| Action | Title | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Generating Power From the Sun | Palo Alto - Solar Water Heating Rebates |
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| Making Your Household Safe | SF - Steps to Make your Home Safe |
More "Steps to Make your Home Safe" can be found within this link, developed by San Francisco. |
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| Participating in a Food Cooperative as a Block | LA - Azure Standard |
Start an organic buying co-op by bulk buying organic goods from Azure Standard with your neighbors. You will be able to buy high quality organic goods at bulk cost with no grocery store mark-up. |
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| Generating Power From the Sun | SF - Multi-Family Solar Sharing |
Check out this primer on virtual net energy metering. VNM increases access to renewable energy to many homes and businesses that previously could not directly benefit from a renewable energy system, such as renters. VNM helps occupants of multi-metered residential (and commercial) buildings receive direct benefits of the building's renewable energy system, rather than all of the benefits going to the building owner. This material was prepared by SF Environment under a U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative Rooftop Solar Challenge grant managed by SolarTech. |
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| Planting Gardens Together | LA - Urban Agriculture Incentive Zone |
Through the legislation AB551, LA set up the Urban Agriculture Incentive Zone (UAIZ) program. A flow-chart to the process can be found here. If there is a vacant, non residential lot in your neighborhood you may appeal to the landlord to turn it into a community agriculture project and they will receive a 70% reduction in property tax; this is a new LA county-wide incentive to encourage urban agriculture. Start a community garden in unused space and raise the sense of community in your neighborhood. |
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| Installing a Rain Barrel | SF - Rainwater Harvesting |
A rainwater harvesting system can be as simple as using a small home-made rain barrel or installing a large cistern or underground storage tank. Capturing rainwater at your home or business reduces the use of drinking water for irrigation, and helps reduce runoff from entering our combined sewer system during storm events. This resource from the SF Public Utiities Commission includes a link to the SF Rainwater Harvesting Manual and information about the recently expanded rainwater harvesting program. |
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| Buying an Energy-Efficient Car | LA - Charge Up L.A. - rebate program |
LADWP will reimburse you for some of the costs involved in preparing your home for an electric vehicle. |
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| Reducing Your Household Waste | SF - Zero Waste |
Resources for residential customers i.e. recycling, composting, bulky item collection and household hazardous waste, provided by SF Environment. |
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| Eliminating the Use of Toxic Pesticides, Herbicides, and Fertilizers in Your Garden | LA - Backyard Composting for Gardening |
The County of LA (LADPW) sells discounted backyard compost bins. Bins are sold at select workshops, where you can learn how to compost. See also The Growing Club which offers community lessons in composting every 2nd Saturday of the month. Organic compost acts as a soil enriching alternative to chemical fertilizers. Protect the health of yourself and your community as well as the health of the soil and water supply. |
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| Achieving Maximum Energy Efficiency | PG&E Rebate Programs |
Save energy, costs and time with rebate programs from PG&E. |
Our neighborhood. Our planet.
Resources
“Cities are the platform for change in our world today. The Cool Block links the challenges facing our planet to the intimate, personal, social scale of the city block. This program starts and ends with the premise and promise—that the individual, household, and neighbors are the way forward in the face of seemingly insoluble global problems.”
