Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal

Residents are encouraged to bring their e-waste, household batteries, gently used household items and sensitive documents needing shredding to the Second District E-Waste Drive. The annual event is always held after the holidays to assist residents and small businesses with their winter cleaning.

Vice Mayor Lowenthal has hosted the drive for the last six years in partnership with Goodwill of Southern Los Angeles County. Proceeds go directly to Goodwill’s employment programs and skills development training. The E-waste Drive will also feature Goodwill’s Shred-4-Good ® with the first box free and $5 for each additional box. Industrial e-waste, other household hazardous waste or fluorescent tubes will not be accepted. Donations are tax-deductible!

Read the rest of Vice Mayor Lowenthal Hosts 2nd District E-Waste Drive Saturday January 7th

Read the rest of Aquarium of the Pacific and Sustainable Surf Partner to Turn Trash into Surfboards

Read the rest of Environmental Services Bureau to Host a Free Workshop for Local Manufacturers

Hardy was honored for capturing the world title in the 50 meter breaststroke and taking a silver medal in the 4×100 meter freestyle relay at the FINA World Championships in Shanghai this summer. Three days later, she was crowned U.S. National champion by winning the 100 meter breaststroke in Palo Alto, Calif.

Read the rest of Long Beach Aquatic Capital of America Foundation Names Swimmer Jessica Hardy Aquatic Athlete of the Year

Aquarium honors Chivas with Heritage Award. Sergio Arias, Chivas USA player; Luis Felipe Rivera, director of community outreach & business development, Chivas USA; John C. Molina, vice chairman, Board of Directors, Aquarium of the Pacific; and Tristan Bowen, Chivas USA player.

Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles-based Deportivo Chivas USA was presented the Heritage Award at the Aquarium’s annual Noches de Estrellas event. The organization promotes children’s literacy campaigns and soccer sessions for underserved youth and children with disabilities. 

Read the rest of Chivas USA Presented with Aquarium’s Heritage Award

Read the rest of 14 Long Beach High School Students “Explore, Dream, & Discover” at “Camp Justin!”

Read the rest of Sixth District Document Shredding & Recycling Event Set For August 20th

E-waste comprises of old computers, monitors, television sets and other electronics that are discarded each year. In fiscal year 2011, Goodwill SOLAC and Goodwill agencies nationwide received more than 95 million pounds of e-waste – the equivalent of roughly 3.4 million computers. To put it in other terms, 95 million pounds is the same as 633 space shuttles.

Read the rest of Goodwill Helps the State Recycle a Record Amount of Electronic Waste

Chantilly Clad

The Arts Council for Long Beach is passionate about activating underutilized public spaces. On Saturdays June 11 and 18, the space located at the corner of Ocean Blvd. and Lime Ave. and the site of the public art installation Chantilly Clad will come alive with live music, symposia, interactive workshops, and more, all free to the public.

Chantilly Clad, which unveiled in August 2010, provides an open-air venue for community events and features a stage with a suspended lace canopy made of woven nautical rope, a deck made from reclaimed lumber and crane-like armatures in a nod to the city’s maritime history. During the week of June 6, Greenmeme, the design team that created Chantilly Clad, and Apiana Native Landscaping will install a series of native plant gardens.

June 11 focuses on urban gardening and will unveil the public art site’s new garden planters filled with Native California plants. DJ Dennis Owens will provide the daylong tunes and local band MatteranGhost will grace the stage around 4:30 p.m.

At 2:30 p.m., the reclaimed wood stage will feature a panel of urban gardening experts including: Freya Bardell of Greenmeme; Captain Charles Moore, founder of Algalita Marine Research Foundation and Long Beach organic and owner/operator of Gladys Ave. Urban Farm; Julie James, the local expert on healing herbs; Adriana Martinez, a well-known guerrilla gardener and author of the blog Anarchy in the Garden; and Jimmy Ng, founder of The Growing Experience, an urban farm in North Long Beach that employs green collar job youth.

From 3:30-6 p.m., attendees can participate in a number of free interactive workshops. Freya Bardell and Brian Howe of Greenmeme and Brady Redman of Apiana Native Landscaping will facilitate a community planting of native plants on-site, thereby giving folks the opportunity to make their mark on the public space. Charles Moore is bringing handmade, carry-away wooden planter boxes for folks to plant their own salad greens or herbs and take home. Julie James will teach folks how to make seed bombs, which guerilla gardeners-at-heart can throw at empty lots this autumn and watch brown dirt turn to flowering bushes. And local permaculture professional Ty Tessiere will bring worm composting bins and show lookers-on how these wiggly creatures help the composting process.

