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"title": "'No Nonsense' Ugandan Climate Activist Centers African Voices at COP26",
"headTitle": "‘No Nonsense’ Ugandan Climate Activist Centers African Voices at COP26 | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This \u003ca href=\"https://www.yesmagazine.org/environment/2021/11/02/vanessa-nakate-climate-activism\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">story\u003c/a> originally appeared in \u003ca href=\"https://www.yesmagazine.org/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">YES! magazine\u003c/a> and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I started reading Vanessa Nakate’s new book, \u003ca href=\"https://www.hmhbooks.com/shop/books/a-bigger-picture/9780358654506\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cem>A Bigger Picture\u003c/em>\u003c/a> (HarperCollins 2021), I didn’t immediately understand the connection between the title and \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/us-news-sally-buzbee-race-and-ethnicity-greta-thunberg-business-6a853a81f34164ab85713e68a889976d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the event that first introduced me\u003c/a> to the Ugandan climate activist. It was January 2020 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. She and four other youth activists were there to encourage attendees to take the climate crisis seriously. The five activists gave a press conference and posed for pictures. But when the Associated Press story came out, Nakate had been cropped from the photo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2019/09/Covering-Climate-Now-Logo.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2019/09/Covering-Climate-Now-Logo-160x160.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"160\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-1947420\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/09/Covering-Climate-Now-Logo-160x160.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/09/Covering-Climate-Now-Logo-800x799.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/09/Covering-Climate-Now-Logo-768x767.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/09/Covering-Climate-Now-Logo-1020x1019.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/09/Covering-Climate-Now-Logo.png 1116w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003c/a>“As I looked at the image,” the 24-year-old Nakate writes in the introduction to her book, “it became impossible to ignore that of the five women who’d posed for that photo, I was the only one who wasn’t from Europe and the only one who was Black. They hadn’t just cropped me out, I realized. They’d cropped out a whole continent.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So even though Nakate shares that she had felt great trepidation and timidity organizing climate strikes in the Ugandan capital of Kampala and attending international climate conferences in the previous year, it was this singular “error of judgement” and the resulting backlash that galvanized her resolve to act on climate justice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Being cropped out of that photo changed the course of my activism and my life,” she writes. “It reframed my thoughts about race, gender, equity, and climate justice; and it led to the words you’re now reading.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/bXH–TDGId8\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The authenticity of Nakate’s voice and her no-nonsense tone are among the many things I really appreciated about the 200-page memoir/manifesto on her fight to widen the metaphorical frame and bring more African voices into the global climate conversation. And it’s why I wanted to talk with her further. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, as has become customary for both journalism and climate organizing alike in 2021, she and I met on Zoom to talk about where her activism has taken her in 2021 and how she’s feeling as the much-anticipated global climate conference known as COP26 kicks off in Glasgow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For starters, I wanted to know how optimistic she was about COP26.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am not in the minds of leaders right now, but I want to really hope that they rise up for the people and the planet,” she says. “And I just hope that \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2021/11/03/amanpour-vanessa-nakate-cop26-climate-crisis.cnn\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">their words really match their actions\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align='right' size='small' citation='Vanessa Nakate, Ugandan climate activist']‘I think that every activist understands the solutions that they need in their communities. And they don’t really just understand these solutions, they implement them, regardless of how small or big their resources are.’[/pullquote]That’s one of her central criticisms of much of the global climate action—or inaction—she’s witnessed in her time as an activist: Leaders making promises about \u003ca href=\"https://www.climatechangenews.com/2021/04/06/south-africa-sets-tighten-2030-emissions-target/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">going net-zero by 2050\u003c/a>, let’s say, but then turning around and continuing to extract fossil fuels or build new \u003ca href=\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-21/s-africa-challenged-over-plans-for-new-coal-fired-power-plants\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">coal or gas power plants\u003c/a>. Because climate change is not some future inevitability for her. It’s her everyday experience in Kampala, on the continent facing some of the most brutal impacts of climate change—\u003ca href=\"https://www.unocha.org/southern-and-eastern-africa-rosea/cyclones-idai-and-kenneth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">violent cyclones\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/3/madagascar-is-on-brink-of-first-climate-induced-famine-un-warns#:~:text=The%20island%20nation%20of%20Madagascar,and%20wild%20leaves%20to%20survive.&text=Drought%20effects%20have%20also%20led,in%20the%20most%20populated%20provinces.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">extreme drought\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-54433904\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">massive flooding\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://eos.org/articles/landslides-mar-the-pearl-of-africa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">deadly landslides\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/locusts-africa-hunger-famine-covid-19/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">famine-inducing locusts\u003c/a>—while only having \u003ca href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/contributed-most-global-co2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">contributed 3%\u003c/a> of global CO\u003csub>2\u003c/sub> emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The already-existing inequalities are fueled by the climate crisis, and this is leaving more Black people, more Indigenous communities, more people of color being exposed to these climate disasters,” Nakate tells me, “putting them on the front lines of these climate disasters, putting them at the front lines of air pollution, water pollution, putting them at the front lines of exploitation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In college, she started learning about climate change and realizing the massive economic and racial gap between those causing the crisis and those suffering from it. With this awareness, and the knowledge of how little it was being talked about in Uganda, she says she couldn’t \u003cem>not\u003c/em> do something about it. That’s also why she says we can’t talk about climate justice without talking about racial and gender justice—without talking to the people living on the front lines of this present climate crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And yet,” I ask her, “how many of those people on the front lines are going to be attending COP26?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her reply is frank, though not defeated: “While these communities are on the front lines of the climate crisis, they are, first of all, not on the front pages of the world’s newspapers. Their stories are not being told. … Their stories are not being amplified.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977599\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52389_GettyImages-1236271491-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52389_GettyImages-1236271491-qut-800x480.jpg\" alt=\"Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon poses for a photograph during her meeting with climate activists Vanessa Nakate of Uganda and Greta Thunberg of Sweden, during the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference on November 1, 2021 in Glasgow, United Kingdom. The conference will run from 31 October for two weeks, finishing on 12 November. It was meant to take place in 2020 but was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.\" width=\"800\" height=\"480\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1977599\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52389_GettyImages-1236271491-qut-800x480.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52389_GettyImages-1236271491-qut-1020x612.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52389_GettyImages-1236271491-qut-160x96.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52389_GettyImages-1236271491-qut-768x461.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52389_GettyImages-1236271491-qut-1536x922.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52389_GettyImages-1236271491-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (C) poses for a photograph during her meeting with climate activists Vanessa Nakate (R) and Greta Thunberg during the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference on November 1, 2021 in Glasgow, United Kingdom. The conference will run from 31 October for two weeks, finishing on 12 November. It was meant to take place in 2020 but was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. \u003ccite>(Andy Buchanan - Pool/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And that, she says, is a problem for the climate crisis worldwide. The people in these communities aren’t just victims; they are also the ones actively surviving and adapting to disaster after human-caused climate disaster. So until their voices are included and elevated in climate conversations, the needed progress on climate action will remain out of reach. It’s one of the reasons Nakate felt compelled to write a book that would elevate the voices of African climate activists specifically.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nakate very intentionally uses the word “yet” when she writes of the future she envisions: “We aren’t (yet) in the decision-making forums. We don’t (yet) make the rules or (yet) have the votes to determine whether to continue with fossil-fuel financing or change.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But she is actively works to change these facts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While we recognize and see how the climate crisis really impacts women and girls in different parts of the world,” she tells me, “we should also recognize how powerful it would be to put more girls in school and ensure that more girls finished school, and how powerful it would be to empower more women, because in the end, it will give all of us a lifeline.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/zkwEQPzNyeE\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In her book, Nakate discusses gender equity and the importance of access to education at length. She contrasts the way messages are received depending on who is delivering them: If a man stands up for something he believes in, he’s commanding; if a woman does the same, she’s considered irrational and shrill. A man expressing himself on a topic is considered passionate, whereas a woman doing the same is seen as bossy or overly emotional.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Especially in Uganda, women and girls are encouraged to be silent, under the guise of maintaining their dignity and self-respect. Nakate knew she would receive pushback for going against this cultural norm, standing on busy street corners with handmade signs about stopping the climate crisis. And she did, both in person and on social media. People accused her of using her climate activism as a front for prostitution, finding a husband, or selling drugs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the harmful comments she’s received have only compelled her to continue her work toward gender equity (and block social media users more freely). That’s because Nakate believes equipping women and girls with the information, knowledge, and skills to handle climate issues will not only reduce existing inequalities, but will also help all of humanity reduce greenhouse gases and build climate resilience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s why she dedicates much of her energy to a project supporting Ugandan schools by installing solar panels and clean cookstoves. Having electricity and clean air is life-changing for the students at these schools, especially female students. And she says it’s no accident that youth, and young women in particular, are leading many of the world’s climate justice movements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that every activist understands the solutions that they need in their communities,” Nakate tells me. “And they don’t really just understand these solutions, they implement them, regardless of how small or big their resources are.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this way, she discounts moonshot climate solutions or future technologies that promise to almost magically offset past emissions, though at great cost. Instead, she focuses on current climate solutions that are “actionable, scalable, and holistic,” and aims to amplify actions taking place at the community level. These are the conversations and projects and relationships that inspire her ongoing climate activism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.yesmagazine.org/environment/2021/11/02/vanessa-nakate-book-climate-movement-global-south\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cem>Read an excerpt from Vanessa Nakate’s book, \u003c/em>A Bigger Picture: My Fight to Bring a New African Voice to the Climate Crisis.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It can be really tough to see that the kind of future that you want seems really far away,” Nakate says. “Especially with the actions of the leaders, it can be quite frustrating to see inaction and disasters continue to happen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To counter this, she says she chooses to see the ways people are driving solutions in their own communities and changing people’s lives right now. Her book looks at the work of fellow youth climate activists across Uganda and beyond. She lifts up the voices and actions that inspire her. “Look for the light in the present,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nakate also points to her faith as a major motivator because she says it allows her to believe in something that she has not yet seen. “I just keep believing that the power of the people will win in the end, and the actions of the people will win in the end. I think that kind of belief for a sustainable world, and the belief that it’s actually possible, is something that really keeps me going.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the book’s final chapter, Nakate offers guidance to help readers turn these ideas into their own personal forms of activism. It’s hard not to feel as if a better world is possible when she writes, “Every activist has a story to tell; every story has a solution to give; and every solution has a life to change.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This \u003ca href=\"https://www.yesmagazine.org/environment/2021/11/02/vanessa-nakate-climate-activism\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">story\u003c/a> originally appeared in \u003ca href=\"https://www.yesmagazine.org/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">YES! magazine\u003c/a> and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I started reading Vanessa Nakate’s new book, \u003ca href=\"https://www.hmhbooks.com/shop/books/a-bigger-picture/9780358654506\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cem>A Bigger Picture\u003c/em>\u003c/a> (HarperCollins 2021), I didn’t immediately understand the connection between the title and \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/us-news-sally-buzbee-race-and-ethnicity-greta-thunberg-business-6a853a81f34164ab85713e68a889976d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the event that first introduced me\u003c/a> to the Ugandan climate activist. It was January 2020 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. She and four other youth activists were there to encourage attendees to take the climate crisis seriously. The five activists gave a press conference and posed for pictures. But when the Associated Press story came out, Nakate had been cropped from the photo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2019/09/Covering-Climate-Now-Logo.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2019/09/Covering-Climate-Now-Logo-160x160.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"160\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-1947420\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/09/Covering-Climate-Now-Logo-160x160.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/09/Covering-Climate-Now-Logo-800x799.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/09/Covering-Climate-Now-Logo-768x767.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/09/Covering-Climate-Now-Logo-1020x1019.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/09/Covering-Climate-Now-Logo.png 1116w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003c/a>“As I looked at the image,” the 24-year-old Nakate writes in the introduction to her book, “it became impossible to ignore that of the five women who’d posed for that photo, I was the only one who wasn’t from Europe and the only one who was Black. They hadn’t just cropped me out, I realized. They’d cropped out a whole continent.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So even though Nakate shares that she had felt great trepidation and timidity organizing climate strikes in the Ugandan capital of Kampala and attending international climate conferences in the previous year, it was this singular “error of judgement” and the resulting backlash that galvanized her resolve to act on climate justice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Being cropped out of that photo changed the course of my activism and my life,” she writes. “It reframed my thoughts about race, gender, equity, and climate justice; and it led to the words you’re now reading.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/bXH'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/bXH'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>The authenticity of Nakate’s voice and her no-nonsense tone are among the many things I really appreciated about the 200-page memoir/manifesto on her fight to widen the metaphorical frame and bring more African voices into the global climate conversation. And it’s why I wanted to talk with her further. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, as has become customary for both journalism and climate organizing alike in 2021, she and I met on Zoom to talk about where her activism has taken her in 2021 and how she’s feeling as the much-anticipated global climate conference known as COP26 kicks off in Glasgow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For starters, I wanted to know how optimistic she was about COP26.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am not in the minds of leaders right now, but I want to really hope that they rise up for the people and the planet,” she says. “And I just hope that \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2021/11/03/amanpour-vanessa-nakate-cop26-climate-crisis.cnn\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">their words really match their actions\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>That’s one of her central criticisms of much of the global climate action—or inaction—she’s witnessed in her time as an activist: Leaders making promises about \u003ca href=\"https://www.climatechangenews.com/2021/04/06/south-africa-sets-tighten-2030-emissions-target/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">going net-zero by 2050\u003c/a>, let’s say, but then turning around and continuing to extract fossil fuels or build new \u003ca href=\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-21/s-africa-challenged-over-plans-for-new-coal-fired-power-plants\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">coal or gas power plants\u003c/a>. Because climate change is not some future inevitability for her. It’s her everyday experience in Kampala, on the continent facing some of the most brutal impacts of climate change—\u003ca href=\"https://www.unocha.org/southern-and-eastern-africa-rosea/cyclones-idai-and-kenneth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">violent cyclones\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/3/madagascar-is-on-brink-of-first-climate-induced-famine-un-warns#:~:text=The%20island%20nation%20of%20Madagascar,and%20wild%20leaves%20to%20survive.&text=Drought%20effects%20have%20also%20led,in%20the%20most%20populated%20provinces.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">extreme drought\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-54433904\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">massive flooding\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://eos.org/articles/landslides-mar-the-pearl-of-africa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">deadly landslides\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/locusts-africa-hunger-famine-covid-19/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">famine-inducing locusts\u003c/a>—while only having \u003ca href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/contributed-most-global-co2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">contributed 3%\u003c/a> of global CO\u003csub>2\u003c/sub> emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The already-existing inequalities are fueled by the climate crisis, and this is leaving more Black people, more Indigenous communities, more people of color being exposed to these climate disasters,” Nakate tells me, “putting them on the front lines of these climate disasters, putting them at the front lines of air pollution, water pollution, putting them at the front lines of exploitation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In college, she started learning about climate change and realizing the massive economic and racial gap between those causing the crisis and those suffering from it. With this awareness, and the knowledge of how little it was being talked about in Uganda, she says she couldn’t \u003cem>not\u003c/em> do something about it. That’s also why she says we can’t talk about climate justice without talking about racial and gender justice—without talking to the people living on the front lines of this present climate crisis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And yet,” I ask her, “how many of those people on the front lines are going to be attending COP26?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her reply is frank, though not defeated: “While these communities are on the front lines of the climate crisis, they are, first of all, not on the front pages of the world’s newspapers. Their stories are not being told. … Their stories are not being amplified.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977599\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52389_GettyImages-1236271491-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52389_GettyImages-1236271491-qut-800x480.jpg\" alt=\"Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon poses for a photograph during her meeting with climate activists Vanessa Nakate of Uganda and Greta Thunberg of Sweden, during the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference on November 1, 2021 in Glasgow, United Kingdom. The conference will run from 31 October for two weeks, finishing on 12 November. It was meant to take place in 2020 but was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.\" width=\"800\" height=\"480\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1977599\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52389_GettyImages-1236271491-qut-800x480.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52389_GettyImages-1236271491-qut-1020x612.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52389_GettyImages-1236271491-qut-160x96.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52389_GettyImages-1236271491-qut-768x461.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52389_GettyImages-1236271491-qut-1536x922.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52389_GettyImages-1236271491-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (C) poses for a photograph during her meeting with climate activists Vanessa Nakate (R) and Greta Thunberg during the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference on November 1, 2021 in Glasgow, United Kingdom. The conference will run from 31 October for two weeks, finishing on 12 November. It was meant to take place in 2020 but was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. \u003ccite>(Andy Buchanan - Pool/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>And that, she says, is a problem for the climate crisis worldwide. The people in these communities aren’t just victims; they are also the ones actively surviving and adapting to disaster after human-caused climate disaster. So until their voices are included and elevated in climate conversations, the needed progress on climate action will remain out of reach. It’s one of the reasons Nakate felt compelled to write a book that would elevate the voices of African climate activists specifically.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nakate very intentionally uses the word “yet” when she writes of the future she envisions: “We aren’t (yet) in the decision-making forums. We don’t (yet) make the rules or (yet) have the votes to determine whether to continue with fossil-fuel financing or change.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But she is actively works to change these facts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While we recognize and see how the climate crisis really impacts women and girls in different parts of the world,” she tells me, “we should also recognize how powerful it would be to put more girls in school and ensure that more girls finished school, and how powerful it would be to empower more women, because in the end, it will give all of us a lifeline.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/zkwEQPzNyeE'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/zkwEQPzNyeE'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>In her book, Nakate discusses gender equity and the importance of access to education at length. She contrasts the way messages are received depending on who is delivering them: If a man stands up for something he believes in, he’s commanding; if a woman does the same, she’s considered irrational and shrill. A man expressing himself on a topic is considered passionate, whereas a woman doing the same is seen as bossy or overly emotional.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Especially in Uganda, women and girls are encouraged to be silent, under the guise of maintaining their dignity and self-respect. Nakate knew she would receive pushback for going against this cultural norm, standing on busy street corners with handmade signs about stopping the climate crisis. And she did, both in person and on social media. People accused her of using her climate activism as a front for prostitution, finding a husband, or selling drugs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the harmful comments she’s received have only compelled her to continue her work toward gender equity (and block social media users more freely). That’s because Nakate believes equipping women and girls with the information, knowledge, and skills to handle climate issues will not only reduce existing inequalities, but will also help all of humanity reduce greenhouse gases and build climate resilience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s why she dedicates much of her energy to a project supporting Ugandan schools by installing solar panels and clean cookstoves. Having electricity and clean air is life-changing for the students at these schools, especially female students. And she says it’s no accident that youth, and young women in particular, are leading many of the world’s climate justice movements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that every activist understands the solutions that they need in their communities,” Nakate tells me. “And they don’t really just understand these solutions, they implement them, regardless of how small or big their resources are.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this way, she discounts moonshot climate solutions or future technologies that promise to almost magically offset past emissions, though at great cost. Instead, she focuses on current climate solutions that are “actionable, scalable, and holistic,” and aims to amplify actions taking place at the community level. These are the conversations and projects and relationships that inspire her ongoing climate activism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.yesmagazine.org/environment/2021/11/02/vanessa-nakate-book-climate-movement-global-south\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u003cem>Read an excerpt from Vanessa Nakate’s book, \u003c/em>A Bigger Picture: My Fight to Bring a New African Voice to the Climate Crisis.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It can be really tough to see that the kind of future that you want seems really far away,” Nakate says. “Especially with the actions of the leaders, it can be quite frustrating to see inaction and disasters continue to happen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To counter this, she says she chooses to see the ways people are driving solutions in their own communities and changing people’s lives right now. Her book looks at the work of fellow youth climate activists across Uganda and beyond. She lifts up the voices and actions that inspire her. “Look for the light in the present,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nakate also points to her faith as a major motivator because she says it allows her to believe in something that she has not yet seen. “I just keep believing that the power of the people will win in the end, and the actions of the people will win in the end. I think that kind of belief for a sustainable world, and the belief that it’s actually possible, is something that really keeps me going.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the book’s final chapter, Nakate offers guidance to help readers turn these ideas into their own personal forms of activism. It’s hard not to feel as if a better world is possible when she writes, “Every activist has a story to tell; every story has a solution to give; and every solution has a life to change.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "A Climate Ambassador on Every Block: How One South Bay Community Is Preparing for Heat, Smoke and Floods",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>The COP26 climate conference is underway in Glasgow, Scotland. Here in the Bay Area, KQED’s climate reporters are talking with locals who are working on solutions.\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ever Rodriguez wants a climate ambassador on every block of North Fair Oaks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His idea is to bolster the community’s resilience to climate-driven natural disasters like wildfire smoke, excessive heat and floods.[aside postID='science_1975422']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our ultimate goal is to unify our community,” said Rodriguez, president of the nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://northfoca.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">North Fair Oaks Community Alliance\u003c/a> and a member of the \u003ca href=\"https://cmo.smcgov.org/north-fair-oaks-community-council-meeting-agendasminutes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">North Fair Oaks Community Council.\u003c/a> “Climate change is going to affect everyone regardless of their socioeconomic status, language or culture.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He and other community leaders will start recruiting climate ambassadors to help residents stockpile sandbags, locate nearby cooling centers and help install air purifiers as early as next year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rodriguez says the community — an unincorporated area near Redwood City in San Mateo County — needs this kind of support.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few weeks back, the Bay Area ping-ponged from severe drought conditions to flooding rains during an atmospheric river storm — the kind of whiplash that climate scientists \u003ca href=\"https://weatherwest.com/archives/6252\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">warn is a hallmark of a warming\u003c/a> California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the streets of North Fair Oaks filled with rainwater, Rodriguez said the \u003ca href=\"https://northfoca.org/bat/\">Block Action Teams\u003c/a> would have proved helpful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was something that I haven’t seen before in the nearly 30 years that I’ve been living here,” he said. “I arrived at the conclusion that this must be the effect of climate change. I’ve also experienced the smokey, extra-hot days that we experienced last year from the surrounding fires; and then again this year.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wish our plan was already in effect,” he said. “I was the only one around cleaning out the debris. The county systems can be overwhelmed very easily, and they may not respond by the time you need them. It’s better to have residents prepared.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED climate reporter Ezra David Romero interviewed Rodriguez about how he’s preparing his community for the effects of climate change through his organization’s program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977542\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 540px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977542 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS49250_005_NorthFairOaks_ClimateListening_05102021-sfi.jpg\" alt=\"A woman with a red and blue mask holds a pink umbrella while speaking to another woman who wears a purple shirt and a red, sun visor. \" width=\"540\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS49250_005_NorthFairOaks_ClimateListening_05102021-sfi.jpg 540w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS49250_005_NorthFairOaks_ClimateListening_05102021-sfi-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Amelia Estebez holds an umbrella to shield herself from the sun while she speaks with Alicia Montano in North Fair Oaks on May 10, 2021. \u003ccite>(Beth LeBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The following has been edited for length and clarity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What’s the climate problem you’re trying to solve here in North Fair Oaks?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The problem that I’m trying to prevent is the vulnerability in this community. This is a community that is working class, predominantly Latino, up to 75%. Considering that the most vulnerable individuals are the ones that are going to be facing the worst results from climate change, that’s really where my focus is.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How do you want to help North Fair Oaks prepare for future climate-related emergencies?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We want to identify one neighbor per block that can become a leader and represent that block and be in communication with the surrounding residents. We have an interactive map that will allow residents to see who is their block leader and how many residents from their block are participating already.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What brought you to climate work?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was my concern about the lack of bicycle lanes in North Fair Oaks. I was looking for better ways to transport myself to work. That was when I decided to go to the supervisor’s office hours and I started asking those questions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back then, climate change wasn’t really a thing. At least, I wasn’t doing it for those reasons. But I saw it coming because it is obvious that the more cars you produce, the more fuel you’re going to need and we are seeing the results as the climate changes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Do you think the work at COP26 will help North Fair Oaks?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I hope so. The U.S. and other nations are leaders. My hope is that if many world organizations and entire countries implement the changes that are needed to benefit and rescue our environment, that ideology will trickle down eventually to small communities such as North Fair Oaks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Raising awareness at the community level is also very important, regardless of what happens on the world stage. I think all communities need to start mobilizing and doing something. Whether that is to prevent disasters, to respond better, or to change the way we are doing things to benefit our environment.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our ultimate goal is to unify our community,” said Rodriguez, president of the nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://northfoca.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">North Fair Oaks Community Alliance\u003c/a> and a member of the \u003ca href=\"https://cmo.smcgov.org/north-fair-oaks-community-council-meeting-agendasminutes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">North Fair Oaks Community Council.\u003c/a> “Climate change is going to affect everyone regardless of their socioeconomic status, language or culture.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He and other community leaders will start recruiting climate ambassadors to help residents stockpile sandbags, locate nearby cooling centers and help install air purifiers as early as next year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rodriguez says the community — an unincorporated area near Redwood City in San Mateo County — needs this kind of support.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few weeks back, the Bay Area ping-ponged from severe drought conditions to flooding rains during an atmospheric river storm — the kind of whiplash that climate scientists \u003ca href=\"https://weatherwest.com/archives/6252\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">warn is a hallmark of a warming\u003c/a> California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the streets of North Fair Oaks filled with rainwater, Rodriguez said the \u003ca href=\"https://northfoca.org/bat/\">Block Action Teams\u003c/a> would have proved helpful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It was something that I haven’t seen before in the nearly 30 years that I’ve been living here,” he said. “I arrived at the conclusion that this must be the effect of climate change. I’ve also experienced the smokey, extra-hot days that we experienced last year from the surrounding fires; and then again this year.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wish our plan was already in effect,” he said. “I was the only one around cleaning out the debris. The county systems can be overwhelmed very easily, and they may not respond by the time you need them. It’s better to have residents prepared.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED climate reporter Ezra David Romero interviewed Rodriguez about how he’s preparing his community for the effects of climate change through his organization’s program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977542\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 540px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977542 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS49250_005_NorthFairOaks_ClimateListening_05102021-sfi.jpg\" alt=\"A woman with a red and blue mask holds a pink umbrella while speaking to another woman who wears a purple shirt and a red, sun visor. \" width=\"540\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS49250_005_NorthFairOaks_ClimateListening_05102021-sfi.jpg 540w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS49250_005_NorthFairOaks_ClimateListening_05102021-sfi-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Amelia Estebez holds an umbrella to shield herself from the sun while she speaks with Alicia Montano in North Fair Oaks on May 10, 2021. \u003ccite>(Beth LeBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The following has been edited for length and clarity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What’s the climate problem you’re trying to solve here in North Fair Oaks?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The problem that I’m trying to prevent is the vulnerability in this community. This is a community that is working class, predominantly Latino, up to 75%. Considering that the most vulnerable individuals are the ones that are going to be facing the worst results from climate change, that’s really where my focus is.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How do you want to help North Fair Oaks prepare for future climate-related emergencies?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We want to identify one neighbor per block that can become a leader and represent that block and be in communication with the surrounding residents. We have an interactive map that will allow residents to see who is their block leader and how many residents from their block are participating already.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What brought you to climate work?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was my concern about the lack of bicycle lanes in North Fair Oaks. I was looking for better ways to transport myself to work. That was when I decided to go to the supervisor’s office hours and I started asking those questions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back then, climate change wasn’t really a thing. At least, I wasn’t doing it for those reasons. But I saw it coming because it is obvious that the more cars you produce, the more fuel you’re going to need and we are seeing the results as the climate changes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Do you think the work at COP26 will help North Fair Oaks?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I hope so. The U.S. and other nations are leaders. My hope is that if many world organizations and entire countries implement the changes that are needed to benefit and rescue our environment, that ideology will trickle down eventually to small communities such as North Fair Oaks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Raising awareness at the community level is also very important, regardless of what happens on the world stage. I think all communities need to start mobilizing and doing something. Whether that is to prevent disasters, to respond better, or to change the way we are doing things to benefit our environment.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Native American People Tell Stories of Climate Loss and Resilience",
"headTitle": "Native American People Tell Stories of Climate Loss and Resilience | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This story originally appeared in \u003ca href=\"https://indiancountrytoday.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indian Country Today\u003c/a>, and is part of a Covering Climate Now reporting series on climate migration called “\u003ca href=\"https://coveringclimatenow.org/flight-for-their-lives/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Flight for Their Lives\u003c/a>.” CCNow is a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jump to:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#recovery\">Focusing on recovery\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#tradition\">Holding on to traditions\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#Northwest\">Northwestern territories\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#support\">How to support local tribes\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>The blades of grass are just beginning to push through the thick, marsh mud in Russell Rodriguez’s yard as the mid-October sun beats down on southeastern Louisiana.\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-1977443\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-160x160.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"160\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo.jpg 1069w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003c/a>A bald eagle soars high above the tall trees. Morning rays glimmer off the rippling waters of nearby Barataria Bayou as it pushes toward the Gulf of Mexico.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It would be idyllic if not for the widespread destruction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Homes are wrecked, pushed off their pylons and shattered. Fishing boats are upended onto dry land. Coffins washed out of local cemeteries sit cracked open, the bones inside still waiting to be claimed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s more than Rodriguez can take. After decades in lower Lafitte about 65 miles south of New Orleans, he and his wife are leaving their home and their neighbors of the \u003ca href=\"https://unitedhoumanation.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">United Houma Nation\u003c/a> for higher ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size='small' align='right' citation='August “Cocoa” Creppel Chief of the United Houma Nation ']‘It’s very hard. This is where they were born and raised. This is where their parents were, our grandparents. It’s causing us to lose our way of life, living on the bayou. It’s hard to see the elders move away.’[/pullquote]“It’s a life-changing event,” said Rodriguez, a Houma citizen. “I don’t like the idea of having to leave but I don’t want to go through another storm. Climate change is definitely causing this. People who deny that need a lesson in science.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rodriguez is among tens of thousands of tribal citizens across Indian Country forced to choose between staying in their ancestral lands or moving out to protect themselves from the devastation wreaked by climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Indigenous peoples along coastal areas and waterways across the United States from Alaska to Florida and California to Maine are facing floods, rising sea levels, coastal erosion and increasingly powerful hurricanes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='science_1973196']Those in the Southwest and Plains have been hit with unprecedented drought, wildfires, heat, lowered water tables and depleted waterways. They’re all facing loss of habitat and a reduction in traditional food sources for people, livestock and wildlife.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And migration has already begun, with at least a half-dozen tribal communities formally deciding to relocate to higher ground. For others, the migration out is more subtle, coming quietly and without fanfare as the realities of climate change reach Indigenous homes and livelihoods, Indian Country Today found in an informal survey of tribal nations across the United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The impact on Indigenous cultures, histories and languages is immeasurable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/TheOfficialUnitedHoumaNation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Houma Nation\u003c/a>, elders who can’t afford the emotional or financial toll of rebuilding are among those most likely to move away, creating a void that can’t be filled, Houma Chief August “Cocoa” Creppel said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s very hard,” Creppel said. “This is where they were born and raised. This is where their parents were, our grandparents. It’s causing us to lose our way of life, living on the bayou.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s hard to see the elders move away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Louisiana\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The Houma Nation has no official tribal territories, but its 19,000 citizens are concentrated in southeastern Louisiana in six parishes, the Louisiana equivalent of counties. Most live in the areas around the towns of Dulac, Jean Lafitte and Houma, named in the 1830s for the tribe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977474\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 380px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52319_Houma_Family-Graves-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977474 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52319_Houma_Family-Graves-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A man with a red polo shirt stands next to a cross with two black square plaques. \" width=\"380\" height=\"285\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52319_Houma_Family-Graves-qut.jpg 380w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52319_Houma_Family-Graves-qut-160x120.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 380px) 100vw, 380px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">August “Cocoa” Creppel, chief of the United Houma Nation in Louisiana, stands near family graves at a historic cemetery built around Houma burial mounds in the town of Jean Lafitte on the banks of Barataria Bayou. The tribe has a long history in southern Louisiana but the devastation caused by climate change is driving some tribal citizens out of their homelands. \u003ccite>(Dianna Hunt/Indian Country Today)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n\u003cul>Nearly 11,000 of the Houma Nation’s citizens suffered damage when Hurricane Ida pushed ashore near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, on Aug. 29 — 16 years to the day that Hurricane Katrina struck the Louisiana coast, Creppel said.\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>It is one of the worst storms on record to hit the United States, and the worst to hit Louisiana, surpassing Katrina with 150-mph winds, a 12- to 14-foot storm surge and more than 15 inches of rain in some areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than six weeks after Ida moved through, sounds of rebuilding can be heard among the wreckage, but many homes appear too shattered to be salvaged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rodriguez’s home is among those shuttered, with a power boat sitting askew in the drying mud under the battered carport. He and his wife, Judith, purchased the home in 1995, and had it raised onto pylons more than eight feet above ground after Katrina flooded the area in 2005.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The home took on more than two feet of water during Hurricane Ida, nonetheless, and now sits just a few feet above the layers of mud brought in by the storm. It remains without electricity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977476\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52320_climate-migration-rodriguez-home-lafitte-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977476 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52320_climate-migration-rodriguez-home-lafitte-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A white home elevated by wood beams with a garage port in the foreground and a yard that's been covered in mud. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52320_climate-migration-rodriguez-home-lafitte-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52320_climate-migration-rodriguez-home-lafitte-qut-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52320_climate-migration-rodriguez-home-lafitte-qut-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52320_climate-migration-rodriguez-home-lafitte-qut-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52320_climate-migration-rodriguez-home-lafitte-qut-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52320_climate-migration-rodriguez-home-lafitte-qut-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Russell Rodriguez, an elder of the United Houma Nation, has decided he can’t return to his home in the lower Lafitte area of southern Louisiana. Hurricane Ida, which came ashore on August 29, 2021, sent floodwaters more than two feet deep into the home and deposited several feet of marsh mud throughout the community. “I can’t do this anymore,” he said. \u003ccite>(Dianna Hunt/Indian Country Today)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Rodriguez, 73, and his wife, who is a few years older, fled before the storm arrived and have spent weeks living miles away, first with family and then in motels. They travel back periodically to survey the damage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a long commute,” he said. “I’m just not able to deal with the heat as well as I used to.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Houma area is facing the same problems that have caused devastation in other communities in southern Louisiana. Barrier islands that once slowed storms as they moved onshore are vanishing, victims of erosion and rising sea levels. Man-made channels in the marsh grasses provide access for oil workers but allow the Gulf saltwater to push farther inland and with greater force. Rains are now torrential.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Citizens of other Louisiana tribes are also making plans to move out. Southeast of Houma, the Isle de Jean Charles Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Indian Tribe has been hit repeatedly with hurricanes, and took another hit from Hurricane Ida. Tribal citizens have lived for generations on the narrow island in the bayous of Terrebonne Parish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"support\">\u003c/a>[aside label='How to support local tribes' link1='https://sogoreate-landtrust.org/,Sogorea Te Land Trust, facilitating the return of Indigenous land to Indigenous peoples through a voluntary annual land tax' link2='http://www.muwekma.org/,Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, Ohlone tribal lineages original to much of what is known as the Bay Area' link3='https://www.ramaytush.org/,The Association of Ramaytush Ohlone, the original peoples of what is known as the San Francisco peninsula' link4='http://californiavalleymiwok.us/,The California Valley Miwok Tribe, the original peoples of the north-central valley, from the coast to the Sierra Nevada' link5='https://native-land.ca/,Learn Whose Land You Live On']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Isle de Jean Charles Band joined with the Houma Nation in proposing resettlement off the island, saying the destruction posed an existential threat to their communities and culture. Since 1955, Isle de Jean Charles has lost 98 percent of its land mass and at least 75 percent of its residents, according to a 2020 Government Accountability Office report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state, with federal funding, has purchased 515 acres in Shriever, Louisiana, about 40 miles north on the mainland, to relocate tribal citizens. About 15-20 houses are now under construction, and 39 families are expected to be moved in by spring, Chief Albert Naquin told Indian Country Today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Citizens of the nearby Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe, who live along a bayou of the same name, also faced destruction from Ida, as did Grand Isle, a barrier island that has repeatedly been battered by storms. The Pointe-au-Chien citizens are also considering whether to relocate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some tribal citizens, however, aren’t waiting to make the move.