Posts by Steve Baule | Director of Sustainable Projects, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

Clean technologies and product redesigns can prepare our communities and cities to be more resilient and protect against the impacts of climate change. Whether it’s more complex and high-tech solutions, such as the development of microgrids and battery storage systems for storms, or seemingly simple solutions such as using lighter color material to reduce the…

Introduction The field of climate adaptation and resiliency has been developing in leaps and bounds over the past decade supported by serious research and the development of new and novel applications.  Like most new technical areas, the efforts have been defined by fits and starts, with various methods identified, tested, refined and then either carried…

A Sense of Urgency Nature-based sea level rise adaptation is now urgent work. While California may have years before dramatic impacts are felt from rising waters, the planning, piloting, and testing of coastal resilience projects must be happening now, especially if we want to incorporate natural ecosystems. We need to dramatically accelerate the timeframes for…

The Challenge The climate is changing faster than at any time in recorded history. Catastrophic storms, droughts, floods, fires, and high heat days are increasingly common. California experiences every one of these climate impacts, which can threaten California’s plants and animals Plants and animals lack the ability to change their environment, and so, as their…

Modern humans appeared on the Earth about 200,000 years ago. We like to think we’ve evolved past our Homo Sapiens ancestors, but when it comes to our climate risk, let’s face it: we still have lizard-brains. Communities have had access to data and observational evidence of climate change for a while now. The data keeps…

The San Francisco Water and the Deltares team discuss the development of adaptive pathways, July 2018 (Credit: Robert Kay), Clockwise from Top Left: Kathryn Roscoe (Deltares), Alexis Dufour (SF Public Utilities Commission), Marjolijn Haasnoot (Deltares), David Behar (SF Public Utilities Commission) How do you find the right path for your climate change adaptation journey?  Then,…

In recent years, many California communities have seen devastating wildfires – some of the worst natural disasters in our state’s history. What’s more, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) now notes that they are now responding to wildfires year-round. The effects of global warming, including higher temperatures and dangerously dry vegetation…