Equinox center

Resources & Links

This area contains organizations, documents and other resources related to sustainability and quality of life, in San Diego and beyond.

We are constantly adding to these resources so please let us know (info@equinoxcenter.org) if you are aware of a resource that should be included here. 

Advocacy Groups & Related Organizations

Water

• Heal the Bay
  • Heal the Bay is a nonprofit environmental organization focused on making Southern California coastal waters and watersheds, including Santa Monica Bay, safe, healthy and clean.
• Imagine H2O
  • Imagine H2O is a non-profit organization with a mission to inspire and empower people to solve water problems.
• California Stormwater Quality Association
  • CASQA assists the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and municipalities throughout the state of California in implementing stormwater mandates of the Federal Clean Water Act.
• Water Utility Climate Alliance  
  • The WUCA provides leadership and collaboration on climate change issues affecting drinking water utilities by improving research, and developing adaptation and mitigation strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

 Land Use and Smart Growth

• Urban Land Institute
  • The Urban Land Institute provides leadership in the responsible use of land, and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide.
• Groundwork San Diego
  • Groundwork San Diego-Chollas Creek is a non-profit environmental business working with the citizens in the Chollas Creek watershed to improve the creek and its communities.
• The Nature Conservancy
  • The Nature Conservancy is a conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people.
• Endangered Habitat League
  • The Endangered Habitats League is dedicated to the protection of the diverse ecosystems of Southern California, and to sensitive and sustainable land use for the benefit of all the region's inhabitants." 
• Biodiversity Research Center of the Californias, San Diego Natural History Museum
  • The extensive scientific collections of the Biodiversity Research Center of the Californias contain materials that support the research of many scientific disciplines, including those working to define and preserve biodiversity and monitor global change. 
• Environmental Health Coalition
  • EHC builds grassroots campaigns to confront the unjust consequences of toxic pollution, discriminatory land use, and unsustainable energy policies.
• Burnham-Moores Center, Sustainable Real Estate
  • The Burnham-Moores Center continues to strengthen its leadership position in the area of sustainability, both on and off-campus at the University of San Diego.
• Smart Growth Online
  • The SGN works to encourage development that serves the economy, community and the environment.
• Sustain Lane
  • SustainLane.com is an online community where one can connect with local people interested in living healthy lives on a green planet.
• Funders Network on Smart Growth
  • The Funders’ Network is a membership organization that helps grantmakers across North America advance strategies to create fair, prosperous, and sustainable regions and communities.

 Energy

• CleanTech San Diego
  • CleanTECH San Diego is a non-profit membership organization formed to accelerate San Diego as a world leader in the clean technology economy.
• California Center for Sustainable Energy
  • The CCSE is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating change for a clean energy future. 

 Transportation

• America Walks
  • America Walks is a national resource which fosters walkable communities by engaging, educating, and connecting walking advocates.
• Light Rail Now
  • The Light Rail Now Project is a charitable educational enterprise designed to support efforts both within North America and worldwide to develop and improve light rail transit and other mass transportation systems.
• Move San Diego
  • Move San Diego was formed in 2004 by citizens, environmentalists, bicyclists, pedestrians and transportation experts to build broad support for sustainable transportation systems and land-use policies. 
• Streets Blog
  • Streetsblog is a daily news source, online community and political mobilizer for the Livable Streets movement; they are part of a growing coalition of individuals and organizations in cities around the world working to reduce dependence on private cars and improving conditions for cyclists, pedestrians and transit riders.
• Walk San Diego
  • WALKSanDiego is a regional, grassroots organization formed in 1998 and dedicated to reclaiming streets and blocks through improved streetscape designs, accessible walking paths, and traffic calming measures.

  Sustainability

• Our Greater San Diego Vision
  • Our Greater San Diego Vision is an unprecedented public engagement process that will engage tens of thousands of people across the region to create a shared vision and plan for our future for decades, if not centuries, to come.
• Sustainable San Diego
  • Sustainable San Diego is a collaboration of San Diego organizations that are working to provide organized and coordinated input into the development of the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) first Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS) as part of the Regional Transportation Plan.

Plans, Policies & Reports

Water

• Independent Rates Oversight Committee-IROC, Minutes from February 16, 2010
• Memo from Mayor Sanders and Donna Frye to Ben Hueso on Water Budget Based Pricing, Sept 2010
• San Diego County Water Authority Annual Report 2010. 
• Updated Urban Water Management Plan, San Diego County Water Authority, 2011.
• The Regional Urban Water Management Plan, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, 2010.
• California Water Plan Update 2009: Integrated Water Management.
• Blueprint for Water Conservation, San Diego County Water Authority, 2007.
• A Homeowner's Guide to a WaterSmart Landscape, San Diego County Water Authority, 2011. 
• Best Practices Resource Center, California Urban Water Conservation Council, 2008.
• Federal Water Efficiency Best Management Practices, US Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 2011. 
• Making Every Drop Work: Increasing Water Efficiency in California’s Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional (CII) Sector, Natural Resources Defense Council, 2009.
• Water Facts No. 23: Water Recycling, California Department of Water Resources, 2004.  
• Graywater Systems Permitting Process and Design Criteria, County of San Diego Department of Environmental Health, Land and Water Quality Division. 
• Using Gray Water at Home: The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality’s Guide to Complying with the New, Simplified Type 1 General Permit, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality.
• Protecting the Lifeline of the West - How Climate and Clean Energy Policies Can Safeguard Water, Environmental Defense Fund and Western Resource Advocates, 2010.
• Adapting California’s Water Management to Climate Change, PPIC, 2008.
• Energy Down the Drain: The Hidden Costs of California’s Water Supply, Natural Resources Defense Council and Pacific Institute, 2004.

