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Click on an organization to see a description and its hyperlink, if available.       

Examples of City Agencies

City of Irvine–Environmental Affairs Department

City of Long Beach

City of Los Angeles — Department of Public Works

City of Los Angeles–Department of Water and Power

City of Los Angeles–Environmental Affairs Department 

City of Los Angeles – Harbor Department

City of Santa Monica–Environmental Programs

City of Santa Monica – Solid Waste Management

County and Regional Agencies

County Websites

Cooperative Extension Programs

istrict Attorney’s Offices — Environmental Protection Units

Environmental Health Offices

Flood Control

Hazardous Materials Management

Local Agency Formation Commissions

Los Angeles County – Department of Public Works (DPW)

Los Angeles County – Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)

Los Angeles County – Sanitation Districts 

Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District (MDAQMD)

South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD)

Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG)

Vector Management Programs (Insects, Rats & Pests)

Water Districts and Agencies

A Project For The United Nations Environment Programme

“All things are interconnected . . .
Whatever befalls the earth befalls the people of earth.
Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it.
Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.”
. . . attributed to Chief Seattle

All known life exists within the thin, fragile layer which lies between the earth’s crust and the vast universe. Humanity is now its caretaker. Exponential population growth, from one billion to nearly six billion people in the last 150 years, coupled with wasteful consumption patterns, have brought about an unprecedented environmental crisis: we are poisoning our land, water, and air, depleting natural resources, and destroying the biosphere which maintains life.

The World Commission on Environment and Development, established by the General Assembly of the United Nations, served an urgent notice in 1987. They proclaimed that hope for future life on earth depends on our taking decisive action now to manage environmental resources. They called for a common endeavor and for new norms of behavior in the interest of all.

The responsibility belongs to each of us. We can no longer make our decisions in isolation of the larger whole. Our planet is a delicately balanced system, and we are all inheritors of our past actions. We must each assess the consequences of our daily decisions–our purchases, our use of natural resources, our methods of waste disposal. Our economic decisions can no longer be based simply on short-term gain; long-range effects on health and environment must be part of the equation. Stewardship and reverence for all of life need to be in the forefront of our thinking. The whole system and its future must be considered if life on this planet is to survive and prosper.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) invites you to take increased responsibility for the critical condition of our environment. Following are suggestions on what each of us can do in our daily lives to make a difference.

ENERGY

The United States is 96% dependent on nonrenewable oil, coal, and natural gas. Burning these fossil fuels produces gases that are polluting and seriously damaging our environment. Carbon dioxide build-up is causing a global greenhouse effect that will likely raise temperatures and sea levels, disrupting agriculture and ecosystems worldwide. The U.S. adds over a billion tons of carbon to the atmosphere each year. Sulfur and nitrogen oxides contribute to acid rain, which is killing fish, trees and crops, damaging buildings, and polluting water. Nuclear energy is expensive, technically problematic, and environmentally risky. Renewable energy is safe and plentiful, and cost competitive — if we do total cost accounting. Using energy efficiently can greatly reduce household energy requirements.

Solutions

• Use public transportation, carpool, bike, or walk.
• Drive less, combine trips.
• Use an energy efficient car, preferably one that gets over 40 mpg; better would be a natural gas or fuel cell car, best is an electric car charged from solar cells.
• Save gas by driving smoothly, within the speed limit; have regular tune-ups and emissions checks, use correctly inflated radial tires.
• Get a free or low-cost home energy audit from your utility company.Invest in ample insulation, weather-stripping, and caulking.
• Use natural gas rather than electricity for heat and appliances for a considerable savings in energy costs.
• Use a clock thermostat to control heat; turn down the thermostat a few degrees, especially at night and when house is empty; wear warmer clothes and use more blankets in winter.
• Close off and do not heat or air-condition unused rooms.
• Use insulating shades and curtains on cold winter nights and hot summer days; allow sun in on cold days for heat.
• Install double pane windows, storm windows, or “superwindows.”
• Install passive-solar south windows for space heating, and solar collectors for water heating.
• Cool house in summer by opening windows at night and closing them during the day; use attic fans and window coatings; use a room air conditioner rather than a central system.
• Plant deciduous shade trees that protect west and south windows from summer sun but allow sunlight in during the winter when they lose their leaves.
• Use electricity and hot water efficiently and sparingly.
• Add an insulation blanket to your water heater; turn it down to 120 degrees; insulate hot water pipes.
• Use high-efficiency electrical appliances, compare energy guide labels.
• Use your clothes dryer only when you have a full load; air dry on a clothes line whenever possible.
• Use low-voltage, low-watt or compact fluorescent light bulbs.
• Turn off heat, water heater, and pilot lights when you are on vacation.
• Buy locally produced and recycled products to cut indirect energy use.

