Future Imperfect

NORTH COAST

In your mind’s eye, picture wild coastline, giant rivers, farms and ranches, redwood trees and forest lands stretched across 20,000 square miles, including millions of acres of federal land. 40% of the state’s natural runoff water, including a lot of the water that feeds farming in the southern part of the state. This area makes up 11.5% of California’s land but it’s home to less than 1% of the state’s population.

The North Coast, as it’s defined in California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, stretches over 20,000 square miles and includes six counties: Mendocino, Humboldt, Del Norte, Lake, Trinity, and Siskiyou. This episode explores how climate change is projected to affect life in the North Coast region.

Questions

1. How is climate change expected to affect the North Coast region? Which of these effects will have the greatest impact on people’s day-to-day lives, in your opinion?

2. What is the current status of dam removal along the Klamath River? How has this change affected fish populations in the river? How has it affected the lives of Karuk and Yurok people who have traditionally fished the river? How has it affected the lives of farmers in the upper Klamath basin?

3. First, look at the CalFire Fire Hazard Severity Zones Map for your county and for the counties mentioned in this episode (Mendocino, Humboldt, Del Norte, Lake, Trinity, and Siskiyou). How does your home county compare to at least one of these other counties? Next, look at this Wildland-Urban Interface map. Do you live in one of the three zones shown on the map (interface/intermix/influence).

4. Have you had any weather- or environment-related experiences similar to the young people in this episode? If so, how are your experiences similar? If not, why do you think that is?

Voices

In order of appearance, the young people I interviewed for this episode were: Kaitlin, Tehlias, Sola, and Dora (all living at least part-time in Ukiah). I also spoke with my scientist-collaborator, Nancy Freitas.

Listening

Want to listen on another platform? You can find Future Imperfect on Apple Podcasts and on Stitcher.

Resources

If you want to dig deeper into some of the topics in this episode, here are some places to begin.

About anticipated climate change impacts:

• California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, Regional Reports

• Climate Change and Health Profile Report Humboldt County (2017)

About heat and HABs:

• “Clear Lake Cyanotoxin Issues” from Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians

• “Climate-Fueled Heat Waves Spell Danger for Wildlife” from Sierra: the Magazine of the Sierra Club

• “Harmful Algal Bloom in San Francisco Bay Results in Aquatic Mortality, Fish Kills” from the Ocean Protection Council

• “Fish are piling up dead around Lake Merritt” from Oaklandside

About the Klamath River Basin:

• "Recovering Salmon: Zooarchaeology and Oral Tradition in the Documentation of Extirpated Cultural Keystone Species in the Upper Klamath Basin" from Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

• “The Klamath Reclamation Project Story” (video)

• “Klamath Homestead Drawing” from Oregon History Project

• “Water Crisis Reaches Boiling Point on Oregon-California Line” from AP News

• Klamath River Fish Kill 2021 (video) on the Yurok Tribe Facebook page

• “Wildfire kills Klamath fish: ‘Everything that’s in there is dead.’" from High Country News

• “The largest dam demolition in history is approved for a Western river” from NPR

• “The world’s largest dam removal will touch many lives in the Klamath River Basin” from OPB

• “The Science of Saving Salmon as Klamath Dams Come Down” from UC Davis

About forests and fire dangers:

• CalFire Fire Hazard Severity Zones Map

• Wildland-Urban Interface Map from CalFire and FRAP

• “California Forests” from University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources

• "The Legacy of the Log Boom: Humboldt County Logging from 1945 to 1955" paper by Paul G. Wilson

• “Drought, fire management and land use changes have led to denser forests in California” from Phys.org

• “History of California Wildfires” from Western Fire Chiefs Association

• “The New Normal: Wildfire Risk in the Wildland Urban Interface”

• “PG&E Sparked at Least 1,500 California Fires. Now the Utility Faces Collapse" from The Wall Street Journal

About using fire as a tool to manage forests:

• Humboldt County Prescribed Burn Association

• Indigenous People’s Burning Network

• Western Klamath Restoration Partnership

• Learn About Prescribed Fire in Northern California (video playlist)

About drought in Willits:

• City of Willits 2013-2014 Drought Overview

• "Willits faces water crisis; only 100-day supply left" from ABC7 News

• “Water shortage in Willits stokes fears" from Manteca/Ripon Bulletin

• “California Drought Drying Up Restaurant Business" from WBUR

• "As Drought Continues, Northern California Towns Run Out of Water" from KQED

About floods:

• FEMA’s National Flood Hazard Viewer

About sea level rise impacts in Wigi-Humboldt Bay and beyond:

• “Wiyot Placename Video” from Wiyot Tribe (website)

• “California Flook Risk: Sea Level Rise Fort Bragg Quadrangle” from the Pacific Institute

• Surging Seas Risk Finder from Climate Central

• Sea Level Rise planning documents from Humboldt County, CA

• Summary of Hazard Scenarios from Humboldt County Sea Level Rise Planning

• The Sea Also Rises, a Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury report

• Cal Poly Humboldt Sea Level Rise Institute

• 44 Feet

• “Nuclear Waste Is Piling Up. Does the U.S. Have a Plan?” from Scientific American

• "How Climate Change Threatens Coastal Archeological Sites" from KLCC/The World

• Explore the Proposed Wigi National Monument

About Indigenous peoples mentioned in the episode:

• Karuk Tribe

• Tolowa Dee-Ni’ Nation

• Wiyot Tribe

• Yurok Tribe

Future Imperfect

Sacramento Valley

In California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, the Sacramento Valley region, from Shasta down to the delta, is home to about 2.4 million people – 6% of the state total. More than half of those people – 1.5 million of them – live in and around Sacramento, our state capital. This episode explores how climate change will affect the Sacramento Valley region.

Questions

1. How is climate change expected to affect the Sacramento Valley region? Which of these effects will have the greatest impact on people’s day-to-day lives, in your opinion?

2. How vulnerable are communities in Sacramento to climate change effects? Using the CalEnviroScreen, compare your own neighborhood to neighborhoods in this city.

3. Learn about Flood Preparedness Week from California Department of Water Resources. While you’re there, click on “At Home” and follow the link to the My Hazards map to see whether your home is located in a flood zone.

4. Have you had any weather- or environment-related experiences similar to the young people in this episode? If so, how are your experiences similar? If not, why do you think that is?

Voices

In order of appearance, the young people I interviewed for this episode were: Jayson, Juan, and Avonna (all in Sacramento). I also spoke with my scientist-collaborator, Nancy Freitas.

Listening

Want to listen on another platform? You can find Future Imperfect on Apple Podcasts and on Stitcher.

Resources

If you want to dig deeper into some of the topics in this episode, here are some places to begin.

