Earth Month occurs in April every year, and it’s a time to raise environmental awareness and advocate for change around the issues most impacting our planet.

In this week’s “In Focus SoCal,” Ariel Wesler talks with local officials about initiatives to help residents take action and get involved in programs that positively impact the environment. 

Los Angeles City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, representing the 7th District and serving as the chair of the City’s Public Safety Committee, has worked on multiple environmental initiatives to create a safer and healthier community.

One of them was the Anonymous Fireworks Buyback Program. 

“My district suffered through three major wildfires. Those wildfires also are very big pollutants to our air quality. Introducing a fireworks buyback was multi-benefit. Number one, we’re eliminating the use of pyrotechnics that not only pose an extreme hazard for those that deploy them, but they have dramatic impacts to our veterans, to seniors, and to our household pets,” she said.

They also add pollutants to our air quality. 

“That’s why you’re seeing actually a reduction of pyrotechnic shows across California. I not only introduced the buyback as an incentive to say, ‘Hey, guys, don’t do this. We’re gonna give you Dodger tickets and gift cards in lieu of you firing this off.’ But I also introduced the city’s first drone show to celebrate the Fourth of July without pyrotechnics. And that has been an incredibly, wildly successful event that we’ve had now for two years.”

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. restaurant industry produces over eleven million tons of plastic waste yearly in single-use plastics like utensils, cups and straws. 

Many of these items end up in landfills and waterways, so there’s an urgent need for solutions to reduce both the production and use of plastics. 

A micro-grant program launched in 2023 by the Department of LA Sanitation to help restaurants and other food services transition from disposable foodware — such as single use plastics and styrofoam — to reusable foodware.

While the program is open to everyone in LA, 613 unique businesses in South Los Angeles, Boyle Heights, Pacoima and Wilmington were given priority because city leaders say those areas are disproportionately affected by environmental hazards. 

Antonio’s Tacos & Kabob in Pacoima was one of those restaurants that were recruited to participate. 

Owner Raymond Khachatourian says, “We used to throw away all the plates, forks, knives, the little sauce cups, plastic cups, into trash. And we used to have trash pickup every day. Now with this we are going to switch to trash pickup twice a week, and not have as much as waste as we had before.”

Besides combating air, land and water pollution, there is also the issue of light pollution. Emerging research is finding that light pollution can harm both humans and animals. 

LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger represents the 5th District, and has been a longtime advocate for the environment, and is now on a mission to preserve our night sky. 

“Researchers found that too much of the exposure to artificial light can disrupt humans’ biological clocks. That can lead to tiredness, poor performance at work, and quite frankly, irritability. And light pollution also increases hazards when driving and working. And so it’s important for us to preserve and educate people that too much light at the wrong time can confuse animals and interfere with their natural life cycles and patterns as well,” she said.

Supervisor Barger is also trying to establish rural outdoor lighting districts to increase focus on promoting and maintaining dark skies in certain parts of the county.

Send us your thoughts to InFocusSoCal@charter.com, and watch at 9 a.m. and noon every Sunday.