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"content": "\u003cp>Tyler Toler has suffered through the trifecta of bacterial STIs: chlamydia, gonorrhea,\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11869396/once-on-the-brink-of-eradication-syphilis-is-raging-again-in-san-francisco\"> syphilis\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the corresponding itching, burning, and rash felt bad enough, the pain of treatment and the social fallout that often followed were worse. Toler dreaded the awkward conversation with his partners, admitting he may have exposed them to an infection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some people are like, ‘Yeah, cool, thank you for letting me know,’” Toler said. “And then there’s some people that think you’re the dirtiest person on the face of the planet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Toler heard there was a morning-after pill for STIs that could solve all these problems, he wanted in. Doxy PEP, or doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis, is an antibiotic taken within 72 hours of condomless sex to prevent bacterial infections. Toler hasn’t had an STI in the three years since he started taking it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I can be as much of a promiscuous person as I possibly can and not have to worry about the ramifications as much,” he said with a wry smile.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Across San Francisco, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/news-san-francisco-department-of-public-health-reports-significant-declines-in-sexually-transmitted-infections-in-2025\">syphilis rates dropped 24% last year\u003c/a>, chlamydia went down 18% and gonorrhea dipped 5%, leading local health officials to celebrate the success of Doxy PEP and their decision to distribute it broadly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001385\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001385\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-04-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-04-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-04-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-04-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-04-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A bottle of doxycycline hyclate tablets, known as Doxy PEP, sits on the counter at Strut health clinic in San Francisco on June 29, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At the same time, doctors around the globe caution that using antibiotics this way could contribute to antibiotic resistance, making it harder to treat a range of bacterial infections down the road.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tension between reducing STIs and stewarding antibiotics responsibly has led to a range of divergent policies around who should get Doxy PEP and when.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to be thoughtful about how we’re using it,” said\u003ca href=\"https://profiles.ucsf.edu/annie.luetkemeyer\"> Dr. Annie Luetkemeyer\u003c/a>, an infectious disease physician and researcher at UCSF. “Antibiotics are an incredible resource. We all worry about antimicrobial resistance.”[aside postID=news_12089597 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/RobBontaTrumpGetty.jpg']Gonorrhea has already built resistance to the class of antibiotics that include doxycycline, and research suggests that Doxy PEP is making it worse, Luetkemeyer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She is now leading a five-city study, including Atlanta, Miami, Detroit, Seattle and San Francisco, to examine whether Doxy PEP increases resistance in other bacteria, as well, including strep pneumoniae, which can cause lung infections like pneumonia, and staph aureus, which can cause skin infections. Earlier studies raised this concern.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In folks who took Doxy PEP, we saw an increase in doxy-resistant staph aureus,” she said. “The numbers were small, but there was a trend in that direction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Developing Doxy PEP policy is a balancing act, weighing the benefits of reduced sexually transmitted infections against the risk of cultivating superbugs that are more difficult to treat. San Francisco officials chose to make Doxy PEP\u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/news-health-update-updated-recommendations-for-prescribing-doxy-pep\"> widely available\u003c/a> and recommended doctors offer it to anyone who might benefit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other countries have taken a more conservative approach. The\u003ca href=\"https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/Doxycycline-prophylaxis-of-bacterial-STIs-in-the-EU-EEA.pdf\"> European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control\u003c/a> and\u003ca href=\"https://ashm.org.au/initiatives/doxy-pep-statement/\"> Australasian Society for Sexual Health Medicine\u003c/a> recommended restricting the use of Doxy PEP for the prevention of syphilis only, with a focus on men who have sex with men who have a history of syphilis infection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001388\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001388\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-14-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-14-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-14-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-14-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-14-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tyler Toler in Santa Rosa on June 29, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Both groups decided against recommending it to prevent gonorrhea or chlamydia because they deemed the benefits did not outweigh the risks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would argue that for gay men, there is no population-level benefit for getting chlamydia rates down,” said\u003ca href=\"https://www.unsw.edu.au/staff/vincent-cornelisse\"> Dr. Vincent Cornelisse\u003c/a>, a sexual health physician and professor at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The consequences of syphilis can be dire: blindness, hearing loss, brain damage. Chlamydia, on the other hand, is more of a nuisance for men, Cornelisse said, uncomfortable, but not dangerous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Australian committee decided prescribing Doxy PEP to prevent it was an excessive use of antibiotics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think we need to be a bit tempered in recommending strategies to reduce chlamydia amongst gay men when the strategies themselves might have adverse outcomes,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the Strut clinic in the San Francisco Castro neighborhood, nearly half the prescriptions the pharmacy fills are for Doxy PEP. Clinicians offer it to everyone who comes into the clinic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001386\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001386\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-08-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-08-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-08-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-08-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-08-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Hyman Scott (left), medical director at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, speaks with office manager Cantwell Muckenfuss at Strut in the Castro neighborhood in San Francisco on June 29, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Medical director,\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfaf.org/collections/author/hyman-scott-md-mph/\"> Dr. Hyman Scott\u003c/a>, who also does research in the city’s public health department, is firm in his defense of a broad, open policy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the early 2010s, San Francisco made serious missteps with\u003ca href=\"http://www.hivandhepatitis.com/hiv-aids/hiv-aids-topics/hiv-prevention/3848-truvada-prep-demonstration-project-debuts-in-san-francisco\"> the rollout of PrEP\u003c/a>, pre-exposure prophylaxis for the prevention of HIV, Scott said, placing a lot of restrictions on who should get it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The guidelines were so confusing and the medication so hard to access, he added, only a quarter of people who actually needed it were taking it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are a lot of things now we’re trying to undo as a result of the way we did it originally,” Scott said. “We cannot make the same mistakes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Health officials learned that they have one shot to make a first impression, positive or negative, and that’s the message that will spread through the community, Scott said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So they decided to make their message about Doxy PEP simple and straightforward: everyone is eligible, just talk to your doctor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001389\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001389\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-19-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-19-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-19-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-19-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-19-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Annie Luetkemeyer, an infectious disease physician, sits in an exam room at Pride Hall on the campus of Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital in San Francisco on June 29, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The science about Doxy PEP moves freely on social media, and by word of mouth, so many San Franciscans who take it are aware of the risk for antimicrobial resistance, both for themselves and the broader population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was very conflicted about it when I started it,” Toler said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when he talked to his older friends who lived through the AIDS epidemic, his feelings shifted. Gay activists fought hard for the research and innovation that made PreP and Doxy PEP possible, Toler said, and they want the younger generations to have the sex lives that they couldn’t.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to take advantage of the science that we have right now,” he said, “for the people that weren’t able to take advantage of it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Tyler Toler has suffered through the trifecta of bacterial STIs: chlamydia, gonorrhea,\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11869396/once-on-the-brink-of-eradication-syphilis-is-raging-again-in-san-francisco\"> syphilis\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the corresponding itching, burning, and rash felt bad enough, the pain of treatment and the social fallout that often followed were worse. Toler dreaded the awkward conversation with his partners, admitting he may have exposed them to an infection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some people are like, ‘Yeah, cool, thank you for letting me know,’” Toler said. “And then there’s some people that think you’re the dirtiest person on the face of the planet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Toler heard there was a morning-after pill for STIs that could solve all these problems, he wanted in. Doxy PEP, or doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis, is an antibiotic taken within 72 hours of condomless sex to prevent bacterial infections. Toler hasn’t had an STI in the three years since he started taking it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I can be as much of a promiscuous person as I possibly can and not have to worry about the ramifications as much,” he said with a wry smile.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Across San Francisco, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/news-san-francisco-department-of-public-health-reports-significant-declines-in-sexually-transmitted-infections-in-2025\">syphilis rates dropped 24% last year\u003c/a>, chlamydia went down 18% and gonorrhea dipped 5%, leading local health officials to celebrate the success of Doxy PEP and their decision to distribute it broadly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001385\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001385\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-04-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-04-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-04-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-04-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-04-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A bottle of doxycycline hyclate tablets, known as Doxy PEP, sits on the counter at Strut health clinic in San Francisco on June 29, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At the same time, doctors around the globe caution that using antibiotics this way could contribute to antibiotic resistance, making it harder to treat a range of bacterial infections down the road.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tension between reducing STIs and stewarding antibiotics responsibly has led to a range of divergent policies around who should get Doxy PEP and when.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to be thoughtful about how we’re using it,” said\u003ca href=\"https://profiles.ucsf.edu/annie.luetkemeyer\"> Dr. Annie Luetkemeyer\u003c/a>, an infectious disease physician and researcher at UCSF. “Antibiotics are an incredible resource. We all worry about antimicrobial resistance.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Gonorrhea has already built resistance to the class of antibiotics that include doxycycline, and research suggests that Doxy PEP is making it worse, Luetkemeyer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She is now leading a five-city study, including Atlanta, Miami, Detroit, Seattle and San Francisco, to examine whether Doxy PEP increases resistance in other bacteria, as well, including strep pneumoniae, which can cause lung infections like pneumonia, and staph aureus, which can cause skin infections. Earlier studies raised this concern.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In folks who took Doxy PEP, we saw an increase in doxy-resistant staph aureus,” she said. “The numbers were small, but there was a trend in that direction.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Developing Doxy PEP policy is a balancing act, weighing the benefits of reduced sexually transmitted infections against the risk of cultivating superbugs that are more difficult to treat. San Francisco officials chose to make Doxy PEP\u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/news-health-update-updated-recommendations-for-prescribing-doxy-pep\"> widely available\u003c/a> and recommended doctors offer it to anyone who might benefit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other countries have taken a more conservative approach. The\u003ca href=\"https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/Doxycycline-prophylaxis-of-bacterial-STIs-in-the-EU-EEA.pdf\"> European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control\u003c/a> and\u003ca href=\"https://ashm.org.au/initiatives/doxy-pep-statement/\"> Australasian Society for Sexual Health Medicine\u003c/a> recommended restricting the use of Doxy PEP for the prevention of syphilis only, with a focus on men who have sex with men who have a history of syphilis infection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001388\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001388\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-14-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-14-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-14-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-14-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-14-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tyler Toler in Santa Rosa on June 29, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Both groups decided against recommending it to prevent gonorrhea or chlamydia because they deemed the benefits did not outweigh the risks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would argue that for gay men, there is no population-level benefit for getting chlamydia rates down,” said\u003ca href=\"https://www.unsw.edu.au/staff/vincent-cornelisse\"> Dr. Vincent Cornelisse\u003c/a>, a sexual health physician and professor at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The consequences of syphilis can be dire: blindness, hearing loss, brain damage. Chlamydia, on the other hand, is more of a nuisance for men, Cornelisse said, uncomfortable, but not dangerous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Australian committee decided prescribing Doxy PEP to prevent it was an excessive use of antibiotics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think we need to be a bit tempered in recommending strategies to reduce chlamydia amongst gay men when the strategies themselves might have adverse outcomes,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the Strut clinic in the San Francisco Castro neighborhood, nearly half the prescriptions the pharmacy fills are for Doxy PEP. Clinicians offer it to everyone who comes into the clinic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001386\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001386\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-08-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-08-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-08-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-08-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-08-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Hyman Scott (left), medical director at the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, speaks with office manager Cantwell Muckenfuss at Strut in the Castro neighborhood in San Francisco on June 29, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Medical director,\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfaf.org/collections/author/hyman-scott-md-mph/\"> Dr. Hyman Scott\u003c/a>, who also does research in the city’s public health department, is firm in his defense of a broad, open policy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the early 2010s, San Francisco made serious missteps with\u003ca href=\"http://www.hivandhepatitis.com/hiv-aids/hiv-aids-topics/hiv-prevention/3848-truvada-prep-demonstration-project-debuts-in-san-francisco\"> the rollout of PrEP\u003c/a>, pre-exposure prophylaxis for the prevention of HIV, Scott said, placing a lot of restrictions on who should get it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The guidelines were so confusing and the medication so hard to access, he added, only a quarter of people who actually needed it were taking it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are a lot of things now we’re trying to undo as a result of the way we did it originally,” Scott said. “We cannot make the same mistakes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Health officials learned that they have one shot to make a first impression, positive or negative, and that’s the message that will spread through the community, Scott said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So they decided to make their message about Doxy PEP simple and straightforward: everyone is eligible, just talk to your doctor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001389\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001389\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-19-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-19-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-19-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-19-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/07/260629-DOXYPEP-19-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Annie Luetkemeyer, an infectious disease physician, sits in an exam room at Pride Hall on the campus of Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital in San Francisco on June 29, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The science about Doxy PEP moves freely on social media, and by word of mouth, so many San Franciscans who take it are aware of the risk for antimicrobial resistance, both for themselves and the broader population.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I was very conflicted about it when I started it,” Toler said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when he talked to his older friends who lived through the AIDS epidemic, his feelings shifted. Gay activists fought hard for the research and innovation that made PreP and Doxy PEP possible, Toler said, and they want the younger generations to have the sex lives that they couldn’t.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to take advantage of the science that we have right now,” he said, “for the people that weren’t able to take advantage of it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>[dl_subscribe]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mudskippers are actually fish, but they sure don’t act like it. They breathe using special gill chambers and absorb oxygen through their skin like amphibians. Scanning the lumpy mudscape with their periscope-like eyes, they fiercely guard their burrows and leap to impress potential mates. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Find out how these land-loving fish carved out a life between sea and shore — and why their strange lifestyle might \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">not\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> be so strange after all.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cdiv id=\"meta-origin\" data-coolorigin=\"https%3A%2F%2Fcloud.kqed.org%2Fapps%2Frichdocumentscode%2Fproxy.php%3Freq%3D%2Fcool%2Fclipboard%3FWOPISrc%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fcloud.kqed.org%252Findex.php%252Fapps%252Frichdocuments%252Fwopi%252Ffiles%252F5707402_ocdd7q04clzt%26ServerId%3D89caa68f%26ViewId%3D4%26Tag%3D429b630bfc6e3845\">\n\u003cp align=\"left\">From the depths of time, a creature emerges, something fishy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">It’s the majestic mudskipper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">They might look like an evolutionary glitch – as if a fish pressed pause in the middle of evolving into something else.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">But this is no mistake – the mudskipper is very well-suited for this lumpy mudscape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">And it absolutely lives up to its name.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">A type of amphibious fish, there are dozens of species of mudskippers hopping around the humid, intertidal mudflats in mangrove forests from West Africa to New Guinea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">And in North Queensland, Australia, we found a few of these beauties living side-by-side.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">Those puffy cheeks aren’t just for cuteness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">Mudskippers don’t have lungs, they fill their gill chambers with water and a bubble of air – then seal them tightly. That air bubble keeps the water oxygenated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">Like frogs and other amphibians, they also absorb oxygen through their skin – via cutaneous respiration – and through the lining in their mouths.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">That’s how these fishy friends can spend about three-quarters of their lives out of water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">But they do need to stay wet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">With each blink, the mudskipper submerges its periscope-like eyeballs in fluid-filled chambers to hydrate and wash off debris.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">Researchers think this may be a clue as to why and how blinking evolved in land animals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">With their sharp little chompers, they snatch and slurp down just about anything that fits in their mouths: other fish, insects, worms, and even small crabs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">This mudskipper works hard to defend his mudpatch. It’s in a prime location with the very best mud.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">He needs to stay vigilant to fend off jealous neighbors who’d love to take over the lease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">Or eat them for lunch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">When a predator shows up, they use their trademark skips to bounce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">You thought you knew what fins are for.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">You. Have. No. Idea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">There are lots of novel ways to use those fishy appendages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">Those pelvic fins in the front act kind of like a kick-stand. Or a “fish stand.