About anticipated climate change impacts:

• California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, Regional Reports

Efforts at climate change mitigation and adaptation

• City of Sacramento Office of Climate Action and Sustainability

• Climate Smart Agriculture from CalCAN

• “Working Landscapes” from Point Blue Conservation Science (see the section on Rangeland Watershed Initiative)

About heat:

• “What Is an Urban Heat Island?” from Climate Kids (NASA)

• “About Urban Heat Islands” from Heat.gov

• “Using Trees and Vegetation to Reduce Heat Islands” from US Environmental Protection Agency

• Sacramento Tree Foundation

• Treepedia: Exploring the Green Canopy in cities around the world from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

• “How Do You Measure Air Temperature Accurately?” from National Institute of Standards and Technology

• “Cooperative Weather Observer Program - Equipment Information” from National Weather Service

About precipitation:

• “Precipitation” from California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA)

• “Effective Groundwater Management in the Sacramento Valley” from Sacramento Valley

About flooding:

• Flood Preparedness Week from California Department of Water Resources

• My Hazards map from Cal Office of Emergency Services

• “What is an Atmospheric River?” from Scripps Oceanography

• “Sacramento at Risk: Understanding Its Flood Dilemma” from US Army Corp of Engineers (and others)

• “California Expands Floodwater Capacity” from ENR California

• “Lower Elkhorn Basin Levee Setback Project” from California Department of Water Resources

• “California Megaflood: Lessons from a Forgotten Catastrophe” from Scientific American

• “The Coming Megafloods” from Scientific American

• “ARkStorm Scenario” from US Geological Survey (USGS)

About wildfire:

• “Impact of anthropogenic climate change on wildfire across western US forests” from PNAS

• “California Wildfire Mitigation Program” from Cal Office of Emergency Services

Establishing the relationship between specific events and climate change:

• “Attribution Science: Linking Climate Change to Extreme Weather” from State of the Planet at Columbia Climate School

• World Weather Attribution

This is ARkStorm from USGS Multi Hazards on Vimeo.

Future Imperfect

San Francisco Bay Area

The San Francisco Bay is the westernmost of three interconnected bays - the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bays - that carry water from the state’s central river valley out to the ocean. In California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, the San Francisco Bay Area includes the nine counties that ring these bays, from Sonoma County in the north, to Solano and Contra Costa Counties in the east, to Santa Clara county in the south.

 7.2 million people live here. That’s about 18% of the state population and 30% of the state’s economy. Many of the world’s best-known tech companies are based here – Google, Apple, Tesla, Facebook, plus two major ports, three international airports, and a thriving wine industry.

In this episode we’re going to explore how climate change will alter the San Francisco Bay Area.

Questions

1. How is climate change expected to affect the San Francisco Bay Area region? Which of these effects will have the greatest impact on people’s day-to-day lives, in your opinion?

2. Use the Our Coast Our Future hazard map to see how different amounts of sea level rise will alter the Bay Area. Then, check to see how sea level rise will contribute to groundwater rise.

3. Explore the projects teams developed for the Resilient By Design Bay Area Challenge. What do you like or dislike about them? What kinds of characteristics do they have in common?

4. Have you had any weather- or environment-related experiences similar to the young people in this episode? If so, how are your experiences similar? If not, why do you think that is?

Voices

In order of appearance, the young people I interviewed for this episode were: Zoriana (San Francisco), Nadine (San Rafael), Mikayla (Windsor), Isha (Oakland), and Hriday (Livermore). I also spoke with my scientist-collaborator, Nancy Freitas.

Listening

Want to listen on another platform? You can find Future Imperfect on Apple Podcasts and on Stitcher.

Resources

If you want to dig deeper into some of the topics in this episode, here are some places to begin.

About anticipated climate change impacts:

• California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, Regional Reports

• Plan Bay Area 2050

About heat:

• California Heat Assessment Tool

• “Beat Extreme Heat with These 8 Tactics” from the American Planning Association

• Planning for Urban Heat Resilience by Ladd Keith and Sarah Meerow

About fire:

• “The Day the San Francisco Sky Turned Orange” from New Yorker

• “Nowhere to escape’: Rippling impacts of California wildfires” from The Daily Californian

• “3 Reasons California Is Always on Fire” from Poopy Archaeology

• “To Manage Wildfire, California Looks To What Tribes Have Known All Along” from NPR

• “Preparing Homes for Wildfire” from National Fire Protection Association

About sea level rise and groundwater rise:

• “Rising Seas and Sinking Land: The Precarious Future of Treasure Island” from Bay Curious podcast

• “Sinking ground in San Francisco Bay will worsen flooding from rising sea levels” from Phys.org

• “Many Stinson Beach homes could be flooded amid rising seas within a decade. Would building dunes save them?” from San Francisco Chronicle

• “The Sea Beneath Us” from Bay Nature Magazine

• “How Rising Sea Levels Could Push Up a 'Toxic Soup' Into Bay Area Neighborhoods” from KQED

Explore sea level rise and groundwater rise via interactive tools:

• Our Coast Our Future interactive map

• Bay Shoreline Flood Explorer from Adapting to Rising Tides (ART)

• Sea Level Rise from Cal Adapt (to view flooding in Delta area)

• East Contra Costa Shoreline Flood Explorer from Adapting to Rising Tides (ART)

Indigenous history and present in the Bay Area

• “Yelamu: the Native Peoples of San Francisco” from San Francisco Estuary Institute

• “Modeling the Prehistoric Extent of San Francisco Bay and Potential for Cultural Resources” from Far Western Anthropological Research Group

• “Long Lost Oakland, chapter 1: Grizzly bears & redwood trees” from East Bay Yesterday

• Map of Shellmound Locations from Nelson’s 1909 publication

• Castro Shellmound (photo) on flickr

• “There Were Once More Than 425 Shellmounds in the Bay Area. Where Did They Go?” from KQED

• “Excavating Memory: Shellmounds of the Bay Area” from SFMOMA

• “The Ohlone: San Francisco's Original People” from Mother Jones

• “Kashia Pomo Tribal Traditions in the MPA” from Sonoma MPA Collaborative

• Muwekma Ohlone Tribe website

• Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria (Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo) website

• The Association of Ramaytush Ohlone website

• Confederated Villages of Lisjan website

Formation of the San Francisco Bay:

• Formation of the Bay video from Saving the Bay Education

• “The Bay Area During the Ice Age (Think Saber-Tooth Cats and Mammoths)” from Bay Curious at KQED

Future Imperfect

Central Coast

In California’s Fourth State Climate Change Assessment, the Central Coast region is a long strip of land that runs from Santa Barbara in the south to Santa Cruz in the north. About 1.5 million people live here, spread across five counties. Most of the land is undeveloped natural areas: redwood forests and mountains. There are a handful of medium-sized cities. Plus agricultural areas, like the Salinas Valley, made famous in the 1930s by the author, John Steinbeck. This episode explores how climate change will affect life in California’s Central Coast region

Questions

1. How is climate change expected to affect the Central Coast region? Which of these effects will have the greatest impact on people’s day-to-day lives, in your opinion?

