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A hub for environmental information and transformation in Southern California.

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Acknowledgment of Land and People

Pitzer College’s Robert Redford Conservancy is located on the traditional land of the Tongva/San Gabrieleño. Pitzer and the Robert Redford Conservancy recognize and honor the past, present, and future of Indigenous people and the precious lands we share. Read a full land acknowledgment by Tongva elder Julia Bogany.

 

 

Special Section: Fire Resources & Information

The Los Angeles wildfires of 2025 have caused widespread devastation, displacing families, damaging property, and impacting local communities. SoCal Earth has compiled a list of resources to assist fire victims and the community.

Southern California at-a-Glance

How prepared is Southern California for a climate-compromised future?

The maps below show how Southern California is doing across topic areas, at a glance. Click on your city or input an address. Toggle between tabs to find out more and then explore SoCal Earth topic areas and experiences.

These ratings are established by the Federal Government and State of California and are based on the best available science.

If you want to make your own map, go to our Make a Map page!

If we were giving Southern California a grade, it would be earning a "C" in the six index ratings above. Seems pretty average, right?

Compare ratings between and within cities to see how inequality and the built environment impact these ratings.

Compare cities to see how many places have strong climate resilience and healthy places profiles while having poor biodiversity, watershed health, and air quality rankings.

These ratings are an artifact of decades of dominating the earth rather than partnering with it, and dominating each other in the process.

Everyone can be part of changing these outcomes by putting community and climate at the forefront of every decision at every level in every sector, starting today.

 

Meet Ollie!

Ollie is a burrowing owl and the mascot of SoCal Earth. This scrappy little friend reminds us of a key SoCal Earth principle: that prioritizing the most vulnerable species, places, and people benefits everyone.

Find Ollie around SoCal Earth helping to explain things in easy-to-understand ways.

And kids, go to the Teach and Learn Page for more fun with Ollie!

 

Ollie the Owl, an orange burrowing owl, the mascot of SoCal Earth

In every sector. At any age. Four key principles anchor community first, climate first decision-making:

Partner with the earth instead of dominating it.

Prioritize the most vulnerable people, species, and places.

Build community and connectivity to build climate resilience.

Use the prevention of climate change as the North Star for decision-making.

Community-based frameworks have never been more important.

Addressing the unequal distribution of environmental harms and benefits can be a creative, inclusive process that works toward mutual benefit. Things to remember:

Environmental benefits are
more heavily concentrated in privileged communities.

Environmental burdens are more likely to be located in predominantly minority areas, contributing to health disparities.

Historical inequities, such as redlining and histories of toxic land use, lower property values.

Lower property values make it easier to continue the cycle of toxic land uses and disproportionate community impacts.

Environmental justice is a movement that focuses on the abolition of environmental harms and increased environmental benefits for all. Access to parks, green space, healthy food, and tree coverage, freedom from exposure to toxins and increased heat, breathable air, clean water, and meaningful community engagement in the planning process can build healthier communities with increased climate resilience.

 

Topic Areas

Learn more about topic areas, explore your neighborhood, and learn through making, interacting, and doing. All of these topic areas are interlinked within ecological systems. On our Make a Map page, you can add your own layers to compare things that might be separate in the categories below.

Donate to support our climate work.

SoCal Earth provides crucial data and insight to guide sustainable decisions. Join us.

Open
Data

Get Data takes users directly to GIS data layers that are open source and downloadable.

Get Data

Make a
Map

Select data layers important to your community, place, and neighborhood to make a map.

Make a Map

Teach
& Learn

Explore classroom and kid-friendly activities that inform, educate, and empower the little ones around us!

Teach and Learn

Make a
Difference

Sign the "Community First, Climate First" call to action and make a difference.

Make a Difference

Explore
Solutions

Rethink the way you think by exploring tools and frameworks for change.

Explore Solutions

Read a
Story

Browse through our story maps! And learn to make one of your own.

Read a Story