LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

A Return to Sustainability in a Post-Covid World

As soon as the pandemic hit, environmental and sustainable practices went out the window. In early 2020, with the spread of the virus at the forefront of everyone’s minds, the environmental impacts of personal protective equipment (PPE) seemed justifiable considering how effective it was against the pandemic’s spread. Two years later, as mask mandates are being lifted and testing positivity rates are decreasing, I urge you to return to the sustainable practices that were once routine in the months and years before March of 2020.

Although the plastic waste produced by gloves, masks, and other PPE is extremely difficult to reduce, plastic waste from other pandemic-related habits, such as online grocery shopping, is not. If you’ve ever ordered groceries online, you’d know just how much unnecessary plastic packaging is involved. Not only have I seen egg cartons and strawberries that are already in plastic boxes placed into plastic bags, I even received an order that individually bagged each of the three apples that I ordered. In the height of the pandemic when the thought of leaving your house, let alone going into a grocery store, seemed unthinkable, online shopping was the perfect solution. However, now that LA County’s testing positivity rate is less than one percent, is the saved trip to the grocery store really worth such vast amounts of plastic packaging? The cost-benefit analysis may have said otherwise at the start of the pandemic, but the balance has clearly shifted back into its previous position: shop at your local grocery store unless absolutely necessary.

Other everyday habits, like carrying a reusable bag or coffee mug with you, have also been heavily impacted by the pandemic. After the initial March 2020 lockdown, grocery stores and coffee shops began to announce that in order to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission to their employees, they would no longer accept reusable bags or coffee mugs. This guideline, although it would increase the plastic waste of grocery shopping or a morning coffee, seemed pretty reasonable. After months of errand-running, many of us got accustomed to leaving our reusables at home—it only takes a few weeks to form a habit, so a few months of these guidelines were more than enough to form the habit of not carrying around our reusables.

Now that most, if not all, businesses have suspended these guidelines, it’s time for us to begin carrying reusables once again.

Dani Fenster

Community Project Funding

Community Project Funding (CPF) is a new initiative started in 2022 that allows Members of Congress to request direct funding for projects that benefit the communities they represent. CPF is separate from federal grants and funding apportioned by formula.\

Congressman Ted Lieu\invited both nonprofits and government organizations to apply for consideration for projects of community interest in his district CD 33 that includes the Pacific Palisades. The deadline for applications is March 18. Palisades Park Advisory Board (PAB) at an earlier time requested consideration be given to upgrading the playground at Palisades Park to make it an inclusive playground to be designed with the assistance of Shane’s inspiration, an organization that advocates for playground inclusion. Robert Harter Palisades Park PAB Vice President indicated that upgrading of the playground to accommodate all children to include children with handicaps has been a long-standing priority of that body.

The LA Parks Foundation has made an application for funding to replace the 20-year-old playground at Palisades Park with its sand\safety surfacing that is currently considered\obsoleted as it attracts\feral\animals and is difficult to maintain in a sanitary\condition. The sand safety surface under the apparatus does not provide the shock absorbent qualities of the newer materials\used for this purpose.\The objective of the proposed project would be to accommodate children with handicaps in the use of the park playground so they might experience the physical and social benefits of inclusion. People with disabilities are historically marginalized, and children with disabilities are often excluded from play and social interaction with their peers, which provides critical developmental benefits.

Inclusive Playgrounds, where children of all abilities can learn and play together, advance social equity by breaking down the barriers that exclude children with disabilities from play and social inclusion.\In Los Angeles County, census data indicates that nearly 67,000 are children that have some form of disabilities. Michael Shull Recreation and Park Department General Manager concurred that the project is a good one and would recommend supporting it if funded. The estimated cost is projected at one million dollars.

Joe Halper