CITY HALL — Santa Monica might be one of the most environmentally-conscious cities in the country, but the community’s own public transit agency was recently hit with a $21,000 fine for some eco-unfriendly practices.
Dear EarthTalk: I am looking at possibly buying a house that is very close to a gasoline station. Is it safe to live so close to a gas station? What concerns should I have? I have toddler and infant babies.
CITY HALL — Concerned about the environmental impact of harsh dry cleaning chemicals, city officials are considering developing regulations that would force local shop owners to use non-toxic solvents and green methods.
CITY HALL — When the Exposition Light Rail rolls into Santa Monica in the next six to eight years, the Downtown terminal is expected to swarm with several hundred passengers with each inbound train, squeezing an already impacted area.
Dear EarthTalk I want to start an organic vegetable garden in my yard and I would like to know how to combine crops to make better use of time and space.
NOMA — Like many residents concerned about the cost of installing solar panels on their roofs, Ann Giagni wasn’t sure the investment would be worth it.
Dear EarthTalk There’s a lot of talk today about solar and wind power, but what about biomass? How big a role might this renewable energy source play in our future? Couldn’t everyday people burn their own lawn and leaf clippings to generate power? Deborah Welch Niagara Falls, NY The oldest and most
Dear EarthTalk If you have an electric or plug-in hybrid car, you’re paying for electricity rather than gasoline all or most of the time. How does that cost compare to a gas-powered car’s cost-per-mile? And since the electricity may be generated from some other polluting source, does it really work
CITY HALL — One by one they spoke of a community unified through its racial and socio-economic diversity, yet physically divided decades ago with the construction of a large arterial known as the I-10 Freeway.
Dear EarthTalk I don’t eat meat, for a variety of ethical and environmental reasons, and I’d rather not feed it to my cat, either. Do cats have to be carnivores? John McManus Needham, MA Unlike dogs and other omnivores, cats are true (so-called “obligate”) carnivores: They meet their nutritional nee
Dear EarthTalk, I’m a musician and am curious about what the guitar industry is doing to ensure that the wood it uses is not destroying forests. Chris Wiedemann Ronkonkoma, NY Though it has not received a lot of press to date, the industry is on the case — in part for the sake of its own survival, a
CITY HALL — There should be no shortage of candidates for the City Council to consider next week as it looks to replace its late colleague Herb Katz, who died last month after a long battle with cancer.
