California cities compete to see which can be 'coolest'

The California Air Resources Board is challenging the state's cities to compete to be the "coolest" by cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The board announced Thursday the second round of the CoolCalifornia City Challenge will offer $100,000 to cities based on how many residents they sign up to reduce household and automotive energy use and how many points they accumulate in an online tracking system, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday. The first round, held last year, included more than 2,600 people in eight cities and cut more than 248 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gas emissions, enough to power 95 homes for a year. Davis was dubbed "Coolest California City" in last year's challenge. "It's a fun way to unleash civic pride and engage both households and community groups in simple, everyday efforts to cut greenhouse gases," said Mary Nichols, chairwoman of the Air Resources Board. "It helps spread the word that it's cool to cut carbon." The 2014 round of the CoolCalifornia City Challenge begins April 1 and runs through Aug. 31.