The Brief

According to California Community Colleges chancellor Sonya Christian, this is an urgent time for community colleges to respond to the climate crisis, coinciding with investments at the federal and state level.

Much of the strategy for that response revolves around one community college in particular: West Los Angeles College, in Culver City.

In 2022, the California legislature established the California Center for Climate Change Education at West, providing $5 million to promote climate change education and establish internships and other learning-on-the-job opportunities for its students, among other goals. The federal government kicked in another $1.3 million.

“This is the beginning of the involvement of community colleges,” Christian says about West’s new climate center and existing climate change studies program.

This June, under Christian’s leadership, West hosted the climate action summit for California Community Colleges to organize their climate response.

“President Biden has a very ambitious infrastructure agenda that the administration is investing in and so is the governor [of California],” Christian says. That agenda includes incentivizing private investments in clean energy production, such as wind and solar, and investing in infrastructure, such as electric vehicle charging.

“Community colleges to me are really the vehicles for these leaders to be able to realize their goals,” Christian says. “You’re going to be seeing immediately community colleges playing a much more active and cohesive role in the infrastructure rollout.”

The inaugural climate action summit for California community colleges covered the reduction of carbon emissions from campus facilities and operations, training and educating the workforce for climate careers, supporting local communities, and funding resources for climate work.

“There is a lot of momentum here. Now we’ll stop working in our separate silos and this is the start of collaboration,” says Vered Mirmovitch, an associate professor of the biological sciences at West.

Modeling climate change curriculum

West was already the first community college in California to offer an associate’s degree in climate change studies, beginning in 2018, with coursework on environmental science and statistics, but also philosophy, which challenges the assumptions behind how humans relate to the environment.

From left to right: JB Baum, graduate of WLAC's climate studies program, Marilyn Chavez, student, Vered Mirmovitch, associate professor of biological sciences, and Keon Hendrickson, graduate of WLAC's climate studies program.

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“It’s just given me an avenue to learn about something that I'm really interested in that I haven't had the opportunity to learn about on an educational level before,” says Keon Hendrickson, a recent graduate of the climate change studies program.

To Hendrickson, the most interesting course in the program was the philosophy class on environmental ethics. Rick Mayock, the instructor, asks why people assume “a certain amount of pollution is acceptable, a certain amount of species will die of extinction because of human ‘progress.’”

Through challenging these assumptions, Mayock says, “that's the way we began to change our thinking about our place in nature and our relationship with the planet and our relationship with ecosystems and other species and so forth."

Through its new climate center, West is developing more climate change curriculum for community colleges in California to adapt to their own campuses.

Eventually, the plan is for West to educate students of all disciplines on climate change, not just what people might expect of those studying environmental science.

For students studying math, they might learn statistics related to climate change; for students studying psychology, they might learn the concept of “climate change anxiety” — the feeling of powerlessness one might experience if overwhelmed by concerns about climate change.

Marilyn Chavez is a student at West learning about climate change while focusing on the health sciences. She took a biological sciences elective in the climate change studies program.

“What I've learned recently here is that despite what career path you take, environmental education is so important because it's something you can apply to every field,” Chavez says. “Sustainability is so important and we can all do our part no matter what field and what path we take in life.”

Originally from Guatemala, Chavez says her Indigenous background shapes how she relates to the environment. For her, she considers humans part of the environment, which is to be shared with other species, not a separate entity for humans to control.

Teaching in the climate change program at West, Mirmovitch sees the value of teaching climate change to students in all disciplines.

“(Climate change is the) major crisis of our time. It’s not something that we can ignore anymore and we need as many people to be on board and to be part of the solution,” Mirmovitch says.

Mirmovitch adds that for change to happen, it is most effective when there’s a critical mass of people involved.

Preparing the climate change workforce

A similar approach of incorporating climate change across disciplines is also taking place at the California State University system.

