Blog
A space for learning.
What We're Reading: Cadillac Desert, Eating on the Wild Side, and The Climate Casino
We recently asked CEC’s Staff, Board, and Partnership Council about their roles as thought leaders in the Santa Barbara community, asking what books, articles, films, apps, podcasts, and other multimedia are influencing their work. Today we’re hearing from Megan Birney, Dennis Allen, and Karl Hutterer. Stay tuned for the next installment of this series!
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.
How to Eat Well and Live Happily on Our Local Abundance
How do we create a resilient food system that supplies an abundance of fresh fruit, vegetables, cheese, eggs, meat, seafood and spirits—and stitches together our community in the process? By bringing it local. Very local.
Trading Eggs for Wine in the 2013 Eat Local Challenge
When Kaitlyn Stewart decided to participate in the Eat Local Challenge, she never imagined she’d be trading her eggs for local wine with a neighbor.
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.
Eating Local with Creativity and Zucchini Noodles
When Georgianna Wilson committed to the Eat Local Challenge for the month of October, she didn’t think it was going to be that challenging. She was already signed up for weekly produce boxes through Plow to Porch, a local CSA program, and to top it off, she won one of the local food baskets in the Eat Local Giveaway by CEC and Edible Santa Barbara.
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.
Krista H. Reflects on the Eat Local Challenge
For the fifth year, Edible Santa Barbara along with the Community Environmental Council, the Santa Barbara Certified Farmers Market and the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County sponsored the Eat Local Challenge, which encourages people to take a personal pledge to eat and drink local products for the month of October. The challenge is a great way to encourage people to think about where their food comes from and to perhaps change the way they shop and eat.
What We're Eating: Local Food
To celebrate Eat Local Month this October, we asked CEC’s Staff, Board, and Partnership Council about what local foods they’re indulging in, where they make their purchases, and what the local food scene means to them.
Today we're hearing from Sigrid, Jules, Jordan, and Dennis.
What We're Eating: Local Food
To celebrate Eat Local Month this October, we asked CEC’s Staff, Board, and Partnership Council about what local foods they’re indulging in, where they make their purchases, and what the local food scene means to them.
Today we're hearing from Krista, Sarah, Dawn, and Kathi. Stay tuned for the next installment of this series.
Why We Should Eat More Plants
A few years ago, Al Gore was asked why he didn’t mention the environmental impact of animal agriculture in his groundbreaking 2006 documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. His candid answer (that getting people to drive a hybrid is easy, while getting them to give up animal products is almost impossible) speaks volumes about the personal nature of environmental politics.
It’s Almost Time for the Eat Local Challenge
Those of us who live in Santa Barbara know that one of our greatest local treasures is the abundance of fresh produce, meat, and seafood that can be sourced regionally. However, you might be surprised to find out that while Santa Barbara County is in the top 1% of agricultural producing counties in the U.S., 95% of the produce we eat is imported. In more extreme cases, the food we eat was sourced locally, shipped overseas for processing and sent back to Santa Barbara to end up on your plate. Take calamari for example.
We Challenge You to Eat Locally This October
When you browse the produce section of a typical grocery store, you'll find that much of the food we eat is not sourced from local farmers, but typically travels from all corners of the world. It takes a lot of energy to produce fertilizers and pesticides, package and process the food, and then transport and store it. By choosing to eat locally-sourced food you’ll save energy and is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint.
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.
A New Mom Takes the Eat Local Challenge
