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📢 is having their annual Leadership Academy! This is a great time to learn about the work that is happening in your community. We will cover emergency disaster training, preparedness, and so much more!
🗓 Academy days:
• November 28th
•December 1st- 4th
•December 10th
⚠️Sign up by October 15th 📝
🔗 bit.ly/CBERLA22
Stipends available
Utilities are a human right!
Join us next Tuesday, September 27, outside of LADWP for a community rally to demand a stop to water and power shut offs!
The City of LA’s Planning Department recently released its draft plan to phase oil out of LA communities city-wide. The plan is a strong start toward environmental justice – but there is room to improve!
We urge them to:
Clarify any potential circumstances under which an exception could be made for an oil company.
End dangerous acid treatment work during the phase-out because it puts communities at risk of harm.
Explains how the City will shorten the 20-year default phase-out period following its amortization study.
Provides for robust clean-up and remediation measures that ensure the land is safe for community-driven redevelopment.
Now is our chance to make sure the City’s next steps create a public policy that is supportive of community health, and doesn’t perpetuate systemic harms that have existed for far too long.
📍CARSON/WILMINGTON/SURROUNDING AREAS: We received these two videos of major flaring taking place at Marathon Refinery Carson. First video was filmed on 9/14/22 at 2:20pm and the second was filmed 9/16/22 at 3:15pm off the 405 freeway. Apparently, the Marathon Refinery Carson is doing some maintenance/shut downs which will prolong refinery flares over the next few days, scheduled to end on the 19th.
📲If you see this/are near the area, please call 1800CUTSMOG (1-800-288-7664) and follow the steps to report an air event.
Depending on the time of day, you will actually get to speak with someone who will take your report down and ask if you are open to receiving a call back from a field person. You don't have to accept, it's up to you :) Sometimes, no one answers so you just leave a voicemail. Try describing the issue as best as you can, location, SMELL, visually, etc...
If they receive 3 calls regarding the same issue, it officially becomes an air event. So we highly encourage you to contact a couple of friends so that they can report it as well and that ensures that a field person gets out there as soon as possible.
Planned or unplanned we encourage y'all to call it in, refinery flares HAVE GOT TO END! Yes, can you believe these harmful operations are planned at times?! :/
Sign up to receive the notifications of the planned flares to your inbox!
E-mail Notifications for
Flare events reported to South Coast AQMD by petroleum refineries, sulfur recovery plants, and hydrogen production plants subject to Rule 1118 can be received by the public via email. Sign up to receive e-mail notification updates for any of the regulated facilities.
AQMD FLARING ALERTS SIGN UP:
https://www.aqmd.gov/sign-up
🤳After documenting/calling it in, we advise to remove yourself from the area, if possible, due to the dangerous fumes that you could be breathing in. Close your windows and limit exposure. Check out the short Box Fan Air Filter tutorial on the Instagram reels of for alternative solutions. This can be used indoors to clean the air in your home.
📌Finally, this brings us back to our refinery asks of the & Gavin Newsom -the bottom line is: We don't need FAKE solutions like for refineries in the . We need a plan for refinery phaseout by 2045 to truly clean the air we breathe as Californians. Refinery Flares continue to pollute frontline communities while industry tries to convince y'all otherwise.
Liane Randolph Gideon Kracov Davina Hurt Dean Florez Diane Takvorian
How many ballot measures are there -- and what will they do? 🧐 Check out ’s with information on the propositions that could help, or hurt, communities this fall. caleja.us/props22
Escuche a Dulce Altamirano, residente de Wilmington, CA y miembra de Communites for a Better Environment, describir cómo es su vida viviendo cerca de las refinerías y cómo South Coast Air Quality Management District - South Coast AQMD debería estar del lado de la comunidad, no de la industria.
“Estamos rodeados por estos monstruos aquí; estamos respirando toda esta contaminación que nos está matando”.
https://actnowaqmd.com/initiatives/refineries
We are excited to announce that we will be partnering with our board member, Jason Douglas, on this project! He acquired a grant from NASA to partner with community members to research public health impacts of urban heat islands and air pollution, and how equitable access to parks, open spaces, and treetop canopies can counter those impacts.
Titled, "Communities for a Better Environment: Triangulating NASA Data and Participatory GIS with Local Organizing to Advance Environmental Justice in Los Angeles.”
https://news.chapman.edu/2022/09/13/faculty-member-awarded-nasa-grant-to-study-environmental-health-impacts/
SoCal communities are joining together to push for to step up and strengthen regulatory oversight of industrial polluters. Learn more at ActNowAQMD.com.
On August 22nd, the BELL GARDENS CITY COUNCIL UNANIMOUSLY PASSED A RENT STABILIZATION ORDINANCE that places BG residents, families, and community first — ¡La unión si hace la fuerza!
The has an opportunity to do it again TONIGHT at the FINAL VOTE in support of at 50% CPI with a ceiling of 4%.
We are proud to stand with the Unión de Vecinas and the City of Bell Gardens as they lead the way in SouthEast LA! Communities across California are turning the tide as we come together to ensure that everyone has access to safe, stable, and affordable housing. When all the members of our community have access to safe, stable, affordable housing, our communities grow healthy and thrive!
You too can support the Union de Vecinas at the Bell Gardens City Council meeting today 9/12 and share your testimony in support of rent stabilization. Send your written comments by email to
[email protected] or directly to the City of Bell Gardens at:
[email protected]
CC:
Nizgui Gomez has fond memories of growing up in Wilmington: going to the waterfront park with her cousins, getting ice cream from an ice cream truck.
The problem: right next to the park was the Phillips 66 oil refinery, polluting the air and making children sick.
“Children play near there. It definitely makes me frustrated that we have these industries next to our parks. I don’t think it’s fair we have to settle to that.”
Now, Nizgui organizes in her community with Communities for a Better Environment, and continues to fight for a for Wilmington and frontline communities across California.
Join Nizgui in calling on Governor Newsom to direct his top air regulators to plan for a phaseout of fossil fuels in California: call (866) 932-1358 or head to caleja.us/newsom to take action 📞📞
“We need a target date to phase out fossil fuels in California. Politicians need to do better for the people who elected them in that position. They need to actually hear our voices because that’s not something that they’re doing. And if that’s not something that they’re willing to do, then we’re going to kick them out.”
Shout out to the folks at for their incredible work on this video!
Healthy communities = a healthy economy! We can achieve a healthier sustainable economy – through investments in clean renewable energy generation, mass transit & real climate solutions that benefit all Californians, not billions in subsidies for the oil and gas industry that avoids taking more serious action to phase out their polluting infrastructure!