THE
SUNDIAL VOLUME 62, ISSUE 4 FAll 21 11.1.21
Living Sustainably: How our environment affects the CSUN community
INNOVATING FOR A DIGITAL WORLD
www.agency398.com
www.elnuevosol.net
https://sundial.csun.edu/kcsn-news-updates
www.csuntvnews.com
www.twitter.com/popupnewsroom
www.csunscene.net
https://sundial.csun.edu
www.csunvalleyview.com www.youtube.com/user/valleyviewnews
Contents 11.1.21|Volume 62, Issue 4
Cover photo by Chris Torres
2. Letter From the Editor
14. CSUN’S sustainability center
4. Too Close for Comfort
18. Q&A
6. Aliso Canyon
20. South LA Cafe
Accidental Activist
Update on gas blowout
10. Timeline Climate laws through the years
12. Pro-Con Are Electric Cars sustainable?
Alexandra Nagy
Local business helps community
24. Why has Print Changed?
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
C
limate change affects Americans on a far larger level than wildfires and bad air quality. Despite struggling through droughts, wildfires and deadly gas leaks, California has become a trailblazer in climate change advocacy and eco-friendly policies and measures to make the state more green over the last decade. But it is still not enough. CSUN as a whole has also been a great example of how colleges can do their part. However, the faces of the community’s sustainability revolution, in reality, have been the climate change activistsIn this issue, we talked to accidental activist Jane Fowler as we got too close for comfort about how the 2015 Aliso Canyon gas leak has affected her health for the past six years. Opinion Editor Blake Williams got down to the nitty-gritty on the topic of hydrogen vs. electric cars. We also looked at the Aliso Canyon gas leak on a larger level and discussed how activists have lobbied to shut the facility down. We hope this issue accurately reflects our local communities’ work in advocacy.
-Michaella Huck
THE
SUNDIAL
Carolyn Burt Social Media Editor
Jody Holcomb General Manager
Andres Soto Sports Editor
Jane Fowler Rodrigo Louvat Contributors Abrielle Rounds Staff
Chris Torres Editor-in-Chief
Shannon Carter News Editor
Samantha Bravo Culture Editor
Ryanne Mena Managing Editor
Trevor Morgan Online Editor
Munina Lam Copy Chief
Michaella Huck Print Editor
Blake Williams Opinion Editor
Sandra Tan Business Manager
Angel Peña Lead Designer
Kaitlyn Lavo Photo Editor
Arvli Ward Publisher
Published by the Department of Journalism, California State University, Northridge Manzanita Hall 140 18111 Nordhoff St. Northridge, CA 91330-8258 Editorial hello@sundial.csun.edu • (818) 677-2915 Advertising ads@csun.edu • (818) 677-2998 Because of high production costs, members of the CSUN community are permi�ed one copy per issue. Where available, additional copies may be purchased with prior approval for 50 cents each by contacting the Daily Sundial. Newspaper the� is a crime. Those who violate the single copy rule may be subject to civil and criminal prosecution and/or subject to university discipline.
Get $200 Cash Back
with a Car Loan from MCCU!
1.74
as ORZ as
% APR1
` No payment due for 90 Days2 ` 1HZ 8VHG 5Hˉ QDQFHV HOLJLEOH ` )UHH QR KDVVOH &DU %X\LQJ 6HUYLFHV DYDLODEOH ` *HW D IUHH TXRWH IRU DXWR LQVXUDQFH3
Apply at MATADORS.ORG or call 818.993.6328! APR=Annual Percentage Rate. Rates as of 11/01/2021 and are subject to change at any time. Must meet credit and income criteria. Rate quoted is the preferred rate for a new auto loan with a 36-month term. Subject to credit approval and membership eligibility. Other rates and terms availDEOH 0RQWKO\ SD\PHQWV DW $35 IRU D PRQWK WHUP DUH HVWLPDWHG DW SHU ERUURZHG 5H¿ QDQFLQJ RI H[LVWLQJ 0&&8 $XWR /RDQV QRW HOLJLEOH 5DWH UHÀ HFWV $XWRPDWLF 3D\PHQW GLVFRXQW RI DQG 3ODWLQXP 0HPEHUVKLS GLVFRXQW RI 5HVWULFWLRQV PD\ DSSO\ 0HPEHU VKLS UHTXLUHG PLQLPXP ORDQ UHTXLUHG IRU FDVK EDFN 7KLV SURPRWLRQ LV HIIHFWLYH DQG FDQ EH FDQFHOOHG E\ WKH &UHGLW 8QLRQ DW DQ\ time. Visit matadors.org for more details on cash back promotion.
1
2
Interest accrues from date of funding.