2. After listening to the episode, watch this New York Times video about debris flows. What is the relationship between climate change and the increased likelihood of debris flows in the Central Coast region?

3. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to sea level rise. What kinds of things might influence decision-making for people living in different places along the Central Coast? Here are some things you can do to better understand this topic:

   1. Watch “How Coastal Erosion Works” to understand cliff retreat along parts of the Central Coast.

   2. Use the Our Coast Our Future hazard map to see how different amounts of sea level rise would affect Watsonville and other areas along the Central Coast.

   3. Watch “Can reviving beach dunes help California with sea level rise?” (from LA Times).

   4. Play the Ocean Game (from the LA Times). What options did you choose and why did they work/not work?

Voices

In order of appearance, the young people I interviewed for this episode were: Zeke (Arroyo Grande), Domingo (Watsonville), Frank (Watsonville), and Vince (Santa Cruz). I also spoke with my scientist-collaborator, Nancy Freitas.

Listening

Want to listen on another platform? You can find Future Imperfect on Apple Podcasts and on Stitcher.

Resources

If you want to dig deeper into some of the topics in this episode, here are some places to begin.

About anticipated climate change impacts:

• California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, Regional Reports

About early California history:

• The Chumash People — A Living History from the Santa Ynez Chumash

• “Amah Mutsun Tribal Band - History” from Amah Mutsun Tribal Band

• “What America's Forests Looked Like Before Europeans Arrived” from Scientific American (focused on East Coast, but describes changing plant species).

About geo-engineering:

• “Explainer: Six ideas to limit global warming with solar geoengineering” from Carbon Brief

• “Geoengineer the Planet? More Scientists Now Say It Must Be an Option” from YaleEnvironment360

• “20 reasons why geoengineering may be a bad idea” from Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

• “Scaling Carbon Capture” from Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

• “Geoengineers inch closer to Sun-dimming balloon test” from Science

• “Volcanoes show why solar geoengineering can’t save our food from climate change” from Vox

About meat and emissions:

• “Interactive: What is the climate impact of eating meat and dairy?” from Carbon Brief

• “Is Meat Bad for the Environment?” from CLEAR Center at UC Davis

• “Environmental Impacts of Food Production” from Our World in Data

• “Meat and Dairy Production” from Our World in Data

• “The Planetary Health Diet” from EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health

• “Eat less meat: UN climate-change report calls for change to human diet” from Nature

• Dairy and Livestock Greenhouse Gas Emissions Working Group at the California Air Resources Board

• “The State of School Lunch in California” from Friends of the Earth

• AB-558 School meals: Child Nutrition Act of 2022 via California Legislative Information

About oceans and sea level rise:

• Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate from IPCC

• “How Coastal Erosion Works” from Practical Engineering

• City of Santa Cruz Climate Adaptation Plan (2018)

• Our Coast Our Future hazard map

• “Can reviving beach dunes help California with sea level rise?” from LA Times

• Ocean Game from the LA Times

About aquifers and seawater intrusion:

• “Central Coast Poor Water Quality Concentrated in Low-Income Communities of Color” from Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy

• “Seawater Intrusion” from USGS

• “Seawater Barriers” from West Basin Municipal Utility District

About storms and debris flows:

• “Pajaro River Flood Risk Management Project” from Pajaro River Watershed Flood Prevention Authority

• “Funding to tame flooding from Pajaro River now in place” from KSBW Action News 8

• “Debris Flows/Mudflows” from Santa Cruz County Fire Recovery

• “'Mother Of All Landslides' In Big Sur Buries Section Of California's Highway 1” from The Two-Way on NPR

Future Imperfect

SIERRA NEVADA

In California’s fourth climate change assessment, the Sierra Nevada region is huge, extending along the eastern edge of the state from the Oregon border all the way down to Death Valley in the southeast. It includes 14 entire counties, plus the eastern parts of 4 others. The discovery of gold here in the mid-1800s led to many thousands of people pouring into the area, but today only 3% of it is cities or agricultural areas. The remaining 97% is grasslands, shrublands, forests, and, in the south, high desert. Four young people spoke with me and helped me understand how climate change is likely to affect day-to-day life in this region.

Questions

1. In what ways is climate change expected to affect the Sierra Nevada region? Which of these effects will have the greatest impact on people’s day-to-day lives, in your opinion?

2. How are current fire- and water-related problems in the Sierra Nevada region related to climate change? How are they related to human decisions and government policies in California?

3. This episode discusses wildfire, soil dryness, and tree mortality. Take a look at the maps showing fire incidents, soil moisture levels, and tree mortality across the state. How does your hometown compare to the towns you heard about in this episode? (They are: Penn Valley, Nevada City, Big Pine, Bishop)

4. Have you had any weather- or environment-related experiences similar to the young people in this episode? If so, how are your experiences similar? If not, why do you think that is?

Voices

In order of appearance, the young people I interviewed for this episode were: Antonino (Penn Valley), Evelyn (Nevada City), Brooke (Big Pine), and Joseph (Bishop). I also spoke with my scientist-collaborator, Nancy Freitas.

Listening

Want to listen on another platform? You can find Future Imperfect on Apple Podcasts and on Stitcher.

Resources

If you want to dig deeper into some of the topics in this episode, here are some places to begin.

About anticipated climate change impacts:

• California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, Regional Reports

About the Camp Fire (aka the Paradise Fire):

• “Last day in Paradise: the untold story of how a fire swallowed a town” from The Guardian

• “Camp Fire Caused Nearly 2 Straight Weeks of Bay Area's Worst Air Quality on Record” from The California Report

• “Rebuilding Paradise” from The Indicator from Planet Money

About nuclear energy:

• “As nuclear waste piles up, scientists seek the best long-term storage solutions” from Chemical & Engineering News

• “Industry Meltdown: Is the Era of Nuclear Power Coming to an End?” from Yale Environment 360

• “Spent Nuclear Fuel: A Trash Heap Deadly for 250,000 Years or a Renewable Energy Source?” from Scientific American

• “We’ve been having the wrong debate about nuclear energy” from Yale Climate Solutions

About wildfire:

• “3 Reasons California Is Always on Fire” from Poopy Archaeology

• Dangerous Development: Fire and Rural Sprawl in the Sierra Nevada from Sierra Nevada Alliance

• “They Know How to Prevent Megafires. Why Won’t Anybody Listen?” from ProPublica

• “SNC funds prescribed fire & cultural burning training project” from Sierra Nevada Conservancy

About the genocide against Native Californians:

• An American Genocide online presentation by Dr. Benjamin Madley

About water in the Owens Valley:

• “Payahǖǖnadǖ Water Story” from Wading Through the Past

• “Reimagining Payahuunadü” from Owens Valley Indian Water Commission

• “In Los Angeles 'water colony', tribes fear a parched future” from Reuters

Relevant Maps:

• Incident Archives from CalFire

• Tree Mortality Viewer from Drought.gov

• Soil Moisture Map from Drought.gov

Future Imperfect

Government, Part 2

This is the second of two episodes about local government. The last episode explored the basics of how local government works – the kinds of things California cities and counties are responsible for and who does what within a city government. In this you’ll learn how and when you can most effectively interact with your local government.