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Naquin said he left Isle de Jean Charles for the next town over after Hurricane Carmen struck in 1974 because he could no longer get to work. Many are now packing up and leaving their homes behind in shambles after Ida.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People have left by force or by choice,” Naquin said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Alaska\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Nearly 5,000 miles from southern Louisiana, climate change is destroying the Yup’ik village of Newtok in southwestern Alaska.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newtok once sat on high ground, protected from storms by sea ice. The frozen ground, permafrost, held firm. Now, the ground melts and slumps, and wave action and storm surge wash away the soil. The village has already lost a mile of land to erosion. Barges can no longer land, and the river is approaching the runway used by small planes to bring supplies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The village is located between two rivers, the Newtok and the Ninglik, near where they enter the Bering Sea. The village has flooded several times in the past decade, and in September 2005, a fall storm caused floodwaters to surround the village on all sides, making it an island.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Erosion in 2021 has been particularly bad, as the crumbling shoreline has allowed the river to move even closer to the community, said Tribal Administrator Phillip Carl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977470\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1240px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52316_shoreline-change-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977470 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52316_shoreline-change-qut.jpg\" alt=\"Side-by-side images compare shorelines from 2007 and 2019, with the later shoreline eroded away. \" width=\"1240\" height=\"374\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52316_shoreline-change-qut.jpg 1240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52316_shoreline-change-qut-800x241.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52316_shoreline-change-qut-1020x308.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52316_shoreline-change-qut-160x48.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52316_shoreline-change-qut-768x232.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1240px) 100vw, 1240px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Alaska Native village of Newtok is facing imminent destruction from erosion and rising levels. The shoreline is losing as many as 100 feet a year, as shown by this 2019 map comparison. \u003ccite>(Federal Emergency Management Agency/Government Accountability Office)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We must have lost … probably about 100 feet,” Carl said. “The school’s water plant is the closest to the erosion. It must be like about 190 feet (away from the current shoreline).”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carl said the village had not yet faced high winds this fall but they were expected to hit soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s one power pole that’s about to go over,” he said. The one house served by the power pole will be abandoned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alaska is among the states hardest hit by climate change, with at least 31 Native communities threatened with destruction within the next 25 years because of flooding and erosion, according to assessments by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the GAO.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newtok is one of four Alaska Native villages identified as being at risk for “imminent destruction,” meaning they are expected to become uninhabitable within the next five years, according to the government reports.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of the four — Newtok, Kivalina, Shishmaref and Shaktoolik — only Newtok has made substantial progress in relocating its residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newtok began planning to move in the 1990s, getting small grants here and there for studies. It picked a site and negotiated a land swap with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that was approved by Congress in 2003.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The swap allows the eventual relocation of the village’s 350 or so residents to Mertarvik, which means “fresh water,” a site on Nelson Island about nine miles away or 25 minutes by boat. Mertarvik is within the tribe’s traditional lands and provides access to subsistence resources. It’s also resistant to erosion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As of December 2019, construction had been completed on a quarry, landfill, barge landing, temporary airstrip, roads, power plant, fuel storage, treatment plants for water and wastewater, and 21 homes, the GAO reported.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least 135 people have already made the move. The rest were forced to stay behind until more homes are built.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size='small' citation='Michael Williams Sr. Chief of the Akiak Native Community.']‘The permafrost is receding and it’s getting thinner and thinner. Our Chinook returns have been low and our chum didn’t come back this year. The last five, 10 years, we’ve experienced real hot summers, a lack of rain, a lack of snow in the headwaters, and a lack of ice. The thickness of the (river) ice needs to be about seven feet. It’s been less than three feet.’[/pullquote]Other threatened villages in Alaska are also making plans to move. About 370 miles north of Newtok in the Inupiat village of Shishmaref, residents voted in 2016 to relocate their community because of erosion and flooding attributed to climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shishmaref sits on Sarichef Island, a barrier island that is a quarter-mile wide and three miles long in the Chukchi Sea just outside the Arctic Circle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State and federal agencies have spent an estimated $25 million since 2004 to expand and reinforce a seawall in an attempt to hold back the sea, yet Shishmaref continues to lose about three to five feet of shoreline to erosion each year, according to a report by the nonprofit Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange. Several homes and the National Guard Armory have already been moved inland because of erosion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It will be a painful move. Inupiat people have lived on the island for at least 4,000 years and ancestors’ remains are interred in a cemetery there. Relocation is in the planning stages and costs have yet to be determined, according to the Shishmaref Strategic Management Plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 35 miles east of Newtok, the Yup’ik village of Akiak is also fighting erosion. The tribe recently moved six homes being undermined by the Kuskokwim River, said Michael Williams Sr., chief of the Akiak Native Community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re assessing a few more homes and structures, and if they are within 200 feet from the river, we want to consider moving them,” Williams said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The permafrost is receding and it’s getting thinner and thinner,” he said. “Our Chinook returns have been low and our chum didn’t come back this year. The last five, 10 years, we’ve experienced real hot summers, a lack of rain, a lack of snow in the headwaters, and a lack of ice. The thickness of the (river) ice needs to be about seven feet. It’s been less than three feet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Warmer temperatures have meant warmer water. Dead fish have been found on the Tanana River and changes in caribou migration present new challenges for subsistence hunters, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Williams, 69, said the conditions he’s seeing are all new — conditions not known to his grandparents and great-grandparents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The warming is tremendous,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the northern Inupiat village of Kivalina, the community voted to relocate off the barrier island where it now sits on the Chukchi Sea, 83 miles inside the Arctic Circle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials haven’t yet been able to find a suitable site with good hunting, fishing and water, however. One site chosen in 2000 was deemed by the Army Corps of Engineers to be too at risk to adverse effects of climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Relocation of the entire community is out of reach for years to come, so residents are trying to adapt, Tribal Administrator Millie Hawley said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An evacuation road was completed in November 2020, and a school and community center will come next on the mainland near the village.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve got to live with what we’ve got,” she said. “Where are we going to go? We live on an island. The nearest village is 70 miles away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003ca id=\"Northwest\">\u003c/a>Northwestern territories\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>There’s a sense of urgency in the Quinault Nation community of Taholah in northwest Washington state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977468\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1123px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52315_Quinalt-Nation-flooding-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977468 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52315_Quinalt-Nation-flooding-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A dark colored car with red running lights drives down a flooded street, overcast with gray fog. \" width=\"1123\" height=\"608\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52315_Quinalt-Nation-flooding-qut.jpg 1123w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52315_Quinalt-Nation-flooding-qut-800x433.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52315_Quinalt-Nation-flooding-qut-1020x552.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52315_Quinalt-Nation-flooding-qut-160x87.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52315_Quinalt-Nation-flooding-qut-768x416.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1123px) 100vw, 1123px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Quinault Nation community of Taholah was flooded in January 2021 when the ocean breached a seawall. The tribe is in the process of relocating to higher ground because of problems caused by climate change. \u003ccite>(Photo by Larry Workman, Quinault Nation)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Taholah was flooded in January 2021 when the ocean breached a seawall, and models prepared by the state Department of Natural Resources show the community is at risk of a potential tsunami 40-50 feet deep. The encroaching ocean has washed away chunks of the coastline, and water levels are expected to rise more than 2.5 feet by 2100.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Construction is underway to build a new Upper Village at a higher elevation about a half-mile away from the existing village center, beyond the expected reach of rising seas and tsunamis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Quinault hopes to have its new village complete in 2030, with a variety of housing types, a K-12 school, a park, trails, a community center and offices for tribal government and emergency services. Construction on a new school is set to begin in early 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The infrastructure costs alone — for communications, roads and utilities — are estimated at more than $50 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A bill now pending in Congress would contribute about $500,000 to help the tribe with infrastructure costs. The bill also includes about $1.5 million in funding for the Quileute Tribe in La Push, Washington.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Quileutes have also sustained heavy flooding, rising sea levels and erosion, and are at increased risk of a tsunami. The tribe has decided to relocate to higher ground about 2.5 miles away, and construction of a new school is underway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, some will remain behind at the lower village, where the Quileute people have harvested fish and shellfish and hunted off the coast of northwest Washington for centuries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other tribes in the western and northwestern United States are also being affected by climate change, but have not yet made the decision to relocate tribal operations. No one knows, however, how many citizens may have slipped away quietly to areas less at risk of devastation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Oregon and Idaho, five tribal nations that make up the Upper Snake River Tribes Foundation — Burns Paiute Tribe, Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribes, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of Fort Hall, and Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of Duck Valley — have documented shifts in species and habitats driven by increasing temperatures and changing precipitation patterns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In northeastern Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation report that traditional foods — what they call First Foods — are being affected by warming temperatures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Montana, three tribes banded together in August to save homes, lives and cultural sites as wildfires fueled by hot, dry conditions burned nearly 200,000 acres. Hundreds of families in the Flathead Indian Reservation, the Fort Belknap Indian Community and the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation were evacuated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in California’s Kern Valley, heat and drought are affecting the Tubatulabal Tribe’s access to traditional foods, as well as their overall quality of life. The air this year was thick with smoke from fires in the drought-parched region, tribal Chairman Robert Gomez said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had fire after fire and the smoke was terrible,” he said. “We had 67 days with temperatures over 100 in the county.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Southwestern droughts\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Hopi elder Vernon Masayesva didn’t want to miss the final katsina dance last July, when tribal lands were “bone dry” in the midst of unprecedented drought. The ceremonial dance brings prayers for rain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s very important in our community,” he said. “I wanted to hear the final prayer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just before the dance began, however, a deluge erupted. Pouring rains created rivers through the streets, and the village plaza turned into a lake. Some homes in lower-lying areas were flooded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There was a huge storm,” he said. “A cloudburst. I’ve never seen anything like it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Masayesva decided to leave before flooding got worse, but his daughters stayed behind to wait it out. The clouds parted just in time for the last dance. The rains had stopped.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a spiritual moment for many, though the unexpected rains meant different things to different people. For some, they were a blessing, a sign that prayers for rain had been answered; for others, they served as a warning that Hopis and others need to change their ways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You can take it both ways,” he said. “This is what the ceremony was all about, about rain .. (But) it’s a signal from Mother Earth that mankind needs to settle down. It’s a world out of balance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977466\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 380px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52314_Angelo-Baca-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977466 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52314_Angelo-Baca-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A black-haired man with a blue button down shirt, gray jeans, and orange shoes squats low towards sandy ground above the green shoots of young plants. \" width=\"380\" height=\"507\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52314_Angelo-Baca-qut.jpg 380w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52314_Angelo-Baca-qut-160x213.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 380px) 100vw, 380px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Angelo Baca, a Utah runner who is Diné and Hopi, says he has seen the impact of climate change while running in his homelands. Farmers are struggling to grow corn in the unprecedented drought brought on by climate change. \u003ccite>(Photo courtesy of Angelo Baca)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n\u003cul>Water is at the heart of climate change in the southwestern United States, where the Hopi, Navajo, Pueblos and other tribes have lived for generations. Water and rain are growing scarce, leaving corn to die in the fields, causing sheep and wildlife to forage farther for food and drink, and forcing families to wait in lines to get water for their homes.\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>The smell of smoke from wildfires fueled by the hot, dry conditions is all-too-familiar for Indigenous people in the region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sometimes the drought is followed by torrential rains before the dry heat takes a grip again on local Indigenous communities, affecting their families, cultures and traditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Masayesva, a former chairman of the Hopi Tribe, is from the village of Hotevilla. He said he is not aware of tribal citizens migrating away from the homelands because of climate change. They have been leaving for decades for other reasons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are many Hopi families that have left but it was way before this climate situation,” he said. “It was these people who wanted good-paying jobs. There’s none on the rez. They wanted their kids to go to the best schools. Our schools are in really bad conditions. For those kinds of reasons, many have left a long time ago.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But they don’t stay away too long, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They don’t permanently leave,” he said. “They have clan homes. Ceremony – that brings them all back.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Southeastern, East Coast communities\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The Seminole Tribe of Florida is among dozens of tribes across the southeastern United States and East Coast that are facing devastating impacts of climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Increasingly powerful hurricanes, rising sea levels and erosion coupled with heat and periodic drought are threatening the Seminole homelands that have sustained their people for centuries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Seminoles’ home in the low-lying Everglades is critically threatened by climate change,” according to a recent report on the looming disintegration of the historic Egmont Key, an offshore island near Tampa Bay where Seminoles were temporarily locked up while waiting to be shipped west.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Seminole Tribe, which oversees six tribal territories with about 5,000 citizens, stretches from southern Florida northward in the Florida Everglades and in areas near Lake Okeechobee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tribe, owner of a restaurant and hotel empire that includes Hard Rock and Seminole gaming, recently hired its first climate resiliency officer, Jill Horwitz, to build a local program that combines traditional knowledge with science. The tribe is also working with state officials to draft a response plan to climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size='small' align='left' citation='Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel Lumbee citizen and professor at North Carolina State University']‘We value those swamps and we value those wetlands. The flooding makes it difficult for us to stay close to our waters. Our ancestors fished, boated, relied on the water a lot more than we do now … We (now) have a hard time forming bonds with the rivers and swamps.’[/pullquote]“Climate change touches all of us, and we each have a role,” Horwitz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Horwitz said tribal lands — already subject to hurricanes and other storms — have been prone to shifts between drought and flooding in recent years. But she’s not aware of citizens who have decided to leave the area because of climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No residents have needed to relocate due to sea-level rise,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other tribes in the southeastern United States are feeling the effects. The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, which has a long history with the Lumbee River and the upland coastal plains, is facing increasing flooding and unprecedented hurricanes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state-recognized tribe, with about 60,000 citizens, is the largest in the eastern United States, and most of its tribal citizens live within or near the Lumbee River watershed, according to a 2018 study of the impact of climate change on the Lumbee by Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel, a Lumbee citizen and professor at North Carolina State University who is moving next year to Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment in Durham.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tribe does not have tribal lands, though thousands of citizens are private landowners within the watershed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Lumbee Tribe has strong historical, cultural, and socioeconomic ties to the Lumbee River, and climate change has the potential to modify hydrological and ecological conditions along the river, across its connected wetlands, and within its watershed in ways that have serious implications for the tribe,” Emanuel concluded in the study, which was published in the Journal of Contemporary Water Research & Education.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The impact will be felt on hunting, fishing, foraging, basket-making, pottery, medicinal plants and religion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We value those swamps and we value those wetlands,” Emanuel told Indian Country Today. “The flooding makes it difficult for us to stay close to our waters. Our ancestors fished, boated, relied on the water a lot more than we do now … We (now) have a hard time forming bonds with the rivers and swamps.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Migration is happening slowly, as people move out of flood-prone areas. Some property owners were bought out of their homes after Hurricanes Matthew and Florence in 2016 and 2018, he said. Others are making the move quietly on their own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t see evidence of large-scale migrations of Lumbee people out of our homelands, and that is because the floods, even though they have been traumatic in recent years, are localized,” he said. “You’re seeing piecemeal movement of people who live in the lowest-lying areas who are moving to higher ground.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Emanuel grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, but his parents grew up in Robeson County, the heart of Lumbee country. His family has close ties to the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My grandmother, my aunts, uncles, cousins, all lived in the Lumbee community,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate change is looming, however. The Lumbee Tribe recently passed a resolution calling for research into flooding and the impacts on tribal territories, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The tribal council passing this resolution means they’re ready to take a more proactive stance,” he said. “It signals to me that they’re starting to look ahead.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Focusing on \u003ca id=\"recovery\">\u003c/a>recovery\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Back in Louisiana, jars of peanut butter and canned goods are stacked along the halls at the United Houma Nation’s new tribal administration building, as workers help citizens stock up on supplies and apply for aid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='news_11848769']The building, a former nursing home recently donated to the tribe, was being renovated for its new use this summer when the storm hit. The new sheetrock is now torn out and the inside walls are mostly stripped to the studs. The tribe had insurance, however, unlike many of its citizens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Renovation plans may be altered to allow the building to serve as a shelter for residents when the next storm hits, said Tribal Administrator Lanor Curole. A back-up generator is also being added to the plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Creppel, the Houma chief, said he is working to provide support in whatever capacity is needed — for tribal citizens who are staying, those who are leaving, and those who haven’t made up their mind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The hardest thing about being chief — 11,000 of my people were affected by the hurricane and in just a matter of hours, their lives have changed,” he said. “People ask, ‘Why do y’all stay there?’ If it wasn’t for hurricane season, it would be paradise.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Houma Nation is the largest state-recognized tribe in Louisiana, but without federal recognition it is not eligible for certain federal disaster relief funds. It’s a sore subject, and the tribe is fighting once again for federal recognition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Creppel said some people can’t afford to move. Others can’t afford to rebuild. Many tribal citizens make their livings off the water, and lost both their house and their boat. Those who still can fish have nowhere to sell their catch, since the local seafood distributors were also damaged in the storm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People heal physically but not emotionally,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977464\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 380px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52313_Louise-Billiot_Houma-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977464 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52313_Louise-Billiot_Houma-qut.jpg\" alt='A woman with black and gray hair, square dark-rimmed glasses, and a merlot-colored shirt that says \"property of Houma Nation\" in capital letters. ' width=\"380\" height=\"452\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52313_Louise-Billiot_Houma-qut.jpg 380w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52313_Louise-Billiot_Houma-qut-160x190.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 380px) 100vw, 380px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Louise Billiot, a citizen of the Houma Tribal Nation, works as a counselor for the tribe, helping others get aid after Hurricane Ida struck the area in Aug. 29, 2021. (Photo by Dianna Hunt/Indian Country Today) \u003ccite>(Photo by Dianna Hunt/Indian Country Today)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At tribal headquarters, counselor Louise Billiot, a Houma citizen, helps residents with their applications before taking a visitor on a tour down the bayou south of Houma in Dulac, where she grew up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s seen the climate migration first-hand. After Hurricanes Katrina and Gustav, many residents fled from Dulac to the Ashland area, where a large mobile home community sprung up with housing for more than 100 families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of those homes were destroyed in Ida, leaving residents to decide once again whether to move.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had a large migration after Katrina and Gustav,” Billiot said. “Now this hurricane has just devastated this community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It wasn’t high enough.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The impact on the tribe has been devastating, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Years ago, we were a community, a close-knit tribal community,” she said. “What has happened, with the weather and the devastation of the hurricanes, is it has relocated us. We’re not practicing our culture as much. We’re losing that —I don’t want to say Indian-ness — but we’re losing a lot.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In lower Lafitte, The \u003ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">United Friendship\u003c/a> nonprofit organization has set up a tent to distribute food and bottled iced tea, toilet paper and other supplies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gregory Creppel, a Houma citizen and cousin to the chief, and his wife, Lisa, started the nonprofit to serve the community. They set up the tent in lower Lafitte because no one else was providing help to the area, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tent sits just steps away from a community cemetery that was pounded in the storm. Some of the coffins washed out of their crypts, toppled and cracked open in the floodwaters. The same marsh mud that Gregory Creppel’s grandmother used to mold into clay ovens now coats them all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977461\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1240px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52312_United-Friendship-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977461 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52312_United-Friendship-qut.jpg\" alt='Four people stand together under a banner that says \"the united friendship\" with prints of two black birds. ' width=\"1240\" height=\"930\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52312_United-Friendship-qut.jpg 1240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52312_United-Friendship-qut-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52312_United-Friendship-qut-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52312_United-Friendship-qut-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52312_United-Friendship-qut-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1240px) 100vw, 1240px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The United Friendship nonprofit organization hands out supplies from a tent in the lower Lafitte area of southern Louisiana to United Houma Nation citizens and others in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, which struck the area on Aug. 29, 2021. Shown here in October 2021 are, from left, organization founders Gregory Creppel, Houma, and his wife Lisa; Houma trigal representative Gretchen Billiot Boudreaux; and Houma Chief August “Cocoa” Creppel. \u003ccite>(Dianna Hunt/Indian Country Today)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gretchen Billiot Boudreaux, the tribal council member who represents the area, is helping hand out the supplies. She understands the dilemma many citizens are facing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Half of the people can’t afford to come back,” she said. “They’re wondering, ‘What else do I do? Where do I go?’ Now our kids don’t get to know the history that these elders could have taught them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Red Cross van stakes a spot near The United Friendship tent to hand out meals of homemade jambalaya. A sparse but steady stream of residents move in for a hot meal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rodriguez and his wife are not among them, however. They are now house-hunting for a place closer to New Orleans, either behind a protection levee or at an elevation high enough they won’t need one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a hard decision to make,” Rodriguez said. “But it’s going to have to be that way. It’s diminishing returns.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Holding on to \u003ca id=\"tradition\">\u003c/a>traditions\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Not everyone in lower Lafitte, however, is packing up to leave.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Giovanni R. “Jay” Santini, the oldest citizen of the Houma Nation in the area, said he is not leaving the bayou lands where he has lived for most of his 86 years. He grew up there, and his mother taught him traditional ways, including how to make huts from palmetto leaves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s fished, driven boats, worked as a carpenter, and lived off the land.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I made my whole living here,” he told Indian Country Today. “I used to hunt alligators. We’d trap muskrat. Fish, catfish. I picked black moss and green moss for a living. I fished for a living. There ain’t nothing I didn’t do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977458\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1240px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52311_Jay-Santini_Houma-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977458 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52311_Jay-Santini_Houma-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A man stands on the steps outside of a bright blue house, on the second floor landing.\" width=\"1240\" height=\"930\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52311_Jay-Santini_Houma-qut.jpg 1240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52311_Jay-Santini_Houma-qut-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52311_Jay-Santini_Houma-qut-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52311_Jay-Santini_Houma-qut-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52311_Jay-Santini_Houma-qut-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1240px) 100vw, 1240px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">United Houma Nation elder Giovanni R. “Jay” Santini, 86, stands outside the home he built by hand 50 years ago in the lower Lafitte area of southern Louisiana, says he will make repairs once again after Hurricane Ida moved through the area on Aug. 29, 2021. Some Houma citizens have already decided to leave the area rather than face the effects of coastal erosion and flooding caused by climate change. \u003ccite>(Photo by Dianna Hunt/Indian Country Today)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>His sturdy, bright blue home, built by his own hands about 50 years ago, towers above many in the neighborhood. He’s had damage five times in those years, and raised his home more than 10 feet after Hurricane Rita struck in 2005.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This time, with Ida, his home didn’t take on water but he had roof damage that allowed water to come into some of the rooms. The electricity still runs, however, which means air conditioning, and a blue tarp covers the damaged sections of roof.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For now, he’s fighting with government officials to dredge the mud out of the ditch along the street so the winter rains will drain properly. A sign posted at the top of his front stairs sends the message.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“86 years old,” it reads. “Looks like I have 2 dig my own ditch. HELP.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he knows others are facing ruination. Some residents are focused on restoring their capsized boats before they can make their homes livable again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It hurts,” he said. “It hurts just to look at all the houses that are destroyed completely. People don’t have nothing at all to start with. At least I was blessed. I’ve got a house with four walls and a roof. I’ve got something to come back to. Some people don’t have nothing at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Just looking at the place will make you cry,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He knows the loss of tribal citizens in the community, particularly elders, can cripple the cultural and historic connections to the land for others. But he understands why some can’t return.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel sorry for them,” he said. “I know they love the place over here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Contributors to this story also include Carina Dominguez, Mary Annette Pember and Sandra Hale Schulman.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://indiancountrytoday.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indian Country Today\u003c/a> is a nonprofit news organization that covers the Indigenous world with a daily digital platform and weekday broadcast with international viewership.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Indigenous peoples across the U.S. are deciding whether to leave ancestral territories or hold onto their homelands as climate change brings floods, drought and erosion.",
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"description": "Indigenous peoples across the U.S. are deciding whether to leave ancestral territories or hold onto their homelands as climate change brings floods, drought and erosion.",
"title": "Native American People Tell Stories of Climate Loss and Resilience | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This story originally appeared in \u003ca href=\"https://indiancountrytoday.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indian Country Today\u003c/a>, and is part of a Covering Climate Now reporting series on climate migration called “\u003ca href=\"https://coveringclimatenow.org/flight-for-their-lives/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Flight for Their Lives\u003c/a>.” CCNow is a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jump to:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#recovery\">Focusing on recovery\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#tradition\">Holding on to traditions\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#Northwest\">Northwestern territories\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#support\">How to support local tribes\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>The blades of grass are just beginning to push through the thick, marsh mud in Russell Rodriguez’s yard as the mid-October sun beats down on southeastern Louisiana.\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-1977443\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-160x160.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"160\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo.jpg 1069w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003c/a>A bald eagle soars high above the tall trees. Morning rays glimmer off the rippling waters of nearby Barataria Bayou as it pushes toward the Gulf of Mexico.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It would be idyllic if not for the widespread destruction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Homes are wrecked, pushed off their pylons and shattered. Fishing boats are upended onto dry land. Coffins washed out of local cemeteries sit cracked open, the bones inside still waiting to be claimed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s more than Rodriguez can take. After decades in lower Lafitte about 65 miles south of New Orleans, he and his wife are leaving their home and their neighbors of the \u003ca href=\"https://unitedhoumanation.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">United Houma Nation\u003c/a> for higher ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘It’s very hard. This is where they were born and raised. This is where their parents were, our grandparents. It’s causing us to lose our way of life, living on the bayou. It’s hard to see the elders move away.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“It’s a life-changing event,” said Rodriguez, a Houma citizen. “I don’t like the idea of having to leave but I don’t want to go through another storm. Climate change is definitely causing this. People who deny that need a lesson in science.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rodriguez is among tens of thousands of tribal citizens across Indian Country forced to choose between staying in their ancestral lands or moving out to protect themselves from the devastation wreaked by climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Indigenous peoples along coastal areas and waterways across the United States from Alaska to Florida and California to Maine are facing floods, rising sea levels, coastal erosion and increasingly powerful hurricanes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Those in the Southwest and Plains have been hit with unprecedented drought, wildfires, heat, lowered water tables and depleted waterways. They’re all facing loss of habitat and a reduction in traditional food sources for people, livestock and wildlife.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And migration has already begun, with at least a half-dozen tribal communities formally deciding to relocate to higher ground. For others, the migration out is more subtle, coming quietly and without fanfare as the realities of climate change reach Indigenous homes and livelihoods, Indian Country Today found in an informal survey of tribal nations across the United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The impact on Indigenous cultures, histories and languages is immeasurable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/TheOfficialUnitedHoumaNation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Houma Nation\u003c/a>, elders who can’t afford the emotional or financial toll of rebuilding are among those most likely to move away, creating a void that can’t be filled, Houma Chief August “Cocoa” Creppel said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s very hard,” Creppel said. “This is where they were born and raised. This is where their parents were, our grandparents. It’s causing us to lose our way of life, living on the bayou.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s hard to see the elders move away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Louisiana\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The Houma Nation has no official tribal territories, but its 19,000 citizens are concentrated in southeastern Louisiana in six parishes, the Louisiana equivalent of counties. Most live in the areas around the towns of Dulac, Jean Lafitte and Houma, named in the 1830s for the tribe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977474\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 380px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52319_Houma_Family-Graves-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977474 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52319_Houma_Family-Graves-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A man with a red polo shirt stands next to a cross with two black square plaques. \" width=\"380\" height=\"285\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52319_Houma_Family-Graves-qut.jpg 380w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52319_Houma_Family-Graves-qut-160x120.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 380px) 100vw, 380px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">August “Cocoa” Creppel, chief of the United Houma Nation in Louisiana, stands near family graves at a historic cemetery built around Houma burial mounds in the town of Jean Lafitte on the banks of Barataria Bayou. The tribe has a long history in southern Louisiana but the devastation caused by climate change is driving some tribal citizens out of their homelands. \u003ccite>(Dianna Hunt/Indian Country Today)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n\u003cul>Nearly 11,000 of the Houma Nation’s citizens suffered damage when Hurricane Ida pushed ashore near Port Fourchon, Louisiana, on Aug. 29 — 16 years to the day that Hurricane Katrina struck the Louisiana coast, Creppel said.\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>It is one of the worst storms on record to hit the United States, and the worst to hit Louisiana, surpassing Katrina with 150-mph winds, a 12- to 14-foot storm surge and more than 15 inches of rain in some areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than six weeks after Ida moved through, sounds of rebuilding can be heard among the wreckage, but many homes appear too shattered to be salvaged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rodriguez’s home is among those shuttered, with a power boat sitting askew in the drying mud under the battered carport. He and his wife, Judith, purchased the home in 1995, and had it raised onto pylons more than eight feet above ground after Katrina flooded the area in 2005.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The home took on more than two feet of water during Hurricane Ida, nonetheless, and now sits just a few feet above the layers of mud brought in by the storm. It remains without electricity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977476\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52320_climate-migration-rodriguez-home-lafitte-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977476 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52320_climate-migration-rodriguez-home-lafitte-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A white home elevated by wood beams with a garage port in the foreground and a yard that's been covered in mud. \" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52320_climate-migration-rodriguez-home-lafitte-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52320_climate-migration-rodriguez-home-lafitte-qut-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52320_climate-migration-rodriguez-home-lafitte-qut-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52320_climate-migration-rodriguez-home-lafitte-qut-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52320_climate-migration-rodriguez-home-lafitte-qut-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52320_climate-migration-rodriguez-home-lafitte-qut-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Russell Rodriguez, an elder of the United Houma Nation, has decided he can’t return to his home in the lower Lafitte area of southern Louisiana. Hurricane Ida, which came ashore on August 29, 2021, sent floodwaters more than two feet deep into the home and deposited several feet of marsh mud throughout the community. “I can’t do this anymore,” he said. \u003ccite>(Dianna Hunt/Indian Country Today)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Rodriguez, 73, and his wife, who is a few years older, fled before the storm arrived and have spent weeks living miles away, first with family and then in motels. They travel back periodically to survey the damage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a long commute,” he said. “I’m just not able to deal with the heat as well as I used to.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Houma area is facing the same problems that have caused devastation in other communities in southern Louisiana. Barrier islands that once slowed storms as they moved onshore are vanishing, victims of erosion and rising sea levels. Man-made channels in the marsh grasses provide access for oil workers but allow the Gulf saltwater to push farther inland and with greater force. Rains are now torrential.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Citizens of other Louisiana tribes are also making plans to move out. Southeast of Houma, the Isle de Jean Charles Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Indian Tribe has been hit repeatedly with hurricanes, and took another hit from Hurricane Ida. Tribal citizens have lived for generations on the narrow island in the bayous of Terrebonne Parish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"support\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"link1": "https://sogoreate-landtrust.org/,Sogorea Te Land Trust, facilitating the return of Indigenous land to Indigenous peoples through a voluntary annual land tax",
"link2": "http://www.muwekma.org/,Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, Ohlone tribal lineages original to much of what is known as the Bay Area",
"link3": "https://www.ramaytush.org/,The Association of Ramaytush Ohlone, the original peoples of what is known as the San Francisco peninsula",
