When Los Angeles city council president Eric Garcetti quietly married his longtime girlfriend earlier this year, the blogosphere was abuzz with brokenhearted laments. Not only is the hip and handsome L.A. native politically correct on all the issues, he plays piano and has a great sense of humor. Garcetti may kid around with his constituents (in both English and Spanish), but when it comes to the environment, he’s all business.
If anyone can lead Los Angeles to a more sustainable future, it’s Garcetti. The son of former L.A. County district attorney, Gil Garcetti, Eric has followed a greener path. He supports eco-conscious living as both a planet-saving measure and a social justice issue. He’s pushing to get the Department of Water and Power to produce 20 percent of the city’s power from renewable energy sources by next year, and he authored Proposition O, a $500 million water bond to clean up the ocean, rivers, lakes and beaches. A vocal advocate for green space in urban neighborhoods, Garcetti coauthored legislation that created the nonprofit Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust to build parks in low-income, densely populated neighborhoods, and has continually encouraged urban farming. Featured in the indie film, Who Killed The Electric Car?, Garcetti was one of the first in the nation to lease an electric vehicle.
WLT recently snagged some time in his incredibly busy schedule to talk about his vision for a greener Los Angeles.
WLT: There’s been a big movement for cities to become Transition Towns and embrace sustainability as a community. What’s happening in Los Angeles in response to peak oil and climate change?
Eric Garcetti: Sustainable living has to be about all aspects of our lives, from the air we breathe to the water we drink to the green spaces we enjoy. Many small changes in peoples’ lives can create the things we need to be a more sustainable city. In Los Angeles, we consume the same amount of water today as we did in the 1980s because of my water-efficient fixture ordinance that calls for low-flush toilets, so that’s good news. I just came back from China, where they’re building 12,000 kilometers of high-speed rail, and seeing that made it clear to me that we can move around an urban city without being in single passenger cars or even jets.
The DWP has reinstated its solar panel rebate program. Does the city offer other green incentives that can help us make those small changes?
L.A. residents have a number of incentives available, like rebates on high efficiency washers and dryers, and Energy Star-rated refrigerators. These kinds of everyday behavior changes have made a big difference in our water and energy conservation efforts, so we encourage them. There are Go Green brochures on my website (cd13.com) that detail many of the city’s incentive programs.
What is the city of Los Angeles doing in terms of green building initiatives?
The city’s Green Building Ordinance is the nation’s most far-reaching of its kind. It’s had an impact on more buildings than any other municipality’s green building policy. Today, there are 60 city buildings that are LEED [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design] certified, and many of them are silver, gold or platinum LEED certified. We also have the nation’s most wide-reaching green building ordinance for private buildings, which ensures that new private buildings will be built in a green way.
We’ve been hearing a lot about the importance of not just building green, but functioning in a sustainable way. Is that a factor in their certification?
The next step is happening right now. I’m working with the U.S. Department of Energy secretary, Steven Chu, to measure the energy output and consumption of buildings. They are already doing this in Germany, saying that buildings also must meet certain standards in terms of consumption and output. Plenty of LEED buildings consume too much energy, so the issue of consumption and output is crucial.
L.A. just reclaimed its dubious claim to having the worst air in the country. How can we change that?
There is no question that Los Angeles has the dirtiest air in the nation, but we are improving. When I was a kid in the 1970s, growing up in the San Fernando Valley between two freeways, there were days when it was unsafe to walk around outside because of the air quality. One of the biggest things we need to do is clean up the Port of Los Angeles. We’re working on supporting rail and newer trucks for moving cargo out of the port. We also need to build up mass transit and add new busways to get people out of their cars. And of course, getting people into electric cars or more energy efficient cars is key.
You’ve written policy to ensure new construction at LAX is LEED certified, but is the city taking specific actions to reduce our carbon footprint?
When President Bush didn’t sign the Kyoto Protocol, Los Angeles pledged to follow it anyway. The city has a large fleet of alternative fuel vehicles, and our trash trucks run on natural gas. In my office, everyone is asked to walk, bike, carpool or take public transit to work at least once a week. We’re building more bike lanes and creating more pedestrian-friendly areas. Hollywood, for instance, is a neighborhood where people can walk to dinner, a movie, a play and the farmers market. It’s easy to take the subway between east and central Hollywood, and get all your shopping done. We have to continue to encourage people to get out of their cars.