Questions and Activities

1. Which government(s) have jurisdiction over the place where you live? Use randymajors.org to confirm your city (if you’re in one) and your county.
   Note: You may live in an unincorporated area that falls outside of any city, but comes under the jurisdiction of a county. Or, you might live on reservation lands, in which case the tribal government is your local government.

2. Find your local government’s website and
   (a) locate the meeting schedule for the council/board of supervisors,
   (b) find the agenda for the most recent city council meeting or (if you don’t live in a city) county board of supervisors meeting, and
   (c) see if your city/county makes video of past meetings available.
   Note: If you live on reservation lands, your local government may not make meeting agendas publicly available on their website because, as sovereign governments, they are not subject to California’s meeting laws.

3. Using this Caltrans map of planning agencies, identify the planning agency that manages transportation planning where you live, then take a look at their website to see if you can find agendas for their meetings. See “Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) & Regional Transportation Planning Agency (RTPA) Links” to find your local agency.
   Note: If you live in a place that has both a regional transportation planning agency and also a county or metropolitan agency, find meeting information for the smaller one. For example, if you live in Los Angeles County, look up agendas for the Los Angeles County MTA, not Southern California Association of Governments.

4. Check this list of CA Youth Commissions and Councils to see if your local government already has a youth commission/council.
   Note: You should also search your local government website, in case this list is not up to date.

5. Use the CalEnviroScreen Map to look at your hometown. Are there any census tracts in your hometown with an overall CalEnviroScreen overall percentile of 75 - 100? What does this mean for your city or county, the next time they update their general plan?

Voices

In order of appearance, the people I interviewed for this episode were: Karen Pinkas (El Cerrito), Dana Murray (Manhattan Beach), Juan (Sacramento), Sky Woodruff (Bay Area city attorney), Donna Colson (Burlingame), Rob Ball (Kern County), Tiffany Wise-West (Santa Cruz), Moiz (Sacramento), Carissa Bradley (Sierra Business Council), and Frank Lyles (Mount Shasta).

Listening

Want to listen on another platform? You can find Future Imperfect on Apple Podcasts and on Stitcher.

Resources

Below, you’ll find resources related to the topics mentioned in this episode. See the Resources list from the last episode for more information about local government.

Tools to find local government agencies:

• Randymajors.org - find city and county boundaries

• California State Association of Counties - see which cities are in each California county, learn about county structure, and more

• “Federal and State Recognized Tribes” - see a list of all federally recognized tribal governments in California

• Caltrans map of planning agencies - find transportation planning agencies on a map

• “Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) & Regional Transportation Planning Agency (RTPA) Links” - links to transportation planning agency sites

About community engagement:

• “CA Youth Commissions and Councils” from Institute for Local Government

• “Inclusive Public Engagement” from Institute for Local Government

• “Executive Summary: 2018 Regional Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy” from Kern Council of Governments

• “Climate Action Plan 2030” from Santa Cruz

• “Manhattan Beach Sustainability Youth Council 2018 - 2019” from Manhattan Beach

• “Sacramento Youth Commissioner Conversation on Climate Change”

About SB 1000:

• “SB 1000 - Environmental Justice in Local Land Use Planning” from California Attorney General’s Office

• CalEnviroScreen 4.0

• “SB 1000 Toolkit: Planning for Healthy Communities” from California Environmental Justice Alliance

About the Sacramento Mayors’ Commission on Climate Change:

• “Student Climate Change Summit” video

• “How Sac State Students Influenced our Cities’ Climate Action Plans” presentation

• The Mayors’ Commission on Climate Change final report and technical report

• “Big moves by Sacramento’s City Council on the Mayor’s Commission on Climate Change recommendations!“ from 350 Sacramento

• Sacramento Environmental Justice Collaborative Governance Committee

• “Here are six ways the city of Sacramento is taking action to address climate change” from Sacramento City Express

• “Statement: Gov. Newsom announces he is accelerating California’s progress to climate goals”

About the CivicSpark Fellowships:

• CivicSpark

• Sierra Business Council

• Nevada County Energy Action Plan

• City of Mt. Shasta website

About state-level climate change policy in California:

• “The California climate bills that passed — and failed — in 2021”

Future Imperfect

Government, Part 1

This is the first of two episodes about local government. We begin with the basic structure of local government so you can understand who does what. Plus, we look at what local governments are doing to address climate change. In the next episode, you’ll learn how you can get involved and influence these policies.

Questions

1. What is a climate action plan? What is a climate adaptation plan? How can these documents influence policy-making in local government?

2. Does your city, county, or school district have a climate action plan, an energy action plan, or a climate adaptation plan? First, look at the CAP-Map. If you don’t see anything there, search their websites.

3. Is your city a charter city or a general law city? If it’s a charter city, who is responsible for preparing the budget?

4. What is one way local governments reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

5. How are local government agencies working to adapt, so that climate change will be less dangerous for their residents?

6. What questions would you like to ask your local government officials after listening to this episode?

Voices

In order of appearance, the young people I interviewed for this episode were: Zeke (Canyon Arroyo), Sky Woodruff (Bay Area city attorney), Bo Pak (Oakland), Donna Colson (Burlingame), Karen Pinkas (El Cerrito), Lana Adlawan (North Bay), Bjorn Jones (Grass Valley), Tiffany Wise-West (Santa Cruz), and Dana Murray (Manhattan Beach).

Listening

Want to listen on another platform? You can find Future Imperfect on Apple Podcasts and on Stitcher.

Resources

There is a tremendous amount of information about government planning for climate change. Below, you’ll find resources related to all the topics mentioned in the show.

Interactive tools:

California Climate Action Portal (CAP-Map) from Air Resources Board

Our Coast, Our Future - Hazard Map

EN-ROADS Climate Change Solutions Simulator
This simulator allows you to play with possible government policies at a national level to see how different policies would affect global temperatures.

