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Hello, and thanks for joining us for sustaining us here on KLCS PBS.

I'm David Nazar.

April is Earth Day month.

This annual celebration, which first began in 1970, honors the achievements of those who've worked relentlessly to protect our natural resources for future generations.

Today, Earth Day has all kinds of environmentally related global events that include about a billion people from all over the world, nearly 200 countries.

So that's the most abridged explanation of Earth Day.

Later in the broadcast, two environmental experts are going to be here to really explain the significance of this yearly event, what it's all about and some of the policy changes being implemented.

First, though, we begin with a report about an amazing young Los Angeles student.

Her name is Heaven Watson, and she is the lead actress in the new film Heaven on Earth.

In a city already known for its film industry.

One South Los Angeles High school has paired student activists with international professionals to bring local environmental advocacy to the big screen.

Of high heaven.

Today is the second day of filming of the short film that was initially inspired by me.

Our community is filled with environmental, the cause, illnesses.

My and my creative writing turned film class.

We were working with a film company named Cinemagic.

So for a number of months we have been working with the young people on Zoom about issues.

They wanted to talk about themes for the film.

And that's how we met Evan.

I pretty much was telling them about my advocacy work that I did, and they got inspired.

She spoke so passionately.

Two and a half thousand miles away.

I'm in Ireland.

She's in the US, and she comes up to the Zoom screen and she tells us all about environmental racism, about her local area here.

There's lots of pollution in the soil and the water and the air and her people have breathing difficulties.

I was just thinking to myself like, you know, there's things going on around me that happen every day that's affecting me, that's affecting my family, that's affects my community.

I asked her, Well, why would you even start to make a difference?

And she just said, Just try to build awareness, awareness, awareness.

And that's what we're trying to do with this film.

This wouldn't happen in richer areas, would it?

No.

We were tasked with finding the issue in our community.

The issue we focused on was environmental pollution, environmental injustice.

We like the research and created a podcast, distribute this podcast, and we went to Washington, D.C. and was able to advocate and, you know, bring a voice to watch and get some more recognition.

Historically, the sight of high polluting industries and bounded by freeways, the Watts neighborhood has some of the highest rates of asthma in Los Angeles.

The environmental advocacy of its residents, half of whom are under 25, led to this international partnership.

I'm Emily Clarke, British consul general in Los Angeles.

We represent UK government policies across a range of areas, including climate change.

We are working here with cinematic Northern Irish charity that works with school kids around the world and they are filming an incredib So my name is Joan Bernie Giddings.

I am chief executive of Cinemagic Film and Television Festival.

What we're doing is using the vehicle of Cinemagic to make lots of educational films on subjects that young people really want to talk about mental health issues, bullying, racial discrimination, gender based violence.

And here we are talking about the environmental issues.

But what Joan and Cinemagic do is they blast open the whole industry to try and pull in people from environments and backgrounds that would never get the chance to even be on a set and open it up to the world, but make good films that have good messages.

Oh my God.

Like this is really a movie.

Like, Oh my God, people are bringing camera crews, like people are in my face.

So our big focus over the next couple of days is to really give young people hands on opportunities.

We're doing a masterclass for kids to learn how films are being made and how they're put together from the beginning, from the script, from development, from scouting, choosing the actors casting, and then obviously the filming of it, right?

The production, which is the fun part.

There's a lot of kids you're going to see in the film that are not actors.

They're just they're kids in the high school and they're fantastic at it.

Young people are a feature.

So, you know, I care about what young people think.

And a film that focuses on the things I think has the power to inspire everyone to make that change.

I didn't even think it was that.

I think anything like people was really even listening it for real.

I want the audience to walk away after they see heaven on Earth.

First of all, to realize that to dream that heaven can be an earth is so important, especially for the next generation, that they're not, you know, too negative about it and that that can't be fixed.

That actually, why not?

Why not have heaven on earth?

And our biggest thing we really want to do is to help increase young people's confidence, help them to give confidence in their voice and what they believe in, but also to try new things and, you know, just to break down barriers lightly and to give them an opportunity to believe they can do something really, really powerful, be inspired.

Thank you so much to heaven, Watson, writer Myra Campbell and all the good folks involved with the production of Heaven on Earth.

And joining me now to discuss Earth Day is Megan Sally Wells.

Megan is a former mayor of Culver City in Southern California, and she's currently a national board director of the renowned environmental group Sierra Club.

