Blog

Into the Fire

It was unusually warm the evening the fires broke out in Sonoma County. Until then it was a very non-memorable evening. My term serving as a fellow with the County of Sonoma Energy and Sustainability Division had just begun. I had known that Sonoma County is an enviable center from which to learn and work…

Building Climate Resilience Through Private Investment in Forest Health

2017 ended as the deadliest and most destructive fire season in California’s history with over 9,000 fires burning nearly 1.3 million acres and taking the lives of 46 people. The repercussions of these fires are extensive, impacting lives and livelihoods, carbon emissions, air quality, water supply, wildlife, natural ecosystems, and more. There is such a…

If not now, then when?

With the rise of climate change, resilience, and adaptation as pressing environmental issues over the past decade, subject-matter experts have continuously failed to include people of color and poor working-class people (often termed vulnerable or at-risk populations) in discussions that frame the underlying agendas of climate policy. It has been the experience of many, as…

Climate and Health Equity

Four years ago, after another summer of wildfires, I looked out from my spot at the Plumas County Public Health Agency and could still see smoke covering the American Valley and as far as the eye could see on the horizon. Not long after that, I traded in my office overlooking the Plumas National Forest…

The Intersection of Watersheds and Homelessness [audio]

“Perhaps the most important [intersection between homelessness and watersheds] that we don’t think about enough is the flood risk that is faced by the people experiencing homelessness. If they have placed themselves in stream ways or along the riparian corridors of our region, we have a Mediterranean climate here so many of our streams are dry most…

Addressing Racism Personally and Professionally [audio]

“Once a system has been working or functioning a certain way for long periods of time, we start to normalize the outcomes and the processes, and they become accepted as natural. Even if we can observe that people are suffering as a consequence. It doesn’t matter in some ways if it’s racism, sexism, heterosexism, ableism –…

Climate Adaptation, Adaptive Climate Justice, and People with Disabilities

Originally published on the Union of Concerned Scientists Blog Climate activism tends to frame climate change as a problem to be solved by fighting against it, raising calls to reduce emissions in order to minimize or avoid the consequences of climate change (“climate mitigation”). Cutting emissions is certainly important, as lower emissions will lead to smaller temperature increases,…

Living on the frontline of climate change: the story of Hena

Originally published on Thomas Reuters Foundation News With President Trump attempting to reverse global progress on climate change, it has never been more important to give a voice to those living on the frontline. Almost 41 million people have been affected by flooding and landslides in Bangladesh, India and Nepal in recent months. The UN…

From Bonn to LA: Networking for Global Change 

In November, I traveled to Bonn to represent the Los Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Action and Sustainability (LARC) at the United Nations climate negotiations “COP 23”. To provide context, these annual COP conferences are where leaders discuss how each nation and its citizens will work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and slow the effects of climate…