Santa Monica Pier Ferris Wheel to Display Earth Day Light Show at Sunset

Southland residents celebrated the 45th annual Earth Day today by taking part in a series of environmental events, and the Santa Monica Pier Ferris wheel and the gateway pylons leading into Los Angeles International Airport will glow green tonight to mark the occasion.

The LAX pylons will glow in various shades of green beginning at dusk and continuing until daybreak Thursday. The Ferris wheel in Santa Monica will put on a green-themed light show beginning at sunset and continuing until midnight.

Officials at Metro marked Earth Day with a demonstration dump of 4,800 pounds of recyclable materials at its Central Maintenance Facility -- symbolic of the annual environmental impact one person can have by giving up driving and relying on public transit, walking or biking.

“I’m proud that Metro is doing its part by reducing its water consumption by 4.3 million gallons a year and encouraging Angelenos to take public transportation with today’s demonstration, reminding us that each one of us plays a key role in preserving our city’s health and longevity,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti, chairman of the Metro board.

The Metro event also featured a display of the transit agency’s first all-electric, zero-emission bus. It’s the first of five such buses that will soon be tested on several bus routes, according to Metro.

“In addition to the largest all clean-burning natural gas fleet in North America -- 97 percent cleaner than the diesel buses they replaced -- Metro has added all-electric, zero-emission 40-foot buses that will reduce carbon monoxide, greenhouse gases as well as operating costs,” according to county Supervisor Mike Antonovich, who also sits on the Metro board and the board of the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

In Pomona, officials at Diamond Ranch High School, 100 Diamond Ranch Drive, held a groundbreaking ceremony on a solar-panel project, the first of its type in the Pomona Unified School District. Officials say the project will save the district about $6.5 million over 25 years.

The El Camino College Horticulture and Environmental Club held an Earth Day celebration in Torrance, highlighting the need for conservation of natural resources. In Long Beach, more than 150 people are expected to attend an Earth Day event at The Growing Experience Urban Farm, featuring lectures on sustainable agriculture, tours of the farm and aquaponics tower, food preservation workshops and healthy snack tastings.

In Pasadena, the Resnick Sustainability Institute will present a 5 p.m. screening of the short documentary “Element 19: A Breakthrough Discovery in Sustainability Chemistry” at Caltech, followed by a panel discussion with the research team and filmmakers.

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City News Service

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