City websites and documents related to this episode:

“Types and Responsibilities of Local Agencies” from Institute for Local Government

Alameda County Stop Waste

City of Burlingame Climate Action Plan

City of Burlingame Disposable Food Service Ware ordinance

City of El Cerrito Climate Action Plan

PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoff October 9th-12th Report from PG&E

City of Grass Valley

One Shoreline: San Mateo County Flood and Sea Level Resiliency District (FSLR)

City of Santa Cruz Climate Action Planning

City of Santa Cruz Climate Adaptation Planning

City of Santa Cruz Beaches: Urban Climate Adaptation Policy Implication & Response Strategy Evaluation Technical Report

Sustainable Manhattan Beach

About laws and policies from State of California:

“AB 32 Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006” from California Air Resources Board

“AB 32 Climate Change Scoping Plan” from California Air Resources Board

“California Cap and Trade” from Center for Climate and Energy Solutions

“Cap and Trade Explained in Two and a Half Minutes” from Cal Matters

“Checking the math on cap and trade, some experts say it’s not adding up” from Cal Matters

SB 100: California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program: emissions of greenhouse gases

About mitigation and adaptation planning:

“Preparing for Climate Change in California” from Georgetown Climate Center (an overview of steps the state has taken to prepare for climate change impacts)

“California Climate Policy Dashboard” from Berkeley Law

“Climate Action Plans” from Institute for Local Government

“Local Government” from CoolCalifornia.org (Climate Action Planning)

Climate Tools from Cal-Adapt

“2019 Report on the State of Climate Action Plans in California" from California Air Resources Board

“Adaptation Capability Advancement Toolkit (Adapt-CA)” from Adapt-CA

Adaptation Planning Guide from Resilient CA

California Adaptation Planning Guide: Defining Local & Regional Impacts from California Emergency Management Agency

California Adaptation Planning Guide: Understanding Regional Characteristics from California Emergency Management Agency

Planning and Investing for a Resilient California: a guidebook for state agencies from Governor’s Office of Planning and Research

“Transformative Climate Communities: Community-led transformation for a sustainable California” from California Strategic Growth Council

About community choice aggregation:

“Lessons from East Bay Community Energy for Central Valley cities pursuing Community Choice Energy” from Environmental Justice Project

“Answers to ‘Where Does MCE’s Energy Come From?’” from MCE

“Power to the People: Community Choice Aggregation in California” from Georgetown Environmental Law Review

About complete streets:

“National Complete Streets Coalition” from Smart Growth America

“Complete Streets Program” from CalTrans

About microgrids:

“Community Microgrid Initiative” from Clean Coalition

About preventing flooding:

“Bioswales” from National Association of City Transportation Officials

“How Does Permeable Pavement Work?” from Practical Engineering

“Urban wetland at Peabody Creek” (in Grass Valley) from The Union

“Grass Valley looks ahead with groundwater recharge projects” from The Union

About addressing sea-level rise:

“Climate change could result in a beachless Manhattan Beach” from Easy Reader & Peninsula

“California Has A New Idea For Homes At Risk From Rising Seas: Buy, Rent, Retreat” from NPR

Coastal Armoring in California

“Can reviving beach dunes help California with sea level rise?” from Los Angeles Times

About cool streets & shade trees:

Global Cool Cities Alliance

“Shade” from 99% Invisible

“‘Turn Off the Sunshine’: Why Shade Is a Mark of Privilege in Los Angeles” from New York Times

“Student-Led Mapping Locates Areas in Los Angeles in Need of Shade Equity” from ESRI Blog

City Plants

USC Urban Trees Initiative

Future Imperfect

San Joaquin Valley, Part 2

In the last episode, you learned how climate change is projected to affect air quality and heat in the San Joaquin Valley region. Another big projected change has to do with water. This episode is part two for the San Joaquin Valley region. It’s all about how changing precipitation patterns will affect life in the Central Valley.

Questions

1. Use the Drinking Water Tool and the Current U.S. Drought Monitor to figure out where your water comes from and to see how your part of the state is doing in terms of drought. How does this compare to drought conditions in Bakersfield, Delano, Coalinga, and Huron?

2. How did the past drought (2011 - 2017) affect the people you heard from in this episode? Compare this to how it affected your life.

3. After listening, watch this Groundwater Aquifer Contamination video. How is drought related to water contamination by 123 TCP and other chemicals?

4. How might each of the following water-related actions affect life in the San Joaquin Valley region? Also, how do you think they would affect life in other parts of the state?

   • taking more/less water out of rivers and streams

   • managing dams differently

   • fallowing land and using it for solar farms instead

   • allowing snowmelt to flood certain areas at specific times of year so it can sink down into groundwater aquifers

Voices

The young people in this episode were first introduced in San Joaquin Valley, Part 1. In order of appearance, they were: Luke (Coalinga), Ivan (Earlimart), Michael (Huron), Yvette (Bakersfield), Karissa (Delano), and Elizabeth (Delano). I also spoke with my scientist-collaborator, Nancy Freitas.

Listening

Want to listen on another platform? You can find Future Imperfect on Apple Podcasts and on Stitcher.

Resources

If you want to dig deeper into some of the topics in this episode, here are some places to begin.

Your Water

“Drinking Water Tool” from Community Water Center

“Draining California” from National Geographic

“Current U.S. Drought Monitor Conditions for California” at NOAA and NIDIS

“Central Valley Project” from Water Education Foundation

Save Our Water

2011 - 2017 Drought

“California Drought: 2011-2017 - A story about the historic drought” from NOAA and NIDIS

“A guide to California's water crisis — and why it's so hard to fix” from Vox

Conflict over Water Use

“Agriculture is 80 percent of water use in California. Why aren’t farmers being forced to cut back?” from Washington Post (2015)

“Delta smelt: the tiny fish caught in California's war with Trump” from The Guardian

“California Drought sharpens perpetual water conflict” (2021) from Cal Matters

Water Shortages

“Deep Deficit” from Science

“An entire California town is without running water — in a heat wave” (2021) from Cal Matters

“In California’s agricultural heartland, thousands of wells could soon run dry” (2021) from PBS News Hour

“Tulare County’s never-ending drought brings dried up wells and plenty of misery” (2021) from Cal Matters

Groundwater Issues

Groundwater Availability and Sustainable Groundwater Management Act

“New protections for California's aquifers are reshaping the state's Central Valley” from NPR

“Without Enough Water To Go Around, Farmers In California Are Exhausting Aquifers” from NPR

Water Contamination

“City of Delano water system fails to meet drinking standard” from ABC News Bakersfield

