SM PIER — Illuminated by Pacific Park’s solar-powered Ferris wheel with a pulled pork sandwich in one hand and a light beer in the other, Australian TV personality Troy Gray stood on the Santa Monica Pier last Friday night and watched as roughly 2,200 of his fellow countrymen drank and danced to pop
Dear EarthTalk What are the major threats to the Great Lakes in the United States and what’s being done to address them? Saul G., Racine, Wisc. The Great Lakes watershed is a unique and important ecosystem that contains some 95 percent of America’s fresh water surface area, and is a continental hub
CITY HALL — Having failed, so far, to convince the City Council to enact a ban on smoking inside apartment units, Rent Control Board Commissioner Robert Kronovet is planning to take his pitch for stricter smoking laws directly to the voters.
Dear EarthTalk How effective have plastic bag bans and restrictions been on reducing plastic litter and other problems associated with their proliferation? And is it really better to use paper bags, which will just lead to more deforestation? Peter Lindsey New Canaan, Conn.
Dr. Nushin Shir, owner of Artistic Center for Dentistry, is celebrating Earth Month by offering 120 new patients free comprehensive dental exams that will include basic teeth cleaning services and limited check up x-rays.
CITY HALL — In their roles representing the residents of Santa Monica, some members of the City Council occasionally find themselves far from home, conducting what’s considered “official City Hall business” in places as distant as France, Denmark, Mexico and Norway.
CITY HALL — For City Hall planners, it’s time for a toast. Having worked for more than four years on the Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE) — a general plan update that will govern development in Santa Monica over the next 25 years — they’re billing the final two workshops on the voluminous doc
Dear EarthTalk: Oceans are in big trouble and I understand President Obama is creating a high-level ocean council to address them. What are the major issues? — Steve Sullivan, Bothell, Wash.
CITY HALL — Dead bees typically don’t get much sympathy. For most humans, the buzzing, stinging creatures just don’t have the appeal that mammals like, say, bunny rabbits or whales do.
Dear EarthTalk A friend with many minor health problems recently switched to a diet of only raw plant foods and reports feeling much better. She also insists her new eating habits are better for the environment.
Dear EarthTalk My husband and I want to start a garden this year. I really want to make compost from leftover food scraps and yard materials. He says it will attract unwanted animals, and refuses to agree to it.
CITY HALL — Following a two-month delay, the City Council is again set to approve a “deal in principle” to bring billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad’s proposed art museum to Santa Monica’s Civic Center.
