SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — With temperatures forecasted to rise over the next several days, the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department and Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District remind residents that the summer brings air quality concerns including the potential for wildfires and the formation of smog. Wildfires, in Santa Barbara County or outside the region, can lead to increased levels of particulate matter. Hot weather, coupled with inversion layers that can trap pollution low to the ground, can contribute to elevated levels of ozone, commonly referred to as smog.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — In an initiative to cut air pollution and protect whales in the Santa Barbara Channel region, the partners announced today that the Vessel Speed Reduction (VSR) voluntary incentive program will for the first time include the San Francisco Bay Area. The 2017 Program will start July 1 and continue until November 15. This week the partners began enrolling ships in the program, and will continue to sign up ships through June 30.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Hundreds of local business and community leaders and educators helped celebrate the teachers who earned this year’s Care for Our Earth Grants, as part of the annual Santa Barbara County Education Celebration held at the Santa Ynez Valley Marriott on Thursday, May 25. Twenty-three classroom projects — spanning 21 Santa Barbara County schools — earned the 2016-2017 grants. Every year, the grants are awarded by the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District, Santa Barbara County Education Office, and Santa Barbara County Water Agency.  

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District congratulates Jennifer Hernandez-Mora, a junior at Santa Maria High School, for her outstanding air quality science project and recognition at the California State Science Fair. Hernandez-Mora received an honorable mention in Environmental Science for her project studying localized particle pollution using a handheld air sensor, as well as a special $1,500 Air Quality Award for the best air quality project in her division from the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the largest air district in California.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Today, the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) launched the Wood Smoke Reduction Program, a voluntary pilot program that encourages homeowners to “Heat Clean, Save Green” by providing $500-$1,000 in cash incentives to help them remove or replace their wood-burning fireplaces or woodstoves. The APCD Board of Directors approved the program at its March meeting.