| Action | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Creating Sustainable Landscaping | Palo Alto - Free Workshops on Sustainable Landscaping |
Every spring and summer, the City of Palo Alto Utilities (CPAU) offers free classes in partnership with BAWSCA (Bay Area Water Supply & Conservation Agency) on composting, mulching, waterwise landscaping, irrigation, graywater and rainwater harvesting and tree drought survival workshops. Visit the website or call (650)329-2241 for more information. |
| Cutting Emissions from Heating | SF - Energy Efficiency Tips |
Check out these energy efficiency resources/tips for homes, provided by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (PUC). |
| Reducing Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) | LA - Plan your trip on bicycle |
The city of LA has provided maps of bicycle routes and transportation options so that you may combine a bike journey with public transportation. Metro buses and trains allow bikes on all lines. |
| Developing Your Communication Systems for an Emergency * |
AlertSCC ReadySCC - for Android ReadySCC - for iPhone |
AlertSCC is a reverse 911 service for emergency/disaster messages from Santa Clara County sent to your cell phone, mobile device, email, or landline. The ReadySCC mobile app provides critical alerts via push notification, location of emergency shelters and up to date evacuation maps. Additionally, your Block Preparedness Coordinator is a reliable source of information to and from the city. |
| Becoming a Wise Buyer | Palo Alto - Transition |
Transition Palo Alto hosts activities and events to encourage environmentally sustainable lifestyles. Transition is unique in its focus on both inner and outer sustainability and resilience. A critical part of the change is to recognize that consuming less while strengthening local connections can mean a more meaningful and more satisfying existence. |
| Bartering Goods and Services on the Block | Palo Alto - Transition |
Transition Palo Alto hosts twice monthly garden and skill shares where people bring garden produce and share ideas for growing, cooking, and preserving. Bi-monthly Share Faires encourage people to share a wide variety of goods, from garden produce to books, clothing, kitchen supplies, craft supplies, and more. We encourage you to consider looking at the Transition sharing activities as a model for how you might do something similar on your block. All Transition Palo Alto sharing activities are ‘shares’ not ‘swaps’. There’s no quid pro quo. You can bring things, whether or not you’re also taking something, and can take goods, whether or not you’ve also brought something. This flexibility fosters a sense of community and true sharing. |
| Generating Power From the Sun | SF - GoSolarSF Incentive |
The City of San Francisco will help lower the out-of-pocket costs for installing a solar electricity system on your residence. GoSolarSF is a City program that has helped residents and businesses install thousands of kilowatts of solar energy on residential, business and nonprofit rooftops across San Francisco, reducing participants’ electricity bills and shrinking the City’s carbon footprint. See also this Consumer Guide for Solar Water Heating. |
| Creating a Healthy Block Club | SF - Planning - Green Connections Network |
The Green Connections Network is a map of 24 routes, totaling 115 miles of streets across the City that will be improved to better connect people to parks and open spaces. Green Connections aims to increase access to parks, open spaces, and the waterfront by envisioning a network of “green connectors.” The project aims to make the City more healthy, sustainable, and livable. |
| Planting Trees | LA - Beautification Team |
LABT implements greening projects and tree planting -- planting trees and handling residential trees distributions events. Areas of responsibility includes part of Central LA and the East Valley. |
| Buying an Energy-Efficient Car | LA - CA Clean Vehicle Rebate Project |
The Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP) promotes clean vehicle adoption in California by offering rebates of up to $6,500 for the purchase or lease of new, eligible zero-emission vehicles, including electric, plug-in hybrid electric and fuel cell vehicles. |
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.”
