Wondering How to Cool Your Community?

• Plant a tree!
• 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.
• 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.
• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions slows climate change and its impacts, including extreme heat:
• Implement easy strategies that help reduce your contribution to climate change, which causes extreme heat and other negative impacts.
• 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
  • Refer to this comprehensive Citizens Guide for getting involved.

For Further Engagement

• 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.
• 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.