FOOD

The higher we eat on the food chain, the more natural resources and pesticides we consume. Animals raised for food in the U.S. eat enough grain to feed over five times the U.S. human population. If Americans reduced meat eating by 10%, the 12 million tons of grain saved annually could feed all the people on earth who starve to death. Animal agriculture is responsible for: 85% of topsoil loss; 260 million acres of U.S. forest destruction; over half our water consumption; 20 billion pounds of manure every day, contamination of groundwater; and use of 25 times the fossil fuel needed to produce the same amount of protein through grain only. Processing food wastes valuable resources. Pesticides poison groundwater, kill wildlife, and trigger the spread of insects and weeds resistant to pesticides. Our growing reliance on monoculture food crops is eroding the resilience of genetic diversity, increasing the likelihood of whole species being wiped out by pathogens, pests, and weather fluctuations.

Solutions

• Consider how the production of the food you eat affects the environment.
• Eat lower on the food chain: vegetables, fruits and grains; decrease or eliminate consumption of meat and animal products.
• Learn vegetarian recipes and encourage restaurants to serve vegetarian foods; in addition to environmental damage, the high cholesterol in meat contributes to many chronic diseases.
• Read the labels on food; buy foods that have not been heavily processed; learn which additives are harmful.
• Support laws that ban harmful pesticides and that require disclosure of pesticides, drugs, and other chemicals used in food production; support markets that offer contaminant-free food.
• Buy food grown organically if possible; organically grown food doesn’t use harmful pesticides, requires less energy-powered machinery, and recycles organic waste, thus retaining the nutrients in the soil.
• Grow food gardens rather than lawns, which saves water and energy and yields pesticide-free produce.
• Buy food grown locally and in season to cut energy consumption in transportation.
• Be aware that many consumer groups question the health and environmental safety of food irradiation, food irradiated plants, and transportation of radioactive substances; and seek labeling of all irradiated foods; ask your grocer if prepared/processed foods are irradiated.
• Support the development of seed exchanges and home gardening with heirloom varieties of seeds to maintain genetic diversity.
• Inform schools, hospitals, airlines, stores, restaurants, and the media of your food concerns.

WATER

In the United States, industrial and agricultural pollution, underground injection of waste disposal, and chemical wastes from mining and petroleum production are steadily accumulating in our rivers and lakes which are also sources of drinking water. Once groundwater is contaminated, it is extremely difficult and quite expensive to purify. Aquifers, or underground water supplies, are shrinking all over the world. In all but countries of very high rainfall, we are delving into and seriously depleting our “capital” instead of living off our “income” of available water.

Solutions

• Install sink faucet aerators and water-efficient showerheads; these use two to five times less water with no noticeable decrease in performance.
• Take showers instead of baths to cut water consumption.
• Don’t let water run when it’s not actively in use while you are showering, shaving, brushing your teeth, washing dishes or hand washing clothes.
• Promptly replace rubber washers on leaky water faucets.
• Use ultra low-flush or air-assisted toilets, saving 60-90% of water use; best are composting toilets which use no water and recycle organic waste.
• Use water-efficient washing machines and dishwashers, and run them only when they are full.
• When washing dishes in the sink, plug and fill second sink with rinse water rather than running water freely.
• Cut down on car washings, and shut off the hose when you are soaping car.
• Minimize hosing down your driveway or patio; sweep instead.
• Water your lawn only when the grass doesn’t spring back when it is stepped on.
• Water at night with a timer; use efficient equipment.
• Use an underground drip irrigation system for your garden; the water goes directly to the roots, without evaporation or wastage.
• Use rainwater or “greywater” from sinks and showers for plants and garden.
• Consult your nursery about plants native to your environment or from similar climates which require little or no watering (called xeriscaping).
• Buy phosphate-free, biodegradable soaps and detergents.
• Find out where your water comes from, what is in it, and what is being done to test or treat it; if it’s contaminated:Ask your congressperson to enforce laws on water safety.
• Join with local groups and neighbors in demanding that the industries responsible for contaminating ground water pay for cleaning it up.
• Request your water utility company to filter the water to remove products of chlorination.
• If necessary, install a home water filtration system to remove specific contaminants in your water.

