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
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?
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?
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:
Watch “How Coastal Erosion Works” to understand cliff retreat along parts of the Central Coast.
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.
Watch “Can reviving beach dunes help California with sea level rise?” (from LA Times).
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:
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
“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