50 Communities Win Fed Money To Tackle Climate Change

In the past two years EPA has awarded about $20 million in grants to 47 cities, counties, regional planning groups, waste management organizations, tribal organizations, or school districts in 28 states that the agency is dubbing Climate Showcase Communities (with three more grants expected to be announced soon). The funding is intended to help communities respond in various ways to climate change, and serve as demonstration projects so other communities can better implement their own programs and projects.

Some communities are focusing on a narrow slice of climate change, such as home energy use or food waste management, while others are attempting a broad approach. The 25 grant winners from last year should have their efforts well under way, so reporting can focus on progress that is being made, or not. Reporting on the new winners, announced in mid-April 2011, can inform the community about what is in the works, who is in charge, and what future benchmarks can be used to see if the money is being well spent.

Details on each community's efforts are available at:

• Climate Showcase Communities Grants.

Hundreds of other communities are making efforts to address climate change. To see how they are doing, and if the communities you cover are among them, one starting point is:

• ICLEI: Local Governments for Sustainability.