Climate change is not only a future problem. It is already affecting every aspect of our lives, from the air we breathe, the heat we experience, and the water we depend on to the cost of living.

This guide explains what causes climate change and what Los Angeles can do about it. It examines why some neighborhoods face greater risks, how City and County policies respond, and where residents can contribute.

It sets the stage for the rest of the Topic Deep Dives that accompany the course.

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TL;DR

• Human activities caused global surface temperature to reach 1.1°C above 1850–1900 in 2011–2020; the measured increase was 1.09°C. Warming since 1970 has been faster than during any other 50-year period in at least 2,000 years.
• The 1.5°C goal comes from the 2015 Paris Agreement. It is not a magic safety line: heat, water stress, sea-level rise, ecosystem loss, and threats to health and food worsen with each fraction of a degree.
• Carbon removal cannot replace emissions cuts. Fossil fuel companies and trade groups have spent decades using disinformation, lobbying, and public messaging to delay climate action. Avoiding new fossil-fuel infrastructure, reducing carbon and methane pollution, and expanding renewable energy are essential.
• Los Angeles already faces dangerous heat, wildfire smoke, unhealthy air, water stress, and rising costs. Adaptation must address unsafe housing, inadequate shade and transit, pollution exposure, and social isolation—not only add technical fixes.
• These risks reflect redlining, industrial and freeway siting, unequal tree canopy, poor housing, and uneven investment. Climate solutions must therefore be affordable and accessible, protect renters and workers, and avoid displacement.
• LA has plans for clean electricity, safer buildings and transportation, local water, shade, and resilience centers. Making them real requires budgets, laws, staffing, enforcement, organized public support, and people joining existing efforts through their professions, neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, and local government. </aside>

🌍 The Moment We’re In

💚 Health, Affordability & Climate Justice

🏛️ The Law of the Land

🙌 Solutions and Who’s Doing the Work

🧩 Why the System Works This Way

🌀 What Could We Build Instead?

😎 Finding Your Role

🏡 Building a Resilient Neighborhood

❓ FAQ

📚 Sources Used

🧭 Explore Further