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August 16 – 29, 2019
E-Scooters Not as Green as They Seem? Recent study complicates understanding of e-scooters’ environmental impact. By Kai Mc N amee After taking Santa Monica and Los Angeles by storm, shared electric scooters were touted by many as a solution to the climate crisis. Bird and Lime, two of the largest producers of dockless e-scooters, both market their services as a way to reduce carbon emissions in urban settings. But a recent study published by researchers at North Carolina State University suggests that these devices aren’t as environmentally friendly as they might seem. The study found the majority of the scooters’ greenhouse gas emissions — the chemicals responsible for global warming — come from the initial manufacture of scooters, and the vehicles people use to collect and distribute them during the charging process. Jeremiah Johnson, a co-author of the study and Associate Professor at NC State, explained that the study analyzes the scooters’ “cradle to grave” impacts through a
process called life cycle assessment. “The work that we do uses a tool called life cycle assessment to quantify environmental impacts, particularly to quantify hidden aspects of environmental impacts that might be a little bit less obvious,” Johnson said. Johnson’s team found that the baseline electric scooter produces the equivalent of 202 grams of carbon dioxide per passenger-mile. This measurement accounts for the carbon dioxide emissions associated with the scooters’ manufacture, transport, collection and distribution. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, driving a typical automobile produces over 400 grams of carbon dioxide per mile. While riding a scooter is significantly better for the environment than driving a car, surveys show that scooter use frequently replaces walking — in these cases, scooter use replaces a significantly greener mode of transit. The researchers surveyed 61 riders in Wake County, North Carolina and analyzed survey data published by the Portland Bureau of Transportation to determine the replacement effects of shared scooters. The study reported that 49 percent of survey respondents would have biked or walked had e-scooters not been available, and 11 percent would have taken a public bus. In January, the City of Santa Monica
According to a recent study, e-scooters may not be as environmentally friendly as they seem.
conducted its own study, surveying approximately 3,000 scooter riders. The Santa Monica survey found 50 percent of scooter rides replaced a car trip, 37 percent of rides replaced walking, and 3.8 percent of rides replaced a bus trip. “If you’re a user and one of your moti-
Photo: Sam Catanzaro.
vations for using the scooters is to reduce your environmental impact, the more you can substitute car rides with scooter rides the better,” Johnson said. “If you are displacing car rides, that is a clear environ-
SCOOTER, see page 4
Cease + Desist for Developer who Bulldozed Playa Dunes Ecologically–sensitive dunes graded by Legado Companies By Sam Catanzaro The California Coastal Commission (CCC) is taking swift and forceful action after a developer bulldozed ecologically sensitive dunes in Playa del Rey. “My staff has since confirmed that unpermitted development occurred on your property and that heavy construction equipment, including frontloaders and a bulldozer, were used to break the dunes located on
Photo: Courtesy Mike Bonin.
Legado Companies crews bulldoze sand dunes in Playa Del Rey.
your property apart and grade the dunes flat, and in doing so, removed sensitive dune habitat, which is considered an environmentally sensitive habitat area,” reads a cease and desist letter from the CCC to de-
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Contact Judy Swartz judy@smmirror.com (310) 204-4255
veloper Legado Companies. “This is a very serious violation of the Coastal Act.” Local residents contacted the councilmember’s office after noticing the developer using heavy machinery on the ecologically sensitive Playa del Rey dunes at Toes Beach. According to Bonin, his staff and residents on two occasions ordered crews to cease the clearing. Bonin says that the property owner, Legado Companies, was instructed to take down some rusty fencing surrounding the property, but does not believe permission was granted to grade the dunes. “The property owner is claiming they were ordered or authorized to do the work. That’s bull. They were ordered to remove a
rusty and sharp-edged fence that was a danger to kids at the beach. They were not directed or authorized to regrade the dunes and destroy sensitive habitat. We need restoration, remediation, and penalties,” Bonin said. CCC says their staff was alerted to the unpermitted development over the weekend of August 10-11 through news outlets, posts from City of Los Angeles Councilmember Bonin’s office and by members of the public. Coastal dune habitat is extremely rare in southern California and it’s CCC responsibility to protect those remaining coastal dunes. “There are very few natural dunes left in L.A. We are outraged to see the destruction
DUNES, see page 9
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