7UX6WDJH $XWR ,QVXUDQFH SURJUDP LV RIIHUHG E\ 7UX6WDJH ,QVXUDQFH $JHQF\ //& DQG LVVXHG E\ OHDGLQJ LQVXUDQFH FRPSDQLHV 'LVFRXQWV DUH QRW available in all states and discounts vary by state. The insurance offered is not a deposit and is not federally insured. This coverage is not sold or guaranteed by your credit union.© TruStage Insurance Agency 2021
3
Too Close for Comfort
Why I became an activist after the Aliso Canyon Gas Blowout Story by Jane Arakawa Fowler & Photo by Chris Torres
I
call myself an accidental activist. My community of Porter Ranch and Granada Hills and I lived through the largest gas blowout in U.S. history that erupted on Oct. 23, 2015. I live just down the road from the Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility. Over 109,000+ metric tons of methane plus a lethal cocktail of poly toxin pollutants, including cancer-causing benzene, mercaptan, heavy metals, volatile organic compounds and crude oil came spewing into my community and drifted on the winds throughout the entire San Fernando Valley. We’ve been fighting hard since 2015 to shut down the Aliso Canyon facility. After the blowout, I didn’t know what was happening with my body. My hair was falling out, my stomach was hard and distended, I was nauseous all the time, my body ached down to my bones, I had these weird skin rashes, heart palpitations, suffered frequent bloody noses, cough and a very sore throat. I couldn’t remember things and was always in a mental fog. I was on my couch or in my bed most of the time. I would count how many steps it would take to get wherever I wanted to go in my home. I ended up in therapy because I felt like I was going crazy. One day as I was driving to my therapist’s office, I was listening to public radio in the car. They were talking about the Aliso Canyon Gas Leak and I thought, “That sounds so familiar.” I realized Aliso Canyon was the park just up the block from my home – the place I frequently walked my dog in. I called the gas company and they asked me how I was doing? I said I was horrible and
my dog died. So the gas company said I had to evacuate immediately! My family and I evacuated for seven months but when I returned home, so did my symptoms and they haven’t gone away. What does it feel like to live through a gas blowout? In the beginning, before you know what is happening, you are questioning your body and your mind – everything hurts. Then, when you find out it’s a gas blowout, it doesn’t really compute. Dizziness, nausea, nose bleeds and heart palpitations are gas related? Sometimes I still question myself and ask myself, “What’s wrong with you? Why can’t you leave the house?” I don’t garden anymore, don’t swim, don’t lie in the sun or even in the shade. I don’t take my coffee and breakfast outside or have a sandwich out on the deck. I’m finding my life becoming smaller and smaller. You start having fears for the day. You curse yourself, tell yourself to get up, or to think or to not be so depressed. And sometimes through sheer force of will, you get yourself up but, mostly you don’t. You lose one day and before you know it, a week, a month has gone by and you are so far behind in everything you want to do in your life. I did fight for the problem to be fixed! I talked to my councilman and local authorities. When that wasn’t fruitful, I went to many others and talked to neighborhood councils, senators and congress members. I went to Sacramento multiple times to talk to our elected officials and helped organize many rallies and protests. I went to so many Air
Quality Management District workshops, the Department of Public Health meetings, L.A. Board of Supervisors and California Public Utilities Commission hearings. And then this Nov. 4, the California PUC wants to discuss actually increasing the amount of gas stored there! In spite of the Los Angeles City Council and the LA County Board of Supervisors’ unanimous vote and the request of the Governor to expedite and close Aliso Canyon, nothing has happened! When the Aliso Canyon blowout occurred, three companies immediately stepped up to help with battery storage and between that and the 31 mitigation measures, the Aliso Canyon facility was not used for almost two years. There are even more possibilities for cutting down the need for methane gas with every new solar panel that is installed. Fighting for clean air is the only thing that got me out of the house and continues to do so today. I still smell gas many days and I still have symptoms, such as headaches and nausea. At 62 years of age, I am forced to leave my home of many years to seek someplace healthier to live. I can no longer go on living like this. I’ve said this for years but it is truly difficult to actually make this happen. I’m overwhelmed, nervous, scared to start anew. Where am I going to go? My one big desire is somewhere with trees — a lot of trees. Too Close for Comfort is a section where our audience and editors give first-hand accounts of issues that relate to them. If you have a story about navigating through pandemic that’s too close for comfort, please email us at toocloseforcomfort.
THIS IS AN EXCERPT OF AN ARTICLE FROM OUR DAILY ONLINE PUBLICATION, DAILY SUNDIAL.