And other community colleges in California have not sat idle on climate-related education. For example, Long Beach City College has an underwater robotics program which can support monitoring ocean health. Colleges in the Central Valley are developing an Agricultural Technology program for farmers to adapt to climate change and water availability.

At West, president Jim Limbaugh wants to prepare students for high-paying careers in clean energy and climate technology, and not only related to solar energy.

WLAC President Jim Limbaugh outside the West Los Angeles Climate Center.

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Solar energy has already reached a level of maturity in the state, according to an analysis from the University of California Riverside projecting the future of green jobs in California. That report finds that there is room for other green sectors to grow, including the zero emission vehicles industry, which already has a strong presence in Southern California.

“There's all this interest in electric vehicle charging stations,” Limbaugh says. “There's not enough training out there, not enough people out there to actually install them and work on them.”

Through the center at West, Limbaugh says in October community colleges will meet with industry representatives to determine their training needs. In the Los Angeles region, employers and community colleges have already been identifying emerging climate-related sector needs, such as marine aquaculture for domestic fisheries production.

The center is also to partner with local and regional entities to support training to modernize the electric grid, Limbaugh says. He foresees that students can work in a range of climate-related fields, from conducting research or working as a sustainably-oriented park ranger in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Ethics and ambition

JB Baum just graduated from West’s climate studies program this spring and attended the climate action summit. Baum says the speakers at the summit could have been more ambitious, instead of focusing so much on preparing students to meet industry demands or partnering with certain industries.

“Not all private industry should be treated the same, nor all jobs universally good,” Baum says.

Baum suggests that community colleges be intentional about which companies to link students to, particularly not oil or utility companies that have contributed to the climate problem.

For example, Kern Community College is partnering with industries that employ direct air capture technology to manage carbon emissions, a technology that has been considered controversial in its effectiveness.

When asked about the scalability of air capture technology, Christian said that the approach by community colleges will be dependent on regional attributes and community colleges need to have a seat at the table at the start of technological revolutions before they become commercial.

Can community colleges move quickly enough? 

As recent wildfires in Canada severely reduce the air quality in the Midwest and Northeast; as extreme temperatures have blanketed California; and a heat dome covers regions in the South, it’s uncertain whether community colleges' efforts are moving quickly enough.

“I think some of these solutions (from the summit) aren't really tackling the immediate effects of climate change on students and talking about adjusting the academic schedule to account for the possibility of a heat dome every single September,” Baum says.

“What are we going to do when power doesn't exist on the campus anymore because of rolling blackouts?” he adds.

Santa Rosa Junior College, north of San Francisco, officially installed a microgrid system in 2022 to power priority buildings with solar energy and battery storage, and even support the existing utility grid. A microgrid, however, is a rarity among community colleges.

According to David Liebman, the manager of this project, other community colleges may not be as quick to adopt their own microgrid due to caution about the maturity of the technology, upfront costs, and available campus space.

On the community college level, actions being taken are deliberate, but results won’t be immediate. At West, the new climate center’s director, Jo Tavares, says they’re learning about their campus needs and what other community colleges are doing around climate change.

President Limbaugh expects that the first batch of courses with a climate change curriculum will be approved in the next year. He says 17 West faculty members are working on developing climate-change centered curriculum.

Chancellor Christian envisions “convening educators to come together is going to be something that we can count on on a recurring basis.”

Meanwhile, students from or in the climate program at West are making moves. Baum and Hendrickson are continuing their studies in Geography and Environmental Studies at UCLA. Students at West like Chavez are getting ready to take climate change classes in the fall.

Chavez plans to sign up for the environmental ethics class next. Speaking about her future plans, Chavez says she “would love to take more classes about environmental science” and “you know, just contribute as much as I can to the cause.”

As a parent, Chavez says she is teaching her children to help the environment, such as reducing the number of toys they purchase. “They'll see a toy, they'll want a toy, and we're like, you know, we have so many toys at home, we don't need to buy new toys,” Chavez says.