"link4": "http://californiavalleymiwok.us/,The California Valley Miwok Tribe, the original peoples of the north-central valley, from the coast to the Sierra Nevada",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Isle de Jean Charles Band joined with the Houma Nation in proposing resettlement off the island, saying the destruction posed an existential threat to their communities and culture. Since 1955, Isle de Jean Charles has lost 98 percent of its land mass and at least 75 percent of its residents, according to a 2020 Government Accountability Office report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state, with federal funding, has purchased 515 acres in Shriever, Louisiana, about 40 miles north on the mainland, to relocate tribal citizens. About 15-20 houses are now under construction, and 39 families are expected to be moved in by spring, Chief Albert Naquin told Indian Country Today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Citizens of the nearby Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe, who live along a bayou of the same name, also faced destruction from Ida, as did Grand Isle, a barrier island that has repeatedly been battered by storms. The Pointe-au-Chien citizens are also considering whether to relocate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some tribal citizens, however, aren’t waiting to make the move.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Naquin said he left Isle de Jean Charles for the next town over after Hurricane Carmen struck in 1974 because he could no longer get to work. Many are now packing up and leaving their homes behind in shambles after Ida.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People have left by force or by choice,” Naquin said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Alaska\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Nearly 5,000 miles from southern Louisiana, climate change is destroying the Yup’ik village of Newtok in southwestern Alaska.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newtok once sat on high ground, protected from storms by sea ice. The frozen ground, permafrost, held firm. Now, the ground melts and slumps, and wave action and storm surge wash away the soil. The village has already lost a mile of land to erosion. Barges can no longer land, and the river is approaching the runway used by small planes to bring supplies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The village is located between two rivers, the Newtok and the Ninglik, near where they enter the Bering Sea. The village has flooded several times in the past decade, and in September 2005, a fall storm caused floodwaters to surround the village on all sides, making it an island.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Erosion in 2021 has been particularly bad, as the crumbling shoreline has allowed the river to move even closer to the community, said Tribal Administrator Phillip Carl.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977470\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1240px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52316_shoreline-change-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977470 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52316_shoreline-change-qut.jpg\" alt=\"Side-by-side images compare shorelines from 2007 and 2019, with the later shoreline eroded away. \" width=\"1240\" height=\"374\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52316_shoreline-change-qut.jpg 1240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52316_shoreline-change-qut-800x241.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52316_shoreline-change-qut-1020x308.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52316_shoreline-change-qut-160x48.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52316_shoreline-change-qut-768x232.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1240px) 100vw, 1240px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Alaska Native village of Newtok is facing imminent destruction from erosion and rising levels. The shoreline is losing as many as 100 feet a year, as shown by this 2019 map comparison. \u003ccite>(Federal Emergency Management Agency/Government Accountability Office)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We must have lost … probably about 100 feet,” Carl said. “The school’s water plant is the closest to the erosion. It must be like about 190 feet (away from the current shoreline).”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carl said the village had not yet faced high winds this fall but they were expected to hit soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s one power pole that’s about to go over,” he said. The one house served by the power pole will be abandoned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alaska is among the states hardest hit by climate change, with at least 31 Native communities threatened with destruction within the next 25 years because of flooding and erosion, according to assessments by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the GAO.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newtok is one of four Alaska Native villages identified as being at risk for “imminent destruction,” meaning they are expected to become uninhabitable within the next five years, according to the government reports.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of the four — Newtok, Kivalina, Shishmaref and Shaktoolik — only Newtok has made substantial progress in relocating its residents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newtok began planning to move in the 1990s, getting small grants here and there for studies. It picked a site and negotiated a land swap with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that was approved by Congress in 2003.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The swap allows the eventual relocation of the village’s 350 or so residents to Mertarvik, which means “fresh water,” a site on Nelson Island about nine miles away or 25 minutes by boat. Mertarvik is within the tribe’s traditional lands and provides access to subsistence resources. It’s also resistant to erosion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As of December 2019, construction had been completed on a quarry, landfill, barge landing, temporary airstrip, roads, power plant, fuel storage, treatment plants for water and wastewater, and 21 homes, the GAO reported.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least 135 people have already made the move. The rest were forced to stay behind until more homes are built.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘The permafrost is receding and it’s getting thinner and thinner. Our Chinook returns have been low and our chum didn’t come back this year. The last five, 10 years, we’ve experienced real hot summers, a lack of rain, a lack of snow in the headwaters, and a lack of ice. The thickness of the (river) ice needs to be about seven feet. It’s been less than three feet.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Other threatened villages in Alaska are also making plans to move. About 370 miles north of Newtok in the Inupiat village of Shishmaref, residents voted in 2016 to relocate their community because of erosion and flooding attributed to climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shishmaref sits on Sarichef Island, a barrier island that is a quarter-mile wide and three miles long in the Chukchi Sea just outside the Arctic Circle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State and federal agencies have spent an estimated $25 million since 2004 to expand and reinforce a seawall in an attempt to hold back the sea, yet Shishmaref continues to lose about three to five feet of shoreline to erosion each year, according to a report by the nonprofit Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange. Several homes and the National Guard Armory have already been moved inland because of erosion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It will be a painful move. Inupiat people have lived on the island for at least 4,000 years and ancestors’ remains are interred in a cemetery there. Relocation is in the planning stages and costs have yet to be determined, according to the Shishmaref Strategic Management Plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About 35 miles east of Newtok, the Yup’ik village of Akiak is also fighting erosion. The tribe recently moved six homes being undermined by the Kuskokwim River, said Michael Williams Sr., chief of the Akiak Native Community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re assessing a few more homes and structures, and if they are within 200 feet from the river, we want to consider moving them,” Williams said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The permafrost is receding and it’s getting thinner and thinner,” he said. “Our Chinook returns have been low and our chum didn’t come back this year. The last five, 10 years, we’ve experienced real hot summers, a lack of rain, a lack of snow in the headwaters, and a lack of ice. The thickness of the (river) ice needs to be about seven feet. It’s been less than three feet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Warmer temperatures have meant warmer water. Dead fish have been found on the Tanana River and changes in caribou migration present new challenges for subsistence hunters, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Williams, 69, said the conditions he’s seeing are all new — conditions not known to his grandparents and great-grandparents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The warming is tremendous,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the northern Inupiat village of Kivalina, the community voted to relocate off the barrier island where it now sits on the Chukchi Sea, 83 miles inside the Arctic Circle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials haven’t yet been able to find a suitable site with good hunting, fishing and water, however. One site chosen in 2000 was deemed by the Army Corps of Engineers to be too at risk to adverse effects of climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Relocation of the entire community is out of reach for years to come, so residents are trying to adapt, Tribal Administrator Millie Hawley said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An evacuation road was completed in November 2020, and a school and community center will come next on the mainland near the village.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve got to live with what we’ve got,” she said. “Where are we going to go? We live on an island. The nearest village is 70 miles away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003ca id=\"Northwest\">\u003c/a>Northwestern territories\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>There’s a sense of urgency in the Quinault Nation community of Taholah in northwest Washington state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977468\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1123px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52315_Quinalt-Nation-flooding-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977468 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52315_Quinalt-Nation-flooding-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A dark colored car with red running lights drives down a flooded street, overcast with gray fog. \" width=\"1123\" height=\"608\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52315_Quinalt-Nation-flooding-qut.jpg 1123w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52315_Quinalt-Nation-flooding-qut-800x433.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52315_Quinalt-Nation-flooding-qut-1020x552.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52315_Quinalt-Nation-flooding-qut-160x87.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52315_Quinalt-Nation-flooding-qut-768x416.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1123px) 100vw, 1123px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Quinault Nation community of Taholah was flooded in January 2021 when the ocean breached a seawall. The tribe is in the process of relocating to higher ground because of problems caused by climate change. \u003ccite>(Photo by Larry Workman, Quinault Nation)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Taholah was flooded in January 2021 when the ocean breached a seawall, and models prepared by the state Department of Natural Resources show the community is at risk of a potential tsunami 40-50 feet deep. The encroaching ocean has washed away chunks of the coastline, and water levels are expected to rise more than 2.5 feet by 2100.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Construction is underway to build a new Upper Village at a higher elevation about a half-mile away from the existing village center, beyond the expected reach of rising seas and tsunamis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Quinault hopes to have its new village complete in 2030, with a variety of housing types, a K-12 school, a park, trails, a community center and offices for tribal government and emergency services. Construction on a new school is set to begin in early 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The infrastructure costs alone — for communications, roads and utilities — are estimated at more than $50 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A bill now pending in Congress would contribute about $500,000 to help the tribe with infrastructure costs. The bill also includes about $1.5 million in funding for the Quileute Tribe in La Push, Washington.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Quileutes have also sustained heavy flooding, rising sea levels and erosion, and are at increased risk of a tsunami. The tribe has decided to relocate to higher ground about 2.5 miles away, and construction of a new school is underway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, some will remain behind at the lower village, where the Quileute people have harvested fish and shellfish and hunted off the coast of northwest Washington for centuries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other tribes in the western and northwestern United States are also being affected by climate change, but have not yet made the decision to relocate tribal operations. No one knows, however, how many citizens may have slipped away quietly to areas less at risk of devastation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Oregon and Idaho, five tribal nations that make up the Upper Snake River Tribes Foundation — Burns Paiute Tribe, Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribes, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of Fort Hall, and Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of Duck Valley — have documented shifts in species and habitats driven by increasing temperatures and changing precipitation patterns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In northeastern Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation report that traditional foods — what they call First Foods — are being affected by warming temperatures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Montana, three tribes banded together in August to save homes, lives and cultural sites as wildfires fueled by hot, dry conditions burned nearly 200,000 acres. Hundreds of families in the Flathead Indian Reservation, the Fort Belknap Indian Community and the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation were evacuated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in California’s Kern Valley, heat and drought are affecting the Tubatulabal Tribe’s access to traditional foods, as well as their overall quality of life. The air this year was thick with smoke from fires in the drought-parched region, tribal Chairman Robert Gomez said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had fire after fire and the smoke was terrible,” he said. “We had 67 days with temperatures over 100 in the county.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Southwestern droughts\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Hopi elder Vernon Masayesva didn’t want to miss the final katsina dance last July, when tribal lands were “bone dry” in the midst of unprecedented drought. The ceremonial dance brings prayers for rain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s very important in our community,” he said. “I wanted to hear the final prayer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just before the dance began, however, a deluge erupted. Pouring rains created rivers through the streets, and the village plaza turned into a lake. Some homes in lower-lying areas were flooded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There was a huge storm,” he said. “A cloudburst. I’ve never seen anything like it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Masayesva decided to leave before flooding got worse, but his daughters stayed behind to wait it out. The clouds parted just in time for the last dance. The rains had stopped.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a spiritual moment for many, though the unexpected rains meant different things to different people. For some, they were a blessing, a sign that prayers for rain had been answered; for others, they served as a warning that Hopis and others need to change their ways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You can take it both ways,” he said. “This is what the ceremony was all about, about rain .. (But) it’s a signal from Mother Earth that mankind needs to settle down. It’s a world out of balance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977466\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 380px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52314_Angelo-Baca-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977466 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52314_Angelo-Baca-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A black-haired man with a blue button down shirt, gray jeans, and orange shoes squats low towards sandy ground above the green shoots of young plants. \" width=\"380\" height=\"507\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52314_Angelo-Baca-qut.jpg 380w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52314_Angelo-Baca-qut-160x213.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 380px) 100vw, 380px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Angelo Baca, a Utah runner who is Diné and Hopi, says he has seen the impact of climate change while running in his homelands. Farmers are struggling to grow corn in the unprecedented drought brought on by climate change. \u003ccite>(Photo courtesy of Angelo Baca)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n\u003cul>Water is at the heart of climate change in the southwestern United States, where the Hopi, Navajo, Pueblos and other tribes have lived for generations. Water and rain are growing scarce, leaving corn to die in the fields, causing sheep and wildlife to forage farther for food and drink, and forcing families to wait in lines to get water for their homes.\u003c/ul>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>The smell of smoke from wildfires fueled by the hot, dry conditions is all-too-familiar for Indigenous people in the region.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sometimes the drought is followed by torrential rains before the dry heat takes a grip again on local Indigenous communities, affecting their families, cultures and traditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Masayesva, a former chairman of the Hopi Tribe, is from the village of Hotevilla. He said he is not aware of tribal citizens migrating away from the homelands because of climate change. They have been leaving for decades for other reasons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are many Hopi families that have left but it was way before this climate situation,” he said. “It was these people who wanted good-paying jobs. There’s none on the rez. They wanted their kids to go to the best schools. Our schools are in really bad conditions. For those kinds of reasons, many have left a long time ago.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But they don’t stay away too long, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They don’t permanently leave,” he said. “They have clan homes. Ceremony – that brings them all back.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Southeastern, East Coast communities\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The Seminole Tribe of Florida is among dozens of tribes across the southeastern United States and East Coast that are facing devastating impacts of climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Increasingly powerful hurricanes, rising sea levels and erosion coupled with heat and periodic drought are threatening the Seminole homelands that have sustained their people for centuries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Seminoles’ home in the low-lying Everglades is critically threatened by climate change,” according to a recent report on the looming disintegration of the historic Egmont Key, an offshore island near Tampa Bay where Seminoles were temporarily locked up while waiting to be shipped west.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Seminole Tribe, which oversees six tribal territories with about 5,000 citizens, stretches from southern Florida northward in the Florida Everglades and in areas near Lake Okeechobee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tribe, owner of a restaurant and hotel empire that includes Hard Rock and Seminole gaming, recently hired its first climate resiliency officer, Jill Horwitz, to build a local program that combines traditional knowledge with science. The tribe is also working with state officials to draft a response plan to climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘We value those swamps and we value those wetlands. The flooding makes it difficult for us to stay close to our waters. Our ancestors fished, boated, relied on the water a lot more than we do now … We (now) have a hard time forming bonds with the rivers and swamps.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Climate change touches all of us, and we each have a role,” Horwitz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Horwitz said tribal lands — already subject to hurricanes and other storms — have been prone to shifts between drought and flooding in recent years. But she’s not aware of citizens who have decided to leave the area because of climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“No residents have needed to relocate due to sea-level rise,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other tribes in the southeastern United States are feeling the effects. The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, which has a long history with the Lumbee River and the upland coastal plains, is facing increasing flooding and unprecedented hurricanes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state-recognized tribe, with about 60,000 citizens, is the largest in the eastern United States, and most of its tribal citizens live within or near the Lumbee River watershed, according to a 2018 study of the impact of climate change on the Lumbee by Dr. Ryan E. Emanuel, a Lumbee citizen and professor at North Carolina State University who is moving next year to Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment in Durham.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tribe does not have tribal lands, though thousands of citizens are private landowners within the watershed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The Lumbee Tribe has strong historical, cultural, and socioeconomic ties to the Lumbee River, and climate change has the potential to modify hydrological and ecological conditions along the river, across its connected wetlands, and within its watershed in ways that have serious implications for the tribe,” Emanuel concluded in the study, which was published in the Journal of Contemporary Water Research & Education.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The impact will be felt on hunting, fishing, foraging, basket-making, pottery, medicinal plants and religion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We value those swamps and we value those wetlands,” Emanuel told Indian Country Today. “The flooding makes it difficult for us to stay close to our waters. Our ancestors fished, boated, relied on the water a lot more than we do now … We (now) have a hard time forming bonds with the rivers and swamps.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Migration is happening slowly, as people move out of flood-prone areas. Some property owners were bought out of their homes after Hurricanes Matthew and Florence in 2016 and 2018, he said. Others are making the move quietly on their own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t see evidence of large-scale migrations of Lumbee people out of our homelands, and that is because the floods, even though they have been traumatic in recent years, are localized,” he said. “You’re seeing piecemeal movement of people who live in the lowest-lying areas who are moving to higher ground.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Emanuel grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, but his parents grew up in Robeson County, the heart of Lumbee country. His family has close ties to the area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My grandmother, my aunts, uncles, cousins, all lived in the Lumbee community,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate change is looming, however. The Lumbee Tribe recently passed a resolution calling for research into flooding and the impacts on tribal territories, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The tribal council passing this resolution means they’re ready to take a more proactive stance,” he said. “It signals to me that they’re starting to look ahead.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Focusing on \u003ca id=\"recovery\">\u003c/a>recovery\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Back in Louisiana, jars of peanut butter and canned goods are stacked along the halls at the United Houma Nation’s new tribal administration building, as workers help citizens stock up on supplies and apply for aid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The building, a former nursing home recently donated to the tribe, was being renovated for its new use this summer when the storm hit. The new sheetrock is now torn out and the inside walls are mostly stripped to the studs. The tribe had insurance, however, unlike many of its citizens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Renovation plans may be altered to allow the building to serve as a shelter for residents when the next storm hits, said Tribal Administrator Lanor Curole. A back-up generator is also being added to the plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Creppel, the Houma chief, said he is working to provide support in whatever capacity is needed — for tribal citizens who are staying, those who are leaving, and those who haven’t made up their mind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The hardest thing about being chief — 11,000 of my people were affected by the hurricane and in just a matter of hours, their lives have changed,” he said. “People ask, ‘Why do y’all stay there?’ If it wasn’t for hurricane season, it would be paradise.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Houma Nation is the largest state-recognized tribe in Louisiana, but without federal recognition it is not eligible for certain federal disaster relief funds. It’s a sore subject, and the tribe is fighting once again for federal recognition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Creppel said some people can’t afford to move. Others can’t afford to rebuild. Many tribal citizens make their livings off the water, and lost both their house and their boat. Those who still can fish have nowhere to sell their catch, since the local seafood distributors were also damaged in the storm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People heal physically but not emotionally,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977464\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 380px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52313_Louise-Billiot_Houma-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977464 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52313_Louise-Billiot_Houma-qut.jpg\" alt='A woman with black and gray hair, square dark-rimmed glasses, and a merlot-colored shirt that says \"property of Houma Nation\" in capital letters. ' width=\"380\" height=\"452\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52313_Louise-Billiot_Houma-qut.jpg 380w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52313_Louise-Billiot_Houma-qut-160x190.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 380px) 100vw, 380px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Louise Billiot, a citizen of the Houma Tribal Nation, works as a counselor for the tribe, helping others get aid after Hurricane Ida struck the area in Aug. 29, 2021. (Photo by Dianna Hunt/Indian Country Today) \u003ccite>(Photo by Dianna Hunt/Indian Country Today)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At tribal headquarters, counselor Louise Billiot, a Houma citizen, helps residents with their applications before taking a visitor on a tour down the bayou south of Houma in Dulac, where she grew up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s seen the climate migration first-hand. After Hurricanes Katrina and Gustav, many residents fled from Dulac to the Ashland area, where a large mobile home community sprung up with housing for more than 100 families.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of those homes were destroyed in Ida, leaving residents to decide once again whether to move.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had a large migration after Katrina and Gustav,” Billiot said. “Now this hurricane has just devastated this community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It wasn’t high enough.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The impact on the tribe has been devastating, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Years ago, we were a community, a close-knit tribal community,” she said. “What has happened, with the weather and the devastation of the hurricanes, is it has relocated us. We’re not practicing our culture as much. We’re losing that —I don’t want to say Indian-ness — but we’re losing a lot.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In lower Lafitte, The \u003ca target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">United Friendship\u003c/a> nonprofit organization has set up a tent to distribute food and bottled iced tea, toilet paper and other supplies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gregory Creppel, a Houma citizen and cousin to the chief, and his wife, Lisa, started the nonprofit to serve the community. They set up the tent in lower Lafitte because no one else was providing help to the area, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tent sits just steps away from a community cemetery that was pounded in the storm. Some of the coffins washed out of their crypts, toppled and cracked open in the floodwaters. The same marsh mud that Gregory Creppel’s grandmother used to mold into clay ovens now coats them all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977461\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1240px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52312_United-Friendship-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977461 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52312_United-Friendship-qut.jpg\" alt='Four people stand together under a banner that says \"the united friendship\" with prints of two black birds. ' width=\"1240\" height=\"930\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52312_United-Friendship-qut.jpg 1240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52312_United-Friendship-qut-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52312_United-Friendship-qut-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52312_United-Friendship-qut-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52312_United-Friendship-qut-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1240px) 100vw, 1240px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The United Friendship nonprofit organization hands out supplies from a tent in the lower Lafitte area of southern Louisiana to United Houma Nation citizens and others in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, which struck the area on Aug. 29, 2021. Shown here in October 2021 are, from left, organization founders Gregory Creppel, Houma, and his wife Lisa; Houma trigal representative Gretchen Billiot Boudreaux; and Houma Chief August “Cocoa” Creppel. \u003ccite>(Dianna Hunt/Indian Country Today)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gretchen Billiot Boudreaux, the tribal council member who represents the area, is helping hand out the supplies. She understands the dilemma many citizens are facing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Half of the people can’t afford to come back,” she said. “They’re wondering, ‘What else do I do? Where do I go?’ Now our kids don’t get to know the history that these elders could have taught them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A Red Cross van stakes a spot near The United Friendship tent to hand out meals of homemade jambalaya. A sparse but steady stream of residents move in for a hot meal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rodriguez and his wife are not among them, however. They are now house-hunting for a place closer to New Orleans, either behind a protection levee or at an elevation high enough they won’t need one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a hard decision to make,” Rodriguez said. “But it’s going to have to be that way. It’s diminishing returns.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Holding on to \u003ca id=\"tradition\">\u003c/a>traditions\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Not everyone in lower Lafitte, however, is packing up to leave.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Giovanni R. “Jay” Santini, the oldest citizen of the Houma Nation in the area, said he is not leaving the bayou lands where he has lived for most of his 86 years. He grew up there, and his mother taught him traditional ways, including how to make huts from palmetto leaves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s fished, driven boats, worked as a carpenter, and lived off the land.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I made my whole living here,” he told Indian Country Today. “I used to hunt alligators. We’d trap muskrat. Fish, catfish. I picked black moss and green moss for a living. I fished for a living. There ain’t nothing I didn’t do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977458\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1240px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52311_Jay-Santini_Houma-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977458 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52311_Jay-Santini_Houma-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A man stands on the steps outside of a bright blue house, on the second floor landing.\" width=\"1240\" height=\"930\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52311_Jay-Santini_Houma-qut.jpg 1240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52311_Jay-Santini_Houma-qut-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52311_Jay-Santini_Houma-qut-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52311_Jay-Santini_Houma-qut-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/RS52311_Jay-Santini_Houma-qut-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1240px) 100vw, 1240px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">United Houma Nation elder Giovanni R. “Jay” Santini, 86, stands outside the home he built by hand 50 years ago in the lower Lafitte area of southern Louisiana, says he will make repairs once again after Hurricane Ida moved through the area on Aug. 29, 2021. Some Houma citizens have already decided to leave the area rather than face the effects of coastal erosion and flooding caused by climate change. \u003ccite>(Photo by Dianna Hunt/Indian Country Today)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>His sturdy, bright blue home, built by his own hands about 50 years ago, towers above many in the neighborhood. He’s had damage five times in those years, and raised his home more than 10 feet after Hurricane Rita struck in 2005.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This time, with Ida, his home didn’t take on water but he had roof damage that allowed water to come into some of the rooms. The electricity still runs, however, which means air conditioning, and a blue tarp covers the damaged sections of roof.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For now, he’s fighting with government officials to dredge the mud out of the ditch along the street so the winter rains will drain properly. A sign posted at the top of his front stairs sends the message.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“86 years old,” it reads. “Looks like I have 2 dig my own ditch. HELP.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he knows others are facing ruination. Some residents are focused on restoring their capsized boats before they can make their homes livable again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It hurts,” he said. “It hurts just to look at all the houses that are destroyed completely. People don’t have nothing at all to start with. At least I was blessed. I’ve got a house with four walls and a roof. I’ve got something to come back to. Some people don’t have nothing at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Just looking at the place will make you cry,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He knows the loss of tribal citizens in the community, particularly elders, can cripple the cultural and historic connections to the land for others. But he understands why some can’t return.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel sorry for them,” he said. “I know they love the place over here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Contributors to this story also include Carina Dominguez, Mary Annette Pember and Sandra Hale Schulman.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://indiancountrytoday.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indian Country Today\u003c/a> is a nonprofit news organization that covers the Indigenous world with a daily digital platform and weekday broadcast with international viewership.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Straight Talk on Temperature: Here's What 1.5 Degrees C Means",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-160x160.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"160\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-1977443\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo.jpg 1069w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003c/a>We are 1.1 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels now. Capping average global temperature at 1.5 degrees C (equivalent to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) is within our grasp, but it will be hard, and the window is closing. As journalists we must get this story right for our audiences. They need to understand that global temperature rise can still be stopped before it reaches a catastrophic level — that doing or not doing so is a choice governments are making. This explainer covers the importance of 1.5 degrees C, the forces standing in the way of achieving it, and what it means to live in a 1.5 degrees C, or even warmer, world. It also includes some questions to prompt story ideas and short resource lists for your reference.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Why is 1.5 degrees C such an important target?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>[aside label='Resources' link1='https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/,IPCC: The Latest Science on Climate Change' link2='https://www.ucsusa.org/climate/solutions,Climate Solutions (from the Union of Concerned Scientists, a nonprofit advocating for science in public policy)']Since the Paris Agreement was signed at COP21 in 2015, scientists have become more certain that 2 degrees C of average global temperature rise above pre-industrial levels would be cataclysmic — and that even 1.5 degrees C will be no walk in the park. The record heat that scorched the Pacific Northwest in 2021? Such heat waves are now happening \u003ca href=\"https://www.eenews.net/articles/ipcc-window-closing-to-stop-worst-effects-of-climate-change/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">five times more often\u003c/a> after “only” 1.1 degrees C of temperature rise than they did historically, according to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s “Sixth Assessment Report,” released in August 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At 2 degrees C, similar heatwaves would occur 14 times more often and the historic ‘Black Summer’ fires that ravaged Australia in 2019 to 2020 would happen four times as often. Hitting 2 degrees C would also mean the loss of 99% of coral reefs — the base of the marine food chain — and assure the irreversible loss of the West Antarctic ice sheet, eventually causing 5 meters (roughly 16 feet) of sea level rise, enough to inundate large portions of many coastal cities around the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='forum_2010101886270']So 1.5 degrees C is the essential target. That said, 1.5 degrees C is not a cliff; civilization does not automatically expire if temperatures exceed that threshold. Rather, every tenth of a degree beyond 1.5 degrees C makes climate damages that much greater and the overall crisis harder to contain. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you get above about a degree-and-a-half, these effects start to go non-linear,” said Michael Oppenheimer, the Albert G. Milbank professor of Geosciences and International Affairs at Princeton University. “It becomes very, very difficult for humans to catch up, to adjust. And basically, there’s a risk that the climate spins out of control, beyond our ability to adjust and adapt to it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label='Resources' link1='https://interactive-atlas.ipcc.ch/,IPCC: Explore Possible Climate Futures at +1.5 C, +2.0 C, and More' link2='https://drawdown.org/solutions/,Climate Solutions (from Project Drawdown, non-profit dedicated to cutting carbon emissions)']\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>What will it take to limit average global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The good news is that IPCC scientists and most experts say humanity has nearly all the knowledge and tools needed to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C. The challenges are not primarily technological; they are political and economic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To cap global temperature rise there are two chief imperatives, experts have concluded: First, the global economy must quit oil, gas, and coal rapidly and shift to solar, wind, and other non-carbon energy sources. Second, humans must end deforestation, much of which is driven by industrial agriculture’s desire to expand beef, soy, and palm oil production.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Imperative 1: Energy\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='science_1976869' label='Here's What's Inside Newsom's Whopping $15 Billion Climate Plan']Coal has been the main driver of global warming since it began fueling the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain 250 years ago. Today, coal must be phased out, starting immediately and around the world, to keep the 1.5 degrees C target within reach. Scientists estimate that 90% of today’s coal reserves must be left in the ground, according to a 2021 study in Nature. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has declared that the 1.5 degrees C temperature limit also requires that no new coal-fired power plants be built. Existing plants should quickly shift to solar and wind, augmented by reducing electricity demand through better energy efficiency in buildings and machinery (which also saves money and produces more jobs). The benefits of energy efficiency are an essential tool for slashing emissions while boosting the economy — and should be explained to the public in more depth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oil and gas must follow the same script as coal, though in their case 60% of reserves must be left in the ground. The IEA further emphasizes that point, stating in 2021 that meeting the 1.5 degrees C goal requires that no new fossil fuel infrastructure be built anywhere on Earth. That means no exploring for additional reserves, no new oil fields, no pipelines, no liquid gas export terminals, etc.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To prevent the world economy, which currently relies on fossil fuels for 80% of its energy, from collapsing in the process, demand for these fuels must be radically reduced. Transportation in particular must transform: Vehicles must be powered by electricity, not gasoline, and driving needs to become less necessary by redesigning cities and suburbs so residents can meet their needs with mass transit, biking, walking, etc.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another way of describing the stages of this energy transition comes from the nonpartisan research agency, Carbon Tracker: “The world needs to decarbonize electricity, electrify everything it can, and use some variant of hydrogen for the rest.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Imperative 2: Deforestation\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The link between the food and forestry sectors is critical: A major reason the world’s forests are felled at such catastrophic rates is to grow more food products, especially beef, soy, and palm oil. Forests must be left intact so they continue to extract CO2 from the atmosphere via photosynthesis and store it in trees and soil. Alas, so much of the Amazon rainforest has been leveled that much has flipped from being a carbon sink that stores CO2 to a carbon source that emits it. Because deforestation is largely driven by a push to raise cattle and other foods, some scientists suggest that people change their diets to consume less meat. But as with calls to take the bus rather than drive a car, such individual lifestyle changes cannot fix the underlying problem as long as the global economic system demands endless growth and government policies make destroying the climate more profitable than protecting it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Be cautious about “net zero” pledges\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>[aside label='Resources' link1='https://www.iea.org/reports/net-zero-by-2050,Net Zero By 2050: A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector (from the International Energy Agency, an autonomous intergovernmental agency)' link2='https://www.zerotracker.net/,Net Zero Tracker (a collaboration of research institutes and think tanks)']Beware of climate greenwashing about both energy and forests — that is, rhetorical promises by governments, corporations, or banks that claim to solve the crisis but may or may not measure up in practice. The concept of “net zero emissions” demands special attention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Net zero” means that a given country or company will reduce emissions but not to absolute zero; rather, some emissions will continue, but they will be “offset” by countervailing measures that extract carbon from the atmosphere so the net result is zero emissions. Examples of these countervailing measures include planting trees and restoring wetlands; both draw CO2 out of the air through photosynthesis. With CO2 atmospheric concentrations currently at 414 parts per million and rising, some CO2 extraction will be needed to return concentrations to the 350 ppm or lower needed to stabilize earth’s climate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Net zero” is not necessarily a dodge, but offsets have a spotty record of achievement. For example: Were the promised trees actually planted? Did they survive and for how long? Were those wetlands truly restored, or only slated to be restored? Offsets also raise environmental justice concerns, for even authentic offsets in one part of the world can enable factories to keep operating in another part of the world, polluting the local environment of residents who often are poor or people of color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many net-zero commitments by governments and businesses cite 2050 as the year when net zero will be reached. Indeed, roughly 80% of the world economy is now covered by commitments of net zero by 2050. It’s important to report those commitments with a degree of skepticism: 2050 is far enough off that bold claims might seem possible, but those claims are only credible if they include real (i.e., non-offsets) and substantial emissions reductions during the next 10 years. To test the validity of net-zero 2050 pledges, journalists should check whether such commitments carry an action plan that credibly cuts emissions in half by 2030. That’s essential, scientists say, to hitting 1.5 degrees C. Promising that emissions will end by 2050 is easy for today’s politicians and corporate leaders, but that goal is only reachable if actual emissions fall by half in the next decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>How did we get here?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>It will undeniably be difficult to cut emissions as much and as fast as science says is necessary, and the main reason why is that humanity waited so long to start the job. Had we begun 30 years ago, as scientists and advocates were urging, we’d be most of the way there by now. And the main reason we waited so long is that some very rich and powerful economic and political interests knew climate action would interfere with their profits and privilege.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Investigative journalism has documented that Exxon and other fossil fuel companies knew by the late 1970s — because their own scientists were telling them — that climate change was real, caused by burning fossil fuels, and threatened to end civilization as we know it. Nevertheless, the companies chose to lie to the public, policymakers, and the press to thwart climate action. Recently, the companies have shifted from outright climate denial — no longer tenable in the face of so much extreme weather — to its more presentable cousin, climate delay. But climate delay is just as lethal, precisely because 40 years of failing to act has left zero time for further delay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fossil fuel companies now face dozens of lawsuits from governments and civil society groups demanding compensation for the climate damages the companies’ lying helped cause.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>How do we live with 1.5 degrees C?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>As the extreme weather in recent years has shown, climate impacts are punishing even after “only” 1.1 degrees C of temperature rise. This is especially so for the roughly two billion people who live in the (usually poorer) countries most vulnerable to climate change. Temperatures and impacts are bound to increase in the years ahead, if only because humanity can’t halt emissions overnight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hence, the need for what climate experts call “adaptation”: actions to reduce one’s vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. Examples of adaptation include when a community builds sea walls to protect against hurricanes, when a homeowner plants trees around the house to shade it from extra heat, and when a farmer shifts from growing almonds and alfalfa to less thirsty crops. By contrast, “mitigation” refers to actions to limit global temperature rise, such as replacing a coal-fired power plant with a wind turbine or installing more efficient appliances, windows, and insulation to reduce the amount of energy a household uses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Adaptation has never gotten the attention mitigation gets, perhaps because it was assumed, wrongly, that the rich could adapt relatively easily to rising temperatures. For example, the British government spent roughly $3 billion dollars to build the Thames Barrier, a set of massive floodgates downriver from central London, to protect the city from North Sea storm surges. But in fact, adaptation and mitigation are twin imperatives: Mitigation is essential to limit temperature rise to an amount humans can survive, but adaptation is no less essential; because we’ve waited so long, stronger climate impacts are now unavoidable, and the only way to survive them is to prepare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the best climate adaptation research and practice happens to be found in two of the most vulnerable countries on earth: The Netherlands and Bangladesh. The former is rich, the latter not, illustrating that wealth alone is not decisive. More important is that a country starts adapting now, rather than waiting until climate impacts engulf it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Examples of successful adaptation abound (see CCNow executive director Mark Hertsgaard’s book “HOT: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth” for specifics), but they all cost money, which is where the contrast between rich and poor does have meaning. A low-income country such as Bangladesh simply does not have the financial means as the wealthy Netherlands to adapt to a changing climate and its worsening impacts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Which is why the issue of climate adaptation will arise at COP26 mainly in regards to the $100 billion in annual aid that rich countries have pledged to provide to poor countries. This pledge, enshrined in the 2015 Paris Agreement, is supposed to subsidize both mitigation and adaptation efforts in poor countries. Independent experts calculate that poor countries need much more than that; meanwhile, rich countries have not provided even that much. \u003ca href=\"https://oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/bitstream/handle/10546/621066/bp-climate-finance-shadow-report-2020-201020-en.pdf\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">An analysis\u003c/a> by the anti-poverty NGO Oxfam found that in 2018 (the last year with reliable data), climate aid was roughly $20 to $22 billion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Developing countries \u003ca href=\"https://www.devex.com/news/climate-vulnerable-nations-demand-urgent-boost-for-delayed-funds-100331\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">have warned\u003c/a> in the lead-up to COP26 that there will be no deal if rich countries don’t deliver a credible plan to deliver the $100 billion in annual aid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label='Resources' link1='https://unfccc.int/topics/climate-finance/the-big-picture/climate-finance-in-the-negotiations,Climate Finance in the Negotiations (from the United Nations)' link2='https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2021/09/23/Still-Not-Getting-Energy-Prices-Right-A-Global-and-Country-Update-of-Fossil-Fuel-Subsidies-466004,Still Not Getting Energy Prices Right: A Global and Country Update of Fossil Fuel Subsidies (from the International Monetary Fund)']\u003cstrong>How Do We Pay for 1.5C?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Money is at the heart of the climate emergency and its solutions. This is true both of public money (i.e., government) and private money (i.e., banks and investors). For many years, most public and private money incentivized climate-destructive activities. At the moment, the world’s governments provide roughly $5.9 trillion a year in subsidies for fossil fuels, according to the International Monetary Fund. The vast majority of governments’ stimulus spending to revive Covid-battered economies has reinforced the status quo rather than boosted the zero-carbon activities necessary to ensure a climate-safe future. The challenge now is to halt spending that harms the climate and redirect it to things that help it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Judging from the Paris climate summit’s impact, COP26 also could have a profound influence on global money flows. The Paris Agreement’s pledge to transition the global economy to “net zero” emissions by 2050 sent a powerful message that public and private sector leaders have taken to heart. Three quarters of the coal plants planned or being built at the time of the Paris Agreement have been scrapped. That’s partly because solar and other alternative sources were becoming cheaper. But it’s also because government planners and private investors read the writing on the wall after Paris: Coal could only survive with massive state subsidies, and governments facing widespread concerns about climate change were unlikely to keep providing those subsidies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A similar dynamic is playing out around fossil fuels in general. Mark Carney, the UN Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance, was the head of the Bank of England in 2014 when he began warning about a “carbon bubble” that could crash the global economy. Preventing catastrophic climate change, Carney pointed out, required leaving most of fossil fuel reserves in the ground. But those reserves were (and still are) counted as wealth in the stock holdings of investors; leaving them unburned would render trillions of dollars of invested wealth worthless. That could spark a global financial crisis as destructive as the one unleashed when the housing bubble burst in 2008.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the world’s richest investors have accordingly begun distancing themselves from fossil fuels. BlackRock, the largest money-manager on earth, said in 2020 that it would shun fossil fuels and assume the world economy was moving towards alignment with the Paris Agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now that smart money is abandoning fossil fuels, two big questions are coming into focus: How much of the market will follow? And will enough money flow to the climate-friendly technologies and practices needed to defuse the climate emergency? Again, much will depend on how strong a message emerges from COP26. Journalists should monitor what governments say they will and won’t spend on climate action — not just in fiscal budgets but also through central banks. Also key is what governments will do to encourage private banks and investors to stop funding climate destruction and instead finance climate solutions.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-160x160.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"160\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-1977443\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/ccnow_logo.jpg 1069w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003c/a>We are 1.1 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels now. Capping average global temperature at 1.5 degrees C (equivalent to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) is within our grasp, but it will be hard, and the window is closing. As journalists we must get this story right for our audiences. They need to understand that global temperature rise can still be stopped before it reaches a catastrophic level — that doing or not doing so is a choice governments are making. This explainer covers the importance of 1.5 degrees C, the forces standing in the way of achieving it, and what it means to live in a 1.5 degrees C, or even warmer, world. It also includes some questions to prompt story ideas and short resource lists for your reference.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Why is 1.5 degrees C such an important target?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Since the Paris Agreement was signed at COP21 in 2015, scientists have become more certain that 2 degrees C of average global temperature rise above pre-industrial levels would be cataclysmic — and that even 1.5 degrees C will be no walk in the park. The record heat that scorched the Pacific Northwest in 2021? Such heat waves are now happening \u003ca href=\"https://www.eenews.net/articles/ipcc-window-closing-to-stop-worst-effects-of-climate-change/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">five times more often\u003c/a> after “only” 1.1 degrees C of temperature rise than they did historically, according to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s “Sixth Assessment Report,” released in August 2021.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At 2 degrees C, similar heatwaves would occur 14 times more often and the historic ‘Black Summer’ fires that ravaged Australia in 2019 to 2020 would happen four times as often. Hitting 2 degrees C would also mean the loss of 99% of coral reefs — the base of the marine food chain — and assure the irreversible loss of the West Antarctic ice sheet, eventually causing 5 meters (roughly 16 feet) of sea level rise, enough to inundate large portions of many coastal cities around the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>So 1.5 degrees C is the essential target. That said, 1.5 degrees C is not a cliff; civilization does not automatically expire if temperatures exceed that threshold. Rather, every tenth of a degree beyond 1.5 degrees C makes climate damages that much greater and the overall crisis harder to contain. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you get above about a degree-and-a-half, these effects start to go non-linear,” said Michael Oppenheimer, the Albert G. Milbank professor of Geosciences and International Affairs at Princeton University. “It becomes very, very difficult for humans to catch up, to adjust. And basically, there’s a risk that the climate spins out of control, beyond our ability to adjust and adapt to it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"link1": "https://interactive-atlas.ipcc.ch/,IPCC: Explore Possible Climate Futures at +1.5 C, +2.0 C, and More",
"link2": "https://drawdown.org/solutions/,Climate Solutions (from Project Drawdown, non-profit dedicated to cutting carbon emissions)"
