By Kelly Fraenkel
Staff Writer
As an extension of Earth Day on April 22, the City of Manhattan Beach and the Manhattan Beach Unified School District (MBUSD) celebrated Earth Month throughout April with various events, workshops and initiatives.
MBUSD is a National Green Ribbon District, which means it supports many environmentalist efforts, including recycling, trash reduction, solar energy and education in order to assist students in being respectful of the Earth and its resources. MBUSD partnered with other organizations such as Grades of Green and Waste Management to maintain this reputation, according to the MBUSD Board.
“I think [MBUSD’s environmental efforts are] a great thing,” Costa senior Grace Householter said. “All organizations and schools should make an effort to become more eco-friendly if they are able to, since it will be beneficial to everyone in the long run.”
The City of Manhattan Beach compiled a list of Earth Day events that aimed to get citizens involved in protecting the environment in an engaging way. Events, such as the Climate Ready MB Virtual Workshop on April 15, were held in order to address climate change. The workshop’s objectives were to inform attendees about the community’s greenhouse gas emissions and explain how to reduce them, according to the Climate Ready MB website.
“I think Earth Day is very important since it gives everyone time to acknowledge ways to decrease pollution and other harmful practices that we do to our planet,” Householter said.
Other Earth Day events included a virtual event hosted by the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy; a Climate Changemaker Teen Film Festival; the Restore Our Earth film screening; and the Earth Day Initiative event, which featured various speakers and performers who discussed many topics regarding the planet’s health.
“2021 is a really pivotal year for climate change,” said John Oppermann, the Executive Director of Earth Day Initiative. “It’s a year for high hopes and high anxiety, and much of that centers around the potential for real and robust policy.”
According to the city, some other ways people can support the environment are to go meatless, support the Manhattan Beach Green Business and Clean Bay Restaurant Program, participate in beach clean-ups and watch documentaries to learn more about how to protect the Earth.
“Many in the climate community and broader public are anxious that we truly are reaching a point of no return on climate,” Oppermann said. “We have to act fast if we’re going to turn things around in any meaningful way.”
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