Also joining me is Robyn East, and Robyn is a senior advisor of policy and advocacy for the United States Green Building Council, Los Angeles.

And she built an award winning sustainability program for the city of West Hollywood.

Thank you both for being here.

Greatly appreciate it.

Thank you.

Happy to be here.

So Megan and Robyn, you guys have an amazing resume.

Take about 30 seconds before we get to the issues.

Talk about some of your personal accomplishments in the environmental world.

Then we get to the issues.

Megan Thanks, David.

Well, I've been working in a lot of involved environmental policy for over the past decade.

I started out in a lot of advocacy for biking and walking, making sure my kids could get to school without getting run over by cars.

And then in the city council and as mayor of Culver City, we helped do a lot of things, including phasing out oil drilling, doing a polystyrene ban, having 100% renewable energy.

I've done consulting work for supervisor Holly Mitchell, also working on oil drilling work.

And I'm really happy to be with the Sierra Club, the nation's oldest and largest environmental grassroots organization.

So it's great to be here.

Robyn Yes, thank you, David.

So I started in the sustainability industry about 15 years ago, actually working for the national headquarters of the US Green Building Council in Washington, D.C., spearheading efforts for the Lead for Neighborhood Development Program, which was the first Green Communities program in the country.

And that was a really fun experience.

I got to learn a lot about some of the criteria that goes into thinking about what makes a green community and also got some experience working on the very well-known LEED building rating systems.

From there, decided to come to sunny California to work more with the public sector and was able to land a position at the city with Hollywood.

And I was there for six years really working with the community to basically create a robust set of programs and policies related to electric vehicle charging, green building, climate action, water efficiency, energy efficiency.

And it was really a lot of fun.

And now I find myself in some ways full circle back at the L.A. chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, helping them with policy and advocacy.

One last thing I wanted to put forth is that I also co-founded the California Bipoc Climate Network, which is a informal network to support a brief space for environmentalists of color in all the work that they might do in their careers and just making sure they have the support of space to do the work that they do in their communities.

Thank you.

Thank you for that.

Lots of accomplishments for both of you, Megan.

Earth Day is, I guess you could say, sort of an investment in the planet, right?

It's almost like a religion of sorts.

I mean, it's crazy.

There's a billion people who recognize this observant observance.

They're really devout in their belief that, you know, we must save the planet.

Whatever that means will define that.

Can you begin, though, talking, Megan, about the significance of this day, in your opinion?

What is Earth Day really just all about?

Tell our viewers.

Yeah, you know, Earth Day, it's been around longer than I've been alive.

It came about in 1970 and looking back at its history, it came about for some really critical but also kind of practical reasons, which is, you know, waterways were being poisoned.

There were some big cases where water, major rivers would catch fire because there was so much pollution and discharges from heavy industry.

The air wasn't breathable.

I mean, I was born and raised in Los Angeles and for those of you who grew up here in those days, you know, we had smog days.

We would have to stay indoors at recess at school just because, you know, the the air was unbreathable in Los Angeles and in a lot of places.

So, you know, Earth Day came about to bring attention to the poison that was happening in in our communities.

And it was very bipartisan.

You know, being able to breathe clean air or have clean water that doesn't catch fire should be pretty universal.

And so I certainly understand and relate to the importance of this day.

And and, you know, really just hope that people are practicing Earth Day every single day and not just on one day.

So, Robin, how do you define Earth Day?

I mean, obviously, there's so much to it.

It's kind of I guess you can say a day of action, right, to change human behavior, to create, as you mentioned earlier in your introduction, there is global policy, national local policy, which both of you have pushed through.

So talk about policy, what you've done related to Earth Day and then more of a global policy.

Robin.

Yeah, Thank you, David.

And I would say that's right.

It is a call to action.

When I was it was Hollywood.

We really wanted to get organized, the community around what they could do individually and collectively, whether it was reducing their carbon footprint or planting a tree or any anything in their community that really made sense and that was accessible to them.

I think a lot of times people feel like they don't know what to do, and so we were giving them different ideas and activities that they can think about all year long to ensure that they can be a better steward for the earth.

And then in terms of policy, you know, we were really being thoughtful, thinking both at the kind of micro and macro level as to what the city of West Hollywood could actually do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, both within its jurisdictions and beyond within the region, and working collaboratively with Culver City and with some of the other Westside cities, with L.A. County and with them, you know, really regional entities and the state to just make sure that we could make a difference.