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>What will it take to limit average global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The good news is that IPCC scientists and most experts say humanity has nearly all the knowledge and tools needed to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C. The challenges are not primarily technological; they are political and economic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To cap global temperature rise there are two chief imperatives, experts have concluded: First, the global economy must quit oil, gas, and coal rapidly and shift to solar, wind, and other non-carbon energy sources. Second, humans must end deforestation, much of which is driven by industrial agriculture’s desire to expand beef, soy, and palm oil production.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Imperative 1: Energy\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Coal has been the main driver of global warming since it began fueling the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain 250 years ago. Today, coal must be phased out, starting immediately and around the world, to keep the 1.5 degrees C target within reach. Scientists estimate that 90% of today’s coal reserves must be left in the ground, according to a 2021 study in Nature. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has declared that the 1.5 degrees C temperature limit also requires that no new coal-fired power plants be built. Existing plants should quickly shift to solar and wind, augmented by reducing electricity demand through better energy efficiency in buildings and machinery (which also saves money and produces more jobs). The benefits of energy efficiency are an essential tool for slashing emissions while boosting the economy — and should be explained to the public in more depth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Oil and gas must follow the same script as coal, though in their case 60% of reserves must be left in the ground. The IEA further emphasizes that point, stating in 2021 that meeting the 1.5 degrees C goal requires that no new fossil fuel infrastructure be built anywhere on Earth. That means no exploring for additional reserves, no new oil fields, no pipelines, no liquid gas export terminals, etc.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To prevent the world economy, which currently relies on fossil fuels for 80% of its energy, from collapsing in the process, demand for these fuels must be radically reduced. Transportation in particular must transform: Vehicles must be powered by electricity, not gasoline, and driving needs to become less necessary by redesigning cities and suburbs so residents can meet their needs with mass transit, biking, walking, etc.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another way of describing the stages of this energy transition comes from the nonpartisan research agency, Carbon Tracker: “The world needs to decarbonize electricity, electrify everything it can, and use some variant of hydrogen for the rest.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Imperative 2: Deforestation\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The link between the food and forestry sectors is critical: A major reason the world’s forests are felled at such catastrophic rates is to grow more food products, especially beef, soy, and palm oil. Forests must be left intact so they continue to extract CO2 from the atmosphere via photosynthesis and store it in trees and soil. Alas, so much of the Amazon rainforest has been leveled that much has flipped from being a carbon sink that stores CO2 to a carbon source that emits it. Because deforestation is largely driven by a push to raise cattle and other foods, some scientists suggest that people change their diets to consume less meat. But as with calls to take the bus rather than drive a car, such individual lifestyle changes cannot fix the underlying problem as long as the global economic system demands endless growth and government policies make destroying the climate more profitable than protecting it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Be cautious about “net zero” pledges\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"link1": "https://www.iea.org/reports/net-zero-by-2050,Net Zero By 2050: A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector (from the International Energy Agency, an autonomous intergovernmental agency)",
"link2": "https://www.zerotracker.net/,Net Zero Tracker (a collaboration of research institutes and think tanks)"
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Beware of climate greenwashing about both energy and forests — that is, rhetorical promises by governments, corporations, or banks that claim to solve the crisis but may or may not measure up in practice. The concept of “net zero emissions” demands special attention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Net zero” means that a given country or company will reduce emissions but not to absolute zero; rather, some emissions will continue, but they will be “offset” by countervailing measures that extract carbon from the atmosphere so the net result is zero emissions. Examples of these countervailing measures include planting trees and restoring wetlands; both draw CO2 out of the air through photosynthesis. With CO2 atmospheric concentrations currently at 414 parts per million and rising, some CO2 extraction will be needed to return concentrations to the 350 ppm or lower needed to stabilize earth’s climate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Net zero” is not necessarily a dodge, but offsets have a spotty record of achievement. For example: Were the promised trees actually planted? Did they survive and for how long? Were those wetlands truly restored, or only slated to be restored? Offsets also raise environmental justice concerns, for even authentic offsets in one part of the world can enable factories to keep operating in another part of the world, polluting the local environment of residents who often are poor or people of color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many net-zero commitments by governments and businesses cite 2050 as the year when net zero will be reached. Indeed, roughly 80% of the world economy is now covered by commitments of net zero by 2050. It’s important to report those commitments with a degree of skepticism: 2050 is far enough off that bold claims might seem possible, but those claims are only credible if they include real (i.e., non-offsets) and substantial emissions reductions during the next 10 years. To test the validity of net-zero 2050 pledges, journalists should check whether such commitments carry an action plan that credibly cuts emissions in half by 2030. That’s essential, scientists say, to hitting 1.5 degrees C. Promising that emissions will end by 2050 is easy for today’s politicians and corporate leaders, but that goal is only reachable if actual emissions fall by half in the next decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>How did we get here?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>It will undeniably be difficult to cut emissions as much and as fast as science says is necessary, and the main reason why is that humanity waited so long to start the job. Had we begun 30 years ago, as scientists and advocates were urging, we’d be most of the way there by now. And the main reason we waited so long is that some very rich and powerful economic and political interests knew climate action would interfere with their profits and privilege.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Investigative journalism has documented that Exxon and other fossil fuel companies knew by the late 1970s — because their own scientists were telling them — that climate change was real, caused by burning fossil fuels, and threatened to end civilization as we know it. Nevertheless, the companies chose to lie to the public, policymakers, and the press to thwart climate action. Recently, the companies have shifted from outright climate denial — no longer tenable in the face of so much extreme weather — to its more presentable cousin, climate delay. But climate delay is just as lethal, precisely because 40 years of failing to act has left zero time for further delay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fossil fuel companies now face dozens of lawsuits from governments and civil society groups demanding compensation for the climate damages the companies’ lying helped cause.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>How do we live with 1.5 degrees C?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>As the extreme weather in recent years has shown, climate impacts are punishing even after “only” 1.1 degrees C of temperature rise. This is especially so for the roughly two billion people who live in the (usually poorer) countries most vulnerable to climate change. Temperatures and impacts are bound to increase in the years ahead, if only because humanity can’t halt emissions overnight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hence, the need for what climate experts call “adaptation”: actions to reduce one’s vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. Examples of adaptation include when a community builds sea walls to protect against hurricanes, when a homeowner plants trees around the house to shade it from extra heat, and when a farmer shifts from growing almonds and alfalfa to less thirsty crops. By contrast, “mitigation” refers to actions to limit global temperature rise, such as replacing a coal-fired power plant with a wind turbine or installing more efficient appliances, windows, and insulation to reduce the amount of energy a household uses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Adaptation has never gotten the attention mitigation gets, perhaps because it was assumed, wrongly, that the rich could adapt relatively easily to rising temperatures. For example, the British government spent roughly $3 billion dollars to build the Thames Barrier, a set of massive floodgates downriver from central London, to protect the city from North Sea storm surges. But in fact, adaptation and mitigation are twin imperatives: Mitigation is essential to limit temperature rise to an amount humans can survive, but adaptation is no less essential; because we’ve waited so long, stronger climate impacts are now unavoidable, and the only way to survive them is to prepare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the best climate adaptation research and practice happens to be found in two of the most vulnerable countries on earth: The Netherlands and Bangladesh. The former is rich, the latter not, illustrating that wealth alone is not decisive. More important is that a country starts adapting now, rather than waiting until climate impacts engulf it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Examples of successful adaptation abound (see CCNow executive director Mark Hertsgaard’s book “HOT: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth” for specifics), but they all cost money, which is where the contrast between rich and poor does have meaning. A low-income country such as Bangladesh simply does not have the financial means as the wealthy Netherlands to adapt to a changing climate and its worsening impacts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Which is why the issue of climate adaptation will arise at COP26 mainly in regards to the $100 billion in annual aid that rich countries have pledged to provide to poor countries. This pledge, enshrined in the 2015 Paris Agreement, is supposed to subsidize both mitigation and adaptation efforts in poor countries. Independent experts calculate that poor countries need much more than that; meanwhile, rich countries have not provided even that much. \u003ca href=\"https://oxfamilibrary.openrepository.com/bitstream/handle/10546/621066/bp-climate-finance-shadow-report-2020-201020-en.pdf\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">An analysis\u003c/a> by the anti-poverty NGO Oxfam found that in 2018 (the last year with reliable data), climate aid was roughly $20 to $22 billion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Developing countries \u003ca href=\"https://www.devex.com/news/climate-vulnerable-nations-demand-urgent-boost-for-delayed-funds-100331\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">have warned\u003c/a> in the lead-up to COP26 that there will be no deal if rich countries don’t deliver a credible plan to deliver the $100 billion in annual aid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"link1": "https://unfccc.int/topics/climate-finance/the-big-picture/climate-finance-in-the-negotiations,Climate Finance in the Negotiations (from the United Nations)",
"link2": "https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2021/09/23/Still-Not-Getting-Energy-Prices-Right-A-Global-and-Country-Update-of-Fossil-Fuel-Subsidies-466004,Still Not Getting Energy Prices Right: A Global and Country Update of Fossil Fuel Subsidies (from the International Monetary Fund)"
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cstrong>How Do We Pay for 1.5C?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Money is at the heart of the climate emergency and its solutions. This is true both of public money (i.e., government) and private money (i.e., banks and investors). For many years, most public and private money incentivized climate-destructive activities. At the moment, the world’s governments provide roughly $5.9 trillion a year in subsidies for fossil fuels, according to the International Monetary Fund. The vast majority of governments’ stimulus spending to revive Covid-battered economies has reinforced the status quo rather than boosted the zero-carbon activities necessary to ensure a climate-safe future. The challenge now is to halt spending that harms the climate and redirect it to things that help it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Judging from the Paris climate summit’s impact, COP26 also could have a profound influence on global money flows. The Paris Agreement’s pledge to transition the global economy to “net zero” emissions by 2050 sent a powerful message that public and private sector leaders have taken to heart. Three quarters of the coal plants planned or being built at the time of the Paris Agreement have been scrapped. That’s partly because solar and other alternative sources were becoming cheaper. But it’s also because government planners and private investors read the writing on the wall after Paris: Coal could only survive with massive state subsidies, and governments facing widespread concerns about climate change were unlikely to keep providing those subsidies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A similar dynamic is playing out around fossil fuels in general. Mark Carney, the UN Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance, was the head of the Bank of England in 2014 when he began warning about a “carbon bubble” that could crash the global economy. Preventing catastrophic climate change, Carney pointed out, required leaving most of fossil fuel reserves in the ground. But those reserves were (and still are) counted as wealth in the stock holdings of investors; leaving them unburned would render trillions of dollars of invested wealth worthless. That could spark a global financial crisis as destructive as the one unleashed when the housing bubble burst in 2008.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the world’s richest investors have accordingly begun distancing themselves from fossil fuels. BlackRock, the largest money-manager on earth, said in 2020 that it would shun fossil fuels and assume the world economy was moving towards alignment with the Paris Agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now that smart money is abandoning fossil fuels, two big questions are coming into focus: How much of the market will follow? And will enough money flow to the climate-friendly technologies and practices needed to defuse the climate emergency? Again, much will depend on how strong a message emerges from COP26. Journalists should monitor what governments say they will and won’t spend on climate action — not just in fiscal budgets but also through central banks. Also key is what governments will do to encourage private banks and investors to stop funding climate destruction and instead finance climate solutions.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "these-4-charts-explain-why-the-stakes-are-so-high-at-the-u-n-climate-summit",
"title": "These 4 Charts Explain Why the Stakes Are So High at the U.N. Climate Summit",
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"headTitle": "These 4 Charts Explain Why the Stakes Are So High at the U.N. Climate Summit | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Leaders from around the world are gathering in Glasgow, Scotland, to hammer out new pledges to fight climate change. The stakes are high. Scientists warn that heat-trapping emissions must fall dramatically by 2030. Otherwise, the world faces more extreme hurricanes, floods and droughts, likely displacing millions of people. Still, negotiations at the COP26 meeting are expected to be tough. Here are four reasons why. \u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>#1 The world is not on track to avoid extreme climate change\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Countries have \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/04/19/986973263/faq-americas-new-promise-on-climate\">already made pledges\u003c/a> to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by moving away from burning fossil fuels. But added together, those pledges don’t reduce emissions enough to avoid the worst damage from climate change. Current policies put the world on track for around 4.8 degrees of warming by 2100, compared with global average temperatures in the mid-19th century. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Globally, the goal is to limit warming to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, which \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/08/10/1026137992/3-things-to-know-about-what-scientists-say-about-our-future-climate\">scientists say is a crucial difference\u003c/a>. The world would still experience worsening heat waves and storms, but not as intense and dangerous. Coral reefs would have a shot at avoiding a massive die-off. But to achieve that, emissions need to fall about 45% by 2030, compared with 2010 levels. That means countries will need to commit to far more ambitious goals. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/cop26-gap-promo-b26e1e03cdad4b761398d2b226d9c77972e3acb5-1.png\" alt=\"A chart showing the large gap between greenhouse gas emissions under current policies and emissions needed to limit warming to around 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100.\" width=\"1637\" height=\"1228\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1977411\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/cop26-gap-promo-b26e1e03cdad4b761398d2b226d9c77972e3acb5-1.png 1637w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/cop26-gap-promo-b26e1e03cdad4b761398d2b226d9c77972e3acb5-1-800x600.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/cop26-gap-promo-b26e1e03cdad4b761398d2b226d9c77972e3acb5-1-1020x765.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/cop26-gap-promo-b26e1e03cdad4b761398d2b226d9c77972e3acb5-1-160x120.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/cop26-gap-promo-b26e1e03cdad4b761398d2b226d9c77972e3acb5-1-768x576.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/cop26-gap-promo-b26e1e03cdad4b761398d2b226d9c77972e3acb5-1-1536x1152.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1637px) 100vw, 1637px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>#2 Wealthiest nations contribute the most to climate change\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The global goal is to reduce emissions, but questions remain about which countries should enact most of the reductions. Developing countries contribute a small fraction of the emissions from cars and power plants. But they’re enduring some of the worst damage from climate change, like island nations that face being erased by sea level rise. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The United Nations is \u003ca href=\"https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/articles/2020-12-11/carbon-neutrality-2050-the-world%E2%80%99s-most-urgent-mission\">calling on countries to be carbon neutral by 2050\u003c/a>, which means if a country is still emitting greenhouse gas emissions, they’re being absorbed by forests or other means to keep them from entering the atmosphere. The world’s largest climate polluter, China, has committed to \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/09/21/1039486454/china-coal-power-climate-change\">becoming carbon neutral only by 2060\u003c/a>. The country plans to have emissions rise until 2030. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.38.50-AM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1850\" height=\"1528\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1977413\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.38.50-AM.png 1850w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.38.50-AM-800x661.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.38.50-AM-1020x842.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.38.50-AM-160x132.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.38.50-AM-768x634.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.38.50-AM-1536x1269.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1850px) 100vw, 1850px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>#3 U.S. bears the biggest historic responsibility for climate change \u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>China holds the top spot for highest emissions currently, but history matters. Once emitted, carbon dioxide can \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/04/14/981333730/carbon-emissions-could-plummet-the-atmosphere-will-lag-behind\">last in the atmosphere for hundreds of years\u003c/a>, trapping heat that raises global temperatures. That means emissions from burning fossil fuels over the past 150 years are responsible for the warming happening today. Over that period, the U.S. has cumulatively emitted the most of any country. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S has committed to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/04/22/988051091/biden-makes-new-pledge-for-u-s-greenhouse-gas-emissions-a-50-cut\">50% to 52% reduction in emissions\u003c/a> by 2030, which would come about through a significant \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/04/16/987667828/how-the-u-s-could-halve-climate-emissions-by-2030\">shift to renewable energy and electric cars\u003c/a>. Some environmental groups say that \u003ca href=\"https://foe.org/news/civil-society-groups-release-fair-shares-ndc-model-for-revised-u-s-climate-action-pledge-under-the-paris-agreement/\">falls short of the U.S.’s fair share\u003c/a>. Even a 50% cut depends heavily on \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/09/15/1036954961/congress-is-debating-its-biggest-climate-change-bill-ever-heres-whats-at-stake\">policies that Congress is currently hashing out\u003c/a> in a budget deal. If an agreement isn’t reached, the U.S. will arrive at COP26 without a credible path to achieve its emission goals, potentially hurting the negotiations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.38.56-AM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1746\" height=\"1228\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1977415\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.38.56-AM.png 1746w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.38.56-AM-800x563.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.38.56-AM-1020x717.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.38.56-AM-160x113.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.38.56-AM-768x540.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.38.56-AM-1536x1080.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1746px) 100vw, 1746px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>#4 Wealthier nations are falling short on promises for climate change funding\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>With hundreds of millions of people vulnerable to extreme weather like severe storms and droughts, developing countries secured a promise for $100 billion in climate finance annually from developed nations. The funding goes to projects like sustainable transportation and renewable energy, as well as helping communities prepare for more extreme events. Still, as of 2019, developed countries are still below the goal, which will be a point of contention in the COP26 negotiations. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.39.04-AM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1802\" height=\"1466\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1977416\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.39.04-AM.png 1802w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.39.04-AM-800x651.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.39.04-AM-1020x830.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.39.04-AM-160x130.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.39.04-AM-768x625.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.39.04-AM-1536x1250.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1802px) 100vw, 1802px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=These+4+charts+explain+why+the+stakes+are+so+high+at+the+U.N.+climate+summit&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "How hot will the planet get? What nations negotiate at the international climate summit will help determine that. Here are 4 things to know about what's being decided. ",
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"title": "These 4 Charts Explain Why the Stakes Are So High at the U.N. Climate Summit | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Leaders from around the world are gathering in Glasgow, Scotland, to hammer out new pledges to fight climate change. The stakes are high. Scientists warn that heat-trapping emissions must fall dramatically by 2030. Otherwise, the world faces more extreme hurricanes, floods and droughts, likely displacing millions of people. Still, negotiations at the COP26 meeting are expected to be tough. Here are four reasons why. \u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>#1 The world is not on track to avoid extreme climate change\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Countries have \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/04/19/986973263/faq-americas-new-promise-on-climate\">already made pledges\u003c/a> to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by moving away from burning fossil fuels. But added together, those pledges don’t reduce emissions enough to avoid the worst damage from climate change. Current policies put the world on track for around 4.8 degrees of warming by 2100, compared with global average temperatures in the mid-19th century. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Globally, the goal is to limit warming to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, which \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/08/10/1026137992/3-things-to-know-about-what-scientists-say-about-our-future-climate\">scientists say is a crucial difference\u003c/a>. The world would still experience worsening heat waves and storms, but not as intense and dangerous. Coral reefs would have a shot at avoiding a massive die-off. But to achieve that, emissions need to fall about 45% by 2030, compared with 2010 levels. That means countries will need to commit to far more ambitious goals. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/cop26-gap-promo-b26e1e03cdad4b761398d2b226d9c77972e3acb5-1.png\" alt=\"A chart showing the large gap between greenhouse gas emissions under current policies and emissions needed to limit warming to around 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100.\" width=\"1637\" height=\"1228\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1977411\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/cop26-gap-promo-b26e1e03cdad4b761398d2b226d9c77972e3acb5-1.png 1637w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/cop26-gap-promo-b26e1e03cdad4b761398d2b226d9c77972e3acb5-1-800x600.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/cop26-gap-promo-b26e1e03cdad4b761398d2b226d9c77972e3acb5-1-1020x765.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/cop26-gap-promo-b26e1e03cdad4b761398d2b226d9c77972e3acb5-1-160x120.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/cop26-gap-promo-b26e1e03cdad4b761398d2b226d9c77972e3acb5-1-768x576.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/cop26-gap-promo-b26e1e03cdad4b761398d2b226d9c77972e3acb5-1-1536x1152.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1637px) 100vw, 1637px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>#2 Wealthiest nations contribute the most to climate change\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The global goal is to reduce emissions, but questions remain about which countries should enact most of the reductions. Developing countries contribute a small fraction of the emissions from cars and power plants. But they’re enduring some of the worst damage from climate change, like island nations that face being erased by sea level rise. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The United Nations is \u003ca href=\"https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/articles/2020-12-11/carbon-neutrality-2050-the-world%E2%80%99s-most-urgent-mission\">calling on countries to be carbon neutral by 2050\u003c/a>, which means if a country is still emitting greenhouse gas emissions, they’re being absorbed by forests or other means to keep them from entering the atmosphere. The world’s largest climate polluter, China, has committed to \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/09/21/1039486454/china-coal-power-climate-change\">becoming carbon neutral only by 2060\u003c/a>. The country plans to have emissions rise until 2030. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.38.50-AM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1850\" height=\"1528\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1977413\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.38.50-AM.png 1850w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.38.50-AM-800x661.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.38.50-AM-1020x842.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.38.50-AM-160x132.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.38.50-AM-768x634.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.38.50-AM-1536x1269.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1850px) 100vw, 1850px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>#3 U.S. bears the biggest historic responsibility for climate change \u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>China holds the top spot for highest emissions currently, but history matters. Once emitted, carbon dioxide can \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/04/14/981333730/carbon-emissions-could-plummet-the-atmosphere-will-lag-behind\">last in the atmosphere for hundreds of years\u003c/a>, trapping heat that raises global temperatures. That means emissions from burning fossil fuels over the past 150 years are responsible for the warming happening today. Over that period, the U.S. has cumulatively emitted the most of any country. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S has committed to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/04/22/988051091/biden-makes-new-pledge-for-u-s-greenhouse-gas-emissions-a-50-cut\">50% to 52% reduction in emissions\u003c/a> by 2030, which would come about through a significant \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/04/16/987667828/how-the-u-s-could-halve-climate-emissions-by-2030\">shift to renewable energy and electric cars\u003c/a>. Some environmental groups say that \u003ca href=\"https://foe.org/news/civil-society-groups-release-fair-shares-ndc-model-for-revised-u-s-climate-action-pledge-under-the-paris-agreement/\">falls short of the U.S.’s fair share\u003c/a>. Even a 50% cut depends heavily on \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/09/15/1036954961/congress-is-debating-its-biggest-climate-change-bill-ever-heres-whats-at-stake\">policies that Congress is currently hashing out\u003c/a> in a budget deal. If an agreement isn’t reached, the U.S. will arrive at COP26 without a credible path to achieve its emission goals, potentially hurting the negotiations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.38.56-AM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1746\" height=\"1228\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1977415\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.38.56-AM.png 1746w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.38.56-AM-800x563.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.38.56-AM-1020x717.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.38.56-AM-160x113.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.38.56-AM-768x540.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.38.56-AM-1536x1080.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1746px) 100vw, 1746px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>#4 Wealthier nations are falling short on promises for climate change funding\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>With hundreds of millions of people vulnerable to extreme weather like severe storms and droughts, developing countries secured a promise for $100 billion in climate finance annually from developed nations. The funding goes to projects like sustainable transportation and renewable energy, as well as helping communities prepare for more extreme events. Still, as of 2019, developed countries are still below the goal, which will be a point of contention in the COP26 negotiations. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.39.04-AM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1802\" height=\"1466\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1977416\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.39.04-AM.png 1802w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.39.04-AM-800x651.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.39.04-AM-1020x830.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.39.04-AM-160x130.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.39.04-AM-768x625.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/11/Screen-Shot-2021-11-02-at-10.39.04-AM-1536x1250.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1802px) 100vw, 1802px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=These+4+charts+explain+why+the+stakes+are+so+high+at+the+U.N.+climate+summit&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "whats-at-stake-for-california-and-newsom-at-u-n-climate-conference-cop26",
"title": "What's at Stake for California at U.N. Climate Conference?",
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"headTitle": "What’s at Stake for California at U.N. Climate Conference? | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Updated Nov. 1\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s what some are calling \u003ca href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-55835266\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the last, best chance\u003c/a> for world leaders to agree on how to stop catastrophic climate change, and what others \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/states/california/whiteboard/2021/10/27/schwarzenegger-nothing-is-getting-done-at-un-climate-summits-1392090\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">say could be fruitless.\u003c/a> Either way, California will be well represented.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://ukcop26.org/uk-presidency/what-is-a-cop/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">26th United Nations climate change conference\u003c/a> will draw global leaders to Glasgow, Scotland, next week, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/10/25/california-governor-newsom-to-attend-united-nations-climate-change-conference-to-call-on-global-community-to-end-reliance-on-oil/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a 20-plus official delegation\u003c/a> from California led by Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11894391/gov-newsom-abruptly-cancels-trip-to-un-climate-conference\">abrupt cancellation on Friday\u003c/a>. Newsom now plans to attend the conference virtually.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The meeting comes as the extreme impacts of climate change continue to pummel California, which saw \u003ca href=\"https://www.capradio.org/articles/2021/10/25/sacramento-went-from-record-drought-to-record-rain-climate-change-may-make-that-more-common/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">torrential rains\u003c/a> this week even in the midst of \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-drought-water/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a devastating drought\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The stakes are high. It’s an important issue in California,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.law.berkeley.edu/research/clee/about/people/ken-alex/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ken Alex\u003c/a>, senior policy adviser on climate and environment under former Gov. Jerry Brown and now director of \u003ca href=\"https://www.law.berkeley.edu/research/clee/research/climate/projectclimate/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Project Climate\u003c/a> at UC Berkeley Law. Rattling off climate impacts such as drought, flooding, sea level rise and wildfires, Alex added, “It’s very real for California. California is going to continue on, but we need to see the world join us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year’s conference is the first since \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/explainers/biden-presidency-california-environment/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">President Joe Biden took office\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/20/paris-climate-agreement/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">rejoined the Paris climate agreement\u003c/a> to cut planet-warming greenhouse gas pollution worldwide, marking a seismic shift in the national approach to tackling climate change. It also marks a fundamental change to California’s role, no longer battling a federal foe in former President Donald Trump.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Brown did a wonderful job with the wicked man from Washington, with saying, ‘We are different from them, and we have our own policy,’” said state \u003ca href=\"https://sd10.senate.ca.gov/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sen. Bob Wieckowski\u003c/a>, who will be attending the climate conference.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, the Fremont Democrat said, Newsom has to go beyond that and show concrete, short-term plans: “He has to write a new chapter on commitment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though California \u003ca href=\"https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/publications/2019-01-23-Duggan.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">doesn’t have an official seat\u003c/a> at a negotiating table reserved for nations, the conference is a chance for California to burnish its reputation as a climate leader and weigh in on critical issues, such as carbon trading and methane pollution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s also a chance for lawmakers and top state environmental officials to discuss the state’s climate strategy amongst themselves, now that Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2021/09/california-recall-election-results/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">has survived the Sept. 14 recall election\u003c/a> and is laying the groundwork for his 2022 reelection campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Environmental advocates have \u003ca href=\"https://theclimatecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/COP26-Gov-Newsom-Climate-Policy-Recs-The-Climate-Center-092121.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a wish list of action items for Newsom and his team on the ground\u003c/a>, urging the administration to “meet the moment” by announcing more ambitious climate policies, such as stopping permits for all new oil and gas development.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Climate-minded voters showed up by the millions for Newsom,” Ellie Cohen, CEO of The Climate Center, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/article254929682.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">wrote in a Sacramento Bee commentary\u003c/a>. And at the conference, “we’re expecting him to show up for us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former Gov. Brown, who has \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2017/11/leaving-europe-brown-says-hes-talked-enough-wants-get-something-done/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">appeared at the annual summits himself\u003c/a>, said Newsom has to persuade other leaders about the need for action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He’ll get ideas from others, and that’s good. But most importantly is to get others to do what California is doing so we’re not the outlier. We don’t want to have rules that the rest of the world doesn’t have,” Brown told CalMatters. “California’s there in an important way because we’re a carbon polluter, and we’re also a carbon problem solver.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, however, is more skeptical that the conference will lead to meaningful climate action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"related coverage\" tag=climate-change\"]“What does a promise and a pledge mean in the end? Nothing,” Schwarzenegger \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/g-nxcqigplI?t=3402\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said Wednesday at an\u003c/a> environmental justice conference hosted by the South Coast Air Quality Management District. “It’s just over and over, year after year, they make these pledges. And they come out, they declare victory, but then nothing is getting done. And so this is what I’m worried about.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California enters the conference with some clear climate wins. The state reached its 2020 goals \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/news/governor-newsom-announces-climate-pollution-continues-drop-below-2020-target-while-states\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">to cut greenhouse gas pollution\u003c/a> to 1990 levels \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301421519308018\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">four years early\u003c/a>, scrubbed carbon from the electricity sector with \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2020/01/california-renewable-energy-solar-policy-cuts-greenhouse-gases/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ambitious renewable energy standards\u003c/a> and led the nation \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/explainers/california-auto-emissions-standards-fight-with-donald-trump-explained/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">with clean car rules\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But California is caught in a balancing act. Despite its climate-forward image, it is \u003ca href=\"https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=CA#tabs-3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the seventh largest producer\u003c/a> of crude oil in the country. And the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/news/latest-state-greenhouse-gas-inventory-shows-emissions-continue-drop-below-2020-target\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">top clean air regulator\u003c/a> has warned that California will need much greater cuts in greenhouse gas pollution to reach its goals, which the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2021/02/audit-overstating-greenhouse-gas-cuts/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">state auditor has also said\u003c/a> California will fail to meet if it doesn’t \u003ca href=\"http://auditor.ca.gov/reports/2020-114/introduction.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pick up the pace\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though hundreds of California local, state and federal candidates and politicians have taken the \u003ca href=\"http://nofossilfuelmoney.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">No Fossil Fuel Money\u003c/a> pledge, the executive board of the California Democratic Party \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/environment/newsletter/2021-10-28/should-california-democrats-take-oil-and-gas-money-the-party-is-torn-boiling-point\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">voted last weekend\u003c/a> to delay a decision and instead study whether to ban contributions from the fossil fuel industry and certain utility companies, including PG&E and Southern California Edison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It certainly sends a message that the party doesn’t care about climate change,” said \u003ca href=\"http://climatehawksvote.com/about/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">RL Miller\u003c/a>, a member of the Democratic National Committee and president of Climate Hawks Vote Political Action, who pushed for the vote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom has \u003ca href=\"https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/newsom-administration-sued-over-thousands-of-unlawful-oil-gas-projects-2021-02-24/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">drawn criticism\u003c/a> from environmental advocates for not doing more to curb oil and gas production, which disproportionately affects lower-income communities of color. Last week, however, he publicly \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2021/10/newsom-oil-wells-rules/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">backed tougher rules\u003c/a> for oil and gas wells, \u003ca href=\"https://caleja.org/2021/10/vision-coalition-commends-historic-3200-ft-setback-for-public-health-urges-governor-newsom-to-close-loopholes-and-phase-out-neighborhood-drilling/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a move environmental advocates applauded\u003c/a>, after ordering \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2021/04/newsom-ban-new-oil-fracking/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a ban on new fracking by 2024\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Newsom does have a habit of overpromising and under delivering. But I think he has a real opportunity at COP26 to be a transformative leader,” Miller said. “People will be listening to the speeches, but equally, listening for action.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3 id=\"h-you-go-because-everybody-else-is-going\">‘You go because everybody else is going’\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://ukcop26.org/uk-presidency/what-is-a-cop/\">Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP26\u003c/a>, is part international negotiation, part political stage and part climate-palooza.\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>Even with COVID-19 limits, about \u003ca href=\"https://www.un.org/en/un-climate-change-conference-cop-26\">190 world leaders and tens of thousands of others\u003c/a> are expected to converge on Glasgow, starting Monday. Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, however, pulled out at the last minute \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/uks-queen-elizabeth-will-not-attend-cop26-following-advice-rest-2021-10-26/\">after a hospital visit\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The program lays out \u003ca href=\"https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/Overview_schedule_COP26.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">plenary sessions and mandated workshops\u003c/a>, but also “\u003ca href=\"https://ukcop26.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/COP26-Green-Zone-Exhibitors.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">innovative spaces and experiences”\u003c/a> hosted by major corporations including\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>Microsoft, Hitachi and the British grocery chain Sainsbury’s. Attendees can visit creative exhibits from local artists, and a showcase of electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s like “a trade association meeting, where most of the people who work on these issues get together and get to see each other and talk to each other and reinforce each other,” \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2020/12/mary-nichols-czar-legacy-skies-controversy/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mary Nichols\u003c/a>, the former California Air Resources Board chair, told CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She has attended a half-dozen of them. “You go because everybody else is going, because it’s a good place to see people and follow up or create relationships,” Nichols said. “It’s a global problem, after all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This particular conference comes at a pivotal moment, six years after the landmark COP21 where 196 countries adopted the \u003ca href=\"https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paris Agreement\u003c/a>. The international treaty is aimed at cutting planet-heating greenhouse gas pollution enough to limit global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Global leaders have been hashing out the playbook for the Paris Agreement ever since, \u003ca href=\"https://theconversation.com/4-key-issues-to-watch-as-world-leaders-prepare-for-the-glasgow-climate-summit-170536?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Science%20Editors%20Picks%20%20October%2027%202021%20-%202098620738&utm_content=Science%20Editors%20Picks%20%20October%2027%202021%20-%202098620738+Version+A+CID_c89472bbcef00598126d6acb2c26d1b1&utm_source=campaign_monitor_us&utm_term=lays%20out%20the%20key%20issues%20on%20the%20table%20at%20the%20Glasgow%20summit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">negotiating\u003c/a> over the role of carbon markets in curbing climate change, how to spur further greenhouse gas cuts, and ensuring \u003ca href=\"https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/06/1094762\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">funding\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://ukcop26.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Climate-Finance-Delivery-Plan-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">for\u003c/a> developing countries to cover the costs of adapting to a warming world. Though developed nations pledged to contribute \u003ca href=\"https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/06/1094762\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">$100 billion per year by 2020\u003c/a>, they \u003ca href=\"https://ukcop26.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Climate-Finance-Delivery-Plan-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">appear to have fallen short\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Paris set the destination — limiting warming well below 2 degrees, aiming for 1.5 degrees — Glasgow must make it a reality, ” \u003ca href=\"https://ukcop26.org/uk-presidency/negotiations/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the COP26 organizers wrote.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the Paris Agreement, governments around the world developed \u003ca href=\"https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/nationally-determined-contributions-ndcs/nationally-determined-contributions-ndcs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">their own climate action plans to cut emissions\u003c/a>. Many updated their pledges in the lead-up to the summit. But \u003ca href=\"https://unfccc.int/news/updated-ndc-synthesis-report-worrying-trends-confirmed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a new U.N. report\u003c/a> says that the plans fall woefully short — leading to an increase in global greenhouse gas pollution that could cause temperatures to rise by about 2.7 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Overshooting the temperature goals will lead to a destabilised world and endless suffering, especially among those who have contributed the least to the [greenhouse gas] emissions in the atmosphere,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/profiles/patricia-espinosa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Patricia Espinosa\u003c/a>, executive secretary of the U.N. climate change secretariat, \u003ca href=\"https://unfccc.int/news/updated-ndc-synthesis-report-worrying-trends-confirmed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said in a statement\u003c/a>. “We are nowhere near where science says we should be.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>A changing landscape for the U.S. and California\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Newsom may like to call California a nation-state, but as a subnational government, it doesn’t have an official role in the climate negotiations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state has, however, had an outsized voice in international discussions about global warming — providing a clear example that \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/news/latest-state-greenhouse-gas-inventory-shows-emissions-continue-drop-below-2020-target\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">economic growth and cuts in carbon emissions\u003c/a> can happen at the same time, in the same place. In 2015, Brown joined \u003ca href=\"https://www.ca.gov/archive/gov39/2015/05/19/news18964/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">with the leaders of 11 other states and provinces\u003c/a>, agreeing to limit global temperatures from climbing more than 2 degrees Celsius. The Under2 Coalition says it has since grown \u003ca href=\"https://www.theclimategroup.org/under2-coalition\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">to include 260 governments\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the Trump administration abandoned the Paris climate accord, Brown stepped in. As a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2017/11/leaving-europe-brown-says-hes-talked-enough-wants-get-something-done/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">de facto climate leader\u003c/a>, he \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2017/11/gov-jerry-brown-traverses-europe-climate-crusade/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">rallied states and regions\u003c/a> at the international summit in 2017 — warning in an interview that “Trump better get on board or get out of the way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The stakes for the COP itself are very high, because the U.S. is returning to the fold,” said Alex, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2018/10/ken-alex-jerry-brown-climate-change-california/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brown’s climate “concierge.”\u003c/a> “California has been very steady for a long time. But in the four years of Trump, California stuck to its guns, its economy continued. And now, we have a lot of credibility worldwide.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>President Biden \u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/20/paris-climate-agreement/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">rejoined the Paris Agreement\u003c/a> almost as soon as he took office in January — pivoting the federal government into position as California’s climate ally, rather than its opponent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Biden prepares to leave for Europe today, he \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-congress-democrats-budget-framework-60a1bc276d0ab8eb3e0347fc54ee8c2c?utm_medium=AP&utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Twitter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">announced the “framework”\u003c/a> for an agreement with fellow Democrats in Congress on a massive climate change and social services spending package that \u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/10/28/build-back-better-framework/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">includes $555 billion in clean energy tax credits\u003c/a>, incentives and climate resilience investments. That spending would “turn the climate crisis into an opportunity,” he said at the White House, by significantly reducing carbon emissions by 2030, growing the domestic clean energy industry, putting electric school buses on the road and promoting environmental justice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California’s leadership has been challenged in the last four years, but those headwinds now are tailwinds with the Biden administration. We’re not sparring partners, we’re working partners as it relates to issues of climate change and dealing with the challenges of wildfires,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/joe-biden-gavin-newsom-speech-on-wildfires-transcript-september-13\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Newsom said\u003c/a> when Biden visited California in September to \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/09/13/governor-newsom-welcomes-president-biden-to-california-for-wildfire-briefing-and-caldor-fire-damage-survey/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">survey fire damage\u003c/a> and show his support before the recall election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All eyes should be on the U.S. and China, Brown said, calling everything else a “distraction.” \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/biden-kerry-sullivan-cop26-china-climate/2021/10/25/8429aa96-3502-11ec-9a5d-93a89c74e76d_story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tensions\u003c/a> between the two nations could \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-10-27/china-united-states-climate-cooperation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">hinder climate negotiations\u003c/a>. “Without Xi Jinping and Biden being able to work together, then everything else will not succeed,” he said in an interview Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although he hasn’t confirmed his attendance, \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/xis-not-there-cop26-hopes-dim-chinese-leaders-likely-absence-2021-10-26/\">Xi is widely expected to be a no-show\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re not doing enough, and the national leaders, particularly China and the U.S., have to exert themselves and become more imaginative and do more,” Brown said. “The rest of the people are more cheerleading from the stands.