Extreme heat is a serious challenge facing California⁠, with many cities set to experience Phoenix-like temperatures in the coming decades⁠. But we have solutions that can be implemented today to cool our communities, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and improve public health and equity. Join the Los Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Action & Sustainability (LARC) and the Capital Region Climate Readiness Collaborative (CRCRC) for a conversation about some of these extreme heat interventions in the Los Angeles and Capital Regions. This is the first of a two-part series⁠—the second webinar on May 16, 2022, will focus on social solutions and social infrastructure (including trees!) to support equity and community resilience. View the agenda here.

This event is open to the public! You do not need to be a member of LARC or CRCRC to attend and participate.

On March 15th, the Alliance of Regional Collaboratives for Climate Adaptation (ARCCA) submitted a comment letter in response to the Strategic Growth Council's Regional Climate Collaboratives Program (RCC) Draft 1 Program Guidelines. This letter was co-created with support from CRCRC staff and leadership and outlines a series of recommendations for improving the new RCC program. The current guidelines are available here and updates will be shared in the Spring. The CRCRC Steering Committee will be meeting to discuss this program in-length and determine what role would be suitable for the CRCRC program.

The newly elected 2022 CRCRC Steering Committee has brought on a new member. Welcome Colleen McCormick from SMUD!

As a member of The Capital Region Climate Readiness Collaborative, all staff and affiliates of your organization are available to participate in, and benefit from, joining a working group!

CRCRC operates an Extreme Heat working group. These sessions provide an opportunity to coordinate and collaborate with members of other organizations on upcoming projects and opportunities surrounding the topic of Extreme Heat. More information on this group is available here.

If you are interested in joining or leading a working group please complete this interest form.

If you or anyone at your organization has updates you would like to have promoted through this newsletter, utilize this form to submit them to be included in this newsletter! This can include any updates, upcoming projects, or opportunities for collaboration that you would like to share with the broader CRCRC network!

The CivicSpark program supports local communities by fostering the next generation of leaders to tackle the most pressing resilience challenges. If you are interested in hosting a CivicSpark Fellow to support your organization's climate resilience needs, submit the application found here. The next priority partner deadline is March 31st, 2022.

Made possible through funding from Google.org, ICLEI- Local Governments for Sustainability USA, Inc. (ICLEI USA) is accepting expressions of interest from nonprofit and civil society organizations or consortiums of organizations that have a plan to accelerate the implementation of a city climate action plan while addressing inequality.

Each of the two awardees or consortiums will receive $1,000,000 to fund activities identified by the awardee and ICLEI USA and supported by local government leadership.

Submit the application here by 4/11/2022.

For more funding and grant opportunities please visit fundingresource.org/

Join LGSEC and CCEC for an exploration of Building Performance Standards (BPS), their future in California, and their implications for local governments, the building sector, and the climate. This joint event will start with a panel discussion on the future of grid-interactive buildings, and what they mean for new and existing buildings, the grid, and local governments. This will be followed by a keynote speaker from Senator Becker’s office, to discuss new California legislation on Building Performance Standards - including an optional session to provide feedback. Register here.

Attendees of this event will build understanding on how regions, states, and tribes are bringing together diverse stakeholders to accelerate solutions that create and leverage results for the coast, helping communities, ecosystems, and economies be more resilient to climate change. Register here.

The Infrastructure Bill, Build Back Better… where do we go from here? Get ready for four days of ground-breaking insights and opportunities for action with the brightest and most successful leaders working to mobilize a broader diversity of support for climate solutions locally, nationally and beyond. Find information on ticket prices and register here.

According to the March 8 U.S. Drought Monitor, 100% of CA/NV is in drought, with 22.2% in Extreme (D3) or Exceptional (D4) Drought. Most of the western U.S. was exceptionally dry in February, with record low total precipitation at over 200 SNOTEL sites. In California, the driest January and February in state history has led to a March 1 statewide snowpack of less than 70% of average, down from 160% at the start of the new year. The California-Nevada Drought Early Warning System (CA-NV DEWS) March 2022 Drought & Climate Outlook Webinar is part of a series of regular drought and climate outlook webinars designed to provide stakeholders and other interested parties in the region with timely information on current drought status and impacts, as well as a preview of current and developing climatic events (i.e. El Niño and La Niña). Register here.

