A piece of action

COSTA MESA — Six hours a day, five days a week, Amanda Schultz stands at a busy intersection and tries to grab the attention of strangers. A number of them brush past her, while others stop and engage her in debates. Every so often, one whips out a pen and agrees to donate $15 or more each month.

Schultz, an Irvine Valley College student, put her studies on hold recently to work full time for environmental nonprofit Greenpeace. The group, which started in Canada in 1971, opened a Costa Mesa office in October — the first-ever in Orange County and one of only 11 sites in the country.

Schultz and her colleagues operate out of a small, drab office in the back of a strip mall on Newport Boulevard, but the headquarters are the least of their concerns. Greenpeace, which campaigns for recycling, natural fuel and other environmental causes, does most of its business on the street, sending canvassers to sign up new members and fill petitions. For most employees, that means a lot of time standing in place — and, occasionally, a need to develop thick skin.

“If we get one positive comment, that makes up for 10 people saying something mean,” Schultz said Wednesday outside the 24 Hour Fitness on West 19th Street, after a passerby gave her a lengthy spiel to defend nuclear power.

The Costa Mesa office is one of three locations Greenpeace operates in Southern California, joining others in Los Angeles and San Diego. Phil Radford, the nonprofit’s grassroots director in Washington, D.C., said Greenpeace had focused on the area because it was often a hotbed for activism.

“The people in Orange County and Los Angeles, generally, really care about environmental issues,” he said. “There’s a very high density of people who are passionate about those issues who are members of other groups.”

The local Greenpeace team has no official places to send canvassers to, but it gravitates to spots with a like-minded crowd. Abigail Smith, the office’s senior city coordinator, sends representatives to college campuses and outside Mother’s Market and Trader Joe’s, both of which emphasize eco-friendly foods.

Smith said global warming topped Greenpeace’s current concerns, but canvassers also carry literature on saving whales and urging the hygiene company Kimberly-Clark to use recycled products. Eric Bray, who joined Schultz on Wednesday, said the main obstacle he faced was convincing people global warming wasn’t a myth.

Some passersby, though, don’t need much persuasion. Newport resident Greg Minor said he was considering joining Greenpeace after talking with Schultz and Bray on the sidewalk.

“The ocean’s full of garbage,” he said. “People are saying global warming isn’t happening, when there’s so much evidence that it is.”

His friend Ned Kurfess also expressed interest in signing up.

“I’m a big fan of nature, and we’re wrecking the place,” he said. “If we don’t do something about it, in 50 years, I don’t know what it’s going to be like.”

MICHAEL MILLER may be reached at (714) 966-4617 or at michael.miller@latimes.com.