June 18 is SlangFest 2011, a festival of arts, spoken word and music conceived by Slanguage (Mario Ybarra Jr., Karla Diaz and collaborators) and organized by LA><ART Assistant Director/Curator of Public Art and Programs Cesar Garcia. Two symposia will be held on this day: at 2:30 p.m. Slanguage founders and four spoken word artists will speak and perform about Language and Voice; and at 4:30 p.m., special guests MC Guess, MC Tyson, Reina, and the Slanguage Noise Band will perform original works to creatively address the topic of Language and Music.

Throughout the day, DJ Cheebo will spin eclectic Latin sounds while interactive workshops will be offered on breakdancing and recycled art (drawing, collage, and sculpture) by Slanguage Teen Art Council, Homeland Cultural Center, and Wilmington Enrichment Community Artist Network. The band YEPA! will take the stage at 5 p.m.

The Arts Council for Long Beach “A Lot Symposium and Performance Series” will be held Saturdays June 11 and 18, 2011 from 2–6 p.m at the public art installation space, Chantilly Clad on the corner of Ocean Blvd. and Lime Ave.

A free bike valet will be offered both days to encouraging attendees to leave their car at home. The event aims to be zero-waste by composting and recycling all of the “waste” from the event.

Artistic videographers and photographers will document and interpret the events as part of the series’ interactive art slant.

“The intersection of the arts, public space, environmental sustainability and social interaction is where ‘it’s at’ in the urban arena,” Craig Watson, ACLB executive director, said. “The Arts Council helps promote dialogue and civic engagement through the arts. The A Lot Symposium and Performance series is part of a temporary public art strategy that addresses the prevalence of vacant lots and underutilized spaces through site-specific temporary art and programming for each installation. Through these events, we want people to become more educated and inspired on how they can help transform a vacant lot into an attractive space for public gathering, know more about creative work being done in and around Long Beach, and learn about Chantilly Clad.”

The Arts Council for Long Beach is a private non-profit organization, which fosters excellence in the creation and presentation of arts and cultural endeavors in Long Beach. The Arts Council provides access for families, children, and the community to a broad spectrum of cultural experiences by building strategic partnerships and programs that weave arts and culture into the fabric of our community.

Reusable bags aren't the only way to go green.

A recent vote in Long Beach to ban carry-out bags represents another example that being environmentally conscious has never been more on the minds of Americans than it is today. If you also consider the imposed 10 cent charge on paper and recyclable carry-out bags at all food market stores, convenience, pharmacies, drug stores and Long Beach farmers markets, it should make you want to utilize every possible resource to do your part in conservation. I always like to take an extra cloth bag to the beach with me, not just for my own trash but in the event that I find trash someone else has left behind. It’s the little things that make you feel like you’ve contributed.

And the cost of apathy continues to mount.

Read the rest of Shopping Bags Aren’t the Only Way to Go Green at the Grocery Store

City Council votes to ban the use of plastic carry out bags in Long Beach.

On Tuesday, May 17, the Long Beach City Council approved an ordinance that bans merchants from handing out plastic carry-out bags and imposes a ten-cent charge on recyclable, paper carry-out bags at all supermarkets and other grocery stores, pharmacies, drug stores, convenience stores, foodmarts, and Long Beach farmers markets. The ban was passed unanimously by the five councilmembers who were present — DeLong, O’Donnell, Gabelich and Schipske were absent.

“Last night’s vote marks another milestone in an effort by Long Beach to take control of its own wasteshed by banning plastic bags from its litter stream and setting an example for cities along the Los Angeles River,” said Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal who authored the original motion and called for a public education program in December, 2010. 

Read the rest of Plastic Bag Ban Passed By LB City Council

Read the rest of Eco-Friendly Restaurant Roots Gourmet Hosts Beach Clean-Up

The event will begin with a reception at 6 p.m., followed by the presentation at 6:45 p.m. in The Pointe at the Walter Pyramid on campus.

Adams will discuss how he used innovation and technology to grow a scrap metal junkyard into a leader in the recycling industry; how cutting-edge technologies are helping to sustain our planet; and how to become a leader who makes a difference in business and industry.

Read the rest of Recycling CEO to Speak at CSULB Business Lecture Series April 19

All Ages Welcome. No Experience Necessary

The 2nd City Council Art Gallery + Performance Space (2cc) is pleased to announce a four month fun-filled and educational series of environmental themed mosaic workshops that are open FREE to the public. The workshops will be taught by professional mosaic artists and instructors Dawn Mendelson and Luz Mack-Durini and will be held in conjunction with 2cc’s EARTH exhibition (April 2 – May 1, 2011).

