Month: June 2021

News Article by Ezra David Romero / KQED

As the South Bay grapples with the impacts of climate change, people there are creating solutions by relying on arguably the most fundamental element of conversation: listening.

This process began in East Palo Alto, where community groups and scientists are helping residents understand how warming temperatures are raising water levels in the bay — already half the city lies in a federal flood zone. And the idea is now spreading to nearby communities like North Fair Oaks, a small unincorporated area of mostly neighborhoods. Soon, it will expand into a regional science project where hundreds of residents will document how climate change is altering their lives over the next five years. 

The listening project is led by Violet Wulf-Saena, founder and executive director of the nonprofit Climate Resilient Communities. Her group advocates for climate change solutions that integrate the communities most affected by warming temperatures in the Bay Area…

News Article by Liza Gross / KQED

Farmers toil at the mercy of nature’s whims, which can prove particularly vexing in California.

Even before climate change, bouncing between drought and deluge was routine in the Central Valley, the state’s richest farming region. Humans have amplified these natural cycles by pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, studies show, creating a future filled with what scientists recently dubbed “whiplash events.”

California got a taste of whiplash four years ago, when one of its wettest winters immediately followed one of its deepest, longest droughts. Heavy runoff from rivers in the Sierra Nevada damaged the main spillway of the Oroville Dam, the largest in the nation, forcing more than 180,000 people to evacuate.

Such dramatic swings will create even more headaches for California farmers and water managers, who have more than their share in a good year.

Now, as California farmers grapple with reduced federal water allocations amid an intensifying drought, a recent study challenges policymakers to think about floods…

News Article by Sierra Lopez / The Daily Journal

Faced with increasingly drier seasons and hotter weather, San Mateo County leaders encouraged residents to play a productive role in mitigating fire risks and preparing for potential catastrophes.

“The only way for us to address this huge challenge is if we’re all in this together,” Len Materman, CEO of OneShoreline, San Mateo County’s Flood and Sea Level Rise District said during a panel hosted Thursday, June 3, by the organization in partnership with the League of Women Voters.

Over the past five years, California has grown hotter and drier which has compounded decades of human impacts on the environment including fire suppression, population growth and aging infrastructure, Jonathan Cox, deputy chief of Cal Fire’s San Mateo County division, said…

News Article by Astrid Casimire / Bay City News Foundation

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA — San Mateo County leaders and officials will discuss wildfire risk in the county during a virtual forum on Thursday.

The forum takes place from 7-8:30 p.m. People can register here. Those who register will receive a Zoom link to access the event, which is capped at 100 attendees. It will also be live-streamed on YouTube.

Speakers include county Supervisor Don Horsley, Portola Valley Mayor Maryann Derwin, Deputy Chief of Cal Fire’s San Mateo County Division Jonathan Cox, San Mateo County Parks Director Nicholas Calderon and FIRE SAFE San Mateo County President Denise Enea.

They will discuss what is being done to reduce wildfire risk in the county. Speakers, community leaders and other experts will then answer questions from event attendees…