New All Access With Andy Garcia segment spotlights KLA's "data to doorsteps"
approach to addressing the climate crisis one community at a time
Climate change is here. Communities are already feeling the impacts, and local leaders do not have the luxury of waiting for someone else to solve the problem.
The good news? Local governments have more power to drive meaningful climate action than they may realize.
At KLA, we believe climate action has to feel tangible, relevant and possible. That means moving beyond plans and long-term goals and helping people understand what climate action looks like in their homes, neighborhoods and communities.
It also means connecting solutions to the things people care about most: their families, their homes and the places they love.
This month, that work is reaching an even broader audience through All Access with Andy Garcia, a nationally broadcast program highlighting organizations and leaders creating meaningful change.
Beginning August 24, the full segment will air on public television stations across the country. It features Mayor Barbara Buffaloe of Columbia, Missouri, and Marci Henson, Director of Clark County’s Department of Environment and Sustainability, and explores something we see every day in our work: local governments are on the front lines of climate impacts and solutions.
Viewers may already have caught an early glimpse. A snapshot of the episode ran as a commercial nationally on CNBC recently, offering a preview of KLA’s work and the broader conversation around how communities can turn climate ambition into action.
Seeing KLA’s work on national television is exciting. But this is more than a television moment. It is an opportunity to bring greater visibility to the work local governments are already doing and to show a national audience that climate solutions are not abstract ideas for the distant future. They are available today, and communities across the country are already putting them into practice.
Across the country, local governments are developing strategies to reduce emissions, strengthen resilience and prepare for climate impacts that are already happening.
But a strong plan is only part of the equation.
As Marci Henson with Clark County says in her All Access interview, “It was important to us that our climate plan not just be a document that sits on a shelf. We were very focused on implementation.”
A plan itself does not reduce emissions, protect residents or create a more resilient community. Action does. And action requires people. And that’s where KLA works to move local governments from data to doorsteps.
Residents, businesses and community partners need to understand what their community is trying to accomplish, why it matters to them and how they can be part of the solution. That is where communication and activation become imperative.
Whether the opportunity is switching to a heat pump, exploring solar energy, choosing an electric vehicle or taking another meaningful step, people need information that is clear, approachable and connected to their everyday lives.
The goal is not to ask everyone to do everything at once. It is to help more people understand what is possible and identify a meaningful place to start.
We’re already doing this at KLA through our ActionReady program and emphasis empowering individuals to choose One Big Thing – after energy efficiency, think solar, heat pumps and EVs.
We are proud to see this work reach a national audience, but the spotlight itself is not the destination.
The real story is what happens next.
It’s what happens when a city moves from setting a climate goal to implementing it. When residents understand why a solution matters and how they can participate. When community partners have the tools they need to act. And when local leaders use their influence to turn urgency into meaningful progress.
At KLA, our mission has never been about creating another plan or checking another box. It is about helping communities move forward.
Did emissions go down?
Did more residents install solar or switch to a heat pump?
Did EV registrations go up?
Did people get tools to prepare for extreme heat and weather?
Did residents understand what was happening and why?
Those are the outcomes that matter.
If this national feature helps more people see that climate action is possible — and gives greater visibility to the local leaders already making it happen — that is what makes this moment meaningful.
Climate action does not have to feel abstract or out of reach. The solutions are here. The work is already happening.
And local communities have an enormous opportunity to lead.