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But once the rising waters of San Francisco Bay press inland and get underneath these pockets of chemicals and gases, a certain amount of that waste will not stay in place. Instead, it will begin to move.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 100 sites — colorless gases in dirt under schools, flammable chemicals buried in shallow soil near parks, petroleum in pockets of groundwater from iron manufacturing — lie in wait.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size='small' citation='Margaret Gordon, founder, West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project']‘There’s tons of pollutants, or toxics, in the ground. You cannot put up a garden without having your soil tested.’[/pullquote]Human-caused climate change is already forcing this groundwater rise in West Oakland and other parts of the Bay Area. UC Berkeley and UCLA scientists warn that plumes of waste will migrate underground along unpredictable pathways, exposing communities of color to contamination decades before floods gush over the industrial shoreline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These are environmental health issues that need to be addressed now,” said UC Berkeley’s Rachel Morello-Frosch, a lead researcher with \u003ca href=\"https://sites.google.com/berkeley.edu/toxictides/home\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Toxic Tides\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">,\u003c/span> a project that maps contamination in the path of sea level rise across California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The toxic waste and pollution in West Oakland are a result of the legacy of racism in housing, economic and other policies over decades. Residents didn’t consent to living in these conditions. Now they’re demanding to be significant players in any climate resilience plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sitting on a park bench in front of her second-story apartment, Margaret Gordon, a 75-year-old Black woman with a powerful legacy of environmental advocacy, said the threat from underground toxics only adds to the neighborhood’s severe environmental hardships. Across the Bay Area and, in fact, the world, climate change disproportionately affects communities of color like West Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='science_1979614']Wearing a gold-flecked denim baseball cap and a long navy skirt, Gordon described how three freeways box in the roughly 23,000 people living in this industrial landscape, three-quarters of them people of color living with the strain of low wages, high housing costs and the poor health that comes from increased exposure to pollution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s tons of pollutants, or toxics, in the ground,” Gordon said as a BART train zipped by and a line of semi trucks spewed fumes on the way to the Port of Oakland. “You cannot put up a garden without having your soil tested.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gordon founded the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project to demand environmental justice for people of color here. It’s not surprising that West Oakland is one of the Bay Area cities most at risk from groundwater rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It still comes down to race,” Gordon said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1980277\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/004_KQED_SchnitzerSteelPortofOakland_03082022.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1980277\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/004_KQED_SchnitzerSteelPortofOakland_03082022-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A view from the water of high-rise buildings beneath a pale blue sky. Along the waterfront are piles of scrap metal and industrial pipes. Between the scrap metal and the water is an embankment of rock. In the distant background are wooded hills.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/004_KQED_SchnitzerSteelPortofOakland_03082022-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/004_KQED_SchnitzerSteelPortofOakland_03082022-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/004_KQED_SchnitzerSteelPortofOakland_03082022-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/004_KQED_SchnitzerSteelPortofOakland_03082022-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/004_KQED_SchnitzerSteelPortofOakland_03082022-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/004_KQED_SchnitzerSteelPortofOakland_03082022.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Downtown Oakland can be seen behind piles of scrap metal at a manufacturing facility at the Port of Oakland on March 8, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As a resident of a historically Black community, Gordon sees climate justice as a form of reparations, a payment in money and services to repair the harm of conscious decisions, such as government leaders allowing toxic industries to operate in the neighborhood, devaluing the lives of Black people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The reparation movement is the next level of civil rights,” said Gordon. “We should not be in a position of just surviving. We should be thriving.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A dangerous game of inches\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>On the northernmost edge of the neighborhood, about a half-mile from San Francisco Bay, a row of new, charcoal-gray and white condominiums rise above a black iron fence and a border of trees. Nearby, traffic zooms along Interstate 880, and a historic train station — also a contaminated site — speaks to the city’s industrial past.\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://geotracker.waterboards.ca.gov/profile_report.asp?global_id=T10000007358\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In 1880, the Oakland shoreline ran through this section\u003c/span>\u003c/a> before infill expanded the landscape, according to the State Water Resources Control Board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The area, like most of West Oakland, is flat. Between these homes and the bay are at least three hazardous sites — including a partially cleaned-up old Army base and water treatment plant — contaminated with petroleum, volatile organic compounds and other industrial waste.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size='small' align='left' citation='Kristina Hill, UC Berkeley Institute for Urban and Regional Development']‘There are going to be real health risks.’[/pullquote]Gordon said these homes could “be the first victims of sea level rise.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People in West Oakland largely don’t understand that this looming disaster is under their feet because, according to Gordon, they have enough to do simply to meet their basic needs. \u003ca href=\"https://cao-94612.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/FINAL_Baseline-Report.pdf\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The median annual income for Black West Oakland residents is about $30,000, a third of the median income that white people earn in the neighborhood\u003c/span>\u003c/a>, according to Oakland’s Race and Equity Baseline Indicators Report from 2019.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California climate policy measures sea level rise in feet. \u003ca href=\"http://www.opc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/docs/rising-seas-in-california-an-update-on-sea-level-rise-science.pdf\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Entire Bay Area shorelines could be swamped by 10.1 feet of brackish water\u003c/span>\u003c/a> by 2100 in extreme scenarios, according to an assessment the state conducted in 2017. But scientists say it won’t take feet to loosen toxic contaminants in West Oakland’s soil and render them dangerous to humans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As bay waters rise and threaten flooding over the land, it presses a layer of salty water in under the land. This salty water seeps in below the existing groundwater, pushing it upward until, at some point, it touches contaminated soil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='science_1979645,news_11804007']Groundwater rise, then,\u003c/span> is a dangerous game of inches, according to Kristina Hill, director of the Institute for Urban and Regional Development at UC Berkeley. Very subtle changes to the shallow groundwater can pressure and crack sewer pipes, while chemicals can corrode them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As contaminants begin to move, they can spread toxics already in the soil, releasing poisonous gases that flow in and around these pipes. Those gases can enter homes, schools and businesses through cracked plumbing seals, poisoning residents. Methane, a gas that’s released when petroleum products break down, can even explode with an errant spark.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are going to be real health risks,” Hill said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>West Oakland hazardous sites and sea level rise in 2100\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp style=\"line-height: 90%\">\u003cspan style=\"font-size: small\">\u003cem>Click the arrow to view the map legend. Use your mouse to move the map. Use the + and – signs to zoom in and out. Click on the dots to view details. Click on the magnifying glass to search for a specific address. Areas marked by circles show the impact of rising seas and groundwater together, while squares show groundwater impacts only. Sources: Climate Central, UCLA, UC Berkeley, USGS, CA Department of Toxic Substances Control, State Water Resources Control Board.