PORTER RANCH RESIDENTS SUFFER CONSEQUENCES FROM SPIKE IN ALISO CANYON GAS EXTRACTION SIX YEARS AFTER THE BLOWOUT Story and Photos by Chris Torres
A
fter sneaking backstage while attending the 2019 California Democratic Convention in San Francisco, Porter Ranch resident and Aliso Canyon advocate Jane Fowler was able to approach Gov. Gavin Newsom about shutting down the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility. “We have got to get that thing shut down,” said Newsom in a video recorded by the Food and Water Watch. “I’m working on it.” Newsom also mentioned in the video that shutting down the gas facility was “at the top of our agenda,” while adding they “can’t just be flippant about it.” Contrary to his statements, gas withdrawals from the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility are up by 4755% since Newsom was elected, according to data collected from the California Public Utilities Commission by the Food and Water Watch in 2021. Aliso Canyon was the site of the nation's largest-ever uncontrolled natural gas leak in 2015 and Porter Ranch residents are still
experiencing health issues six years after the blowout. “I feel like my life has been taken from me,” Fowler said. “When you’re not feeling well everyday or five days a week or two days a week and you don’t know which day it’s going to be, it affects your life.” Fowler said she is selling her home, but at 62 years old, starting a new life somewhere else may end up being difficult. “I know at 61 you can do anything, but I’m also a 62-year-old that has been physically, mentally, emotionally, psychologically and neurologically harmed,” Fowler said. Fowler, along with many other Porter Ranch residents, reported having headaches, bloody noses, nausea and rashes. Residents also claim to experience a “brain fog,” a term used for certain symptoms that can affect your ability to think clearly. According to WebMD, you may feel confused, disoriented or find it hard to focus and
put your thoughts into words. “I couldn’t even make a grocery list,” said Porter Ranch resident and founding member of the Aliso Moms Alliance, Lori Aivazian. “I’d wake up in the morning and sit up in bed and have to think about how to put each foot down on the floor.” Last month, Southern California Gas Company and its parent company, Sempra Energy, agreed to pay $1.8 billion to settle claims from more than 35,000 plaintiffs affected by the gas leak. A settlement has not yet been reached because it requires 97% of the plaintiffs to accept it in order for it to be finalized. Matt Pakucko, the president of the nonprofit organization Save Porter Ranch, said each of the plaintiffs would receive around $28,000 after attorney fees and expenses. “Does $28,000 cover [the medical expenses] for the rest of our lives being health monitored because of the ongoing issues?” Pakucko asked. “It doesn’t even come close.”
The Porter Ranch housing development began in 1990. The 1,000-acre project is one of the largest housing and commercial projects in Los Angeles’ history.
History of the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility blowout
O
n Oct. 23, 2015, gas spewed out of the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility and released nearly 100,000 tonnes of natural gas into the air along with toxic chemicals, forcing thousands of San Fernando Valley residents out of their homes before the leak was capped four months later. The root cause analysis that was released in 2019 by Blade Energy Partners, the company hired by SoCalGas to investigate the site of the leak, determined that the cause of the blowout was a rupture of a well casing due to microbial corrosion
from the outside resulting from contact with groundwater. It also said there were more than 60 casing leaks at Aliso Canyon going back to the 1970s, but no failure investigations were conducted by SoCalGas. In order to kill the well, SoCalGas had to drill a relief well, according to the report. Patricia Oliver, an attorney who represents the residents of Porter Ranch who were affected by the gas leak, said SoCalGas did not do so until Dec. 4, 2015 —. Oliver also mentioned that by drilling the relief well in December, the peak level of gas has already leveled off. This means SoCalGas decided to plug the leak nearly two months after the gas leak was at its peak. “How much time is going on while you're contributing to climate change, creating a public health nightmare, forcing relocations of schools and homes, yet plan B doesn't start until Dec. 4?” Oliver said. Following the blowout, then-Gov. Jerry Brown declared the situation an emergency and in his last two years in office, which were the first two years after the blowout, Aliso Canyon saw minimal usage. According to Alexandra
Nagy, California director for the national grassroots advocate organization Food & Water Watch and Food and Water Action, SoCalGas continued to lobby and succeeded in justifying looser regulations after Newsom was elected. “The change between Aliso's use post blowout comparing Brown and Newsom is a very significant increase,” Nagy said. “It's about a 4,755% increase.”
“The change between Aliso’s use post blowout comparing Brown and Newsom is a very significant increase”
-Alexandra Nagy
Authorities’ response to the situation
I
n 2019, Newsom said he wanted to fast track the expedited shutdown of Aliso Canyon and possibly close the facility faster than the 10-year timeline proposed by Brown in 2017. Despite Newsom’s commitment to close the facility, data shows that SoCalGas withdrew from Aliso Canyon for 60 days during the winter 2020-2021 season, and 54 days over the winter 2019-2020 season — a combined total of 38 billion cubic feet. This compares to eight days of withdrawals for winter seasons 20162017 and 2017-2018 with a combined 1.19 billion cubic feet, according to research from the Food and Water Watch. Nagy said the increased usage of Aliso Canyon is a direct result of the CPUC weakening the withdrawal protocols and regulations that removed using the facility as a “last resort.” This essentially gives SoCalGas unrestricted access to withdraw from the facility as the company sees fit. As a result, the data Nagy collected showed that in addition to a large increase in gas withdrawn from Aliso Canyon, the facility is often used as “an asset of first resort, supplying more than half of the total gas withdrawn regionally on any given day.” According to a Los Angeles Times article, the CPUC relaxed restrictions placed on the facility because of concerns of high energy prices and supply shortages. In an email with Terrie Prosper, director of the CPUC’s news and outreach office, she said Aliso Canyon may only be used for withdrawals if certain conditions are met. These conditions include withdrawing from the facility if it is above 70% of its maximum allowable inventory, and if there is an identifiable risk of gas curtailments created by an emergency condition that would impact public health and could be mitigated by withdrawals from Aliso Canyon. Prosper also said that the CPUC may update the withdrawal protocol if it determines that a modification of
the month-end minimum inventory requirements is necessary. In addition to more gas withdrawals, the CPUC hasissued a proposal and an alternate proposals that call forto increasingincrease the amount of natural gas stored in Aliso Canyon. The current gas storage limit at the facility is 34 billion cubic feet. The firstinitial proposal would increase the amount to 68.6 cubic feet, according to a press release from the CPUC. The secondCommissioner Martha Guzman Aceves’ alternate proposal would increase the storage capacity to 41 billion cubic feet. Both proposals will be considered at the CPUC’s voting meeting on Nov. 4, 2021. “It’s just a huge slap in the face to this whole process and effort of getting the facility shut down,” Nagy said. “We’ve seen what it looks like to operate this facility at a minimal use and not only have they allowed withdrawals to expand, but they’re going to increase the size of the field too.” The leak itself happened on Oct. 23, 2015, and it emitted about 100,000 metric tons of methane into the Porter Ranch area, state regulators said. Although the SoCalGas website says methane is “non-toxic and creates no hazard when inhaled,” Oliver said she finds that statement interesting considering the fact that methane is listed on the U.S. inventory as being a toxic chemical. SoCalGas also said if large quantities of methane are present to displace air, “lack of oxygen may result in suffocation.”
