Wondering How to Cool Your Community?
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Plant a tree!
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Planting trees lowers the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and cools your home and neighborhood. If you live in Los Angeles City, you can request a tree for your property through
City Plants. If you live in unincorporated Los Angeles County, you can
request a tree for the space between your sidewalk and the road in front of your home. Or get involved with wider tree planting efforts through
TreePeople,
Life is Better with Trees, and other organizations and initiatives.
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Keep your home and neighborhood cool with a
cool roof
that reflects heat. Most cool roof materials are the same price as regular roof materials. Your energy bill will go down!
- Support efforts to increase the number of parks and green space in your neighborhood. These spaces help cool neighborhoods.
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Reducing greenhouse gas emissions slows climate change and its impacts, including extreme heat:
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Implement
easy strategies
that help reduce your contribution to climate change, which causes extreme heat and other negative impacts.
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Support policies and programs that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect our communities from climate impacts. These include:
- Public transportation and ways (like sidewalks, crosswalks, and bike lanes) that make it easier for people to walk and bike
- Tree planting, increasing green space, adopting cool roofs and cool and permeable pavement
- Recycling and composting
- Electric vehicles
- Renewable energy and energy efficiency programs
- Farmers markets and community gardens
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Refer to this comprehensive
Citizens Guide
for getting involved.
For Further Engagement
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Request a presentation
on climate change and health from a LA County Department of Public Health staff person, for your community group or professional organization.
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If you are a clinician, read our
Rx for Prevention article
about how to talk to your patients about protecting themselves from the health impacts of climate change.
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If you are a current undergraduate or graduate student, consider an
Academic Internship
with the LA County Department of Public Health Climate Change and Sustainability Program.