My love of nature started in the Eastern Sierras, especially the scenic drive up U.S. 395 from L.A. Driving past the majestic, snow-capped mountains and serene lakes and streams makes all the stresses and tensions of city life melt away. When we get up toward Mammoth, sometimes I slow down and point out all the places we used to go trout fishing in the summer when I was little.
I practiced environmental law at a Los Angeles firm for five years before joining NRDC in early 2008. Before that, I graduated from U.C. Hastings in 2001 and earned a B.A. in environmental sciences at U.C. Berkeley in 1996.
Posted January 4, 2012 by Damon Nagami in Environmental Justice, Living Sustainably
Last week I blogged about Taylor Yard, a former rail yard along the Los Angeles River, where developer Trammell Crow was facing an end-of-year deadline to exercise its option to purchase a key portion of the property. As I...continued→
Posted December 28, 2011 by Damon Nagami in Environmental Justice, Living Sustainably
The clock is ticking down on 2011. In Los Angeles, this means time is running out for an industrial development firm to decide whether to exercise its option to purchase a key parcel of land along the Los Angeles...continued→
Posted December 1, 2011 by Damon Nagami in Living Sustainably
Did you know that 369,629 people died on America’s roads between 2001 and 2009? Transport data mapping experts ITO World used data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to map road fatalities in the United States over that eight-year...continued→
Posted November 17, 2011 by Damon Nagami in Environmental Justice, Living Sustainably
L.A.’s most park-poor neighborhoods got a double dose of good news yesterday. In the morning, the City Council voted unanimously to sell five acres of the Elephant Hill property in El Sereno for the purpose of permanently protecting the land...continued→
Posted November 14, 2011 by Damon Nagami in Environmental Justice, Living Sustainably
Over the weekend, I enjoyed a spectacular hike in an area of Los Angeles where you’d least expect to find a nature trail. The predominantly Latino neighborhood of El Sereno in northeast Los Angeles is one of the most park-poor...continued→
Posted October 28, 2011 by Damon Nagami in Living Sustainably, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Halloween is here! While the holiday means costume parties and trick-or-treating to many of us, it also is often linked with supernatural phenomena and the occult. Maybe this explains why the Orange County Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) are trying to bring...continued→
Posted October 19, 2011 by Damon Nagami in Living Sustainably, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Well, surprise, surprise! Once again, the Transportation Corridor Agencies (“TCA”) are trying to pull a fast (food) one on the residents of south Orange County. When Orange County's John Wayne Airport debuts its gleaming multimillion dollar facelift next month, many...continued→
Posted September 15, 2011 by Damon Nagami in Curbing Pollution, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
It turns out Democrats and Republicans can agree on something. California lawmakers from both parties voted overwhelmingly to pass Senate Bill 833, legislation that prevents a 300-acre garbage dump from being built next to a river and on top of...continued→
Posted July 7, 2011 by Damon Nagami in Curbing Pollution, Environmental Justice
Oil drilling near homes in the Baldwin Hills. (Photo credit: NRDC) On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a far-reaching settlement that promises increased safeguards for thousands of people living near the active, two-square-mile oil field...continued→
Posted June 30, 2011 by Damon Nagami in Living Sustainably, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
The fight to stop the proposed Gregory Canyon Landfill in northern San Diego County continued Monday night with a raucous public meeting in Fallbrook held by California’s Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle). The Local Enforcement Agency (“LEA”) recently...continued→
Posted June 24, 2011 by Damon Nagami in Curbing Pollution, Living Sustainably
Yesterday, the top policy advisor to the Los Angeles City Council, Chief Legislative Analyst Gerry F. Miller, recommended that the City Council oppose any attempts to relax state environmental rules for AEG’s proposed NFL stadium project in downtown Los Angeles....continued→
Posted March 23, 2011 by Damon Nagami in Living Sustainably, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Chino Hills State Park, Chino Hills, California. (Photo credit: NRDC) On Tuesday, supporters of California’s state parks descended on Sacramento to lobby for increased park protections as part of Park Advocacy Day, an annual event organized by the California...continued→
Posted March 18, 2011 by Damon Nagami in Environmental Justice, Living Sustainably
A vacant lot at 103rd Street Station in Watts. (Photo credit: NRDC) A former vacant lot: Richardson Family Park in the West Adams District. (Photo credit: NRDC) When you see a vacant lot, how does it make you feel?...continued→
Posted March 4, 2011 by Damon Nagami in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Joshua Tree National Park. (Photo credit: Sherry Goldberg, NRDC) Last week, after hearing from more than 100,000 people from all over the country, including thousands of NRDC members and activists, the Obama Administration took action to protect iconic Joshua...continued→
Posted February 17, 2011 by Damon Nagami in Curbing Pollution, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
The San Luis Rey River. (Photo credit: Pala Band of Mission Indians) The County of San Diego is weighing whether to grant a key permit for a 300-acre garbage dump that would be built on the banks of the...continued→
Switchboard is the staff blog of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the nation’s most effective environmental group. For more about our work, including in-depth policy documents, action alerts and ways you can contribute, visit NRDC.org.