TOXINS & POLLUTANTS . .

The earth’s protective ozone layer is being depleted by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), methyl bromide, methyl chloroform and carbon tetrachloride, which is increasing the likelihood of skin cancer, serious reduction of crop yields, and disruption of the marine food chain. CFCs are in refrigerators, air conditioning units, plastic foam insulation, solvents, and halon fire extinguishers. Advanced nations manufacture 70,000 different chemicals, most of which have not been thoroughly tested for toxicity. Much of the pollution that runs into our rivers and oceans is introduced through our homes by way of sewers and storm drains; insecticides, herbicides, car oil, paint, thinner, harsh cleansers, etc. Toxic substances thrown into the trash go to landfills or incinerators, and end up in our air, water, and soil.

Solutions

• Request a bill in Congress to provide funding to support a worldwide ban of CFCs, to ensure the safety of alternatives, to prohibit preventable emissions and to step up enforcement of the ban on the import of CFCs and CFC-produced items.
• If your car air conditioner is leaking or needs repair, ask your service station to install non-CFC equipment.
• Request your local government to collect and recycle the CFCs in old refrigerators and air conditioners.
• Avoid purchasing clothes that require dry cleaning, which uses toxic chlorinated solvents, or dry clean infrequently.
• Read labels, and buy the least toxic products available: “danger” or “poison” means highly toxic, “warning” means moderately toxic, “caution” means slightly toxic.
• Dispose of your toxic products through household hazardous waste collection: if it is not available, contact your elected representatives to mandate it.
• Use nonharmful substitutes; for cleaning: baking soda and/or salt can be used as a cleanser, vinegar in water cleans glass and tile floors, oil and vinegar polishes furniture and wood floors; for insects: peppermint, pennyroyal, or red chili powder repels ants, cloves and citrus oil repels flies.
• To control insects keep environment clean and screened.
• Replace asbestos heat insulation in exposed places.
• Test your home for radon.
• Test your house for formaldehyde gas; chipboard, plywood, insulation, carpet and upholstery may contain it.
• Avoid cigarette smoke; its gases are toxic.
• Join with local groups and neighbors to pressure polluting industries; support legislative initiatives that encourage industry to modify manufacturing processes to eliminate the production of hazardous wastes, and reduce, reuse, recycle what is produced.

WASTE REDUCTION/RECYCLING

In the United States, each year we generate nearly a ton of trash per person; 90% of this ends up in local landfills, half of which will be full within three years. Incineration causes molecules to regroup and form some of the most toxic molecules known. The most environmentally sound and cost effective means to alleviate the crisis is to reduce the amount of waste we generate in the first place. More than half our wastes can be economically recycled. Recycling existing manufactured materials instead of using virgin resources would save: for paper production, up to 75% of the energy, more than half the water needed, and millions of acres of forest; for drink containers, half a million tons of glass and fifty million barrels of oil annually, as well as 80% of the mining required for new glass; for aluminum, 95% energy savings, with similar savings in air and water pollution.