For the rest of the story visit sundial.csun.edu
Lorraine Lundquist Climate Activist
Timeline
History of Climate Change Laws California is known as a national and even world leader in environmental protection, but not many know the deep rooted history that environmentalism plays in its history, dating back to the state’s inception. But as the climate crisis worsens, we can all use a reminder of how far the Golden State has come.
1864
California’s conservationist roots sprouted with the Yosemite Grant of 1864, which established the first federally protected and preserved public land in the United States. The first official national park, Yellowstone, was established in 1872.
1884
By the determination of a small coalition of farmers, the North Bloomfield Mining and Gravel Company was sued over damages caused to farmland in the Central Valley. The company was sued over the ecological damage produced by the use of hydraulic mining, a practice where high-pressure jets of water are used to dislodge rock material or move sediment. More than half a century later, California would face its greatest challenge yet. In the first half of the 20th century, the abundance of factories across the nation — due to the Industrial Revolution — produced a lot of pollution. The pollution increased cancer risk, pneumonia, and burning eyes and lungs.
1943
Two years after the attack on Pearl Harbor, when citizens mistook the thick smog as
a gas attack by the Japanese, efforts were made to counteract the persistent pollution. Nearby butadiene plants and smoke from factories were wrongly assumed to be the main source of the toxic air, causing the city to implement smoke regulation.
1947
The enactment of the Air Pollution Control Act authorized California’s 58 counties to create an air pollution control district.
1950
Scientists discovered that the enclosed topography, warm climate and a rapidly growing population exacerbated the smog pollution. Dutch chemist Arie Jan Haagen-Smit discovered that smog was mainly ozone gas and particulate matter that came from the burning of fuel and emission of hydrocarbon vapors, worsened by photochemical reactions with the sun. With these revelations, California took its next big steps toward its role as a leader in environmental action.
1966
California pioneered another standard for the nation by establishing the first vehicle emission standards. This act had the ambitious goal of reducing hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide pollution from new motor vehicles by as much as 80%. A year later on Aug. 30, 1967, California’s elected leaders would enact the MulfordCarrell Air Resources Act, which led to the creation of the California Air Resources Board. This established a unified statewide effort to fight air pollution.
1967
The Air Quality Act of 1967 is the precursor for the Clean Air Act, the nation’s primary federal air quality law. While the Clean Air Act sets nationwide standards for how much cars can pollute, it also prevents states from creating their own standards. Congress allowed an exemption for California, granting it various waivers to set its own emission standards over the years as those standards have become more strict. Although other states cannot set their own standards, they can opt to adopt California’s motor vehicle emission regulations. Today, the District of Columbia and the states of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington have followed California’s lead.
1970
California’s next trailblazing policy would come after the inception of the National Environmental Policy Act known as NEPA. After the passing of NEPA in 1970, Gov. Ronald Reagan signed the California Environmental Quality Act into law. CEQA instituted a statewide policy of environmental protection, making environmental protection a mandatory part of every state and local agency’s decision making process.Yet some argue that CEQA has and is being abused by many to halt important projects, such as housing and homeless relief.
Photo by Markus Spiske
Coming into the 21st century, California was ready to take on the next looming threat to the environment — except this threat not only affected the state but the entire world. Global temperatures were on the rise yet public awareness was not. While global warming had been studied and confirmed amongst the scientific community for the past 30 years, the issue was not being taken seriously and when it was it was overly politicized.
2000
CARB took on the responsibility of monitoring and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Starting with the world’s first restrictions on tailpipe emissions of greenhouse gases,which became the basis for rules issued by the Obama
administration. That same year the state also established the nation’s most stringent and comprehensive renewable energy. The mandate stipulated a goal of 20% renewable energy by 2017. The goal was changed to 20% by 2010 and subsequently to 33% by 2020 under then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s term.
2006
Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, the most ambitious climate change legislation ever enacted in North America. The act establishes a comprehensive program to reduce greenhouse gas emission across the state. This act gave CARB the power and responsibility to regulate the state’s greenhouse gas emissions to the levels set in 1990 by 2020.
