SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department and the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District issued an Air Quality Watch for Santa Barbara County through the weekend. Smoke and ash from wildfires burning throughout the state are affecting local air quality, and may continue over the next several days. Even when wildfires occur outside of our county, air quality can be affected by wildfires miles away.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department and the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District issued an Air Quality Watch to be in effect until conditions improve. Vegetation fires burning near Lompoc are producing smoke that may affect portions of Santa Barbara County.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District announced that it will be accepting applications for its Year 19 Carl Moyer Program next week. The program provides grant funding to help reduce emissions from diesel engines and off-road equipment.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District will be holding two workshops later this month to discuss and gather input on strategies for greenhouse gas mitigation in Santa Barbara County. All members of the community are invited and encouraged to attend, and the format of the workshops will allow people to drop in at any point during the scheduled time. 

GOLETA, CA – The latest electric vehicles will be on view September 17 as part of a celebration of National Drive Electric Week put on by the Community Environmental Council (CEC),partnering with the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District and Los Padres Chapter Sierra Club. The partners encourage all to attend to check out the latest models and find out about tax credits and rebates for buying electric.

The Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District (District) investigated several different strategies to generate greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions and developed that a spreadsheet that presents scenarios for each measure with estimates of potential costs and benefits. The information in the spreadsheet tool is presented for comparison purposes only, and it is expected that the actual costs and benefits of any implemented measure could be different. 

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department and Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District encourage residents to prepare to keep indoor air as clean as possible. The smoky and ashy conditions during wildfires, and the windy conditions after wildfires, pose health risks, especially for children, older adults, and people with heart or lung diseases.

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.