Solutions

• Reduce consumption wherever possible.
• Use rewashable mugs instead of plastic or paper cups, cloth instead of paper napkins, rags instead of paper towels.
• Double-side photocopies, use reverse sides of paper.
• Buy products in bulk or with the least packaging.
• Put parcels in one large bag rather than using several smaller ones.
• Bring your own canvas shopping bags to the market, or reuse plastic or paper bags.
• Buy products that are recycled, recyclable, reliable, repairable, refillable, reusable; avoid disposables.
• Buy returnable/recyclable glass, metals, or plastic containers.
• Ask for recycled paper at stationers and printers.
• Recycle motor oil, tires, and scrap metal.
• Don’t use disposable plastic items.
• For infants, use cloth diapers.
• Shop at second-hand thrift stores.
• Separate your recyclable garbage (newspaper, glass, paper, aluminum, and compost organic waste if you have a garden); only send to the landfill what you can’t reuse.
• Use curbside pick-up for recyclables if available; if not: contact your city council and request it.
• Support local, state, and national recycling legislation and initiatives.
• Request independent garbage companies to begin this service.
• Join with local environmental groups and neighbors to strengthen your position.
• If you live in an apartment house, establish a recycling system and arrange pickups.
• Make sure your business and any businesses you patronize recycle and always buy recycled products whenever possible.
• Or, make regular trips to your local recycling center; ask if they recycle plastics, batteries, and appliances.
• If you don’t have a recycling center, request that your city council establish one.
• Find local groups that can use your recyclables, old furniture, etc.
• and deliver them or arrange pickup.

PRESERVATION OF LIFE & ENVIRONMENT

Overpopulation and overuse stress the environment. The U.S. population is growing faster than any other industrialized country, and with only 5% of the world’s population, it uses 25% of the resources. Humanity’s short-sighted consumption has destroyed a majority of the earth’s forests, including over 50% of the rainforests in the last 30 years. We are now losing 214,000 acres per day, for agricultural development, cattle-grazing, settlements, fuel wood, and tropical lumber. The U.S. has only 4% of its original old-growth forests left. This loss of trees is contributing to the build-up of carbon in the atmosphere, to global climate change, to the destruction of native cultures and wisdom, and to the extinction of plants and animals which produce foods, medicines, and raw materials vital to human survival. Over half of the earth’s plant and animal species live in these rainforests. Overall, an estimated 50,000 species are going extinct per year (137 each day) due to habitat destruction, exploitation, and pollution.

Solutions

• Be aware that overpopulation stresses the environment; an average of two children per family (in a lifetime) achieves zero population growth.
• Reduce use of wood-based paper, through using recycled paper or paper made from kanaf or other plants.
• Don’t buy endangered plants, animals, or products made from overexploited species, such as furs, ivory, reptile skin or tortoise shell.
• Avoid buying wood from the tropical rainforests unless you are sure it was propagated by sustainable tree farming methods.
• Avoid food whose production endangers the environment, such as beef; if you do eat beef, ask supermarkets and restaurants if it is from rainforest cattle.
• Protect and plant trees; they produce oxygen from carbon dioxide and reduce pollution; around the home, they decrease rainwater runoff and increase natural cooling.
• Buy products from companies that don’t pollute or damage the environment and don’t test products on animals.
• Become informed on environmental issues and how they affect your life, your community, your world.
• Join, support, volunteer your time to organizations working on causes that are important to you.
• Use your local newspaper; write letters to the editor, contact a staff writer about a news story, take out an ad.
• Notify program directors of radio and television stations of newsworthy stories with environmental impact.
• It is very important to contact your elected representatives through letters, telegrams, calls or visits, to support bills that affect the environment (click here to go to legislation and advocacy organizations listed on the SCCED website).

Written by Kathleen Gildred for the United Nations Environment Programme, 1989

Dear Fellow Californian,

Our state is facing an electricity crisis this summer. But, it is within our power to make a difference, while reducing costs and avoiding blackouts.

Governor Gray Davis has suggested a challenge to all of us: if we reduce our energy use by 20% during the months of June through September from what we used last year during the same months, we will receive a 20% rebate on our electric bill.

