Earth Day marked several important milestones for California’s coast, benefiting both people in coastal counties and marine life. On April 22, Blue Whales and Blue Skies (BWBS) launched the 2026 voluntary Vessel Speed Reduction (VSR) Season, now along the entire California coast as set forth in California Assembly Bill 14, authored by Assemblymember Gregg Hart and signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom last year.

Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies (BWBS) is proud to report the 2025 Vessel Speed Reduction (VSR) Season results from the efforts of participating shipping lines. Over the VSR Season, from May 1, 2025 to January 15, 2026, 787 participating vessels traveled more than 481,000 nautical miles at whale-safer speeds of 10 knots or less. This is up from approximately 425,900 nautical miles and 743 participating vessels in the 2024 VSR Season.

Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) staff distributed 400 air purifiers to residents of Old Town Goleta on Saturday, as part of APCD’s Clean Air Rooms Program. The air purifiers were distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, limited to one per household, and proof of address was required to participate. Air purifiers help keep indoor air clean — creating a “clean air room” — when wildfire smoke is affecting air quality,

Eligible residents of Old Town Goleta — as defined by this State of California map — who weren’t able to attend Saturday’s event can now fill out an online application to have a free air purifier shipped directly to their home.

Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) is pleased to share that Buellton Mayor, David Silva — who also serves on APCD’s Board of Directors — earlier this week was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom to the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) is sponsoring an upcoming event at the Goleta Community Center where residents of Old Town Goleta only will be able to pick up a free air purifier. The event will also offer free test drives of electric cars, open to all members of the public. Participants at each event will also receive a free meal (while supplies last). APCD is proud to partner with the City of Goleta to host this event.

Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies (BWBS) is proud to report the 2025 Vessel Speed Reduction (VSR) Season results from the efforts of participating shipping lines. Over the VSR Season, from May 1, 2025 to January 15, 2026, 787 participating vessels traveled more than 481,000 nautical miles at whale-safer speeds of 10 knots or less. This is up from approximately 425,900 nautical miles and 743 participating vessels in the 2024 VSR Season.

After a decade of proven success in reducing the risk of ship strikes and improving coastal air quality, the Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies (BWBS) program is expanding participation to cruise lines — some of the most visible and fastest-moving ships on the West Coast.

BWBS is a collaborative effort by regional coastal air districts, the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation, NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries, and Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory to reduce risks to endangered whales and protect air quality. Since launching in 2014, BWBS has worked with more than 50 global cargo shipping lines to incentivize vessel speed reduction to 10 knots or less in key whale habitats. 

On November 21, the Santa Barbara County Fire Department transitioned from a High Fire Season to a Winter Preparedness Level. With this transition, the ban on permit burning within State Responsibility Areas (SRA) and Local Responsibility Areas (LRA) within the jurisdiction of the Santa Barbara County Fire Department has been lifted. Individuals with a valid burn permit may resume permitted burning in Santa Barbara County on permissive burn days. Please note: These permits are issued for burn piles only and are not intended for the burning of standing vegetation, which is considered prescribed burning and is only conducted by fire departments and land managers.

A landmark law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this month expands Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies (BWBS) into a statewide program. After three years of effort, Assembly Bill 14 by Assemblymembers Gregg Hart (Santa Barbara), Steve Bennett (Ventura) and Damon Connolly (San Rafael) became law on October 11.

Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) is excited to announce that its newly upgraded Permitted Facilities Map recently won the “Best Practices” award given by the national Association of Air Pollution Control Agencies (AAPCA). APCD received the award at the AAPCA conference in North Carolina in September. APCD is one of the only air districts in California to provide such a tool.