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When it
comes to California's electricity supply, what a difference
a year make.
On
Earth Day 2001, electricity was in critically short supply.
Lakewood residents had already rolled through a series of
blackouts earlier that winter and expected a worse summer.
We all thought that the prognosis of more "rolling blackouts"
was a gloomy fact of California life. And, we were all too
willing to pay higher rates for electricity from power companies
that the governor called "gougers." Remember the
fear the president of Enron struck when he dismissed the state's
pleas for price caps while emergency "peaker plants"
were rushed online?
It's Earth
Day 2002, and California now has enough energy to make "rolling
blackouts" a bitter memory. Wholesale prices for electricity
have dropped so much that the state has put some power expansion
plans on hold (causing worries that we may be setting ourselves
up for another cycle of too little power at too high a price).
California government is still trying to re-negotiate over-priced
energy contracts. And, defiant, proud Enron is gone.
With the
energy crisis of 2001 finally moderated, not many have credited
the residents of California with their part in keeping the
lights on in dark times. In fact, even before the energy crisis
began, California residents - and southern Californians in
particular - were "power miser" standouts. California,
since the 1980s, has used less electricity per capita than
any other state.
In
Lakewood, an "energy savings pool party" was held
last August to highlight the importance of energy conservation
through reduced water consumption (and electrical pumping
of water supplies).
On Earth Day 2002, California consumers get an "A"
for their exemplary response to the big power drain of 2001.
Measuring
up by acting locally TOP
While
it may seem things are better - on the energy front at least
- we're all too aware of the basic limits on our use of natural
resources. We see it in the lack of rain this winter and a
possible drought ahead. Air quality has gotten better, but
partly at the cost of using an additive - MTBE - that has
affected the region's drinking water supply. The cost effectiveness
of recycling, hit by very low prices for recycled materials,
is being questioned. And, some calls for even more pollution
protection seem misguided, costly, and unproven.
Lakewood
faces the same challenges to use our natural resources - air,
water, electricity, gas, and oil, among them - in an environmentally
sustainable manner. The choices Lakewood will make in 2002
will affect our community and its quality of life for generations
to come.
Given
the past year's mixed environmental picture, how does Lakewood
measure up as a city concerned about the fate of the earth
and the quality of life of its residents? What would the city's
"Earth Day 2002 report card" look like?
Generally
speaking, we're making both our community and our region more
environmentally sound, but there's still a lot more to do.
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About
our 'grades' TOP
The
grades included herein are only intended to stimulate
discussion. We know it is presumptuous to grade
one's own agency. Our grades are intended to depict
relative progress - on our own and with the help
of other agencies - in meeting the challenges
of our environmental stewardship. We can and must
do more. Earth Day is a good day to reflect on
our progress and the road ahead as inhabitants
of the third planet of our solar system.
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Air
Quality = B+ TOP
Air quality
has greatly improved for Lakewood and other communities in
the Los Angeles Air Basin. In 1979, first stage smog alerts
were called on 120 days, compared to 0 days in 1999 (the most
recent year for corrected data). Also, 1999 was the first
year in the history of ambient air monitoring that the basin
did not record the highest ozone concentrations in the nation.
(Click to view historical detail on air quality from the South
Coast Air Quality Management District).
According
to the AQMD, "The monthly distribution of the number
of days exceeding the federal standards shows not only that
the number of exceedances has been significantly reduced,
but also that the smog season has also diminished significantly.
The significant downtrend in ozone concentration and shorter
duration of the smog season are attributed to emission reductions
and the reduced reactivity of emitted organic compounds in
the region."
Still,
according to AQMD and health officials, air quality in the
L.A. area ranks among the least healthy in the nation.
Lakewood
is taking more steps to meet air quality mandates. We're adding
more low-emission vehicles to the city fleet. We're also working
with the city's street sweeping contractor to develop a fueling
station for his own fleet of low-emission sweepers.
You can
get green with your car, too. Visit the Southern California
Air Quality Management District's Web site at www.aqmd.gov
and inhale the freshest information about plans to clear the
air we all breathe.
Storm
water runoff = Incomplete TOP
Urban
runoff is all the stuff that washes off our yards, streets,
and highways. And, it's turning out to be the most difficult,
expensive, and contentious potential source of pollution to
control.
It's much
easier (and far less expensive) to regulate, inspect, and
control large, specific locations or "point sources"
of pollution, such as factories or commercial sites, than
it is to regulate "non-point sources" of pollution
(i.e. you and me).
Lakewood
already does a good job, such as sweeping every city street
and alley once each week (something that bigger cities - like
Los Angeles - don't do). The city also has anti-litter laws
and enforces them. We've cracked down on commercial and multi-family
residential locations that don't maintain their trash bins
or have enough pickups each week. We respond to spills in
the street to clean up potential pollutants before they reach
the storm drain system. We even have begun setting out automatic
security cameras to deter alley dumping.