Let’s all do whatever we can to help out during this challenging time for our state, and use this as an opportunity to do what we need to do anyway – reduce our dependence on fossil fuel. Please join us in cutting our use of electricity by 20% this summer. We can do this by:

1) Turning off lights and appliances that are not essential, such as computers, printers, cell phone chargers, etc., and most especially your old refrigerator in the garage;

2) Keeping inside air in and outside air out by insulating, weatherstripping, and caulking cracks and holes;

3) Setting air conditioner controls to 78 degrees or higher (especially when you are away at work) and using fans and natural ventilation when possible (open windows at night and close them during the day);

4) When shopping for lights and appliances, purchasing those that use the least energy; replace all incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs;

5) Drying your clothes on a clothesline whenever possible, and delaying use of clothes dryers and other large appliances until after 7 PM.

To further help you reduce your power, an excellent, extensive array of detailed information is available through the Department of Consumer Affair’s website, at www.flexyourpower.ca.gov. It includes:

* REBATE Database – A central clearinghouse of consumer rebates & incentives, customized for you from your energy suppliers

* Energy-Saving Tips and Consumer Tips for home, office, industry, and agriculture

* 20/20 Challenge – voluntary conservation program for residential, commercial and industrial customers – specifically how you can get to 20% reduction

* Power Walk – Free compact florescent light bulbs for low-income households administered by the California Conservation Corps

* Peak Load Reduction – Programs and financial incentives for commercial, industrial and agricultural users

There are many organizations that practice advocacy of various viewpoints on environmental issues, many of which are included in our organizational listings. A few of the groups that focus on advocacy are listed below.

The Global Action and Information Network (GAIN) supports and encourages actions for a sustainable society. This Web site gives easy access to information on: environmental legislation and policy, environmental and sustainability issues, and what you can do.

Green Scissors ’97 shows citizens how our government can: cut wasteful spending and subsidies, provide more freedom and flexibility for individuals and businesses, and protect the environment. Green Scissors ’97 offers Congress and the President proposals to cut spending and subsidies that cross ideological boundaries and political fault lines.

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is the bipartisan political arm of the environmental movement. LCV devotes itself full-time to educating voters and winning elections acknowledging the importance of advocacy, litigation and public education. LCV believes electoral politics is the most important and most neglected priority in environmental protection. Includes: The Green Guide to the 105th Congress.
See also the California League of Conservation Voters which is a statewide political action committee that works to elect environmentally responsible candidates to state and federal office, then hold them accountable to the environmental agenda.

20/20 Vision identifies the best way for you to spend 20 minutes to protect the environment and promote peace. They send you a monthly action postcard with the necessary information to write a brief letter or make a key phone call to policy makers facing crucial decisions. Your actions will help make the right choices for our earth and your community.

California Legislative Information is the official site for California legislative information and is maintained by the Legislative Counsel of California, pursuant to California law. The Web site includes Today’s Events, Bill Information, California Law, Legislative Publications and Your Legislature.

The California Senate Web site includes, Senator home pages, Legislation, Ballot measures and Election News, How to Participate in the Lawmaking Process, and more.

See the California State Assembly for legislative updates regarding the Assembly.

Capitol Reports, Environmental “News Link,” provides many links to obtain information on federal and state environmental legislation, regulations, court decisions, and regulatory agency activities. It also provides frequently updated news articles on current environmental issues.

The Federal Register Environmental Subset contains the full-text of selected Federal Register documents that deal with the environment or environment-related issues. These documents are downloaded from the Government Printing Office and posted to the U.S. EPA’s gopher and web servers on a daily basis.

On the THOMAS World Wide Web system, the Library of Congress makes Federal legislative information freely available to the Internet public. Includes: Current Floor Activities of Congress; Major Legislation; Bill Text, Summary and Status; Congressional Record Text and Index; Committee Reports; Databases; the Legislative Process; Historical Documents; and more.

Check the U.S. House of Representatives for current proceedings, or look at key committees such as Transportation and Infrastructure, Resources, Agriculture, and Appropriations.

Get an overview of the U.S. Senate activities or go directly to the Environment and Public Works Committee.

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California Highway Conditions shows current information on traffic, accidents, and construction reports for California and Nevada. For current L.A. area freeway speeds click here.

The L.A. Environmental Affairs Department provides some articles on current environmental issues affecting the City of Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Weather provides the latest weather reports for Southern California as well as satellite photos and resort information.

