By John Hankins
Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns that affect the natural environment and the health of all flora and fauna, humans too. Blame our own activities that have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels.
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SANTA BARBARA COUNTY
~ SB Community Environmental Council offers Training for climate action, which has already guided hundreds of community members to stand up for climate action.
A wide range of people of all ages have taken the course, via Zoom sessions and on-site trips. Details here: https://tinyurl.com/CECstewards
Next course is from Sept. 9 to Oct. 28, 2025. CEC Director of Outreach and Education Kathi King and teaching assistant Ali Hanson are both graduates of the course. Questions should be directed at: kking@cecmail.org
~ SB County Sustainability Division has a whole lot of excellent information and action, and it reminds residents that “community participation is key to the success of the County’s climate goals.”
Sign up for the monthly Sustainability Newsletter and Climate Resilient SBC to log your sustainability and climate actions. Earn points and compete against your friends and neighbors as you do your part to move County towards its climate goals. Note: County adopted its 2030 Climate Action Plan a year ago in August, but it lacked an oil/gas plan.
Learn about it all here: https://tinyurl.com/SBactionPlan
~ SB County Air Pollution Control District was originally part of the county government. In 1994, it became an independent agency. Sign up to receive notifications about air quality matters. https://www.ourair.org/subscribe/
~ Regional Climate Collaborative of Santa Barbara County is a new multi-sector network of organizations working together to advance climate mitigation and resiliency. It was created in 2020, Check it out at:
https://www.countyofsb.org/343/Our-Work
VENTURA COUNTY
~ Air Pollution Control District of Ventura County is now paying residents and organizations to ditch gasoline and diesel-powered landscaping equipment for zero-emission cordless electric tools.
It sponsors the Lawn & Garden Equipment Exchange Program, providing $937,500 in vouchers to Ventura County residents, businesses, nonprofits and public agencies.
Eligible applicants will receive vouchers that they can submit to participating retailers with their old operable equipment, which will be destroyed.
Current retailers are Mac’s Lawnmowers in Newbury Park, Cal-Coast Machinery and Pacific Equipment in Oxnard and Ace Hardware in Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks.
For more information contact Heidy Yupe 805-303-3655 or heidy@vcapcd.org
~ 350.org of Ventura, a member of the 350 Southland Legislative Alliance that selects state bills and actions in Sacramento and regional actions for climate and environmental justice.
It is forming Climate Action Coalitions to push for urgent climate action by the cities of Ojai, Oxnard, Thousand Oaks, and Ventura County agencies.
Join the Climate Hub, general meetings one or two per month, usually on Thursdays 6:30 - 8:30 pm. Volunteers are welcome. https://world.350.org/ventura/
~ Conejo Climate Coalition was created out of concern about climate and environmental impacts to Thousand Oaks and surrounding areas. CCL is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, grassroots advocacy group. “It's time for California to make polluters pay into a climate superfund that will get money to communities most in need of recovery and resilience. The companies who are responsible for these climate-fueled disasters should be the ones to pay for the damage, not California residents,” the website says:
https://tinyurl.com/PollutersShouldPay