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the baton on climate change leadership has been passed from governor to governor, starting with Gray Davis, then Schwarzenegger, himself and now Newsom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Newsom is carrying the ball to the next level,” Brown said. “It’s been a continuous movement in the right direction, although not anywhere near where it needs to be to get the job done.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s lawmakers have plans of their own for the meeting, including a session with members of the Scottish Parliament to discuss the subnational governments’ climate efforts, Wieckowski said. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/commentary/2021/10/two-goals-for-california-at-the-global-climate-conference/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Many in the legislative contingent said\u003c/a> they were eager to bring ideas home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This was not a good year for climate policy legislation in the Legislature, and I’m anxious to go and see what other people are doing, and get energized by their efforts — and see if we can’t bring it back to California,” said \u003ca href=\"https://sd17.senate.ca.gov/biography\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sen. John Laird\u003c/a>, a Democrat from Monterey and former natural resources secretary under Brown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State \u003ca href=\"https://sd33.senate.ca.gov/biography\">Sen. Lena Gonzalez\u003c/a>, a Democrat from Long Beach and chair of the Senate transportation committee, said her focus will be on clean transportation programs, \u003ca href=\"https://ww3.arb.ca.gov/cc/inventory/pubs/reports/2000_2019/ghg_inventory_trends_00-19.pdf\">the largest source\u003c/a> of greenhouse gases in the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Transportation has become sort of this really sexy topic, but so important as it pertains to reduction of our [greenhouse gas] emissions,” Gonzalez said. “I’m looking forward to going as chair of transportation and as someone who has a lot of impacts back home.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv id=\"cm_ld_legislator_card-block_6179fda466bb5\" class=\"cm_ld_legislator-card__container \">\n\u003cp>Tackling methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, is also \u003ca href=\"https://ukcop26.org/cop26-president-designate-6-months-to-go-speech/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">on the agenda\u003c/a> — with the U.S. and 31 other countries \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/11/climate/methane-global-climate.html#:~:text=The%20pledge%2C%20developed%20with%20the,methane%20polluters%20had%20signed%20on.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pledging to cut methane pollution\u003c/a> 30% by 2030. California made its own pledge in 2016, \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160SB1383\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">with a law requiring a 40% cut\u003c/a> to methane pollution by the same deadline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve had this target in statute for five years,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.edf.org/people/katelyn-roedner-sutter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Katelyn Roedner Sutter\u003c/a>, a senior manager with the Environmental Defense Fund, which is co-hosting a methane pavilion at the conference. “And we can say these are the things that we’re looking at, and this is what’s worked and what hasn’t worked.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So is the annual summit a big deal for California? “It is, and it isn’t,” Alex said. “This is about the U.S. But California really is an example of where we need to head. And California, of course, needs to go faster as well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Charting a new climate course\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Environmental advocates call this meeting an opportunity to \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/article254929682.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">regain California’s climate ambition\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The bloom is no longer on the rose of California’s general reputation as a leader,” said environmental advocate Miller. “California has an opportunity to reclaim its mantle as a leader, but only if Gavin Newsom starts taking seriously the process of winding down the fossil fuel industry.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Part of the conversation at the annual summit will be establishing rules around emissions trading. But \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2018/05/checking-the-math-on-cap-and-trade-some-experts-say-its-not-adding-up/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">independent experts\u003c/a> and state \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2020/06/california-climate-strategy-cap-trade/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">lawmakers\u003c/a> have raised concerns that California’s landmark cap-and-trade program — the first in the nation to create a carbon market for all segments of the economy — might be too weak to reach the state’s greenhouse gas targets. Nearly a decade after its launch, California \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/2019/06/oregon-carbon-cap-trade-bill-california-west/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">has not enticed\u003c/a> any other western states to join its cap-and-trade program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neena Mohan, climate justice program manager for the California Environmental Justice Alliance, said that climate solutions must prioritize direct reductions in emissions and called on Newsom to champion “California’s bold actions toward an oil and gas phase-out and end to neighborhood drilling, while sharing the lessons learned from the failures of cap and trade.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for transportation, \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/handouts/resources/2020/Assessing-California's-Climate-Policies-03042020.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office\u003c/a> said last year it remains largely unclear how effectively California’s policies are reducing climate-warming pollution from cars and trucks. The state auditor in February slammed the California Air Resources Board for overestimating the greenhouse gas cuts from \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2021/02/audit-overstating-greenhouse-gas-cuts/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">clean car incentive programs\u003c/a>. Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2020/09/california-ban-gasoline-powered-cars-in-2035/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ordered the air board to come up with a plan\u003c/a> for phasing out the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035, but the regulations are still in the works.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, in September, Newsom signed a \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/09/23/governor-newsom-signs-climate-action-bills-outlines-historic-15-billion-package-to-tackle-the-climate-crisis-and-protect-vulnerable-communities/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">$15 billion climate package\u003c/a>, which The Climate Center’s Cohen \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/article254929682.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">wrote\u003c/a> was “a strong start.” And Miller said she was heartened to see Newsom’s backing of health and safety buffer zones around new oil and gas wells.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Newsom did survive this recall handily, and I think he’s now looking at what he wants to do for not just the remainder of this term but for his next term,” Miller said. “And rather than be content with simply implementing the Jerry Brown policies, I think he’s genuinely beginning to grapple with phasing out oil production in California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-pullquote amp-wp-8d3b884\" data-amp-original-style=\"border-color:#F4BB32\">\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "State leaders are attending the major international conference to make a statement on California climate change policy.",
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"title": "What's at Stake for California at U.N. Climate Conference? | KQED",
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"headline": "What's at Stake for California at U.N. Climate Conference?",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Updated Nov. 1\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s what some are calling \u003ca href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-55835266\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the last, best chance\u003c/a> for world leaders to agree on how to stop catastrophic climate change, and what others \u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/states/california/whiteboard/2021/10/27/schwarzenegger-nothing-is-getting-done-at-un-climate-summits-1392090\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">say could be fruitless.\u003c/a> Either way, California will be well represented.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://ukcop26.org/uk-presidency/what-is-a-cop/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">26th United Nations climate change conference\u003c/a> will draw global leaders to Glasgow, Scotland, next week, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/10/25/california-governor-newsom-to-attend-united-nations-climate-change-conference-to-call-on-global-community-to-end-reliance-on-oil/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a 20-plus official delegation\u003c/a> from California led by Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11894391/gov-newsom-abruptly-cancels-trip-to-un-climate-conference\">abrupt cancellation on Friday\u003c/a>. Newsom now plans to attend the conference virtually.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The meeting comes as the extreme impacts of climate change continue to pummel California, which saw \u003ca href=\"https://www.capradio.org/articles/2021/10/25/sacramento-went-from-record-drought-to-record-rain-climate-change-may-make-that-more-common/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">torrential rains\u003c/a> this week even in the midst of \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-drought-water/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a devastating drought\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The stakes are high. It’s an important issue in California,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.law.berkeley.edu/research/clee/about/people/ken-alex/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ken Alex\u003c/a>, senior policy adviser on climate and environment under former Gov. Jerry Brown and now director of \u003ca href=\"https://www.law.berkeley.edu/research/clee/research/climate/projectclimate/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Project Climate\u003c/a> at UC Berkeley Law. Rattling off climate impacts such as drought, flooding, sea level rise and wildfires, Alex added, “It’s very real for California. California is going to continue on, but we need to see the world join us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year’s conference is the first since \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/explainers/biden-presidency-california-environment/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">President Joe Biden took office\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/20/paris-climate-agreement/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">rejoined the Paris climate agreement\u003c/a> to cut planet-warming greenhouse gas pollution worldwide, marking a seismic shift in the national approach to tackling climate change. It also marks a fundamental change to California’s role, no longer battling a federal foe in former President Donald Trump.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Brown did a wonderful job with the wicked man from Washington, with saying, ‘We are different from them, and we have our own policy,’” said state \u003ca href=\"https://sd10.senate.ca.gov/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sen. Bob Wieckowski\u003c/a>, who will be attending the climate conference.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, the Fremont Democrat said, Newsom has to go beyond that and show concrete, short-term plans: “He has to write a new chapter on commitment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though California \u003ca href=\"https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/publications/2019-01-23-Duggan.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">doesn’t have an official seat\u003c/a> at a negotiating table reserved for nations, the conference is a chance for California to burnish its reputation as a climate leader and weigh in on critical issues, such as carbon trading and methane pollution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s also a chance for lawmakers and top state environmental officials to discuss the state’s climate strategy amongst themselves, now that Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2021/09/california-recall-election-results/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">has survived the Sept. 14 recall election\u003c/a> and is laying the groundwork for his 2022 reelection campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Environmental advocates have \u003ca href=\"https://theclimatecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/COP26-Gov-Newsom-Climate-Policy-Recs-The-Climate-Center-092121.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a wish list of action items for Newsom and his team on the ground\u003c/a>, urging the administration to “meet the moment” by announcing more ambitious climate policies, such as stopping permits for all new oil and gas development.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Climate-minded voters showed up by the millions for Newsom,” Ellie Cohen, CEO of The Climate Center, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/article254929682.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">wrote in a Sacramento Bee commentary\u003c/a>. And at the conference, “we’re expecting him to show up for us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former Gov. Brown, who has \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2017/11/leaving-europe-brown-says-hes-talked-enough-wants-get-something-done/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">appeared at the annual summits himself\u003c/a>, said Newsom has to persuade other leaders about the need for action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He’ll get ideas from others, and that’s good. But most importantly is to get others to do what California is doing so we’re not the outlier. We don’t want to have rules that the rest of the world doesn’t have,” Brown told CalMatters. “California’s there in an important way because we’re a carbon polluter, and we’re also a carbon problem solver.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, however, is more skeptical that the conference will lead to meaningful climate action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“What does a promise and a pledge mean in the end? Nothing,” Schwarzenegger \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/g-nxcqigplI?t=3402\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said Wednesday at an\u003c/a> environmental justice conference hosted by the South Coast Air Quality Management District. “It’s just over and over, year after year, they make these pledges. And they come out, they declare victory, but then nothing is getting done. And so this is what I’m worried about.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California enters the conference with some clear climate wins. The state reached its 2020 goals \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/news/governor-newsom-announces-climate-pollution-continues-drop-below-2020-target-while-states\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">to cut greenhouse gas pollution\u003c/a> to 1990 levels \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301421519308018\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">four years early\u003c/a>, scrubbed carbon from the electricity sector with \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2020/01/california-renewable-energy-solar-policy-cuts-greenhouse-gases/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ambitious renewable energy standards\u003c/a> and led the nation \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/explainers/california-auto-emissions-standards-fight-with-donald-trump-explained/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">with clean car rules\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But California is caught in a balancing act. Despite its climate-forward image, it is \u003ca href=\"https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=CA#tabs-3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the seventh largest producer\u003c/a> of crude oil in the country. And the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/news/latest-state-greenhouse-gas-inventory-shows-emissions-continue-drop-below-2020-target\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">top clean air regulator\u003c/a> has warned that California will need much greater cuts in greenhouse gas pollution to reach its goals, which the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2021/02/audit-overstating-greenhouse-gas-cuts/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">state auditor has also said\u003c/a> California will fail to meet if it doesn’t \u003ca href=\"http://auditor.ca.gov/reports/2020-114/introduction.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pick up the pace\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though hundreds of California local, state and federal candidates and politicians have taken the \u003ca href=\"http://nofossilfuelmoney.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">No Fossil Fuel Money\u003c/a> pledge, the executive board of the California Democratic Party \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/environment/newsletter/2021-10-28/should-california-democrats-take-oil-and-gas-money-the-party-is-torn-boiling-point\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">voted last weekend\u003c/a> to delay a decision and instead study whether to ban contributions from the fossil fuel industry and certain utility companies, including PG&E and Southern California Edison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It certainly sends a message that the party doesn’t care about climate change,” said \u003ca href=\"http://climatehawksvote.com/about/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">RL Miller\u003c/a>, a member of the Democratic National Committee and president of Climate Hawks Vote Political Action, who pushed for the vote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom has \u003ca href=\"https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/newsom-administration-sued-over-thousands-of-unlawful-oil-gas-projects-2021-02-24/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">drawn criticism\u003c/a> from environmental advocates for not doing more to curb oil and gas production, which disproportionately affects lower-income communities of color. Last week, however, he publicly \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2021/10/newsom-oil-wells-rules/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">backed tougher rules\u003c/a> for oil and gas wells, \u003ca href=\"https://caleja.org/2021/10/vision-coalition-commends-historic-3200-ft-setback-for-public-health-urges-governor-newsom-to-close-loopholes-and-phase-out-neighborhood-drilling/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a move environmental advocates applauded\u003c/a>, after ordering \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2021/04/newsom-ban-new-oil-fracking/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a ban on new fracking by 2024\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Newsom does have a habit of overpromising and under delivering. But I think he has a real opportunity at COP26 to be a transformative leader,” Miller said. “People will be listening to the speeches, but equally, listening for action.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3 id=\"h-you-go-because-everybody-else-is-going\">‘You go because everybody else is going’\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://ukcop26.org/uk-presidency/what-is-a-cop/\">Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP26\u003c/a>, is part international negotiation, part political stage and part climate-palooza.\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>Even with COVID-19 limits, about \u003ca href=\"https://www.un.org/en/un-climate-change-conference-cop-26\">190 world leaders and tens of thousands of others\u003c/a> are expected to converge on Glasgow, starting Monday. Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, however, pulled out at the last minute \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/uks-queen-elizabeth-will-not-attend-cop26-following-advice-rest-2021-10-26/\">after a hospital visit\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The program lays out \u003ca href=\"https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/Overview_schedule_COP26.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">plenary sessions and mandated workshops\u003c/a>, but also “\u003ca href=\"https://ukcop26.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/COP26-Green-Zone-Exhibitors.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">innovative spaces and experiences”\u003c/a> hosted by major corporations including\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>Microsoft, Hitachi and the British grocery chain Sainsbury’s. Attendees can visit creative exhibits from local artists, and a showcase of electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s like “a trade association meeting, where most of the people who work on these issues get together and get to see each other and talk to each other and reinforce each other,” \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2020/12/mary-nichols-czar-legacy-skies-controversy/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mary Nichols\u003c/a>, the former California Air Resources Board chair, told CalMatters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She has attended a half-dozen of them. “You go because everybody else is going, because it’s a good place to see people and follow up or create relationships,” Nichols said. “It’s a global problem, after all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This particular conference comes at a pivotal moment, six years after the landmark COP21 where 196 countries adopted the \u003ca href=\"https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paris Agreement\u003c/a>. The international treaty is aimed at cutting planet-heating greenhouse gas pollution enough to limit global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Global leaders have been hashing out the playbook for the Paris Agreement ever since, \u003ca href=\"https://theconversation.com/4-key-issues-to-watch-as-world-leaders-prepare-for-the-glasgow-climate-summit-170536?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Science%20Editors%20Picks%20%20October%2027%202021%20-%202098620738&utm_content=Science%20Editors%20Picks%20%20October%2027%202021%20-%202098620738+Version+A+CID_c89472bbcef00598126d6acb2c26d1b1&utm_source=campaign_monitor_us&utm_term=lays%20out%20the%20key%20issues%20on%20the%20table%20at%20the%20Glasgow%20summit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">negotiating\u003c/a> over the role of carbon markets in curbing climate change, how to spur further greenhouse gas cuts, and ensuring \u003ca href=\"https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/06/1094762\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">funding\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://ukcop26.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Climate-Finance-Delivery-Plan-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">for\u003c/a> developing countries to cover the costs of adapting to a warming world. Though developed nations pledged to contribute \u003ca href=\"https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/06/1094762\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">$100 billion per year by 2020\u003c/a>, they \u003ca href=\"https://ukcop26.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Climate-Finance-Delivery-Plan-1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">appear to have fallen short\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Paris set the destination — limiting warming well below 2 degrees, aiming for 1.5 degrees — Glasgow must make it a reality, ” \u003ca href=\"https://ukcop26.org/uk-presidency/negotiations/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the COP26 organizers wrote.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the Paris Agreement, governments around the world developed \u003ca href=\"https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/nationally-determined-contributions-ndcs/nationally-determined-contributions-ndcs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">their own climate action plans to cut emissions\u003c/a>. Many updated their pledges in the lead-up to the summit. But \u003ca href=\"https://unfccc.int/news/updated-ndc-synthesis-report-worrying-trends-confirmed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a new U.N. report\u003c/a> says that the plans fall woefully short — leading to an increase in global greenhouse gas pollution that could cause temperatures to rise by about 2.7 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Overshooting the temperature goals will lead to a destabilised world and endless suffering, especially among those who have contributed the least to the [greenhouse gas] emissions in the atmosphere,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/profiles/patricia-espinosa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Patricia Espinosa\u003c/a>, executive secretary of the U.N. climate change secretariat, \u003ca href=\"https://unfccc.int/news/updated-ndc-synthesis-report-worrying-trends-confirmed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said in a statement\u003c/a>. “We are nowhere near where science says we should be.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>A changing landscape for the U.S. and California\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Newsom may like to call California a nation-state, but as a subnational government, it doesn’t have an official role in the climate negotiations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state has, however, had an outsized voice in international discussions about global warming — providing a clear example that \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/news/latest-state-greenhouse-gas-inventory-shows-emissions-continue-drop-below-2020-target\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">economic growth and cuts in carbon emissions\u003c/a> can happen at the same time, in the same place. In 2015, Brown joined \u003ca href=\"https://www.ca.gov/archive/gov39/2015/05/19/news18964/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">with the leaders of 11 other states and provinces\u003c/a>, agreeing to limit global temperatures from climbing more than 2 degrees Celsius. The Under2 Coalition says it has since grown \u003ca href=\"https://www.theclimategroup.org/under2-coalition\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">to include 260 governments\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the Trump administration abandoned the Paris climate accord, Brown stepped in. As a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2017/11/leaving-europe-brown-says-hes-talked-enough-wants-get-something-done/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">de facto climate leader\u003c/a>, he \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2017/11/gov-jerry-brown-traverses-europe-climate-crusade/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">rallied states and regions\u003c/a> at the international summit in 2017 — warning in an interview that “Trump better get on board or get out of the way.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The stakes for the COP itself are very high, because the U.S. is returning to the fold,” said Alex, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2018/10/ken-alex-jerry-brown-climate-change-california/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brown’s climate “concierge.”\u003c/a> “California has been very steady for a long time. But in the four years of Trump, California stuck to its guns, its economy continued. And now, we have a lot of credibility worldwide.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>President Biden \u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/20/paris-climate-agreement/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">rejoined the Paris Agreement\u003c/a> almost as soon as he took office in January — pivoting the federal government into position as California’s climate ally, rather than its opponent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Biden prepares to leave for Europe today, he \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-congress-democrats-budget-framework-60a1bc276d0ab8eb3e0347fc54ee8c2c?utm_medium=AP&utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Twitter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">announced the “framework”\u003c/a> for an agreement with fellow Democrats in Congress on a massive climate change and social services spending package that \u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/10/28/build-back-better-framework/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">includes $555 billion in clean energy tax credits\u003c/a>, incentives and climate resilience investments. That spending would “turn the climate crisis into an opportunity,” he said at the White House, by significantly reducing carbon emissions by 2030, growing the domestic clean energy industry, putting electric school buses on the road and promoting environmental justice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California’s leadership has been challenged in the last four years, but those headwinds now are tailwinds with the Biden administration. We’re not sparring partners, we’re working partners as it relates to issues of climate change and dealing with the challenges of wildfires,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/joe-biden-gavin-newsom-speech-on-wildfires-transcript-september-13\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Newsom said\u003c/a> when Biden visited California in September to \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/09/13/governor-newsom-welcomes-president-biden-to-california-for-wildfire-briefing-and-caldor-fire-damage-survey/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">survey fire damage\u003c/a> and show his support before the recall election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All eyes should be on the U.S. and China, Brown said, calling everything else a “distraction.” \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/biden-kerry-sullivan-cop26-china-climate/2021/10/25/8429aa96-3502-11ec-9a5d-93a89c74e76d_story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tensions\u003c/a> between the two nations could \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-10-27/china-united-states-climate-cooperation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">hinder climate negotiations\u003c/a>. “Without Xi Jinping and Biden being able to work together, then everything else will not succeed,” he said in an interview Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although he hasn’t confirmed his attendance, \u003ca href=\"https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/xis-not-there-cop26-hopes-dim-chinese-leaders-likely-absence-2021-10-26/\">Xi is widely expected to be a no-show\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re not doing enough, and the national leaders, particularly China and the U.S., have to exert themselves and become more imaginative and do more,” Brown said. “The rest of the people are more cheerleading from the stands.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the baton on climate change leadership has been passed from governor to governor, starting with Gray Davis, then Schwarzenegger, himself and now Newsom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Newsom is carrying the ball to the next level,” Brown said. “It’s been a continuous movement in the right direction, although not anywhere near where it needs to be to get the job done.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s lawmakers have plans of their own for the meeting, including a session with members of the Scottish Parliament to discuss the subnational governments’ climate efforts, Wieckowski said. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/commentary/2021/10/two-goals-for-california-at-the-global-climate-conference/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Many in the legislative contingent said\u003c/a> they were eager to bring ideas home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This was not a good year for climate policy legislation in the Legislature, and I’m anxious to go and see what other people are doing, and get energized by their efforts — and see if we can’t bring it back to California,” said \u003ca href=\"https://sd17.senate.ca.gov/biography\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sen. John Laird\u003c/a>, a Democrat from Monterey and former natural resources secretary under Brown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State \u003ca href=\"https://sd33.senate.ca.gov/biography\">Sen. Lena Gonzalez\u003c/a>, a Democrat from Long Beach and chair of the Senate transportation committee, said her focus will be on clean transportation programs, \u003ca href=\"https://ww3.arb.ca.gov/cc/inventory/pubs/reports/2000_2019/ghg_inventory_trends_00-19.pdf\">the largest source\u003c/a> of greenhouse gases in the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Transportation has become sort of this really sexy topic, but so important as it pertains to reduction of our [greenhouse gas] emissions,” Gonzalez said. “I’m looking forward to going as chair of transportation and as someone who has a lot of impacts back home.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv id=\"cm_ld_legislator_card-block_6179fda466bb5\" class=\"cm_ld_legislator-card__container \">\n\u003cp>Tackling methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, is also \u003ca href=\"https://ukcop26.org/cop26-president-designate-6-months-to-go-speech/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">on the agenda\u003c/a> — with the U.S. and 31 other countries \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/11/climate/methane-global-climate.html#:~:text=The%20pledge%2C%20developed%20with%20the,methane%20polluters%20had%20signed%20on.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pledging to cut methane pollution\u003c/a> 30% by 2030. California made its own pledge in 2016, \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160SB1383\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">with a law requiring a 40% cut\u003c/a> to methane pollution by the same deadline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve had this target in statute for five years,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.edf.org/people/katelyn-roedner-sutter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Katelyn Roedner Sutter\u003c/a>, a senior manager with the Environmental Defense Fund, which is co-hosting a methane pavilion at the conference. “And we can say these are the things that we’re looking at, and this is what’s worked and what hasn’t worked.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So is the annual summit a big deal for California? “It is, and it isn’t,” Alex said. “This is about the U.S. But California really is an example of where we need to head. And California, of course, needs to go faster as well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Charting a new climate course\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Environmental advocates call this meeting an opportunity to \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/article254929682.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">regain California’s climate ambition\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The bloom is no longer on the rose of California’s general reputation as a leader,” said environmental advocate Miller. “California has an opportunity to reclaim its mantle as a leader, but only if Gavin Newsom starts taking seriously the process of winding down the fossil fuel industry.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Part of the conversation at the annual summit will be establishing rules around emissions trading. But \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2018/05/checking-the-math-on-cap-and-trade-some-experts-say-its-not-adding-up/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">independent experts\u003c/a> and state \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2020/06/california-climate-strategy-cap-trade/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">lawmakers\u003c/a> have raised concerns that California’s landmark cap-and-trade program — the first in the nation to create a carbon market for all segments of the economy — might be too weak to reach the state’s greenhouse gas targets. Nearly a decade after its launch, California \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/economy/2019/06/oregon-carbon-cap-trade-bill-california-west/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">has not enticed\u003c/a> any other western states to join its cap-and-trade program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neena Mohan, climate justice program manager for the California Environmental Justice Alliance, said that climate solutions must prioritize direct reductions in emissions and called on Newsom to champion “California’s bold actions toward an oil and gas phase-out and end to neighborhood drilling, while sharing the lessons learned from the failures of cap and trade.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for transportation, \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/handouts/resources/2020/Assessing-California's-Climate-Policies-03042020.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office\u003c/a> said last year it remains largely unclear how effectively California’s policies are reducing climate-warming pollution from cars and trucks. The state auditor in February slammed the California Air Resources Board for overestimating the greenhouse gas cuts from \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2021/02/audit-overstating-greenhouse-gas-cuts/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">clean car incentive programs\u003c/a>. Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2020/09/california-ban-gasoline-powered-cars-in-2035/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ordered the air board to come up with a plan\u003c/a> for phasing out the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035, but the regulations are still in the works.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, in September, Newsom signed a \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/09/23/governor-newsom-signs-climate-action-bills-outlines-historic-15-billion-package-to-tackle-the-climate-crisis-and-protect-vulnerable-communities/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">$15 billion climate package\u003c/a>, which The Climate Center’s Cohen \u003ca href=\"https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/article254929682.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">wrote\u003c/a> was “a strong start.” And Miller said she was heartened to see Newsom’s backing of health and safety buffer zones around new oil and gas wells.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Newsom did survive this recall handily, and I think he’s now looking at what he wants to do for not just the remainder of this term but for his next term,” Miller said. “And rather than be content with simply implementing the Jerry Brown policies, I think he’s genuinely beginning to grapple with phasing out oil production in California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-pullquote amp-wp-8d3b884\" data-amp-original-style=\"border-color:#F4BB32\">\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Climate Change Is Here. It’s Bad. Here’s What You Can Do",
"headTitle": "Climate Change Is Here. It’s Bad. Here’s What You Can Do | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Submit a Bay Area climate change question for KQED’s science reporters at the \u003ca href=\"#question\">bottom of this post\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s getting hotter. It’s getting smokier. It’s getting scarier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s extreme droughts, heat waves and wildfires \u003ca href=\"https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/factsheets/IPCC_AR6_WGI_Regional_Fact_Sheet_North_and_Central_America.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">will likely worsen\u003c/a> in the coming decades and longer if we don’t get our act together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/07/climate/climate-change-emissions.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere\u003c/a> is greater than any time in at least the past \u003ca href=\"https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aav7337\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">three million years\u003c/a>, and the world has already warmed 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) since the 1800s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977323\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977323 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2020Drawdown_TempCO2_en_title_lg-1-1020x574.jpg\" alt=\"A graph shows a red line steadily increasing from the year 1880 to 2019, from around 290 parts per million of carbon dioxide to 410. A jagged black line goes up and down but follows the overall trend of the red line, showing an increase in temperature of about 1.1 degree Celsius.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2020Drawdown_TempCO2_en_title_lg-1-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2020Drawdown_TempCO2_en_title_lg-1-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2020Drawdown_TempCO2_en_title_lg-1-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2020Drawdown_TempCO2_en_title_lg-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2020Drawdown_TempCO2_en_title_lg-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2020Drawdown_TempCO2_en_title_lg-1.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">As carbon dioxide concentrations increase in the atmosphere, the temperature does as well. \u003ccite>(Image courtesy Climate Central)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>People of color are and will be \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-report-shows-disproportionate-impacts-climate-change-socially-vulnerable\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">disproportionately affected by the health and environmental impacts of climate change\u003c/a>, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Taking all this in is overwhelming. But here’s something that makes it easier: there is still time to act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rapid, bold emissions reductions, starting now, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ipcc.ch/2021/08/09/ar6-wg1-20210809-pr/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">would limit climate change \u003c/a>and its effects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1977324 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2021IPCC_TempPathways_en_title_lg-1-1020x574.jpg\" alt=\"A graph shows temperature warming from 1950 to today, with two diverging lines after that. An orange line depicts temperature rise if there are no cuts to current emissions, showing an average increase in temperature of 4 degrees Celsius. A blue line shows what would happen with substantial cuts in emissions, demonstrating warming would level off around 1.5 degrees Celsius.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2021IPCC_TempPathways_en_title_lg-1-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2021IPCC_TempPathways_en_title_lg-1-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2021IPCC_TempPathways_en_title_lg-1-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2021IPCC_TempPathways_en_title_lg-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2021IPCC_TempPathways_en_title_lg-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2021IPCC_TempPathways_en_title_lg-1.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We decide what future we get. The one that will be recognizable to us, with limited warming, would require coordination across communities, states and countries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While limiting warming to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius) would be “very difficult, requiring immediate, top-level government attention and effort,” said Michael Oppenheimer, a Princeton environmental scientist and editor of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change review, it’s “not impossible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if we don’t meet those goals, Oppenheimer said, “there’s no end-of-the-world point where you give up.” Every tenth of a degree matters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s where you come in. Climate scientists made it crystal clear in the U.N.’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.ipcc.ch/2021/08/09/ar6-wg1-20210809-pr/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">most recent report\u003c/a> that warming is a “code red for humanity,” according to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This piece is for those who want to respond, but don’t know where to begin.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>All of us\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Maybe you think we’re in two camps here in California: those who believe in climate change and those who don’t. But researchers define us with more nuance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/about/projects/global-warmings-six-americas/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Yale Program on Climate Change Communication\u003c/a> divides Americans into six groups: from those deeply concerned about global warming and supportive of policies (“Alarmed”), to those who view it as a hoax (“Dismissive”).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977322\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 644px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977322 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/6-Americas-Cartoons-Slide-1-e1459619373734.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"401\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/6-Americas-Cartoons-Slide-1-e1459619373734.png 644w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/6-Americas-Cartoons-Slide-1-e1459619373734-160x100.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication divides Americans into six groups in terms of their perceptions of global warming. \u003ccite>(Artwork by Michael Sloan)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/about/projects/global-warmings-six-americas/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">More than half of people in the U.S.\u003c/a> fall into the “Alarmed” or “Concerned” categories. This means they’re engaged in this issue and ready to act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of these folks don’t know what to do with that worry, though, or how to take meaningful action on climate.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Let’s feel some feelings\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Longtime Bay Area residents will recall a time when the weather didn’t \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11893922/california-still-deep-in-drought-despite-stormy-weather-capped-by-atmospheric-river\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">whiplash from bone dry to flooded streets\u003c/a>, when skies choked with wildfire smoke were anomalous and average fall temperatures were cooler (\u003ca href=\"https://www.climatecentral.org/graphic/fastest-warming-seasons-2022?location=San%20Francisco&graphicSet=Seasonal+Warming\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">by 3 degrees Fahrenheit in San Francisco\u003c/a>, to be precise). If you’re a recent Bay Area transplant, I imagine you can think of similar changes wherever you hail from.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Facing the climate crisis means grieving the version of the planet we grew up with. That means sitting with painful emotions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sadness, despair, anger and powerlessness are normal, healthy responses to a serious risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are biologically wired to respond with anxiety to real threats,” said Robin Cooper, a San Francisco-based therapist and founder of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.climatepsychiatry.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Climate Psychiatry Alliance.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977352\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977352 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52176_GettyImages-1232894145-qut-1020x674.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"423\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52176_GettyImages-1232894145-qut-1020x674.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52176_GettyImages-1232894145-qut-800x528.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52176_GettyImages-1232894145-qut-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52176_GettyImages-1232894145-qut-768x507.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52176_GettyImages-1232894145-qut-1536x1014.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52176_GettyImages-1232894145-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A woman sits among a group of dead trees at an installation by artist Maya Lin, titled “Ghost Forest,” in Madison Square Park, New York, on May 14, 2021. Maya Lin installed 49 dead Atlantic white cedar trees in a park in New York City to warn of climate change. \u003ccite>(TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Resisting these feelings is normal too — it’s a means of protecting ourselves. But burying our heads in the sand ultimately leads to the same outcomes as denying the crisis. Take breaks, but face what is happening. At some point it becomes easier to look at the issue than hide from it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally, let yourself feel things. There are losses we cannot reverse. There will be more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Feeling the hard emotions lets you move through them and forward. That doesn’t mean you’re free of them — you aren’t, but pushing them down won’t help you move into action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are some ways to process your emotions, since a lot of us are out of practice:\u003c/p>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>\u003cb>Connect with people. \u003c/b>Talk informally with family or friends, or more formally with a therapist (there are growing networks of \u003ca href=\"https://www.climatepsychiatry.org/climate-aware-therapist\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">psychiatrists\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.climatepsychology.us/climate-therapists\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">psychologists\u003c/a> with specific training on climate change), or \u003ca href=\"https://www.goodgriefnetwork.org/\">grief\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.goodgriefnetwork.org/\">groups\u003c/a>.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Connect with your body \u003c/strong>through walking, running, yoga, or any exercise you enjoy.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Connect with nature. \u003c/strong>Environmental psychologist Renee Lertzman said getting out in nature is both calming and “reminds me of why we’re doing this. I’m continually amazed by how incredible life is.”\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cp>There are plenty of other \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/04/22/808853706/this-earth-day-is-like-no-other-heres-how-to-grieve-and-stay-engaged\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">articles\u003c/a>, books, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101885372/climate-anxiety-and-how-it-can-lead-to-hopefulness\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">podcasts\u003c/a> about processing these heavy emotions, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Imagine the future you want\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>It’s inspiring to envision a Bay Area less dependent on fossil fuels, with cleaner air, more predictable weather cycles, and a booming green jobs industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Air pollution from fossil fuels affects low-income communities and communities of color far more than others, in places close to freeways and industry, like East and West Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Studies from Oxfam show the poorest 50% of Americans are responsible for far less carbon pollution \u003ca class=\"c-link\" href=\"https://policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/extreme-carbon-inequality-why-the-paris-climate-deal-must-put-the-poorest-lowes-582545/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https://policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/extreme-carbon-inequality-why-the-paris-climate-deal-must-put-the-poorest-lowes-582545/\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\">than the average American — about half.\u003c/a> Cleaning up our climate is an act of equity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cutting down fossil fuels would save lives. California’s air regulator estimated that \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/health-air-pollution\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">we see 7,200 premature deaths each year from air pollution\u003c/a>, particularly from pollution related to diesel exhaust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Globally, air pollution from burning fossil fuels is \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0013935121000487\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">responsible for 8.7 million deaths annually,\u003c/a> shaking out to more than a tenth of U.S. deaths (deaths from COVID-19 stand at \u003ca href=\"https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">nearly 5 million people\u003c/a> globally since the start of the pandemic).