Los Angeles Times Web Site presents the current front page, business and sports stories. Its archives list all articles since 1990 and can provide you with the text for $1.50 per article. Up-to-the-minute personalized news, including daily Times stories, can be delivered direct to your computer screen via the PointCast Network.

Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) is a regional planning agency and a Council of Governments comprised of 184 cities in six counties. The site has lists of SCAG meetings and publications as well as the names of the current mayors and councilmembers of the cities and counties. The Preliminary Draft of the important ’97 Regional Transportation is available for your review and comments.

The Southern California Commuter Information Center shows where you can find out how to use Public Transit to get between any two locations, and obtain Carpool & Vanpool information. You can also locate the nearest Park & Ride lot, obtain real-time Freeway Traffic information, create a Customized Map for your destination and receive driving directions complete with a map that can assist you in your daily commute. It offers Useful Tips on a complete array of commute options, including bicycling.

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Capitol Reports, Environmental “News Link,” provides frequently updated news articles on current environmental issues.

CNN Interactive is a daily news service which includes a section focusing on the “Earth” .

Context Institute’s Sustainable Culture Information Service explores and clarifies just what is involved in a humane sustainable culture – and how we can get there. Includes: The Global Context, a guide to global trends, challenges, and opportunities, and In Context magazine.

EnviroLink describes itself as “the largest online environmental information resource on the planet, reaching well over 5.2 million people in over 130 countries every month.”

Department of Commerce/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration describes and predicts changes in the Earth’s environment. Its site has spectacular pictures of the earth from space, focusing on current global environmental issues.

The Earth Times is the leading independent international nonpartisan newspaperon the environment and sustainable development, and includes such interrelated concerns as the international system as population, conflict-resolution, governance, human-rights, trade, and women’s and children’s rights.

EarthWatch Communications provides 3-D weather visualization for the broadcast, film and post-production industries and now the Internet. Weather on demand! EnviroLink, a grassroots online community dedicated to providing the most comprehensive, up-to-date environmental resources available, unites organizations and volunteers around the world with people in over 130 countries.

Environment On-line is the Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology’s “Experimental Internet Global Environment Education Center” which covers topics such as climate change, energy, forests and biodiversity, ozone depletion, resource use, and water.

The National Environmental Trust (EIC) is a national organization committed to informing Americans about the need for public policy that protects their health, safety, and environmental quality of life. The NET functions as the resource for several major public education campaigns about environmental issues.

E, the Environmental Magazine is an independent, newstand-quality publication on environmental issues–a magazine that educates, inspires and empowers Americans to make a difference for the environment. Topics include: key environmental issues and trends, environmental news, industry and consumer product updates, and food and environmental health issues.

Environmental News Network covers the hottest environmental news stories from around the world in several formats including daily news, magazine and radio.

Global Change, a magazine published by the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security, seeks to familiarize the public with the issues associated with climate change and ozone depletion.

EcoNet of the Institute for Global Communications (IGC) provides environmental headlines, action alerts, articles and references on many environmental topics.

IPS (Inter Press Service) provides news features, analyses and expert commentaries on the events and global processes affecting the economic, social and political development of peoples and nations, especially in the South. Backed by a network of journalists in more than 100 countries,IPS stories offer in-depth views of the major issues of the day, explaining how and why events occur. Many articles cover environmental issues.

Linkages (from the International Institute for Sustainable Development) is a multimedia resource for environment and development policy makers. This Web site includes areas on the Commission on Sustainable Development, Framework Convention on Climate Change, Convention on Biological Diversity, Convention to Combat Desertification, Chemical Management, Forest Policy, Genetic Resources, Sustainable Consumption.

The World Scientists’ Warning To Humanity, presented by the Union of Concerned Scientists, is a document concerning the state of our Earth and what we must do about it signed by over 1,500 members of national, regional, and international science academies and sixty-nine nations.

