A Worthy Read
Interesting Domestic and International Articles Discussing the Environment, Energy Efficiency and Water Conservation
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Upcoming HHW/E-Waste Collection Events
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CALLING VOLUNTEERS!
There has never been a better time to help out and be recognized.
You can make a huge difference!
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To read the South Bay Cities Council of Governments' latest edition of its newsletter,
South Bay Watch,
click here |
Where Does Your City Rank in the
SCE Energy Leader Partnership Program?
Platinum Tier
20% Energy Reduction
City of Lomita
Gold Tier
10% Energy Reduction
City of El Segundo
City of Hawthorne
City of Manhattan Beach
City of Rancho Palos Verdes
Silver Tier
5% Energy Reduction
City of Carson
City of Hermosa Beach
City of Inglewood
City of Redondo Beach
City of Torrance
Valued Level
City of Lawndale
City of Palos Verdes Estates
City of Rolling Hills
City of Rolling Hills Estates
City of Gardena
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Message From the Executive Director
We've come a long way in cleaning our air in Southern California. Here is a little history from the AQMD:
OLD IDEAS FOR RIDDING AREA OF SMOG
Since smog was first recognized as a serious problem in 1947, inventors and engineers have proposed innovative ideas to get rid of it. One was to connect all Los Angeles industries to a massive network of concrete exhaust pipes routed to the mountains where pollution could be released above the inversion layer.
Many other ideas surfaced in the 1950s and 1960s to purify, ventilate or wash the air over Los Angeles. One was to cut holes in the mountains and install huge exhaust fans to blow smog out of the basin. However, blowing or washing away smog proved to be impractical since it involved a land mass of 1,600 square miles and over 200 million tons of air. The enormous energy requirements made the idea impossible. One scientist suggested blackening whole sections of the eastern mountains so as to store heat and create thermal currents and westerly winds that would blow smog over the ocean.
Seeding clouds to create rain to "wash the air clean" was one method several experts recommended in the late 1950s. Installing jet engines attached to vertical tubes to propel the smoggy air above the inversion layer also was suggested in 1961.
In 1967, a respected Penn State chemistry professor thought he had a better idea. Instead of spending money on tailpipe pollution controls, why not simply fumigate the urban air each summer smog season with a chemical called diethylhydroxylamine, or DEHA. The professor said that would interrupt smog formation because DEHA scavenges the short-lived free radicals that fuel the airborne chemistry of smog. The only problem was that the chemical posed an even greater health risk than air pollution.
Although these ideas seem quaint today, they were seriously evaluated at a time when no one knew the cause of air pollution or how to control it. Many other ideas eventually proved successful at reducing pollution, such as baghouses to control dust from factories, vapor recovery systems with "booted" nozzles at gas stations, catalytic converters on cars and powerplants and reformulated gasoline.
Browse the articles below to see what progressive measures are being taken today, not just towards improving air quality but bettering the environment as a whole.
Jacki Bacharach SBCCOG/SBESC Executive Director
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Southern California Gas Company
Schedule Your Pilot Relight Now!
When it's hot, nobody thinks about winter. But if you schedule your pilot relight right now, you'll beat the winter rush and stay comfortable the minute the temperature dips. So don't delay! Let Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas
®) come by while wait times are shorter.
Schedule your pilot relight right now and have heat when you need it later.
Read More
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Electric Light & Power
Report: Smart Meters Offer Multiple Benefits to Utilities, Customers
Electric utilities continue upgrading their customers' analog electric meters with digital smart meters. As smart meters are installed at residential, commercial and other sites nationwide, utilities are seeing a variety of benefits that are passed on to the end user, according to a new IEE report. Read More Return to Top |
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Southern California Edison
Edison Amps Up Program to Cut Electricity Demand at Peak Times
In return for monthly bill credits, some residential and business customers volunteer to reduce their power use, helping make up for the loss of San Onofre's megawatts. As the Southland braces for the usual end-of-summer swelter, Southern California Edison isn't working up a sweat about keeping the lights on even though its nuclear power plant has been permanently closed.
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Customers Lead the Way in Determining How SCE Prepares for Electric Vehicles
When it comes to electric vehicles, the top three things customers want to know are how much it will cost to charge their vehicles, where the public charging stations are located, and the environmental benefits of these non-gas guzzling cars.
