Electric cars

Remember the craze regarding electric cars and how everyone was going to have one.  Well from what I can tell, not a whole a lot of people have them.  Well a film was made who killed the electric car.  The film deals with the history of the electric car, its development and commercialization, mostly focusing on the General Motors EV1, which was made available for lease in Southern California, after the California Air Resources Board passed the ZEV mandate in 1990, as well as the implications of the events depicted for air pollution, environmentalism, Middle East politics, and global warming.

The film details the California Air Resources Board's reversal of the mandate after suits fromautomobile manufacturers, the oil industry, and the George W. Bush administration. It points out that Bush's chief influences, Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, and Andrew Card, are all former executives and board members of oil and auto companies.

A large part of the film accounts for GM's efforts to demonstrate to California that there was no demand for their product, and then to take back every EV1 and dispose of them. A few were disabled and given to museums and universities, but almost all were found to have been crushed; GM never responded to the EV drivers' offer to pay the residual lease value ($1.9 million was offered for the remaining 78 cars in Burbank before they were crushed). Several activists are shown being arrested in the protest that attempted to block the GM car carriers taking the remaining EV1s off to be crushed.  

Electric cars are still around but seldom seen.  

Sewage Leak

More than a day after a sewage leak flooded South Coast Highway in Laguna Beach, forcing beach closures and blocking access to city's main road, officials labored Friday to repair the breach.  The northbound lanes remained closed between Diamond and Center streets according to police and the southbound lanes were expected to be shut down again early this morning for more repairs. This report is from the Los Angeles Times.

About 6,500 gallons of sewage flowed into the ocean at Agate Street.  The rupture in the 24-inch pipe was contained about two hours later, with crews working overnight to make additional repairs.  But 10,000 additional gallons polluted the water Friday afternoon when a pump station was shut down during repairs and sewage backed up and overflowed into storm drains.

Laguna Beach has spent millions to upgrade its aging sewer lines in recent years after sustaining enough spills that water quality regulators fined the city for the contamination.  Orange County health officials closed 1.25 miles of coastline in South Laguna Beach because of potential bacterial contamination, including E. coli and Salmonella, from the sewage discharge.

The traffic snarl caused headaches for drivers trying to get in and out of the city, hemmed in by canyons on one side and the ocean on the other.  Employees of the Tail Wagger pet grooming shop on Coast Highway carried pets out to their owners, who were stranded in traffic.  Dozens of vacuum trucks crowded the area where the sewage leak occurred. Because of the high pressure, repair workers struggled to fit a new metal collar on the sewer main.

After several failed attempts, city officials temporarily shut down the Bluebird Pump Station to relieve the pressure and facilitate the clamp's repair. That caused Friday's 10,000-gallon spill into the ocean at Bluebird Beach.  A faulty rubber gasket on the new clamp forced city officials to shut down the pump station a second time with more sewage spills possible.  Sewage spills shut down part of the city's beachfront in November 2006 and in June 2005 during the Bluebird Canyon landslide.

Global warming

Temperatures are rising faster in the american west then any other region in the united states. For the past five years I'm sure you have noticed the steady rise in the temperature.  Based on the news study called Hotter and drier "The Wests Changed Environment".  The report was released by the Rocky mountain climate organization.  Climate change is no longer an abstraction according to scientists.  The article was in the A section of the Los angeles times on a18 on March 29, 2008.

Carbon dioxide pollution from vehicles and power plants are a major contributor to global warming.  A high rash of heat waves in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming had their hottest Julys on record last summer.  In Los angeles the global warming barometer has risen.  So a climate bill idea has been tossed around to slash greenhouse gases.  The rising temperatures in the western states will continue to be a problem.  

Trash

Trash is a problem in regards to the enviroment. Every house has alot of trash and it adds up. It gets burned which causes pollution. What can we do with all this trash. It s a continous cycle. Solid waste pollution is considered a serious threat by many environmentalists and can broadly be defined as any pollution associated with waste and waste management practices.
In a more specific sense however, solid waste can be considered any item which would typically find its way to either a landfill or recycling center, this would include albeit very loosely, various gases and liquids found within solid waste such as CFC propellants from aerosol cans and liquids such as heavy oils and acids which may seep from small motors, batteries and other items. However it should be noted that gases and liquids are only to be associated with solid waste when referring to their point of origin, they themselves are not to be considered solid waste. Some other form of help must come along.

Ducks

grafffiti

Graffiti or some might say art murals that span across freeways in Los Angeles. A certain mural in Boyle Heights has residents mad. I got this article in the Los Angeles Times March 20 in the B section. The mural shows what people might classify as stereotypes that effect how people think of the Latino race. There's no American flag in the mural and the mural also shows beer swilling men, fat women, stray dogs, and illegal street vendors.
The typical homogenous culture in Los Angeles where a lot of the Mexican culture lives wants this change. The people of this community wanted to be portrayed in a positive light. This raises issues in the environment because the way people look at the latino race. Driving by the mural everyday causes this image to be remain in your head. Latinos are more then what this mural shows. Latinos are the backbone of this country and the fastest rising race in the country.

Manure

Article from Los Angeles Times March 21 , 2008 edition in the B section. Residents in Orange County might have to pay a fee for disposal of horse manure. The city seems to be divided over this issue. Homeowners rather do what they please with it. Horse lovers are being driven out with the threat of fines.

The city hasn't been able to find a solution to get pollution out of water, so that creates a problem for the enviroment. Recently Sam Pedroza talked about the cleanliness of water in our class. The residents in Norco are divided on what to do and city officials haven't decided. The best solution would be to find a way to keep water clean without a fee so high to dispose of the manure.