My newsfeed this week has been a constant stream of stories from Sundance and Oscar backlash. But people are barely batting an eyelid about the massive gas leak out in Porter Ranch, which is a little over 20 miles away from the Dolby Theatre (current home of the Academy Awards).
If canaries were still used as gas detectors, Los Angeles would probably be without a flock! The leak started at the end of October and but it wasn’t until this month that California Governor Jerry Brown finally declared a state of emergency over this disaster. Since the Aliso Canyon leak sprung, 87,000 metric tons of methane gas have entered the atmosphere, causing thousands of people to relocate as they are suffering from health problems including nosebleeds, vomiting, lethargy and headaches. Independent testers have announced it is has spread up to eight miles away (so far), affecting people right across the San Fernando Valley. The awful part is this could have been prevented! If only the Southern California Gas Company had replaced a safety valve that stopped working in 1979! The fact that fracking has been going on in the vicinity of these aging wells may very well have a lot to do with it too. Fortunately not everyone is so complacent, as this week the South Coast Air Quality Management are suing SoCal Gas for negligence. If successful they could be fined $250,000 a day until this leak is stopped. If you want to get more involved in the fight for cleaner air for ALL of Los Angeles, you can visit facebook.com/saveporterranch. They have a petition link on there that you can sign. I think it is time to tell them to #FrackOff
If that’s not enough to worry about LA also has its first official case of the Zika virus! Thankfully the young girl in question, who contracted the disease in El Salvador, has recovered. The mosquito born virus is affecting pregnant woman and babies in particular; starting last year in Brazil where there was an unusually high number (in the thousands) born with abnormally small heads. What a world we live in!
It makes me realize why no one is talking about all this doom and gloom, as it is far more pleasing to bury your head in the sand and think about the ingredients that will work with your next kale smoothie.
So if you do want a distraction, save the date – February 24th. Its the 9th year of the extremely fun Oscar parody event The Toscars. Members of our community have been working for the last three weeks on their five minute spoofs of the Oscar-nominated films. Tickets will go on sale soon for the glamorous awards ceremony at the Renberg Theatre in Hollywood. So watch this space…
If you want to come and meet some of the group before then we have Pub Quiz at the Pikey on February 5th and our Breakfast Club supported by Air New Zealand is every Tuesday at Cecconi’s – feel free to come alone as everyone is very friendly and welcoming. If you have any questions or comments drop us a line at britsinla@gmail.com – we always love hearing from you!
Cheers
Eileen
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