Blog
A space for learning.
Free Extreme Heat Forum on Tuesday, August 15
If you (or someone you know) are 65 and older, live on California’s Central Coast, and are concerned about rising temperatures in our community, we invite you to join us for our inaugural Extreme Heat Forum presented by the Gray Panthers Santa Barbara Network, Society of Fearless Grandmothers Santa Barbara, and the Community Environmental Council on Tuesday, August 15, 2023, from 5:00-7:00 p.m.
CEC’s New Environmental Hub Sprouts in the Heart of Downtown Santa Barbara
CEC’s New Environmental Hub is A Focal Point and Incubator for Climate Activism and Awareness
Climate and Economics – Moving Toward a Circular Model to Reduce Waste
Get inspired by the circular economy model and hear from leaders of local companies who are implementing its best practices. Learn how they are growing businesses while reducing impact and find out how you can become a part of this global movement.
WIN: AB1276 passes to help eliminate single-use plastics from take-out and delivery orders #SkipTheStuff
Thank you for helping pass AB1276! We now have a policy in place that requires that restaurants and online food delivery platforms list the accessories they provide so that customers can choose only what they need. This will help eliminate millions of tons of single-use foodware from entering the waste stream. Local jurisdictions are creating their own implementation strategies and CEC is working with the City of Goleta in the hopes that they will include an EPS (Styrofoam) ban in their plan.
Reverse. Repair. Protect. CEC’s Bold Climate Action Plan
The White House has officially declared we are in a climate emergency. It’s time to lean into local solutions like never before – and that means unrelenting, focused, inclusive, and courageous climate action on the Central Coast.
CEC has outlined an ambitious plan for how our community can meet this urgent moment and go all in together on halting the climate crisis – rapidly and equitably – through three major efforts:
Reverse: Push for ambitious, equitable zero emissions and zero waste goals for the energy, transportation, food, and agriculture sectors
Repair: Tap into the power of nature to draw down excess carbon from the atmosphere and repair the disrupted carbon cycle
Protect: Safeguard the health of our general public and vulnerable populations from the impacts of climate change already underway
Circular Economy 101: Closing the Life Cycle Loop
Join us for an introduction to a new model – the circular economy – that requires producers to take responsibility, save energy, design waste out of the system, and create a market for re-use.
LOSS: SB 54 and AB 1080 fail to pass California legislature
CEC and Santa Barbara Channelkeeper are sad to share that the landmark California Circular Economy and Plastic Pollution Reduction Act (SB 54 and AB 1080) failed to pass the California legislature.
Inside Julia’s Kitchen: Meet Julia Blanton, SBC Food Rescue Program Coordinator
Recently on Inside Julia’s Kitchen, a podcast of The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts, host Todd Schulkin talked with CEC’s SBC Food Rescue Coordinator Julia Blanton about food rescue and how it has been used to address food insecurity and put restaurants back to work during the Covid-19 pandemic. Plus, Julia shares her “Julia Moment”.
A Lunch Service for the Planet
For several years, the online learning company lynda.com has provided free daily lunch for employees. Now the Carpinteria-based company is helping employees Ditch Plastic by piloting a reusable container system for those who want to take their lunch to-go.
Drinking It In: Eliminating single-use plastic bottles
Rethink the Drink started in 2010 with a simple concept: provide schools with an alternative to single-use plastic water bottles and see if habit change followed. Four years later, we are proud to report that habit change is indeed possible. There are now 39 water refill stations in schools and community facilities across Santa Barbara County, and they have been used more than 870,000 times. Creating a single plastic water bottle emits 2.6 pounds of carbon dioxide, thus the amount of carbon dioxide emissions mitigated by our refill stations is more than 2 million pounds.
From 47 Million Plastic Bags to Fewer Than 5 Million
The saying goes that ‘a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.’ Sometimes it begins with a single plastic bag.
Climate Solutions for a Better World: Connecting the dots
On Thursday, February 13th, over 100 business leaders, nonprofit executives and 1% for the Planet members convened at Citrix in Goleta, Ca. for Connect the Dots, a conference that highlighted steps being taken by companies, NGOs and individuals to build resilient communities in an era of unprecedented climate change.
Thank You for Fueling the Clean Energy Movement
Thanks to our supporters we've been able to make some big strides in the clean energy movement on the Central Coast.
CEC's results in 2013
The Community Environmental Council (CEC) is a small and dedicated non-profit with a very big mission: ending the Santa Barbara region’s dependence on fossil fuels in one generation. It's been a busy year for CEC. After all, moving our region off fossil fuels is no small task.
Students Are Part of the Plastic-Reduction Solution
“I want to do something about all the plastic waste. I want to be an environmental scientist.” Those words of wisdom and hope came from a seventh-grade girl at La Cumbre Junior High earlier this month. The Community Environmental Council’s (CEC) Rethink the Drink staff visited the school and spoke to over 300 students about the importance of reducing our dependence on single-use plastic products.
MedBridge Earns Green Business Status
When the Santa Barbara-based ambulatory surgical center (ASC) and physician practice management company, MedBridge, purchased a new building and moved its headquarters into the funk zone, the executive team knew they wanted the location to demonstrate the company’s “holistic approach to building and core values as a business,” said MedBridge Chief of Staff Ruth Loomer, co-chair of CEC’s Partnership Council.