Welcome to The Compost, a weekly newsletter on key environmental news impacting Southern California.Ā Subscribe nowĀ to get it in your inbox! In todayās editionā¦
Could it be a sign that climate change has finally become a “kitchen table” issueĀ if campaigns are bothering to toutĀ misleading claims about their candidate’s credentials on the topic?
I wrote a story that ran over the weekend aboutĀ different ways climate change will be on the ballot in California this year, plus new research showing howĀ candidate positions on the issueĀ could already be swaying key elections in Democrats’ favor.
In that article, I noted how some local DemocratsĀ are making their efforts to fight climate change a key focus of their campaigns. By way of example, the original version of the storyĀ quotedĀ a recent text message from AssemblymemberĀ Sabrina Cervantes’ campaign for state Senate, which told voters she’d receivedĀ a score ofĀ 100%Ā from the Sierra Club. But a spokesman for the environmental organization reached out Monday morning to let me knowĀ the Riverside lawmaker actually hasn’t had a perfect score from them since 2019. Cervantes’ latestĀ score isĀ 40% after she missed votes on key bills Sierra Club tracked last year. (The story has been updated online, with a note at the bottom to explain the change.) Cervantes ‘ team apparently still hasn’t addressed the error.
When I first talked to Mary Creasman atĀ the California Environmental Voters Education Fund about theĀ role climate issues play in California electionsĀ nearly two years ago, one obstacle she raisedĀ was that not all voters were connecting issues such as worsening wildfires and droughts to climate change. But Creasman said her group’s polling shows that has changed dramatically in recent months. Now, she said, “Voters get those connections and the fact that itās going to get worse.”
Voters across all demographics and party lines also are more excited now about potential economic, public health and quality of life benefits that climate change solutions such as clean energy and urban greening can usher in, Creasman said. “Voters want to see leaders who prioritize these solutions.”
In the wake of my story,Ā Taylor Melody, deputy chief of staff for GOP Assemblywoman Laurie Davies, reached out to highlightĀ two climate-related bills that the Laguna Niguel lawmaker is pushing this session to help businesses reduce emissions and to help train “green collar” workers.
“Our office agrees with you that environmental conservation is a true bipartisan issue,” Melody said, “and thatās why the Assemblywoman has spent her time up in Sacramento trying to pass reforms on the very topic.”
Of course, not everyone is convinced that climate change’s bipartisan moment in the electoral sun has arrived. “Climate change may sway the election? Really. What a moronic thought,” one reader emailed me in response to my story. “I am on the fence with the economy, failed legislation, the influx at the border, abortion, but wait, the candidate the (sic) holds the same view on climate change earns my vote. Unbelievable.”
You can’t win every vote, as they say. But you can win a majority.
āĀ ByĀ Brooke Staggs, environment reporter
š”ļøĀ PROTECT
Fire insurance conundrum: The fire-insurance premium for Bill Kingās home in Running Springs has risen from $399 in 2017 to $979 today, Levi Sumagaysay reports. King and 350,000 more Californians are on a state plan that’s supposed to be a temporary last option for homeowners seeking insurance, but has become a permanent and increasingly unaffordable realityĀ amid increasing wildfire risks.Ā …READ MORE…
Boeing to tackle burn pit: Boeing is set to start work today to clean up the Santa Susana Field Lab, a former āburn pitā near Thousand Oaks whereĀ workers dumped toxic waste for years. ButĀ Olga Grigoryants reportsĀ area locals are skeptical the company will do a sufficient jobĀ at the spot that’s known as one of the most contaminated fields in the U.S.Ā …READ MORE…
šļøĀ REGULATE
Natural gas exports under microscope: The United States exported a record amount ofĀ liquefied natural gas, or LNG, to Europe and AsiaĀ last year. Now environmentalists are cheering afterĀ President Joe Biden announced he’s delayingĀ proposed new LNG export terminals until regulators can better account for how the projects might raise costs for American consumers and manufacturers andĀ how they might impact greenhouse gas emissions.Ā …READ MORE…
ā”Ā ENERGIZE
Preventing offshore oil leaks: Recommendations IĀ wrote about in DecemberĀ from the National Transportation Safety BoardĀ on how to reduce the odds of an offshore oil spill like the one that happened off Huntington Beach in 2021 made it into the agency’s final report this week. Andre MouchardĀ has that follow up here.Ā …READ MORE…
Solar policy fallout continues: Since the Public Utilities Commission in 2022 slashed the rateĀ utilities pay homeowners with new solar panels when they sell surplus power to the grid, Julie Cart with Calmatters reports demand has dropped 80%.Ā …READ MORE…
Lithium Valley taking off: I spent time last year at aĀ test project site in Hell’s Kitchen, the name of the lithium extraction and geothermal energy production project Controlled Thermal Resources’ has been developing at the Salton Sea. On Friday, the company broke ground on its commercial facility there. And Sammy Roth with the Los Angeles Times says the move finally convinced him that the area “will be a major player in the clean energy transition.”Ā …READ MORE…
Get a roundup of the best climate and environment news delivered to your inbox each week by signing up for The Compost.
