Steve Fleischli is director of the water program and a senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council in Santa Monica, California. Before participating in a panel on why everyone doesn’t have access to clean water, he professed his love of sausage, the beach, and Linkin Park in the Zócalo green room.
What’s your favorite pizza topping?
I’m going to have to say sausage.
What do you consider beautiful?
Nature, art, and music—anything that sort of evokes the passion of the soul.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
Should I say sausage? That may be it. Or ice cream.
How often do you actually set foot on the beach in Santa Monica?
Three times a week. Minimum.
What’s your favorite beach sport?
I love beach volleyball. And I like—although I rarely do it these days—surf kayaking. I love to run on the beach, and that’s what I do three days a week.
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
I’d say “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” or anything by Linkin Park.
What’s the last thing that inspired you?
Our big legal win on protecting the endangered smelt in the San Francisco Bay Delta.
As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
An environmental lawyer. Well, an environmental activist of some sort.
What superpower would you most like to have?
To be able to go back in time, or to have eternal life. Both of those would be kind of neat.
What’s your favorite constellation?
Probably just the Big Dipper. I know that’s not very exciting.