2015
The state set a goal to reach 50% renewable energy by 2030. In 2018, with the approval of SB 100, California made history once again by setting the ambitious goal of committing to 100% clean energy by 2045. It sets a new precedent and standard for other states and nations to follow. Preventing the production of future emissions isn’t enough. The planet is warming and the damages from it could be irreversible. Every measure must be taken to halt global warming and that means ending current sources of greenhouse gases.
PRO-CON
ARE ELECTRIC CARS THE ONLY ANSWER TO A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE? NOT QUITE. Story by Blake Williams
C
limate change is one of the most important issues facing society today. As more people become aware of the dangers, more people are working to become greener, with electric cars increasing in popularity every year. To put it simply, electric cars are more climate friendly than gasoline-powered cars; however, they still present harmful problems to the environment. Electric vehicles primarily use lithiumpowered batteries to run, but lithium extraction comes at an environmental and social cost — specifically water pollution and depletion, according to a fact sheet on lithium from Friends of the Earth, a nongovernmental environmental organization. “Toxic chemicals are needed to process lithium,” the fact sheet stated. “The release of such chemicals through leaching, spills or air emissions can harm communities, ecosystems and food production. Moreover, lithium extraction inevitably harms the soil and also causes air contamination.” Water pollution is caused by chemical leakage that enters the soil and gets into the water supply. This causes poisonings in communities that rely on that water, according to a report from Salon. Mining lithium is slow and takes a lot of resources. The process takes about 12 to 18 months and uses approximately 500,000 gallons of water per 2,205 pounds of lithium, according to a report from WIRED. Chemical & Engineering News reported that industry analysts expect 2 million metric tons per year of lithium batteries will be generated worldwide by 2030. Nickel and cobalt — the latter of which is often extracted by child labor without
protective equipment — are also used in electric vehicle batteries, and the cost for mining them comes at a potentially huge environmental cost, according to WIRED. Recycling lithium batteries is a difficult process. The plants are costly to build and operate, and require sophisticated equipment to treat the harmful emissions generated by the smelting process, according to Chemical & Engineering News. They also reported the process and materials used to make lithium batteries vary by manufacturers, and the batteries are not designed to be disassembled, which further complicates recycling. However, lithium batteries can still be used in other areas such as energy storage when they are no longer at the peak efficiency needed for transportation, , according to Loraine Lundquist, a physicist, climate activist and sustainability lecturer at CSUN. This gives lithium batteries a benefit that lead-acid batteries used in gasolinepowered cars don’t have once they are done being used. Despite the toxic effects of mining for metals and the problems with lithium batteries, the toxic effects of gasolinepowered cars are worse. Oil extraction and oil spills present problems for the environment and health problems for people who live near refineries, which predominantly affect low-income communities and communities of color, according to Lundquist. “If you look at the effects overall, and this is not even taking into account climate change, which is the biggest reason to switch to electric cars,” Lundquist said. “But even if you ignore climate change, the overall negative toxic effects of gasolinepowered cars are far greater than the overall negative toxic effects of electric
cars.” Lead-acid batteries have also been the cause of serious side effects, such as lead poisoning. “There’s no question that some of the rhetoric about the negatives of electric vehicles is coming quietly from the fossil fuel industry,” Lundquist said. “And that isn’t to say that it isn’t accurate. There are absolutely negative effects of all of the different materials that are used in electric car batteries. However, you need to weigh them against the negative impact of what we’re already using.” Some of the negative effects of leadacid battery plants have already been seen in Southern California. In 2015, an Exide battery recycling facility in Boyle Heights was forced to shut down after it spewed toxic contaminants, including lead and arsenic, into surrounding communities for decades. These communities are still seeing the effects of this nearly six years later, according to LAist. It was also recently reported by the Los Angeles Times that a bankruptcy case could allow Exide to evade the cost of the cleanup, which would force taxpayers to pay for it. So while electric vehicles do present a greener alternative to gasoline-powered cars, the most climate-friendly solution is to make a switch from personal vehicles entirely and invest in affordable housing, bike
“There are absolutely negative effects of all of the different materials that are used in electric car batteries.” - Loraine Lundquist
A Sustainable Path for CSUN Students Story by Carolyn Burt & Photos by Kaitlyn Lavo
T
ucked away behind the baseball field near student housing lives CSUN’s food garden, which has transformed from a patch of dirt into a home for nearly 65 fruit trees and 200 native plants. It was established in 2010 when students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members recognized the need to provide a food space. The garden is all organic and does not use any pesticides or synthetic fertilizers, and creates its own compost — or black gold as those in the gardening community like to call it — which provides minerals and foods for the plants. Mabel Trigueros is the institute garden coordinator and first started working with the garden this past summer through Agroecology, Farming, and Food Pathway, a program offered by CSUN’s Institute of Sustainability. AFFP
partners with Multinational Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture to offer a three-month long certificate program, providing participants with hands-on training in farming. “I enrolled in the certificate program because I’ve always been into gardening and it’s just like one of my passions,” Trigueros said. She was soon offered the facilitator role for the program before signing on for the administrative role she has today with the Institute of Sustainability. Trigueros’ favorite part of her role is getting to grow the food, and she has a particular pride with the peppers she’s grown. The garden rotates the food they grow with its corresponding seasons to produce optimal produce. “Yes, you can get tomatoes year round, but are those tomatoes really the best? They’re not,” Trigueros said. “When you have
an heirloom tomato that [is] grown in season and [at] the right time, there’s no taste to compare.” By growing produce in season, the garden is able to provide a healthy and organic food source to students on campus. While the garden operates at a small scale, any abundance of produce is donated to the CSUN food pantry. Another focus of the garden is to educate students on how they can grow food and see firsthand where it comes from. The garden is open to volunteers every Tuesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and has just started offering Saturdays as an option as well. Tasks range from weeding and watering to harvesting the produce. The institute also organizes orange picks, where volunteers come to the Orange Grove to pick up oranges that are later donated to local food pantries.