These are just a few of the findings of a white paper released August 6th by Southern California Edison (SCE) that took a look at its 12,000 customers who currently drive electric vehicles and how they can shape what the company does to get ready for widespread adoption of these eco-friendly vehicles.
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L.A. Metro 
ExpressLanes: 20% off the Initial Pre-Paid Toll Deposit of $40
Enjoy the benefits of getting through traffic faster with a Metro ExpressLanes FasTrak transponder.
Receive 20% off the initial pre-paid toll deposit of $40. AAA members will pay $32 for $40 worth of toll credits. Maximum discount is $8 per new account set-up.
The $3 Monthly Account Maintenance Fee is waived for Standard Account holders who make four or more one-way trips per month on the Metro ExpressLanes in any combination of transit, carpool, vanpool, or toll paying SOV.
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*Monthly maintenance fee is waived for all users until October 25th in LA County.
Vanpool: Commuter Benefits
If you are interested in saving money, you'll find it worth the time to take a closer look at Commuter Benefits.
Commuter Benefits make commute alternatives more economical for you, often without any additional cost to your employer. If you ride transit or join a vanpool, you may be able to take advantage of the tax-free benefit associated with Commuter Benefits. Not only will you take home more of your paycheck, but you'll save money on your vehicle's operating costs. It'll feel like you're getting a raise.
To find out if your company offers pre-tax dollars for Commuter Benefits programs, contact your Employee Transportation Coordinator or your Human Resources Manager. For more information on Commuter Benefits, have your employer contact Metro.
Federal IRS tax code 132 (f), has tax breaks available for subsidizing transit and vanpooling for your employees. In addition, your employees may benefit when they set aside pre-tax dollars for certain transit or vanpool expenses.
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Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County
One-Day Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection Event: City of Carson - Saturday September 21, 2013 from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm at the Joint Water Pollution Control Plant
Sponsored jointly by the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts and the Department of Public Works. The Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection Program gives Los Angeles County residents a legal and cost free way to dispose of unwanted household chemicals that cannot be disposed of in the regular trash.
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Recycled Water Being Added to Water Table in Southeastern County
Two water agencies signed an agreement Wednesday that will add 24 trillion gallons of recycled water a year to the ground water used by residents of 43 cities in southern Los Angeles County.
Four million residents from cities within the Water Replenishment District, from Montebello to Long Beach and Torrance to Cerritos, will have a local, reliable water source to boost well-head supplies. Soon, the WRD will no longer have to buy any water from the Colorado River or the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in Northern California, a first for this district which manages two of the largest underground basins in Southern California, the Central and West Coast basins.
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West Basin Municipal Water D istrict
FREE "Breakfast & Basics" Training: Irrigation Professional Training in Malibu - October 9th & 16th
Send your Spanish speaking landscaper/gardener to this FREE informative class, where they will learn to:
- Save water and money
- Reduce or eliminate water runoff
- Evaluate and layout a water efficient irrigation system
- Use the latest irrigation technologies
- Identify and solve common irrigation problems
Learn More & Register Here
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 City of Torrance Follow What's Going On in Torrance Via the City's YouTube Channel Want to see live streams on the City of Torrance's YouTube Channel? Help them reach 1000 subscriptions! |
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Energy Manager Today
DOE Finally Advances Some Commercial Appliances Standards
In President Obama's Climate Action Plan announced in June, he indicated his administration would seek stronger energy efficiency standards for some appliances, and now the Department of Energy has issued two new proposed energy-saving standards for commercial refrigeration equipment, covering commercial refrigerators and freezers and walk-in coolers and freezers.
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Legislation Corner
California Extends HOV Lane Access for Electric Cars and Plug-in Hybrids to 2019
C alifornia's state legislature has approved a bill that would extend HOV/carpool lane green stickers for plug-in hybrids and white stickers for electric cars for 3 years. That means that instead of being valid only until 2016, they will be good until 2019. The change isn't as ambitious as the 10-year extension proposed in Bill AB266, but it should definitely help push some fence-sitters over and get plug-in vehicles to take advantage of this very nice perk.
*For those with HOV/carpool lane green stickers traveling on the I-110 & I-10 freeways through LA County, a FasTrak transponder is still required to use the HOV/carpool lanes (Metro ExpressLanes).
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September / October 2013 Events & Workshops
Click Here to See a List of Upcoming Workshops & Trainings
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