purposes of expanding low-carbon mobility options. 

Fostered climate conversation through:

Worked to increase renewable energy availability and options through:

  • Solar Resources for Renters handbook with the City of Santa Monica
  • Solar for Condominiums Webinar co-hosted with the City of Santa Monica and SUNRUN Inc.
  • Formation of an Energy Working Group to evaluate and plan for energy related programs and initiatives
  • Recruited and supported 18 Climate Corps participants
  • Re-shaped the program for COVID safety to include year-round participation in climate education, career development opportunities and paid internships.
  • Supported team and individual projects including upcycling, gardening, creative communications, eco-art, climate games and urban heat island strategies
  • Hired new Climate Corps Coordinator
  • Created Climate Corps Handbook
  • Compiled data from more than 1500 Climate Corps survey encounters from previous years, with findings on transportation preferences, preferences for climate action and identifying communication strategies.

SAMOCAN (Santa Monica Climate Action Network)

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climateactionsantamonica green energy, Green Tech, Reduce your carbon footprint, solar power

Solar Power Your Condominium

Is your electricity bill climbing?  Many people who are now working at home and generally staying in more are paying more these days.  Help is available if your utility payments are outside of your budget. For others, rising electricity costs may signal that it’s a good time to install solar power.

If you live in a condominium and would like to install rooftop solar but always assumed it would be too difficult, you’re in luck. Installing solar at condo building is easier now thanks to changes in laws that govern condominium buildings.  These changes were explored at a Lunch and Learn webinar recently hosted by Climate Action Santa Monica and the City of Santa Monica Office of Sustainability and Environment. 

Watch the full lunch and learn webinar on Solar for Condos

In the webinar, local real estate attorney and condo law expert, Paul DeSantis, digs into the revised laws as well as the process for getting solar panels installed on a condominium building.  Significantly, two-thirds of condo owners are no longer needed to move forward with a solar project. Insurability and financing are also improved. Paul observes that a single condo owner can now move the process along fairly quickly, while laying a path for other condo owners to install solar as well.

Drew Johnstone, Senior Sustainability Analyst for the City of Santa Monica, provides an overview of solar how it works, how it’s installed and what to expect from your new bill. He also reviews the site conditions required for solar installation and addresses how different types of condominium buildings can lay out a rooftop solar system.

Laurene von Klan, CASM’s co-chair has been heading up the CASM solar program. CASM is working with the city on this project because Santa Monica has huge rooftop solar potential.  She hopes that the new laws can jump start a wave of solar power installations in the city. “We have so many flat roofs on multi-unit buildings and so much sun. Solar power is a natural, do-able way for Santa Monica to generate results for the climate.”

Support is being provided to help interested condominium owners determine if solar power is suited for them and their building.

If you are interested in learning more please email drew.johnstone@smgov.net. You will receive a checklist that will help evaluate your solar potential.  If solar is feasible on your building, a second screening and assistance with layout of a system will provided.

What if you live in an apartment and rent your home? Renewable energy is available to you, too. You can receive 100% renewable energy through the Clean Power Alliance.  And there are other steps you can take to lower your energy carbon footprint. Please check out Renewable Energy Resources for Renters.

climateactionsantamonica green energy, Reduce your carbon footprint

Things to Know About Natural Gas in Santa Monica

Santa Monica, and many other cities, are moving away from natural gas because of the climate crisis. Using gas to make electricity or to heat homes is more polluting than doing so with solar or wind. It is estimated that natural gas (methane) is roughly 30 times more potent as a heat-trapping gas than carbon.

The City of Santa Monica recently amended its building code to favor electricity over gas in new construction. Recognizing that natural gas is a fuel preferred by some and a part of our existing energy supply system, the City is providing a pathway that will allow natural gas to continue to be used, in exchange for other energy efficiencies. It is hoped that natural gas usage will gradually decline. This is a positive step. Climate Action Santa Monica supported the city’s plans and offered suggestions for additional measures.

At recent City Council hearings on this issue, our local gas company, SoCal Gas, made the case that gas is a vital part hour energy infrastructure moving forward, and that the city should plan for ongoing use of gas and developing renewable natural gas. Some of their arguments made sense. Solar and other renewables have, for the time being, some limitations. There just aren’t enough batteries for storing the solar power generated during the day so that it can be used at night. Sometimes there is not enough solar, wind power, or other forms of renewable energy available to meet peak demand, for example on extremely hot days when everyone is running air conditioning. So, for the time being, it looks like we are committed to continued use of natural gas, with the hope that our reliance will decrease over time.

Are we fully aware of the risks that come with our continued commitment to gas?

We should be.