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The average life expectancy would increase by \u003ca href=\"https://academic.oup.com/cardiovascres/article/116/11/1910/5770885#207231589\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">more than a year\u003c/a> across a world without fossil fuel emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Switching out gas appliances like stoves for electric ones significantly \u003ca href=\"https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2020/5/7/21247602/gas-stove-cooking-indoor-air-pollution-health-risks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">improves indoor air quality\u003c/a>, which could lead to lower risk for cardiovascular disease in adults and asthma in children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As many of us experienced during the pandemic, converting streets into places for communities to gather brought a lot of joy, with “slow streets” and increased outdoor dining. San Francisco voters decided\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/election/article/JFK-Drive-will-remain-car-free-after-S-F-voters-17570182.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> to make some of these car-free streets permanent\u003c/a>. Should our cities build out a more walkable and bikeable infrastructure, this could be our norm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977345\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977345 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52164_41586088481_efaa2a3126_o-qut-1020x680.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52164_41586088481_efaa2a3126_o-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52164_41586088481_efaa2a3126_o-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52164_41586088481_efaa2a3126_o-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52164_41586088481_efaa2a3126_o-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52164_41586088481_efaa2a3126_o-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52164_41586088481_efaa2a3126_o-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A man walks with his two kids along a street during the San Francisco Bike & Roll to School Day in 2018. \u003ccite>(San Francisco Bicycle Coalition)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Climate action could be a boon for green jobs, like those installing solar panels and restoring wetlands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And climate progress could significantly impact our mental health. That’s because the antidote to climate anxiety is action.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Act\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>You do not need to become anything you are not to take action on climate change. The issue is big, and the good part about that is there are endless ways to plug in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate scientist Kim Nicholas says consider where you spend most of your time and where you get the most energy right now. Start there. Ask yourself, “how is it that we as a family, as a business, [or] as a neighborhood, are impacting the climate? What is it that we can do?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While climate activists debate whether to push people to organize for systemic change or focus on individual actuals, they tend to agree that both are needed. Systems need transforming and the largest reductions in emissions will be found there. But individual changes — especially in rich countries like the U.S. — are important, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Action at the systems level\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Find a group that works for you:\u003c/strong> Climate journalist and organizer Bill McKibben says the most powerful thing an individual can do is \u003ca href=\"https://climate-xchange.org/2020/09/16/be-a-little-less-of-an-individual-author-and-activist-bill-mckibben/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">be less of an individual.\u003c/a> Your voice will be more powerful with others, and it’s more fun and hopeful to tackle this challenge together. There’s no shortage of groups of people concerned about the climate and taking meaningful action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are groups for \u003ca href=\"https://protectourwinters.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">skiers\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://envirn.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">nurses\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://artistsandclimatechange.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">artists\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://republicen.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">political conservatives\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.eldersclimateaction.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">grandmothers\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.conservationhawks.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">hunters\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://climateandsecurity.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">people concerned with national security\u003c/a>. See the range? Groups such as these can help guide you to advocate for more change at the systems level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977351\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977351 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52175_GettyImages-1168690967-qut-1020x647.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"406\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52175_GettyImages-1168690967-qut-1020x647.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52175_GettyImages-1168690967-qut-800x507.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52175_GettyImages-1168690967-qut-160x101.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52175_GettyImages-1168690967-qut-768x487.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52175_GettyImages-1168690967-qut-1536x974.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52175_GettyImages-1168690967-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Children paint waves on paper as they take part in an event to make art for the youth climate strike on September 20, 2019. \u003ccite>(JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vote for climate candidates: \u003c/strong>The rapid policy reform needed to address the climate crisis requires politicians to enact bolder, faster changes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/socf.12422\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Research\u003c/a> shows electing representatives that ranked high on the \u003ca href=\"https://scorecard.lcv.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">League of Conservation Voters National Environmental Scorecard\u003c/a> significantly reduced a state’s carbon dioxide emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0176268017304500\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Voting female politicians into office\u003c/a> is linked with stronger climate policies and lower emissions, and could be an underutilized tool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Contact your representatives: \u003c/strong>Call your local, state or federal representative to share your concerns. Sure, there are other ways to get in touch too, like email and snail mail, but activists and lawmakers say the best way to grab a staffer’s attention is to call and not email, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/22/us/politics/heres-why-you-should-call-not-email-your-legislators.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The New York Times reports\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If your representatives already share your beliefs, thank them for their efforts and ask them to move further or faster.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Action at the individual level\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>While the numbers show that minimizing your carbon footprint won’t get us where we need to go on greenhouse gas reductions alone, “If you live in a rich country, and especially the richer you are, your individual actions really matter,” sustainability scientist Kimberly Nicholas writes in her book “\u003ca href=\"https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/665274/under-the-sky-we-make-by-kimberly-nicholas-phd/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Under the Sky We Make.”\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Personal climate actions like skipping drives and flights matter in both reducing carbon, and in changing the perception of a wealthy American ideal — using excessive carbon — that’s quickly getting exported.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When changes become a social norm, it becomes more attractive for politicians and companies to take action. Research shows\u003ca href=\"https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.aas8827\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> just 25% of a population is needed to create a norm change\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our suggestions reflect actions shown to have the biggest impact, so you can spend your limited time and brain capacity judiciously, though there are plenty of other worthwhile things to do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Talk about climate change:\u003c/strong> While the majority of Americans are worried about climate change, most people don’t talk about it, even if they’d like to, says Anthony Leiserowitz, director of Yale’s climate communication program. He says by avoiding talking about the topic, we fail to signal how much it matters to us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe has had thousands of conversations about climate change. She recommends a helpful formula for your discussion: start with what you both care about (like your kids, the beach, birds, etc.), connect that passion with climate change (climate change affects everything, so luckily that’s not hard), and then discuss what’s at stake for what you love, and some solutions that are at work locally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can also talk about what you’re doing about climate change (no self-righteousness please though, that won’t help your cause). Lots of folks are changing their behavior based on the climate crisis, and sharing that could contribute to societal shifts. There are \u003ca href=\"https://brightaction.app/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">tools to help\u003c/a> your community, company, or place of worship collaborate, or even compete with one another.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yale’s climate change communication program has tips on \u003ca href=\"https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/news-events/attaining-meaningful-outcomes-from-conversations-on-climate/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">how to achieve meaningful conversation outcomes\u003c/a>, and you can hear how conversations between a son and his Republican U.S. representative father converted the latter into a \u003ca href=\"https://gimletmedia.com/shows/howtosaveaplanet/j4hk928/trying-to-talk-to-family-about-climate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">conservative climate champion\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Drive less: \u003c/strong>The majority of California’s greenhouse gas emissions \u003ca href=\"https://ww3.arb.ca.gov/cc/inventory/pubs/reports/2000_2019/ghg_inventory_trends_00-19.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">come from transportation\u003c/a>, and for the average U.S. household, gasoline for personal cars \u003ca href=\"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/es102221h\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">is the the biggest source of emissions\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most emissions come from long car trips.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977321\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977321 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-1020x573.png\" alt=\"The largest sector is transportation, followed by industrial, electricity, commercial & residential, agriculture, high GWP, and recycling & waste\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-1020x573.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-800x450.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-160x90.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-768x432.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-1536x863.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-2048x1151.png 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-1920x1079.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">2019 greenhouse gas emissions in California, broken down into sector and subsector. \u003ccite>(Courtesy California Air Resources Board)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Reducing travel in gas cars is one of the biggest things you can do, but can be challenging depending where you live. (This is one place where changing the system comes into play — working for better bus, train, biking and walking routes would make our cities and towns more friendly to ditching cars.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regardless, reductions in emissions from car trips help, whether that means having no car, taking public transit more, or switching to an electric or hybrid vehicle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Plus, there are plenty of physical and mental benefits to other, familiar options like walking and biking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Fly less: \u003c/strong>Only 1% of people cause \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378020307779\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">half of the emissions from air travel\u003c/a>. While carbon dioxide emissions from flights are roughly \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1352231020305689\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2.4% of total greenhouse gas emissions globally\u003c/a>, if you’re in that select group of people flying, and flying a lot, cutting down on flights will have an outsized impact on reducing carbon emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eliminate flights that aren’t essential, and if you’re a frequent flyer, set a goal to cut flights in half, or down to a few per year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The shift away from air travel during the COVID-19 pandemic modeled what less flying can look like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>Eat a plant-based diet: \u003c/strong>Growing food for us and food to feed animals (that become food for us), plus deforestation (primarily to grow food) accounts for roughly \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emissions-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">24% of global emissions\u003c/a>. Methane comes from cow, sheep, and goat burps and their manure, and nitrous oxide from using fertilizers. Some carbon dioxide is also released from plowing and razing forests. Globally, deforestation is also \u003ca href=\"https://ipbes.net/sites/default/files/2020-02/ipbes_global_assessment_report_summary_for_policymakers_en.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the main driver of the biodiversity crisis.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977346\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977346 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52166_2543-qut-1020x681.jpg\" alt=\"Four men smile and inspect lettuce in a greenhouse\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52166_2543-qut-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52166_2543-qut-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52166_2543-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52166_2543-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52166_2543-qut-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52166_2543-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A team of veterans inspects organic produce on their farm in San Jose. The Farmer Veteran Coalition is a national nonprofit non-governmental organization in the United States that mobilizes veterans to feed America and transition from military service to a career in agriculture. \u003ccite>(Meg Haywood Sullivan/Climate Visuals Countdown)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Beef is more resource intensive than other foods. Producing it requires\u003ca href=\"https://josephpoore.com/Science%20360%206392%20987%20-%20Accepted%20Manuscript.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> 22 times more land and emits 62 times more greenhouse gases\u003c/a> per gram of protein than plant proteins like beans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For meat eaters worldwide, cutting back to 1.5 burgers a week would nearly eliminate the need for agricultural expansion, \u003ca href=\"https://www.wri.org/insights/how-sustainably-feed-10-billion-people-2050-21-charts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">even with a global population of 10 billion.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The average American \u003ca href=\"https://www.wri.org/insights/how-sustainably-feed-10-billion-people-2050-21-charts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">eats three burgers a week.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Green your home: \u003c/strong>Energy we use in our homes is the \u003ca href=\"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/es102221h\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">second-biggest source of emissions for the average American\u003c/a>. You can change that by installing solar panels and efficient windows, and improving insulation. And when some of the biggest home energy hogs need replacement, choose a more efficient alternative: swap your natural gas furnace and water heater for electric heat pumps, replace your gas stove with an induction one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of these changes aren’t achievable as a renter, but you can \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/tips-renters-and-rental-property-owners\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">bring this up with your property owner\u003c/a>, and depending on where you are, there are \u003ca href=\"https://www.csd.ca.gov/Pages/Low-Income-Weatherization-Program.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">programs\u003c/a> that help with incentives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Your climate Venn diagram: \u003c/strong>In the podcast “How to Save a Planet,” host and marine biologist \u003ca href=\"https://www.ayanaelizabeth.com/bio\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ayana Elizabeth Johnson\u003c/a> suggests one way to find your space in climate action: a Venn diagram.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Get out your paper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977319\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977319 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-1020x1020.png\" alt=\"A Venn diagram with three circles: one says "what brings you joy?", another says "What are you good at?" and the third says "What is the work that needs doing?" The convergence of the circles reads "What you should do."\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-1020x1020.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-800x800.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-160x160.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-768x768.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-1536x1536.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-2048x2048.png 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-1920x1920.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson has created this Venn diagram to help people find their place in climate action. \u003ccite>(Courtesy The All We Can Save Project)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>What are you good at? “What skills, resources, networks, reach, influence are you bringing to the table?” she asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What work needs doing? The crisis is so huge that there are many options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What brings you joy? “What gets you out of bed in the morning? Because this is the work of our lifetime,” Johnson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Your job is to move forward on what you identify at the center of those circles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Active hope: \u003c/strong>Hope for the climate is not about crossing your fingers and going about your daily routine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a practice, say climate activist Joanna Macy and psychologist Dr. Chris Johnstone in their book “Active Hope.” This kind of hope involves taking stock of our painful reality, identifying what changes you want to see, and beginning to make them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doing these things brings us closer to others doing the same. The hope and action beget more of the same.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yes, climate change is here. Yes, it’s bad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And there’s hope — contingent on all of us, acting.\u003cbr />\n\u003ca id=\"question\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[hearken src=\"https://modules.wearehearken.com/kqed/embed/8818.js\"]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003cem>Submit a Bay Area climate change question for KQED’s science reporters at the \u003ca href=\"#question\">bottom of this post\u003c/a>. \u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s getting hotter. It’s getting smokier. It’s getting scarier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s extreme droughts, heat waves and wildfires \u003ca href=\"https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/factsheets/IPCC_AR6_WGI_Regional_Fact_Sheet_North_and_Central_America.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">will likely worsen\u003c/a> in the coming decades and longer if we don’t get our act together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/07/climate/climate-change-emissions.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere\u003c/a> is greater than any time in at least the past \u003ca href=\"https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aav7337\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">three million years\u003c/a>, and the world has already warmed 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) since the 1800s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977323\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977323 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2020Drawdown_TempCO2_en_title_lg-1-1020x574.jpg\" alt=\"A graph shows a red line steadily increasing from the year 1880 to 2019, from around 290 parts per million of carbon dioxide to 410. A jagged black line goes up and down but follows the overall trend of the red line, showing an increase in temperature of about 1.1 degree Celsius.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2020Drawdown_TempCO2_en_title_lg-1-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2020Drawdown_TempCO2_en_title_lg-1-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2020Drawdown_TempCO2_en_title_lg-1-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2020Drawdown_TempCO2_en_title_lg-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2020Drawdown_TempCO2_en_title_lg-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2020Drawdown_TempCO2_en_title_lg-1.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">As carbon dioxide concentrations increase in the atmosphere, the temperature does as well. \u003ccite>(Image courtesy Climate Central)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>People of color are and will be \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-report-shows-disproportionate-impacts-climate-change-socially-vulnerable\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">disproportionately affected by the health and environmental impacts of climate change\u003c/a>, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Taking all this in is overwhelming. But here’s something that makes it easier: there is still time to act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rapid, bold emissions reductions, starting now, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ipcc.ch/2021/08/09/ar6-wg1-20210809-pr/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">would limit climate change \u003c/a>and its effects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1977324 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2021IPCC_TempPathways_en_title_lg-1-1020x574.jpg\" alt=\"A graph shows temperature warming from 1950 to today, with two diverging lines after that. An orange line depicts temperature rise if there are no cuts to current emissions, showing an average increase in temperature of 4 degrees Celsius. A blue line shows what would happen with substantial cuts in emissions, demonstrating warming would level off around 1.5 degrees Celsius.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2021IPCC_TempPathways_en_title_lg-1-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2021IPCC_TempPathways_en_title_lg-1-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2021IPCC_TempPathways_en_title_lg-1-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2021IPCC_TempPathways_en_title_lg-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2021IPCC_TempPathways_en_title_lg-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/2021IPCC_TempPathways_en_title_lg-1.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We decide what future we get. The one that will be recognizable to us, with limited warming, would require coordination across communities, states and countries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While limiting warming to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius) would be “very difficult, requiring immediate, top-level government attention and effort,” said Michael Oppenheimer, a Princeton environmental scientist and editor of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change review, it’s “not impossible.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if we don’t meet those goals, Oppenheimer said, “there’s no end-of-the-world point where you give up.” Every tenth of a degree matters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s where you come in. Climate scientists made it crystal clear in the U.N.’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.ipcc.ch/2021/08/09/ar6-wg1-20210809-pr/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">most recent report\u003c/a> that warming is a “code red for humanity,” according to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This piece is for those who want to respond, but don’t know where to begin.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>All of us\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Maybe you think we’re in two camps here in California: those who believe in climate change and those who don’t. But researchers define us with more nuance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/about/projects/global-warmings-six-americas/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Yale Program on Climate Change Communication\u003c/a> divides Americans into six groups: from those deeply concerned about global warming and supportive of policies (“Alarmed”), to those who view it as a hoax (“Dismissive”).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977322\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 644px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977322 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/6-Americas-Cartoons-Slide-1-e1459619373734.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"401\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/6-Americas-Cartoons-Slide-1-e1459619373734.png 644w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/6-Americas-Cartoons-Slide-1-e1459619373734-160x100.png 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication divides Americans into six groups in terms of their perceptions of global warming. \u003ccite>(Artwork by Michael Sloan)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/about/projects/global-warmings-six-americas/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">More than half of people in the U.S.\u003c/a> fall into the “Alarmed” or “Concerned” categories. This means they’re engaged in this issue and ready to act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of these folks don’t know what to do with that worry, though, or how to take meaningful action on climate.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Let’s feel some feelings\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Longtime Bay Area residents will recall a time when the weather didn’t \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11893922/california-still-deep-in-drought-despite-stormy-weather-capped-by-atmospheric-river\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">whiplash from bone dry to flooded streets\u003c/a>, when skies choked with wildfire smoke were anomalous and average fall temperatures were cooler (\u003ca href=\"https://www.climatecentral.org/graphic/fastest-warming-seasons-2022?location=San%20Francisco&graphicSet=Seasonal+Warming\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">by 3 degrees Fahrenheit in San Francisco\u003c/a>, to be precise). If you’re a recent Bay Area transplant, I imagine you can think of similar changes wherever you hail from.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Facing the climate crisis means grieving the version of the planet we grew up with. That means sitting with painful emotions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sadness, despair, anger and powerlessness are normal, healthy responses to a serious risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are biologically wired to respond with anxiety to real threats,” said Robin Cooper, a San Francisco-based therapist and founder of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.climatepsychiatry.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Climate Psychiatry Alliance.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977352\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977352 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52176_GettyImages-1232894145-qut-1020x674.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"423\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52176_GettyImages-1232894145-qut-1020x674.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52176_GettyImages-1232894145-qut-800x528.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52176_GettyImages-1232894145-qut-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52176_GettyImages-1232894145-qut-768x507.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52176_GettyImages-1232894145-qut-1536x1014.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52176_GettyImages-1232894145-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A woman sits among a group of dead trees at an installation by artist Maya Lin, titled “Ghost Forest,” in Madison Square Park, New York, on May 14, 2021. Maya Lin installed 49 dead Atlantic white cedar trees in a park in New York City to warn of climate change. \u003ccite>(TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Resisting these feelings is normal too — it’s a means of protecting ourselves. But burying our heads in the sand ultimately leads to the same outcomes as denying the crisis. Take breaks, but face what is happening. At some point it becomes easier to look at the issue than hide from it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally, let yourself feel things. There are losses we cannot reverse. There will be more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Feeling the hard emotions lets you move through them and forward. That doesn’t mean you’re free of them — you aren’t, but pushing them down won’t help you move into action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are some ways to process your emotions, since a lot of us are out of practice:\u003c/p>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>\u003cb>Connect with people. \u003c/b>Talk informally with family or friends, or more formally with a therapist (there are growing networks of \u003ca href=\"https://www.climatepsychiatry.org/climate-aware-therapist\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">psychiatrists\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.climatepsychology.us/climate-therapists\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">psychologists\u003c/a> with specific training on climate change), or \u003ca href=\"https://www.goodgriefnetwork.org/\">grief\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.goodgriefnetwork.org/\">groups\u003c/a>.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Connect with your body \u003c/strong>through walking, running, yoga, or any exercise you enjoy.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Connect with nature. \u003c/strong>Environmental psychologist Renee Lertzman said getting out in nature is both calming and “reminds me of why we’re doing this. I’m continually amazed by how incredible life is.”\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003cp>There are plenty of other \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/04/22/808853706/this-earth-day-is-like-no-other-heres-how-to-grieve-and-stay-engaged\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">articles\u003c/a>, books, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101885372/climate-anxiety-and-how-it-can-lead-to-hopefulness\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">podcasts\u003c/a> about processing these heavy emotions, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>\u003cstrong>Imagine the future you want\u003c/strong>\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>It’s inspiring to envision a Bay Area less dependent on fossil fuels, with cleaner air, more predictable weather cycles, and a booming green jobs industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Air pollution from fossil fuels affects low-income communities and communities of color far more than others, in places close to freeways and industry, like East and West Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Studies from Oxfam show the poorest 50% of Americans are responsible for far less carbon pollution \u003ca class=\"c-link\" href=\"https://policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/extreme-carbon-inequality-why-the-paris-climate-deal-must-put-the-poorest-lowes-582545/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https://policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/extreme-carbon-inequality-why-the-paris-climate-deal-must-put-the-poorest-lowes-582545/\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\">than the average American — about half.\u003c/a> Cleaning up our climate is an act of equity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cutting down fossil fuels would save lives. California’s air regulator estimated that \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/health-air-pollution\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">we see 7,200 premature deaths each year from air pollution\u003c/a>, particularly from pollution related to diesel exhaust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Globally, air pollution from burning fossil fuels is \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0013935121000487\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">responsible for 8.7 million deaths annually,\u003c/a> shaking out to more than a tenth of U.S. deaths (deaths from COVID-19 stand at \u003ca href=\"https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">nearly 5 million people\u003c/a> globally since the start of the pandemic).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The average life expectancy would increase by \u003ca href=\"https://academic.oup.com/cardiovascres/article/116/11/1910/5770885#207231589\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">more than a year\u003c/a> across a world without fossil fuel emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Switching out gas appliances like stoves for electric ones significantly \u003ca href=\"https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2020/5/7/21247602/gas-stove-cooking-indoor-air-pollution-health-risks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">improves indoor air quality\u003c/a>, which could lead to lower risk for cardiovascular disease in adults and asthma in children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As many of us experienced during the pandemic, converting streets into places for communities to gather brought a lot of joy, with “slow streets” and increased outdoor dining. San Francisco voters decided\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/election/article/JFK-Drive-will-remain-car-free-after-S-F-voters-17570182.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> to make some of these car-free streets permanent\u003c/a>. Should our cities build out a more walkable and bikeable infrastructure, this could be our norm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977345\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977345 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52164_41586088481_efaa2a3126_o-qut-1020x680.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52164_41586088481_efaa2a3126_o-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52164_41586088481_efaa2a3126_o-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52164_41586088481_efaa2a3126_o-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52164_41586088481_efaa2a3126_o-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52164_41586088481_efaa2a3126_o-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52164_41586088481_efaa2a3126_o-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A man walks with his two kids along a street during the San Francisco Bike & Roll to School Day in 2018. \u003ccite>(San Francisco Bicycle Coalition)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Climate action could be a boon for green jobs, like those installing solar panels and restoring wetlands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And climate progress could significantly impact our mental health. That’s because the antidote to climate anxiety is action.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Act\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>You do not need to become anything you are not to take action on climate change. The issue is big, and the good part about that is there are endless ways to plug in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate scientist Kim Nicholas says consider where you spend most of your time and where you get the most energy right now. Start there. Ask yourself, “how is it that we as a family, as a business, [or] as a neighborhood, are impacting the climate? What is it that we can do?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While climate activists debate whether to push people to organize for systemic change or focus on individual actuals, they tend to agree that both are needed. Systems need transforming and the largest reductions in emissions will be found there. But individual changes — especially in rich countries like the U.S. — are important, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Action at the systems level\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Find a group that works for you:\u003c/strong> Climate journalist and organizer Bill McKibben says the most powerful thing an individual can do is \u003ca href=\"https://climate-xchange.org/2020/09/16/be-a-little-less-of-an-individual-author-and-activist-bill-mckibben/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">be less of an individual.\u003c/a> Your voice will be more powerful with others, and it’s more fun and hopeful to tackle this challenge together. There’s no shortage of groups of people concerned about the climate and taking meaningful action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are groups for \u003ca href=\"https://protectourwinters.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">skiers\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://envirn.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">nurses\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://artistsandclimatechange.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">artists\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://republicen.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">political conservatives\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.eldersclimateaction.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">grandmothers\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.conservationhawks.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">hunters\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://climateandsecurity.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">people concerned with national security\u003c/a>. See the range? Groups such as these can help guide you to advocate for more change at the systems level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977351\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977351 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52175_GettyImages-1168690967-qut-1020x647.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"406\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52175_GettyImages-1168690967-qut-1020x647.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52175_GettyImages-1168690967-qut-800x507.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52175_GettyImages-1168690967-qut-160x101.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52175_GettyImages-1168690967-qut-768x487.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52175_GettyImages-1168690967-qut-1536x974.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52175_GettyImages-1168690967-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Children paint waves on paper as they take part in an event to make art for the youth climate strike on September 20, 2019. \u003ccite>(JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Vote for climate candidates: \u003c/strong>The rapid policy reform needed to address the climate crisis requires politicians to enact bolder, faster changes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/socf.12422\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Research\u003c/a> shows electing representatives that ranked high on the \u003ca href=\"https://scorecard.lcv.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">League of Conservation Voters National Environmental Scorecard\u003c/a> significantly reduced a state’s carbon dioxide emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0176268017304500\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Voting female politicians into office\u003c/a> is linked with stronger climate policies and lower emissions, and could be an underutilized tool.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Contact your representatives: \u003c/strong>Call your local, state or federal representative to share your concerns. Sure, there are other ways to get in touch too, like email and snail mail, but activists and lawmakers say the best way to grab a staffer’s attention is to call and not email, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/22/us/politics/heres-why-you-should-call-not-email-your-legislators.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The New York Times reports\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If your representatives already share your beliefs, thank them for their efforts and ask them to move further or faster.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Action at the individual level\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>While the numbers show that minimizing your carbon footprint won’t get us where we need to go on greenhouse gas reductions alone, “If you live in a rich country, and especially the richer you are, your individual actions really matter,” sustainability scientist Kimberly Nicholas writes in her book “\u003ca href=\"https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/665274/under-the-sky-we-make-by-kimberly-nicholas-phd/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Under the Sky We Make.”\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Personal climate actions like skipping drives and flights matter in both reducing carbon, and in changing the perception of a wealthy American ideal — using excessive carbon — that’s quickly getting exported.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When changes become a social norm, it becomes more attractive for politicians and companies to take action. Research shows\u003ca href=\"https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.aas8827\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> just 25% of a population is needed to create a norm change\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Our suggestions reflect actions shown to have the biggest impact, so you can spend your limited time and brain capacity judiciously, though there are plenty of other worthwhile things to do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Talk about climate change:\u003c/strong> While the majority of Americans are worried about climate change, most people don’t talk about it, even if they’d like to, says Anthony Leiserowitz, director of Yale’s climate communication program. He says by avoiding talking about the topic, we fail to signal how much it matters to us.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe has had thousands of conversations about climate change. She recommends a helpful formula for your discussion: start with what you both care about (like your kids, the beach, birds, etc.), connect that passion with climate change (climate change affects everything, so luckily that’s not hard), and then discuss what’s at stake for what you love, and some solutions that are at work locally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can also talk about what you’re doing about climate change (no self-righteousness please though, that won’t help your cause). Lots of folks are changing their behavior based on the climate crisis, and sharing that could contribute to societal shifts. There are \u003ca href=\"https://brightaction.app/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">tools to help\u003c/a> your community, company, or place of worship collaborate, or even compete with one another.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yale’s climate change communication program has tips on \u003ca href=\"https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/news-events/attaining-meaningful-outcomes-from-conversations-on-climate/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">how to achieve meaningful conversation outcomes\u003c/a>, and you can hear how conversations between a son and his Republican U.S. representative father converted the latter into a \u003ca href=\"https://gimletmedia.com/shows/howtosaveaplanet/j4hk928/trying-to-talk-to-family-about-climate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">conservative climate champion\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Drive less: \u003c/strong>The majority of California’s greenhouse gas emissions \u003ca href=\"https://ww3.arb.ca.gov/cc/inventory/pubs/reports/2000_2019/ghg_inventory_trends_00-19.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">come from transportation\u003c/a>, and for the average U.S. household, gasoline for personal cars \u003ca href=\"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/es102221h\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">is the the biggest source of emissions\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most emissions come from long car trips.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977321\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977321 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-1020x573.png\" alt=\"The largest sector is transportation, followed by industrial, electricity, commercial & residential, agriculture, high GWP, and recycling & waste\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-1020x573.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-800x450.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-160x90.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-768x432.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-1536x863.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-2048x1151.png 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/figure_4_GHG_emissions_by_scoping_plan_subsector-1-1920x1079.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">2019 greenhouse gas emissions in California, broken down into sector and subsector. \u003ccite>(Courtesy California Air Resources Board)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Reducing travel in gas cars is one of the biggest things you can do, but can be challenging depending where you live. (This is one place where changing the system comes into play — working for better bus, train, biking and walking routes would make our cities and towns more friendly to ditching cars.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regardless, reductions in emissions from car trips help, whether that means having no car, taking public transit more, or switching to an electric or hybrid vehicle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Plus, there are plenty of physical and mental benefits to other, familiar options like walking and biking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Fly less: \u003c/strong>Only 1% of people cause \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378020307779\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">half of the emissions from air travel\u003c/a>. While carbon dioxide emissions from flights are roughly \u003ca href=\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1352231020305689\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2.4% of total greenhouse gas emissions globally\u003c/a>, if you’re in that select group of people flying, and flying a lot, cutting down on flights will have an outsized impact on reducing carbon emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eliminate flights that aren’t essential, and if you’re a frequent flyer, set a goal to cut flights in half, or down to a few per year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The shift away from air travel during the COVID-19 pandemic modeled what less flying can look like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong> \u003c/strong>\u003cstrong>Eat a plant-based diet: \u003c/strong>Growing food for us and food to feed animals (that become food for us), plus deforestation (primarily to grow food) accounts for roughly \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emissions-data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">24% of global emissions\u003c/a>. Methane comes from cow, sheep, and goat burps and their manure, and nitrous oxide from using fertilizers. Some carbon dioxide is also released from plowing and razing forests. Globally, deforestation is also \u003ca href=\"https://ipbes.net/sites/default/files/2020-02/ipbes_global_assessment_report_summary_for_policymakers_en.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the main driver of the biodiversity crisis.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977346\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977346 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52166_2543-qut-1020x681.jpg\" alt=\"Four men smile and inspect lettuce in a greenhouse\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52166_2543-qut-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52166_2543-qut-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52166_2543-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52166_2543-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52166_2543-qut-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/RS52166_2543-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A team of veterans inspects organic produce on their farm in San Jose. The Farmer Veteran Coalition is a national nonprofit non-governmental organization in the United States that mobilizes veterans to feed America and transition from military service to a career in agriculture. \u003ccite>(Meg Haywood Sullivan/Climate Visuals Countdown)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Beef is more resource intensive than other foods. Producing it requires\u003ca href=\"https://josephpoore.com/Science%20360%206392%20987%20-%20Accepted%20Manuscript.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> 22 times more land and emits 62 times more greenhouse gases\u003c/a> per gram of protein than plant proteins like beans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For meat eaters worldwide, cutting back to 1.5 burgers a week would nearly eliminate the need for agricultural expansion, \u003ca href=\"https://www.wri.org/insights/how-sustainably-feed-10-billion-people-2050-21-charts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">even with a global population of 10 billion.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The average American \u003ca href=\"https://www.wri.org/insights/how-sustainably-feed-10-billion-people-2050-21-charts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">eats three burgers a week.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Green your home: \u003c/strong>Energy we use in our homes is the \u003ca href=\"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/es102221h\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">second-biggest source of emissions for the average American\u003c/a>. You can change that by installing solar panels and efficient windows, and improving insulation. And when some of the biggest home energy hogs need replacement, choose a more efficient alternative: swap your natural gas furnace and water heater for electric heat pumps, replace your gas stove with an induction one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of these changes aren’t achievable as a renter, but you can \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/tips-renters-and-rental-property-owners\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">bring this up with your property owner\u003c/a>, and depending on where you are, there are \u003ca href=\"https://www.csd.ca.gov/Pages/Low-Income-Weatherization-Program.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">programs\u003c/a> that help with incentives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Your climate Venn diagram: \u003c/strong>In the podcast “How to Save a Planet,” host and marine biologist \u003ca href=\"https://www.ayanaelizabeth.com/bio\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ayana Elizabeth Johnson\u003c/a> suggests one way to find your space in climate action: a Venn diagram.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Get out your paper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977319\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977319 size-large\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-1020x1020.png\" alt=\"A Venn diagram with three circles: one says "what brings you joy?", another says "What are you good at?" and the third says "What is the work that needs doing?" The convergence of the circles reads "What you should do."\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-1020x1020.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-800x800.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-160x160.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-768x768.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-1536x1536.png 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-2048x2048.png 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Square-1920x1920.png 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson has created this Venn diagram to help people find their place in climate action. \u003ccite>(Courtesy The All We Can Save Project)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>What are you good at? “What skills, resources, networks, reach, influence are you bringing to the table?” she asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What work needs doing? The crisis is so huge that there are many options.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What brings you joy? “What gets you out of bed in the morning? Because this is the work of our lifetime,” Johnson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Your job is to move forward on what you identify at the center of those circles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Active hope: \u003c/strong>Hope for the climate is not about crossing your fingers and going about your daily routine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a practice, say climate activist Joanna Macy and psychologist Dr. Chris Johnstone in their book “Active Hope.” This kind of hope involves taking stock of our painful reality, identifying what changes you want to see, and beginning to make them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doing these things brings us closer to others doing the same. The hope and action beget more of the same.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yes, climate change is here. Yes, it’s bad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And there’s hope — contingent on all of us, acting.\u003cbr />\n\u003ca id=\"question\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "The COP26 Summit to Fight Climate Change Has Started. Here's What to Expect",