Each month a different environmental topic will be explored – recycling, butterflies, native plants and birds. There will be a guest speaker on each subject and then participants will learn about mosaic and create a work of art. The first workshop begins on April 3rd. The featured speaker is Long Beach artist, Betsy Lohrer Hall, who will give a brief talk about recycling and how she collects items to “re-purpose” them into her artwork. Thereafter, the workshops will be held on most Sundays from 10:00 am – 1 p.m. There will be a celebratory BBQ in the garden on July 31, 2011. Workshops will be conducted in English and Spanish.

Read the rest of 2cc Offers FREE Bi-Lingual Mosaic Workshops

LBFD Fire Fighters arrived on the scene within minutes to stop the fire on a recycling truck in the 5th District.

Tuesday morning, at abou 9:40 a.m., February 1, the Long Beach Fire Department responded to a recycling truck that was on fire off of the 2800 block of Ladoga Avenue.

Engine 18 arrived on scene in less than five minutes and saw that there was moderate to heavy amounts of fire and black smoke coming from the large recycling truck. Luckily the truck was in the middle of the street and there were no other vehicles or bystanders close by the roaring blaze that was radiating intense heat.

Read the rest of Violent Recycling Truck Fire Causes Large Explosions in 5th District

Sustainability initiatives from the USPS include free eco-friendly packaging for postal customers.

Lean Green Teams helped the Postal Service reduce energy, water, solid waste to landfills and petroleum fuel use, saving the agency more than $5 million in 2010. Environmental policies also helped the Postal Service recycle more than 222,000 tons of material—an increase of nearly 8,000 tons over the prior year—which generated $13 million in revenue, and saved an additional $9.1 million in landfill fees.

“Across the country, postal employees are participating in more than 80 cross-functional Lean Green Teams that are producing significant results in energy reduction and resource conservation,” said Emil Dzuray, acting Chief Sustainability Officer.

Lean Green Teams build on the Postal Service’s efforts to create a culture of conservation and on its long history of environmental and socially responsible leadership. The teams are helping mesh low-cost and no-cost sustainable practices with performance management systems to help the Postal Service meet the following reduction goals by 2015:

• facility energy use 30 percent
• water use 10 percent
• petroleum fuel use 20 percent
• landfill waste 50 percent.

The Postal Service is on track to achieve these goals, according to Dzuray, and plans to deploy Lean Green Teams nationwide by 2012.

“With nearly 32,000 facilities, a presence in every community, and the largest civilian fleet in the nation, we know how important our efforts are to make a positive impact on the environment,” Dzuray added. “Our employee green teams are an important part of building a conservation culture and reducing our carbon footprint.”

As part of its green efforts, the Postal Service buys sustainable materials and works to reduce the amount of consumables it buys. The agency first developed a “buy green” policy more than 12 years ago, and has a goal to reduce spending on consumables 30 percent by 2020. In 2009, its consumables spending decreased 16 percent from the previous year. Additionally, the Postal Service is working to increase the percentage of environmentally preferable products it buys by 50 percent by 2015. These are products that are bio-based, have recycled content, are eco-labeled and are energy and water efficient.

The Postal Service is the only mailing and shipping company in the world whose shipping supplies and postage products have earned Cradle to Cradle CertificationCM , meaning they are designed with materials that are safe for human health and the environment. The agency has won more than 75 environmental awards, including 40 White House Closing the Circle, 10 Environmental Protection Agency WasteWise Partner of the Year, Climate Action Champion, Direct Marketing Association Green Echo, and the Postal Technology International Environmental Achievement of the Year.

For more information about the Lean Green Teams or the U.S. Postal Service’s other sustainability initiatives, visit usps.com/green.

Each year, an average of 250 tons of holiday trees are recycled in Long Beach. This year, Disney on Ice is helping the Environmental Services Bureau promote the importance of recycling and remind residents that recycling Christmas trees in Long Beach is easy.

Disney on Ice performers will be at the Long Beach Police North Sub-Station, located at 4891 N. Atlantic Avenue, on Tuesday, January 4, 2011, 3:30 to 4:30 pm. Residents who bring their in Christmas tree for recycling and a camera for photos will have the opportunity to meet the performers and take a picture with Mickey or Minnie Mouse.

Read the rest of Join Mickey Mouse for Free Christmas Tree Recycling in Long Beach

Counter-Culture Event Showcases “Queen of Vintage” Kathleen Schaaf & Owner of Long Beach Meow Vintage PLUS 100+ International Exhibitors Offering One-of-a-Kind Item On Exhibit & For Sale

Art, fashion, culture and vintage enthusiasts from around the globe will gather at Long Beach, CA’s premiere historic art deco destination, The Queen Mary, for “Inspiration 2011”, on Friday and Saturday, February 11-12, 2011. The two-day show will feature over 60 international vendors and exhibitors offering unique and one-of-a-kind merchandise on exhibit and for sale—including American vintage apparel manufactured from the 1900s-1980s, vintage-inspired-to-contemporary fashions, plus artists and artisans, as well as live music.