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">Male mudskippers do the work of building and maintaining cozy, safe burrows for the females to lay their eggs in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">But first they need to get their attention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">Ooh la-la!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">This species – a bearded mudskipper – prefers to show off its acrobatic tail-stands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">Plus these guys have an extra fancy back fin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">It says “back off” or “come hither,” depending on the context. Fighting or mating?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">But these species – the barred mudskipper and the Takita’s mudskipper – get airborne.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">The higher, the better. These are fitness displays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">This guy will face off against competitor mudskippers by showing females just how strong and capable he is.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">Get it, skipper boy!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">If the male’s doing it right, she’ll pick his burrow, and deposit her eggs on the ceiling or walls inside the chamber.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">The male then fertilizes the eggs. Over the next week, as they develop and hatch, he fiercely defends the burrow from poachers and other mudskippers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">He’s securing his legacy. The next generation of artful exhibitionists will inherit this muddy paradise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">The Magnificent Mudskipper is literally a fish out of water, but this fish is totally comfortable in his own slimy skin.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cdiv id=\"meta-origin\" data-coolorigin=\"https%3A%2F%2Fcloud.kqed.org%2Fapps%2Frichdocumentscode%2Fproxy.php%3Freq%3D%2Fcool%2Fclipboard%3FWOPISrc%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fcloud.kqed.org%252Findex.php%252Fapps%252Frichdocuments%252Fwopi%252Ffiles%252F5707402_ocdd7q04clzt%26ServerId%3D89caa68f%26ViewId%3D4%26Tag%3D429b630bfc6e3845\">\n\u003cp align=\"left\">From the depths of time, a creature emerges, something fishy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">It’s the majestic mudskipper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">They might look like an evolutionary glitch – as if a fish pressed pause in the middle of evolving into something else.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">But this is no mistake – the mudskipper is very well-suited for this lumpy mudscape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">And it absolutely lives up to its name.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">A type of amphibious fish, there are dozens of species of mudskippers hopping around the humid, intertidal mudflats in mangrove forests from West Africa to New Guinea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">And in North Queensland, Australia, we found a few of these beauties living side-by-side.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">Those puffy cheeks aren’t just for cuteness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">Mudskippers don’t have lungs, they fill their gill chambers with water and a bubble of air – then seal them tightly. That air bubble keeps the water oxygenated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">Like frogs and other amphibians, they also absorb oxygen through their skin – via cutaneous respiration – and through the lining in their mouths.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">That’s how these fishy friends can spend about three-quarters of their lives out of water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">But they do need to stay wet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">With each blink, the mudskipper submerges its periscope-like eyeballs in fluid-filled chambers to hydrate and wash off debris.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">Researchers think this may be a clue as to why and how blinking evolved in land animals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">With their sharp little chompers, they snatch and slurp down just about anything that fits in their mouths: other fish, insects, worms, and even small crabs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">This mudskipper works hard to defend his mudpatch. It’s in a prime location with the very best mud.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">He needs to stay vigilant to fend off jealous neighbors who’d love to take over the lease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">Or eat them for lunch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">When a predator shows up, they use their trademark skips to bounce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">You thought you knew what fins are for.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">You. Have. No. Idea.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">There are lots of novel ways to use those fishy appendages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">Those pelvic fins in the front act kind of like a kick-stand. Or a “fish stand.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">Male mudskippers do the work of building and maintaining cozy, safe burrows for the females to lay their eggs in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">But first they need to get their attention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">Ooh la-la!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">This species – a bearded mudskipper – prefers to show off its acrobatic tail-stands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">Plus these guys have an extra fancy back fin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">It says “back off” or “come hither,” depending on the context. Fighting or mating?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">But these species – the barred mudskipper and the Takita’s mudskipper – get airborne.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">The higher, the better. These are fitness displays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">This guy will face off against competitor mudskippers by showing females just how strong and capable he is.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">Get it, skipper boy!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">If the male’s doing it right, she’ll pick his burrow, and deposit her eggs on the ceiling or walls inside the chamber.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">The male then fertilizes the eggs. Over the next week, as they develop and hatch, he fiercely defends the burrow from poachers and other mudskippers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">He’s securing his legacy. The next generation of artful exhibitionists will inherit this muddy paradise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp align=\"left\">The Magnificent Mudskipper is literally a fish out of water, but this fish is totally comfortable in his own slimy skin.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1997603/a-corpse-flower-is-about-to-bloom-in-san-francisco-and-its-going-to-stink\">A rare plant\u003c/a> famous for smelling like decaying flesh is about to put on one of nature’s most unusual shows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scarlet, the famous corpse flower at San Francisco’s Conservatory of Flowers, is expected to bloom any day now, unleashing one of nature’s strangest spectacles: a towering flower that smells like rotting flesh.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And Bay Area residents are eagerly awaiting it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These blooms are really short-lived,” said Brandi Eide, curator and conservation lead at the Gardens of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/golden-gate-park\">Golden Gate Park.\u003c/a> “They’re only typically open for about two days. So it’s pretty ephemeral.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That slim window is part of what makes a corpse flower bloom so momentous. The endangered plant, officially known as Amorphophallus titanum, or titan arum, can spend years quietly storing energy underground before suddenly erupting into a flowering event that lasts just between 24 and 48 hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycUNj_Hv4_Y\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To attract carrion beetles and flesh flies, the plant releases chemicals that mimic a dead animal. The unsuspecting insects arrive expecting a meal and instead end up pollinating the flower.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The scent is so convincing that Eide said it evolves throughout the evening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Eide, it starts with “a little bit of a funk like onion, garlic,” before the stench begins to resemble a “hot garbage truck in the summer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And then it can change into pretty distinctly dead rodent,” Eide continued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other observers have detected notes of stinky feet, spoiled food and sewage. Every bloom brings a different odor.[aside postID=news_12074947 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260221-SUNNYSIDECONSERVATORY00252_TV-KQED.jpg']“If you’ve never seen or smelled it, it’s really something not to be missed,” Eide said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most years, the plant doesn’t flower at all. Instead, it produces a single giant leaf that can grow up to 15 feet tall, resembling a small tree.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every once in a while, instead of a leaf, we have a flowering event, which is what we’re witnessing today,” Eide said. “The whole process is always very exciting because it’s so unpredictable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The species is native to the rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia, where it is currently endangered due to habitat loss, particularly from the expansion of palm oil plantations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During peak bloom, the central stalk, known as the spadix, actually heats up to nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit through a process called thermogenesis. That heat helps carry the stench farther into the surrounding environment, making it easier for pollinators to detect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The temperature fluctuation helps pump the stinky chemicals out into the forest to attract those pollinators from far away,” Eide said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the final days before opening, the flower’s growth slows, the base swells and the deep burgundy spathe begins to unfurl from the central stalk. This week, staff have been closely monitoring those signs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re actually sending pictures back and forth to each other as we speak,” Eide said. “We’re still on watch.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001374\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001374\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/CorpseFlower2026_2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1330\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/CorpseFlower2026_2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/CorpseFlower2026_2-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/CorpseFlower2026_2-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/CorpseFlower2026_2-1536x1021.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Corpse flowers are the largest and most “pungent inflorescence,” a term used to describe a cluster of flowers. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Destiny Padilla/Gardens of Golden Gate)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Once the bloom begins, visitors will only have a narrow window to catch it at its smelliest. The strongest odor usually arrives during the first evening and lingers into the next morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, the Conservatory has created a special “maximum stink hour” for members during the final hour of the first night’s extended opening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bloom is expected to draw large crowds. During previous corpse flower events, roughly 7,000 people visited over just a few days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anyone hoping to experience Scarlet’s stench should keep a close eye on the Conservatory’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/conservatoryofflowers/\">Instagram\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/ConservatoryofFlowers/\">Facebook\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://gggp.org/corpseflower/\">website\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://gggp.org/corpseflower/\">livestream\u003c/a>. Once blooming is confirmed, the Conservatory will activate extended evening hours and release timed-entry tickets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Scarlet, the famous corpse flower at San Francisco’s Conservatory of Flowers, is expected to bloom any day now. Here’s how to experience the stinky bloom in person or at home.",
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"title": "This Corpse Flower Smells Like Death and People Love It | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1997603/a-corpse-flower-is-about-to-bloom-in-san-francisco-and-its-going-to-stink\">A rare plant\u003c/a> famous for smelling like decaying flesh is about to put on one of nature’s most unusual shows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scarlet, the famous corpse flower at San Francisco’s Conservatory of Flowers, is expected to bloom any day now, unleashing one of nature’s strangest spectacles: a towering flower that smells like rotting flesh.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And Bay Area residents are eagerly awaiting it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These blooms are really short-lived,” said Brandi Eide, curator and conservation lead at the Gardens of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/golden-gate-park\">Golden Gate Park.\u003c/a> “They’re only typically open for about two days. So it’s pretty ephemeral.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That slim window is part of what makes a corpse flower bloom so momentous. The endangered plant, officially known as Amorphophallus titanum, or titan arum, can spend years quietly storing energy underground before suddenly erupting into a flowering event that lasts just between 24 and 48 hours.\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/ycUNj_Hv4_Y'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/ycUNj_Hv4_Y'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>To attract carrion beetles and flesh flies, the plant releases chemicals that mimic a dead animal. The unsuspecting insects arrive expecting a meal and instead end up pollinating the flower.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The scent is so convincing that Eide said it evolves throughout the evening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Eide, it starts with “a little bit of a funk like onion, garlic,” before the stench begins to resemble a “hot garbage truck in the summer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“And then it can change into pretty distinctly dead rodent,” Eide continued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other observers have detected notes of stinky feet, spoiled food and sewage. Every bloom brings a different odor.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“If you’ve never seen or smelled it, it’s really something not to be missed,” Eide said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most years, the plant doesn’t flower at all. Instead, it produces a single giant leaf that can grow up to 15 feet tall, resembling a small tree.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Every once in a while, instead of a leaf, we have a flowering event, which is what we’re witnessing today,” Eide said. “The whole process is always very exciting because it’s so unpredictable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The species is native to the rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia, where it is currently endangered due to habitat loss, particularly from the expansion of palm oil plantations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During peak bloom, the central stalk, known as the spadix, actually heats up to nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit through a process called thermogenesis. That heat helps carry the stench farther into the surrounding environment, making it easier for pollinators to detect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The temperature fluctuation helps pump the stinky chemicals out into the forest to attract those pollinators from far away,” Eide said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the final days before opening, the flower’s growth slows, the base swells and the deep burgundy spathe begins to unfurl from the central stalk. This week, staff have been closely monitoring those signs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re actually sending pictures back and forth to each other as we speak,” Eide said. “We’re still on watch.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001374\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001374\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/CorpseFlower2026_2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1330\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/CorpseFlower2026_2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/CorpseFlower2026_2-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/CorpseFlower2026_2-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/CorpseFlower2026_2-1536x1021.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Corpse flowers are the largest and most “pungent inflorescence,” a term used to describe a cluster of flowers. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Destiny Padilla/Gardens of Golden Gate)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Once the bloom begins, visitors will only have a narrow window to catch it at its smelliest. The strongest odor usually arrives during the first evening and lingers into the next morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, the Conservatory has created a special “maximum stink hour” for members during the final hour of the first night’s extended opening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bloom is expected to draw large crowds. During previous corpse flower events, roughly 7,000 people visited over just a few days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anyone hoping to experience Scarlet’s stench should keep a close eye on the Conservatory’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/conservatoryofflowers/\">Instagram\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/ConservatoryofFlowers/\">Facebook\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://gggp.org/corpseflower/\">website\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://gggp.org/corpseflower/\">livestream\u003c/a>. Once blooming is confirmed, the Conservatory will activate extended evening hours and release timed-entry tickets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "as-waves-pound-pacifica-surfers-pitch-a-reef-to-defend-the-shore",
"title": "As Waves Pound Pacifica, Surfers Pitch a Reef to Defend the Shore",
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"headTitle": "As Waves Pound Pacifica, Surfers Pitch a Reef to Defend the Shore | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>A group of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12087577/after-pacifica-pier-damage-bay-area-leaders-urge-trump-to-restore-aid\">Pacifica\u003c/a> surfers is proposing the construction of an artificial reef to mitigate the erosion left by powerful waves pounding the shore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area city’s fragile coast is battered by relentless waves for much of the year, one of the hardest-hit stretches being the iconic Beach Boulevard, just north of the city’s pier. That city landmark \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2001267/you-cant-beat-mother-nature-destroyed-cafe-gives-pacifica-look-at-climate-changed-future\">cracked\u003c/a> this month after decades of natural impacts — and is now closed indefinitely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s high velocity water,” said Bob Battalio, 67, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080794/its-the-most-beautiful-taco-bell-in-the-world-heres-why-it-could-never-be-built-today\">Pacifica\u003c/a>-based surfer and civil engineer specializing in coastal hydraulics. “The waves land on roofs, blow out garage doors and knock people over. The city also closes the road fairly frequently in the winter because it’s not safe.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the strongest breakers that crash into Pacifica’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1996746/rising-tides-tough-choices-pacifica-allowed-bolster-seawalls-stopgap-plan\">aging seawall\u003c/a> can feel like an earthquake or sound like “somebody shooting off a cannon.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Battalio and his ocean-loving buds have come up with a potential solution that would work with nature and calm the pummeling waves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their proposal: build an artificial reef on the ocean floor that could slow the waves, which contribute to the estimated 2 feet of annual coastal erosion, collect sand as any natural reef would, create habitat for fish and restore the nonexistent beach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001342\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001342\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-03-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-03-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-03-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-03-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-03-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bob Battalio (right) speaks with George Domurat and Tom Kendall at the end of Carmel Avenue in Pacifica on June 17, 2026, near the proposed site of an artificial reef designed to reduce coastal erosion and help protect the shoreline. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They also have a not-so-hidden agenda of potentially shaping a perfectly peeling surfing wave in an area that Battalio said is too dangerous to catch waves in today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The waves would break in a way that you could paddle into them, ride along in front of them and get a nice ride,” Battalio said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12087431/what-will-pacifica-do-about-its-iconic-but-crumbling-pier\">Pacifica\u003c/a> leaders and San Mateo County officials are on board with the idea and have applied for \u003ca href=\"https://robsreef.org/docs/oneshoreline-presentation.pdf\">state funding\u003c/a> to flesh out the concept with possible help from researchers at UC Santa Cruz and Stanford University. They hope that a successful pilot could serve as a model for other vulnerable coastal communities.[aside postID=news_12087823 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260615-PacificaPier-17-BL-KQED.jpg']But coastal experts are not as bullish on the idea. They agree that the solution could, in principle, slow waves and widen the beach, but caution the city to take a whole-shoreline approach rather than piecemeal projects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The wave riders named the somewhat nature-based adaptation project “\u003ca href=\"https://robsreef.org/#team\">Rob’s Reef\u003c/a>” in honor of their friend Rob Caughlan, the founding president of the Surfrider Foundation, who passed away in January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He was our big driver, and he asked the really good questions that would then spin us up in terms of exchanging ideas,” said George Domurat, a long-time Pacifica resident, surfer and commissioner with the San Mateo County Harbor District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Until recently, the group would plan over coffee at the Chit Chat Cafe, located on the Pacifica Municipal Pier. But the pier’s cracking led to the cafe’s forced demolition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The thrashing waves stole the group of dreamers’ gathering space while showcasing the very problem that their spitball sessions sought to solve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In a way, it’s ironic, but it’s more ironic that people are surprised that things are failing,” Battalio said. “It wasn’t unexpected; that’s why we came together to come up with a solution, because time is not on our side.