You live in Echo Park, which is a bit far to walk or bike downtown, for example. How are you reducing your personal carbon footprint?
I’ve driven an electric car for 10 years. I installed solar paneling in my home and we have native landscaping in the yard. I’m a big fan of recycling and reusing, and I buy as many green products as I can. I grow the majority of my own produce at home.
What’s the future of the Los Angeles River? It seems like such an underutilized natural resource.
I love the L.A. River. I remember walking along the river with my dad and my sister when I was a kid, and those memories keep me committed to its future. We’re building parks along the river and beginning to extend the bike path along the river through Elysian Valley. One of my main objectives is getting people, parks and communities to turn toward the river; we’ve had our backs to it for so long. With Proposition O, the water in the L.A. River is cleaner and there are fish in the river that are cleaner than many commercially caught fish. I also firmly believe we need to get funding to un-pave the river.
Going green is often thought of as a middle class luxury. What are you doing to promote greening and sustainability in low-income neighborhoods?
My council district is the third poorest of all 15 districts in Los Angeles. We’ve shown in Council District 13 that environmentalism not only thrives in low income neighborhoods, it often comes from there. The strongest votes for clean air and water come from the poorest communities, and I think that’s because people in these areas really understand how important these basic things are. The 13th district has added 20 new parks in just eight years, and I’m thrilled to look around the district and see people of all ethnic backgrounds, side by side, growing a variety of vegetables. Farmers markets are no longer just in Santa Monica and the Valley, they’re in East and South Los Angeles. And we now have wetlands in South Los Angeles, so kids can see herons right in their own backyards.
If you could tell Angelenos to do just one thing to save the planet, what would it be?
Plan one trip this week that isn’t in a car.
—Amy Lyons is a freelance journalist and theatre critic, and co-editor of the Park LaBrea News and Beverly Press. She’s a member of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle and has written a few full-length plays that she pretty much keeps tucked away in a drawer.
How city council president Eric Garcetti is galvanizing L.A. into sustainability
By Amy Lyons
When Los Angeles city council president Eric Garcetti quietly married his longtime girlfriend earlier this year, the blogosphere was abuzz with brokenhearted laments. Not only is the hip and handsome L.A. native politically correct on all the issues, he plays piano and has a great sense of humor. Garcetti may kid around with his constituents (in both English and Spanish), but when it comes to the environment, he’s all business.
If anyone can lead Los Angeles to a more sustainable future, it’s Garcetti. The son of former L.A. County district attorney, Gil Garcetti, Eric has followed a greener path. He supports eco-conscious living as both a planet-saving measure and a social justice issue. He’s pushing to get the Department of Water and Power to produce 20 percent of the city’s power from renewable energy sources by next year, and he authored Proposition O, a $500 million water bond to clean up the ocean, rivers, lakes and beaches. A vocal advocate for green space in urban neighborhoods, Garcetti coauthored legislation that created the nonprofit Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust to build parks in low-income, densely populated neighborhoods, and has continually encouraged urban farming. Featured in the indie film, Who Killed The Electric Car?, Garcetti was one of the first in the nation to lease an electric vehicle.
WLT recently snagged some time in his incredibly busy schedule to talk about his vision for a greener Los Angeles.
WLT: There’s been a big movement for cities to become Transition Towns and embrace sustainability as a community. What’s happening in Los Angeles in response to peak oil and climate change?
Eric Garcetti: Sustainable living has to be about all aspects of our lives, from the air we breathe to the water we drink to the green spaces we enjoy. Many small changes in peoples’ lives can create the things we need to be a more sustainable city. In Los Angeles, we consume the same amount of water today as we did in the 1980s because of my water-efficient fixture ordinance that calls for low-flush toilets, so that’s good news. I just came back from China, where they’re building 12,000 kilometers of high-speed rail, and seeing that made it clear to me that we can move around an urban city without being in single passenger cars or even jets.
The DWP has reinstated its solar panel rebate program. Does the city offer other green incentives that can help us make those small changes?