\u003c/em>\u003c/span>\u003cbr>\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Embed/index.html?webmap=bae696b261554d28ac6b85e680f1d3de&extent=-122.3404,37.7669,-122.2468,37.8439&home=true&zoom=true&previewImage=false&scale=true&search=true&searchextent=false&details=true&legend=true&active_panel=legend&disable_scroll=true&theme=light\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\n\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>West Oakland got a glimpse of this in 2020 \u003ca href=\"https://www.ousd.org/Page/19027\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">when the Oakland Unified School District shut down McClymonds High School for a week\u003c/span>\u003c/a> after officials found trichloroethylene, a cancer-causing chemical, in the groundwater under the school. Officials were concerned the chemicals could vaporize and waft into the air that students and teachers were breathing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State and county officials confirmed \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/contaminated-groundwater-shuts-down-mcclymonds-high-in-oakland/2237816/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the contaminants possibly came from the five active cleanup sites\u003c/span>\u003c/a> within half a mile of the school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s the kind of situation that’s going to occur,” Hill said. “It’s exacerbated by a rising water table. We could find mystery plumes in lots of places that weren’t being tracked and that suddenly show up under the cracked concrete slab floor of a high school. That’s what I worry about.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1980284\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/025_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1980284\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/025_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"The image shows a wide strip of pavement with a long line of semi-trucks on the right side. In the distance ahead are cranes at the Port of Oakland. Puffy clouds hover in the pale blue sky.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/025_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/025_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/025_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/025_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/025_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/025_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Trucks line up to receive their freight at the Port of Oakland on April 12, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>What does cleanup mean now?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>There are 138 contaminated sites in West Oakland — junkyards, dry cleaners, auto shops and even a former ice cream factory — that either have never been cleaned up, or are in some state of active remediation, according to a KQED analysis of hazardous sites in online catalogs maintained by the state through its water board and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of the hazardous sites, 82 are under the jurisdiction of the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency is well aware of the compounding issues of toxics in soil and groundwater rise, Alec Naugle, the board’s toxics cleanup manager, said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have to break those 82 sites down, look at those various scenarios, and then, using our enforcement authority, direct specific actions,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size='small' citation='Margaretta Lin, UC Berkeley Future Histories Lab']‘They didn’t have consent about what kind of industries were going to go where, right? They didn’t have consent about where freeways were going to be developed. All that came about because of racism and the lack of political power.’[/pullquote]Actions could include accelerating cleanups by 10 to 20 years and imposing stricter conditions for cleanup. Naugle said his team has sent letters to some landowners who need to factor in groundwater rise in cleanup plans. The agency rejected one application for a “cleaned up” status at a former petroleum refinery close to the bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Denying closure to a property owner who needs that to maybe sell the property becomes a really important, powerful tool that we can use,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency is also partnering with Pathways Climate Institute and the San Francisco Estuary Institute to forecast how groundwater will move into low-lying areas of Alameda, Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo counties. That research is slated to be released in the coming months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='science_1979092']In an emailed statement, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, or DTSC, said it couldn’t comment on the number or severity of active sites. The agency said it is developing guidance for sites and project managers “to ensure that remedies at contaminated sites are resilient now and into the future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>DTSC director Meredith Williams said in an interview that the agency is prioritizing the places with the heaviest environmental burden.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are, for instance, abandoned dry cleaners all over the state,” she said. “They’ve led to groundwater plumes of solvents, and we’re identifying where our opportunities are to clean up those sites.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size='small' align='left' citation='Phoenix Armenta, Shoreline Leadership Academy']‘In Oakland, where there has been redlining is exactly where all the toxic sites are.’[/pullquote]Williams said her staff has had some racial equity training to begin understanding why environmental justice matters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of our staff really don’t understand what the communities are like. They don’t understand the impacts of redlining,” she said. “These are things that, once people understand them, can lead to empathy for what it is that these communities are experiencing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Dumping ground’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>West Oakland became an industrial powerhouse some 150 years ago when the transcontinental railroad ended its long journey at this edge of the bay. Over time, shipbuilding, metal foundries and manufacturing filled the small corner of Oakland, followed later by gas stations, dry cleaners and auto yards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Racist home-lending policies such as redlining relegated Black people to this neighborhood, preventing them from seeking housing outside the industrialized area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In Oakland, where there has been redlining is exactly where all the toxic sites are,” said Phoenix Armenta, who is mixed-race and the regional resilience manager with the environmental group Gordon runs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1980295\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2048px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1980295\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/RS55353_20220402_OaklandShorelineAcademy-04.jpg\" alt=\"A person wearing stripes, a mask and gardening gloves carries a large while walking in a marsh ecosystem. \" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/RS55353_20220402_OaklandShorelineAcademy-04.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/RS55353_20220402_OaklandShorelineAcademy-04-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/RS55353_20220402_OaklandShorelineAcademy-04-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/RS55353_20220402_OaklandShorelineAcademy-04-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/RS55353_20220402_OaklandShorelineAcademy-04-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/RS55353_20220402_OaklandShorelineAcademy-04-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/RS55353_20220402_OaklandShorelineAcademy-04-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Phoenix Armenta collects weeds during a community habitat restoration day at the Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline on March 31, 2022.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://acphd-web-media.