S
ince it first began in 2008, the Institute for Sustainability has aimed to educate the campus and greater Northridge community about how they can practice sustainability in their day-to-day life. CSUN offers a minor in sustainability for students. In addition, CSUN now offers a master’s degree in sustainability, one of only a handful of CSUs to do so. Its first cohort of students will start in fall 2022. CSUN was also the first CSU to build a Certified LEED Platinum Sustainability Center, where the Institute of Sustainability operates out of. The building is a testament to the campus’s commitment to sustainability because of the features built into its structure, such as gray water irrigation, a solar-paneled roof and utilizing natural ventilation. Natale Zappia, the director of the Institute for Sustainability, is now in his third year with the program. Zappia
describes the position as his dream job as he’s able to focus on his main interests, such as urban farming, community gardening and environmental education, while also teaching history at CSUN. Zappia offered encouraging advice to those looking to begin their journey with sustainability. For starters, they shouldn’t begin by feeling guilty. “Sustainability is about sustaining yourself, it starts with yourself,” he said. The institute works closely with CSUN’s Associated Students sustainability program. AS organizes events and resources focused on sustainability, such as an E-Waste Drive, which helps students safely recycle old electronics. New this year is the Matador Exchange program which operates as an online marketplace exclusively for CSUN students. The marketplace connects students looking to buy secondhand items including textbooks, clothing and furniture. By only being available to CSUN students, the market also relieves students of the nerves that might come from purchasing items on other exchange sites such as craigslist. CSUN will soon be home to a freight farm, a shipping container with two acres worth of farmland inside. Campus facilities were approved for a grant that provides
funding for the farm, which is designed to help students and provide for those who experience food insecurity. The shipping container provides protection for the plants by keeping away rodents that the food garden has had to learn to live with. “It’s an uphill battle with squirrels and rabbits,” said Trigueros, as a squirrel made its way through the garden. “They’re a part of the system here and it’s like okay, fine. So when we plant stuff it’s like we know we have to plant like 10 times more whatever it is because the harvest we’re going to get, we’re going to lose it to them.” There’s other initiatives on the horizon for the Institute for Sustainability. The garden began building their own seed bank this summer. After taking seed donations, they allow their plants to bolt so that they grow flowers and produce seeds of their own. Trigueros recognized that it’s not uncommon for students to feel discouraged from gardening because they feel they might not have the yard or space for it, but she believes that doesn’t prevent them from getting started. “If you have a window ceiling, if you have access
to h go — so
Z st su H ar su ra m th to w is
k
d
to a container, you have access to light, you have access to water, guess what? You’re going to be able to grow — at the minimum — at least herbs, so why not incorporate some fresh herbs into your diet?” It’s a similar sentiment echoed by Zappia, who recommended students to start by finding simple ways to incorporate sustainability into their everyday routine. He believes that starting with tasks that are within reach allows people to enter sustainability from a healthier mindset, rather than guilt. “I mean guilt does motivate people,” Zappia said. “But I don’t think it’s, in the end, the most effective way to get us to regenerative culture, which is what we need to tackle these ecological issues.”
“Sustainability is about sustaining yourself, it starts with yourself.” -Natale Zappia
Expert Q & A
3 Questions With Alexandra Nagy Photo and story by Chris Torres
A
lexandra Nagy is the California director of Food and Water Watch, an organization that fights for protection of people and the environment from large corporations. Nagy began working for the organization nine years ago after the Aliso Canyon Gas storage facility had a gas blowout in 2015. The Sundial sat down with Nagy to discuss the issues we face with sustainability today as corporations continue to often exhaust our resources.