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Building walls is not working’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Their proposal calls for submerging the equivalent of around 20,000 truckloads of boulders in a triangular pattern — the pointy side facing the sea — 600 feet offshore. It would also restore a beach along the seawall, initially using roughly 50,000 dump-truck loads of sand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What we would like to do is create a new equilibrium by restoring the beach to its historical dimensions,” Battalio said. “Together they should reduce the wave height and the frequency of waves reaching the seawall.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001343\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001343\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-07-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-07-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-07-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-07-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-07-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bob Battalio points to a proposed artificial reef design in Pacifica on June 17, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Battalio said the proposal would cost around $100 million to expand the beach and build the offshore reef. That cost would be in addition to the city’s more than $80 million seawall plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, the Trump Administration shortlisted the city for a $50 million grant to help pay for the seawall’s replacement. But the federal government canceled the program that would have provided the grant. Now the city is seeking additional funding while awaiting the federal government’s restart of that program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Usually people look at the price tag and go, ‘That’s too big, we don’t wanna do that, why don’t we just build a wall?’” Battalio said. “But just building walls is not working.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001347\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001347\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PacificaWave-02-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PacificaWave-02-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PacificaWave-02-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PacificaWave-02-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PacificaWave-02-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(From left) Bob Battalio, Tom Kendall, and George Domurat sit at the end of Carmel Avenue in Pacifica on June 17, 2026, near the proposed site of an artificial reef designed to reduce coastal erosion and help protect the shoreline. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The locals said that the combination, while an expensive suite of solutions, could benefit the coastal ecosystem and the high-dollar real estate that sits behind the existing seawall. And then there’s the possibility of creating a “world-class surfable wave” in Pacifica, said Adam Libert, an area surfer and engineer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that would create real economic value of coming to Pacifica and watching surf competitions from the pier,” Libert said. “It’s a vision of not just this kind of dystopian world where sea level rise happens, and we get in big fights about managed retreat, but rather how do we actually build a world we want to live in and achieve positive outcomes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tom Kendall, a Pacifica surfer and retired civil engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, hopes “it becomes very popular with local interests,” who could encourage the city to pursue it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Pacifica is the canary in the coal mine’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.cityofpacifica.org/departments/public-works/engineering/capital-improvement-projects/beach-boulevard-infrastructure-resiliency-project\">city’s plan to rebuild the seawall\u003c/a> 4 feet higher along Beach Boulevard would slow erosion and reduce, but not eliminate, all overtopping and flooding in the short term.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While engineers finish the design of the seawall, Pacifica’s Mayor Christine Boles is concerned that a taller seawall could mean “more wave energy,” which “could cause more overtopping and impact the roadway, homes and people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A reef would help dissipate that energy so we don’t have all that dangerous overtopping,” Boles added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001338\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001338\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAPIER-11-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAPIER-11-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAPIER-11-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAPIER-11-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAPIER-11-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pacifica Mayor Christine Boles speaks during a news conference calling for federal aid for the Pacifica Municipal Pier on June 15, 2026, after structural damage led to the pier’s closure and the demolition of the Chit Chat Cafe. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The pilot project could show the city how to slow erosion elsewhere in Pacifica. Over the last decade, Boles said, the city has lost 11 homes and three apartment buildings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The city is limited in time to be creative,” Boles said. “To have people who are willing to step back and look a little bit more creatively about what other options might be available is super exciting.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several artificial reefs have been built in Australia and New Zealand. Another, constructed in Southern California, was ultimately removed because waves deteriorated it. Oceanside is currently testing a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADuU_3iKISQ\">physical model\u003c/a> of a potential buildout.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Artificial reefs “haven’t been tested in such an active, strong ocean environment as we have here,” Boles said. She hopes Pacifica, home to fewer than 40,000 people, can become a proving ground for this protection that includes some nature-based principles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Pacifica is the canary in the coal mine for the effects of a warming ocean,” Boles said. “So wouldn’t it be great if the reef did work?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s less sure that the project will create an epic surf break. But if the possibility motivates the community, she said she’ll encourage it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘I don’t think we are looking at a silver bullet’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Pacifica still needs to study the reef’s scale, how much sand is needed and its environmental impacts, said Borja Gonzalez Reguero, a professor with the Coastal Science and Policy Program at UC Santa Cruz.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So far it’s a concept, but it could be a viable one,” Gonzalez Reguero said. He qualified that by saying the reef is not a “silver bullet” solution on its own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The beach on its own won’t be a solution,” he said. “Or the rock armory or the flood wall. Altogether, that could be a solution.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001340\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001340\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAWAVE-13-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAWAVE-13-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAWAVE-13-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAWAVE-13-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAWAVE-13-BL-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The coastline in Pacifica on June 15, 2026, where erosion remains an ongoing concern. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gonzalez Reguero said that Pacifica needs fixes, as larger waves and rising sea levels will only worsen the city’s challenges due to climate hazards and sea level rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s bad news for Pacifica,” Gonzalez Reguero said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Gonzalez Reguero said that slowing waves with a mostly underwater network of boulders or other materials could reduce pressure on the seawall and lower repair costs. He suggests the city further develop a strategy to adapt its entire coastline for future waves and higher tides. Boles said that Pacifica plans to launch a visioning process for the entire coastline this fall, with significant public input.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the goal is to reduce erosion beating up the seawall, Gonzalez Reguero said, slowing waves is an integral step to consider.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Mateo County has discussed the feasibility of the artificial reef with the Center for Coastal Climate Resilience at UC Santa Cruz. Patrick Barnard, the group’s research director, said he has questions about the project’s scale and its potential effects on nearby beaches, water levels, and wave energy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The gap with a lot of these solutions is that there hasn’t been enough testing to understand how well they perform,” Barnard said. “These are the kinds of solutions that, if they work, could be worth pursuing, but they need to be evaluated thoroughly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Pacifica surfers hope that an artificial reef could slow waves, widen beaches, fight erosion and create an epic surf spot.",
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"title": "As Waves Pound Pacifica, Surfers Pitch a Reef to Defend the Shore | KQED",
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"headline": "As Waves Pound Pacifica, Surfers Pitch a Reef to Defend the Shore",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A group of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12087577/after-pacifica-pier-damage-bay-area-leaders-urge-trump-to-restore-aid\">Pacifica\u003c/a> surfers is proposing the construction of an artificial reef to mitigate the erosion left by powerful waves pounding the shore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Bay Area city’s fragile coast is battered by relentless waves for much of the year, one of the hardest-hit stretches being the iconic Beach Boulevard, just north of the city’s pier. That city landmark \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2001267/you-cant-beat-mother-nature-destroyed-cafe-gives-pacifica-look-at-climate-changed-future\">cracked\u003c/a> this month after decades of natural impacts — and is now closed indefinitely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s high velocity water,” said Bob Battalio, 67, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080794/its-the-most-beautiful-taco-bell-in-the-world-heres-why-it-could-never-be-built-today\">Pacifica\u003c/a>-based surfer and civil engineer specializing in coastal hydraulics. “The waves land on roofs, blow out garage doors and knock people over. The city also closes the road fairly frequently in the winter because it’s not safe.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the strongest breakers that crash into Pacifica’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1996746/rising-tides-tough-choices-pacifica-allowed-bolster-seawalls-stopgap-plan\">aging seawall\u003c/a> can feel like an earthquake or sound like “somebody shooting off a cannon.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Battalio and his ocean-loving buds have come up with a potential solution that would work with nature and calm the pummeling waves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Their proposal: build an artificial reef on the ocean floor that could slow the waves, which contribute to the estimated 2 feet of annual coastal erosion, collect sand as any natural reef would, create habitat for fish and restore the nonexistent beach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001342\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001342\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-03-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-03-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-03-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-03-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-03-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bob Battalio (right) speaks with George Domurat and Tom Kendall at the end of Carmel Avenue in Pacifica on June 17, 2026, near the proposed site of an artificial reef designed to reduce coastal erosion and help protect the shoreline. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They also have a not-so-hidden agenda of potentially shaping a perfectly peeling surfing wave in an area that Battalio said is too dangerous to catch waves in today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The waves would break in a way that you could paddle into them, ride along in front of them and get a nice ride,” Battalio said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12087431/what-will-pacifica-do-about-its-iconic-but-crumbling-pier\">Pacifica\u003c/a> leaders and San Mateo County officials are on board with the idea and have applied for \u003ca href=\"https://robsreef.org/docs/oneshoreline-presentation.pdf\">state funding\u003c/a> to flesh out the concept with possible help from researchers at UC Santa Cruz and Stanford University. They hope that a successful pilot could serve as a model for other vulnerable coastal communities.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>But coastal experts are not as bullish on the idea. They agree that the solution could, in principle, slow waves and widen the beach, but caution the city to take a whole-shoreline approach rather than piecemeal projects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The wave riders named the somewhat nature-based adaptation project “\u003ca href=\"https://robsreef.org/#team\">Rob’s Reef\u003c/a>” in honor of their friend Rob Caughlan, the founding president of the Surfrider Foundation, who passed away in January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He was our big driver, and he asked the really good questions that would then spin us up in terms of exchanging ideas,” said George Domurat, a long-time Pacifica resident, surfer and commissioner with the San Mateo County Harbor District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Until recently, the group would plan over coffee at the Chit Chat Cafe, located on the Pacifica Municipal Pier. But the pier’s cracking led to the cafe’s forced demolition.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The thrashing waves stole the group of dreamers’ gathering space while showcasing the very problem that their spitball sessions sought to solve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In a way, it’s ironic, but it’s more ironic that people are surprised that things are failing,” Battalio said. “It wasn’t unexpected; that’s why we came together to come up with a solution, because time is not on our side.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Building walls is not working’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Their proposal calls for submerging the equivalent of around 20,000 truckloads of boulders in a triangular pattern — the pointy side facing the sea — 600 feet offshore. It would also restore a beach along the seawall, initially using roughly 50,000 dump-truck loads of sand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What we would like to do is create a new equilibrium by restoring the beach to its historical dimensions,” Battalio said. “Together they should reduce the wave height and the frequency of waves reaching the seawall.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001343\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001343\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-07-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-07-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-07-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-07-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PACIFICAWAVE-07-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bob Battalio points to a proposed artificial reef design in Pacifica on June 17, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Battalio said the proposal would cost around $100 million to expand the beach and build the offshore reef. That cost would be in addition to the city’s more than $80 million seawall plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, the Trump Administration shortlisted the city for a $50 million grant to help pay for the seawall’s replacement. But the federal government canceled the program that would have provided the grant. Now the city is seeking additional funding while awaiting the federal government’s restart of that program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Usually people look at the price tag and go, ‘That’s too big, we don’t wanna do that, why don’t we just build a wall?’” Battalio said. “But just building walls is not working.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001347\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001347\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PacificaWave-02-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PacificaWave-02-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PacificaWave-02-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PacificaWave-02-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260617-PacificaWave-02-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(From left) Bob Battalio, Tom Kendall, and George Domurat sit at the end of Carmel Avenue in Pacifica on June 17, 2026, near the proposed site of an artificial reef designed to reduce coastal erosion and help protect the shoreline. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The locals said that the combination, while an expensive suite of solutions, could benefit the coastal ecosystem and the high-dollar real estate that sits behind the existing seawall. And then there’s the possibility of creating a “world-class surfable wave” in Pacifica, said Adam Libert, an area surfer and engineer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think that would create real economic value of coming to Pacifica and watching surf competitions from the pier,” Libert said. “It’s a vision of not just this kind of dystopian world where sea level rise happens, and we get in big fights about managed retreat, but rather how do we actually build a world we want to live in and achieve positive outcomes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tom Kendall, a Pacifica surfer and retired civil engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, hopes “it becomes very popular with local interests,” who could encourage the city to pursue it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Pacifica is the canary in the coal mine’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.cityofpacifica.org/departments/public-works/engineering/capital-improvement-projects/beach-boulevard-infrastructure-resiliency-project\">city’s plan to rebuild the seawall\u003c/a> 4 feet higher along Beach Boulevard would slow erosion and reduce, but not eliminate, all overtopping and flooding in the short term.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While engineers finish the design of the seawall, Pacifica’s Mayor Christine Boles is concerned that a taller seawall could mean “more wave energy,” which “could cause more overtopping and impact the roadway, homes and people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A reef would help dissipate that energy so we don’t have all that dangerous overtopping,” Boles added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001338\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001338\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAPIER-11-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAPIER-11-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAPIER-11-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAPIER-11-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAPIER-11-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pacifica Mayor Christine Boles speaks during a news conference calling for federal aid for the Pacifica Municipal Pier on June 15, 2026, after structural damage led to the pier’s closure and the demolition of the Chit Chat Cafe. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The pilot project could show the city how to slow erosion elsewhere in Pacifica. Over the last decade, Boles said, the city has lost 11 homes and three apartment buildings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The city is limited in time to be creative,” Boles said. “To have people who are willing to step back and look a little bit more creatively about what other options might be available is super exciting.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several artificial reefs have been built in Australia and New Zealand. Another, constructed in Southern California, was ultimately removed because waves deteriorated it. Oceanside is currently testing a \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADuU_3iKISQ\">physical model\u003c/a> of a potential buildout.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Artificial reefs “haven’t been tested in such an active, strong ocean environment as we have here,” Boles said. She hopes Pacifica, home to fewer than 40,000 people, can become a proving ground for this protection that includes some nature-based principles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Pacifica is the canary in the coal mine for the effects of a warming ocean,” Boles said. “So wouldn’t it be great if the reef did work?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s less sure that the project will create an epic surf break. But if the possibility motivates the community, she said she’ll encourage it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘I don’t think we are looking at a silver bullet’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Pacifica still needs to study the reef’s scale, how much sand is needed and its environmental impacts, said Borja Gonzalez Reguero, a professor with the Coastal Science and Policy Program at UC Santa Cruz.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So far it’s a concept, but it could be a viable one,” Gonzalez Reguero said. He qualified that by saying the reef is not a “silver bullet” solution on its own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The beach on its own won’t be a solution,” he said. “Or the rock armory or the flood wall. Altogether, that could be a solution.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001340\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001340\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAWAVE-13-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAWAVE-13-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAWAVE-13-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAWAVE-13-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260615-PACIFICAWAVE-13-BL-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The coastline in Pacifica on June 15, 2026, where erosion remains an ongoing concern. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gonzalez Reguero said that Pacifica needs fixes, as larger waves and rising sea levels will only worsen the city’s challenges due to climate hazards and sea level rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s bad news for Pacifica,” Gonzalez Reguero said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Gonzalez Reguero said that slowing waves with a mostly underwater network of boulders or other materials could reduce pressure on the seawall and lower repair costs. He suggests the city further develop a strategy to adapt its entire coastline for future waves and higher tides. Boles said that Pacifica plans to launch a visioning process for the entire coastline this fall, with significant public input.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the goal is to reduce erosion beating up the seawall, Gonzalez Reguero said, slowing waves is an integral step to consider.