It seeks to empower the community to become agents of climate change

This week, the population received the news that global warming is getting out of control and that it is human activities that “without a doubt” are causing it.

The report indicated that the planet may face more climatic changes for decades, indicated the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations.

In an effort, at the local level, to reverse or to slow down this situation, Angeleno environmental activists are working hard to promote a city with clean energy and 100% carbon free for 2035.

Jasmine Vargas, Los Angeles organizer for Food & Water Watch and Food & Water Action, said several groups are calling for a motion to pass in Los Angeles to stop using fossil fuels – like oil and coal— and other forms of pollutants for at least 2030.

The efficiency of an energy 100% clean would help, among other things, to lower the cost of bills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and therefore stop climate change.

“This motion has been asking the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to commit to an energy goal 100% clean for 2035 with carbon-free renewable resources ”, said Vargas.

The organizer added that so far more than 100 organizations that They go from Los Angeles to the Central Valley of California, they support the campaign. And although this change is at the level of Los Angeles, much of the movement that occurs in the city has consequences in other areas.

For example, the gas that a company intends to send through pipes to homes Los Angeles, it could come from biodigesters from dairy farms in the Central Valley, which are already contaminating their low-income indigenous peoples who live there.

“My job is to get all that information and package it in a way that educates people so that they can become agents of change to advocate for themselves, ”said Vargas. “We believe that having a decade of fossil fuels, such as natural gas, is not a clean energy solution.”

He indicated that for months have been in charge of empowering people to lobby their local representatives and learn more about the changes and benefits.

Another example occurs in the city of Los Angeles itself where various families who need energy find it difficult to pay for it because it is expensive.

For this reason they look for real clean energy resources and community-driven solutions that are efficient, such as solar and wind power with battery storage backup.

Environmentalists point out that any infrastructure that supports dirty energy used for decades has no place in Los Angeles’ clean energy future, and that includes hydrogen gas plants in disadvantaged communities and biogas in homes.

La en eolic energy

is the type of clean resource that is proposed as a solution to climate change. This type of energy, which is obtained from the wind through the air currents that move the propellers (which is in the image), can be converted into electricity through a generator.

Motion pending

Activists indicate that the beginning of the change must come from the Angeleno leaders who must approve a motion, which I have been stagnant since April.

Vargas said that he cannot explain why the Energy Committee, Change Los Angeles City Council’s Climate, Environmental Justice and Rivers (ECCJR) has not voted to support the measure but they are calling for it to pass and for politicians to show real climate leadership.

Councilman Mitch O ‘Farrell, who is chair of the ECCJR committee, said that in two weeks they will resubmit the motion and recognized the importance of addressing the climate crisis as it is “possibly the most important issue of the day.”

What is at stake is to include community-focused solutions with energy efficient, such as solar energy and other types of clean energy, for a t Just and equitable transition.

Vargas said that energy democracy requires courage and community leadership.

“Los Angeles communities are ready to take the initiative. Now is the time for the city council to listen ”, he asserted.