The city
also offers its do-it-yourself mechanics a free used oil recycling
kit that keeps polluting used motor oil out of storm drains
and waste water systems. And, regular county-sponsored Household
Hazardous Waste Roundups keep other pollutants out of the
gutters and storm drains.
For information
on getting a used oil kit, click to:
http://www.lakewoodcity.org/r3
For information
on hazardous waste roundups, click to:
http://ladpw.org/epd/hhw/schedule.cfm
Lakewood
also is part of a countywide program, conducted by the County
Public Works Department, which keeps trash and pollutants
out of storm drains. The county inspects, maintains, and cleans
catch basins and drains to keep them clear of debris that
may end up in the Los Angeles and San Gabriel rivers. County
hazardous materials response teams and illegal dumping investigators
also help keep the flood control channels clear of pollutants.
The county
and the city also are educating business operators about "best
practices" that keep pollutants from the storm drain
system. Garage operators, market managers, and restaurateurs
are getting training in how to wash down hardscape, clean
equipment, and dispose of waste in ways that minimize spillage
and runoff.
As much
as we've done in the past decade, however, costly and untested
new technologies to achieve "zero" standards for
dozens of potential pollutants in the flood control system
are being imposed by the regional and statewide water quality
control agencies.
Last December,
the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, whose
members are appointed by the governor, ordered cities in Los
Angeles County to take the runoff from storm drains, treat
it and make the waters in the flood control system "fishable,
swimable, and drinkable."
Cities
fear that their residents will be hit with a "storm water
tax" by the regional water quality control board to pay
for mandated treatment facilities that could cost more than
$53 billion over the next ten years, according to a recent
study conducted for the California Department of Transportation.
That's
equivalent to imposing a property tax surcharge of $1,295
a year on every home and business in Lakewood.
Cities
also face a grinding round of "citizen lawsuits"
under the federal Clean Water Act, fines of up to $27,500
a day for noncompliance, and no legal protection if the storm
drain water treatment facilities they build don't work.
With so
many uncertainties and so much confusion in the regulatory
picture, it's not possible to assign Lakewood a letter grade
for its storm water quality efforts. We'll have to give the
city an "incomplete" until next year.
To learn
more about storm water pollution treatment costs, go the Web
site of the Coalition for Practical Regulation, an alliance
of cities that advocates less-costly, and proven methods for
storm water quality protection:
http://www.citiessavejobs.com
To find
out what you can do to prevent storm drain water pollution,
click to:
http://www.lakewoodcity.org/r3
For information
from the county about preventing storm water pollution, click
to:
http://ladpw.org/wmd/NPDES/permit_lite.cfm
Also,
check out the Non-Point Source Pollution Control Homepage
at the EPA:
http://www.epa.gov/OWOW/NPS/
Additional
links to environmental and water-related agencies may be found
at:
http://www.lakewoodcity.org/r3
Waste
reduction = A TOP
Lakewood
earns a solid "A" when it comes to the recycling
three R's. Residents have lots of opportunities to act in
an environmentally sensitive way to reduce, reuse, and recycle
just about everything. The cumulative impact of small changes
in lifestyles by a large number of people actually has achieved
significant environmental results already. Very little of
Lakewood's trash, for example, ever ends up in a landfill.
Lakewood's
recycling programs expanded in 2001, with greenwaste drop
offs, personal and home electronics roundups, and new programs
to involve school kids and park patrons in paper and container
recycling.
The further
greening of Lakewood was the subject of a special edition
of the city newsletter mailed to residents in late 2001. It
included 24 locations for voluntary recycling and the disposal
of hazardous wastes, like used oil.
About
half of the city's residential trash goes to a materials recovery
facility in Stanton, where about half of it is culled as recyclables
(mostly as metals, beverage containers, and mixed waste paper).
The Stanton MRF is far more environmentally friendly than
the costlier alternative - a curbside collection program involving
another fleet of large collection vehicles. Curbside programs
depend on everyone removing half of their discards as "marketable"
recyclables, which, unfortunately, rarely occurs. The rest
of Lakewood's residential waste stream is converted to electricity
as the SERRF waste-to-energy plant on Terminal Island.
- Personal
electronics. Two roundups at Circuit City in Lakewood Center
collected 11 tons of worn out CPUs, dead monitors, and defunct
stereos.
- Greenwaste
drop off. A pilot program begun in 2001 proved so successful
that additional drop days and another drop off location
were added. In the first nine collection events, residents
and commercial gardeners with Lakewood accounts recycled
more than 40 tons of lawn and garden trimmings into mulch
and daily landfill cover.
- New
recycling partners. Students at McArthur School in Lakewood
and patrons of Monte Verde, Bolivar, and Del Valle parks
became new partners with Lakewood. The school kids are collecting
white paper for recycling. Park patrons are using new sorting
trashcans to sort cans and redemption value beverage containers.