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Passed by the League of California Cities
October 19, 1993

WHEREAS, it is recognized that we live in a period of great environmental crisis; and

WHEREAS, we need to create the basis for a more sustainable way of life, both in California and globally, through wise stewardship of our natural environment and prevention of harm to human health; and

WHEREAS, our impact on the natural environment must not jeopardize the prospects of future generations, balanced with the needs of economic growth; and

WHEREAS, environmental quality and economic health are mutually dependent, and a healthy environment cannot be achieved if inequitable burdens are placed on any one ethnic, geographic. or economic sector of the population; and

WHEREAS, policies and programs must recognize the inter-connections between different environmental problems, and solutions should be based on an evaluation of true long-term costs and benefits, not just those of the current market; and

WHEREAS, communities must somehow learn to achieve the markets that promote both conservation and economic growth; and

WHEREAS, our society and economy cannot be sustained at our current level of national resource consumption and environmental pollution; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, by the General Assembly of the League of California Cities assembled in Annual Conference in San Francisco, October 19, 1993, that the League encourage the following:

1. Creation of Sustainable Community programs in California cities through the participation of all segments of the respective communities,

2. Regional efforts to adopt policies and programs based on the concept of sustainability to ensure the future well-being of our natural and human resources, and

3. Participation of California cities in new forums/organizations to promote and implement sustainable policies.

1. Protect, preserve, and restore the natural environment and ensure clean, healthy living and working environments for all people.
2. Recognize that a healthy environment is integral to long-term economic interests and is supportive of new enterprises and jobs.
3. Establish equitable pricing policies to reflect all long-term environmental and economic costs, not just those of the current market.
4. Maximize conservation and develop local renewable resources, so that resources and opportunities are available for future generations.
5. Ensure that government, business, and communities recognize and are accountable for the environmental and social consequences of their policies.
6. Make all environmental decisions democratically, involving participation of all socio-economic, cultural and racial backgrounds to ensure environmental equity.
7. Encourage all sectors of the population to work together to create and implement policies in support of the above principles.

The above principles were developed by the Southern California Council on Environment and Development in 1993.

A New Consensus for Prosperity, Opportunity, and
a Healthy Environment for the Future

Introduction to a Report from the President’s Council on Sustainable DevelopmentFollowing from the United Nations Earth Summit which, in 1992 requested that nations develop national action strategies for sustainable development, President Clinton established the President’s Council on Sustainable Development in June, 1993. The following goals were published by the Council in 1996. 

GOALS

The Council recognized that in order to meet the needs of the present while ensuring that future generations have the same opportunities, the United States must change by moving from conflict to collaboration and adopting stewardship and individual responsibility as tenets by which to live.

The following goals express the shared aspirations of the Council. They are truly interdependent and flow from the Council’s understanding that it is essential to seek economic prosperity, environmental protection, and social equity together.

1. Health and Environment — Ensure that every person enjoys the benefits of clean air, clean water, and a healthy environment at home, at work, and at play.

2. Economic Prosperity — Sustain a healthy U.S. economy that grows sufficiently to create meaningful jobs, reduce poverty, and provide the opportunity for a high quality of life for all in an increasingly competitive world.

3. Equity — Ensure that all Americans are afforded justice and have the opportunity to achieve economic, environmental, and social well being.

4. Conservation of Nature — Use, conserve, protect, and restore natural resources – land, air, water, and biodiversity – in ways that help ensure long-term social, economic and environmental benefits for ourselves and future generations.

5. Stewardship — Create a widely held ethic of stewardship that strongly encourages individuals, institutions, and corporations to take full responsibility for the economic, environmental, and social consequences of their actions.

6. Sustainable Communities — Encourage people to work together to create healthy communities where natural and historic resources are preserved, jobs are available, sprawl is contained, neighborhoods are secure, education is lifelong, transportation and health care are accessible, and all citizens have opportunities to improve the quality of their lives.

7. Civic Engagement — Create full opportunity for citizens, business, and communities to participate in and influence the natural resource, environmental, and economic decisions that affect them.

8. Population — Move toward stabilization of the U.S. population.

9. International Responsibility — Take a leadership role in the development and implementation of global sustainable development policies, standards of conduct, and trade and foreign policies that further the achievement of sustainability.

10. Education –Ensure that all Americans have equal access to education and lifelong learning opportunities that will prepare them for meaningful work, a high quality of life, and an understanding of the concepts involved in sustainable development.