A report by the California Council on Science and Technology states that a nearby natural gas storage facility, in Playa del Rey, is problematic. It has a history of gas leaks, and industrial scale gas leaks can be particularly harmful to our climate. In addition, the report states the facility “located near a large population center in a very high wildfire hazard zone, stands out as a facility with relatively higher risk to health and safety than the other facilities in California. Aliso Canyon, Honor Rancho, and La Goleta also present higher health and safety risks than other facilities because of their locations near large numbers of people.”

Several groups have recently begun to call for closure of the Playa Del Rey facility, making us all more aware of the full cost associated with continued use of our natural gas infrastructure. Legislation has been introduced to investigate the facility and its compliance with local health and safety rules.

  • Photo: Playa del Rey Gas Watch (Facebook).
    Photo: Playa del Rey Gas Watch (Facebook).

We do not have a lot of choice in who provides our gas. But we can, for the safety of our children, friends, and family, and for the health of the planet, be vocal and conscientious consumers. We can question why this gas storage facility is so problematic. We can go electric when it’s time to replace a home furnace, clothes dryer, stove, or car. We can install solar panels on our homes, or ask our landlord or homeowners group to consider it. We can let our elected officials know that we support taking action to move away from gas and provide more safer renewable electricity. If we do so, perhaps one day we will no longer need to have troublesome gas storage in our backyard.

Thinking about going electric?

Check out new electric cars and other technologies at Alt Car Expo in Santa Monica on November 2!

climateactionsantamonica green energy, Reduce your carbon footprint

National Solar Tours Coming to Santa Monica

Do you have solar? Does it work for you? Don’t have solar but curious to learn more?

The National Solar Tour is October 5th and 6th, and Climate Action Santa Monica is looking for people in Santa Monica to sign up and show off their solar systems. This is an opportunity for people who are curious about the potential of solar and want to know what it is really like to live with solar power.    

Research shows that people are more likely to get solar when their neighbors have it. Solar power figures prominently into the City of Santa Monica’s Climate Adaptation Plan. It is also considered one of the top solutions to the climate crisis globally.  Even better, for many homeowners it makes financial sense. It creates local jobs, too.   

Interested? Please contact climateactionsantamonica@gmail.com and learn more about the event https://www.nationalsolartour.org

If you don’t have solar but want to learn more, you can visit a home on the solar tour and ask a real user (not a sales person) about their experience. 

And what if you live in a multi-unit building? New laws make solar for condos more feasible and pilot programs are being run to investigate ways to bring solar to multi-unit buildings of all kinds. Advocates are always needed to shift laws and regulations so that solar is available and affordable to EVERYONE! Find out more by emailing climateactionsantamonica@gmail.com

climateactionsantamonica Reduce your carbon footprint, Sustainable Transportation

The Electric Big Blue Bus has Arrived, and Not a Moment Too Soon!

The first of 18 electric buses that Big Blue Bus will acquire by 2021 was celebrated by a press event and ribbon cutting this past Wednesday, August 21,2019, at the city’s bus facility on Colorado and 6th Street.  The state-of-the-art vehicle then went into service on BBB route 1 that afternoon.  

These battery electric buses are the key to the transit system meeting its goal of being a zero-emission fleet by 2030.  The agency will not buy any more internal combustion-powered buses; all new buses purchased will be battery electric, eventually replacing the entire fleet with zero-emission buses.

Electric bus battery details

The new 75 passenger bus will have a range of approximately 150 miles which is anticipated to power it for a full day’s service.  A full recharge takes under three hours using ChargePoint Express fast chargers at BBB’s facility.  The bus uses lithium-ion batteries similar to what are used in modern electric cars like the Tesla.  And like all electric vehicles, the bus is extremely quiet, an added bonus for people near our busy streets.

Gillig is the manufacturer of the new buses, which are being built at their plant in Livermore CA.  The powertrain and batteries were developed and built by Cummins at their facilities in Tennessee and Indiana, so the entire vehicle is U.S. made.  It was in development for over 5 years in close collaboration with BBB.  

Celebrating the new Electric BBB!

As the BBB electric fleet grows in the coming years, it will play an important role in meeting Santa Monica’s goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050 (meaning that none of the energy use or transportation in the city will contribute to net greenhouse gas production).  Emissions from transportation are the single biggest source of greenhouse gases in Santa Monica, primarily from private cars.  So using our comfortable, reliable Big Blue Buses for your transportation needs is one of the most important things you can do to address the climate crisis!

What do you think? Are you excited to try out the new electric Big Blue Bus? Leave your comments below. View the Big Blue Bus routes and schedules here. See you on the bus.