Months after what President Obama has deemed “the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced,” we have yet to see the end of the problems caused by the BP oil spill in the Gulf Coast.

President Obama has urged action on an energy bill to change the way the nation consumes and generates energy, saying the expanding oil spill is “the most painful and powerful reminder that the time to embrace a clean energy future is now.”

The disaster has been a nationwide wakeup call.

In Los Angeles, local environmental groups are pushing for stronger legislation to protect California beaches, while some L.A. residents have voiced their concerns through weekly protests.

But what about the Angelenos who foresaw this disaster long before it struck? Many have long known that inspiring great change is derived from individual efforts.

Join Neon Tommy in a weekly series to find L.A. residents, businesses and organizations dedicated to living greener, cleaner and more sustainable lifestyles.

These local movers and shakers show us that living a “greener” lifestyle may be the first step we need to take in order to solve our environmental woes.

Week Four

Sometimes the best remedy to any problem is to laugh.

The environmental crisis is no exception. NT speaks with eco-comic, Jackie Eco.

NT: When did you start getting involved in the environmental movement?
JE: I've genuinely been an environmentalist since I was 13-years-old. I was concerned about the state of the world and wanted to make a positive difference.

PETA sent me a truckload of literature after I wrote them a snotty letter.

I was on their [PETA's] mailing list, and they would send me stuff about the welfare of animals, and I wrote them asking why they hadn't done anything to protect the animals in my neighborhood. I remember the neighborhood boys would go around bragging about how they shot squirrels and cats, and it broke my heart.

PETA sent me some literature in response, and I read about the torture of animals, factory farming practices and animal testing, just to name a few issues.

I was completely shocked and horrified, and I decided then that I wanted to make the world a better place. I started to think about every single thing I did in my life. I was put on a path to ask more questions and to not follow blindly.

NT: When did you first get into doing comedy?
JE: I started in 1999, and did it for a while before I took some time off to do some environmental and animal rescue work.

NT: What do you talk about in your act?
JE: I started off doing comedic impressions, and later I began to talk about my experiences, like dating men on veggiedate.org and greensingles.org.

NT: I didn't know that those sites even existed.
JE: Trust me, there are very few people on there.

NT: What were your experiences on those sites like?
JE: Very...comedic. One man who hit me up referred to himself as McVegan, and for his location, he put 'Frito Lay Truck.'

NT: Where do you perform?
JE: I've performed at the Laugh Factory, The Comedy Store and have hosted environmental events such as WorldFest, which is L.A.'s largest Earth Day festival.

NT: Are you still doing gigs?
JE: I'm not performing as much right now because I'm currently working on a sketch comedy video and filming an environmental educational video, as well as editing my own comedy act videos.

To reach reporter Amanda Tran, click here.

Follow her on Twitter @amandajtran