“Groundwater Aquifer Contamination” from Community Water Center

“New State Law To Bring Arsenic-Free Drinking Water To Tulare County Community” from KVPR/NPR for Central California

Subsidence

“NASA Data Show California's San Joaquin Valley Still Sinking” from NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Dams

“Operating Dams to Better Manage Big Storms Can Build Resiliency to Climate Extremes” from Public Policy Institute of California

“Sedimentation in California Reservoirs: A Long-Term Problem of Immediate Concern” from California Water Law Journal

Flooding

“Coalinga Rain Floods Town with Oil Scum” in the San Francisco Call, 1913

“Coalinga Flooding 06/02/19” via ABC30 Action News

“Flooding in Southwest Bakersfield” from 23 ABC News KERO

2021 Drought

“California’s Latest Drought in 4 Charts” from Public Policy Institute of California

Sen. Hurtado Virtual Press Conference: Drought Impacts

“Growing Uncertainty in the Central Valley” from New Yorker

“As drought worsens, California farmers are being paid not to grow crops” from Los Angeles Times

Deep Dive

“Water and the Future of the San Joaquin Valley” from the Public Policy Institute of California

Future Imperfect

San Joaquin Valley, Part 1

In California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, the San Joaquin Valley region includes all of San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Kings, and Tulare counties, plus parts of Madera, Fresno, and Kern counties. It stretches from Stockton in the north to Bakersfield in the south. About 4 million people live in this region. That’s a little over 10% of the state population. Because its agricultural economy is so intimately connected to the physical environment, climate change is going to have unusually profound effects on life in this part of the state. Part 1 focuses on air quality and heat in the Valley. Part 2 will tackle the incredibly complicated topic of precipitation – both drought and flooding.

Questions

1. What kinds of air quality problems do people in the San Joaquin Valley region experience? What causes each of these problems?

2. How is climate change expected to affect heat in the Central Valley? What are some ways this will affect people’s day-to-day lives?

3. How vulnerable are communities in Bakersfield, Delano, Earlimart, Coalinga, and Huron to climate change effects? Using the CalEnviroScreen, compare your own neighborhood to neighborhoods in two of these cities.

4. Have you had any weather- or environment-related experiences similar to the young people in this episode? If so, how do are your experiences similar? If not, why do you think that is?

Voices

In order of appearance, the young people I interviewed for this episode were: Yvette (Bakersfield), Elizabeth (Delano), Karissa (Delano), Ivan (Earlimart), Luke (Coalinga), and Michael (Huron). I also spoke with my scientist-collaborator, Nancy Freitas.

Listening

Want to listen on another platform? You can find Future Imperfect on Apple Podcasts and on Stitcher.

Resources

If you want to dig deeper into some of the topics in this episode, here are some places to begin.

About anticipated climate change impacts:

• See the short summary for the San Joaquin Valley - California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, Regional Reports

• Climate Change in the San Joaquin Valley from Union of Concerned Scientists

• “What Climate Change Means for California” from the US Environmental Protection Agency

• “Overview of Projected Change in the California Central Valley” from California Landscape Conservation Partnership

• “Kern County’s Future in the Face of Climate Change” from Advancement Project California

• City of Stockton Climate Action Plan

• CalEnviroScreen map

About the San Joaquin Valley economy:

• “'Kern runs on oil': as California confronts climate crisis, one county is ready to drill” from The Guardian

• “Climate change report forecasts hard times for Kern ag” from Bakersfield.com

• “Resilient Roots: Climate-Smart Agriculture and Food Systems” from Climate Science Alliance

About air quality:

• “Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis)” from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• “State of the Air” from American Lung Association

• San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District

• “What is AB 617?” from San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District

• Community Air Protection Program

• “California Greenhouse Gas Emissions for 2000 to 2019” from California Air Resources Board

• “Cars, Trucks, Buses and Air Pollution” from Union of Concerned Scientists

• “Meat production leads to thousands of air quality-related deaths annually” from National Geographic

• “Breathless in Bakersfield: is the worst air pollution in the US about to get worse?” from The Guardian

• Californians for Pesticide Reform

About heat:

• “California Heat Waves” from California-Nevada Climate Applications Program

• “In California, extreme heat and ozone pollution hit poor communities hardest” from National Geographic

• “Development to Meet San Joaquin Valley’s Population Growth, Extreme Temperature Must be Climate-Smart” from union of Concerned Scientists

Future Imperfect

Inland Deserts

Inland Deserts includes all of Imperial County, plus desert areas of Riverside and San Bernardino counties the lands of 12 different tribal nations. How will its borderland location, desert environment, and water supply interact with climate change to affect the lives of people in this area? You’ll hear from two young people whose personal experiences will help you glimpse the future in this region.

Questions

1. In what ways is climate change expected to affect the Inland Deserts region? Which of these effects will have the greatest impact on people’s day-to-day lives, in your opinion?

2. What is the historical relationship between climate changes and migration? Why is migration (as a form of climate adaptation) more complicated now than in the past?

3. Look at the resources below about heat, the human body, and workers. What do you think about California’s current regulations to protect farmworkers? How do you think climate change is going to affect the lives of agricultural workers in the Inland Deserts region?

4. Do you think lithium mining in the Salton Sea is a positive development? Consider it from a perspective of existing air quality problems, the local economy, climate mitigation, and climate justice.

Voices

In order of appearance, the young people I interviewed for this episode were: Angela (El Centro) and Elias (Calexico). I also spoke with my scientist-collaborator, Nancy Freitas.

Listening

Want to listen on another platform? You can find Future Imperfect on Apple Podcasts and on Stitcher.

Resources

If you want to dig deeper into some of the topics in this episode, here are some places to begin.

About anticipated climate change impacts:

• Check out the Inland Deserts report - California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, Regional Reports

About the Cahuilla and Cocopah peoples:

• Souther California Tribal Chairmen’s Association

• Cocopah Indian Tribe website

• Cocopah Now YouTube channel

About the border at Calexico and climate migration:

• “For Native Americans, US-Mexico border is an ‘imaginary line’” from The Conversation

• “Southwest Borderlands: Confluence and Conflict” from Smithsonian National Museum of American History

• “Wake up, cross the border, go to school: For some Mexican students, it’s a daily routine” from LA Times

• “Where Will Everyone Go?” from ProPublica and New York Times Magazine

About heat and the human body:

• Killer Heat Interactive Tool

• “Extreme heat is one of the deadliest consequences of climate change” from LA Times

• “Heat is the silent killer we should all be worried about” from Popular Science

• “Health Check: how can extreme heat lead to death?” from The Conversation

• “What It Feels Like to Die from Heatstroke” from Outside

• “Heat waves are dangerous during pregnancy, but doctors don't often mention it” from NPR

About heat and work:

• “Heat Illness Prevention” from California Department of Industrial Relations

• “Protecting California’s Farmworkers as Temperatures Rise” from Science & Climate at UC Davis

• “California’s Proposed Regulations for Night Farm Work Spark Debate” from Society for Human Resource Management (SRHM)

• “Outdoor Agricultural Operations During Hours of Darkness” from California Department of Industrial Relations

About water:

• “Severe drought threatens Hoover dam reservoir – and water for US west” from The Guardian

• “A Desert City Tries to Save Itself With Rain” from Bloomberg CityLab

About the Salton Sea:

• Native Americans at the Salton Sea

• “‘The air is toxic’: how an idyllic California lake became a nightmare” from The Guardian

• Salton Sea Management Program

• Torres Martinez Wetlands, a project of the California Department of Water Resources

• “Will California’s desert be transformed into Lithium Valley?” from Cal Matters

• “New developments push lithium extraction closer to reality” from The Desert Review

• “Move to net zero 'inevitably means more mining'“ from BBC News

• Lithium Valley Commission, a project of the California Energy Commission

See photos of Elias’ favorite place, the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park:

• Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

Extreme heat will be a problem across much of the US. The video below comes from Wisconsin, far to the north and east of Inland Deserts, but also facing the impacts of high heat.

Future Imperfect

Taking Action

How do young people determine that climate change is a problem that affects them, personally? What kinds of actions do they take, both individually and in community with others? And how do they describe the future they hope for? This episode explores how people make the transition from being concerned about climate change to taking action. You’ll hear from young people across the state, each of whom is taking some kind of action to fight climate change.

Questions

• What motivated young people to attend the Sacramento climate strike in September 2019? Consider both their concerns about climate change and their hopes for the future. Which person do you most identify with, and why?

• Did this episode change your thoughts and feelings about how your individual behaviors affect climate change? Why or why not?

• In the final 20 minutes of the show, you heard from several people who were working to make local institutional changes as part of the larger global fight against climate change. Do you think you’d be willing and able to do what each of these four young people did? Why or why not?

  • Diego (who spoke at a school district meeting and other climate events)

  • Mikayla (who worked with her school’s environmental club)

  • Karissa (who founded an environmental club)

  • Isha (who co-founded a climate justice organization)

• Isha describes herself as a climate justice activist. What does this mean? Do you think any other people in the show are climate justice activists? Why or why not?

Voices

In order of appearance, the young people I interviewed for this episode were: Supriya, Matthew, Elaro, Marika, Erika, Nick, Denisha, Youlin, Jonathan, Natasha, Sera, Celina, Quintajia, Annika, Aditi, and Kyle (all at the Sacramento protest). Next you hear from Hriday (Livermore), Maddie (Fountain View), Nadine (San Rafael), Amber (San Diego), Zoriana (San Francisco), Domingo (Watsonville), Vince (Santa Cruz), Brooke (Big Pine), Diego (Chula Vista), Mikayla (Windsor), Karissa (Delano), and Isha (Oakland). I also spoke with my scientist-collaborator, Nancy Freitas.

Listening

Want to listen on another platform? You can find Future Imperfect on Apple Podcasts and on Stitcher.

Resources

About the urgency of the problem:

• “What Does ’12 Years to Act on Climate Change’ [Now 9 Years] Really Mean?” from Inside Climate News

About the Juliana v. US court case:

• “Our Children's Trust: Juliana v. US” from Our Children’s Trust

• Xiuhtezcatl Martinez: What is Juliana vs. The United States of America?

• “No Ordinary Lawsuit: Juliana v. United States is a Landmark Precedent for Climate Change Legislation” from Jurist

About individual behavioral changes and the scale of the problem:

• “Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions” from the US Environmental Protection Agency

• “How Big Oil Misled The Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled” from NPR

• “The carbon footprint sham” from Mashable

• “How plastics contribute to climate change” from Yale Climate Connections

• “10 Facts about Single Use Plastic Bags” from Center for Biological Diversity

• “A global comparison of the life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of combustion engine and electric passenger cars” from The International Council on Clean Transportation

Climate activism organizations (referenced in the show):

• Fridays for Future

• Earth Uprising

• Earth Guardians

• Sunrise Movement

• 350.org

• Youth Vs Apocalypse

  • “Youth vs Coal: Which Side Are You On?” from 350BayArea

  • “How pollution impacts health in West Oakland” from Environmental Defense Fund

Climate activism organizations I learned about in the process of working on the podcast (not in the show):

• California Environmental Justice Alliance

• Center for Race, Poverty, and the Environment

• Central California Environmental Justice Network

• Communities for a Better Environment

• Dream Corps: Green for All

• Green Action

• Youth4Climate

• Zero Hour

Future Imperfect

San Diego

In California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, San Diego County is its own region. In the south it borders Mexico. Its western edge is 70 miles of Pacific coast, lined with beaches and cliffs. To the east is mountainous desert. This part of the state is home to about 3.4 million people – projected to grow to 4 million by 2050 and most of them live in the western part of the county. You’ll hear from three young people in the region whose experiences will help you glimpse San Diego's climate future. It includes sea-level rise, plus a whole lot more.

Questions

1. In what ways is climate change expected to affect the San Diego region? Which of these effects will have the greatest impact on people’s day-to-day lives, in your opinion?

2. What kinds of things affect sea level along the coast at any particular place and time? Explore the map at Our Coast Our Future to see how different combinations of sea level rise, wave height, flooding, and coastal erosion will affect the San Diego coast.

3. How are historical and social factors making people’s experience of climate change better or worse? Think about sea level rise, heat, access to water, and flooding. Using the CalEnviroScreen, see which parts of San Diego county are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

4. I asked the young people I interviewed to tell me about the future they worried about and the future they hoped for. How would you answer those questions?

Voices

In order of appearance, the young people I interviewed for this episode were: Amber (San Diego), Leilani (Bonita), and Diego (Chula Vista). I also spoke with my scientist-collaborator, Nancy Freitas.

Listening

Want to listen on another platform? You can find Future Imperfect on Apple Podcasts and on Stitcher.

Resources

If you want to dig deeper into some of the topics in this episode, here are some places to begin.