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/media/data-reports/social-health-equity/docs/unnatcs2008.pdf\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Black people born in West Oakland are likely to die 15 years earlier than white people born in the Oakland hills\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">,\u003c/span> according to a 2008 health assessment from the Alameda County Public Health Department. They’re also five times more likely to be hospitalized for diabetes, three times more likely to die of stroke and twice as likely to die of cancer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>West Oakland has been the economic engine of the city, yet residents are victims of racist policies that expose them to life-threatening environmental pollution without their consent, said Dorothy Lazard, a Black woman who grew up in the neighborhood and retired last year as the managing librarian of the Oakland History Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is a lesson in discrimination, disregard and diminishment of a population that helped build the city,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the late 1940s, \u003ca href=\"https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435002748820&view=1up&seq=5\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">West Oakland was named among the city’s top blighted areas\u003c/span>\u003c/a> in an Oakland Planning Commission study. The authors wrote that neighborhoods like West Oakland were “grim” and “ugly” because of deteriorating buildings, overcrowding and limited housing. Local and federal policies worsened the blight, Lazard said, by seizing land through eminent domain and destroying homes and businesses for freeways, public housing and a BART station. The government-sanctioned actions conspicuously decimated a historic Black neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1980281\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/005_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1980281\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/005_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"The image is of the inside of a card with many handwritten notes thinking the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project and Margaret Gordon for her work on environmental justice.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/005_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/005_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/005_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/005_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/005_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/005_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thank-you notes to Margaret Gordon and the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project line a bookshelf at the West Oakland office on April 12, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Claiming things through eminent domain is commensurate with colonialism,” Lazard said. “It’s like saying we can use this as our dumping ground because we’ve already devalued this space and the people within this space.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The racism inherent in those decisions makes West Oakland a fairly typical community of color, where financial gain is “pitted against the needs of the people,” Margaretta Lin \u003ca href=\"https://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/From_the_Art_of_War_to_Being_Peace__Mindfulness_and_Community_Law.pdf\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">wrote in a \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">critical history of West Oakland\u003c/span>\u003c/a> published in 2007. “The rules of the game have been structured in such a technocratic and legalistic way that community voices are rarely consulted or heard.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lin teaches racial justice in planning and public policy at UC Berkeley’s Department of City and Regional Planning, and its Future Histories Lab. In an interview, she said West Oakland residents didn’t approve of the policies that negatively affect their lives and health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They didn’t have consent about what kind of industries were going to go where, right?” she said. “They didn’t have consent about where freeways were going to be developed. All that came about because of racism and the lack of political power.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='news_11922784']Today, housing prices are soaring in West Oakland, and new construction peppers the neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Demographically, things are changing, and you can buy a million-dollar house in West Oakland, which never had happened before when it was predominantly African American,” Lazard said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mitchell Schwarzer, who wrote “Hella Town,” a book on the history of Oakland, said the city needs to preserve a large percentage of housing for residents who have lived in West Oakland for decades. But, he said, that means Oakland leaders must grapple with tough questions about prioritizing people of color who have been “subject to real egregious damage.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How do you make sure that those people don’t get screwed over a second time?” he said. “That’s really what we’re talking about.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Let’s talk about reparations’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The racism that shaped the economic and community life of West Oakland persists, according to Brandi T. Summers, a UC Berkeley geography professor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s so present that we can’t ignore it,” she said. “We can’t believe that we can extract race from this conversation at all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The term “equity” has emerged as a dominant force for change at every policy level. Equity, however, isn’t a word Gordon uses to describe what’s needed for climate justice in West Oakland, because it’s not big enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Don’t talk to me about equity anymore,” she said. “Let’s talk about reparations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11909471/unpacking-reparations-eligibility-in-california\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">state task force on reparations\u003c/span>\u003c/a> is studying ways to repair the harm that emanates from enslavement and post-emancipation systemic racism. For Gordon, reparations recommendations should include cleaning up toxic sites, access to affordable housing, better health care, economic opportunities and power in planning decisions about climate resilience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We would have long-standing sustainability,” she said. “I would know there’s going to be housing for my children and grandchildren, so there’ll be a job for them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1980286\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/028_Oakland_JuneteenthBBPMuseum_06192021.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1980286\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/028_Oakland_JuneteenthBBPMuseum_06192021-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"The image shows a street party with Black people mingling and sitting at tables covered with white cloths. There are various beverages on the table. A man on a horse leans in to talk with the people. He's wearing blue jeans, a light blue cotton shirt and a pale cream cowboy hat. Behind the people is a white bouncy house. In the background of the photo is a cream-colored church with a tall, pointed tower.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/028_Oakland_JuneteenthBBPMuseum_06192021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/028_Oakland_JuneteenthBBPMuseum_06192021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/028_Oakland_JuneteenthBBPMuseum_06192021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/028_Oakland_JuneteenthBBPMuseum_06192021-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/028_Oakland_JuneteenthBBPMuseum_06192021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/028_Oakland_JuneteenthBBPMuseum_06192021.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Donnell McAlister and his horse JJ, named after Jesse James, ride through a Juneteenth block party to celebrate the opening of the Women of the Black Panther Party Mini Museum in West Oakland on June 19, 2021. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Reparations would also mean environmental justice, says Rev. Ken Chambers, a third-generation pastor currently leading the West Side Missionary Baptist Church in a small, tan rectangular building in the southwest corner of the neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A community with fresh breathing air, not consumed by diesel truck traffic, ship traffic, smog” could develop green-tech jobs that pay good wages and also help the environment, according to Chambers, who is Black.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reparations that bolster the local economy, improve air quality and raise overall health could equal potential freedom from the tendrils of enslavement even as the climate emergency worsens, said Maya Carrasquillo, a UC Berkeley environmental engineering professor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The full freedom to say, ‘I can leave or I can stay,'” she said. “Or, ‘I have the freedom, the values and the finances to be able to make the future I want.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Pollution in West Oakland is a result of the legacy of racism in housing, economic and other policies over decades.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1704846193,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":true,"iframeSrcs":["https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Embed/index.html"],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":65,"wordCount":3055},"headData":{"title":"'A Lesson in Discrimination': A Toxic Sea Level Rise Crisis Threatens West Oakland | KQED","description":"Pollution in West Oakland is a result of the legacy of racism in housing, economic and other policies over decades.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"'A Lesson in Discrimination': A Toxic Sea Level Rise Crisis Threatens West Oakland","datePublished":"2022-09-13T13:01:26.000Z","dateModified":"2024-01-10T00:23:13.