She hopes her children will learn to be self-reliant and sustainable, and that they pass these practices on.

“I feel like if I can teach them, they'll teach their children, if they plan to have children, or friends or just anybody that they come across.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is using spyware tools that can intercept encrypted messages as part of the agency's efforts to disrupt fentanyl traffickers, according to a letter sent last week by the agency's acting director, Todd Lyons.

Lyons' letter, which was reviewed by NPR, said ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is using various tools as part of its mission to disrupt and dismantle foreign terrorist organizations "particularly those involved in the trafficking of fentanyl."

Lyons wrote "in response to the unprecedented lethality of fentanyl and the exploitation of digital platforms by transnational criminal organizations" he approved HSI's "use of cutting-edge technological tools that address the specific challenges posed by the Foreign Terrorist Organizations' thriving exploitation of encrypted communication platforms."

His letter, dated April 1, was a belated response to an October inquiry from three Democratic members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform expressing concern about the agency's potential use of the spyware Graphite, which was created by an Israeli company, Paragon Solutions.

The letter is the first time ICE has indicated it is using Graphite. The agency initially signed a $2 million contract with Paragon Solutions for an unspecified software product at the end of the Biden administration. But the contract was swiftly paused until it was revived by the Trump administration last fall.

Graphite uses what is known as "zero click" technology so that it can gain access to encrypted messages on a targeted device even if the user never clicks on a link.

The encrypted messaging app WhatsApp disclosed last year that it discovered some 90 journalists and members of civil society in various countries were targeted with Graphite. Researchers at The Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy later identified specific journalists and humanitarian aid providers in Italy whose devices were infected with Graphite through WhatsApp messages. Paragon ended its contract with Italian government agencies in 2025.

Lyons' confirmation that the agency is using spyware comes as ICE has ramped up its use of surveillance technologies to find people in the U.S. without authorization as part of the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign. Those tools have also been used extensively on American citizens who have protested ICE's activities. The revelation also comes shortly before Congress is set to debate whether to reauthorize a surveillance law, and whether to close a legal loophole that allows the federal government to buy data about millions of Americans in bulk from commercial data brokers.

Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., one of the authors of the October letter asking for answers about ICE's use of spyware, told NPR in a statement, "The response I received from ICE makes one thing clear. They are moving forward with invasive spyware technology inside the United States."

Lee expressed disappointment that Lyons did not provide substantive answers to her questions, including who could be targeted with the technology and the legal basis for using it within the United States.

"The people most at risk, including immigrants, Black and brown communities, journalists, organizers, and anyone speaking out against government abuse, deserve more than secrecy and deflection from an agency with a long record of overreach and abuse," Lee's statement said.

Lyons' letter said any use of the tool "will comply with constitutional requirements" and will be coordinated with the ICE Office of the Principal Legal Advisor.

The Paragon Solutions' contract was initially put on hold in 2024 to review its compliance with an executive order then-President Joe Biden signed in 2023 that bars the use of commercial spyware that poses a national security risk to the United States or poses a risk to be misused by foreign governments.

Lyons wrote in his letter that in accordance with the 2023 executive order, he had "certified that HSI's operational use of the specific tool does not pose significant security or counterintelligence risks, or significant risks of improper use by a foreign government or foreign person."

Paragon Solutions was purchased by an American private investment firm AE Industrial Partners in late 2024, which merged with the cybersecurity company REDLattice. Neither AE Partners or REDLattice returned NPR's request for comment.

Lyons' response alarmed civil liberties advocates who worry about the potential for ICE to abuse the tool and use it against targets beyond drug traffickers and terrorists.

"The biggest concern now is that Lyons' response doesn't rule out ICE using an administrative subpoena to deploy this malware against people living in the United States as part of their ideological battle against constitutionally protected protest," said Cooper Quintin, senior staff technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which advocates for digital privacy.

"An extremely invasive surveillance capability such as this should require the strongest judicial oversight and confirmation that such intrusion is necessary and [a] proportionate response to the crime being investigated," Quintin said.