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Mateo County has discussed the feasibility of the artificial reef with the Center for Coastal Climate Resilience at UC Santa Cruz. Patrick Barnard, the group’s research director, said he has questions about the project’s scale and its potential effects on nearby beaches, water levels, and wave energy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The gap with a lot of these solutions is that there hasn’t been enough testing to understand how well they perform,” Barnard said. “These are the kinds of solutions that, if they work, could be worth pursuing, but they need to be evaluated thoroughly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Iván Higuera-Mendieta had never experienced a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/wildfires\">wildfire \u003c/a>season before arriving in California as a Stanford University Ph.D. student. Then, during a bike ride around Palo Alto in the summer of 2021, the Colombian-born researcher noticed what smelled like a neighborhood barbecue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He remarked to his colleagues how interesting it was that it smelled like wood outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He recalls their response with a laugh: “People said, ‘Well, it’s fire season, dummy. You shouldn’t be outside. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1969739/smoke-from-californias-record-wildfires-is-its-own-disaster\">It’s bad for you\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The experience prompted Higuera-Mendieta to investigate a question that has become increasingly urgent in California: How can we reduce smoke from future wildfires?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His research, published in the June 11 issue of \u003cem>Science,\u003c/em> found that a sustained campaign of yearly prescribed burning — in line with \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2019/12/31/california-certifies-statewide-programmatic-environmental-impact-review-to-protect-californians-from-catastrophic-wildfires/\">pre-existing state goals\u003c/a> — could reduce smoke severity during bad wildfire years by 25%. Averaged over a decade of good, normal and bad fire years, the net reduction in smoke pollution is about 10%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study, conducted with co-author Marshall Burke, examined two decades of fire and smoke data and provides the first large-scale estimate of how prescribed-fire-like burns influence future smoke exposure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know that smoke is killing a lot of people. Any reduction in that is meaningful,” said Burke, \u003ca href=\"https://sustainability.stanford.edu/people/marshall-burke\">professor\u003c/a> in the Doerr School of Sustainability at Stanford and Higuera-Mendieta’s advisor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999165\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999165\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Participants in the prescribed burn add fuel to fires as part of a CAL-TREX prescribed burn in Berry Creek on Nov. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Andri Tambunan for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Prescribed fire, or the intentional and cautious burning of land at low severity, is a smoke solution that comes with trade-offs. A prescribed burn produces its own smoke, so the net benefits to air pollution are felt during the next wildfire, which may be soon or may be years away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re not eliminating the problem,” Burke said. “But you’re making a meaningful dent in the problem, particularly in the worst years, and to me, that’s important.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In past research, Burke’s group at Stanford has estimated that wildfire smoke will be the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1972725/wildfire-smoke-could-be-the-main-way-californians-experience-climate-change\">key way most Californians\u003c/a> will feel the harmful effects of climate change. A drying, heating atmosphere, caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuel, is leading us to more severe wildfires, which are reversing decades of air quality improvements in California and across the West.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfire smoke will kill an estimated \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12056655/wildfire-smoke-could-kill-over-5000-californians-a-year-by-2050-study-shows\">70,000 Americans each year by 2050\u003c/a>, if the planet continues to warm at its current rate, according to research Burke and colleagues published last September.[aside postID=news_12086933 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GettyImages-21603288801.jpg']California has set a goal of treating half a million acres annually with low-severity fire. The state is about 20% of the way towards that goal, depending on how you count the progress. But such fires don’t have unalloyed support from the public. Some people complain about the smoke they inevitably produce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the implications of Burke and Higuera-Mendieta’s research is that policymakers who support prescribed fires should emphasize educating the public about the delayed benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A message to all of us living in California that we are probably going to have to tolerate some low-severity smoke during parts of the year when we’re not used to seeing it,” Burke said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve been putting out fires for a century. This has caused a big problem. We’ve got a warming climate, and these put us in a world of hard trade-offs. We just have to be clear-eyed about those trade-offs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the study, researchers mined decades of satellite readings, from data sources like the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. national parks and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Working in such a data-rich environment stood out to Higuera-Mendieta as one of the best things about studying a scientific problem in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wish people knew that part of America’s greatness is this investment in all the open data,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Building on earlier work done by Burke’s group, they used models to trace smoke detected by satellites to the originating fire. They could then simulate how much less smoke those fires would have produced if they’d been less severe because there was a history of prescribed fire in the area. They used natural low-severity fire as a proxy for prescribed fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1996121\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1996121\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo.jpg\" alt=\"A before and after picture of a small, one-story, nicely kept home, and the remains of it after it was burned down.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"990\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-800x396.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-1020x505.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-160x79.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-768x380.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-1536x760.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-1920x950.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A family home in Altadena, California, before and after the Eaton Fire ravaged the community. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the Moreno family)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A parallel, but not novel, finding was that low-severity fire reduced the chance of very severe fires in the area by more than 90%, with reductions trailing off over a decade. This finding is backed by a large body of pre-existing research.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One interesting wrinkle was that the greatest benefits were found in conifer forests, the site of many of the most severe fires, but not all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But if you think of the L.A. fires,” Higuera-Mendieta said, “that’s a completely different animal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Southern California’s brushy, chaparral landscapes, low-severity fires were not very protective from future fires and future smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to find solutions for that second half [of the state],” Higuera-Mendieta said. “I think that opens new research avenues for me, asking what interventions work for Southern California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Iván Higuera-Mendieta had never experienced a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/wildfires\">wildfire \u003c/a>season before arriving in California as a Stanford University Ph.D. student. Then, during a bike ride around Palo Alto in the summer of 2021, the Colombian-born researcher noticed what smelled like a neighborhood barbecue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He remarked to his colleagues how interesting it was that it smelled like wood outside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He recalls their response with a laugh: “People said, ‘Well, it’s fire season, dummy. You shouldn’t be outside. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1969739/smoke-from-californias-record-wildfires-is-its-own-disaster\">It’s bad for you\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The experience prompted Higuera-Mendieta to investigate a question that has become increasingly urgent in California: How can we reduce smoke from future wildfires?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His research, published in the June 11 issue of \u003cem>Science,\u003c/em> found that a sustained campaign of yearly prescribed burning — in line with \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2019/12/31/california-certifies-statewide-programmatic-environmental-impact-review-to-protect-californians-from-catastrophic-wildfires/\">pre-existing state goals\u003c/a> — could reduce smoke severity during bad wildfire years by 25%. Averaged over a decade of good, normal and bad fire years, the net reduction in smoke pollution is about 10%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study, conducted with co-author Marshall Burke, examined two decades of fire and smoke data and provides the first large-scale estimate of how prescribed-fire-like burns influence future smoke exposure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know that smoke is killing a lot of people. Any reduction in that is meaningful,” said Burke, \u003ca href=\"https://sustainability.stanford.edu/people/marshall-burke\">professor\u003c/a> in the Doerr School of Sustainability at Stanford and Higuera-Mendieta’s advisor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1999165\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1999165\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/11/KQED_PRESCRIBED-BURN_AT_257_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Participants in the prescribed burn add fuel to fires as part of a CAL-TREX prescribed burn in Berry Creek on Nov. 4, 2025. \u003ccite>(Andri Tambunan for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Prescribed fire, or the intentional and cautious burning of land at low severity, is a smoke solution that comes with trade-offs. A prescribed burn produces its own smoke, so the net benefits to air pollution are felt during the next wildfire, which may be soon or may be years away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re not eliminating the problem,” Burke said. “But you’re making a meaningful dent in the problem, particularly in the worst years, and to me, that’s important.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In past research, Burke’s group at Stanford has estimated that wildfire smoke will be the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1972725/wildfire-smoke-could-be-the-main-way-californians-experience-climate-change\">key way most Californians\u003c/a> will feel the harmful effects of climate change. A drying, heating atmosphere, caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuel, is leading us to more severe wildfires, which are reversing decades of air quality improvements in California and across the West.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfire smoke will kill an estimated \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12056655/wildfire-smoke-could-kill-over-5000-californians-a-year-by-2050-study-shows\">70,000 Americans each year by 2050\u003c/a>, if the planet continues to warm at its current rate, according to research Burke and colleagues published last September.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>California has set a goal of treating half a million acres annually with low-severity fire. The state is about 20% of the way towards that goal, depending on how you count the progress. But such fires don’t have unalloyed support from the public. Some people complain about the smoke they inevitably produce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the implications of Burke and Higuera-Mendieta’s research is that policymakers who support prescribed fires should emphasize educating the public about the delayed benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A message to all of us living in California that we are probably going to have to tolerate some low-severity smoke during parts of the year when we’re not used to seeing it,” Burke said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve been putting out fires for a century. This has caused a big problem. We’ve got a warming climate, and these put us in a world of hard trade-offs. We just have to be clear-eyed about those trade-offs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the study, researchers mined decades of satellite readings, from data sources like the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. national parks and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. Working in such a data-rich environment stood out to Higuera-Mendieta as one of the best things about studying a scientific problem in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wish people knew that part of America’s greatness is this investment in all the open data,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Building on earlier work done by Burke’s group, they used models to trace smoke detected by satellites to the originating fire. They could then simulate how much less smoke those fires would have produced if they’d been less severe because there was a history of prescribed fire in the area. They used natural low-severity fire as a proxy for prescribed fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1996121\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1996121\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo.jpg\" alt=\"A before and after picture of a small, one-story, nicely kept home, and the remains of it after it was burned down.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"990\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-800x396.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-1020x505.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-160x79.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-768x380.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-1536x760.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/02/IMG_5331_duo-1920x950.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A family home in Altadena, California, before and after the Eaton Fire ravaged the community. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of the Moreno family)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A parallel, but not novel, finding was that low-severity fire reduced the chance of very severe fires in the area by more than 90%, with reductions trailing off over a decade. This finding is backed by a large body of pre-existing research.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One interesting wrinkle was that the greatest benefits were found in conifer forests, the site of many of the most severe fires, but not all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But if you think of the L.A. fires,” Higuera-Mendieta said, “that’s a completely different animal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Southern California’s brushy, chaparral landscapes, low-severity fires were not very protective from future fires and future smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to find solutions for that second half [of the state],” Higuera-Mendieta said. “I think that opens new research avenues for me, asking what interventions work for Southern California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1996746/rising-tides-tough-choices-pacifica-allowed-bolster-seawalls-stopgap-plan\">Pacifica\u003c/a> tore down a beloved local cafe on Tuesday as frustrated residents debated the future of the city’s coastline, which is slipping toward the sea amid a constant barrage of waves and erosion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several hundred stood in silence as excavators ripped the Chit Chat Cafe’s sign off its facade at the base of the Pacifica Municipal Pier, the Pacific Ocean steadily pummeling the rocks below.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pacifica resident Kirk Edison stood on a concrete barrier to film the machines tearing apart the cafe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel bad for the owners,” said Edison, who brought his kids to the pier growing up. “I will be shocked if they fix it. You can’t beat Mother Nature — she will win.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After officials announced the cafe’s demolition, about a dozen people spoke out at a city council meeting on Monday, voicing their anger over the cafe’s closure. Others expressed concern about rebuilding the historic pier, which cracked last week and slanted toward the ocean, as rising seas from human-caused climate change continue to threaten the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mayor Christine Boles said the pier and the tearing down of the cafe are examples of what’s at risk here because of global emissions causing the sea to rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re on the forefront of climate change with sea level rise and erosion,” Boles said. “The ocean is going to win in the end.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001293\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001293\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-27-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-27-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-27-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-27-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-27-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Construction crews demolish the Chit Chat Cafe on the Pacifica Municipal Pier on June 9, 2026, after severe structural damage and widening cracks forced the closure of the pier. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The council unanimously voted to declare a state of local emergency around the pier, and is seeking a state of emergency from the governor. Officials said a third party will prepare a formal report, but aren’t sure when the final product will come out. Boles said previous reviews found that seawater and sea spray had weakened the concrete pier, which required $19 million in repairs before the latest damage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The more deeply we look at the assessments, the more money that is needed before [the pier broke],” Boles said at the meeting. “These have been long-term issues we’ve been trying to deal with, but it’s really hard to find the money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supporters of the cafe owners started a \u003ca href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-chit-chat-cafe-owners-after-pier-closure\">GoFundMe\u003c/a> to help them cover the cost of materials they may lose during the teardown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001276\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001276\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-06-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-06-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-06-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-06-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-06-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Construction crews demolish the Chit Chat Cafe on the Pacifica Municipal Pier on June 9, 2026, after severe structural damage and widening cracks forced the closure of the pier. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, for safety reasons, no one is currently allowed to enter the building to recover any of these items, and it is uncertain if they ever will be able to,” organizers wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local surfer Bob Battalio met with his friends at the coffee shop every week for years. He said he’s mourning the loss of his favorite spot to meet up with his buds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The pier is closed, and I don’t know when they’re going to be able to open it, if ever,” Battalio said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The L-shaped, 1,140-foot-long pier opened in 1973, becoming famous for Dungeness crabbing and attracting anglers worldwide, according to the city’s website. The end of the pier was closed in 2021 due to collapsing handrails, and then, in 2023, waves and high tides closed part of the pier through part of 2024.[aside postID=science_2001255 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/10/BayAreaHeatAP.jpg']Patrick James Cavanaugh, executive director of the Pacific Beach Coalition, said the need to tear down the cafe is an example of acting rather than adequately planning for the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We no longer have time to plan,” Cavanaugh said. “Is the pier the asset, or is our ability to live and thrive in a healthy living environment part of the investment as well?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jolie Bauman has lived in Pacifica for four decades. She told the council that she thinks the pier is worth saving.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Today, we’re seeing the consequences of deferred maintenance,” Bauman said. “I urge the city council to view the pier not as an expense, but as an investment in Pacifica’s future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moss Beach resident David Belkin said he has fished off the pier and brought his kids there. He thinks a public-private partnership could save the pier and the city should consider creating a charitable trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m heavily invested in the idea of the pier being here for future generations and not necessarily waiting for me to pass to get to that point,” Belkin said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But others questioned whether permanently retreating from the ocean and its constant waves and potentially not rebuilding the pier is a better option than reconstructing or strengthening the existing concrete structure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This whole anti-managed retreat position is just really irresponsible; whether we want to admit it or not, we are ground zero for climate change,” Sam C., who did not give a last name, said. “Now that we have to basically take down the Chit Cafe in an emergency declaration, we’re left with unmanaged retreat. Is that what we’re going to continue to do?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001289\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001289\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-12-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-12-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-12-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-12-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-12-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A crowd of people watch construction crews demolish the Chit Chat Cafe on the Pacifica Municipal Pier on June 9, 2026, after severe structural damage and widening cracks forced the closure of the pier. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Every year, high tides eat away at the sea wall protecting Beach Boulevard and the homes behind it. The Pacific Ocean has risen by about 8 inches since the 1880s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State scientists project an additional rise of over a foot by 2050, and up to 6 feet or more by the end of the century in worst-case scenarios.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year’s potential \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12083376/an-incoming-super-el-nino-may-bring-california-a-wet-hot-winter\">super El Niño\u003c/a> could result in a temporary sea level rise of around 6 inches in California, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, in a recent YouTube office hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You have to add that number to climate change-caused sea level rise, which — depending on where you are in California — ranges from about 6 inches to a foot over the past century,” Swain said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001279\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001279\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-17-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-17-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-17-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-17-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-17-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Construction crews demolish the Chit Chat Cafe on the Pacifica Municipal Pier on June 9, 2026, after severe structural damage and widening cracks forced the closure of the pier. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Boles, the city’s mayor, said the possibility of regular and high tides being even higher this fall and winter is very concerning for flooding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have a lot that’s vulnerable closer than 40 feet to the edge right now,” Boles said. “It is terrifying.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The project to rebuild Pacifica’s sea wall, known as Pacifica’s Beach Boulevard Infrastructure Resiliency Project, could cost between $80 million and $114 million. The city is still searching for funding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After officials announced the cafe’s demolition, about a dozen people spoke out at a city council meeting on Monday, voicing their anger over the cafe’s closure. Others expressed concern about rebuilding the historic pier, which cracked last week and slanted toward the ocean, as rising seas from human-caused climate change continue to threaten the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mayor Christine Boles said the pier and the tearing down of the cafe are examples of what’s at risk here because of global emissions causing the sea to rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re on the forefront of climate change with sea level rise and erosion,” Boles said. “The ocean is going to win in the end.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001293\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001293\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-27-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-27-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-27-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-27-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-27-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Construction crews demolish the Chit Chat Cafe on the Pacifica Municipal Pier on June 9, 2026, after severe structural damage and widening cracks forced the closure of the pier. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The council unanimously voted to declare a state of local emergency around the pier, and is seeking a state of emergency from the governor. Officials said a third party will prepare a formal report, but aren’t sure when the final product will come out. Boles said previous reviews found that seawater and sea spray had weakened the concrete pier, which required $19 million in repairs before the latest damage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The more deeply we look at the assessments, the more money that is needed before [the pier broke],” Boles said at the meeting. “These have been long-term issues we’ve been trying to deal with, but it’s really hard to find the money.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supporters of the cafe owners started a \u003ca href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-chit-chat-cafe-owners-after-pier-closure\">GoFundMe\u003c/a> to help them cover the cost of materials they may lose during the teardown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001276\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001276\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-06-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-06-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-06-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-06-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-06-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Construction crews demolish the Chit Chat Cafe on the Pacifica Municipal Pier on June 9, 2026, after severe structural damage and widening cracks forced the closure of the pier. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Unfortunately, for safety reasons, no one is currently allowed to enter the building to recover any of these items, and it is uncertain if they ever will be able to,” organizers wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local surfer Bob Battalio met with his friends at the coffee shop every week for years. He said he’s mourning the loss of his favorite spot to meet up with his buds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The pier is closed, and I don’t know when they’re going to be able to open it, if ever,” Battalio said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The L-shaped, 1,140-foot-long pier opened in 1973, becoming famous for Dungeness crabbing and attracting anglers worldwide, according to the city’s website. The end of the pier was closed in 2021 due to collapsing handrails, and then, in 2023, waves and high tides closed part of the pier through part of 2024.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Patrick James Cavanaugh, executive director of the Pacific Beach Coalition, said the need to tear down the cafe is an example of acting rather than adequately planning for the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We no longer have time to plan,” Cavanaugh said. “Is the pier the asset, or is our ability to live and thrive in a healthy living environment part of the investment as well?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jolie Bauman has lived in Pacifica for four decades. She told the council that she thinks the pier is worth saving.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Today, we’re seeing the consequences of deferred maintenance,” Bauman said. “I urge the city council to view the pier not as an expense, but as an investment in Pacifica’s future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moss Beach resident David Belkin said he has fished off the pier and brought his kids there. He thinks a public-private partnership could save the pier and the city should consider creating a charitable trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m heavily invested in the idea of the pier being here for future generations and not necessarily waiting for me to pass to get to that point,” Belkin said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But others questioned whether permanently retreating from the ocean and its constant waves and potentially not rebuilding the pier is a better option than reconstructing or strengthening the existing concrete structure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This whole anti-managed retreat position is just really irresponsible; whether we want to admit it or not, we are ground zero for climate change,” Sam C., who did not give a last name, said. “Now that we have to basically take down the Chit Cafe in an emergency declaration, we’re left with unmanaged retreat. Is that what we’re going to continue to do?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001289\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001289\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-12-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-12-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-12-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-12-BL_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PacificaPierUpdate-12-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A crowd of people watch construction crews demolish the Chit Chat Cafe on the Pacifica Municipal Pier on June 9, 2026, after severe structural damage and widening cracks forced the closure of the pier. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Every year, high tides eat away at the sea wall protecting Beach Boulevard and the homes behind it. The Pacific Ocean has risen by about 8 inches since the 1880s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State scientists project an additional rise of over a foot by 2050, and up to 6 feet or more by the end of the century in worst-case scenarios.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year’s potential \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12083376/an-incoming-super-el-nino-may-bring-california-a-wet-hot-winter\">super El Niño\u003c/a> could result in a temporary sea level rise of around 6 inches in California, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, in a recent YouTube office hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You have to add that number to climate change-caused sea level rise, which — depending on where you are in California — ranges from about 6 inches to a foot over the past century,” Swain said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001279\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001279\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-17-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-17-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-17-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-17-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260609-PACIFICAPIERUPDATE-17-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Construction crews demolish the Chit Chat Cafe on the Pacifica Municipal Pier on June 9, 2026, after severe structural damage and widening cracks forced the closure of the pier. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Boles, the city’s mayor, said the possibility of regular and high tides being even higher this fall and winter is very concerning for flooding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have a lot that’s vulnerable closer than 40 feet to the edge right now,” Boles said. “It is terrifying.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The project to rebuild Pacifica’s sea wall, known as Pacifica’s Beach Boulevard Infrastructure Resiliency Project, could cost between $80 million and $114 million. The city is still searching for funding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Northern California Warms Up This Week, With Heat Advisory and Red Flag Warnings",
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"content": "\u003cp>By the end of the week, forecasters expect \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/summer-guide-2026\">summer\u003c/a>-like temperatures across much of the\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/bay-area\"> Bay Area\u003c/a>, with dry, windy conditions leading PG&E to warn of potential power shutoffs across Northern California due to wildfire risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>High temperatures could reach the 100-degree mark across the North and South Bay. The trend begins Tuesday after possible showers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Temperatures “will rise dramatically” on Wednesday as a ridge of high pressure builds over the region, Bay Area National Weather Service meteorologists wrote in their \u003ca href=\"https://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?format=ci&glossary=1&issuedby=mtr&product=afd&site=mtr&version=1\">daily\u003c/a> forecast discussion. Inland areas like Livermore could reach into the triple digits by Thursday before dipping into the 80s and 90s this weekend, adding to forecasters’ fire concerns as the region heats up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Thursday is our hottest day of the week,” said Karleisa Rogacheski, a lead meteorologist with the weather service’s Bay Area office. “We may have a couple of 100-degree spots sitting up in the North Bay and East Bay areas.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The service has issued a red flag warning for the North Bay mountains and the East Bay Hills. The warning starts Wednesday at 11 a.m. and continues through Thursday morning due to gusty winds and critically dry conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a really strong setup for if a spark starts a fire, that fire is going to have the opportunity to grow very quickly in those areas,” said Brayden Murdock, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Bay Area office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000321\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1949px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000321\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/20240711_HeatFeatures-7_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1949\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/20240711_HeatFeatures-7_qed.jpg 1949w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/20240711_HeatFeatures-7_qed-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/20240711_HeatFeatures-7_qed-768x525.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/20240711_HeatFeatures-7_qed-1536x1051.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1949px) 100vw, 1949px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Siblings Mason, 7, and Jordan Dewitt, 8, enjoy the spray grounds at Prince Gateway Park in Santa Rosa as the temperature reached 100 degrees on July 11, 2024. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The service has also issued a heat advisory through Thursday evening for most of the region, extending from the North Bay to San Francisco to San José. Temperatures could reach near triple digits in inland areas like Santa Rosa and Livermore, while San Francisco and Oakland are expected to reach the low 80s by Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Wednesday is going to be a pretty warm day and one of the warmest we’ve seen so far this year,” Murdock said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rogacheski said the warm-up isn’t considered a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000299/a-delight-mare-bay-area-sizzles-march-heat-wave-could-shatter-records\">heat wave\u003c/a>, but forecasters expect to reach the low 80s in San Francisco and the 90s and low 100s in the North, South and East Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000292\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000292\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/250821-FRUITVALE-HEAT-MD-01_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/250821-FRUITVALE-HEAT-MD-01_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/250821-FRUITVALE-HEAT-MD-01_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/250821-FRUITVALE-HEAT-MD-01_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/250821-FRUITVALE-HEAT-MD-01_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People walk down International Boulevard in Oakland during a heat wave on Aug. 21, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Rogacheski’s office is warning the public, especially in inland areas, that a moderate heat risk will begin Wednesday. That level of heat poses a risk of heat-related illness for sensitive populations, including children, the elderly and people who work or live outdoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Pay attention to your body during these times because that’s kind of going to be an indicator of what might help,” Rogacheski said. “Take frequent breaks, rest in shade, stay hydrated and wear sunscreen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The warm temperatures, winds up to 45 mph and decreasing relative humidity could create prime wildfire conditions if a spark were to ignite, Rogacheski said, for areas such as the eastern Napa Hills and the interior East Bay valleys and mountains.[aside postID=science_2001063 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260527-BEE-SWARMS-MD-06-KQED.jpg']“This isn’t a slam dunk red flag warning because all of our fuels aren’t fully cured and dried out,” Rogacheski said. “If there are locations that are dry, there could be easier fire starts and spreads, but there are areas that are still kind of green and moist. It’ll be a little bit harder for fires to start there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The weather service’s Sacramento office has issued a \u003ca href=\"https://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=STO&wwa=red%20flag%20warning\">red flag warning\u003c/a> for a large portion of the Sacramento Valley on Wednesday through Thursday evening, said Courtney Carpenter, the office’s warning coordination meteorologist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There could be a problem if anything gets started,” Carpenter said. “Fuels are drying out, and we’ve got gusty winds and low humidity, so that makes firefighting conditions challenging.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response, PG&E announced Monday that it may shut off power in parts of at least eight counties this week. The warning includes potential \u003ca href=\"https://pgealerts.alerts.pge.com/psps-updates/7day/\">public safety power shutoffs \u003c/a>through Friday in parts of Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Napa, Sonoma, Sutter, Tehama and Yolo counties. The utility shuts off power in order to limit the risk of wildfire from its equipment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company notes that only “some parts” of each county may be affected and that specific addresses are usually available two days before a shutoff occurs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>By the end of the week, forecasters expect \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/summer-guide-2026\">summer\u003c/a>-like temperatures across much of the\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/bay-area\"> Bay Area\u003c/a>, with dry, windy conditions leading PG&E to warn of potential power shutoffs across Northern California due to wildfire risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>High temperatures could reach the 100-degree mark across the North and South Bay. The trend begins Tuesday after possible showers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Temperatures “will rise dramatically” on Wednesday as a ridge of high pressure builds over the region, Bay Area National Weather Service meteorologists wrote in their \u003ca href=\"https://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?format=ci&glossary=1&issuedby=mtr&product=afd&site=mtr&version=1\">daily\u003c/a> forecast discussion. Inland areas like Livermore could reach into the triple digits by Thursday before dipping into the 80s and 90s this weekend, adding to forecasters’ fire concerns as the region heats up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Thursday is our hottest day of the week,” said Karleisa Rogacheski, a lead meteorologist with the weather service’s Bay Area office. “We may have a couple of 100-degree spots sitting up in the North Bay and East Bay areas.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The service has issued a red flag warning for the North Bay mountains and the East Bay Hills. The warning starts Wednesday at 11 a.m. and continues through Thursday morning due to gusty winds and critically dry conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a really strong setup for if a spark starts a fire, that fire is going to have the opportunity to grow very quickly in those areas,” said Brayden Murdock, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Bay Area office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000321\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1949px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000321\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/20240711_HeatFeatures-7_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1949\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/20240711_HeatFeatures-7_qed.jpg 1949w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/20240711_HeatFeatures-7_qed-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/20240711_HeatFeatures-7_qed-768x525.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/20240711_HeatFeatures-7_qed-1536x1051.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1949px) 100vw, 1949px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Siblings Mason, 7, and Jordan Dewitt, 8, enjoy the spray grounds at Prince Gateway Park in Santa Rosa as the temperature reached 100 degrees on July 11, 2024. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The service has also issued a heat advisory through Thursday evening for most of the region, extending from the North Bay to San Francisco to San José. Temperatures could reach near triple digits in inland areas like Santa Rosa and Livermore, while San Francisco and Oakland are expected to reach the low 80s by Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Wednesday is going to be a pretty warm day and one of the warmest we’ve seen so far this year,” Murdock said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rogacheski said the warm-up isn’t considered a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/2000299/a-delight-mare-bay-area-sizzles-march-heat-wave-could-shatter-records\">heat wave\u003c/a>, but forecasters expect to reach the low 80s in San Francisco and the 90s and low 100s in the North, South and East Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000292\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000292\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/250821-FRUITVALE-HEAT-MD-01_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/250821-FRUITVALE-HEAT-MD-01_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/250821-FRUITVALE-HEAT-MD-01_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/250821-FRUITVALE-HEAT-MD-01_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/03/250821-FRUITVALE-HEAT-MD-01_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People walk down International Boulevard in Oakland during a heat wave on Aug. 21, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Rogacheski’s office is warning the public, especially in inland areas, that a moderate heat risk will begin Wednesday. That level of heat poses a risk of heat-related illness for sensitive populations, including children, the elderly and people who work or live outdoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Pay attention to your body during these times because that’s kind of going to be an indicator of what might help,” Rogacheski said. “Take frequent breaks, rest in shade, stay hydrated and wear sunscreen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The warm temperatures, winds up to 45 mph and decreasing relative humidity could create prime wildfire conditions if a spark were to ignite, Rogacheski said, for areas such as the eastern Napa Hills and the interior East Bay valleys and mountains.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“This isn’t a slam dunk red flag warning because all of our fuels aren’t fully cured and dried out,” Rogacheski said. “If there are locations that are dry, there could be easier fire starts and spreads, but there are areas that are still kind of green and moist. It’ll be a little bit harder for fires to start there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The weather service’s Sacramento office has issued a \u003ca href=\"https://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=STO&wwa=red%20flag%20warning\">red flag warning\u003c/a> for a large portion of the Sacramento Valley on Wednesday through Thursday evening, said Courtney Carpenter, the office’s warning coordination meteorologist.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There could be a problem if anything gets started,” Carpenter said. “Fuels are drying out, and we’ve got gusty winds and low humidity, so that makes firefighting conditions challenging.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response, PG&E announced Monday that it may shut off power in parts of at least eight counties this week. The warning includes potential \u003ca href=\"https://pgealerts.alerts.pge.com/psps-updates/7day/\">public safety power shutoffs \u003c/a>through Friday in parts of Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Napa, Sonoma, Sutter, Tehama and Yolo counties. The utility shuts off power in order to limit the risk of wildfire from its equipment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company notes that only “some parts” of each county may be affected and that specific addresses are usually available two days before a shutoff occurs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>When Jen Hobbs moved to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a> last summer, she assumed friendships would come naturally, at the coffee shop or after an exercise class. But six months in, she didn’t have any New Year’s Eve plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I still didn’t have any friends,” said Hobbs, a 31-year-old Twitch streamer who works from home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She made it her resolution to fix that and downloaded every friendship app she had seen on Instagram. Services like \u003ca href=\"https://timeleft.com/\">Timeleft\u003c/a> have upwards of three million users. \u003ca href=\"https://dayofus.com/\">DayOfUs\u003c/a> is in 14 different international cities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The premise is similar. Users answer questions about birth order, economic background, and how spontaneous they are, and an algorithm matches them with like-minded strangers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some apps keep you swiping through profiles, hoping to find a match. Others plan a night out, but leave the follow-up to you. The most structured services match the same people week after week for a shared meal. All you have to do is show up. That repetition gives connection a chance to take hold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These platforms are trying to replace what institutions like church, civic groups, and the office once provided. Remember sipping coffee after a service? Or standing around the water cooler at work? You didn’t have to plan it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000919\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000919\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-05-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-05-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-05-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-05-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-05-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Co-founder Matt Goss chats with an attendee at “Friend Cult,” a weekly gathering meant to help people spend more time with friends, at the Alice Collective in Oakland on April 29, 2026, where participants share a meal and spend time together. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the Bay Area, where remote work is common and people cycle through jobs and cities, there are fewer chances to see the same faces and let familiarity build over time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Hobbs, the curated dinners were fine. She met interesting people. And then, almost without exception, everyone drifted back into their separate lives. So she decided to shell out a few hundred dollars and try \u003ca href=\"https://www.therealroots.com/\">Real Roots\u003c/a>, a women-only program that matched her with nine strangers and committed them to meeting every Tuesday for six weeks. A guide tagged along to encourage the attendees to push past small talk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Since we were meeting every week, I think we got to know each other better and better,” Hobbs said. “And now, even though the series is over, we still meet up every Tuesday.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s only been a few months, but the entire group is still gathering.[aside postID=science_2000962 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/05/260429-CLIMATESOLUTIONSINDUCTION00012_TV-KQED.jpg']They’ve scheduled a craft night to make glitter cups, and Hobbs organized a pole dancing class.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along the way, something else has shifted for her. For years, most of her friendships lived online through gaming and streaming, connections she once defended as just as real as anything in person. That’s no longer true.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I do feel more fulfilled by face-to-face socializing,” she said. “There’s just something about getting up and going outside.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recently, the ladies met up for game night at Victory Point Cafe in Berkeley. Over a round of the board game of “Hues and Cues,” the women talked about how they’d grown tired of trying to build connections online or through one-off events.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kelsey Manion said she had tried apps like \u003ca href=\"https://bumble.com/bff-us/\">Bumble For Friends\u003c/a> (BFF), the friendship-focused version of the dating app, but the experience felt hollow and the connections rarely lasted. “It felt easier to ghost people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Morgan Ezeir said she never made it off the apps. “I did BFF for a little bit, but it just felt weird,” she said. “It felt like I was dating, but I wasn’t.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wing Tovbis, who moved to the Bay Area from Canada, said even when they found a connection on the app, it didn’t carry over. “It’s a pretty big hurdle to actually meet in person.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000917\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000917\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-04-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-04-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jenn Hobbs, right, smiles as she contemplates her next move alongside Wing Tovbis, center, and Kelsea Manion, left, while playing “Hues and Cues” at Victory Point Cafe in Berkeley, California, on Thursday, April 23, 2026. The women met through a friendship app called RealRoots, where they were matched with each other based on common interests and participated in a series of social events. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The pull toward connection is strong enough to change behavior after years of isolation. About half of Americans \u003ca href=\"https://newsroom.thecignagroup.com/all-stories?item=446\">report\u003c/a> feeling lonely because we are spending less and less time together, with the steepest declines among teenagers, who are spending 45% less time hanging out in person, according to \u003ca href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/data-insights/young-americans-spend-much-more-time-alone-than-they-did-fifteen-years-ago?utm_\">federal data\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s no recent period in U.S. history where we’ve spent so much time alone. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.who.int/teams/social-determinants-of-health/demographic-change-and-healthy-ageing/social-isolation-and-loneliness\">World Health Organization\u003c/a> warns that social isolation carries risks comparable to smoking, and is linked to higher rates of depression, anxiety, heart disease and early death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Richard Weissbourd, a psychologist at Harvard who studies loneliness, describes it as “an anguishing feeling of deprivation that you don’t feel deeply known, that you don’t have relationships that are deeply meaningful to you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said several drivers have been at play.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Social media led to hundreds of online followers, but very few real friends, while also highlighting how much more fun others were having. And it goes beyond comparison; it’s also the relentless scroll of frightening news that leads to a sense of despair.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many people \u003ca href=\"https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b7c56e255b02c683659fe43/t/67001295042a0f327c6e6fab/1728058005340/Loneliness_+Brief+Report+2024_October_FINAL.pdf\">report\u003c/a> what Weissbourd called existential loneliness: not just missing friends, but feeling fundamentally unmoored from the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000916\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000916\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-03-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-03-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wing Tovbis and Jenn Hobbs place their cones on the game board while playing “Hues and Cues” at Victory Point Cafe in Berkeley, California, on Thursday, April 23, 2026. Tovbis and Hobbs met through a friendship app called RealRoots, where they were matched with each other based on common interests and participated in a series of social events. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Then the pandemic pulled people out of schools, offices, and gyms. Young people spent critical social years behind screens, had fewer chances to practice in-person interaction\u003ca href=\"https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09760911251333362?\">, and their anxiety and loneliness climbed\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Weissbourd pointed to a feedback loop loneliness creates: you feel like you have bad social skills, so you pull back; pulling back makes you rustier; rustiness makes you feel even more deficient.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Emily Steelhammer, who uses they/them pronouns, said they know that trap well. Friendships have come and gone during their 15 years in Oakland. People moved, drifted off, got swallowed by jobs and kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They tried to rebuild through a queer meetup, acting classes, even a summer in New York, half-hoping a change of scenery would solve their ache for deeper connections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I feel lonely, I pick up the phone and fill that void with parasocial relationships — YouTube, TV, scrolling for hours,” Steelhammer said. “It’s so easy to trick my brain into filling that void in a way that’s not practically changing my life at all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Friendship apps didn’t help either. The endless swiping felt like window shopping. They would scroll, then close the app, feeling worse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What finally shifted things was something simpler. A flyer they kept seeing around Lake Merritt for a group called \u003ca href=\"https://www.friendcult.co/\">Friend Cult\u003c/a>. Its tagline stuck: “It shouldn’t take a blood ritual to get our friends together” — a nod to the elaborate scheduling gymnastics so many Bay Area residents joke about.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000918\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000918\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-03-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-03-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-03-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-03-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-03-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Co-founder Courtney Owyang (right) chats with attendees at “Friend Cult,” a weekly gathering meant to help people spend more time with friends, at the Alice Collective in Oakland on April 29, 2026, where participants share a meal and spend time together. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Every Wednesday, the group meets at a different Oakland restaurant for what they call a “friend sabbath.” There are about 40 regulars, $35 monthly dues, and a few loose rules: don’t talk about work, ask personal questions, come and go freely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I went the first night dreading it,” Steelhammer said. “And the first thing that happened was someone immediately pulled me into a conversation about restaurant recommendations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then somebody walked in holding a plastic alligator head, trying to figure out how to turn it into a lamp.” They laughed. “I went home thinking, I’m so glad I left the house.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They keep going back each week, even when the venue isn’t their scene. Recently, they met at a pizza spot called Hesher’s located on Broadway near Jack London Square. The rock music was loud. Not their vibe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the door, they slipped a green cord around their neck to signal they’re a regular. Newcomers wear red. People clock who’s new and pull them in. No one stands alone for long.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Within minutes, people are talking about breakups, parents, money, and why they moved here. It was surprisingly light on small talk. Laughter cut through the music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000921\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000921\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-10-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-10-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-10-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-10-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-10-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Attendees chat with one another at “Friend Cult,” a weekly gathering meant to help people spend more time with friends, at the Alice Collective in Oakland on April 29, 2026, where participants share a meal and spend time together. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Steelhammer moved through the room with ease, dropping into one circle, then another. She asked questions and waited for the answers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People responded in kind. They said they didn’t expect to enjoy the evening, but found that they did. They called it their weekly “social nutrition.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Research suggests that kind of regularity matters. It can take \u003ca href=\"https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0265407518761225?__cf_chl_tk=HC7GtSJy6sSrAw0mWQQMq_nRZUEeofCdukpeiQ_FBCk-1776900052-1.0.1.1-U1IFfdDojYJu52vKIEq3YM0DVP5PImA7bVCvpM4RD0s\">dozens of hours\u003c/a> together to move from acquaintance to friend, and far more to build real closeness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is collective buy-in at Friend Cult,” she said. “People are choosing to be there, and the goal is actually to enact community, not just to see if you can find somebody useful and move on. It’s like an old school social club. Like the Elks Lodge. But with stranger aesthetics.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In many ways, it echoes something older — regular gatherings, shared space, a reason to return. The fact that it has to be rebuilt points to a deeper problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Developmental psychologist Niobe Way has spent four decades listening to young people talk about friendship, and she has a blunt diagnosis for what’s gone wrong. It isn’t social media. It isn’t the pandemic. It’s the culture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Loneliness is not natural,” Way said. “We are social animals.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000920\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000920\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-07-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-07-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-07-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-07-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-07-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tobi Akomolede (center) speaks with fellow attendees at “Friend Cult,” a weekly gathering meant to help people spend more time with friends, at the Alice Collective in Oakland on April 29, 2026, where participants share a meal and spend time together. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>She calls it a clash of culture and nature. Our society prizes self-sufficiency, independence, and productivity. It sidelines caring, vulnerability, and connection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The only thing we need in our lives is each other,” she said. “Normalize wanting intimate friendship. It is not a girly thing. It is not a gay thing. It is a human thing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said the first step is simple. Pay attention to the person in front of you. Ask what matters to them. Listen to the answer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Friendship apps and curated dinners are helping people connect in a lonely moment. But they can only open the door. The effort and the follow-up are still on us.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>When Jen Hobbs moved to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland\">Oakland\u003c/a> last summer, she assumed friendships would come naturally, at the coffee shop or after an exercise class. But six months in, she didn’t have any New Year’s Eve plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I still didn’t have any friends,” said Hobbs, a 31-year-old Twitch streamer who works from home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She made it her resolution to fix that and downloaded every friendship app she had seen on Instagram. Services like \u003ca href=\"https://timeleft.com/\">Timeleft\u003c/a> have upwards of three million users. \u003ca href=\"https://dayofus.com/\">DayOfUs\u003c/a> is in 14 different international cities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The premise is similar. Users answer questions about birth order, economic background, and how spontaneous they are, and an algorithm matches them with like-minded strangers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some apps keep you swiping through profiles, hoping to find a match. Others plan a night out, but leave the follow-up to you. The most structured services match the same people week after week for a shared meal. All you have to do is show up. That repetition gives connection a chance to take hold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These platforms are trying to replace what institutions like church, civic groups, and the office once provided. Remember sipping coffee after a service? Or standing around the water cooler at work? You didn’t have to plan it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000919\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000919\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-05-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-05-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-05-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-05-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-05-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Co-founder Matt Goss chats with an attendee at “Friend Cult,” a weekly gathering meant to help people spend more time with friends, at the Alice Collective in Oakland on April 29, 2026, where participants share a meal and spend time together. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the Bay Area, where remote work is common and people cycle through jobs and cities, there are fewer chances to see the same faces and let familiarity build over time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Hobbs, the curated dinners were fine. She met interesting people. And then, almost without exception, everyone drifted back into their separate lives. So she decided to shell out a few hundred dollars and try \u003ca href=\"https://www.therealroots.com/\">Real Roots\u003c/a>, a women-only program that matched her with nine strangers and committed them to meeting every Tuesday for six weeks. A guide tagged along to encourage the attendees to push past small talk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Since we were meeting every week, I think we got to know each other better and better,” Hobbs said. “And now, even though the series is over, we still meet up every Tuesday.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s only been a few months, but the entire group is still gathering.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>They’ve scheduled a craft night to make glitter cups, and Hobbs organized a pole dancing class.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along the way, something else has shifted for her. For years, most of her friendships lived online through gaming and streaming, connections she once defended as just as real as anything in person. That’s no longer true.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I do feel more fulfilled by face-to-face socializing,” she said. “There’s just something about getting up and going outside.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recently, the ladies met up for game night at Victory Point Cafe in Berkeley. Over a round of the board game of “Hues and Cues,” the women talked about how they’d grown tired of trying to build connections online or through one-off events.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kelsey Manion said she had tried apps like \u003ca href=\"https://bumble.com/bff-us/\">Bumble For Friends\u003c/a> (BFF), the friendship-focused version of the dating app, but the experience felt hollow and the connections rarely lasted. “It felt easier to ghost people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Morgan Ezeir said she never made it off the apps. “I did BFF for a little bit, but it just felt weird,” she said. “It felt like I was dating, but I wasn’t.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wing Tovbis, who moved to the Bay Area from Canada, said even when they found a connection on the app, it didn’t carry over. “It’s a pretty big hurdle to actually meet in person.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000917\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000917\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-04-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-04-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jenn Hobbs, right, smiles as she contemplates her next move alongside Wing Tovbis, center, and Kelsea Manion, left, while playing “Hues and Cues” at Victory Point Cafe in Berkeley, California, on Thursday, April 23, 2026. The women met through a friendship app called RealRoots, where they were matched with each other based on common interests and participated in a series of social events. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The pull toward connection is strong enough to change behavior after years of isolation. About half of Americans \u003ca href=\"https://newsroom.thecignagroup.com/all-stories?item=446\">report\u003c/a> feeling lonely because we are spending less and less time together, with the steepest declines among teenagers, who are spending 45% less time hanging out in person, according to \u003ca href=\"https://ourworldindata.org/data-insights/young-americans-spend-much-more-time-alone-than-they-did-fifteen-years-ago?utm_\">federal data\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s no recent period in U.S. history where we’ve spent so much time alone. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.who.int/teams/social-determinants-of-health/demographic-change-and-healthy-ageing/social-isolation-and-loneliness\">World Health Organization\u003c/a> warns that social isolation carries risks comparable to smoking, and is linked to higher rates of depression, anxiety, heart disease and early death.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Richard Weissbourd, a psychologist at Harvard who studies loneliness, describes it as “an anguishing feeling of deprivation that you don’t feel deeply known, that you don’t have relationships that are deeply meaningful to you.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said several drivers have been at play.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Social media led to hundreds of online followers, but very few real friends, while also highlighting how much more fun others were having. And it goes beyond comparison; it’s also the relentless scroll of frightening news that leads to a sense of despair.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many people \u003ca href=\"https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b7c56e255b02c683659fe43/t/67001295042a0f327c6e6fab/1728058005340/Loneliness_+Brief+Report+2024_October_FINAL.pdf\">report\u003c/a> what Weissbourd called existential loneliness: not just missing friends, but feeling fundamentally unmoored from the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000916\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000916\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-03-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-03-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/042326-FRIENDSHIPCULT-JY-03-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wing Tovbis and Jenn Hobbs place their cones on the game board while playing “Hues and Cues” at Victory Point Cafe in Berkeley, California, on Thursday, April 23, 2026. Tovbis and Hobbs met through a friendship app called RealRoots, where they were matched with each other based on common interests and participated in a series of social events. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Then the pandemic pulled people out of schools, offices, and gyms. Young people spent critical social years behind screens, had fewer chances to practice in-person interaction\u003ca href=\"https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09760911251333362?\">, and their anxiety and loneliness climbed\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Weissbourd pointed to a feedback loop loneliness creates: you feel like you have bad social skills, so you pull back; pulling back makes you rustier; rustiness makes you feel even more deficient.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Emily Steelhammer, who uses they/them pronouns, said they know that trap well. Friendships have come and gone during their 15 years in Oakland. People moved, drifted off, got swallowed by jobs and kids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They tried to rebuild through a queer meetup, acting classes, even a summer in New York, half-hoping a change of scenery would solve their ache for deeper connections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I feel lonely, I pick up the phone and fill that void with parasocial relationships — YouTube, TV, scrolling for hours,” Steelhammer said. “It’s so easy to trick my brain into filling that void in a way that’s not practically changing my life at all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Friendship apps didn’t help either. The endless swiping felt like window shopping. They would scroll, then close the app, feeling worse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What finally shifted things was something simpler. A flyer they kept seeing around Lake Merritt for a group called \u003ca href=\"https://www.friendcult.co/\">Friend Cult\u003c/a>. Its tagline stuck: “It shouldn’t take a blood ritual to get our friends together” — a nod to the elaborate scheduling gymnastics so many Bay Area residents joke about.