Remembering Dorothy

A year ago today, California’s environmental community lost a giant: Dorothy Green. Tireless. Visionary. Selfless.  Brilliant.  Fearless. Passionate. Warm.  Driven. Inspiring.  Leader. Mentor. Friend.  These words only begin to describe this remarkable woman.
I miss her each and every day.  Every time I see an article or e-mail on California’s water crisis, I think of Dorothy.  [...]

Ground Control to Guy

Today’s guest blogger is Refugio Mata, Inland Outreach Coordinator at Heal the Bay
On the heel’s of NASA’s “bombing” of the moon, another event was beamed to earth from space. The two events had nothing to do with one another, but together they turned eyes heavenward.

A Visit from the EPA

Heal the Bay staffers and board members had the honor of meeting Thursday with new EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson at our Santa Monica Pier Aquarium. We gave the administrator a brief tour of the facility and then we sat down to give her an overview of Heal the Bay’s latest work. We covered a lot [...]

A Real Beach Bummer

Imagine this scenario. An old sewer line ruptures because tons of garbage gets piled on top of the ground above it. The sewer spews over 1 million gallons per day into the nearby river. As a result, the health agency closes miles of popular beaches to protect the public.
The closure continues for days, weeks and [...]

Mountain Highs and Lows

I just got back from the Aspen Environmental Forum and there’s a lot to share.  The only thing more depressing than mulling National Geographic’s presentation about the oil sands of northern Alberta (50 square miles of tailings ponds) was watching “Extreme Ice.”  The haunting film by James Balog depicts how quickly the world’s glaciers are [...]

The New EPA

On Wednesday night, I found myself on top of a mountain in Aspen, listening to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson give the kickoff keynote at the Aspen Environmental Forum. Speaking in a deliberate style that reflects her Southern roots, Jackson made it clear to the 300 people assembled that the days of Environmental Destruction Agency in [...]

The Coolest Guy in the Room

Yesterday, I was lucky enough to attend the Obama town-hall meeting at the home of the Cobras: Miguel Contreras High School in downtown L.A. Jeff Carr, the city’s gang czar, reverend and friend, kicked off the afternoon’s festivities with a rousing, moving speech. Then, as at any big game, a singer belted out the national [...]

The March for Water

On March 22, local environmental groups Anahuak and Urban Semillas will convene the March for Water as part of International World Water Day.  Environmental leaders Raul Macias and Miguel Luna are behind the effort to bring attention to our local, state and international water supply-crisis.
Given Miguel and Raul’s initiative and drive, I expect thousands of [...]

Rethinking Our Future

Last Sunday on the Santa Monica Promenade, the students from Santa Monica High School’s Team Marine unveiled their opus to the global marine debris crisis: REthink.  The 7′ x 21′ art installation contains 34,727 bottle caps and includes a wide variety of marine life species made of the plastic tops. Think of a Rose Parade [...]

Jeremy’s Spoken

I have finally met my match. I’ve finally found someone more cynical than I am about the state of the environment and specifically our oceans – Jeremy Jackson, the world-renowned marine biologist.
Jackson, a lanky man with a ponytail and a head of red hair of an interesting hue, made two addresses at UCLA last week [...]