L.A. residents have a number of incentives available, like rebates on high efficiency washers and dryers, and Energy Star-rated refrigerators. These kinds of everyday behavior changes have made a big difference in our water and energy conservation efforts, so we encourage them. There are Go Green brochures on my website (cd13.com) that detail many of the city’s incentive programs.
What is the city of Los Angeles doing in terms of green building initiatives?
The city’s Green Building Ordinance is the nation’s most far-reaching of its kind. It’s had an impact on more buildings than any other municipality’s green building policy. Today, there are 60 city buildings that are LEED [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design] certified, and many of them are silver, gold or platinum LEED certified. We also have the nation’s most wide-reaching green building ordinance for private buildings, which ensures that new private buildings will be built in a green way.
We’ve been hearing a lot about the importance of not just building green, but functioning in a sustainable way. Is that a factor in their certification?
The next step is happening right now. I’m working with the U.S. Department of Energy secretary, Steven Chu, to measure the energy output and consumption of buildings. They are already doing this in Germany, saying that buildings also must meet certain standards in terms of consumption and output. Plenty of LEED buildings consume too much energy, so the issue of consumption and output is crucial.
L.A. just reclaimed its dubious claim to having the worst air in the country. How can we change that?
There is no question that Los Angeles has the dirtiest air in the nation, but we are improving. When I was a kid in the 1970s, growing up in the San Fernando Valley between two freeways, there were days when it was unsafe to walk around outside because of the air quality. One of the biggest things we need to do is clean up the Port of Los Angeles. We’re working on supporting rail and newer trucks for moving cargo out of the port. We also need to build up mass transit and add new busways to get people out of their cars. And of course, getting people into electric cars or more energy efficient cars is key.
You’ve written policy to ensure new construction at LAX is LEED certified, but is the city taking specific actions to reduce our carbon footprint?
When President Bush didn’t sign the Kyoto Protocol, Los Angeles pledged to follow it anyway. The city has a large fleet of alternative fuel vehicles, and our trash trucks run on natural gas. In my office, everyone is asked to walk, bike, carpool or take public transit to work at least once a week. We’re building more bike lanes and creating more pedestrian-friendly areas. Hollywood, for instance, is a neighborhood where people can walk to dinner, a movie, a play and the farmers market. It’s easy to take the subway between east and central Hollywood, and get all your shopping done. We have to continue to encourage people to get out of their cars.
You live in Echo Park, which is a bit far to walk or bike downtown, for example. How are you reducing your personal carbon footprint?
I’ve driven an electric car for 10 years. I installed solar paneling in my home and we have native landscaping in the yard. I’m a big fan of recycling and reusing, and I buy as many green products as I can. I grow the majority of my own produce at home.
What’s the future of the Los Angeles River? It seems like such an underutilized natural resource.
I love the L.A. River. I remember walking along the river with my dad and my sister when I was a kid, and those memories keep me committed to its future. We’re building parks along the river and beginning to extend the bike path along the river through Elysian Valley. One of my main objectives is getting people, parks and communities to turn toward the river; we’ve had our backs to it for so long. With Proposition O, the water in the L.A. River is cleaner and there are fish in the river that are cleaner than many commercially caught fish. I also firmly believe we need to get funding to un-pave the river.
Going green is often thought of as a middle class luxury. What are you doing to promote greening and sustainability in low-income neighborhoods?
My council district is the third poorest of all 15 districts in Los Angeles. We’ve shown in Council District 13 that environmentalism not only thrives in low income neighborhoods, it often comes from there. The strongest votes for clean air and water come from the poorest communities, and I think that’s because people in these areas really understand how important these basic things are. The 13th district has added 20 new parks in just eight years, and I’m thrilled to look around the district and see people of all ethnic backgrounds, side by side, growing a variety of vegetables. Farmers markets are no longer just in Santa Monica and the Valley, they’re in East and South Los Angeles. And we now have wetlands in South Los Angeles, so kids can see herons right in their own backyards.
If you could tell Angelenos to do just one thing to save the planet, what would it be?
Plan one trip this week that isn’t in a car.
—Amy Lyons is a freelance journalist and theatre critic, and co-editor of the Park LaBrea News and Beverly Press. She’s a member of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle and has written a few full-length plays that she pretty much keeps tucked away in a drawer.
