South L.A. among communities awarded state grants for climate projects
Climate change has become a major focus of civic engagement efforts in Los Angeles.
City leaders and elected officials are using climate change to catalyze new approaches to public health, livability and economic growth around the city.
Los Angeles will receive at least $5.8 million in grants from the state last month after winning its fair share of citywide and countywide grants.
The city’s climate transformation plan, adopted in 2015, was one of the top priorities set out in the state’s Climate Resilience Strategy, which also led to $50 million in cash for community planning initiatives.
This month, the Los Angeles County Office of Environmental Health Services will receive $7.3 million to support community health efforts.
But the $10 million in countywide grants marks a far higher percentage of funding than it has received at any time since 2013, when it received $3 million.
These increases of more than 20 percent are likely to continue into 2016 and beyond, according to data from the California Climate Assessment Tool.
“Climate-related health is already a major focus for us in the health department because of the increased health and climate concerns that we have had in our community,” said Steve Pang, chief of Environmental Health Services. “The number of people that die of indoor air pollution because it’s not cool enough in the summer is a direct consequence of the climate, so we are really emphasizing this part.”
The grants are among a number of money-laundering schemes in which the city has tried to cash in on the climate change issue by spending public dollars to promote the idea that the climate crisis is an urgent problem requiring investment and outreach.
It’s a message that is now being spread across the city in new ways with each grant.
“Part of being a climate leader is having a plan in place, and that plan is for the City of Los Angeles, and that plan is to have a plan in place for the city’s climate