And that included anything from, you know, energy, water waste, electric vehicles, green building.

It's really a kind of a collection collection and a collective of efforts, but also then working with implementers of change, like developers and like the utility companies to, you know, just make sure that we're all on the same page in how we push policy forward together.

Speaking of that policy, Megan, you've had a lot of policy changes in your tenure on the city council, both as mayor and council member.

I know you personally of the way really you helped implement change in Culver City, California, your city for many years with the Inglewood oil Field.

So many other things.

Talk a bit more about this policy and why you're so adamant about trying to find newer, more sustainable policies to use your words.

Well, I think that the energy that we depend upon to live shouldn't kill us full stop.

But unfortunately, it is killing us.

The number one cause of greenhouse gases which is driving climate change are from fossil fuels.

We know, for instance, that the science on climate change has been known by fossil fuel companies for decades, and yet they would keep downplaying the effects on our climate and then, you know, the daily effects on public health.

So as a local city policy maker and leader, you know, I heard from countless residents who had high incidences of cancer next to the oil field, the Inglewood oil field, being the largest urban oil field in the United States, part of which is right here in Culver City.

And so listening to the day to day effects that we saw on our on our air quality on public health, and then also looking long term at the effects of fossil fuels, you know, extracting it and then certainly burning it on climate change.

You know, I knew that I had to do something, especially because it was happening in my literally like in my backyard.

And so so I helped lead the way to stop all new oil drilling and phase out existing drilling, which I'm happy to say we were able to do in Culver City.

And that inspired the city of Los Angeles and the county of Los Angeles to take similar measures.

Now, at the same time, you know, we're not in this to be hypocrites, right?

Because it doesn't mean that we should be going and drilling in somebody else's backyard.

So we did our best.

And this is where I had a wonderful experience working with Robin is our cities, her city of West Hollywood, in my city of Culver City, joined the Clean Power Alliance.

We're both 100% renewable energy cities working a lot on these regional solutions, like Robin said, transportation, making sure that we have housing next to our jobs, etc., so that we are less dependent on fossil fuels.

So, yes, that means electrification, but that also means bicycle infrastructure, right?

So we don't have to get into a car to be able to navigate our communities and and and get the, you know, get the needs that fill the needs that we have as communities.

And so it's there's kind of a ripple effect.

There's a when you start thinking about the environment.

Almost every decision you make as a local policy measure, a local policymaker comes back to the environment from the roads to the waste streams to the energy to the housing, etc.. And so I, I know that West Hollywood and Culver City, we're really aligned in in championing climate friendly policies.

And we're going to get back to that.

A couple of tough questions for you regarding that, Megan Robin, though, I hear what Megan Sally Wells is saying.

I hear what you say.

The environmentalists, the climate scientists, folks in your realm, I know you fight to save the environment.

You talk about, you know, the demand to save the environment is far greater than ever before.

Something must be done to fight back against climate change as Megan is saying.

You know, I hear you folks talking about when there are these rainstorms and snowstorms and wildfires and the California drought, I guess this increased intensity for Mother Nature, so to speak, which your critics argue are a normal occurrence.

We're going to get to that momentarily.

But you continue to say, Robyn, that these challenges are mostly due to climate change.

Is that correct, or correct me if I'm wrong.

They're absolutely due to a warming planet.

You know, a lot of the storms that we're seeing and the extremity of them are unprecedented.

And I think the challenge right now is that all of the a lot of the weather models that were used to historically predict a lot of these types of events are in some ways becoming irrelevant because things are so erratic and the pace upon which the earth is warming is really causing the ability to kind of track these storms and kind of know when they're coming and have the predictability around them that we used to have in yesteryear no longer be the case.

And so I think what we're finding is that we're sort of really trying to chase some unknowns.

And, you know, depending on the type of weather pattern that may come year over year, it may mean atmospheric rivers for, you know, 6 to 8 weeks in winters in California.

It might mean, you know, bom's winter cycles in Buffalo, New York, that leave 20 feet of snow unexpectedly and then it might lead back to back hurricanes in the south and places that haven't seen that kind of devastation before.

And so the science is there.

The science kind of evidences that it is because of the warming planet.

We're seeing a lot of these these events come through and they're only getting worse.

And we're really trying to find ways to adapt to them in real time.

