Climate Change And Manhattan Beach: Here's How To Get Involved

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — With Earth Day approaching on April 22, you might be wondering what you can do to help the planet and Manhattan Beach, specifically. You now have that opportunity by signing up for Climate Ready MB: Climate Action Workshop, which takes place via Zoom on April 15.

"This is our opportunity to interact with the community and to get their feedback," Manhattan Beach Environmental Sustainability Manager Dana Murray told Patch.

A core component of the Climate Ready Manhattan Beach Initiative is a climate action and adaptation plan for reducing the city’s emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) that are contributing to global climate change.

For the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, the City is assessing Manhattan Beach's exposure and vulnerability to a range of climate change hazards that are expected through the end of this century.

According to Murray, Manhattan Beach could be adversely affected by a variety of issues caused by greenhouse emissions. "Climate impacts include high heat days, flooding, drought, and unhealthy air quality," she said.

This is the fifth in a series of workshops in which local experts present scientific issues, conduct Q & A's, and receive invaluable information regarding what actions residents would like to see occur in their community. So far, over 120 people have participated in the workshops.

Scenarios are being developed to determine how emissions can be reduced from contributing sectors (e.g., energy, transportation, waste disposal, and water consumption) to achieve these targets.

"By engaging all voices in our community throughout the process of this project, we will be ensuring long-term success," Murray said.

The objectives of this meeting will include providing an overview of the community’s GHG emissions from transportation, energy, solid waste, water, and wastewater; explaining how a target is being developed for the city’s community-wide GHG emissions; discussing the different strategies that the city has available to achieve these targets; and presenting preliminary findings from the city’s climate change vulnerability assessment.

During the meeting, participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and offer strategies for reducing the city's GHG emissions.

Future workshops will take place:

April 27: Climate Ready MB: Focus Group on Climate Action Strategies & Carbon Reduction Goals

June 2: Climate Ready MB: CAAP Climate Vulnerabilities & Climate Adaptation Strategies

For more information and to sign up, go to the MB City website.