Maria Villegas Bravo, a lawyer with the nonprofit Electronic Privacy Information Center, said the U.S. does not have sufficient regulations in place "to stop the U.S. government from abusing Constitutional and human rights in the process of using this technology."

In response to an NPR inquiry to the Department of Homeland Security about its use of Graphite and the concerns raised, a DHS official who did not identify themselves wrote, "DHS is a law enforcement agency. ICE is no different. Employing various forms of technology in support of investigations and law enforcement activities aids in the arrest of criminal gang members, child sex offenders, murderers, drug dealers, identity thieves and more, all while respecting civil liberties and privacy interests."

Villegas Bravo said that by paying for Graphite, the U.S. is helping to bolster the market for technologies that are being exploited by foreign governments to undermine the privacy of messaging applications and carry out invasive surveillance of phones.

"This is a grave national security risk because it weakens American critical infrastructure, including our telecommunications networks," Villegas Bravo said.
Copyright 2026 NPR

New research is backing up what many residents in the Vernon area have already feared: the Exide cleanup is missing a lot of lead.

UC Irvine researchers found excessive lead in the area 11 years after the battery plant closed, as well as evidence that the remediation area may need to be expanded.

Lead is a toxic metal that can cause short- and long-term health effects, including neurological and reproductive changes. Exposure is especially dangerous for children and pregnant people.

A brief history of the Exide cleanup

Exide Technologies operated the 15-acre smelting facility in Vernon between 1922 and 2015. It processed 11 million auto batteries a year, releasing an estimated 3,500 tons of lead into the surrounding communities of Maywood, East Los Angeles, Commerce, Bell and Huntington Park.

After the federal government shuttered the plant over hazardous waste violations, California declared it an environmental disaster. It has since spent more than $750 million so far cleaning up the site and residential homes. The remediation zone was set at a 1.7-mile radius around the facility.

As of March 27, over 6,000 properties have been cleaned, according to the state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control, which oversees the effort.

Residents have complained for years about issues with the process and its thoroughness. Even though homes were deemed clean, investigations have found excessive lead on the grounds. Contractors have also reportedly violated state standards for soil removal and environmental regulations with toxic dust spread.

Key findings

Jill Johnston, an associate professor of environmental and occupational health at UC Irvine and lead author, said this is the  first peer-reviewed study looking at the problem and how it extends beyond the remediation zone.

Between October 2021 and September 2024, the researchers worked with East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice to collect more than 1,000 soil samples from 373 residential properties.

This figure shows the approximate locations of residential soil samples collected for the study.

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More than two thirds of samples from remediated homes still had over 80 ppm of lead, the state’s threshold for use, with 19% of those samples reaching over 200 ppm.

The study also looked at neighborhoods outside the state’s defined cleanup area. Nearly 90% of those sampled homes were beyond acceptable levels. Seven in 10 homes had at least one sample above 200 ppm, according to the findings.

The study suggests two things for remediated homes — either contaminated soil wasn’t fully removed, and/or it was recontaminated by historically present lead, like that in paint or freeway exhaust particles.

“ We don’t think that if you adequately remove the soil from the home, that we should be seeing this much recontamination just from lead paint that’s on the exterior of the house,” Johnston said.

Another author on the study, East Yard’s mark! Lopez, an  Eastside community organizer, said the research helps affected residents, many of whom are predominantly Latino, fight against  environmental racism.

“ We’re bringing the personal narrative, the collective experience, peer review data to the table," he said. "It’s an extra layer of credibility to be able to really push the agency to do right, to push the state to do right by our communities.”

LAist has reached out to the California Department of Toxic Substances Control for comment, but did not hear back in time for publication. We’ll update this story once it’s received.

The L.A. County Department of Public Health, which participates on the Exide Technical Advisory Committee (a public forum for residents and agencies to communicate about the cleanup), said in a statement the study matters from a public health perspective.

