ENVIRONMENT

By Nick Karno

Nick Karno's "Green Coast" Plan to Create Jobs

Effective implementation of AB 32 and the Pavley bill that laid groundbreaking standards for Environmental progress. The first part was passing the legislation + the hard part will be seeing it implemented. Many special interests will work hard to derail the regulations that will make California a leader in greenhouse gas reductions, but we cannot fail in this effort. The health of our State, our Economy, our People, and our Planet depend on it.

We must require that all new construction is LEED certified, and that we help developers achieve that goal. This will decrease CEQA challenges, and hopefully bring new jobs and expertise to California builders. Incentives must also be available for rehabbing old structures, which many times are the most energy inefficient.

Reducing our use of plastics. There are some plastic products we need, such as medical instruments, that we can use safely and proportionately. But there is no reason why we must package our products, bag our purchases, and eat all of our disposable foodware with plastic products. We use indestructible products for the very things we throw away. We have to start using sustainable solutions, like corn and potato starch packaging, bags and cutlery, and we must find incentives for people to start using tote bags at the market.

We must make water conservation a priority, and this means changing some of our local laws. We must allow homeowners to easily install grey-water systems and encourage them to install drought-resistant gardens. The State must help car washes, Laundromats, gardening companies and all other water-intensive businesses find new ways to use water efficiently.

We need to develop a water-recycling infrastructure for Los Angeles County, and much of Southern California. So much of our land is paved over, rain water simply washes into the Ocean and pollutes our marine life. We need to capture and use this water, and allow whatever we don't use to sink into the groundwater and recharge our aquifers. We also have to think about our consumption of water in a completely new way by changing our use and eliminating the waste from our daily lives. Government can help, with the right leadership.

Environmentally friendly practices must begin in the schools, and the subject areas that are taught to our children must incorporate sustainability practices and ideals. To change our society's wasteful behavior, we must educate our next generation of Californians on what practices will care for and conserve our great State.

The Environmental problems we face cannot be more urgent. We will have to make some major changes in the way we do business and the way we use our resources. This is only accomplished if we have real leadership in our elected officials. If elected, I will not relent in protecting our Environment, and I will work tirelessly with business leaders and Environmental groups to find solutions to protecting our fragile eco-system.