About anticipated climate change impacts:

• Check out the San Diego report - California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, Regional Reports

• Sea-level rise map at Our Coast Our Future

• CalEnviroScreen: visit the MAP and the main page

• City of San Diego Climate Action Plan

• City of San Diego policy prioritizing capital improvements in vulnerable communities

From and about Indigenous peoples whose ancestral lands are in this region:

• San Diego Native Americans site at University of San Diego

• Kumeyaay.com

• “Climate Change” from Pala Environmental Department

Sea level rise:

• “Rising Seas in California - An Update on Sea Level Rise Science” from California Ocean Science Trust

• “Storm Surge Overview” from National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center

• Sea Level Rise Viewer from NOAA

• Coastal Storm Modeling System (CoSMoS)

• “Stormy Weather And High Tides Flood Imperial Beach” from KPBS

• “Looking to Keep Imperial Beach Above Water” from NBC 7 San Diego

Wildland-Urban interface:

• “Most California wildfire is in wildland-urban interface area with less fuel, more people” from ScienceDaily

• “Why Sprawl Could Be The Next Big Climate Change Battle” from NPR

About the drying of the Colorado River:

• “Climate change is drying up the Colorado River, putting millions at risk of 'severe water shortages'“ from CNN

Future Imperfect

Los Angeles

In California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, the Los Angeles region includes Los Angeles, Riverside, and Orange Counties, plus parts of Riverside and San Bernardino counties. 18 million people live here – almost half the population of California. How will climate change affect this part of the state? You'll hear from five young people in the region. Their experiences will help you understand Los Angeles' climate future.

Questions

1. In what ways is climate change expected to affect the Los Angeles region? Which of these effects will have the greatest impact on people’s day-to-day lives, in your opinion?

2. Why will some people in this region experience climate change more intensely than others? Using the CalEnviroScreen, see how vulnerable your own neighborhood is.

3. How long have Native American communities lived in this region and how did their ancestors respond to natural shifts in California’s precipitation?

4. In terms of your own feelings about climate change, do you identify with one of the young people interviewed for this episode? Why? Or, if you don’t identify with any of them, why not?

Voices

In order of appearance, the young people I interviewed for this episode were: Niaz (Newport Beach), Faith and Maddie (sisters from Fountain Valley), Monique (Riverside), and Nefertiti (Los Angeles). I also spoke with my scientist-collaborator, Nancy Freitas.

Listening

Want to listen on another platform? You can find Future Imperfect on Apple Podcasts and on Stitcher.

Resources

If you want to dig deeper into some of the topics in this episode, here are some places to begin.

More about anticipated climate change impacts:

• Check out the Los Angeles report - California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, Regional Reports

• Recent Publications from the Air Quality Research Center at UC Davis

• Killer Heat Interactive Tool

• CalEnviroScreen: visit the MAP and the main page

• See images from the flood Niaz describes - “Partial Roof Collapse At Commercial Building, Schools Flooded In Wake Of OC Storm” from CBS Los Angeles

Responses to urban heat effects:

• Cool Roofs and Cool Pavements Toolkit from the Global Cool Cities Alliance

• “Shade” from 99% Invisible

About Indigenous peoples whose ancestral lands are in this region (partial list):

• “History of Ancient Los Angeles Was Driven by Its Wetlands, 8,000-Year Survey Finds” from WesternDigs.org

• Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians

• "We are the Acjachemen People" - David Avitia, Indigenous Voices of San Juan Capistrano

The water connection between Los Angeles and the Owens Valley:

• Los Angeles Aqueduct and Owens Valley from Water Education Foundation

• “L.A. took their water and land a century ago. Now the Owens Valley is fighting back” from Los Angeles Times

Finally, you might have been wondering how Nefer knew so much about e-watse. She did a class project about it and made this PSA:

Future Imperfect

What is Climate Change?

What is climate change? What’s causing it? What will it mean for the world as a whole? And what does it mean to “fight” climate change? This first episode takes a look at the big picture. It also introduces our core three concepts: climate change mitigation, adaptation to climate change, and climate justice.

Questions

1. How are greenhouse gas emissions contributing to global warming?

2. What is the difference between global warming and climate change?

3. What are four to five ways climate change will affect the world?

4. What is the importance of +1.5 degrees Celsius?

5. What is climate change mitigation? What is adaptation to climate change? What is climate justice?

Voices

Many of the young people I interviewed from various regions of the state show up in this episode. In order of first appearance, they are: Nef (Los Angeles), Michael (Huron), Monique (Riverside), Hriday (Livermore) , Elias (El Centro), Kaitlin (Ukiah) , Tehlias (Ukiah), Diego (Chula Vista) , Domingo (Watsonville), Frank (Watsonville), Mikayla (Windsor), Nadine (San Rafael), Isha (Oakland), Zeke (Canyon Arroyo), Brooke (Big Pine), Ivan (San Joaquin), Elizabeth (Delano), Karissa (Delano), Jayson (Sacramento), and Amber (San Diego).

I also spoke with my scientist-collaborator, Nancy Freitas.

Listening

Want to listen on another platform? You can find Future Imperfect on Apple Podcasts and on Stitcher.

Resources

If you want to dig deeper into some of the topics in this episode, here are some places to begin.

• The Causes of Climate Change from NASA

• Climate Basics for Kids from Center for Climate and Energy Solutions

• CO₂ and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Our World in Data

• What is a Carbon Sink? from LiveScience

• Analysis: How much ‘carbon budget’ is left to limit global warming to 1.5C? from Carbon Brief

• Climate Models from NOAA

• Is the ozone hole causing climate change? and Are the ozone hole and global warming related? from NASA

• What is ‘climate justice’? from Yale Climate Connections

• The Environmental Justice Movement Is Rooted In Black History from 350.org

• Principles of Climate Justice from the Mary Robinson Foundation

If you’re really diving deep, check out these sources:

• Reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

• Climate Change playlist from UC Berkeley

• Summer Reading List on Climate Justice from Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University

Future Imperfect

Welcome to Future Imperfect!

This podcast is dedicated to exploring how climate change will affect individuals and communities across California. You’ll learn about the predictions in California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment and you’ll hear how those predicted changes could play out in your day-to-day future and what you can do to work toward a good climate future, rather than a catastrophe. All the episodes are tied together by three important concepts: climate change mitigation, adaptation to climate change, and climate justice.

Episodes feature the voices of young people, activists, and people working in state, local, and tribal governments. Nancy Freitas, a climate scientist studying at UC Berkeley, brings a scientific lens to each episode. She helps break down the scientific concepts we discuss. And finally, there’s me, the host, guiding you through this exploration of the future. I’m a former high school social studies teacher, so my focus is on how these physical changes will affect our human communities.

California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment breaks down California into nine geographic regions. Over the next few months, I’ll be releasing episodes about each of these regions. There will also be episodes to help you take action, focused on individual actions, activism, and involvement with local government. Finally, there will be episodes about big topics that tie the state together across regions: water, fire, and agriculture.

Each episode will also come with links to lots of follow-up resources and (for teachers) a few focus questions.

Finally, a huge thank you all the people who generously shared their personal and professional stories and knowledge during the tumultuous year of 2020. I’m extremely grateful to you.