Plan Aims to Turn Hermosa Beach Into Area's First Carbon Neutral City

Local environmental advocates are hoping to turn Hermosa Beach into the first carbon neutral city in the South Bay.

The group presented a slideshow of their plan during Monday night's Green Task Force meeting at city hall.

Formed last April, the task force is comprised of nine members and is responsible for advising city council on policy items related to water, trash, energy and building development and how to make them more environmentally friendly.

The slideshow, presented by Joe Galliani, author of the blog Creative Greenius, and Robert Fortunato, a local businessman, presented information to the task force on how Hermosa Beach could work toward carbon neutrality.

By aggressively pursuing the idea of becoming a Green Idea City, Hermosa Beach could help produce green jobs, bring in government grants and reduce the city's carbon footprint by utilizing solar and wind energy technology. A carbon footprint is measured by the amount of greenhouse gas emissions the city produces.

"I thought our presentation was well received by the GTF," Galliani said. "I believe we can indeed win the endorsement and support of the GTF — we certainly didn't expect to receive it immediately on the heels of making our proposal."

At the close of the presentation, Fortunato asked if any member would like to volunteer to endorse the proposal when its presented to the school board. The group ultimately turned down the offer, but not before Green Task Force member Kris Kimble voiced his opinion by shaking his head.

"My expectation for the [GTF] is that we look at substance over style, real change rather than the scorecard,"Kimble said. "Mr. Galliani and Mr. Fortunato come at this issue from a much different perspective than I would prefer."

Mayor Michael DiVirgilio, who publicly endorsed the presenters' ideas to open the meeting, feels very strongly that making Hermosa Beach carbon neutral is the future of the city.

"The plan is an attempt to help accelerate the development of the roadmap that delivers on Hermosa Beach's commitment to be carbon neutral," DiVirgilio said. "I am committed to exploring every new viable technology available that can realistically help us improve our budget situation."

The GTF now meets every second Monday of the month, with the next meeting to take place at city hall on April 12.