“The findings underscore the importance of continued evaluation of cleanup effectiveness, consideration of post-remediation testing and ongoing efforts to reduce exposure,” the department added.

Calling for change

The study makes multiple policy change suggestions — some of which have already been implemented, such as third-party monitoring of cleanup crews.

East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice is calling for expanded remediation beyond the 1.7-mile boundary. They also want a commitment to resampling every cleaned up home, and if needed, correcting lead problems. He wants those results to be shared with communities in a timely manner.

As of 2025, Johnston said all new homes are getting cleaned and are getting retested. For homes cleaned prior to that, a sample of homes are being rechecked.

In mid-March, the cast and crew behind a new play about the life of labor leader Dolores Huerta and the rise of the farmworker movement were preparing for their debut.

Then, on March 18 — the last day of the production’s tech rehearsal — the New York Times published an investigation into United Farm Workers co-founder Cesar Chavez detailing allegations that he sexually abused and raped girls and women. Huerta wrote in a statement that Chavez had coerced her into sex on one occasion and forced her to have sex on another. She said she got pregnant each time and hid the pregnancies.

“Hearing the news and reading it, I was in absolute tears,” said director Sara Guerrero. “I didn't know what to expect.”

She wondered if the play, ¡Sí Se Puede!, would be pulled before it had a chance to begin.

“What would be the best way to continue to elevate this woman who endured a lot?” Guerrero said.

The answer Guerrero and the rest of the cast and crew landed on reflects a struggle for many since the allegations against Chavez were published. How do you square the gains of a movement that humanized and improved the lives of farmworkers — led by a man who inspired generations of activists — with the harm done by that same leader?

The origin of '¡Sí Se Puede!'

Today, Center Theatre Group is most known for the shows hosted at its flagship downtown L.A. theaters and in Culver City, but decades ago, the organization toured.

“We have to exist outside of the institutions, otherwise we’re not part of the global citizenship,” said Jesus Reyes, director of learning and community partnerships. “ There's so many young people and older people who have lost touch with art … So it's also our responsibility to put it out there.”

Director Sara Guerrero (left) and Playwright Eliana Pipes stand in front of the set for "¡Sí Se Puede!." Both have longstanding ties to L.A.'s theatre community.

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Center Theatre Group commissioned an all-ages play about Huerta from writer Eliana Pipes in March 2025 to kickstart a pilot program that would bring shows to lesser-known regional venues.

Pipes devoured documentaries, books and conducted her own interviews with people connected to the farmworker movement.

“There's this perception that farm work was only done by men,” Pipes said. “But… there were women on the fields, there were women on the picket lines, and there were women in leadership in the United Farm Workers movement.”

A necessary pivot

On the day the New York Times' investigation published, Guerrero got together with Pipes and others from Center Theatre Group to discuss how to move forward.

“ What really stood out to us was that we had always intended to elevate the story and call to action of Dolores Huerta,” Guerrero said.

The United Farm Workers' grape boycotts depicted in the play are credited with helping the union win contracts with growers and eliminate the use of certain pesticides.

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The decision: Chavez would remain a minor character — albeit with fewer lines. Pipes re-typed the play and drove to the final rehearsal at East Los Angeles College. She pulled over once to cry.

The cast performed a dress rehearsal for an audience of ELAC students.

“There were some tears, there was a lot of laughter and celebration, and I think it felt really healing for everybody to get to celebrate her, especially in this moment,” Pipes said.

El Teatro Campesino

¡Sí Se Puede! also highlights farmworker leaders like Larry Itliong, who’d organized Filipino farmworkers for years before Huerta and Chavez started working with Mexican laborers. Filipino farmworkers, historically less visible, started the 1965 Delano Grape Strike and Itliong later became a leader in United Farm Workers under Chavez.

The language of the play — English, Spanish and Tagalog — and the production design reflect the culture of the farmworker movement, incorporating a style of skits performed for farmworkers from the backs of flatbed trucks.

