Environment

Help LA Go Green

The City of Los Angeles has many resources to help Angelenos live and work in a more environmentally-sustainable manner. The Department of Public Works, Department of Water and Power, and other city agencies operate programs to help residents and businesses go green and save money.

Council President Garcetti has created a series of GO GREEN pamphlets to provide a one-stop source of information for multiple city programs administered by multiple agencies.

Copies of the GO GREEN series can be found by clicking below:

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Web Links

General Sites

• SustainLA--This is a joint city collaboration providing a portal to information on environmental projects throughout the city.  A great place to start learning about the environment.
• City of L.A. Environment & Recycling Page
• Community Guide to Environmental Services--a very useful publication from the City Environmental Affairs Department
• Green LA--Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
• Environmental Affairs Department, City of Los Angeles
• Sign-up for 

Parks and Recreation

• The Parks of Council District 13--(Coming soon!)
• City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks
• Parks and Facility Locator
• Calendar of Events
• County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation
• California State Parks--the homepage of the California State Department of Parks and Recreation
• Greenprinting Los Angeles--a joint project between the City of Los Angeles and the Trust for Public Land

Energy, Green Power, and Energy Conservation

• U.S. Department of Energy--Green Power
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Green Power Partnership
• Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
• LADWP's Green Power
• Energy Savers--learn how to save money and conserve energy in your home from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
• Home Energy Saver--a web-based tool from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• Business Energy Analysis--from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

Environmental Protection

• Environmental Affairs Department, City of Los Angeles
• California Environmental Protection Agency
• United States Environmental Protection Agency

Clean Air

• Check on smog levels
• South Coast Air Quality Management District
• Where does smog come from?
• What can you do to cut smog--five solutions:
• Get an alternative fuel vehicle
• Trade in your gas-powered lawnmower
• Report smoking vehicles to CUT-SMOG
• Things you can do at home
• Reduce energy consumption at home

Clean Water & Water Supply

• Bureau of Sanitation, Department of Public Works, City of Los Angeles
• What is a TMDL?--U.S. EPA explains a TMDL
• Ever caught rainwater?--Tree People's T*R*E*E*S project
• Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board
• Perchlorate & chromium issues
• Los Angeles River Watershed Trash TMDL
• Water quality goals

The Los Angeles River

• Los Angeles City Council Ad-Hoc Committee on the LA River
• Los Angeles River Watershed--from the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board
• Friends of the Los Angeles River
• LA River Tour
• The Los Angeles River: Past, Present, and Possibilities (web exhibit by Alan Loomis)
• Los Angeles River Railroads (including Taylor Yard)
• Who killed the L.A. River?
• The Los Angeles River: Its Life, Death, and Possible Rebirth
• Re-envisioning the L.A. River (L.A. River Project)
• The Trust for Public Land's Los Angeles River Greenway Program
• Community Perspectives on the L.A. River
• The L.A. River (a historical paper)
• Frogtown
• TMDLs and the Los Angeles River--A Powerpoint presentation from the Bureau of Sanitation that includes interesting L.A. River history

Recycling

• Bureau of Sanitation Recycling Page
• Solid Resources Citywide Recycling Division
• What can I recycle in my curbside bins?
• Oil recycling
• Hazardous Household Waste
• Backyard Composting
• E-Waste: What can I do with that old television or computer?--Check out the next city-sponsored electronic waste recycling collection event (Learn more about electronic waste at California State Integrated Waste Management Board's e-waste site or Californians Against Waste's e-waste page)
• Construction and demolition recycling
• Recycle City--from the U.S. EPA
• Construction Recycling--Construction accounts for about 12 percent of the waste stream.  Learn about construction and demolition recycling at the California State Integrated Waste Management Board's web site
• Californians Against Waste

Building Greener Homes, Buildings, and Communities

• U.S. Green Building Council
• USGBC Green Building Links
• Green Building and Deconstruction--from the L.A. City Environmental Affairs Department

Transportation and the Environment

• California Energy Commission's Transportation Choices Site
• Alternative Fuel Vehicles
• SustainLA's Alternative Fuel Vehicle Page
• Cycling in Los Angeles
• Los Angeles City Bicycle Plan
• Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition
• Public Transportation Links
• Plan a trip on public transportation with TranStar--the Southern California Association of Government's public transit trip planner
• Metropolitan Transit Authority

Community Gardening, Farmers Markets, and Food Security

• Los Angeles Community Garden Council
• American Community Gardening Association
• Starting a community garden (an ACGA guide)
• Center for Food and Justice--Occidental College
• Los Angeles County Farm Bureau master list of farmers' markets
• Farmers' Markets of Southern California (a partial list)
• USDA Community Food Security Project
• LAUSD Nutrition Network--healthy food in our schools

Trees and Community Forestry

• Street Tree Division of the Bureau of Street Services, Department of Public Works
• Tree People
• TreeLink
• LADWP's Tree for a Green LA Program--An initiative to bring over 200,000 shade trees to our communities

Plants, Animals, and Habitat

• California Native Plant Society
• On-line inventory of native California plants
• Los Angeles Audubon Society
• The Nature Conservancy California
• California Wildflowers--from the California Academy of Sciences
• Threatened and endangered species--from the California Department of Fish and Game
• Photos of wildlife, habitat, and plants--from CalPhotos, an excellent database at UC Berkeley
• Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanical Society

Environmental and Community Groups

• Environment California--California Public Interest Research Group's web site on environmental issues
• American Lung Association
• Ballona Lagoon Marine Preserve
• Ballona Wetlands Foundation
• Ballona Wetlands Land Trust
• Regional Environmental Business Resource Assistance Center
• Cabrillo Marine Aquarium
• California Quality Compost Council
• California Conservation Corps, Los Angeles District
• California League of Conservation Voters
• California Native Plant Society
• Californians Against Waste
• Children's Nature Institute
• Clean Air Now
• Coalition for Clean Air
• Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life
• Communities for a Better Environment
• Community Forest Advisory Committee
• Concerned Citizens of South Central 
• Earth Communications Office
• Earth Day LA
• Eco-Home Network
• EcoVillage
• Environment Now
• Environmental Defense
• Environmental Media Association
• Friends of Ballona Wetlands
• Friends of the Los Angeles River
• Global Cities
• Global Green U.S.A.
• Greenaction
• Heal the Bay
• Hollywood Beautification Team
• International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives
• Korean Youth and Community Center
• Little Tokyo Service Center
• Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council
• Los Angeles Community Garden Council
• LA Regional Foodbank
• LA Shares
• Los Angeles Conservation Corps
• Los Angeles Zoo
• Madres del Este de Los Angeles Santa Isabel
• Malibu Foundation for Environmental Education
• Marine Mammal Care Center
• Mono Lake Committee
• Mountains Education Program
• Mountains Restoration Trust
• National Audubon Society
• National Resources Defense Council
• National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council
• Northeast Trees
• People for Parks
• Rhapsody in Green
• Santa Monica Baykeeper
• Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project
• Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy
• Save the Whales
• Sierra Club
• Surfrider Foundation
• The Trust for Public Land
• Theodore Payne Foundation
• TreePeople
• UCLA Ocean Discovery Center
• Venice Action Committee
• Watts Labor Community Action Committee
• Wildlife on Wheels
• Wildlife Waystation