Imagine our nation: free from its addiction to fossil fuels and on its way to stabilizing the Earth’s climate. Our homes run on energy from the sun, wind and waves, not dirty coal and dwindling supplies of foreign oil. We are free from worry about the planet our children will inherit, free to build a strong and sustainable economy. All of this is possible. It can happen in a single generation. And we are getting it started right here, in the Santa Barbara region, with our commitment to being Fossil Free by ’33.
Can our small community really play a part in shaping our planet’s future? We already have. Santa Barbara’s response to a 1969 oil spill sparked the first Earth Day and launched the Community Environmental Council. Led by CEC, our community inspired the nation by building one of America’s first recycling programs. We then helped to pioneer now-mainstream movements like local organic gardening, smart growth for cities and green building, even establishing the nation’s highest standards for energy efficiency. Some say America’s environmental past is firmly rooted in Santa Barbara. We say its future is about to be born here.
Overcoming our dependence on fossil fuel is the biggest challenge our community has ever faced and Fossil Free by ’33 is our equally ambitious response. Citizens, business leaders and policymakers of the Santa Barbara region have declared freedom from fossil fuels in one generation. Endowed richly with sun, wind and waves, brimming with human and financial resources, our community can save literally billions of dollars while creating thousands of jobs as we make this heroic change. And CEC has a down-to-Earth, step-by-step blueprint for how Santa Barbara can lead the way to this sustainable future.
This is your invitation to join a community effort that leaves behind “us vs. them”: it is about all of us, working together. Our strategy calls on everyone to pitch in: neighbors will share ideas for making their homes more energy efficient, companies will allow employees to telecommute, leaders will invest in clean energy infrastructure and all of us will advocate for statewide policy change. Best of all, the plan is realistic because it meets the needs of our region’s diverse families, workers, businesses and future generations.
We’re transforming how we travel, rethinking how we make and use energy, and renovating our homes and offices. We’re declaring our freedom from fossil fuels so that we can be free to build the future we want in a single generation.
