Beat the Heat: Lessons Learned from the Fastest Warming County in the Nation And How You Can Ensure Neighbors Are Safe When Temperatures Rise
About this Webinar
Did you know Ventura County is warming faster than almost anywhere else in the United States? Hear how this impacts those on the frontlines of heat, and what we’re learning from local to national experts about what we can do as cities and individuals to address this urgent issue. You’ll learn how all of us can help mobilize resources to protect those most at risk — from farm workers to youth. We also share broader solutions in the works aimed at knitting together a tighter social fabric, such as neighborhood-based resource centers where community members can get the help they need when extreme heat hits. Presented in English with Spanish interpretation in collaboration with the Atlantic Council and CAUSE.
We are only able to offer webinars like this to the community free of charge, thanks to the generosity of individuals like you. Please consider a gift to CEC in support of programming like this webinar.
Watch the recording to learn:
Why heat is the number one threat to our population
Why a new initiative to build Community Resilience Centers is central to heat preparedness
How youth are driving heat solutions in Santa Paula schools
What local communities can do to protect themselves
Find resources below, shared in the webinar, and get involved in our work to implement community-based solutions that protect our most vulnerable, just like Jeff Bridges encourages everyone to do in this short video.
Speakers:
Fabiola Gomez, Community Organizer, Central Coast United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE)
Jennifer Hernández, Director of Climate Justice, Community Environmental Council
Kurt Shickman, Director of Heat Initiatives, Adrienne Arsht Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center (Arsht Rock)
Host:
Sigrid Wright, CEO/Executive Director, Community Environmental Council
Moderator:
Em Johnson, Director of Climate Resilience, Community Environmental Council
Resources
Take action to support extreme heat resilience:
Help Santa Paula High School students get 10 hydration stations by the beginning of next school year
Share about the impacts of heat with your social media communities with pre-created graphics in multiple languages from Arsht-Rock.
Learn more about Community Resilience Hubs and other efforts underway at the local and state level:
Read a blog about work underway to build neighborhood Resilience Hubs.
Read more about CEC’s work with Resilience Hubs and who to contact to get involved
Find guidance for city officials, practitioners, and financial institutions to reduce impacts of extreme heat with Arsht-Rock’s Heat Action Platform
See CAUSE’s local work to track and provide solutions for extreme heat with Achieving Resilient Communities
Be aware of heat trends with this Real Time Heat Risk from the National Weather Service
Learn more about how you can help protect your neighbors from extreme heat:
Learn how to prepare for heat, stay safe when it’s hot, and recognize heat illnesses from Ready.gov
Get guidance on playing school sports or other outdoor activities from the California Department of Public Health
Learn more about heat impacts:
Watch the StoryCenter series of personal stories from agricultural workers
Read Ventura County’s report Farmworkers at Risk: The Growing Dangers of Pesticides and Heat
Explore and understand how extreme heat will impact specific communities across the state with the CA Heat Assessment Tool
Want to take more action?
Sign up to join CEC's Political Action Network and read more about CEC’s 2023 Policy Platform.
We are deeply grateful to our partners Rooted Language Justice for providing Spanish language interpretation and translation. Look for more bilingual webinars over the next few months.