• In Hot Water: Water Management Strategies to Weather the Effects of Global Warming, NRDC, 2007.

Land Use and Smart Growth

• 2010 Census: Full Demographic Profile for San Diego County, CA Dept of Finance Population Projections, 2010. 
• 2050 Regional Growth Forecast, SANDAG, 2010.
• E-1 Population Estimates for Cities, Counties and the State with Annual Percent Change — January 1, 2010 and 2011 Press Release, State of California, Department of Finance; Sacramento, California; May 2011. 
• San Diego Regional Comprehensive Plan, SANDAG, 2004.
• San Diego Regional Infrastructure Priorities Survey, SANDAG, 2007.

 Energy

• Technical Analysis of Big 4 MPO Target Scenarios (SANDAG, SCAG, SAGOG, and MTC), Climate Plan, 2010.
• Regional Energy Strategy Update Draft, SANDAG, July 2009.
• California Solar Cities Report, Environment California, 2009. 
• New Solar Homes Partnership, California Energy Commission.

• Energy Down the Drain: The Hidden Costs of California’s Water Supply, Natural Resources Defense Council and Pacific Institute, 2004.

Transportation

• Air Quality in San Diego: 2009 Annual Report, Air Pollution Control District County of San Diego.  
• Economic Impact of Algal Biofuel Research, April 2009, SANDAG.
• Climate Plan Analysis of SB375 Scenarios for 4 MPOs, Climate Plan, 2010.
• Transportation Policies for America's Future: Strengthening Energy Security and Promoting Economic Growth, Energy Security Leadership Council and Securing America's Future Energy, 2011.
• 2030 Regional Transportation Plan, SANDAG, 2007.
• The 2010 Urban Mobility Report. Schrank, David & Tim Lomax, Texas Transportation Institute.
• 2008 U.S. City Rankings, Sustain Lane.

• SB 375 Impact Analysis Report, Urban Land Institute, 2010.

Other

• Call to Action: San Diego County Childhood Obesity Action Plan 2006, County of San Diego.

Studies 

Water

• Comparing Price and Non-Price Approaches to Urban Water Conservation, Resources for the Future, 2008.
• Do Consumers React to the Shape of Supply?  Water Demand under Heterogeneous Price Structures, Resources for the Future, 2005.
• Quality on Demand Recycled Water:  A Brilliant Approach to Further Recycled Water Uses.  Karajeh, Fawzi.  Water Conservation News—Fall/Winter.  2004-5.
• Risk Assessment and Health Effects Studies of Indirect Potable Reuse Schemes.  Khan, Stuart and David Roser. Center for Water and Waste Technology, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of New South Wales.  2007.
• Desalination and Water Treatment Technologies Flex Your Water Power.  BejJemaa, Fethi and Karajeh, Fawzi.  Water Conservation News—Spring/Summer.  2007.
• Desalination, With a Grain of Salt, Pacific Institute, 2006.
• Environmental Impact and Impact Assessment of Seawater Desalination.  Lattemann, Sabine and Thomas Hopner.  Desalination 220: 1-15.  2008.
• The Footprint of the Desalination Processes on the Environment.  Einav, Rachel, et al. Desalination 152: 141-154.  2002.
• A Legislative Boost for Water Desalination as an Alternative Water Supply Strategy in California.  Karajeh, Fawzi and Fethi Benjemaa. Water Conservation News—Fall/Winter.  2004-5.
• Seawater Desalination and the California Coastal Act, California Coastal Commission, 2004. 

• California's Energy-Water Nexus: Water Use in Electricity Generation, Southwest Hydrology, Sept. 2007; Larson et. al. University of California, Santa Barbara.

Land Use and Smart Growth

• Many Pathways from Land Use to Health, Frank, Lawrence et al., Journal of the American Planning Association; Winter 2006; 72, 1.
• Windfall for All; How Connected, Convenient Neighborhoods Can Protect Our Climate and Safeguard California's Economy, Transform, 2009.

• Transportation for a New Era: Growing More Sustainable Communities. Washington, D.C.; The Urban Land Institute, 2009.

Energy

• San Diego County Greenhouse Gas Inventory, 2008, Energy Policy Initiatives Center (EPIC).
• The San Diego Foundation Regional Focus 2050 Study: Climate Change Related Impacts in the San Diego Region by 2050, The San Diego Foundation, 2008. 
• Energy Pathways for the California Economy, Roland-Holst and Kahrl, 2009.
• Who is Winning the Clean Energy Race?, The PEW Charitable Trusts & The Clean Energy Economy, 2010.
• The Clean Energy Economy, The PEW Charitable Trusts, 2009.

• San Diego Smart Grid Study Final Report, EPIC, 2006.

Transportation

• The Hidden Health Costs of Transportation, American Public Health Association, 2010.
• Increases in Greenhouse-Gas Emissions From Highway-Widening Projects, Sightline Institute, 2007.
• Transit Oriented Development and The Potential for VMT-related Greenhouse Gas Emissions Growth Reduction, Center For Transit-Oriented Development, 2010.
• Californians and the Environment, Public Policy Institute of California, 2009.
• Driving Change - Reducing Vehicle Miles Traveled in California, Public Policy Institute of California, 2011.
• San Diego Region Transit Public Opinion Study, September 2008, SANDAG.  

• Transit Impediments Study, SANDAG, 2009.

Other

• American Community Survey
  • The American Community Survey is a nationwide survey designed to provide communities a fresh look at how they are changing. 
• New Leading Cause of Death in County, County of San Diego, 2009.
• Elementary Institute of Science
  • The Elementary Institute of Science is a science enrichment program which provides San Diego's young people "hands-on" experiences to stimulate an appreciation and understanding of science and technology.