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"source":"Climate Change","audioUrl":"https://traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/0af137ef-751e-4b19-a055-aaef00d2d578/ffca7e9f-6831-41c5-bcaf-aaef00f5a073/7968b78d-4243-4613-8779-af0e011896b3/audio.mp3","sticky":false,"excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","articleAge":"0","path":"/science/1980255/a-lesson-in-discrimination-a-toxic-sea-level-rise-crisis-threatens-west-oakland","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of KQED’s series “Sacrifice Zones: Bay Area Shoreline Communities Reimagining Their Homes in the Face of the Climate Emergency.” The project looks at communities of color facing the worst of rising seas and fighting to thrive. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/reparations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Read more of KQED’s reparations coverage.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Toxic waste lurking in the soil under West Oakland neighborhoods is the next environmental threat in this community already burdened by pollution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The stability of buried contamination from Oakland’s industrial past relies on it staying in place in the soil. But once the rising waters of San Francisco Bay press inland and get underneath these pockets of chemicals and gases, a certain amount of that waste will not stay in place. Instead, it will begin to move.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than 100 sites — colorless gases in dirt under schools, flammable chemicals buried in shallow soil near parks, petroleum in pockets of groundwater from iron manufacturing — lie in wait.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"‘There’s tons of pollutants, or toxics, in the ground. You cannot put up a garden without having your soil tested.’","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"size":"small","citation":"Margaret Gordon, founder, West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Human-caused climate change is already forcing this groundwater rise in West Oakland and other parts of the Bay Area. UC Berkeley and UCLA scientists warn that plumes of waste will migrate underground along unpredictable pathways, exposing communities of color to contamination decades before floods gush over the industrial shoreline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These are environmental health issues that need to be addressed now,” said UC Berkeley’s Rachel Morello-Frosch, a lead researcher with \u003ca href=\"https://sites.google.com/berkeley.edu/toxictides/home\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Toxic Tides\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">,\u003c/span> a project that maps contamination in the path of sea level rise across California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The toxic waste and pollution in West Oakland are a result of the legacy of racism in housing, economic and other policies over decades. Residents didn’t consent to living in these conditions. Now they’re demanding to be significant players in any climate resilience plans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sitting on a park bench in front of her second-story apartment, Margaret Gordon, a 75-year-old Black woman with a powerful legacy of environmental advocacy, said the threat from underground toxics only adds to the neighborhood’s severe environmental hardships. Across the Bay Area and, in fact, the world, climate change disproportionately affects communities of color like West Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"science_1979614","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Wearing a gold-flecked denim baseball cap and a long navy skirt, Gordon described how three freeways box in the roughly 23,000 people living in this industrial landscape, three-quarters of them people of color living with the strain of low wages, high housing costs and the poor health that comes from increased exposure to pollution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s tons of pollutants, or toxics, in the ground,” Gordon said as a BART train zipped by and a line of semi trucks spewed fumes on the way to the Port of Oakland. “You cannot put up a garden without having your soil tested.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gordon founded the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project to demand environmental justice for people of color here. It’s not surprising that West Oakland is one of the Bay Area cities most at risk from groundwater rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It still comes down to race,” Gordon said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1980277\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/004_KQED_SchnitzerSteelPortofOakland_03082022.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1980277\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/004_KQED_SchnitzerSteelPortofOakland_03082022-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A view from the water of high-rise buildings beneath a pale blue sky. Along the waterfront are piles of scrap metal and industrial pipes. Between the scrap metal and the water is an embankment of rock. In the distant background are wooded hills.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/004_KQED_SchnitzerSteelPortofOakland_03082022-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/004_KQED_SchnitzerSteelPortofOakland_03082022-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/004_KQED_SchnitzerSteelPortofOakland_03082022-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/004_KQED_SchnitzerSteelPortofOakland_03082022-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/004_KQED_SchnitzerSteelPortofOakland_03082022-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/004_KQED_SchnitzerSteelPortofOakland_03082022.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Downtown Oakland can be seen behind piles of scrap metal at a manufacturing facility at the Port of Oakland on March 8, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As a resident of a historically Black community, Gordon sees climate justice as a form of reparations, a payment in money and services to repair the harm of conscious decisions, such as government leaders allowing toxic industries to operate in the neighborhood, devaluing the lives of Black people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The reparation movement is the next level of civil rights,” said Gordon. “We should not be in a position of just surviving. We should be thriving.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A dangerous game of inches\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>On the northernmost edge of the neighborhood, about a half-mile from San Francisco Bay, a row of new, charcoal-gray and white condominiums rise above a black iron fence and a border of trees. Nearby, traffic zooms along Interstate 880, and a historic train station — also a contaminated site — speaks to the city’s industrial past.\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://geotracker.waterboards.ca.gov/profile_report.asp?global_id=T10000007358\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In 1880, the Oakland shoreline ran through this section\u003c/span>\u003c/a> before infill expanded the landscape, according to the State Water Resources Control Board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The area, like most of West Oakland, is flat. Between these homes and the bay are at least three hazardous sites — including a partially cleaned-up old Army base and water treatment plant — contaminated with petroleum, volatile organic compounds and other industrial waste.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"‘There are going to be real health risks.’","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"size":"small","align":"left","citation":"Kristina Hill, UC Berkeley Institute for Urban and Regional Development","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Gordon said these homes could “be the first victims of sea level rise.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People in West Oakland largely don’t understand that this looming disaster is under their feet because, according to Gordon, they have enough to do simply to meet their basic needs. \u003ca href=\"https://cao-94612.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/FINAL_Baseline-Report.pdf\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The median annual income for Black West Oakland residents is about $30,000, a third of the median income that white people earn in the neighborhood\u003c/span>\u003c/a>, according to Oakland’s Race and Equity Baseline Indicators Report from 2019.