"headTitle": "The COP26 Summit to Fight Climate Change Has Started. Here’s What to Expect | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>A climate extravaganza got underway in Glasgow, Scotland, on Sunday. President Biden showed up. So have other world leaders and a small city’s worth of diplomats, business executives and activists. It’s billed as a potential turning point in the struggle to avert the worst effects of climate change, and it has a curious name: COP26.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Is it worth the hype? What might it accomplish? Here’s what you need to know.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Q. What’s a COP?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These climate meetings began in 1992, when countries signed a treaty promising to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere and prevent dangerous changes to the climate. Almost every year since then, the parties to this agreement have met to talk about what still needs to be done. It’s called a Conference of Parties, or COP. This is the 26th such meeting. So, COP26.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Q. Who is showing up?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An astonishing collection of people. \u003ca href=\"https://www.icccad.net/our-team/saleemul-huq/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Saleemul Huq\u003c/a>, from the International Centre for Climate Change and Development in Bangladesh, has been to every single COP. He calls the meeting, which will last for two weeks, a “multi-ring circus.” In the innermost ring, blue-badged diplomats from almost 200 countries will debate the wording of a statement that’s released at the meeting’s conclusion, which contains any actual decisions. Other venues in Glasgow will be flooded by celebrities, industry groups, climate activists and academic researchers, all with their own priorities. Protests are expected. It looks to be like a session of Congress, a trade show and a political demonstration all rolled into one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"backstage-sponsor-language \">\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Q. What is COP26 supposed to accomplish?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s one main goal: get closer to fulfilling promises that nations made six years ago at COP21 in Paris. Under the Paris Agreement, countries pledged to collectively cut their greenhouse emissions enough to keep the planet from heating up more than 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), compared with pre-industrial times. Wealthy countries also promised large amounts of aid to poorer nations to help them cope with climate change and to reduce their own greenhouse emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Progress toward those goals has been halting, at best. But pressure is growing for bolder action, because \u003ca href=\"https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">scientists say\u003c/a> that planetary warming is accelerating , leading to more frequent and intense heat waves and storms and destruction of ecosystems. The planet already has warmed by about one degree Celsius. Keeping warming below 1.5 degrees C will require quick, drastic cuts in global greenhouse emissions, bringing them practically to zero within about 30 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m optimistic, not in a naive sense, because the conditions for this are extraordinarily difficult,” says \u003ca href=\"http://christianafigueres.com/#/\">Christiana Figueres\u003c/a>, formerly the United Nations’ climate chief. “This is incredibly difficult. [But] do we need a success out of this? Absolutely. We don’t have the option or the luxury of failure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Q. Will diplomats sit around a table and negotiate limits on their countries’ greenhouse emissions?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not exactly. The Paris Agreement created a novel method for getting to this goal. It works like a GoFundMe, except for the planet. Countries offer their individual “contributions” — their specific plans to cut heat-trapping emissions. The U.N. then adds them all up and calculates if that sum is enough — or, as now, if a gap remains between those plans and what climate scientists say is needed to avoid the most catastrophic effects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Glasgow meeting is forcing countries to declare their plans to cut emissions, and maybe go bigger. “This is arguably the most important COP since 2015” when the Paris Agreement was signed, Figueres says. “We’re going to [go] around the table, we’re going to be transparent with each other. We’re going to say what we did. And above all, what more we are going to do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://fletcher.tufts.edu/people/rachel-kyte\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rachel Kyte\u003c/a>, dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, says private companies and philanthropists feel the same pressure. “Having the event has an effect,” says Kyte, who is also advising the United Kingdom on aspects of the climate talks. “There is huge pressure from civil society, from the public, from investors, from politicians, to go to Glasgow with something [to offer.] People want to be seen to be doing the right thing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Q. How is this global GoFundMe going so far?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Poorly. Greenhouse gases continue to pour into the atmosphere at a high rate. Even the plans that countries have submitted since Paris would allow global emissions to \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/09/17/1038294582/countries-are-breaking-their-climate-promises-the-united-nations-says\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">continue increasing\u003c/a>. According to the nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://climateactiontracker.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Climate Action Tracker\u003c/a>, major polluting countries have submitted plans that are either “critically insufficient” or “highly insufficient.” They include \u003ca href=\"https://climateactiontracker.org/countries/russian-federation/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Russia\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://climateactiontracker.org/countries/china/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">China\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://climateactiontracker.org/countries/brazil/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brazil\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://climateactiontracker.org/countries/india/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">India\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://climateactiontracker.org/countries/australia/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Australia\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S. recently improved its rating to merely “insufficient.” Earlier this year, it \u003ca href=\"https://www4.unfccc.int/sites/ndcstaging/PublishedDocuments/United%20States%20of%20America%20First/United%20States%20NDC%20April%2021%202021%20Final.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">promised\u003c/a> to cut its greenhouse gas emissions in half (compared with 2005 levels) by 2030 and to deliver $10 billion a year in climate-focused economic aid to lower-income countries. But those are just promises right now. Congress hasn’t passed legislation that would accomplish this so far, although the Biden administration has offered a new plan that calls for large investments in climate initiatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nations also have not delivered on their promises regarding “climate finance” — the stream of money that will help poorer countries deal with the consequences of a warming climate. Developing nations emit small quantities of heat-trapping pollution but suffer disproportionately from its effects and have fewer resources available to cope with it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re not on track. It’s not happening. Why isn’t it happening? That’s the story,” says Saleemul Huq.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is some mildly good news, though. According to the latest \u003ca href=\"https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2021/executive-summary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">estimate\u003c/a> from the International Energy Agency, if all countries fully carry out their current climate pledges, the global curve of greenhouse emissions eventually will start to bend downward. Under this scenario, average global temperatures would increase by 3.7 degrees Fahrenheit compared with pre-industrial levels by the end of the century. (Those average temperatures have already risen by about two degrees Fahrenheit.) “We are making progress,” Figueres says. “We’re not at the level that we should be, but we’re moving in the right direction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Q. After all the countries put their plans on the table, what remains to be decided?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Negotiators will argue over the wording of the meeting’s final statement. Climate experts are hoping that it will “send a signal” that nations understand the need for deeper emissions cuts to reach that elusive target of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Poorer countries, many from Africa, will push hard for specific commitments on financial aid to help them deal with climate-linked disasters. “Poor countries are not responsible for this problem,” says \u003ca href=\"https://cccd.funai.edu.ng/team-member/professor-chukwumerije-okereke/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chukwumerije Okereke\u003c/a>, director of the Centre for Climate Change and Development in Nigeria. “It’s been shipped to them by developed countries, and they’re having to deal with it with little or no help.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These countries say that previous commitments for $100 billion a year in “climate finance” — even though still unmet — are woefully inadequate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, negotiators will be trying to work out final details of what’s called “The Paris Rulebook.” These include rules for how countries shall report their emissions targets and how a system of “carbon markets” might work, in which one country can effectively purchase emissions reductions from another country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rachel Kyte says that one thing is already clear. There will be plenty of work still to do when COP26 is over. “People think that the COP is sort of like the World Series, right? And that there’s going to be some, you know, walk-off home run from China or the U.S. And it’s not,” she says. “It’s like an Iditarod, right? Lots of huskies, long and arduous, and maybe it never ends.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A climate extravaganza got underway in Glasgow, Scotland, on Sunday. President Biden showed up. So have other world leaders and a small city’s worth of diplomats, business executives and activists. It’s billed as a potential turning point in the struggle to avert the worst effects of climate change, and it has a curious name: COP26.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Is it worth the hype? What might it accomplish? Here’s what you need to know.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Q. What’s a COP?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These climate meetings began in 1992, when countries signed a treaty promising to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere and prevent dangerous changes to the climate. Almost every year since then, the parties to this agreement have met to talk about what still needs to be done. It’s called a Conference of Parties, or COP. This is the 26th such meeting. So, COP26.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Q. Who is showing up?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An astonishing collection of people. \u003ca href=\"https://www.icccad.net/our-team/saleemul-huq/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Saleemul Huq\u003c/a>, from the International Centre for Climate Change and Development in Bangladesh, has been to every single COP. He calls the meeting, which will last for two weeks, a “multi-ring circus.” In the innermost ring, blue-badged diplomats from almost 200 countries will debate the wording of a statement that’s released at the meeting’s conclusion, which contains any actual decisions. Other venues in Glasgow will be flooded by celebrities, industry groups, climate activists and academic researchers, all with their own priorities. Protests are expected. It looks to be like a session of Congress, a trade show and a political demonstration all rolled into one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"backstage-sponsor-language \">\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Q. What is COP26 supposed to accomplish?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s one main goal: get closer to fulfilling promises that nations made six years ago at COP21 in Paris. Under the Paris Agreement, countries pledged to collectively cut their greenhouse emissions enough to keep the planet from heating up more than 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), compared with pre-industrial times. Wealthy countries also promised large amounts of aid to poorer nations to help them cope with climate change and to reduce their own greenhouse emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Progress toward those goals has been halting, at best. But pressure is growing for bolder action, because \u003ca href=\"https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">scientists say\u003c/a> that planetary warming is accelerating , leading to more frequent and intense heat waves and storms and destruction of ecosystems. The planet already has warmed by about one degree Celsius. Keeping warming below 1.5 degrees C will require quick, drastic cuts in global greenhouse emissions, bringing them practically to zero within about 30 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m optimistic, not in a naive sense, because the conditions for this are extraordinarily difficult,” says \u003ca href=\"http://christianafigueres.com/#/\">Christiana Figueres\u003c/a>, formerly the United Nations’ climate chief. “This is incredibly difficult. [But] do we need a success out of this? Absolutely. We don’t have the option or the luxury of failure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Q. Will diplomats sit around a table and negotiate limits on their countries’ greenhouse emissions?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not exactly. The Paris Agreement created a novel method for getting to this goal. It works like a GoFundMe, except for the planet. Countries offer their individual “contributions” — their specific plans to cut heat-trapping emissions. The U.N. then adds them all up and calculates if that sum is enough — or, as now, if a gap remains between those plans and what climate scientists say is needed to avoid the most catastrophic effects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Glasgow meeting is forcing countries to declare their plans to cut emissions, and maybe go bigger. “This is arguably the most important COP since 2015” when the Paris Agreement was signed, Figueres says. “We’re going to [go] around the table, we’re going to be transparent with each other. We’re going to say what we did. And above all, what more we are going to do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://fletcher.tufts.edu/people/rachel-kyte\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rachel Kyte\u003c/a>, dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, says private companies and philanthropists feel the same pressure. “Having the event has an effect,” says Kyte, who is also advising the United Kingdom on aspects of the climate talks. “There is huge pressure from civil society, from the public, from investors, from politicians, to go to Glasgow with something [to offer.] People want to be seen to be doing the right thing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Q. How is this global GoFundMe going so far?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Poorly. Greenhouse gases continue to pour into the atmosphere at a high rate. Even the plans that countries have submitted since Paris would allow global emissions to \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/09/17/1038294582/countries-are-breaking-their-climate-promises-the-united-nations-says\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">continue increasing\u003c/a>. According to the nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://climateactiontracker.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Climate Action Tracker\u003c/a>, major polluting countries have submitted plans that are either “critically insufficient” or “highly insufficient.” They include \u003ca href=\"https://climateactiontracker.org/countries/russian-federation/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Russia\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://climateactiontracker.org/countries/china/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">China\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://climateactiontracker.org/countries/brazil/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brazil\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://climateactiontracker.org/countries/india/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">India\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://climateactiontracker.org/countries/australia/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Australia\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S. recently improved its rating to merely “insufficient.” Earlier this year, it \u003ca href=\"https://www4.unfccc.int/sites/ndcstaging/PublishedDocuments/United%20States%20of%20America%20First/United%20States%20NDC%20April%2021%202021%20Final.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">promised\u003c/a> to cut its greenhouse gas emissions in half (compared with 2005 levels) by 2030 and to deliver $10 billion a year in climate-focused economic aid to lower-income countries. But those are just promises right now. Congress hasn’t passed legislation that would accomplish this so far, although the Biden administration has offered a new plan that calls for large investments in climate initiatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nations also have not delivered on their promises regarding “climate finance” — the stream of money that will help poorer countries deal with the consequences of a warming climate. Developing nations emit small quantities of heat-trapping pollution but suffer disproportionately from its effects and have fewer resources available to cope with it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re not on track. It’s not happening. Why isn’t it happening? That’s the story,” says Saleemul Huq.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is some mildly good news, though. According to the latest \u003ca href=\"https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2021/executive-summary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">estimate\u003c/a> from the International Energy Agency, if all countries fully carry out their current climate pledges, the global curve of greenhouse emissions eventually will start to bend downward. Under this scenario, average global temperatures would increase by 3.7 degrees Fahrenheit compared with pre-industrial levels by the end of the century. (Those average temperatures have already risen by about two degrees Fahrenheit.) “We are making progress,” Figueres says. “We’re not at the level that we should be, but we’re moving in the right direction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Q. After all the countries put their plans on the table, what remains to be decided?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Negotiators will argue over the wording of the meeting’s final statement. Climate experts are hoping that it will “send a signal” that nations understand the need for deeper emissions cuts to reach that elusive target of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Poorer countries, many from Africa, will push hard for specific commitments on financial aid to help them deal with climate-linked disasters. “Poor countries are not responsible for this problem,” says \u003ca href=\"https://cccd.funai.edu.ng/team-member/professor-chukwumerije-okereke/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chukwumerije Okereke\u003c/a>, director of the Centre for Climate Change and Development in Nigeria. “It’s been shipped to them by developed countries, and they’re having to deal with it with little or no help.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These countries say that previous commitments for $100 billion a year in “climate finance” — even though still unmet — are woefully inadequate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, negotiators will be trying to work out final details of what’s called “The Paris Rulebook.” These include rules for how countries shall report their emissions targets and how a system of “carbon markets” might work, in which one country can effectively purchase emissions reductions from another country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rachel Kyte says that one thing is already clear. There will be plenty of work still to do when COP26 is over. “People think that the COP is sort of like the World Series, right? And that there’s going to be some, you know, walk-off home run from China or the U.S. And it’s not,” she says. “It’s like an Iditarod, right? Lots of huskies, long and arduous, and maybe it never ends.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "A Photographer Marries the Worlds Above and Below the Water in a Single Frame",
"headTitle": "A Photographer Marries the Worlds Above and Below the Water in a Single Frame | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>The ocean surface is the thinnest of lines between two worlds—”molecular thin”— underwater photographer David Doubilet calls it. Below is what Jacques Cousteau called “the silent world,” a realm as alien as outer space with galaxies of fish and kaleidoscopic corals as spectacular as the burst of a supernova. Above lies the world of human habitation with the clang and clatter of cars, factories, and fishing fleets, all of which imperil the world below.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doubilet has married those realms in \u003ca href=\"https://www.phaidon.com/store/photography/two-worlds-above-and-below-the-sea-9781838663186/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Two Worlds: Above and Below the Sea\u003c/em>\u003c/a> (Phaidon) to be published on November 3. The images, relating those “two worlds,” are a particular passion made over a trajectory of 50 years of underwater photography for \u003cem>National Geographic\u003c/em>. We spoke with Doubilet by phone. The interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A hat tip to Jacques Cousteau who inspired you: “Civilization vanished with one last bow,” he wrote of moving from the cacophony of the world above to the silence below. But you also brought your own experience to the worlds of air and water at an early age. You were 8-years-old when you asked your parents for a mask and fins… \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I had devised a daring plan to circumnavigate the jetty at the Ocean Beach Club on the Jersey shore. While I was out there, I was spotted by a screaming lifeguard. I sank until I could see, but not hear, him and discovered I could be in two worlds at one time. I could see him red-faced, blowing his whistle, and could look down at this world of green shafts of light and see tautogs admiring my new flippers. It was a world I wasn’t just happy in, but comfortable in as well. It was all mine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>That was a first step on the road to what you call “the unalloyed joy of making images underwater.” Talk about the role technology played in creating these over/under photographs.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They were made possible by the invention of an underwater camera housing called the OceanEye by \u003cem>National Geographic\u003c/em> photographer Bates Littlehales. I began making these [above/below the sea] pictures on every assignment. I realized I could create a window into the sea, a way to invite people through a portal into a world just out of their sight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977297\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1623px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1977297\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/03601-stingrays-grand-cayman-doubilet-dpi-072-1080h-copy_custom-92e58ef38820e6db20543eb23ea231ef51df7d6d-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1623\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/03601-stingrays-grand-cayman-doubilet-dpi-072-1080h-copy_custom-92e58ef38820e6db20543eb23ea231ef51df7d6d-2.jpg 1623w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/03601-stingrays-grand-cayman-doubilet-dpi-072-1080h-copy_custom-92e58ef38820e6db20543eb23ea231ef51df7d6d-2-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/03601-stingrays-grand-cayman-doubilet-dpi-072-1080h-copy_custom-92e58ef38820e6db20543eb23ea231ef51df7d6d-2-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/03601-stingrays-grand-cayman-doubilet-dpi-072-1080h-copy_custom-92e58ef38820e6db20543eb23ea231ef51df7d6d-2-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/03601-stingrays-grand-cayman-doubilet-dpi-072-1080h-copy_custom-92e58ef38820e6db20543eb23ea231ef51df7d6d-2-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/03601-stingrays-grand-cayman-doubilet-dpi-072-1080h-copy_custom-92e58ef38820e6db20543eb23ea231ef51df7d6d-2-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1623px) 100vw, 1623px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dramatic clouds overlook southern stingrays as they soar through the waters of North Sound Grand Cayman Island. \u003ccite>(David Doubilet/via NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>One of your memorable half and half images was made in the Cayman Islands: stingrays below; clouds above.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Want to see the power of the photograph? When \u003cem>National Geographic\u003c/em> ran the story, everyone went to the Caymans to see the stingrays. Now thousands of people a day get off cruise ships [before COVID, at least] to meet those gentle ocean ambassadors and go home thinking and talking about them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977298\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2048px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1977298\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-a-2005_custom-058f200979ed3746dee6411414666bd8e340496a-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1341\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-a-2005_custom-058f200979ed3746dee6411414666bd8e340496a-2.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-a-2005_custom-058f200979ed3746dee6411414666bd8e340496a-2-800x524.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-a-2005_custom-058f200979ed3746dee6411414666bd8e340496a-2-1020x668.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-a-2005_custom-058f200979ed3746dee6411414666bd8e340496a-2-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-a-2005_custom-058f200979ed3746dee6411414666bd8e340496a-2-768x503.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-a-2005_custom-058f200979ed3746dee6411414666bd8e340496a-2-1536x1006.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-a-2005_custom-058f200979ed3746dee6411414666bd8e340496a-2-1920x1257.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Coral Reef in Tumon Bay, Guam, 2005. \u003ccite>(David Doubilet/via NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>With half a century of underwater photography and more than 77 stories under your weight belt, you’ve had an unprecedented opportunity to compare then with now. Let’s consider the Great Barrier Reef. What changes have you witnessed? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We did a Great Barrier Reef story in 2001, then another in 2009. Reefs are the glory of the planet. They are the most vivid and visually diverse environment in the world. I always think of coral as weightless architecture if an architect didn’t have to worry about gravity. One of the best examples was Opal Reef off Port Douglas [Australia] one of the places the snorkeling boats went to. It was dreamlike. When we went back in 2018 that section of reef was devastated. We made those 2009 pictures with the same crew, so we knew we were in exactly the same place — a 5,000-year-old reef dead in eight or nine years!\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977299\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2048px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1977299\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-b-2017_custom-2272513b5fc9ef2be5d719294c6725a7a163996f-2.jpg\" alt=\"Brown, dead and dying coral reef in Tumon Bay, Guam. \" width=\"2048\" height=\"1363\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-b-2017_custom-2272513b5fc9ef2be5d719294c6725a7a163996f-2.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-b-2017_custom-2272513b5fc9ef2be5d719294c6725a7a163996f-2-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-b-2017_custom-2272513b5fc9ef2be5d719294c6725a7a163996f-2-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-b-2017_custom-2272513b5fc9ef2be5d719294c6725a7a163996f-2-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-b-2017_custom-2272513b5fc9ef2be5d719294c6725a7a163996f-2-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-b-2017_custom-2272513b5fc9ef2be5d719294c6725a7a163996f-2-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-b-2017_custom-2272513b5fc9ef2be5d719294c6725a7a163996f-2-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A coral reef in Tumon Bay, Guam, 2017. Doubilet says these underwater constructions are like “weightless architecture if an architect didn’t have to worry about gravity.” \u003ccite>(David Doubilet/via NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Climate change strikes again. Explain how that impacts reefs.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you want to know what climate change looks like, look at a reef. Reefs are the thermometers of the world. When the water gets more than 89 degrees and does so repeatedly, the algae that lives inside and powers the coral—a kind of underwater photosynthesis—is expelled. The coral turns white, a process known as bleaching. The reef becomes a boneyard. But the ocean has resilience. Scientists like Peter Harrison in Australia are working on ways to reseed and reconstitute reefs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong> So all is not lost?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s always hope. We can change. We can improve things. As of January 2020, 80% of Palau’s waters are protected— an island nation preserving their reefs for the next generation. In 2011, the Bahamas became a shark sanctuary, setting an example that a living animal is more valuable than a dead one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977300\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1977300\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/011_penguins_custom-93936d4cfca01a89345054c6c11ab412b65239ef-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/011_penguins_custom-93936d4cfca01a89345054c6c11ab412b65239ef-2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/011_penguins_custom-93936d4cfca01a89345054c6c11ab412b65239ef-2-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/011_penguins_custom-93936d4cfca01a89345054c6c11ab412b65239ef-2-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/011_penguins_custom-93936d4cfca01a89345054c6c11ab412b65239ef-2-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/011_penguins_custom-93936d4cfca01a89345054c6c11ab412b65239ef-2-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/011_penguins_custom-93936d4cfca01a89345054c6c11ab412b65239ef-2-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/011_penguins_custom-93936d4cfca01a89345054c6c11ab412b65239ef-2-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Penguins on an ice floe near Danko Island, Antarctica. \u003ccite>(David Doubilet/via NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Though you are most often associated with images made in tropical waters, the book includes some spectacular photos of icebergs. \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I came late to the ice. An iceberg is a metaphor of the ocean. There’s a little bit above which we can see and understand and the rest is out of sight. You are also talking climate change. As glaciers melt more and more icebergs are being produced.\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1977292 aligncenter\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/113_sharks_custom-8da2fc3b2491c2b5aadee3934c00c69027e03a59-1.jpg\" alt=\"Gray and white sharks swim above a coral reef at South Pass, Fakarava Atoll in French Polynesia. \" width=\"2000\" height=\"1335\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/113_sharks_custom-8da2fc3b2491c2b5aadee3934c00c69027e03a59-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/113_sharks_custom-8da2fc3b2491c2b5aadee3934c00c69027e03a59-1-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/113_sharks_custom-8da2fc3b2491c2b5aadee3934c00c69027e03a59-1-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/113_sharks_custom-8da2fc3b2491c2b5aadee3934c00c69027e03a59-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/113_sharks_custom-8da2fc3b2491c2b5aadee3934c00c69027e03a59-1-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/113_sharks_custom-8da2fc3b2491c2b5aadee3934c00c69027e03a59-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/113_sharks_custom-8da2fc3b2491c2b5aadee3934c00c69027e03a59-1-1920x1282.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>You’ve called natural history photographers like yourself the frontline reporters of the world.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The greatest story on earth is the earth itself. It’s all we have. There is no Plan B.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Cathy Newman is a former editor at large at \u003c/em>National Geographic\u003cem> whose work has appeared in \u003c/em>The Economist\u003cem>, \u003c/em>The Wall Street Journal\u003cem> and \u003c/em>Science.\u003cem> Follow her on twitter \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__twitter.com_wordcat12&d=DwMFaQ&c=E2nBno7hEddFhl23N5nD1Q&r=0ESrOJc8IqAL-VjQNnEkkg&m=Z1_L9ikZR-Xk32R8wuSZ3CL-GgVKCkHvNJhNBoP3atU&s=Eb8-6sXYMf4F7ePLI7xQIrl3Ug6H0zpW6uid1Y17bBk&e=\">\u003cem>@wordcat12\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Zayrha Rodriguez photo edited and produced this piece. Follow her Instagram \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/zayrharodriguez/\">\u003cem>@zayrharodriguez\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=A+photographer+marries+the+worlds+above+and+below+the+water+in+a+single+frame&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Photographer David Doubilet first dove below the surface at age 8 and has spent a lifetime making underwater images. He talks to NPR about his new book: Two Worlds: Above and Below the Sea.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The ocean surface is the thinnest of lines between two worlds—”molecular thin”— underwater photographer David Doubilet calls it. Below is what Jacques Cousteau called “the silent world,” a realm as alien as outer space with galaxies of fish and kaleidoscopic corals as spectacular as the burst of a supernova. Above lies the world of human habitation with the clang and clatter of cars, factories, and fishing fleets, all of which imperil the world below.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doubilet has married those realms in \u003ca href=\"https://www.phaidon.com/store/photography/two-worlds-above-and-below-the-sea-9781838663186/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u003cem>Two Worlds: Above and Below the Sea\u003c/em>\u003c/a> (Phaidon) to be published on November 3. The images, relating those “two worlds,” are a particular passion made over a trajectory of 50 years of underwater photography for \u003cem>National Geographic\u003c/em>. We spoke with Doubilet by phone. The interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A hat tip to Jacques Cousteau who inspired you: “Civilization vanished with one last bow,” he wrote of moving from the cacophony of the world above to the silence below. But you also brought your own experience to the worlds of air and water at an early age. You were 8-years-old when you asked your parents for a mask and fins… \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I had devised a daring plan to circumnavigate the jetty at the Ocean Beach Club on the Jersey shore. While I was out there, I was spotted by a screaming lifeguard. I sank until I could see, but not hear, him and discovered I could be in two worlds at one time. I could see him red-faced, blowing his whistle, and could look down at this world of green shafts of light and see tautogs admiring my new flippers. It was a world I wasn’t just happy in, but comfortable in as well. It was all mine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>That was a first step on the road to what you call “the unalloyed joy of making images underwater.” Talk about the role technology played in creating these over/under photographs.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They were made possible by the invention of an underwater camera housing called the OceanEye by \u003cem>National Geographic\u003c/em> photographer Bates Littlehales. I began making these [above/below the sea] pictures on every assignment. I realized I could create a window into the sea, a way to invite people through a portal into a world just out of their sight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977297\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1623px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1977297\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/03601-stingrays-grand-cayman-doubilet-dpi-072-1080h-copy_custom-92e58ef38820e6db20543eb23ea231ef51df7d6d-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1623\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/03601-stingrays-grand-cayman-doubilet-dpi-072-1080h-copy_custom-92e58ef38820e6db20543eb23ea231ef51df7d6d-2.jpg 1623w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/03601-stingrays-grand-cayman-doubilet-dpi-072-1080h-copy_custom-92e58ef38820e6db20543eb23ea231ef51df7d6d-2-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/03601-stingrays-grand-cayman-doubilet-dpi-072-1080h-copy_custom-92e58ef38820e6db20543eb23ea231ef51df7d6d-2-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/03601-stingrays-grand-cayman-doubilet-dpi-072-1080h-copy_custom-92e58ef38820e6db20543eb23ea231ef51df7d6d-2-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/03601-stingrays-grand-cayman-doubilet-dpi-072-1080h-copy_custom-92e58ef38820e6db20543eb23ea231ef51df7d6d-2-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/03601-stingrays-grand-cayman-doubilet-dpi-072-1080h-copy_custom-92e58ef38820e6db20543eb23ea231ef51df7d6d-2-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1623px) 100vw, 1623px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dramatic clouds overlook southern stingrays as they soar through the waters of North Sound Grand Cayman Island. \u003ccite>(David Doubilet/via NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>One of your memorable half and half images was made in the Cayman Islands: stingrays below; clouds above.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Want to see the power of the photograph? When \u003cem>National Geographic\u003c/em> ran the story, everyone went to the Caymans to see the stingrays. Now thousands of people a day get off cruise ships [before COVID, at least] to meet those gentle ocean ambassadors and go home thinking and talking about them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977298\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2048px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1977298\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-a-2005_custom-058f200979ed3746dee6411414666bd8e340496a-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1341\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-a-2005_custom-058f200979ed3746dee6411414666bd8e340496a-2.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-a-2005_custom-058f200979ed3746dee6411414666bd8e340496a-2-800x524.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-a-2005_custom-058f200979ed3746dee6411414666bd8e340496a-2-1020x668.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-a-2005_custom-058f200979ed3746dee6411414666bd8e340496a-2-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-a-2005_custom-058f200979ed3746dee6411414666bd8e340496a-2-768x503.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-a-2005_custom-058f200979ed3746dee6411414666bd8e340496a-2-1536x1006.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-a-2005_custom-058f200979ed3746dee6411414666bd8e340496a-2-1920x1257.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Coral Reef in Tumon Bay, Guam, 2005. \u003ccite>(David Doubilet/via NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>With half a century of underwater photography and more than 77 stories under your weight belt, you’ve had an unprecedented opportunity to compare then with now. Let’s consider the Great Barrier Reef. What changes have you witnessed? \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We did a Great Barrier Reef story in 2001, then another in 2009. Reefs are the glory of the planet. They are the most vivid and visually diverse environment in the world. I always think of coral as weightless architecture if an architect didn’t have to worry about gravity. One of the best examples was Opal Reef off Port Douglas [Australia] one of the places the snorkeling boats went to. It was dreamlike. When we went back in 2018 that section of reef was devastated. We made those 2009 pictures with the same crew, so we knew we were in exactly the same place — a 5,000-year-old reef dead in eight or nine years!\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977299\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2048px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1977299\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-b-2017_custom-2272513b5fc9ef2be5d719294c6725a7a163996f-2.jpg\" alt=\"Brown, dead and dying coral reef in Tumon Bay, Guam. \" width=\"2048\" height=\"1363\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-b-2017_custom-2272513b5fc9ef2be5d719294c6725a7a163996f-2.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-b-2017_custom-2272513b5fc9ef2be5d719294c6725a7a163996f-2-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-b-2017_custom-2272513b5fc9ef2be5d719294c6725a7a163996f-2-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-b-2017_custom-2272513b5fc9ef2be5d719294c6725a7a163996f-2-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-b-2017_custom-2272513b5fc9ef2be5d719294c6725a7a163996f-2-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-b-2017_custom-2272513b5fc9ef2be5d719294c6725a7a163996f-2-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/tumon-bay-guam-pair-b-2017_custom-2272513b5fc9ef2be5d719294c6725a7a163996f-2-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A coral reef in Tumon Bay, Guam, 2017. Doubilet says these underwater constructions are like “weightless architecture if an architect didn’t have to worry about gravity.” \u003ccite>(David Doubilet/via NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Climate change strikes again. Explain how that impacts reefs.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you want to know what climate change looks like, look at a reef. Reefs are the thermometers of the world. When the water gets more than 89 degrees and does so repeatedly, the algae that lives inside and powers the coral—a kind of underwater photosynthesis—is expelled. The coral turns white, a process known as bleaching. The reef becomes a boneyard. But the ocean has resilience. Scientists like Peter Harrison in Australia are working on ways to reseed and reconstitute reefs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong> So all is not lost?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s always hope. We can change. We can improve things. As of January 2020, 80% of Palau’s waters are protected— an island nation preserving their reefs for the next generation. In 2011, the Bahamas became a shark sanctuary, setting an example that a living animal is more valuable than a dead one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977300\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1977300\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/011_penguins_custom-93936d4cfca01a89345054c6c11ab412b65239ef-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/011_penguins_custom-93936d4cfca01a89345054c6c11ab412b65239ef-2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/011_penguins_custom-93936d4cfca01a89345054c6c11ab412b65239ef-2-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/011_penguins_custom-93936d4cfca01a89345054c6c11ab412b65239ef-2-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/011_penguins_custom-93936d4cfca01a89345054c6c11ab412b65239ef-2-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/011_penguins_custom-93936d4cfca01a89345054c6c11ab412b65239ef-2-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/011_penguins_custom-93936d4cfca01a89345054c6c11ab412b65239ef-2-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/011_penguins_custom-93936d4cfca01a89345054c6c11ab412b65239ef-2-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Penguins on an ice floe near Danko Island, Antarctica. \u003ccite>(David Doubilet/via NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Though you are most often associated with images made in tropical waters, the book includes some spectacular photos of icebergs. \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I came late to the ice. An iceberg is a metaphor of the ocean. There’s a little bit above which we can see and understand and the rest is out of sight. You are also talking climate change. As glaciers melt more and more icebergs are being produced.\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1977292 aligncenter\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/113_sharks_custom-8da2fc3b2491c2b5aadee3934c00c69027e03a59-1.jpg\" alt=\"Gray and white sharks swim above a coral reef at South Pass, Fakarava Atoll in French Polynesia. \" width=\"2000\" height=\"1335\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/113_sharks_custom-8da2fc3b2491c2b5aadee3934c00c69027e03a59-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/113_sharks_custom-8da2fc3b2491c2b5aadee3934c00c69027e03a59-1-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/113_sharks_custom-8da2fc3b2491c2b5aadee3934c00c69027e03a59-1-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/113_sharks_custom-8da2fc3b2491c2b5aadee3934c00c69027e03a59-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/113_sharks_custom-8da2fc3b2491c2b5aadee3934c00c69027e03a59-1-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/113_sharks_custom-8da2fc3b2491c2b5aadee3934c00c69027e03a59-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/113_sharks_custom-8da2fc3b2491c2b5aadee3934c00c69027e03a59-1-1920x1282.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>You’ve called natural history photographers like yourself the frontline reporters of the world.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The greatest story on earth is the earth itself. It’s all we have. There is no Plan B.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Cathy Newman is a former editor at large at \u003c/em>National Geographic\u003cem> whose work has appeared in \u003c/em>The Economist\u003cem>, \u003c/em>The Wall Street Journal\u003cem> and \u003c/em>Science.\u003cem> Follow her on twitter \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__twitter.com_wordcat12&d=DwMFaQ&c=E2nBno7hEddFhl23N5nD1Q&r=0ESrOJc8IqAL-VjQNnEkkg&m=Z1_L9ikZR-Xk32R8wuSZ3CL-GgVKCkHvNJhNBoP3atU&s=Eb8-6sXYMf4F7ePLI7xQIrl3Ug6H0zpW6uid1Y17bBk&e=\">\u003cem>@wordcat12\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Zayrha Rodriguez photo edited and produced this piece. Follow her Instagram \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/zayrharodriguez/\">\u003cem>@zayrharodriguez\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=A+photographer+marries+the+worlds+above+and+below+the+water+in+a+single+frame&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Healdsburg Cut Its Water Use in Half. What's in the City's Secret, Water-Saving Sauce?",