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000918\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000918\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-03-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-03-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-03-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-03-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-03-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Co-founder Courtney Owyang (right) chats with attendees at “Friend Cult,” a weekly gathering meant to help people spend more time with friends, at the Alice Collective in Oakland on April 29, 2026, where participants share a meal and spend time together. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Every Wednesday, the group meets at a different Oakland restaurant for what they call a “friend sabbath.” There are about 40 regulars, $35 monthly dues, and a few loose rules: don’t talk about work, ask personal questions, come and go freely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I went the first night dreading it,” Steelhammer said. “And the first thing that happened was someone immediately pulled me into a conversation about restaurant recommendations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then somebody walked in holding a plastic alligator head, trying to figure out how to turn it into a lamp.” They laughed. “I went home thinking, I’m so glad I left the house.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They keep going back each week, even when the venue isn’t their scene. Recently, they met at a pizza spot called Hesher’s located on Broadway near Jack London Square. The rock music was loud. Not their vibe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the door, they slipped a green cord around their neck to signal they’re a regular. Newcomers wear red. People clock who’s new and pull them in. No one stands alone for long.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Within minutes, people are talking about breakups, parents, money, and why they moved here. It was surprisingly light on small talk. Laughter cut through the music.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000921\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000921\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-10-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-10-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-10-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-10-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-10-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Attendees chat with one another at “Friend Cult,” a weekly gathering meant to help people spend more time with friends, at the Alice Collective in Oakland on April 29, 2026, where participants share a meal and spend time together. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Steelhammer moved through the room with ease, dropping into one circle, then another. She asked questions and waited for the answers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People responded in kind. They said they didn’t expect to enjoy the evening, but found that they did. They called it their weekly “social nutrition.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Research suggests that kind of regularity matters. It can take \u003ca href=\"https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0265407518761225?__cf_chl_tk=HC7GtSJy6sSrAw0mWQQMq_nRZUEeofCdukpeiQ_FBCk-1776900052-1.0.1.1-U1IFfdDojYJu52vKIEq3YM0DVP5PImA7bVCvpM4RD0s\">dozens of hours\u003c/a> together to move from acquaintance to friend, and far more to build real closeness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is collective buy-in at Friend Cult,” she said. “People are choosing to be there, and the goal is actually to enact community, not just to see if you can find somebody useful and move on. It’s like an old school social club. Like the Elks Lodge. But with stranger aesthetics.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In many ways, it echoes something older — regular gatherings, shared space, a reason to return. The fact that it has to be rebuilt points to a deeper problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Developmental psychologist Niobe Way has spent four decades listening to young people talk about friendship, and she has a blunt diagnosis for what’s gone wrong. It isn’t social media. It isn’t the pandemic. It’s the culture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Loneliness is not natural,” Way said. “We are social animals.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2000920\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2000920\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-07-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-07-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-07-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-07-BL-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/04/260429-FRIENDSHIPCULT-07-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tobi Akomolede (center) speaks with fellow attendees at “Friend Cult,” a weekly gathering meant to help people spend more time with friends, at the Alice Collective in Oakland on April 29, 2026, where participants share a meal and spend time together. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>She calls it a clash of culture and nature. Our society prizes self-sufficiency, independence, and productivity. It sidelines caring, vulnerability, and connection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The only thing we need in our lives is each other,” she said. “Normalize wanting intimate friendship. It is not a girly thing. It is not a gay thing. It is a human thing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said the first step is simple. Pay attention to the person in front of you. Ask what matters to them. Listen to the answer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "how-you-can-mostly-cut-using-fossil-fuels-as-a-renter-in-the-bay-area",
"title": "Hot Rugs, Heat Pumps and Induction Cooktops: How Renters Can Go Electric",
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"headTitle": "Hot Rugs, Heat Pumps and Induction Cooktops: How Renters Can Go Electric | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>California is transitioning to clean energy. KQED is reporting on what that means for you. What works? What doesn’t? How much does it cost? Help us find these answers and more by \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://donate.kqed.org/sojo?ms=W2510EANXXXX22\">\u003cem>donating today\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An increasing number of people are swapping gas appliances for electric ones to improve their indoor air quality and to reduce their carbon footprint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for people who rent, making the switch can seem out of reach: they are not the ones deciding what new appliance will replace the last, or when to rewire a home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recent, creative uses of existing technologies are removing these barriers. A market is opening for renters, who comprise almost half of Bay Area households, to go electric. These solutions can also work for owners who want to cut fossil fuels without major electrical work or service upgrades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s your guide for how to do that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jump to:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Cooking\">Cooking\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Warmingandcoolingyourhome\">Warming and cooling your home\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Generatingsomeofyourownelectricity\">Generating some of your own electricity\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Storingenergy\">Storing energy\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Chargingyourcar\">Charging your car\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Dryingyourclothes\">Drying your clothes\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Talkingtoyourpropertyowner\">Talking to your property owner\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Payingforyourutilitybills\">Paying for your utility bills\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Cooking\">\u003c/a>Cooking\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Studies show gas stoves expose people to \u003ca href=\"https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2025/12/gas-propane-stoves-nitrogen-dioxide-exposure-health-risks-switching-electric\">unhealthy air\u003c/a> and emit \u003ca href=\"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.1c04707\">methane\u003c/a>, the main component in natural gas. Methane warms the climate at nearly 80 times the rate of carbon dioxide, although it stays in the atmosphere for a far shorter time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Switching to an electric or induction stove can dramatically \u003ca href=\"https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/4/12/pgaf341/8361964?login=false\">cut pollution\u003c/a>. Induction appliances also tend to heat up faster and be more energy efficient.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are two induction options: cooktops and stoves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001207\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001207\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260417-climatesolutionsinduction02210_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260417-climatesolutionsinduction02210_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260417-climatesolutionsinduction02210_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260417-climatesolutionsinduction02210_TV_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260417-climatesolutionsinduction02210_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An induction stove available for checkout at the San Mateo Public Library in San Mateo on April 17, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Induction cooktops\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Induction cooktops are fairly flat rectangles that can rest on any countertop or table. Many people simply place them on their gas stove (remember not to ignite your gas stove with the cooktop there).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Induction cooktops provide even heat and boil water quickly. They offer a kitchen upgrade without a remodel or thumbs up from a property owner. They’re portable and easy to pack when you move.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Large retailers like IKEA sell single, plug-in burners, and other companies offer four-burner cooktops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keep in mind:\u003c/strong> Buy an induction cooktop that plugs into a standard 120-volt outlet to avoid the need for wiring upgrades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Induction requires compatible cookware like stainless steel and cast iron. Aluminum pots and pans do not work with induction — they simply won’t heat up. To test pots and pans to see if they are compatible, hold a fridge magnet up to them. If it sticks, they will work!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cost:\u003c/strong> Induction cooktops start around $75 for a single burner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Induction stoves that plug into a standard outlet \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While many induction stoves require home rewiring to provide enough electricity, there’s a burgeoning market of stoves that plug into a standard 120-volt outlet. They have an internal battery that charges when not in use and provides extra oomph when needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This option is more appropriate for people planning to stay in their rental for a while.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001147\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001147\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_002-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_002-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_002-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_002-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_002-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Laura Fraser demonstrates the efficiency of boiling water on a Copper induction stove in the kitchen of her Haight-Ashbury apartment in San Francisco on May 18, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keep in mind:\u003c/strong> A stove with a backup battery will allow you to keep cooking during a power outage, at least for a few meals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Induction stoves also require compatible stainless steel and cast-iron cookware.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You’ll need to switch off the gas valve behind the old gas stove to prevent any gas from flowing into your home. It’s a good idea to talk to your property owner before making this kind of change, especially to be sure you’re properly dealing with the gas valve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A large stove will be hard to take with you when you move. Some renters have reported storing the gas stove that came with the rental, and plan to take their induction stove to their next house.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cost:\u003c/strong> Induction stoves range from \u003ca href=\"https://www.wattsipper.com/products\">$2,000\u003c/a>-$7,000. Bay Area author and celebrity chef Samin Nosrat loves \u003ca href=\"https://copperhome.com/products/charlie\">this one\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Other kitchen appliances\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if you don’t replace your gas cooktop, you can use it far less with the help of other appliances like electric water kettles, toaster ovens, slow cookers, microwaves, and air fryers.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Warmingandcoolingyourhome\">\u003c/a>Warming and cooling your home\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The median cost for an HVAC heat pump installation in California is \u003ca href=\"https://techcleanca.com/heat-pump-data/heat-pump-data-visuals/\">$18,816\u003c/a>, which includes equipment and upgrades to existing ductwork, labor, and removing the old appliance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a renter, or a homeowner for that matter, can pull this off for far less.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001149\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001149\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Gradient plug-in heat pump window unit sits in a bedroom office space in the home of Laura Fraser and Peter Eckart in San Francisco on May 18, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Like recent innovations in stoves, there are now fairly portable, affordable window heat pumps that will plug into a standard outlet. They’re similar to AC units, but without the water drips and with far less noise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keep in mind: \u003c/strong>Most models are meant to warm or cool a single room, and most only work in sash windows that open up and down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cost: \u003c/strong>Popular models start at \u003ca href=\"https://www.geappliances.com/appliance/GE-ENERGY-STAR-8-000-BTU-Smart-Heat-Cool-with-Heat-Pump-Electronic-Window-Air-Conditioner-for-Medium-Rooms-up-to-350-sq-ft-AWGP08WWF\">$550\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Generatingsomeofyourownelectricity\">\u003c/a>Generating some of your own electricity\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Plug-in solar consists of just a few panels that people set up themselves and connect to a wall outlet. In under an hour, people can start generating enough power to keep an efficient refrigerator humming. Panels can be propped in yards or hung from balconies or windows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keep in mind: \u003c/strong>According to safety certification organization UL Solutions, \u003ca href=\"https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/05/07/1136933/balcony-solar-boom/\">risks\u003c/a> with current plug-in solar systems include overloading a circuit and damaging equipment or even starting a fire, and a plug may shock a person if they touch it immediately after unplugging.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001208\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001208\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-12_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-12_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-12_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-12_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-12_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rupert Mayer installs power inverters on the solar panels at Matthew Milner’s home in Kensington on May 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Distributors say they have solved these issues, however, and that their systems are safe. Some recommend dedicating a circuit specifically to plug-in solar panels to avoid any overloading issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, plug-in solar panels must be registered with your utility as if they were a full rooftop solar array. Proponents of the technology argue that this kind of registration process defeats the goal of plug-and-play systems, making them too expensive and slow to set up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is current \u003ca href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB868\">legislation\u003c/a> to change California’s plug-in solar registration; however, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1997918/forget-rooftops-bay-area-residents-are-plugging-solar-into-the-wall\">some people are already installing the panels without registering them\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cost:\u003c/strong> Smaller systems range in size and cost from around \u003ca href=\"https://www.brightsaver.org/product-page/flex180\">$500\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"https://www.ecoflow.com/us/stream-microinverter\">$1,900\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Storingenergy\">\u003c/a>Storing energy\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While a whole-home battery system is out of the question for a renter, smaller \u003ca href=\"https://www.pilaenergy.com/products/mesh-home-battery\">portable batteries\u003c/a> are hitting the market. It’s a good option for people needing to keep medicines cool, or mobility devices charged in the case of a power outage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cost:\u003c/strong> $1,299\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Chargingyourcar\">\u003c/a>Charging your car\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Should you go the electric vehicle route, you’d most likely want to charge where you park. While some dogged EV fans have made it work charging at public and fast chargers, this takes commitment and money. Fast chargers are more expensive than charging at home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you have a garage, many EV drivers use the method of “trickle charging,” which means just plugging into an existing 120-volt outlet. In EV-speak, this is considered “Level 1” charging and provides enough energy to meet the average Bay Area household commute of \u003ca href=\"https://vitalsigns.mtc.ca.gov/indicators/daily-miles-traveled\">20 miles per day\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"mceTemp\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001185\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001185\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A bumper sticker reading “This is my last gas car” is displayed on a vehicle owned by Laura Fraser and Peter Eckart in San Francisco on May 18, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A Level 1 charger adds about \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/how-charge-electric-vehicles\">5 miles\u003c/a> to a car’s range in an hour, per the Department of Energy. Paying for this extra electricity is a conversation to have with your property owner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For people with too few or no outlets in their garage, start-ups are popping up to solve this problem. \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/ev-charging-multifamily-buildings\">Orange\u003c/a> can install Level 1 chargers in larger parking garages at each spot. The lower-level chargers make the upgrade faster and more affordable for the building owner. The start-up \u003ca href=\"https://www.moonfive.tech/\">Moon Five\u003c/a> promises to install an EV charger that the tenant pays back monthly, at no cost to the property owner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cost: \u003c/strong>This depends on each project.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Dryingyourclothes\">\u003c/a>Drying your clothes\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The majority of clothes dryers in California are powered by gas. Recently, several electric, heat-pump dryers have come out that do not require rewiring and can be plugged into a 120-volt outlet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keep in mind:\u003c/strong> The lower amount of electricity going into these dryers means the cycle will typically take longer than a gas dryer or one that plugs into a 240-volt outlet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of these dryers are ventless, which means they collect water internally and do not require an outside steam vent. You’d need to dump out the water the machine collects each time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cost:\u003c/strong> Compact dryers go for a few hundred dollars, and fancier versions top $1,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Talkingtoyourpropertyowner\">\u003c/a>Talking to your property owner\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Some of the changes to cut planet-warming pollution from your home involve smaller appliances, and are a matter of personal choice, like a toaster oven.[aside postID=science_2000695 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/05/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-08-KQED.jpg']But some larger changes would be worth bringing up with your property owner, said Ted Tiffany, Senior Technical Lead for advocacy group the \u003ca href=\"https://www.switchison.org/electric-solutions/cooking/renters\">Building Decarbonization Coalition\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If someone plans to turn off the gas valve behind their heater or stove, they’d want to be sure to do it right, Tiffany said. He also recommended people consult their property owner for more visible changes, like a heat pump, heater, and air conditioner window unit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are some tips for talking to your property owner:\u003c/p>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>Discuss health benefits. Gas that vents indoors, like a gas stove, emits unhealthy indoor air pollution. You can track your indoor air quality with air sensors that \u003ca href=\"https://lifebasis.com/products/lifebasis-10-in-1-air-quality-monitor-real-time-air-quality-tester\">start around $70\u003c/a> to document what changes you see when you turn on your gas appliances.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Propose cost sharing. For a larger appliance that may stay with the unit when you move, you could take on some of the cost, too.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Talk about climate benefits. Research shows that 42% of planet-warming emissions come from fossil fuels burned in our personal homes and vehicles.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Help find incentives. There are several websites that \u003ca href=\"https://www.switchison.org/incentive-finder\">identify incentives\u003c/a> depending on your address.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Talk about property value. There is \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-020-00706-4\">some research\u003c/a> showing that installing a heat pump can increase the value of your property significantly. Another advocacy group, Rewiring America, has \u003ca href=\"https://homes.rewiringamerica.org/projects/landlord/talk-to-your-landlord-about-electrification-renter\">more talking points\u003c/a> along these lines on its website.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Payingforyourutilitybills\">\u003c/a>Paying for your utility bills\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While swapping out gas appliances for electric ones will improve indoor air quality and reduce emissions, in most cases, it will increase your utility bill because electricity rates in California are higher than gas ones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Replacing window air conditioners and/or plug-in space heaters with heat pumps may cut expenses, as heat pumps are more efficient.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "“Climate technology” — innovations that address the climate crisis — is exploding. Here’s how you can take advantage of the gadgets to improve your indoor air quality and lower your carbon emissions.",
