Welcome to The Compost, a weekly newsletter on key environmental news impacting Southern California.Subscribe nowto get it in your inbox! In todayās editionā¦
Could it be a sign that climate change has finally become a ākitchen tableā issueif campaigns are bothering to toutmisleading claims about their candidateās credentials on the topic?
I wrote a story that ran over the weekend aboutdifferent ways climate change will be on the ballot in California this year, plus new research showing howcandidate positions on the issuecould already be swaying key elections in Democratsā favor.
In that article, I noted how some local Democratsare making their efforts to fight climate change a key focus of their campaigns. By way of example, the original version of the storyquoteda recent text message from AssemblymemberSabrina Cervantesā campaign for state Senate, which told voters sheād receiveda score of100%from the Sierra Club. But a spokesman for the environmental organization reached out Monday morning to let me knowthe Riverside lawmaker actually hasnāt had a perfect score from them since 2019. Cervantesā latestscore is40% 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 ā team apparently still hasnāt addressed the error.
When I first talked to Mary Creasman atthe California Environmental Voters Education Fund about therole climate issues play in California electionsnearly two years ago, one obstacle she raisedwas that not all voters were connecting issues such as worsening wildfires and droughts to climate change. But Creasman said her groupās polling shows that has changed dramatically in recent months. Now, she said, āVoters get those connections and the fact that itās going to get worse.ā
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. āVoters want to see leaders who prioritize these solutions.ā
In the wake of my story,Taylor Melody, deputy chief of staff for GOP Assemblywoman Laurie Davies, reached out to highlighttwo climate-related bills that the Laguna Niguel lawmaker is pushing this session to help businesses reduce emissions and to help train āgreen collarā workers.
āOur office agrees with you that environmental conservation is a true bipartisan issue,ā Melody said, āand thatās why the Assemblywoman has spent her time up in Sacramento trying to pass reforms on the very topic.ā
Of course, not everyone is convinced that climate changeās bipartisan moment in the electoral sun has arrived. āClimate change may sway the election? Really. What a moronic thought,ā one reader emailed me in response to my story. āI 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.ā
You canāt win every vote, as they say. But you can win a majority.
āByBrooke Staggs, environment reporter
š”ļøPROTECT
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 thatās supposed to be a temporary last option for homeowners seeking insurance, but has become a permanent and increasingly unaffordable realityamid increasing wildfire risks.ā¦READ MOREā¦
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 whereworkers dumped toxic waste for years. ButOlga Grigoryants reportsarea locals are skeptical the company will do a sufficient jobat the spot thatās known as one of the most contaminated fields in the U.S.ā¦READ MOREā¦
šļøREGULATE
Natural gas exports under microscope: The United States exported a record amount ofliquefied natural gas, or LNG, to Europe and Asialast year. Now environmentalists are cheering afterPresident Joe Biden announced heās delayingproposed new LNG export terminals until regulators can better account for how the projects might raise costs for American consumers and manufacturers andhow they might impact greenhouse gas emissions.ā¦READ MOREā¦
ā”ENERGIZE
Preventing offshore oil leaks: Recommendations Iwrote about in Decemberfrom the National Transportation Safety Boardon how to reduce the odds of an offshore oil spill like the one that happened off Huntington Beach in 2021 made it into the agencyās final report this week. Andre Mouchardhas that follow up here.ā¦READ MOREā¦
Solar policy fallout continues: Since the Public Utilities Commission in 2022 slashed the rateutilities 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 MOREā¦
Lithium Valley taking off: I spent time last year at atest project site in Hellās Kitchen, the name of the lithium extraction and geothermal energy production project Controlled Thermal Resourcesā 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 āwill be a major player in the clean energy transition.āā¦READ MOREā¦
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š§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 worldās food-growing regions.ā¦READ MOREā¦
šTRANSPORT
Train stalled: The land above train tracks through San Clemente is still moving,Laylan Connelly reports, after a landslide following recent storms once again shut down a coastal train in southern Orange County.ā¦READ MOREā¦
šCELEBRATE
Wetsuits go green: Rip Curlāswetsuit recycling program has kept 20,000 suits out of landfills since it launched a few years ago, Laylan Connelly reports. Another companygrinds up the used suits and mixes them with other materials to makeplayground matting.ā¦READ MOREā¦
Eagle watch 2024 has begun: Big news from my hometown, people! Jessica Keating hada story about Big Bearās famous eagle couple, Jackie and Shadow, laying theirfirst egg of the season. Then came a second egg days later. The coupleās 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 MOREā¦
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 MOREā¦
ā°ļøEXPLORE
Compostpalooza time: Want tools and tricks for composting food scraps and green waste? Or need some compost for your garden?TheMonrovia nonprofit FoodED ishostingCompostpalooza, afree event from 9 a.m.to noon Feb. 17at the Monrovia CommunityGarden, at 303 W. Colorado Blvd. There will be giveaways,compost-related crafts and other activities throughout the morning. VisitExploreFoodEd.orgfor more information.
šŖPITCH IN
Vote!:For this weekās tip on how Southern Californians can help the environmentā¦I talked in this newsletterās introduction about some of the ways that climate is on the ballot for Californians this year. But you canāt weigh in if you donāt vote! All registered voters in California will receive a mail-in ballot at home again this year, so there will beno excuse not to drop it back in the mail, or in a local drop box or polling place. Already registered?Click hereto check on your voter registration statusto 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.Click hereto 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 donāt have to vote on every issue on the ballot. So donāt get discouraged from participating at all if you donāt 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 thepublic vote was a dead tie.So yes, every vote does count!
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