cecsb
By the Community Environmental Council
The Community Environmental Council (CEC) recently announced it was named a member of the national Extreme Heat Resilience Alliance (EHRA), an initiative of the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center (Arsht-Rock) . As an EHRA member, CEC will bring awareness to the increasing threat of extreme heat events in California’s Central Coast Region—like the widespread heat wave last week that sparked the first excessive heat warning of the season.
As Kurt Shickman, Director of the Extreme Heat Initiatives for Arsht-Rock shared when he participated in CEC’s Extreme Heat Webinar held in early June, “Extreme heat kills more people per year than any other climate disaster and negatively affects nearly every human activity and society worldwide. The magnitude of the danger cannot be overstated and the number of people exposed to extreme heat only rises as the world urbanizes. That’s why we have to work together to mobilize innovative and replicable solutions that build resilience to extreme heat. The actions we take to build heat resilience can have benefits that are as broad as the dangers that heat poses.”
Assisted by the new partnership, CEC is launching an Extreme Heat campaign for the months of July, August and September. The campaign will share stories, tips, and resources to help California Central Coast residents learn how to protect themselves and their communities from rising temperatures, and share what local organizations and municipalities are doing to build heat resilience. Information will be shared via CEC’s website, email newsletter, and social media accounts. California residents can also find statewide resources from the Governor’s Office at heatreadyca.com.
“As a Climate leader for California’s Central Coast, we recognize that without community resilience, extreme heat will continue to exacerbate the underlying inequalities within our region,” said CEC Director of Climate Resilience Em Johnson. “Leading a regional coalition of over fifteen government agencies, grassroots organizations and community-based organizations, our vision as an EHRA partner is to reduce our region’s economic and health disparities related to the prevalence of extreme heat.”
Ventura County is warming faster than any other county in the contiguous U.S., with neighboring Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties not far behind. In 2021, Ventura County alone experienced 20 extreme heat events—more than any previously recorded years. Higher temperatures put the health and well-being of the most vulnerable—including agricultural workers, youth, and the elderly—in serious jeopardy. High temperatures can not only lead to heat stroke and related conditions, but also contribute to cardiovascular, respiratory, and cerebrovascular diseases. Heat waves are associated with increased hospital admissions for cardiovascular, kidney, and respiratory disorders. Excessive heat can also damage food crops, injure or kill livestock, and raise the risk of wildfires.
One action already underway in Santa Barbara County is the establishment of community climate resilience hubs that provide centralized disaster services, support, and education to residents who are most vulnerable or at high risk during disasters. The Santa Barbara Regional Climate Collaborative, in partnership with CEC, received a grant to plan and design a network of these resilience hubs that will be located in Carpinteria, Cuyama, and Santa Barbara. Individuals and organizations are working together to design and plan what services will be offered at these Hubs, and making plans for how to operate during climate disruptions.
Strategies like this offer scalable, multi-benefit solutions to climate impacts. CEC has been developing and advocating for such practical solutions to environmental challenges for over half a century, stretching back to the organization’s founding. Community members interested in learning more about how Resilience Hubs and other solutions to extreme heat impacts can be implemented in their region can learn more at: https://cecsb.org/resilience-hubs.
About the Extreme Heat Resilience Alliance (EHRA): EHRA, led by Arsht-Rock, was created to meet the need for a diverse, multi-sectoral effort to address impacts of rising temperatures. EHRA is committed to protecting lives and livelihoods from extreme heat, with a focus on people and communities most vulnerable to heat impacts. CEC joins over 60 Alliance partners around the world – all working to address extreme heat impacts – including community partners, policymakers and practitioners, and experts in climate science, public health, disaster response, engineering, architecture, insurance and finance. EHRA’s work focuses in four key areas: educating decision-makers linked to vulnerable people; policy and governance; finance and risk transfer; and on-the-ground implementation. CEC will work with its partners to leverage resources, strategies, and solutions developed by EHRA to strengthen and improve heat resilience planning on California’s Central Coast.
About The Community Environmental Council: CEC advances rapid and equitable solutions to the climate crisis – including ambitious zero carbon goals, drawdown of excess carbon, and protection against the impacts of climate change. CEC was recognized as a 2020 California Nonprofit of the Year and a City of Santa Barbara Climate Hero, and is led by CEO Sigrid Wright who was recently named 2022 Congressional Woman of the Year. CEC has worked since 1970 to incubate and innovate real life environmental solutions that directly affect the California Central Coast. Our programs lead to clean vehicles, solar energy, resilient food systems and reduction of single-use plastic. Learn more about the work of CEC and why it receives high ratings from both Charity Navigator and Guidestar at CECSB.org/impact.
Find CEC on the web at CECSB.org and on Facebook.com/CECSB, Instagram.com/CEC_SB, Twitter.com/CECSB, and Linkedin.com/company/cecsb