But it's really going to take both adaptation and consistent mitigation and behavioral change for us to really, you know, be able to survive in the future.

Yeah, I hear you loudly and clearly, both of you.

Let me challenge both of you, beginning with you, Robyn, talking about what you are saying.

I've interviewed so many people over the years, you know, experts in their respective fields who disagree with you, who insist or let's say, claim any way that climate change is being way overhyped for political reasons and whatnot.

You know, they tell me, David, it's wrong that the far left continues to preach to the world that every raindrop we have, every snow storm, every hurricane, every tornado, every wildfire is the result of climate change.

As you both know, I'm not telling you anything is going to shock you.

But many of the folks who give the counterargument, they say what you're saying and this is misleading.

They say it's not an existential threat.

We have to stop catastrophizing climate change with this kind of doom and gloom attitude.

Robyn, talk about that and then I want to get Megan's take on that.

Yeah.

You know, in some ways I feel like it's it's not my place to police other people's thoughts and beliefs.

You know, I think when we talk about the matters of the environment, what we're really talking about is the human condition, right?

And the environment is the air that we all breathe.

It's the water we all drink.

If we're privileged enough to be near the ocean, it's the ocean that we recreate in or near the mountains is the mountains that we hike in.

It's the grassy knoll that our kids play in.

It's the the trees that are in our backyard and surrounding our community.

Again, if we're privileged enough to have that kind of coverage.

Right.

And so basically what I'm saying is that we're all interconnected and we all interact with the earth in some way, and it's going to take all of us to really be stewards of the earth in whatever way that makes sense for us, regardless of our beliefs, in order to have an earth that can sustain for future generations.

And so, you know, regardless of where you might be on the political spectrum, I think we all have an interaction with this planet and the responsibility and to protect it, to conserve it in ways that our kids and our kids kids and our kids, kids, kids can enjoy the planet like we are in this generation in the future.

And I so greatly respect that perspective.

Megan Sally Wells, I've been reporting on you in your city for many years now, and I think you respect me in the sense that I always take a very centrist approach.

I listen to you, I get your message out loudly and clearly because it is vital the public hears that.

But I also talk to you, let's say, for example, the oil industry.

I am probably the only reporter that the oil industry speaks to because they know I'm not going to spew or spin their narrative.

Obviously, they want to talk about why oil drilling is good or fracking could be good or intense oil drilling and is important, or that the city of LA was built on the oil industry.

What I try to do is hear both arguments and let the viewers decide.

So in your case, Megan, you've been so kind in allowing me to always give both arguments.

What is your take on this whole climate change debate that's a raging in the U.S. as we speak?

Yeah, I mean, it's interesting because let's look at motive, right?

Let's just start there some.

I'm not making big bucks.

You know, I'm being alarmist about the extreme weather that I see outside my front door.

Right.

I am not there's no profit motive for poor people who care about, you know, being able to breathe the air and drink water.

But there is a profit motive for people who are poisoning the air and poisoning the water.

And, you know, going back to the origins of Earth Day again, this was a movement that brought about the Environmental Protection Agency, which did not exist before.

It helped generate things like the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act.

And these all came about, you know, not because, you know, for some touchy feely reason, but but but really to solve problems of communities being poisoned.

Like, I don't think it's a radical stance to say that my neighbor should not be poisoning me.

Right.

And so, you know, when we get into this kind of like hyper partizan, this side versus that side, I feel like we need to step back and get back to the basics a little bit and remember why we're here, what motivates us.

Listen, I have kids.

I, I want to make sure that I am doing as much as I can to ensure that they have a place to live and that they are healthy and that our neighbors are too.

That's it.

That's my motivation.

I appreciate your motivation.

Robin, in our final 30 seconds, what is your final word here?

I think I really want to say is that, you know, what Meghan and I are talking about is really how do we create systems change, Right?

I think that was really what Earth Day was all about, recognizing, you know, who were the big polluters, what that was doing to the earth and the people on it, and even the non-human species for that matter.

And how can we come together in order to be better stewards, not only for the planet before ourselves?

And that's really what Earth Day is about, is that transformative collective action to see a future that we all want to see.

Thank you so much, Robin and Megan.

SALLY Well, sure.

A great interview.

So greatly appreciated.

Thank you for having me.

Thanks.

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Thank you so much for joining us for this edition of Sustaining US here on KLCS PBS.

I'm David Nazar.

I am David is our host of Sustaining US.

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