“El Teatro Campesino was not just entertainment, but it was also an organizing tool,” Pipes said. “The actors that they put on were meant to educate farm workers on the fields about their rights and incentivize them to join the strike.”

This El Teatro Campesino workbook belonged to Pipes’ grandmother who met Huerta through United Farm Workers meetings hosted at Santa Monica’s Unitarian Universalist Community Church.

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The style of El Teatro Campesino is big and theatrical. The politician character's devil mask is also a nod to the archetypes often found in the style's skits.

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Pipes was also tasked with translating the complexities of the farmworker movement into a narrative appropriate for all ages.

Sometimes that meant taking a few creative liberties with the character’s personal traits, like swapping Itliong’s trademark cigar for a lollipop.

More difficult was acknowledging the sometimes violent backlash the farmworkers faced. For example, a police attack on United Farm Worker demonstrators in San Francisco in 1988 left Huerta, then 58, with a ruptured spleen and fractured ribs.

“I think sometimes TYA — theater for young audiences — and for families has a reputation for being sort of toothless or apolitical,” Pipes said. “This piece does have something to say and it says it loud and proud. And even though it's in an age appropriate way, we never shy away from acknowledging the injustices that women face in the movement.”

“¡Sí Se Puede!" opens by asking the audience to think about the origin of their food before diving into the history of farm work in California. Juan De La Cruz plays several roles in the show, including a grape harvester.

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The "capitalist pig" is another archetype of El Teatro Campesino. Sol Joun plays the grower and several other roles in "¡Sí Se Puede!"

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In one scene, a TV broadcaster interviews Huerta and Chavez  at the terminus of the 1966 farmworker march from Delano to Sacramento.

“ I'm here at the State Capitol with Cesar Chavez and his secretary, Dolores Huerta — could you grab me a cup of coffee sweetheart?” the broadcaster asks.

When Huerta asserts herself as a co-founder of the union, the broadcaster calls her Chavez’s “sidekick.”

“It's so hard not to be heard,” Huerta’s character reflects after the interview ends. “Even in my own movement, some of the campesinos can't stand listening to women  and I try to pick my battles, but God, sometimes it feels like I'm battling a fight on two fronts.”

How audiences are reacting to the show

Center Theatre Group retains the right to produce the play in the greater Los Angeles area, but the play is available for anyone to produce elsewhere.

“ I would love to see it across the country, and particularly in places that have a long history with the farm workers movement, like Arizona, Texas,” Pipes said. “But I would love this play in every city, in every state.”

At the end of the show, the actors asked everyone in the audience to close their eyes and think about their personal answer to "What is the change you want to make in the world?"

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The show’s initial 10-show run included libraries, recreation centers, schools and Boyle Heights City Hall.

The Toxqui family drove from Pomona and sat front and center for the April 2 show.

Mom Noelle said her great-grandfather worked in the orange groves.

 “It's something that's important to me and my own family history,” she said. “[I have] the desire for my kids to understand the fights that have happened before them and that will continue to happen.”

Izel Toxqui (center), 8,  said she felt inspired after watching the show. Her 4-year-old sister Ameli said she liked how Huerta helped people get food when they were hungry. “Ese parte me gusta que cuando ella estaba luchando por sus derechos,” she added, saying she liked that Huerta fought for their rights.

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Ruffy Landayan came to support friends in the cast, but left with a deeper understanding of the farm worker movement he “barely” learned about as a San Bernardino high school student.

“[The play is] about history, but it also felt very current because it is really current,” Landayan said. “That's when I realized the power of theater.”

The show also affirmed the experiences of people familiar with the movement.

Raul Cardona has worked with El Teatro Campesino since the 2000s and is a community organizer in East L.A.

“ There's a place for everyone in the revolution,” Cardona said. “If you don't belong to an organization, find one that you stand with and become part of it. The work needs to be done and it's not gonna do itself.”