How do oil drilling, fracking and fossil fuels contribute to climate change and affect people’s daily lives? Fossil fuel extraction in itself is a very energy-intensive process and the types of gases that are released from just doing extraction contributes to the warming of our overall atmosphere. Whether that’s carbon dioxide or methane, which is a huge climate warming accelerant, those are two issues right there. But then when you talk about transporting, refining and ultimately burning fuels, the whole lifecycle is very harmful to our climate. It releases a lot of greenhouse gases and emissions that are both harmful for our climate, but also poisonous to our communities. So even at the extraction point, whether you’re fracking for oil or gas, people who live near these types of sites are getting sick and it is poisoning clean water to extract this stuff, and then threatens groundwater. It’s an environmental issue with how it harms our natural environment and our water, but it’s also a public health issue because the people who live closest to these types of facilities really bear the burden of the health costs that they have to suffer, so that everybody else can turn on their lights, for example. So it really does affect people’s daily lives if you have to live next to a very noisy and fuming oil drill site. Those people really are the sacrifices in our society and often are intentionally Black, brown
and Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. These are groups of people who have intentionally been segregated into these fossil fuel corridors or industry intensive areas. It’s very much an issue of environmental racism and especially in California.
How can college students get involved with fighting climate change? It’s about getting involved with a group on campus or out in the real world that is trying to change policy at a city, local or even state level. I really do think that when we have people engaging and changing the system, that’s where we see the most effect. It’s very difficult for people to make certain lifestyle choices when the entire system has been set up by the fossil fuel industry to force us into these tiny boxes where our personal options are the most convenient, but also harming the environment. It’s all by design and it’s very difficult to break out of those types of systems unless we’re organizing the people power and the mass movements we need to change those systems of power. Students who want to get involved really need to look around to see how they can shift the status quo around them and kind of figure out what the best pathways are for making that political change.
To many, climate change feels like something that’s far away in the future. What do you say to convince people that climate change is something that needs to be urgently addressed and acted upon? I would say, if you haven’t already been affected, you’re next.The reality is everyone has been affected one way or another. Whether you personally have or you know someone personally, who has been affected by climate change. There was a
report that came out just last month in the Washington Post that said, one in three Americans experienced a weather disaster this summer. We already are seeing the extremes, the storms, fires, hurricanes, coastal storms, floods threatening millions of Americans. We’re seeing dry areas 200% drier, wet areas 200% wetter, and these are having a devastating impact already. If you have not been personally affected, like someone you know definitely has. It’s now. So what I would say to these people is be ready. But also know that these moments of disaster are the best moments for change. Just like what we’ve seen with the Huntington Beach oil spill. Never before have I seen so many elected officials say we need to ban offshore drilling. There’s really a chorus of people saying that now. I think times have changed so much because climate change elevated and it has already affected so many people that the appetite for these types of big, system changes in our society are there because we realize what’s at stake now. We have experience with just what can go wrong and it’s scary, but we do need to focus on making political change happen. We all are going to be extra touched by this and we need to fight to make sure that California or wherever we live remains a livable place for the future that we can have access to clean drinking water, have air to breathe, and have good clean food. All of these systems are a threat right now. I just encourage people to look around, get ready, and be ready to organize.
“It’s about getting involved with a group on campus or out in the real world”
-Alexandra Nagy
l
Kimberly Rivera, left, checks a persons grocery bag to make sure it contains all the proper items during the weekly food drive at South LA Cafe in South Los Angeles, Calif., on Wednesday, March 31, 2021.
South Los Angeles cafe steps up to help community combat food insecurity Photos by Chris Torres & Story by Chris Torres, Anais Covarrubias & Nadine Cortez
I
magine you are one of eight people attending a dinner, yet there are only seven seats at the table. Someone is going home without eating. For the one in eight people in the U.S. and one in five Angelenos who struggle with food insecurity, every day can feel like that. Fast food chains, liquor stores and smoke shops line the streets of South Central Los Angeles, with a lack of grocery markets that one would typically see in suburban areas of the city. A common problem South Central residents experience is the distance they would need to travel in order to have access to fresh produce. This can pose difficulties for an area where 113 of 908
total households are without vehicles that are more than one-half mile from a supermarket. The lack of access to healthy food options contributed to the food insecurity in this area of Los Angeles, a trend that has only become worse through the years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, an estimated one in four households is food insecure, according to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, an organization that fights hunger in their community by raising awareness through hunger education and public policies in hunger assistance. “There is a stigma that only homeless people access food resources,” according to Roger Castle, the chief development
officer of LARFB. “Seniors, people with disabilities and low-income families are the most visible examples of those who struggle with food insecurity. The fight doesn’t end there; food insecurity affects all groups of people regardless of employment status or ethnicity.” One of the leading health concerns in Los Angeles is obesity, which can be traced back to the inaccessibility of healthy food. With a variety of fast food chains and convenience stores to choose from, the processed and unnatural foods found there have become the first choice in many families’ diets. As a result, the rates of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease are spiking in these areas.
Recipients for grocery bags line up prior to the weekly food drive at South LA Cafe in South Los Angeles, Calif., on Wednesday, March 31, 2021.
