Climate Change

                              PROTECTING OUR AIR AND CLIMATE

California produces roughly 1.4 percent of the world's, and 6.2 percent of the total U.S., greenhouse gases (GHG).  In order to control and reduce GHG emissions, California has taken a proactive role. California's major initiatives for reducing climate change or greenhouse gas emissions are outlined in Assembly Bill 32 (signed into law 2006), 2005 Executive Order and a 2004 ARB regulation to reduce passenger car GHG emissions. These efforts aim at reducing GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 - a reduction of about 25 percent, followed by an 80 percent reduction below 1990 levels by 2050.

What The Air District Is Doing

The District’s climate protection program includes the integration of climate protection activities into existing District programs. The District is continually seeking ways to integrate climate protection into current District functions, including grant programs, CEQA review, inventory development, and outreach.  In addition, the District's climate protection program emphasizes collaboration with ongoing climate protection efforts at the local and State level, as well as public education, outreach, and technical assistance to cities and counties.

Since 2008, the District has committed to reporting its GHG emissions to The Climate Registry, a non-profit organization that sets standards and protocols to calculate, verify, and report GHG into a single registry.  On an annual basis, the District reports all GHG emissions attributed to its business operations.  These include emissions from our vehicle fleet, electricity and natural gas usage, as well as refrigerants used to maintain vehicles or business operations.

The District is currently exploring ways to implement measures aimed at reducing the District’s GHG emissions.

What You Can Do             

The most severe climate change impacts can still be avoided or reduced if we act now. We can all take actions to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Driving less or increasing fuel efficiency, will reduce GHG emissions.  Reducing the amount of waste we produce through recycling and composting, and using less electricity will also contribute to reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases.

What You Can Do At School

Students, educators, and school administrators can all play a key role in reducing GHG emissions. more info

Ten Things You Can Do

1. Drive Smart - Cut down on speeding, rapid acceleration and heavy braking. Inefficient driving can reduce gas mileage by 30%. Travel Matters
2. Light Right - Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones that use 60% less energy. more info
3. Pull the Plug - Disconnect electronic devices that are not in use. Passive usage now accounts for 10% of all home energy use.
4. Think Before You Fly - Take vacations closer to home and use teleconferences for work meetings. Air travel is one of the fastest-growing producers of greenhouse gas emissions.
5. 2 Degrees = 2,000 Pounds  Set the thermostat 2 degrees higher in the summer and lower in the winter to save one ton of carbon emissions yearly.
6. Turn off the Tap - Save water and save energy: 20% of electricity and 30% of natural gas in California is used just to transport, treat and heat water and wastewater.
7. Take the Oil Out of Your Food - Buy more local groceries and products instead of items that must be transported long distance.
8. Lose the Trash - Use products with less packaging. Manufacturing, transporting, and disposing of packaging all contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.
9. Cancel Your Carbon - Calculate your greenhouse gas emissions, then pay to “offset” the damage by funding low-carbon energy alternatives. Calculator
10. Be Loud (but not obnoxious) - Talk to your clients and vendors, community leaders and elected officials. Tell them you want climate protection to be “business as usual.” 

Climate Friendly Gardener   (PDF)

This is a guide to help in combating global warming from the ground up.