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California climate policy measures sea level rise in feet. \u003ca href=\"http://www.opc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/docs/rising-seas-in-california-an-update-on-sea-level-rise-science.pdf\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Entire Bay Area shorelines could be swamped by 10.1 feet of brackish water\u003c/span>\u003c/a> by 2100 in extreme scenarios, according to an assessment the state conducted in 2017. But scientists say it won’t take feet to loosen toxic contaminants in West Oakland’s soil and render them dangerous to humans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As bay waters rise and threaten flooding over the land, it presses a layer of salty water in under the land. This salty water seeps in below the existing groundwater, pushing it upward until, at some point, it touches contaminated soil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"science_1979645,news_11804007","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Groundwater rise, then,\u003c/span> is a dangerous game of inches, according to Kristina Hill, director of the Institute for Urban and Regional Development at UC Berkeley. Very subtle changes to the shallow groundwater can pressure and crack sewer pipes, while chemicals can corrode them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As contaminants begin to move, they can spread toxics already in the soil, releasing poisonous gases that flow in and around these pipes. Those gases can enter homes, schools and businesses through cracked plumbing seals, poisoning residents. Methane, a gas that’s released when petroleum products break down, can even explode with an errant spark.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are going to be real health risks,” Hill said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>West Oakland hazardous sites and sea level rise in 2100\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp style=\"line-height: 90%\">\u003cspan style=\"font-size: small\">\u003cem>Click the arrow to view the map legend. Use your mouse to move the map. Use the + and – signs to zoom in and out. Click on the dots to view details. Click on the magnifying glass to search for a specific address. Areas marked by circles show the impact of rising seas and groundwater together, while squares show groundwater impacts only. Sources: Climate Central, UCLA, UC Berkeley, USGS, CA Department of Toxic Substances Control, State Water Resources Control Board.\u003c/em>\u003c/span>\u003cbr>\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Embed/index.html?webmap=bae696b261554d28ac6b85e680f1d3de&extent=-122.3404,37.7669,-122.2468,37.8439&home=true&zoom=true&previewImage=false&scale=true&search=true&searchextent=false&details=true&legend=true&active_panel=legend&disable_scroll=true&theme=light\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\n\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>West Oakland got a glimpse of this in 2020 \u003ca href=\"https://www.ousd.org/Page/19027\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">when the Oakland Unified School District shut down McClymonds High School for a week\u003c/span>\u003c/a> after officials found trichloroethylene, a cancer-causing chemical, in the groundwater under the school. Officials were concerned the chemicals could vaporize and waft into the air that students and teachers were breathing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State and county officials confirmed \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/contaminated-groundwater-shuts-down-mcclymonds-high-in-oakland/2237816/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the contaminants possibly came from the five active cleanup sites\u003c/span>\u003c/a> within half a mile of the school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s the kind of situation that’s going to occur,” Hill said. “It’s exacerbated by a rising water table. We could find mystery plumes in lots of places that weren’t being tracked and that suddenly show up under the cracked concrete slab floor of a high school. That’s what I worry about.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1980284\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/025_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1980284\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/025_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"The image shows a wide strip of pavement with a long line of semi-trucks on the right side. In the distance ahead are cranes at the Port of Oakland. Puffy clouds hover in the pale blue sky.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/025_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/025_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/025_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/025_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/025_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/025_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Trucks line up to receive their freight at the Port of Oakland on April 12, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>What does cleanup mean now?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>There are 138 contaminated sites in West Oakland — junkyards, dry cleaners, auto shops and even a former ice cream factory — that either have never been cleaned up, or are in some state of active remediation, according to a KQED analysis of hazardous sites in online catalogs maintained by the state through its water board and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of the hazardous sites, 82 are under the jurisdiction of the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency is well aware of the compounding issues of toxics in soil and groundwater rise, Alec Naugle, the board’s toxics cleanup manager, said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have to break those 82 sites down, look at those various scenarios, and then, using our enforcement authority, direct specific actions,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"‘They didn’t have consent about what kind of industries were going to go where, right? They didn’t have consent about where freeways were going to be developed. All that came about because of racism and the lack of political power.’","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"size":"small","citation":"Margaretta Lin, UC Berkeley Future Histories Lab","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Actions could include accelerating cleanups by 10 to 20 years and imposing stricter conditions for cleanup. Naugle said his team has sent letters to some landowners who need to factor in groundwater rise in cleanup plans. The agency rejected one application for a “cleaned up” status at a former petroleum refinery close to the bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Denying closure to a property owner who needs that to maybe sell the property becomes a really important, powerful tool that we can use,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency is also partnering with Pathways Climate Institute and the San Francisco Estuary Institute to forecast how groundwater will move into low-lying areas of Alameda, Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo counties. That research is slated to be released in the coming months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"science_1979092","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In an emailed statement, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, or DTSC, said it couldn’t comment on the number or severity of active sites. The agency said it is developing guidance for sites and project managers “to ensure that remedies at contaminated sites are resilient now and into the future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>DTSC director Meredith Williams said in an interview that the agency is prioritizing the places with the heaviest environmental burden.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are, for instance, abandoned dry cleaners all over the state,” she said. “They’ve led to groundwater plumes of solvents, and we’re identifying where our opportunities are to clean up those sites.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"‘In Oakland, where there has been redlining is exactly where all the toxic sites are.’","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"size":"small","align":"left","citation":"Phoenix Armenta, Shoreline Leadership Academy","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Williams said her staff has had some racial equity training to begin understanding why environmental justice matters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of our staff really don’t understand what the communities are like. They don’t understand the impacts of redlining,” she said. “These are things that, once people understand them, can lead to empathy for what it is that these communities are experiencing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Dumping ground’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>West Oakland became an industrial powerhouse some 150 years ago when the transcontinental railroad ended its long journey at this edge of the bay. Over time, shipbuilding, metal foundries and manufacturing filled the small corner of Oakland, followed later by gas stations, dry cleaners and auto yards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Racist home-lending policies such as redlining relegated Black people to this neighborhood, preventing them from seeking housing outside the industrialized area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In Oakland, where there has been redlining is exactly where all the toxic sites are,” said Phoenix Armenta, who is mixed-race and the regional resilience manager with the environmental group Gordon runs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1980295\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2048px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1980295\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/RS55353_20220402_OaklandShorelineAcademy-04.jpg\" alt=\"A person wearing stripes, a mask and gardening gloves carries a large while walking in a marsh ecosystem. \" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/RS55353_20220402_OaklandShorelineAcademy-04.