A
lthough there is no official explanation as to why supermarkets aren’t available in areas like South Central, they often avoid low-income areas for several reasons. Supermarkets anticipate where to open new locations based on income, crime rates and ease of transportation. Amid the crowded streets stands South L.A. Cafe, whose walls read, “Coffee. Community. Connection.” The cafe, owned by Joe and Celia WardWallace, is contributing to the fight against food insecurity in South Central. “It was never about us, it was always about the community,” Joe said. “Everyone knows that this is a place for them.” Joe, a South Central native, had a dream one night that sparked the idea of South L.A.’s grocery box and after telling his partner Celia, they brought it to life. “People who don’t live in communities like ours are unaware of these issues because it’s just nothing that they deal with. How would they know?” Celia said. In 2013, the Ralph’s supermarket on the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Western Avenue closed their doors, and CVS took over the building where it once stood. Fighting for his community, Joe was assured by CVS there would be a produce section. When CVS opened they had a produce
section which was three tables long, according to Joe. “I mean that’s just a major slap in our faces, and that only lasted a couple of weeks,” Joe said, “That’s what they're doing to communities like this.” On Wednesday afternoons, Joe, Celia and multiple volunteers make 200 grocery bags that are provided by donations from voluntary sponsors and donors, which feed families in the South L.A. community. Volunteers help gather and pack the groceries into bags one to two days prior to the giveaway so the process flows smoothly. Each week they provide households with fresh vegetables, grains, proteins, fruits and dairy products. Ward-Wallace interacts with volunteers and community members with warm greetings and small checkins down the line to create a loving environment for those who come. There is also a curbside pickup, where volunteers pack the cars with groceries. When the production line is efficient with packing the bags, volunteers are
able to move families out in roughly 30 minutes by the time they’ve handed out a wristband per family. If there are any grocery bags left, South L.A. Cafe leaves no food for waste — they distribute the leftover bags to neighboring storefronts. Through these food drives in the heart of South Central, the South L.A. Cafe team and their efforts are decreasing the need for locals to travel far for groceries. “Opening this place meant freedom — it meant ‘Why do I have to go to the other side of town to have something nice? It shouldn’t be like that,’” Joe said. The Ward-Wallaces’ emphasize the importance of having community and bringing a positive environment in South Central through their business and through the people that they train to work there for them. Through food drives and education on making better choices, they are being their community’s solution to food insecurity.
h 31,
t
gs
r
.
ng
“It was never about us, it was always about the community” -Joe Ward-Wallace
WHY DID PRINT CHANGE?
From newsaper to magazine By Michaella Huck
I
n an age where digital technology has taken over the world, journalism is no exception. When daily newspaper printing was at its peak, we were finding out the news that happened yesterday when the paper hit the stands the following morning. People want to find out the news as it happens or directly after. Digital publishing allows us to provide this. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sundial stopped printing for the first time in history. This forced us to do something we didn’t do much before — publishing daily news online. This was a step in the right direction on a road to us keeping up with what I like to call “new school journalism.” While we would love to take all the credit, my team and I are not responsible for creating a Sundial news magazine. The 2019-2020 school year’s editor-in-chief, Madison Parsley, took the Sundial from a daily print newspaper to a weekly news magazine. Her staff, which I was a part of, printed weekly themed issues on communities that make up our campus. As time goes on, it’s important to refine ideas. After much planning, the Sundial is finally back on stands in a different format. When looking at a magazine in general, it’s important that everything has a niche. The editorial team and I decided that the magazine will cover issues we face as a generation in addition to covering communities to highlight the voices on our campus that are seldom heard. We also changed the size of the magazine to an 8.5x11 glossy cover as opposed to a traditional magazine format. Newspapers are something many publications are trying to break away from due to the fact that they can be a bit outdated and not as necessary in the digital age. We don’t want to see our hard work go to waste. We don’t want our audience to read it and toss it into a trash can. Our work takes hours of the team’s time and many trees died for the news to end up on the laps of our audience. We wanted to treat it as such. The glossy cover allows the audience to preserve it as a keepsake. Traditional newspaper’s shelf life is not long and we wanted to create something evergreen with a longer lasting impact. The final change we made is the frequency of our print schedule. You might think, “Wow they went from daily to weekly to semi-monthly in a span of three years?” I know it’s a big change, however, it’s for a valid reason. All of our editors and reporters’ energies went to working on the stories that would not go on stands until the next Wednesday when the copy is printed weekly. This is not feasible. Coming into my position as print editor, I want our reporting content to be amazing in every facet. The three-week slate we now have to publish the next issue allows the Sundial to publish better content on our website. It gives editors time to work on multimedia projects and it allows for what we put on stands to be thorough and accurate. I know the change may be large and uncomfortable for some who have followed the Sundial for years. Sometimes change can be good. We are trying to adapt and navigate the digital era while keeping print alive for our audience! Too Close for Comfort is a section where our audience and editors give first hand accounts of issues that relate to them. If you have a story about navigating through pandemic thats too close for comfort please email us at toocloseforcomfort.sundial@gmail.com.
We’ve got you covered Get even more news about your campus community from the Daily Sundial ONLINE Publishing the latest news, culture, Matador sports and more at dailysundial.com
SOCIAL MEDIA Follow us for fresh feed content. @dailysundial
dailysundial
@thesundial
dailysundial
Got something to say? If you have a tip or a burning question, email us at hello@sundial.csun.edu If you want to join our award-winning team of student journalists, email us at recruiting@sundial.csun.edu Daily Sundial | Manzanita Hall 140 | hello@sundial.csun.edu | (818) 677-2998