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"title": "Hot Rugs, Heat Pumps and Induction Cooktops: How Renters Can Go Electric | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>California is transitioning to clean energy. KQED is reporting on what that means for you. What works? What doesn’t? How much does it cost? Help us find these answers and more by \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://donate.kqed.org/sojo?ms=W2510EANXXXX22\">\u003cem>donating today\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An increasing number of people are swapping gas appliances for electric ones to improve their indoor air quality and to reduce their carbon footprint.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for people who rent, making the switch can seem out of reach: they are not the ones deciding what new appliance will replace the last, or when to rewire a home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recent, creative uses of existing technologies are removing these barriers. A market is opening for renters, who comprise almost half of Bay Area households, to go electric. These solutions can also work for owners who want to cut fossil fuels without major electrical work or service upgrades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s your guide for how to do that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jump to:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Cooking\">Cooking\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Warmingandcoolingyourhome\">Warming and cooling your home\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Generatingsomeofyourownelectricity\">Generating some of your own electricity\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Storingenergy\">Storing energy\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Chargingyourcar\">Charging your car\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Dryingyourclothes\">Drying your clothes\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Talkingtoyourpropertyowner\">Talking to your property owner\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#Payingforyourutilitybills\">Paying for your utility bills\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Cooking\">\u003c/a>Cooking\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Studies show gas stoves expose people to \u003ca href=\"https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2025/12/gas-propane-stoves-nitrogen-dioxide-exposure-health-risks-switching-electric\">unhealthy air\u003c/a> and emit \u003ca href=\"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.1c04707\">methane\u003c/a>, the main component in natural gas. Methane warms the climate at nearly 80 times the rate of carbon dioxide, although it stays in the atmosphere for a far shorter time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Switching to an electric or induction stove can dramatically \u003ca href=\"https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/4/12/pgaf341/8361964?login=false\">cut pollution\u003c/a>. Induction appliances also tend to heat up faster and be more energy efficient.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are two induction options: cooktops and stoves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001207\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001207\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260417-climatesolutionsinduction02210_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260417-climatesolutionsinduction02210_TV_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260417-climatesolutionsinduction02210_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260417-climatesolutionsinduction02210_TV_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/260417-climatesolutionsinduction02210_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An induction stove available for checkout at the San Mateo Public Library in San Mateo on April 17, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Induction cooktops\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Induction cooktops are fairly flat rectangles that can rest on any countertop or table. Many people simply place them on their gas stove (remember not to ignite your gas stove with the cooktop there).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Induction cooktops provide even heat and boil water quickly. They offer a kitchen upgrade without a remodel or thumbs up from a property owner. They’re portable and easy to pack when you move.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Large retailers like IKEA sell single, plug-in burners, and other companies offer four-burner cooktops.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keep in mind:\u003c/strong> Buy an induction cooktop that plugs into a standard 120-volt outlet to avoid the need for wiring upgrades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Induction requires compatible cookware like stainless steel and cast iron. Aluminum pots and pans do not work with induction — they simply won’t heat up. To test pots and pans to see if they are compatible, hold a fridge magnet up to them. If it sticks, they will work!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cost:\u003c/strong> Induction cooktops start around $75 for a single burner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Induction stoves that plug into a standard outlet \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While many induction stoves require home rewiring to provide enough electricity, there’s a burgeoning market of stoves that plug into a standard 120-volt outlet. They have an internal battery that charges when not in use and provides extra oomph when needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This option is more appropriate for people planning to stay in their rental for a while.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001147\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001147\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_002-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_002-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_002-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_002-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_002-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Laura Fraser demonstrates the efficiency of boiling water on a Copper induction stove in the kitchen of her Haight-Ashbury apartment in San Francisco on May 18, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keep in mind:\u003c/strong> A stove with a backup battery will allow you to keep cooking during a power outage, at least for a few meals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Induction stoves also require compatible stainless steel and cast-iron cookware.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You’ll need to switch off the gas valve behind the old gas stove to prevent any gas from flowing into your home. It’s a good idea to talk to your property owner before making this kind of change, especially to be sure you’re properly dealing with the gas valve.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A large stove will be hard to take with you when you move. Some renters have reported storing the gas stove that came with the rental, and plan to take their induction stove to their next house.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cost:\u003c/strong> Induction stoves range from \u003ca href=\"https://www.wattsipper.com/products\">$2,000\u003c/a>-$7,000. Bay Area author and celebrity chef Samin Nosrat loves \u003ca href=\"https://copperhome.com/products/charlie\">this one\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Other kitchen appliances\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if you don’t replace your gas cooktop, you can use it far less with the help of other appliances like electric water kettles, toaster ovens, slow cookers, microwaves, and air fryers.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Warmingandcoolingyourhome\">\u003c/a>Warming and cooling your home\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The median cost for an HVAC heat pump installation in California is \u003ca href=\"https://techcleanca.com/heat-pump-data/heat-pump-data-visuals/\">$18,816\u003c/a>, which includes equipment and upgrades to existing ductwork, labor, and removing the old appliance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But a renter, or a homeowner for that matter, can pull this off for far less.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001149\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001149\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826RENTERS-GOING-ELECTRIC-_GH_005-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Gradient plug-in heat pump window unit sits in a bedroom office space in the home of Laura Fraser and Peter Eckart in San Francisco on May 18, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Like recent innovations in stoves, there are now fairly portable, affordable window heat pumps that will plug into a standard outlet. They’re similar to AC units, but without the water drips and with far less noise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keep in mind: \u003c/strong>Most models are meant to warm or cool a single room, and most only work in sash windows that open up and down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cost: \u003c/strong>Popular models start at \u003ca href=\"https://www.geappliances.com/appliance/GE-ENERGY-STAR-8-000-BTU-Smart-Heat-Cool-with-Heat-Pump-Electronic-Window-Air-Conditioner-for-Medium-Rooms-up-to-350-sq-ft-AWGP08WWF\">$550\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Generatingsomeofyourownelectricity\">\u003c/a>Generating some of your own electricity\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Plug-in solar consists of just a few panels that people set up themselves and connect to a wall outlet. In under an hour, people can start generating enough power to keep an efficient refrigerator humming. Panels can be propped in yards or hung from balconies or windows.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keep in mind: \u003c/strong>According to safety certification organization UL Solutions, \u003ca href=\"https://www.technologyreview.com/2026/05/07/1136933/balcony-solar-boom/\">risks\u003c/a> with current plug-in solar systems include overloading a circuit and damaging equipment or even starting a fire, and a plug may shock a person if they touch it immediately after unplugging.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001208\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001208\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-12_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-12_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-12_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-12_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/250523-SOLAR-BALCONY-MD-12_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rupert Mayer installs power inverters on the solar panels at Matthew Milner’s home in Kensington on May 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Distributors say they have solved these issues, however, and that their systems are safe. Some recommend dedicating a circuit specifically to plug-in solar panels to avoid any overloading issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, plug-in solar panels must be registered with your utility as if they were a full rooftop solar array. Proponents of the technology argue that this kind of registration process defeats the goal of plug-and-play systems, making them too expensive and slow to set up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is current \u003ca href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB868\">legislation\u003c/a> to change California’s plug-in solar registration; however, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1997918/forget-rooftops-bay-area-residents-are-plugging-solar-into-the-wall\">some people are already installing the panels without registering them\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cost:\u003c/strong> Smaller systems range in size and cost from around \u003ca href=\"https://www.brightsaver.org/product-page/flex180\">$500\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"https://www.ecoflow.com/us/stream-microinverter\">$1,900\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Storingenergy\">\u003c/a>Storing energy\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While a whole-home battery system is out of the question for a renter, smaller \u003ca href=\"https://www.pilaenergy.com/products/mesh-home-battery\">portable batteries\u003c/a> are hitting the market. It’s a good option for people needing to keep medicines cool, or mobility devices charged in the case of a power outage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cost:\u003c/strong> $1,299\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Chargingyourcar\">\u003c/a>Charging your car\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Should you go the electric vehicle route, you’d most likely want to charge where you park. While some dogged EV fans have made it work charging at public and fast chargers, this takes commitment and money. Fast chargers are more expensive than charging at home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you have a garage, many EV drivers use the method of “trickle charging,” which means just plugging into an existing 120-volt outlet. In EV-speak, this is considered “Level 1” charging and provides enough energy to meet the average Bay Area household commute of \u003ca href=\"https://vitalsigns.mtc.ca.gov/indicators/daily-miles-traveled\">20 miles per day\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"mceTemp\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_2001185\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2001185\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2026/06/051826Renters-Going-Electric-_GH_014_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A bumper sticker reading “This is my last gas car” is displayed on a vehicle owned by Laura Fraser and Peter Eckart in San Francisco on May 18, 2026. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A Level 1 charger adds about \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/how-charge-electric-vehicles\">5 miles\u003c/a> to a car’s range in an hour, per the Department of Energy. Paying for this extra electricity is a conversation to have with your property owner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For people with too few or no outlets in their garage, start-ups are popping up to solve this problem. \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/ev-charging-multifamily-buildings\">Orange\u003c/a> can install Level 1 chargers in larger parking garages at each spot. The lower-level chargers make the upgrade faster and more affordable for the building owner. The start-up \u003ca href=\"https://www.moonfive.tech/\">Moon Five\u003c/a> promises to install an EV charger that the tenant pays back monthly, at no cost to the property owner.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cost: \u003c/strong>This depends on each project.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Dryingyourclothes\">\u003c/a>Drying your clothes\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The majority of clothes dryers in California are powered by gas. Recently, several electric, heat-pump dryers have come out that do not require rewiring and can be plugged into a 120-volt outlet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Keep in mind:\u003c/strong> The lower amount of electricity going into these dryers means the cycle will typically take longer than a gas dryer or one that plugs into a 240-volt outlet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of these dryers are ventless, which means they collect water internally and do not require an outside steam vent. You’d need to dump out the water the machine collects each time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Cost:\u003c/strong> Compact dryers go for a few hundred dollars, and fancier versions top $1,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Talkingtoyourpropertyowner\">\u003c/a>Talking to your property owner\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Some of the changes to cut planet-warming pollution from your home involve smaller appliances, and are a matter of personal choice, like a toaster oven.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>But some larger changes would be worth bringing up with your property owner, said Ted Tiffany, Senior Technical Lead for advocacy group the \u003ca href=\"https://www.switchison.org/electric-solutions/cooking/renters\">Building Decarbonization Coalition\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If someone plans to turn off the gas valve behind their heater or stove, they’d want to be sure to do it right, Tiffany said. He also recommended people consult their property owner for more visible changes, like a heat pump, heater, and air conditioner window unit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are some tips for talking to your property owner:\u003c/p>\n\u003col>\n\u003cli>Discuss health benefits. Gas that vents indoors, like a gas stove, emits unhealthy indoor air pollution. You can track your indoor air quality with air sensors that \u003ca href=\"https://lifebasis.com/products/lifebasis-10-in-1-air-quality-monitor-real-time-air-quality-tester\">start around $70\u003c/a> to document what changes you see when you turn on your gas appliances.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Propose cost sharing. For a larger appliance that may stay with the unit when you move, you could take on some of the cost, too.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Talk about climate benefits. Research shows that 42% of planet-warming emissions come from fossil fuels burned in our personal homes and vehicles.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Help find incentives. There are several websites that \u003ca href=\"https://www.switchison.org/incentive-finder\">identify incentives\u003c/a> depending on your address.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Talk about property value. There is \u003ca href=\"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-020-00706-4\">some research\u003c/a> showing that installing a heat pump can increase the value of your property significantly. Another advocacy group, Rewiring America, has \u003ca href=\"https://homes.rewiringamerica.org/projects/landlord/talk-to-your-landlord-about-electrification-renter\">more talking points\u003c/a> along these lines on its website.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ol>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Payingforyourutilitybills\">\u003c/a>Paying for your utility bills\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While swapping out gas appliances for electric ones will improve indoor air quality and reduce emissions, in most cases, it will increase your utility bill because electricity rates in California are higher than gas ones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Replacing window air conditioners and/or plug-in space heaters with heat pumps may cut expenses, as heat pumps are more efficient.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"order": 10
},
"link": "/californiareportmagazine",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
"title": "City Arts & Lectures",
"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
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"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
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"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
"id": "closealltabs",
"title": "Close All Tabs",
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"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"order": 1
},
"link": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"id": "code-switch-life-kit",
"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"meta": {
"site": "radio",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/code-switch-life-kit",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnByLm9yZy9yc3MvcG9kY2FzdC5waHA_aWQ9NTEwMzEy",
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/commonwealth-club-of-california-podcast/id976334034?mt=2",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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}
},
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
"link": "/forum",
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"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kqeds-forum/id73329719",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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"id": "freakonomics-radio",
"title": "Freakonomics Radio",
"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/4s8b",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio"
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},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
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"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"
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"here-and-now": {
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
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},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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},
"how-i-built-this": {
"id": "how-i-built-this",
"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510313/podcast.xml"
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"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. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38",
"youtube": "https://www.youtube.com/c/kqedarts",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6c3dd23c-93fb-4aab-97ba-1725fa6315f1/hyphenaci%C3%B3n",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC2275451163"
}
},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
"subscribe": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"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.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
"subscribe": {
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Masters-of-Scale-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"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>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mindshift-podcast/id1078765985",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
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}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"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.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
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"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"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?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1567098962",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
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"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/show/on-our-watch",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510360/podcast.xml"
}
},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"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",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm",
"meta": {
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"source": "wnyc"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"
}
},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
"title": "PBS NewsHour",
"info": "Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "pbs"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pbs-newshour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pbs-newshour-full-show/id394432287?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/",
"rss": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/podcasts/show"
}
},
"perspectives": {
"id": "perspectives",
"title": "Perspectives",
"tagline": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991",
"info": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Perspectives_Tile_Final.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Perspectives",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/perspectives/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 14
},
"link": "/perspectives",
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