As climate change exacerbates droughts, wildfires, floods, storms and other catastrophes, community organizations in the city are racing to put systems in place to both measure its impacts on residents and to provide the tools they need to support themselves during disasters.
Category: Climate Change
Posted inAging, California, Climate Change
Climate Change Can Harm Mental Health of Older Adults: Q&A With Dr. Robin Cooper
Mental health experts based in the San Francisco Bay Area are exploring the ensuing physical, mental and emotional effects of climate change, particularly on the lives of older adults.
Posted inClimate Change, Economy & Business, Housing, Land use, News, Sea Level Rise
Promising to Prevent Floods at Treasure Island, Builders Downplay Risk of Sea Rise
Sea level rise is forcing cities around San Francisco Bay to weigh demand for new housing against the need to protect communities from flooding. Builders say they can solve this dilemma with cutting-edge civil engineering. But no one knows whether their ambitious efforts will be enough to keep newly built waterfront real estate safe in coming decades.
Meanwhile, developers are busy building — and telling the public that they can mitigate this one effect of climate change, despite mounting evidence that it could be a bigger problem than previously believed.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, City Hall, Climate Change, Public Safety
Intense Weather Stress-Tested SF’s Emergency Response
Rains this winter and early spring ended the drought in the Bay Area and brought a kind of weather whiplash that put San Francisco’s Department of Emergency Management to the test.
Early in the storm cycle, the department faced challenges communicating with the public, especially with people experiencing homelessness. Internal confusion over the forecast delayed the opening of its Emergency Operations Center until a major storm was under way. In at least one instance, flood barriers were deployed too late to prevent homes and businesses from being inundated.
Despite those missteps, the city rallied a coordinated response from its Emergency Operations Center, where multiple city agencies, along with Pacific Gas and Electric Co. representatives, gathered to discuss and act on emerging issues in real time.
Posted inAging, California, Climate Change, Health
Research on Climate Change and Health Reveals Risks for Older Adults: Q&A With Dr. Andrew Chang
Dr. Andrew Chang, an attending physician specializing in cardiology at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System and postdoctoral research fellow at the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, is investigating how the biological mechanisms of aging and a warming world will affect the health of older adults.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Bay Area, Climate Change, Environment, Health
Cool San Francisco Could Get Walloped by Next Heat Wave, but City Says It’s Ready
Since the 1970s, San Francisco’s average temperature has increased by 2 degrees Fahrenheit. City leaders are developing new strategies to keep people safe, with infrastructure designed for much cooler weather. The question is whether San Francisco is ready for the next deadly heat wave.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Bay Area, Climate Change, Environment, Utilities
Growing Bay Area Need Not Use More Water, Report Says
The Bay Area can house millions more people without increasing its water use, according to a new report from the urbanist and water-use think tanks SPUR and the Pacific Institute. This could be done by continuing to improve water conservation efforts while concentrating on developing infill housing to prevent urban sprawl.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Bay Area, Climate Change, Environment
Bay Area Organizers Take Climate, Indigenous Rights Advocacy to Global Summit
Thousands of delegates from around the world will meet next week in Glasgow, Scotland to discuss their nations’ commitments to addressing the climate crisis at the United Nations Climate Change Conference. Among those attending will be local organizers from the NDN Collective, an indigenous-led and -staffed organization.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Climate Change, Health
Battling Despair Over a New Climate Change Reality
As wildfires rage, unprecedented heat waves kill and cities are drowned in heavy rain, climate dread is turning to climate grief for many people.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, California, Climate Change, Utilities
Environmental Policy Analyst Makes Case for Building Electrification
Sasan Saadat, a research and policy analyst with Earthjustice, gave “Civic” an overview of the hazards associated with gas use in homes and explains some of the shortcomings of fossil gas alternatives.