IT’S GETTING GETTING HOT HOT IN IN HERE: HERE: CLIMATE CLIMATE CHANGE CHANGE IN IN THE THE BAY BAY AREA AREA IT’S LAYOUT/GRAPHICS: MADELINE MADELINE CHO; CHO; COPY: COPY:AUDREY AUDREY KIM, KIM, JOSETTE JOSETTE THORNHILL, THORNHILL, GRACE GRACE XIA, XIA, ELIZABETH ELIZABETH VAN VAN BLOMMESTEIN BLOMMESTEIN LAYOUT/GRAPHICS:
CHANGES IN CALIFORNIA
HOW DOES THE BAY AREA CONTRIBUTE?
The burning of fossil fuels is largely responsible for the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere causing significant changes in the climate. The overproduction of carbon dioxide has caused temperatures to rise globally, negatively impacting natural ecosystems. According to Vital Signs, the Bay Area produced a total of 50 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2015. Contra Costa County alone produced a total of 10.4 metric tons of emissions that were mainly attributable to major refineries, while San Francisco County totaled in at 4.2 metric tons. Vital Signs believes that San Francisco’s low number was likely the result of environmental awareness within its community, cleaner industries and a strong public transit system. In most counties, the use of gasoline in transportation emits the highest amounts of carbon dioxide, followed by emissions from heating buildings and homes. The Bay Area’s carbon dioxide emissions in 2015 were 6 percent lower than in 2010, which Vital Signs believes reveals a decrease in the use of natural gas and a greater use of renewable energy sources. Although the progress made is admirable, the Bay Area’s carbon dioxide emissions are still higher than the global average, indicating there is still much work to be done.
CLIMATE ACTIVISM AT ARAGON
According to the University of California, Berkeley’s analysis of the Fourth Climate Change Assessment, the direct effects of climate change on the Bay Area are most evident in the decrease in distinguishable coastal fog and increase in average annual maximum temperature by 1.7 degrees fahrenheit in five decades along with the sea level rise of eight inches in the last 100 years. The recent four year drought is also an indication of the impact of climate change on California. Due to constant development, it is more challenging for the Bay Area to adjust to possible climate change-related events, namely flooding. Wildfires in California are also a huge concern of many residents especially due to the recent fires, namely the Camp and Woolsey fires. A large amount of California’s air was polluted by the smoke caused by the fire, even causing school to be cancelled at Aragon one day during the 2018-2019 school year. The Forth Climate Assessment predicts that a constant increase in greenhouse gases will result in a 50 percent increase in wildfires devastating over 25,000 acres of land by 2100.
As climate change progresses, we’ll see the effects reflected in exacerbated natural disasters. More frequent hurricanes are hitting the tropics and east coast of the U.S. In California, we have a more fiery immediate danger. “We’ve heard a lot about wildfire season, it is something that should be occurring normally,” said junior Roisin McElarney, president of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby club. “But we’re seeing it with an intensity and duration that’s just unheard of.” San Mateo’s proximity to the bay poses another danger, especially when considering that some cities were built on unstable landfill, gravel and mud, like Foster City and Treasure Island. “Because we’re on the coast, we’ll face a lot of ocean disasters,” said junior Marina Noak. “If the planet rises by two degrees, and all the ocean water rises, that will directly affect us.” California’s worst drought ever recorded, from 2011 to 2015, was arguably due to the effects of climate change. Disasters like droughts, hurricanes and wildfires have a deadly impact. “It’s actually killing a lot of people,” McElarney said. “Especially the elderly, people who are already sickly, a heat wave or a cold snap could kill hundreds of people.” The Citizens’ Climate Lobby spends their meetings researching bills and planning how to organize lobbying groups to publicize them. They are currently lobbying for carbon tax bills, including the Carbon Fee and Dividend policy, which would place a tax on carbon emissions. “We need a carbon tax, [because] there is no financial incentive for companies to stop polluting, and because of that, they’re going to pollute,” McElarney said. Noak believes the club is a positive thing in the looming uncertainty of global climate change. It’s somewhere for students to discuss and take action towards improving their future. “A lot of our club is just talking about solutions,” Noak said. “We have a plan and we’re doing something about [climate change].” Noak and McElarney are planning a walkout with their club taking place on Sept. 20, where they will join a Youth 350 Silicon Valley rally at San Jose City Hall.
FOSTER CITY FLOODING
Foster City is famous for its scenic lagoons and water wrapped neighborhoods. The city, established in the 1960s, used to be all marsh land. With increasing the rate of rising sea levels, Foster City might be under water again sooner than predicted. Global climate change is elevating ocean temperatures and melting glaciers and ice caps. As the climate change problem increases, the global rate of sea level rise follows. According to Manoochehr Shirzaei and Roland Bürgmann of Science Advances, in the late 20th century, the sea level rise rate was about 1.7 millimeters per year and it has increased to about 3.1 millimeters per year. With this new rate, it is predicted that sea levels will rise 4 to 30 centimeters by 2030, and 42 to 167 centimeters by 2100. As a result of sea level rise, parts of land in Foster City and other parts of the Bay Area are sinking by about 10 millimeters per year. Although Foster City already has a 13 foot levee in place to protect neighborhoods from rising water levels, the levee is not tall enough to defend Foster City from the rapid rise of the sea. The current levee will only be effective until the water line rises a little over four feet from where it is right now. Predictions for water rise by 2100 are anticipated to be over nine feet from the current water line. Because of these estimations, citizens and the council of Foster City have agreed upon a plan to build the levee up eight more feet. This construction will take about three years and and will hopefully protect for decades more to come. This is not a long term solution and only fixes part of the problem. Foster City is also in danger from rising groundwater levels which can not be protected by a levee and can threaten to oversaturate the foundations of buildings causing dangerous erosion. Furthermore, the levee might protect Foster City from flooding, but it will push the water away to other cities such as Redwood City potentially causing flooding there. While this solution may work in the short term, Foster City and other neighboring cities need to collaborate on a plan to not only protect their citizens, but to stop climate change all together.