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