Read about
protecting Lakewood's environment at:
http://www.lakewoodcity.org/r3
For articles
about how you can reduce greenwaste, click to:
http://www.lakewoodcity.org/r3
For a
guide to the locations of recycling centers, go to:
http://www.lakewoodcity.org/r3
Water
supply protection/conservation = B+ TOP
Since
1957, Lakewood residents west of the San Gabriel River have
enjoyed a clean, reliable, and plentiful supply of drinking
water provided by the city's water utility. Lakewood has supplied
the needs of its customers entirely from city-owned wells
since 1991.
Our better-than-average
grade for water supply reflects the use of reclaimed water
for landscape irrigation and the city's continuing program
of water conservation. In the bleakest days of the energy
crisis, when every kilowatt counted, Lakewood residents learned
from the city that "saving water saves power." Water
conservation, it turns out, has a double benefit - it reduces
the city's consumption of a precious resource and dramatically
cut the city's power demands for wells and water system pumps.
We're
also protecting the quality of the water we have. Lakewood
has been part of an aggressive campaign to protect our water
from the flow of "upstream" pollutants from the
San Gabriel Valley into the aquifers that supply Lakewood.
We pushed the EPA to expand its monitoring system and we're
working with other water agencies and the EPA to set up a
facility to take pollutants out of the water before it reaches
city wells.
Lakewood's
water future looks good, thanks to a conservation-minded community,
an expanded reclaimed water system, careful monitoring, and
new investment in maintaining Lakewood's water system.
Take a
peek at the future in "Water for Tomorrow" at:
http://lakewoodcity.org/r3/recycling_water.html
Water
quality for consumers = A TOP
Water
is, literally, the wellspring of all life. To protect the
city's drinking water from environmental contamination is
our highest priority. As in previous years, Lakewood's 2001
water quality report shows that the city's drinking water
meets and betters all state and federal primary drinking water
health standards.
And, it's
not just us who say so. A coalition of national and California
environmental organizations looked at more than 200 water
quality reports in 2000 and gave Lakewood their "A"
grade for the completeness, accuracy, and user-friendly features.
Sometimes,
however, the environment conspires against even the best water
systems. One Lakewood well was briefly closed this year and
residents in the surrounding neighborhood were advised to
boil their drinking water, when tests showed an unusual concentration
of indicator bacteria in the well's water.
The presence
of these indicator bacteria, though generally harmless in
themselves, mobilized an aggressive, weeklong response by
city water crews. The well was shut down, residents in wide
area were advised as a precaution, lines and mains were flushed
with disinfectant under the supervision of state health department
staff members, and the entire system repeatedly tested until
the bacteria were eliminated.
The well
remains closed, while city staff members prepare for a complete
overhaul of its operation. The probable culprit? Non-water
polluting vegetable oil used to lubricate the pump mechanism
is the likely source of the bacterial contamination. Ironically,
the state had ordered pumpers to phase out mineral oil and
to use the vegetable oil as a lubricant.
Read the
city's 2001 water quality report at:
http://www.lakewoodcity.org/water
Earth
Day events and sites TOP
If you
had to grade your own efforts to improve and protect the environment,
how would you measure up? Don't worry, if you're like me:
concerned but not as much a participant as I should be. There's
still time to make a difference in your home, office, neighborhood,
and city.
The best
places to start are these links to Earth Day 2002:
Earth
Day Network
http://www.earthday.net
There's
a lot to learn about Earth Day past and present. You can find
Earth Day 2002 events listed in every state or around the
world. Fact sheets about alternative energy and current energy/resource
uses are interesting.
Earth
Day LA
http://www.earthdayla.org
Here's
what is happening close to home, at one of the largest Earth
Day programs in the nation. You can search for specific kinds
of programs or click to a comprehensive calendar of Earth
Day activities throughout the region.
Wilderness
Society
http://earthday.wilderness.org
The Wilderness
Society has a neat collection of pages, mainly for young people,
about current environmental issues and "Planetary Heroes"
who are working for a better environment.
EPA and
Earth Day
http://www.epa.gov/earthday
Get started
on your planetary adventure with the Environmental Protection
Agency's homepage for Earth Day programs.
Click to: http://www.epa.gov/earthday/history.htm
for the history of Earth Day and the goals of its founders.
Earth
Day: Signs of Progress
http://www.epa.gov/gbwebdev/ged/earthday/info.htm
You'll
feel better when you read the many positive things that have
been accomplished nationally. Improvements in air and water
quality, toxic waste reduction, clean up of contaminated sites,
solid waste recycling tripled, rate of wetland loss declined,
and additional pesticides banned. There are many tips on how
to conserve at home.
Federal
Environmental Protection Agency
http://www.epa.gov
You may
want to search the EPA site for the titles of pages with "Earth
Day" in them. Although some are from Earth Day events
in past years, their tips for resource conservation are useful.
Kids will
enjoy the 11-page coloring book and Earth Day guide available
from the EPA at:
http://www.epa.gov/docs/Region5/happy.htm
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