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/RS55353_20220402_OaklandShorelineAcademy-04-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/RS55353_20220402_OaklandShorelineAcademy-04-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/RS55353_20220402_OaklandShorelineAcademy-04-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/RS55353_20220402_OaklandShorelineAcademy-04-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/RS55353_20220402_OaklandShorelineAcademy-04-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/RS55353_20220402_OaklandShorelineAcademy-04-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Phoenix Armenta collects weeds during a community habitat restoration day at the Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline on March 31, 2022.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://acphd-web-media.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/media/data-reports/social-health-equity/docs/unnatcs2008.pdf\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Black people born in West Oakland are likely to die 15 years earlier than white people born in the Oakland hills\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">,\u003c/span> according to a 2008 health assessment from the Alameda County Public Health Department. They’re also five times more likely to be hospitalized for diabetes, three times more likely to die of stroke and twice as likely to die of cancer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>West Oakland has been the economic engine of the city, yet residents are victims of racist policies that expose them to life-threatening environmental pollution without their consent, said Dorothy Lazard, a Black woman who grew up in the neighborhood and retired last year as the managing librarian of the Oakland History Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is a lesson in discrimination, disregard and diminishment of a population that helped build the city,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the late 1940s, \u003ca href=\"https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435002748820&view=1up&seq=5\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">West Oakland was named among the city’s top blighted areas\u003c/span>\u003c/a> in an Oakland Planning Commission study. The authors wrote that neighborhoods like West Oakland were “grim” and “ugly” because of deteriorating buildings, overcrowding and limited housing. Local and federal policies worsened the blight, Lazard said, by seizing land through eminent domain and destroying homes and businesses for freeways, public housing and a BART station. The government-sanctioned actions conspicuously decimated a historic Black neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1980281\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/005_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1980281\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/005_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"The image is of the inside of a card with many handwritten notes thinking the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project and Margaret Gordon for her work on environmental justice.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/005_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/005_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/005_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/005_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/005_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/005_KQED_MargaretGordonWestOakland_04122022.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thank-you notes to Margaret Gordon and the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project line a bookshelf at the West Oakland office on April 12, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Claiming things through eminent domain is commensurate with colonialism,” Lazard said. “It’s like saying we can use this as our dumping ground because we’ve already devalued this space and the people within this space.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The racism inherent in those decisions makes West Oakland a fairly typical community of color, where financial gain is “pitted against the needs of the people,” Margaretta Lin \u003ca href=\"https://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/From_the_Art_of_War_to_Being_Peace__Mindfulness_and_Community_Law.pdf\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">wrote in a \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">critical history of West Oakland\u003c/span>\u003c/a> published in 2007. “The rules of the game have been structured in such a technocratic and legalistic way that community voices are rarely consulted or heard.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lin teaches racial justice in planning and public policy at UC Berkeley’s Department of City and Regional Planning, and its Future Histories Lab. In an interview, she said West Oakland residents didn’t approve of the policies that negatively affect their lives and health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They didn’t have consent about what kind of industries were going to go where, right?” she said. “They didn’t have consent about where freeways were going to be developed. All that came about because of racism and the lack of political power.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"news_11922784","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Today, housing prices are soaring in West Oakland, and new construction peppers the neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Demographically, things are changing, and you can buy a million-dollar house in West Oakland, which never had happened before when it was predominantly African American,” Lazard said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mitchell Schwarzer, who wrote “Hella Town,” a book on the history of Oakland, said the city needs to preserve a large percentage of housing for residents who have lived in West Oakland for decades. But, he said, that means Oakland leaders must grapple with tough questions about prioritizing people of color who have been “subject to real egregious damage.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“How do you make sure that those people don’t get screwed over a second time?” he said. “That’s really what we’re talking about.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Let’s talk about reparations’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The racism that shaped the economic and community life of West Oakland persists, according to Brandi T. Summers, a UC Berkeley geography professor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s so present that we can’t ignore it,” she said. “We can’t believe that we can extract race from this conversation at all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The term “equity” has emerged as a dominant force for change at every policy level. Equity, however, isn’t a word Gordon uses to describe what’s needed for climate justice in West Oakland, because it’s not big enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Don’t talk to me about equity anymore,” she said. “Let’s talk about reparations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11909471/unpacking-reparations-eligibility-in-california\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">state task force on reparations\u003c/span>\u003c/a> is studying ways to repair the harm that emanates from enslavement and post-emancipation systemic racism. For Gordon, reparations recommendations should include cleaning up toxic sites, access to affordable housing, better health care, economic opportunities and power in planning decisions about climate resilience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We would have long-standing sustainability,” she said. “I would know there’s going to be housing for my children and grandchildren, so there’ll be a job for them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1980286\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/028_Oakland_JuneteenthBBPMuseum_06192021.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1980286\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/028_Oakland_JuneteenthBBPMuseum_06192021-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"The image shows a street party with Black people mingling and sitting at tables covered with white cloths. There are various beverages on the table. A man on a horse leans in to talk with the people. He's wearing blue jeans, a light blue cotton shirt and a pale cream cowboy hat. Behind the people is a white bouncy house. In the background of the photo is a cream-colored church with a tall, pointed tower.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/028_Oakland_JuneteenthBBPMuseum_06192021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/028_Oakland_JuneteenthBBPMuseum_06192021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/028_Oakland_JuneteenthBBPMuseum_06192021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/028_Oakland_JuneteenthBBPMuseum_06192021-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/028_Oakland_JuneteenthBBPMuseum_06192021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/09/028_Oakland_JuneteenthBBPMuseum_06192021.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Donnell McAlister and his horse JJ, named after Jesse James, ride through a Juneteenth block party to celebrate the opening of the Women of the Black Panther Party Mini Museum in West Oakland on June 19, 2021. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Reparations would also mean environmental justice, says Rev. Ken Chambers, a third-generation pastor currently leading the West Side Missionary Baptist Church in a small, tan rectangular building in the southwest corner of the neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A community with fresh breathing air, not consumed by diesel truck traffic, ship traffic, smog” could develop green-tech jobs that pay good wages and also help the environment, according to Chambers, who is Black.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reparations that bolster the local economy, improve air quality and raise overall health could equal potential freedom from the tendrils of enslavement even as the climate emergency worsens, said Maya Carrasquillo, a UC Berkeley environmental engineering professor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The full freedom to say, ‘I can leave or I can stay,'” she said. “Or, ‘I have the freedom, the values and the finances to be able to make the future I want.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/science/1980255/a-lesson-in-discrimination-a-toxic-sea-level-rise-crisis-threatens-west-oakland","authors":["11746"],"categories":["science_31","science_40","science_2873","science_43","science_4450","science_98"],"tags":["science_182","science_4417","science_4414","science_4859","science_206","science_3532"],"featImg":"science_1980293","label":"source_science_1980255"},"science_1979614":{"type":"posts","id":"science_1979614","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"science","id":"1979614","score":null,"sort":[1657004476000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"for-these-black-bayview-hunters-point-residents-reparations-include-safeguarding-against-rising-toxic-contamination","title":"For These Black Bayview-Hunters Point Residents, Reparations Include Safeguarding Against Rising, Toxic Contamination","publishDate":1657004476,"format":"standard","headTitle":"For These Black Bayview-Hunters Point Residents, Reparations Include Safeguarding Against Rising, Toxic Contamination | KQED","labelTerm":{},"content":"\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of KQED’s series, “Sacrifice Zones: Bay Area Shoreline Communities Reimagining Their Homes in the Face of the Climate Emergency.” The project looks at communities of color facing the worst of rising seas and fighting to thrive. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/reparations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Read more of KQED’s reparations coverage.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Arieann Harrison accepted her calling at her mother’s funeral, sitting in St. John Missionary Baptist Church in the San Francisco shoreline community of Bayview-Hunters Point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You find out a lot about yourself at a funeral,” said Harrison. Her mother, Marie Harrison, passed away in 2019 at 71 from lung disease. Harrison says her mom believed the illness was tied to pollution from a nearby shipyard, where she once worked and lived close to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At St. John’s, person after person shared reasons why they valued Harrison’s mother.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She organized, marched and protested for decades, pushing for a shipyard cleanup — even chaining herself to the fence outside the site. Marie Harrison famously said to neighbors, officials and anyone who would listen, “We’ll never surrender.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harrison realized it was time to stand on her mother’s shoulders, taking on her legacy of advocacy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What I learned in that moment is that love is an action word,” she said. She’s since launched the \u003ca href=\"https://www.canwelive.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marie Harrison Community Foundation, whose focus is environmental justice\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size='medium' citation='Arieann Harrison, Marie Harrison Community Foundation']‘We’re just one natural disaster away from something we can never come back from. This is not a game.’[/pullquote]\u003ca href=\"https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.Cleanup&id=0902722#bkground\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The shipyard is now a Superfund site\u003c/a>, one of the country’s most polluted places. The 866-acre area is a jigsaw slab of concrete docking bays and abandoned buildings jutting out of the southeast shoreline of San Francisco. The site butts up against the community of Bayview-Hunters Point, where more than 35,000 people live.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marie Harrison fought for a cleanup. Her daughter’s struggle is arguably more difficult, as climate change and sea level rise threaten to flood the area. Scientists are increasingly sounding the alarm about rising bay water pushing freshwater up from belowground, uncorking chemicals from the shipyard before spilling into homes and businesses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re just one natural disaster away from something we can never come back from,” said Harrison, who lives in the neighborhood and works helping military veterans and unhoused people find housing and recovery programs in San Francisco. “This is not a game.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three years after her mother’s death, Harrison, who is in her mid-50s, is pressing officials for the strongest possible cleanup of the site to ensure the community isn’t exposed to toxic waste. She’s helping lead an effort to document how living near the Superfund site may have exposed residents — many of whom are people of color — to toxics, by testing for contaminants in their bodies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979686\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/RS54637_024_KQED_BaykeeperBayviewHuntersPoint_03082022-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1979686 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/RS54637_024_KQED_BaykeeperBayviewHuntersPoint_03082022-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Blue bay water lies in the foreground with white apartments rising up a green hillside. \" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/RS54637_024_KQED_BaykeeperBayviewHuntersPoint_03082022-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/RS54637_024_KQED_BaykeeperBayviewHuntersPoint_03082022-qut-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/RS54637_024_KQED_BaykeeperBayviewHuntersPoint_03082022-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/RS54637_024_KQED_BaykeeperBayviewHuntersPoint_03082022-qut-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/RS54637_024_KQED_BaykeeperBayviewHuntersPoint_03082022-qut-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/RS54637_024_KQED_BaykeeperBayviewHuntersPoint_03082022-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Apartment buildings in Hunters Point sit behind the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco on March 8, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>People of color, all around the bay and the globe,\u003ca href=\"https://psci.princeton.edu/tips/2020/8/15/racial-disparities-and-climate-change#:~:text=Communities%20of%20color%20are%20disproportionately,waste%20are%20people%20of%20color.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> are disproportionately victimized by the effects of climate change\u003c/a>. Harrison is one of the many Black women who are increasingly focused on climate justice and are \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/25/opinion/black-women-leaders-climate-movement.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">leading the modern environmental movement\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Climate justice is a real thing. Sea level rise is real,” she said. “This is the opportunity to stand up and do the right thing by the people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her advocacy also now includes a call for reparations for descendants of enslaved people, saying the tendrils of slavery are still very alive today in this historically Black neighborhood. Racist housing policies siloed Black and brown people in this part of San Francisco, where she says they were exposed to contaminants from the Superfund site; repair is needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘The worst contaminants you can imagine’\u003c/h2>\n\u003ch5>Bayview-Hunters Point Hazardous Sites and 2100 Sea Level Rise\u003c/h5>\n\u003cp style=\"line-height: 90%\">\u003cspan style=\"font-size: small\">\u003cem>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\">Click the arrow to view the map legend. Use your mouse to move the map. Use the + and – signs to zoom in and out. Click on the dots to view details. Click on the magnifying glass to search for a specific address. Areas marked by circles show the impact of rising seas and groundwater together, while squares show groundwater impacts only. Sources: Climate Central, UCLA, UC Berkeley, USGS.