LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Tuesday adopted a regional “sustainability plan” that sets aggressive goals for everything from climate change to affordable housing.
Supervisor Sheila Kuehl said the plan represents “one of the most consequential undertakings” of the board.
Chief Sustainability Officer Gary Gero said it is designed to make the county “healthier, more livable, economically stronger, more equitable, and more resilient.”
Gero and his team have coordinated with representatives and residents from the 88 cities within the county, looking to agree on regional solutions for problems such as climate crisis, air and water pollution, water supply, the urban heat island effect and transportation.
“This plan sets some very, very ambitious goals,” Gero told the board.
A dozen high-level goals cover issues ranging from healthy communities and equitable land use to safe and affordable transportation and eliminating the use of fossil fuels. The 37 strategies and 159 action items for implementation are tied to targets such as achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, sourcing 80% of the county’s water supply locally by 2045, diverting more than 95% of waste from landfills, and building 65% of new housing within a half-mile of high-frequency transit by 2035.
Kuehl underlined the county’s commitment to tackling climate change and the plan’s intent to uphold the Paris Climate Agreement, despite the federal government’s withdrawal from that agreement.
“Global climate change is one of those seemingly intractable issues … it feels kind of too big to solve,” Kuehl said, saying the county would take on the problem “one step at a time … methodically, fearlessly, intelligently.”
Gero acknowledged that not everyone loves the plan, including oil industry representatives who warned him that phasing out fossil fuels in favor of renewable energy will cost the county too many good jobs.
Supervisor Janice Hahn called that a false choice.
“We don’t have to choose between clean air and good jobs, or between investing in a greener economy and an economy that works for everyone, or even between preserving local ecosystems and building abundant housing that our residents can afford,” Hahn said. “These false choices force us to think small when the real solutions are so much bigger.”
Gero said he expects oil industry jobs would be replaced by others, pointing to the region’s potential future as the center of zero-emission vehicle manufacture, for example.
Union representatives were largely supportive, though at least one expressed concerns.
Calling oil company jobs among the best available in the South Bay for industrial workers, David Campbell of United Steelworkers Local 675 said the county would need to carefully navigate a transition to renewable energy to make sure everyone is treated fairly.
“I need support in educating my own members (about) what exactly is the path for them and their future,” Campbell told the board. “Unless they understand it, (their reaction) will be fear.”
More than 70 people signed up to address the supervisors, and the majority said they were in favor of the plan.
Social justice advocates stressed the importance of issues related to equity, including protecting low-income communities and communities of color from pollution and anti-displacement measures to push back against gentrification.
Supervisor Hilda Solis echoed those concerns.
“Our most marginalized communities have suffered the brunt of impacts from pollution and greenhouse gas emissions for far too long,” Solis said. “This plan takes a bold and broad approach to making the county not only more sustainable, but it will also expand economic mobility and improve health outcomes for workers, families and all county residents.”
Other residents said they wanted more input, including Acton Town Council Vice President Tom Costan, who urged the board to delay its vote.
The vote was unanimously in favor.
Supervisor Kathryn Barger warned that the county doesn’t have unlimited resources to address all of the issues, but also hailed the plan’s intent.
“It’s a very strong statement by this county,” Barger said.
Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said it would be important to keep working now that targets have been set.
“It shouldn’t just get dusty on a shelf,” Ridley-Thomas said of the plan. “It’s all about the implementation.”
The board directed Gero and his team to work with various stakeholders to set priorities, assess the benefits and costs of various strategies, identify funding sources and report back in February.
The full plan can be found at www.ourcountyla.org.
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Ron says
In the 1970s we were all headed for an Ice Age. Remember the acid rain B.S.?
Laughing says
Acid rain was a big issue then procedures were changed for power plants and vehicles which greatly reduced the output causing the acid rain. https://www.epa.gov/acidrain/what-acid-rain
I do not recall chatter of a coming Ice Age in the 70s, but I was a kid and Star Wars was more my focus. Climate science is relatively new, so mistakes in calculations can be made. Hell we still think CO2 is the main culprit but we all breathe that out. We are learning that with less trees there is more dust in the air. Microwaves and other radio communications excite molecules, such as dust, and we use more of this tech every day. Exciting the dust causes more heat. The curve for the raising heat matches the industrial revolution and the tech revolution, both of which happen to coincide with radio use and increased density of radio communications.
In other words we are still learning.
Climate Change says
How about taking one freeway lane and turning it into a bike lane?
Laughing says
California traffic law prevents that when there are roads that follow the path of the freeway nearby.
We do have that option in some areas like Tehachapi though. Ever so fun to ride the shoulder on the 58 between Tehachapi and the 14. Some drivers take offense and try to bully the rider into the dirt.