Read the rest of Inspiration 2011: Vintage, Fashion, Art & Kulture Show • At The Historic Queen Mary • February 11-12 2011

Get rid of all your broken or unwanted electronic equipment after the holidays in a fast, convenient way that helps those most in need. We’ll unload your e-waste for you and get you back on the road in minutes.

E-waste includes computer monitors, towers and peripherals, TVs and big screens, DVD players, electronics, cell phones, and digital/LCD clocks.

Sorry, we cannot accept industrial or large scale e-waste or household hazardous waste, fluorescent tubes or batteries.

Read the rest of Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal invites you to the Second District E-Waste Drive

The City of Long Beach is offering one remaining free community workshop before the new code takes effect to provide more information about the changes. The workshop is on Thursday, December 9, 3:00 pm, at the Mark Twain Library Community Room, 1401 E. Anaheim St. Please RSVP by calling 562.570.7636 or emailing LBDS@longbeach.gov.

To publicize the Code updates, the City has hosted two previous free community workshops, sent a mass mailing to local developers, architects and contractors, presented updates at November Board of Examiners, Appeals & Condemnation (BEAC) and City Council meetings, and placed the information on the LBDS website, monthly newsletter and at the permit counter.

The main changes to the code are the introduction of the California Green Building Standards Code (called CALGreen) and the California Residential Code.

Read the rest of Free Workshop is Last Chance to Learn About 2011 Building Code Changes

Photo by carla arena

As part of a major emphasis on improving youth health and fitness as well as helping to counter the major childhood obesity epidemic, the nonprofit Aquarium of the Pacific has joined forces with RUN Racing and the Long Beach International City Bank Marathon & Half Marathon. Together they will host a free one-mile Kids Fun Run on Saturday, October 16, 2010.

Up to 2000 kids ages 6 to 12 can run in the event at no cost and will be encouraged to dress in blue or as their favorite marine creature.  The Grand Marshall for the race will be none other than Lola, the Aquarium’s resident talking cockatoo. Costumed characters like the sea otter and shark will be cheering for the runners. Those participating will each receive a commemorative Sea Star Medal, a finisher certificate, and free entry to the Aquarium. Kids will be timed and will run in waves with their own age group.

Read the rest of Aquarium of the Pacific to host One-Mile Kids Fun Run in association with the Long Beach Marathon

InkPeace

After the building’s owner delivered a new lease agreement, the offer was rescinded less than 24hours later after being advised that the building, located at 3636 Atlantic Ave., would be easier to lease or sell if it was vacant. InkPeace was given the weekend to clear out of the building. “We had no time to inform walk-in customers that the InkPeace store was closing since we were literally given the weekend to move out, a time when we are normally closed”, Hawkins said. InkPeace board of directors decided reopening a walk-in location would not be in the best interest at a time the company is expanding its focus on business, government, and education. “Coming out of the chute in 2008, our main objective was to educate our local community and schools on the importance of recycling cartridges and the fact that they could cut ink and toner expenditures in half”, Hawkins says. “We have accomplished that objective, and are pleased both the City of Long Beach and the Long Beach Unified School District have initiated pilot programs that utilize remanufactured ink and toner cartridges.”

Read the rest of InkPeace Alive and Well Despite Losing Lease

The endowed chair is the result of a $1 million donation from Ray and Barbara Alpert to the CSULB Jewish Studies Program in 2008.  The university named the endowed chair in perpetuity in their honor.

Read the rest of CSULB Officials Announce Appointment of Inaugural Barbara and Ray Alpert Endowed Chair for Jewish Studies

“There are so many free and low-cost ways to stay cool and comfortable this summer – while keeping electricity costs in check,” said Gene Rodrigues, SCE’s director of Customer Energy Efficiency and Solar. “Now more than ever, people are interested in saving money and the environment. We’re focused on being able to help our customers do that.”

Here are three steps customers can take to

Read the rest of Tips for Keeping Summer Energy Bills Low

The expanded program, called California Cash for Appliances PLUS, now includes energy-efficient dishwashers, freezers, water heaters and heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems to existing rebates on refrigerators, clothes washers and room air conditioners.  Combining the California Cash for Appliances rebates with rebates available from The Gas Company and Southern California Edison some utility customers can earn up to $3,995.

Read the rest of Cash for Appliances PLUS Offers a Second Chance for Energy Rebates