š§Ā HYDRATE
Groundwater woes worsen: Scientists recently published the most extensive analysis to date of water levels in wells worldwide, and Ian James with the Los Angeles Times reports they found that groundwater depletion is widespread and worsening in California and many of the world’s food-growing regions.Ā …READ MORE…
šĀ TRANSPORT
Train stalled: The land above train tracks through San Clemente is still moving,Ā Laylan Connelly reports, after a landslide following recent storms once again shut down a coastal train in southern Orange County.Ā …READ MORE…
šĀ CELEBRATE
Wetsuits go green: Rip Curl’sĀ wetsuit recycling program has kept 20,000 suits out of landfills since it launched a few years ago, Laylan Connelly reports. Another companyĀ grinds up the used suits and mixes them with other materials to makeĀ playground matting.Ā …READ MORE…
Eagle watch 2024 has begun: Big news from my hometown, people! Jessica Keating hadĀ a story about Big Bear’s famous eagle couple, Jackie and Shadow, laying theirĀ first egg of the season. Then came a second egg days later. The couple’s eggs last year never hatched, so all eyes will be on the nest camera in a month to see if this year has a happier ending.Ā …READ MORE…
High marks: California earned an A in Surfriderās annual State of the Beach report, with the state recognized as a leader for its efforts to grapple with a rising sea and erosion that has kept coastal managers busy in recent years. Laylan is back with that news here.Ā …READ MORE…
ā°ļøĀ EXPLORE
Compostpalooza time: Want tools and tricks for composting food scraps and green waste? Or need some compost for your garden?Ā TheĀ Monrovia nonprofit FoodED isĀ hostingĀ Compostpalooza, aĀ free event from 9 a.m.Ā to noon Feb. 17Ā Ā at the Monrovia CommunityĀ Garden, at 303 W. Colorado Blvd. There will be giveaways,Ā compost-related crafts and other activities throughout the morning. VisitĀ ExploreFoodEd.orgĀ for more information.
šŖĀ PITCH IN
Vote!:Ā For this weekās tip on how Southern Californians can help the environmentā¦Ā I talked in this newsletter’s introduction about some of the ways that climate is on the ballot for Californians this year. But you can’t weigh in if you don’t vote! All registered voters in California will receive a mail-in ballot at home again this year, so there will beĀ no excuse not to drop it back in the mail, or in a local drop box or polling place. Already registered?Ā Click hereĀ to check on your voter registration statusĀ to make sure your address, party affiliation and other information is current. Need to register? To vote in the March 5 primary election, your registration must be postmarked or submitted electronically by Feb. 20.Ā Click hereĀ to register online. Then spread the word to encourage others to vote! Along with these links and the registration deadline, I also like to remind folks that you don’t have to vote on every issue on the ballot. So don’t get discouraged from participating at all if you don’t feel like you know enough about some of the candidates or issues. Also, one local school board race was decided by a roll of the dice last cycle because theĀ public vote was a dead tie.Ā So yes, every vote does count!
Thanks for reading, Composters! And donāt forget toĀ sign upĀ to get The Compost delivered to your inbox.
![By Marco di Marco | Associated Press GRINDAVIK, Iceland ā A volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted Thursday for the third time since December, sending jets of lava into the sky, triggering the evacuation of the popular Blue Lagoon geothermal spa and cutting heat and hot water to thousands of people. The eruption began at about […]](https://www.ocregister.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/sjm-olcano_178439293.jpg?w=467 "By Marco di Marco | Associated Press GRINDAVIK, Iceland ā A volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted Thursday for the third time since December, sending jets of lava into the sky, triggering the evacuation of the popular Blue Lagoon geothermal spa and cutting heat and hot water to thousands of people. The eruption began at about […]")