Join the California Strategic Growth Council for a public workshop on the California Transportation Assessment findings and policy recommendations. This workshop is a public space for SGC to answer questions and respond to comments about the AB 285 report findings and recommendations. Register here.

This is the largest Earth Day celebration in the Sacramento region, and admission is free! Sacramento Earth Day is about building community and finding ways to help residents of the Greater Sacramento Region reduce our ecological footprint. This festival, hosted by ECOS, is a great opportunity to learn about methods to live more sustainably. Sacramento Earth Day is ECOS’ largest annual fundraiser, so consider becoming a sponsor of this landmark event, a volunteer recruiter, or a volunteer.

Find more information on this event here.

The start of this year has been the driest in California’s history. With the severe drought now in a third year, the state faces depleted reservoirs, a meager snowpack in the Sierra Nevada and a worsening water shortage on the Colorado River. Under sunny blue skies in Sacramento, where it hasn’t rained in two months, officials stood on March 10 in front of a mulch-covered garden and appealed for Californians to save water. Read the full article here.

Rain came early last fall, but whatever hope blossomed for a better than normal — or even average — year is gone. There is no March miracle in the forecast, and summers are dry in California, so mandatory water conservation isn’t going away any time soon. Read the full article here.

Last week, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) announced that he secured over $5.4 million in federal funding for four projects across Wine Country. These projects were included in the bipartisan FY 2022 appropriations package that passed the Senate yesterday. The bill is now headed to President Biden to be signed into law. Read more here.

An evacuation warning is in place in Santa Barbara County due to a wind-driven brush fire that broke out Saturday morning. Crews responded to the Hollister Ranch area, near Gaviota State Park in Santa Barbara County, just after 11:32 a.m. They included aircraft and firefighters with the Santa Barbara County Fire Department and the Vandenberg Fire Department. Read more here.

The project, to be located in east Sacramento County, is the largest co-located solar and storage facility in northern California under power purchase agreement contract, said D.E. Shaw. It is expected to reach commercial operation in 2024. “Partnerships are a key component to SMUD reaching our 2030 Zero Carbon goals,” said Frankie McDermott, SMUD’s chief operating officer. “We committed to using every tool in the toolbox, and innovative projects like this that combine solar and battery storage will enable us to provide the region with clean and reliable power as we transition away from natural gas resources.” Read the full article here.

Last summer and fall the vast majority of juvenile endangered Sacramento River winter run Chinook salmon were killed by lethally hot river temperatures while a handful of agriculture operators got the lion’s share of available water. This was made possible by water rules established in the 19th century before salmon regularly faced threats from drought and overheated rivers. Read more here.

A new report from the California Strategic Growth Council calls for the urgent need to shift the state’s transportation funding priorities away from highways and towards sustainable mobility. Californians can weigh in on some upcoming changes to transportation funding rules this spring. Read the full article here.

Gas prices have been rising for months nationally because of soaring demand following Covid-19 shutdowns. Costs began to climb even more once Russia invaded Ukraine, and will most likely keep growing after President Biden’s decision on Tuesday to ban Russian oil imports. California is the only state where a gallon costs more than $5. In Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Napa and many other parts of the state, the average price of regular unleaded now exceeds $5.50. Read the full article here.

The Capital Region Climate Readiness Collaborative is a membership based collaborative network designed to promote greater climate change resilience planning coordination in the six-county Sacramento Region. The purpose of this collaborative network is to create a forum where leaders from government, academia, environmental and community groups, the business community, and labor can come together to exchange information, identify vulnerabilities and data gaps, leverage resources, and advance comprehensive solutions in an effort to create stronger, sustainable, and economically viable communities in the Capital Region.

CRCRC is a program of the CivicWell.