"headTitle": "Healdsburg Cut Its Water Use in Half. What’s in the City’s Secret, Water-Saving Sauce? | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Cutting water use became a bit of a competition for retiree John Diniakos and his wife Merrilyn Joyce after their city mandated a 40% water restriction back in \u003ca href=\"https://ci.healdsburg.ca.us/714/Current-Drought-Information\">June\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wearing a faded green collared shirt tucked into equally worn blue jeans, Diniakos said he now limits his showers to “once every other day, sometimes every three days.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He doesn’t want to, but he’s doing it. “I would rather take a shower every day,” he said. “It just feels better.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even so, Joyce says she’s winning their water war because she does “laundry much less often.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among a maze of potted succulents beneath a broad magnolia tree in the couple’s front yard is a sign that reads “drought proofed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Diniakos and Joyce live in Healdsburg, in Sonoma County. These signs are everywhere around town — the city gave them to residents who participated in its water-saving program. Just like the rest of the state, Healdsburg is gripped by drought. But the city is conserving at a much higher rate than California overall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977231\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977231 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-9-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-9-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-9-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-9-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-9-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-9-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-9-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-9-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-9-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">John Diniakos and his wife, Merrilyn Joyce. \u003ccite>(Ezra David Romero/KQED News)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Healdsburg nearly cut its water use in half in August, compared to the same time last year. Californians overall \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1977196/newsom-declares-drought-emergency-across-california\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">saved just 5%, \u003c/a>and that’s after Gov. Gavin Newsom asked everyone to voluntarily reduce their water use by 15% back in July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom declared a drought emergency across the entire state this week, as conservation targets continue to fall far short.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, what’s in Healdsburg’s secret, water-saving sauce? The city capped household water use and \u003ca href=\"https://ci.healdsburg.ca.us/714/Current-Drought-Information\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">banned sprinklers. \u003c/a>And residents largely followed the rules — no surprise there, as the signs of drought are everywhere. A pencil-thin band of the Russian River flows from Lake Mendocino through town. Crunchy front lawns with yellow grass dot the community of 12,000 people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were in a dire situation,” said Joyce. “People got that and wanted to do the right thing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The couple practically lives out of buckets in an effort to save, watering plants and soaking greasy pans using grey water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They tracked how much water they used brushing their teeth and showering with a \u003ca href=\"https://ci.healdsburg.ca.us/723/Water-Rebates\">phone\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://ci.healdsburg.ca.us/723/Water-Rebates\">app\u003c/a> that pulls data from a sensor connected to their meter, which Joyce said “made it fun.” She could see how much water they wasted in real time and discovered there’s always an opportunity to “turn the volume down a little bit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All that conservation worked: The couple averaged 24 gallons a day this summer and fall — incredible, and well below the city’s allotment of 74 gallons per person, which is about half of what a person in Healdsburg normally uses.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>A system in crisis\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>What makes Healdsburg’s situation unique is that the Russian River system, starting high in the coastal range and flowing to the ocean, is in crisis. The river sits isolated from the rest of the state. There are no canals or aqueducts connecting it to the state’s vast system of waterways or the meltwaters that originate high in the Sierra Nevada.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unlike much of the Bay Area, the only water Healdsburg gets is from rain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lake Mendocino is now just \u003ca href=\"https://www.sonomawater.org/current-water-supply-levels\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">22% full\u003c/a> and for much of the summer it resembled a muddy bathtub. The city saw that the lake levels were depleted and it prompted them to save, said \u003ca href=\"https://www.ci.healdsburg.ca.us/directory.aspx?EID=85\">Terry\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.ci.healdsburg.ca.us/directory.aspx?EID=85\">Crowley\u003c/a>, the city’s utilities director.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The rainfall totals were the lowest in 100 years,” said Crowley. “We really need to see some rain this winter or it’s going to be very difficult next summer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A series of rainstorms are soaking Northern California this week, with most of the precipitation falling across the North Bay. The badly needed showers could help the reservoir bounce back, but it won’t end the drought, not by a long shot. That will take several months of wet weather.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>‘Lawns should be banned’\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Many people in Healdsburg have large yards, and the city took a risk by cutting off water to lawns. But as climate change gets worse and droughts become more frequent, Crowley envisions the city will look very different.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[What] I would expect to happen over the next 10 to 15 years is a lot of those lawns would be changed out to drought-tolerant plantings,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Crowley says around 10% of the city’s residential customers already have swapped their lawns for drought-resistant shrubs, succulents and cacti. Many more have let their lawns become dry and brittle. To help residents, the city offers rebates for various water conservation efforts: converting lawns to droughtscapes, using water-usage tracking apps and purchasing efficient washing machines and low-flow toilets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://waterinthewest.stanford.edu/about/people/newsha-ajami\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Newsha Ajami\u003c/a>, who studies Water in the West at Stanford, says Healdsburg’s conservation tactics — water budgets and limiting outdoor water use — can be applied across the state, because \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/wp-content/uploads/R_1016EH3R.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">half the water cities use is for outdoor irrigation\u003c/a>. Cutting water use in the state’s most populated areas by 50% would be a huge deal for a state with \u003ca href=\"https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/CA/RHI725219\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">14 million homes\u003c/a> and growing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Lawns should be banned,” she said. “Every drop of water that’s used to maintain that lawn can be a drop of water that we can leave in the reservoir if this drought ends up being a 10-year drought.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Secondly, Ajami says water monitoring apps made it easy for people to understand their water usage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The more information you provide to customers, the more public awareness you create, the better customers respond to different asks that the utilities have,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>‘We have to adapt’\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>But meeting the city’s water budget hasn’t been easy for everyone in Healdsburg. For Megan Bowman, convincing her two teenagers to take shorter showers is constant work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We actually time showers,” she said. “They get three-minute showers and that’s it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977234\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977234 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-19-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A woman with a gray shirt and white baseball hat holds a black hose. \" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-19-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-19-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-19-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-19-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-19-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-19-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-19-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-19-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Megan Bowman waters her garden with recycled water using a drip system. (Ezra David Romero/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>What’s even more work for Bowman is keeping the dozens of trees on her property alive. Every week she gets 500 gallons of recycled water provided by the city — originally free of charge, now for $45 a week. Residents must buy the pumps and hoses to get the water out of the plastic tanks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bowman douses her thirsty plants and trees with the recycled water nightly through a web of hoses and pumps. The water keeps her yard alive, but not thriving. Some of the redwoods on her one-acre lot have sprouted light green new growth, but others are less verdant and look brown and sad. “They’re really struggling and this one, you can see I think we’re going to lose,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Bowman can afford to pay for the recycled water, not everyone in Healdsburg can. Some of her neighbors are adapting to the drought differently. She says the owners of the house at the top of the hill are buying water from a private company. Across the street the neighbor’s lawn is all dried up. And another neighbor is ditching Healdsburg for the East Coast, fleeing the dual threat of drought and wildfire. “They’re done,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for Bowman, manually watering her plants and taking shorter showers isn’t a reason to leave the city she’s lived in for decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is home, I love it here,” she said. “This is part of living in California and this is part of climate change, right? So, we have to change and we have to adapt.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Healdsburg receives only a little rain this winter, Bowman says she’ll be out in the yard next summer with her pumps and hoses, trying to figure out how to keep her yard alive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Cutting water use became a bit of a competition for retiree John Diniakos and his wife Merrilyn Joyce after their city mandated a 40% water restriction back in \u003ca href=\"https://ci.healdsburg.ca.us/714/Current-Drought-Information\">June\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wearing a faded green collared shirt tucked into equally worn blue jeans, Diniakos said he now limits his showers to “once every other day, sometimes every three days.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He doesn’t want to, but he’s doing it. “I would rather take a shower every day,” he said. “It just feels better.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even so, Joyce says she’s winning their water war because she does “laundry much less often.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Among a maze of potted succulents beneath a broad magnolia tree in the couple’s front yard is a sign that reads “drought proofed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Diniakos and Joyce live in Healdsburg, in Sonoma County. These signs are everywhere around town — the city gave them to residents who participated in its water-saving program. Just like the rest of the state, Healdsburg is gripped by drought. But the city is conserving at a much higher rate than California overall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977231\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977231 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-9-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-9-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-9-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-9-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-9-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-9-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-9-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-9-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-9-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">John Diniakos and his wife, Merrilyn Joyce. \u003ccite>(Ezra David Romero/KQED News)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Healdsburg nearly cut its water use in half in August, compared to the same time last year. Californians overall \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1977196/newsom-declares-drought-emergency-across-california\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">saved just 5%, \u003c/a>and that’s after Gov. Gavin Newsom asked everyone to voluntarily reduce their water use by 15% back in July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom declared a drought emergency across the entire state this week, as conservation targets continue to fall far short.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, what’s in Healdsburg’s secret, water-saving sauce? The city capped household water use and \u003ca href=\"https://ci.healdsburg.ca.us/714/Current-Drought-Information\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">banned sprinklers. \u003c/a>And residents largely followed the rules — no surprise there, as the signs of drought are everywhere. A pencil-thin band of the Russian River flows from Lake Mendocino through town. Crunchy front lawns with yellow grass dot the community of 12,000 people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We were in a dire situation,” said Joyce. “People got that and wanted to do the right thing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The couple practically lives out of buckets in an effort to save, watering plants and soaking greasy pans using grey water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They tracked how much water they used brushing their teeth and showering with a \u003ca href=\"https://ci.healdsburg.ca.us/723/Water-Rebates\">phone\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://ci.healdsburg.ca.us/723/Water-Rebates\">app\u003c/a> that pulls data from a sensor connected to their meter, which Joyce said “made it fun.” She could see how much water they wasted in real time and discovered there’s always an opportunity to “turn the volume down a little bit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All that conservation worked: The couple averaged 24 gallons a day this summer and fall — incredible, and well below the city’s allotment of 74 gallons per person, which is about half of what a person in Healdsburg normally uses.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>A system in crisis\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>What makes Healdsburg’s situation unique is that the Russian River system, starting high in the coastal range and flowing to the ocean, is in crisis. The river sits isolated from the rest of the state. There are no canals or aqueducts connecting it to the state’s vast system of waterways or the meltwaters that originate high in the Sierra Nevada.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unlike much of the Bay Area, the only water Healdsburg gets is from rain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lake Mendocino is now just \u003ca href=\"https://www.sonomawater.org/current-water-supply-levels\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">22% full\u003c/a> and for much of the summer it resembled a muddy bathtub. The city saw that the lake levels were depleted and it prompted them to save, said \u003ca href=\"https://www.ci.healdsburg.ca.us/directory.aspx?EID=85\">Terry\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.ci.healdsburg.ca.us/directory.aspx?EID=85\">Crowley\u003c/a>, the city’s utilities director.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The rainfall totals were the lowest in 100 years,” said Crowley. “We really need to see some rain this winter or it’s going to be very difficult next summer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A series of rainstorms are soaking Northern California this week, with most of the precipitation falling across the North Bay. The badly needed showers could help the reservoir bounce back, but it won’t end the drought, not by a long shot. That will take several months of wet weather.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>‘Lawns should be banned’\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Many people in Healdsburg have large yards, and the city took a risk by cutting off water to lawns. But as climate change gets worse and droughts become more frequent, Crowley envisions the city will look very different.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[What] I would expect to happen over the next 10 to 15 years is a lot of those lawns would be changed out to drought-tolerant plantings,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Crowley says around 10% of the city’s residential customers already have swapped their lawns for drought-resistant shrubs, succulents and cacti. Many more have let their lawns become dry and brittle. To help residents, the city offers rebates for various water conservation efforts: converting lawns to droughtscapes, using water-usage tracking apps and purchasing efficient washing machines and low-flow toilets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://waterinthewest.stanford.edu/about/people/newsha-ajami\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Newsha Ajami\u003c/a>, who studies Water in the West at Stanford, says Healdsburg’s conservation tactics — water budgets and limiting outdoor water use — can be applied across the state, because \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/wp-content/uploads/R_1016EH3R.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">half the water cities use is for outdoor irrigation\u003c/a>. Cutting water use in the state’s most populated areas by 50% would be a huge deal for a state with \u003ca href=\"https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/CA/RHI725219\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">14 million homes\u003c/a> and growing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Lawns should be banned,” she said. “Every drop of water that’s used to maintain that lawn can be a drop of water that we can leave in the reservoir if this drought ends up being a 10-year drought.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Secondly, Ajami says water monitoring apps made it easy for people to understand their water usage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The more information you provide to customers, the more public awareness you create, the better customers respond to different asks that the utilities have,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>‘We have to adapt’\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>But meeting the city’s water budget hasn’t been easy for everyone in Healdsburg. For Megan Bowman, convincing her two teenagers to take shorter showers is constant work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We actually time showers,” she said. “They get three-minute showers and that’s it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1977234\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1977234 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-19-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A woman with a gray shirt and white baseball hat holds a black hose. \" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-19-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-19-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-19-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-19-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-19-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-19-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-19-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/10/Healdsburg-Drougth-PHOTOS-19-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Megan Bowman waters her garden with recycled water using a drip system. (Ezra David Romero/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>What’s even more work for Bowman is keeping the dozens of trees on her property alive. Every week she gets 500 gallons of recycled water provided by the city — originally free of charge, now for $45 a week. Residents must buy the pumps and hoses to get the water out of the plastic tanks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bowman douses her thirsty plants and trees with the recycled water nightly through a web of hoses and pumps. The water keeps her yard alive, but not thriving. Some of the redwoods on her one-acre lot have sprouted light green new growth, but others are less verdant and look brown and sad. “They’re really struggling and this one, you can see I think we’re going to lose,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Bowman can afford to pay for the recycled water, not everyone in Healdsburg can. Some of her neighbors are adapting to the drought differently. She says the owners of the house at the top of the hill are buying water from a private company. Across the street the neighbor’s lawn is all dried up. And another neighbor is ditching Healdsburg for the East Coast, fleeing the dual threat of drought and wildfire. “They’re done,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for Bowman, manually watering her plants and taking shorter showers isn’t a reason to leave the city she’s lived in for decades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is home, I love it here,” she said. “This is part of living in California and this is part of climate change, right? So, we have to change and we have to adapt.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Healdsburg receives only a little rain this winter, Bowman says she’ll be out in the yard next summer with her pumps and hoses, trying to figure out how to keep her yard alive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Newsom Declares Drought Emergency Across California",
"headTitle": "Newsom Declares Drought Emergency Across California | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a drought emergency for the entire state of California, as conservation efforts continue to fall far short of state targets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/10/19/governor-newsom-expands-drought-emergency-statewide-urges-californians-to-redouble-water-conservation-efforts/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Newsom also authorized\u003c/a> California’s water regulators to ban wasteful water use, such as spraying down public sidewalks, and directed his Office of Emergency Services to fund drinking water as needed. But he stopped short of issuing any statewide conservation mandates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As the western U.S. faces a potential third year of drought, it’s critical that Californians across the state redouble our efforts to save water in every way possible,” Newsom said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yesterday’s announcement extends drought emergencies, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2021/07/california-water-use-drought/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">already declared in 50 counties\u003c/a>, to the eight remaining counties where conditions had thus far not been deemed severe enough: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Imperial, San Francisco and Ventura.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The emergency declarations are aimed at easing responses to the deepening drought — such as emergency bottled water purchases or construction to bolster water supplies — by reducing environmental and other regulations. Under the proclamation, local water suppliers must begin preparing for the possibility of a dry year ahead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We think we’ll be able to manage through this year,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-pettijohn-bb521592/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">David Pettijohn\u003c/a>, director of water resources at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. “Next year is the issue. And we don’t know what the water year is going to look like. Nobody can predict the weather.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But California’s water watchers say that without a conservation mandate, California is losing time, and water. “We know mandates are more effective than voluntary calls,” said \u003ca href=\"https://pacinst.org/team/heather-cooley/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Heather Cooley\u003c/a>, director of research at the Pacific Institute, a global water think tank. “It takes time to ramp up, and because of the delay in asking Californians to save water this spring, we are further behind than we should be.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3 id=\"h-conservation-improving-but-still-short-of-goals\">Conservation improving, but still short of goals\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>New data released by the State Water Resources Control Board reveals that Californians cut their water use at home by 5% in August compared to August 2020, an improvement \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/drought-2021/2021/09/california-drought-conservation/\">over the reductions of less than 2% in July\u003c/a> but still far short of the voluntary \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2021/07/california-water-use-drought/\">15% cuts\u003c/a> Newsom urged in July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hard-hit North Coast, where the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2021/04/governor-drought-emergency-in-northwestern-counties/\">first drought emergencies\u003c/a> were declared in April, continued to show the biggest drops in household water use — with an 18.3% decrease compared to August of last year. Conservation numbers tapered off moving south, with the San Francisco Bay Area conserving nearly 10% more water than last August.\u003cbr>\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/mmBVo/1/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The South Coast region — which includes Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and Ventura counties — showed an improvement over July, when water use was roughly even with last year. In August, residents used about 3.1% less water than they did in August 2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Those numbers are a little bit misleading, frankly,” said Pettijohn, pointing to existing conservation measures including \u003ca href=\"https://www.ladwp.com/ladwp/faces/ladwp/aboutus/a-water/a-w-conservation/a-w-c-droughtbusters;jsessionid=R21nhvKYGDWpr99rRxkybMLNCPf91KQ97Ybv5rv54Zypl011DbVz!663354585?_afrLoop=320938500431843&_afrWindowMode=0&_afrWindowId=null#%40%3F_afrWindowId%3Dnull%26_afrLoop%3D320938500431843%26_afrWindowMode%3D0%26_adf.ctrl-state%3Datsadqua0_4\">mandatory outdoor watering restrictions\u003c/a>. “Looking at one month, in one year, compared to the same exact month in the current year, it’s really not a true measure of what the efforts in the city have been.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The current reductions in water use are on top of conservation that has continued since the last drought. In 2020, Californians were already using about 16% less water in their homes and businesses statewide compared to 2013, according to water board data analyst Marielle Pinheiro.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This August was both the hottest and driest on record, according to the governor’s office. And the increased conservation, even during an exceptionally dry month, “is especially significant,” Pinheiro said at the water board meeting today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Once you’ve learned to save water, why turn the water on when you’re brushing your teeth?” said former water board chairperson Felicia Marcus, who led the response during the last drought under former Gov. Jerry Brown. “The glass half full view of that is that messaging is starting to take hold.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, \u003ca href=\"https://waterinthewest.stanford.edu/about/people/newsha-ajami\">Newsha Ajami\u003c/a>, director of Urban Water Policy at Stanford University, was surprised that Newsom didn’t declare a statewide water conservation mandate today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We really need to reduce per capita water use significantly in some areas of the state,” she said. “If this drought lingers longer and we end up having a few more dry years we are going to have a lot more communities experiencing water scarcity and water access issues.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>An unknown water year ahead\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Newsom’s announcement today comes at a pivotal moment for California’s water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state just closed out its \u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/-/media/DWR-Website/Web-Pages/Water-Basics/Drought/Files/Publications-And-Reports/091521-Water-Year-2021-broch_v2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">second-driest water year\u003c/a> on record, with nearly \u003ca href=\"https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?CA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">88% of California \u003c/a>now in the clutches of extreme drought, or worse. By the end of September, statewide reservoir storage \u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/-/media/DWR-Website/Web-Pages/Water-Basics/Drought/Files/Publications-And-Reports/091521-Water-Year-2021-broch_v2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">had hit 60% of average\u003c/a>, with Lake Oroville setting a new record low.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s amazing that in the second dry year, we’re in as scary a position if not scarier than what we faced in that last drought. It’s almost beyond comprehension,” Marcus said. “It’s a stunning challenge.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State officials have warned water providers south of the Delta relying on state water allocations that \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/drought-2021/2021/09/california-drought-conservation/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">they might be cut off completely\u003c/a> next year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re starting with record low (reservoir) storage,” \u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/Executive-Bios-Director\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Karla Nemeth\u003c/a>, director of the state Department of Water Resources, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/drought-2021/2021/09/california-drought-conservation/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said last month\u003c/a>. “We would have to have north of 140% of (average) precipitation to generate average runoff into the reservoirs that would begin filling that hole.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But \u003ca href=\"https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2021/10/19/forecast-rainstorms-could-quell-wildfire-risk-in-santa-cruz-county/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">some experts say\u003c/a> that number is likely an underestimate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, California is on the cusp of its rainy season, when it receives almost all of its yearly precipitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A series of storms are expected to reach Northern California this week, with another that could unleash some rain over Southern California as soon as this weekend, according to Chad Hecht, a meteorology staff researcher with the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Precipitation forecasts range from eight inches in the Sierras over the next seven days, to less than half an inch in Southern California, said \u003ca href=\"https://cw3e.ucsd.edu/cw3e-welcomes-dr-julie-kalansky/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Julie Kalansky,\u003c/a> the center’s deputy director.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the rain is highly unlikely to substantially refill empty reservoirs, it could help prepare thirsty soils for more rains to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For these storms, “the runoff from them may not be very high, but they’ll help moisten the soils. So if we get more, hopefully you get more runoff that can go into reservoirs or streams and ecosystems,” Kalansky said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the water year ahead remains murky: Cooler than average temperatures in the tropical Pacific herald the arrival of La Niña conditions, which \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_advisory/ensodisc.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center\u003c/a> reports have an 87% chance of continuing between December and February.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>La Niña can stir up storm tracks, changing how much precipitation falls on California. But the results vary — especially for Northern California — making it difficult to predict what this means for rain and snowfall in the northern two-thirds of the state, Kalansky said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Southern California, on the other hand, La Niña tends to foretell a drier year. “It doesn’t mean that we’re necessarily going to have a really dry year, but we typically don’t get really wet years when it’s a La Niña,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overall, Kalansky said, “it’s still yet to be decided on whether or not this year is going to be wet or dry and what this means for drought. We just don’t have those answers yet.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Gov. Newsom expands the California drought emergency from 50 counties to statewide, but does not order mandatory water conservation. He did authorize water regulators to ban wasteful water use, such as spraying down public sidewalks.",
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"description": "Gov. Newsom expands the California drought emergency from 50 counties to statewide, but does not order mandatory water conservation. He did authorize water regulators to ban wasteful water use, such as spraying down public sidewalks.",
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"headline": "Newsom Declares Drought Emergency Across California",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a drought emergency for the entire state of California, as conservation efforts continue to fall far short of state targets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/10/19/governor-newsom-expands-drought-emergency-statewide-urges-californians-to-redouble-water-conservation-efforts/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Newsom also authorized\u003c/a> California’s water regulators to ban wasteful water use, such as spraying down public sidewalks, and directed his Office of Emergency Services to fund drinking water as needed. But he stopped short of issuing any statewide conservation mandates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As the western U.S. faces a potential third year of drought, it’s critical that Californians across the state redouble our efforts to save water in every way possible,” Newsom said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yesterday’s announcement extends drought emergencies, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2021/07/california-water-use-drought/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">already declared in 50 counties\u003c/a>, to the eight remaining counties where conditions had thus far not been deemed severe enough: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Imperial, San Francisco and Ventura.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The emergency declarations are aimed at easing responses to the deepening drought — such as emergency bottled water purchases or construction to bolster water supplies — by reducing environmental and other regulations. Under the proclamation, local water suppliers must begin preparing for the possibility of a dry year ahead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We think we’ll be able to manage through this year,” said \u003ca href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-pettijohn-bb521592/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">David Pettijohn\u003c/a>, director of water resources at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. “Next year is the issue. And we don’t know what the water year is going to look like. Nobody can predict the weather.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But California’s water watchers say that without a conservation mandate, California is losing time, and water. “We know mandates are more effective than voluntary calls,” said \u003ca href=\"https://pacinst.org/team/heather-cooley/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Heather Cooley\u003c/a>, director of research at the Pacific Institute, a global water think tank. “It takes time to ramp up, and because of the delay in asking Californians to save water this spring, we are further behind than we should be.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3 id=\"h-conservation-improving-but-still-short-of-goals\">Conservation improving, but still short of goals\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>New data released by the State Water Resources Control Board reveals that Californians cut their water use at home by 5% in August compared to August 2020, an improvement \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/drought-2021/2021/09/california-drought-conservation/\">over the reductions of less than 2% in July\u003c/a> but still far short of the voluntary \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2021/07/california-water-use-drought/\">15% cuts\u003c/a> Newsom urged in July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The hard-hit North Coast, where the state’s \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2021/04/governor-drought-emergency-in-northwestern-counties/\">first drought emergencies\u003c/a> were declared in April, continued to show the biggest drops in household water use — with an 18.3% decrease compared to August of last year. Conservation numbers tapered off moving south, with the San Francisco Bay Area conserving nearly 10% more water than last August.\u003cbr>\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/mmBVo/1/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The South Coast region — which includes Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and Ventura counties — showed an improvement over July, when water use was roughly even with last year. In August, residents used about 3.1% less water than they did in August 2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Those numbers are a little bit misleading, frankly,” said Pettijohn, pointing to existing conservation measures including \u003ca href=\"https://www.ladwp.com/ladwp/faces/ladwp/aboutus/a-water/a-w-conservation/a-w-c-droughtbusters;jsessionid=R21nhvKYGDWpr99rRxkybMLNCPf91KQ97Ybv5rv54Zypl011DbVz!663354585?_afrLoop=320938500431843&_afrWindowMode=0&_afrWindowId=null#%40%3F_afrWindowId%3Dnull%26_afrLoop%3D320938500431843%26_afrWindowMode%3D0%26_adf.ctrl-state%3Datsadqua0_4\">mandatory outdoor watering restrictions\u003c/a>. “Looking at one month, in one year, compared to the same exact month in the current year, it’s really not a true measure of what the efforts in the city have been.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The current reductions in water use are on top of conservation that has continued since the last drought. In 2020, Californians were already using about 16% less water in their homes and businesses statewide compared to 2013, according to water board data analyst Marielle Pinheiro.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This August was both the hottest and driest on record, according to the governor’s office. And the increased conservation, even during an exceptionally dry month, “is especially significant,” Pinheiro said at the water board meeting today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Once you’ve learned to save water, why turn the water on when you’re brushing your teeth?” said former water board chairperson Felicia Marcus, who led the response during the last drought under former Gov. Jerry Brown. “The glass half full view of that is that messaging is starting to take hold.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, \u003ca href=\"https://waterinthewest.stanford.edu/about/people/newsha-ajami\">Newsha Ajami\u003c/a>, director of Urban Water Policy at Stanford University, was surprised that Newsom didn’t declare a statewide water conservation mandate today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We really need to reduce per capita water use significantly in some areas of the state,” she said. “If this drought lingers longer and we end up having a few more dry years we are going to have a lot more communities experiencing water scarcity and water access issues.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>An unknown water year ahead\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Newsom’s announcement today comes at a pivotal moment for California’s water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state just closed out its \u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/-/media/DWR-Website/Web-Pages/Water-Basics/Drought/Files/Publications-And-Reports/091521-Water-Year-2021-broch_v2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">second-driest water year\u003c/a> on record, with nearly \u003ca href=\"https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?CA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">88% of California \u003c/a>now in the clutches of extreme drought, or worse. By the end of September, statewide reservoir storage \u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/-/media/DWR-Website/Web-Pages/Water-Basics/Drought/Files/Publications-And-Reports/091521-Water-Year-2021-broch_v2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">had hit 60% of average\u003c/a>, with Lake Oroville setting a new record low.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s amazing that in the second dry year, we’re in as scary a position if not scarier than what we faced in that last drought. It’s almost beyond comprehension,” Marcus said. “It’s a stunning challenge.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State officials have warned water providers south of the Delta relying on state water allocations that \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/drought-2021/2021/09/california-drought-conservation/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">they might be cut off completely\u003c/a> next year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re starting with record low (reservoir) storage,” \u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/Executive-Bios-Director\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Karla Nemeth\u003c/a>, director of the state Department of Water Resources, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/drought-2021/2021/09/california-drought-conservation/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">said last month\u003c/a>. “We would have to have north of 140% of (average) precipitation to generate average runoff into the reservoirs that would begin filling that hole.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But \u003ca href=\"https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2021/10/19/forecast-rainstorms-could-quell-wildfire-risk-in-santa-cruz-county/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">some experts say\u003c/a> that number is likely an underestimate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, California is on the cusp of its rainy season, when it receives almost all of its yearly precipitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A series of storms are expected to reach Northern California this week, with another that could unleash some rain over Southern California as soon as this weekend, according to Chad Hecht, a meteorology staff researcher with the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Precipitation forecasts range from eight inches in the Sierras over the next seven days, to less than half an inch in Southern California, said \u003ca href=\"https://cw3e.ucsd.edu/cw3e-welcomes-dr-julie-kalansky/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Julie Kalansky,\u003c/a> the center’s deputy director.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the rain is highly unlikely to substantially refill empty reservoirs, it could help prepare thirsty soils for more rains to come.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For these storms, “the runoff from them may not be very high, but they’ll help moisten the soils. So if we get more, hopefully you get more runoff that can go into reservoirs or streams and ecosystems,” Kalansky said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the water year ahead remains murky: Cooler than average temperatures in the tropical Pacific herald the arrival of La Niña conditions, which \u003ca href=\"https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_advisory/ensodisc.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center\u003c/a> reports have an 87% chance of continuing between December and February.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>La Niña can stir up storm tracks, changing how much precipitation falls on California. But the results vary — especially for Northern California — making it difficult to predict what this means for rain and snowfall in the northern two-thirds of the state, Kalansky said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Southern California, on the other hand, La Niña tends to foretell a drier year. “It doesn’t mean that we’re necessarily going to have a really dry year, but we typically don’t get really wet years when it’s a La Niña,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overall, Kalansky said, “it’s still yet to be decided on whether or not this year is going to be wet or dry and what this means for drought. We just don’t have those answers yet.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "California to Swap New Gas-Powered Landscaping Equipment for Zero Emissions Tools",
"headTitle": "California to Swap New Gas-Powered Landscaping Equipment for Zero Emissions Tools | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Those ubiquitous, noisy leaf blowers, lawn mowers, and weed whackers are producing something more than a high-pitched whirring: pollution that’s harmful to human health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an effort to curb this air pollution and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, California will phase out the new manufacture of common gas-powered versions of landscaping equipment as early as 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom signed \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1346\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Assembly Bill 1346\u003c/a> into law this month, effectively banning what the state describes as “small off-road engines,” including common landscaping tools, chain saws and even golf carts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law also requires new portable, gas-powered generators to be zero emission as soon as 2028.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mostly, these tools are used by people to tidy home lawns and gardens, although commercial landscapers, construction crews and farmers use them, too, at a smaller percentage, \u003ca href=\"https://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/offroad/sm_en_fs.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">according to the California Air Resources Board\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People can still use the gas-powered equipment they already own, and stores can still sell their older stock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christopher Dilbeck works at the air board and helped design the emissions regulations. “[These tools] actually have more smog-forming emissions than light duty passenger cars in California,” Dilbeck said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One hour spent clearing a yard with a leaf blower emits the \u003ca href=\"https://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/offroad/sm_en_fs.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">same amount of smog-forming gases\u003c/a> as driving 1,100 miles in a standard passenger car, according to the air regulator. That would be like driving from Los Angeles to Denver.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Specifically, the gas-powered engines produce particulate matter and ozone. These machines are not major emitters of planet warming gases, although they do produce some carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Multiple environmental and health organizations supported the bill, while a handful of groups opposed it, including those representing landscapers and equipment manufacturers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Assemblyman Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park, co-authored the legislation and said it will particularly benefit workers “who face disproportionate health risks from air pollution.” Those risks include \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/ground-level-ozone-pollution/health-effects-ozone-pollution\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">exacerbating asthma\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/health-and-environmental-effects-particulate-matter-pm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">heart disease, and causing premature death\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Santa Cruz landscaper Brett Graf owns Habitat Gardens. He says he’s already experienced multiple upsides from using zero-emission tools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re easier to use. They smell better, they’re not as loud, you’re not breathing in these fumes,” Graf said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Graf’s tools are plug-ins or battery powered, and he said his clients are open to him charging his batteries from their outlets while he works.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s new law is coupled with $30 million in incentives for people to buy zero-emission equipment, meant to aid an equitable transition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But some landscape professionals fear that the transition won’t be equitable or smooth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Daniel Martinez Quiróz owns Martinez Landscape, a three-person outfit in the East Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This quick transition is a huge change for us and it’s catching us by surprise,” Martinez Quiróz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s going to be a bit more difficult for us to compete, because we have to buy new equipment and that will bring our costs up,” he added. “It’s going to have a big impact on contractors, as well as on clients.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sandra Giarde is the executive director of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.clca.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">California Landscape Contractors Association\u003c/a>. She says the group surveyed its members and found that the landscapers who most often use electric equipment service wealthier communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How is this [law] going to impact the rest of the communities?” Giarde asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State regulators point to the availability of battery-powered and plug-in alternatives for commonly used landscaping tools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those tools will work fine for personal and residential use, Giarde says, but the equipment isn’t up to the job required by commercial landscapers: slogging from site to site for six to eight hours each day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want to use this equipment,” Giarde said. “It’s not there yet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jason Barbose of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucsusa.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Union of Concerned Scientists\u003c/a> said that may be true “but that’s sort of the whole point of the regulation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re going to put standards out there,” he said. “It may not be achievable today, but that the state determines they can be met.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He says the law is an important step for California as it moves away from fossil fuels.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "The law will phaseout newly manufactured leaf blowers, lawn mowers, and chainsaws as early as 2024.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Those ubiquitous, noisy leaf blowers, lawn mowers, and weed whackers are producing something more than a high-pitched whirring: pollution that’s harmful to human health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an effort to curb this air pollution and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, California will phase out the new manufacture of common gas-powered versions of landscaping equipment as early as 2024.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom signed \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1346\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Assembly Bill 1346\u003c/a> into law this month, effectively banning what the state describes as “small off-road engines,” including common landscaping tools, chain saws and even golf carts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law also requires new portable, gas-powered generators to be zero emission as soon as 2028.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mostly, these tools are used by people to tidy home lawns and gardens, although commercial landscapers, construction crews and farmers use them, too, at a smaller percentage, \u003ca href=\"https://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/offroad/sm_en_fs.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">according to the California Air Resources Board\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People can still use the gas-powered equipment they already own, and stores can still sell their older stock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Christopher Dilbeck works at the air board and helped design the emissions regulations. “[These tools] actually have more smog-forming emissions than light duty passenger cars in California,” Dilbeck said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One hour spent clearing a yard with a leaf blower emits the \u003ca href=\"https://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/offroad/sm_en_fs.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">same amount of smog-forming gases\u003c/a> as driving 1,100 miles in a standard passenger car, according to the air regulator. That would be like driving from Los Angeles to Denver.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Specifically, the gas-powered engines produce particulate matter and ozone. These machines are not major emitters of planet warming gases, although they do produce some carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Multiple environmental and health organizations supported the bill, while a handful of groups opposed it, including those representing landscapers and equipment manufacturers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Assemblyman Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park, co-authored the legislation and said it will particularly benefit workers “who face disproportionate health risks from air pollution.” Those risks include \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/ground-level-ozone-pollution/health-effects-ozone-pollution\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">exacerbating asthma\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/health-and-environmental-effects-particulate-matter-pm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">heart disease, and causing premature death\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Santa Cruz landscaper Brett Graf owns Habitat Gardens. He says he’s already experienced multiple upsides from using zero-emission tools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re easier to use. They smell better, they’re not as loud, you’re not breathing in these fumes,” Graf said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Graf’s tools are plug-ins or battery powered, and he said his clients are open to him charging his batteries from their outlets while he works.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s new law is coupled with $30 million in incentives for people to buy zero-emission equipment, meant to aid an equitable transition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But some landscape professionals fear that the transition won’t be equitable or smooth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Daniel Martinez Quiróz owns Martinez Landscape, a three-person outfit in the East Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This quick transition is a huge change for us and it’s catching us by surprise,” Martinez Quiróz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s going to be a bit more difficult for us to compete, because we have to buy new equipment and that will bring our costs up,” he added. “It’s going to have a big impact on contractors, as well as on clients.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sandra Giarde is the executive director of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.clca.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">California Landscape Contractors Association\u003c/a>. She says the group surveyed its members and found that the landscapers who most often use electric equipment service wealthier communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How is this [law] going to impact the rest of the communities?” Giarde asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State regulators point to the availability of battery-powered and plug-in alternatives for commonly used landscaping tools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those tools will work fine for personal and residential use, Giarde says, but the equipment isn’t up to the job required by commercial landscapers: slogging from site to site for six to eight hours each day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want to use this equipment,” Giarde said. “It’s not there yet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jason Barbose of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucsusa.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Union of Concerned Scientists\u003c/a> said that may be true “but that’s sort of the whole point of the regulation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re going to put standards out there,” he said. “It may not be achievable today, but that the state determines they can be met.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He says the law is an important step for California as it moves away from fossil fuels.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
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"mindshift": {
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"order": 12
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"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
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"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
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"perspectives": {
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"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
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"possible": {
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"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm",
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},
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},
"pri-the-world": {
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"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
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},
"reveal": {
"id": "reveal",
"title": "Reveal",
"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
"airtime": "SAT 4pm-5pm",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/reveal",
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"filterData": {
"region": {
"key": "Restaurant Region",
"filters": [
"Any Region"
]
},
"cuisine": {
"key": "Restaurant Cuisine",
"filters": [
"Any Cuisine"
]
}
},
"restaurantDataById": {},
"restaurantIdsSorted": [],
"error": null
},
"userAgentReducer": {
"userAgent": "Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)",
"isBot": true
}
}