\u003c/i>\u003c/em>\u003c/span>\u003cbr>\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Embed/index.html?webmap=a1084b48e926492da63630c2c003ccc6&extent=-122.4351,37.6958,-122.3415,37.7728&home=true&zoom=true&previewImage=false&scale=true&search=true&searchextent=false&details=true&legend=true&active_panel=legend&disable_scroll=true&theme=light\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\n\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, communities of color are\u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2021-11-30/toxic-tides-sea-level-rise\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> five times more likely than the general population to live within a half mile of polluted places\u003c/a> like San Francisco’s shipyard, \u003ca href=\"https://sites.google.com/berkeley.edu/toxictides/home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">according to an analysis\u003c/a> by environmental health scientists from UCLA and UC Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The researchers predict these same spots could flood from rising seas in the coming decades; they launched a statewide mapping project last year called Toxic Tides, to \u003ca href=\"https://sites.google.com/berkeley.edu/toxictides/home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">identify hazardous places along the state’s shoreline\u003c/a>. They’ve studied a less-understood threat: Rising seas flood over the top of the land and also push in underneath, propelling any buried contamination toward the surface. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1979092/how-rising-sea-levels-could-push-up-a-toxic-soup-into-bay-area-neighborhoods\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Groundwater could rise as far as 3 miles inland from the edge of San Francisco Bay.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Researchers identified as many as 900 power plants, cleanup sites, refineries and other places in California that could experience flooding from sea level rise or groundwater spreading into neighborhoods — sometimes both.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://opc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/agenda_items/20180314/Item3_Exhibit-A_OPC_SLR_Guidance-rd3.pdf\">California’s latest guidance report on sea level rise\u003c/a> says bay waters may rise more than 10 feet by the end of the century and nearly 3 feet by 2050 in the most extreme scenarios. The leading cause of climate change is humans burning fossil fuels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Hunters Point Superfund site is one of those hazardous sites. In the middle of the last century, the U.S. Navy decontaminated ships after atomic bomb tests and \u003ca href=\"https://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/decommissioning/complex/hunters-point-naval-shipyard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">established the Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory at the shipyard\u003c/a>. This process contaminated the soil with radionuclides, heavy metals and petroleum fuels, among other toxic compounds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Area scientists say that before rising tides flood aboveground, bay waters will press inward under the surface of the land, pushing up the groundwater, spreading buried contamination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size= 'medium' citation='Lonnie Mason, Bayview-Hunters Point resident']‘Our health risks within the community are very deep. It goes way back. We know what time it is when it comes to Hunters Point.’[/pullquote]“The Hunters Point Superfund site is expected to experience monthly flooding by the end of the century,” said UCLA’s Lara Cushing, who created the mapping project with UC Berkeley’s Rachel Morello-Frosch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Superfund site is partially cleaned up. With the oversight of the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the \u003ca href=\"https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.redevelop&id=0902722\">Navy is preparing for the eventual development of research institutions, parks and thousands of homes\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Morello-Frosch says any cleanup that caps toxic contamination likely won’t be good enough as the bay presses groundwater upward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you start having groundwater encroachment, those caps of legacy sites can be breached,” she noted. “So it can come up, and it can move to different areas.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cole Burchiel, a field investigator for the environmental watchdog group San Francisco Baykeeper, is worried that rising groundwater levels will harm human and aquatic life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re dealing with some of the worst contaminants you can imagine — lead, arsenic, radioactive isotopes,” he said. “They will infiltrate existing infrastructure. We’re talking sewer lines, water supply lines — and that has a direct impact on people’s homes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979625\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/RS53940_004_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1979625\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/RS53940_004_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Tall pine trees fill the foreground, while in the distance is a large, flat industrial area, with cranes in the distance. The top half of the photo is a deep blue sky.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/RS53940_004_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/RS53940_004_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/RS53940_004_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/RS53940_004_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/RS53940_004_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/RS53940_004_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard from the housing development above it on Feb. 25, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘We’re tired of begging for our lives’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.envirostor.dtsc.ca.gov/public/deliverable_documents/2878295719/Final_HPNS%20FYR.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Every five years the Navy examines progress on the shipyard’s cleanup.\u003c/a> The last study, completed in 2020, said they “have adequately addressed all exposure pathways that could result in unacceptable risks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s office denied multiple requests for an interview for this story. The city said in an emailed statement that it’s conducting a study with Bay Area climate scientists on how sea level rise will affect groundwater, and they’re seeking funding to study how sea level rise could affect known contaminated sites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A May report released by the San Francisco Civil Grand Jury reprimands city and Navy officials, saying they have not accounted for the serious risk that rising groundwater could have here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Aside from some glimmers of awareness at regulatory agencies, groundwater rise has not yet been meaningfully considered in the cleanup at the Hunters Point Shipyard,” \u003ca href=\"https://civilgrandjury.sfgov.org/2021_2022/2022%20CGJ%20Report_Buried%20Problems%20and%20a%20Buried%20Process%20-%20The%20Hunters%20Point%20Naval%20Shipyard%20in%20a%20Time%20of%20Climate%20Change.pdf\">the grand jury wrote\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size='medium' citation='Maya Carrasquillo, UC Berkeley']‘What’s actually at stake here are people’s lives. We need to make sure that people are not at the risk of death, if we really say that their lives matter.’[/pullquote]San Francisco Supervisor Shamann Walton, whose district includes Bayview-Hunters Point, \u003ca href=\"https://sfgov.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5688190&GUID=B80E7D1A-48DC-4E89-96F6-9BF9C8493F1E&Options=Advanced&Search=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">requested a hearing on the jury report\u003c/a>. But his office declined repeated requests for an interview. In an emailed statement, he said he is aware of the longstanding issue of radioactive contamination and is working with all the agencies involved in the cleanup.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he acknowledged that “the effect of sea level rise and groundwater rise has not been studied” for the Hunters Point Superfund site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harrison organized a June rally in front of City Hall to highlight the findings. Wearing a bright purple shirt with “CAN WE LIVE” printed on the front and speaking into a megaphone, she said the city needs to prepare Bayview-Hunters Point for the effects of sea level rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I want to invite our mayor, who we love, to show us that she loves us back,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said reparations are necessary to create an equitable future for Bayview-Hunters Point and its Black and brown residents who will be disproportionately harmed by climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://antievictionmap.com/bayview-hunters-point\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Government agencies redlined Black people into the neighborhood now dominated by polluting industries.\u003c/a> As a result, residents live near toxic sites and face potentially deadly impacts from climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979753\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/IMG_7892-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1979753\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/IMG_7892-800x600.jpg\" alt='A Black woman in a red coat and red leggings speaks at a rally, holding up a map showing contaminated areas of the former Hunters Point naval shipyard. To the right of the photo, helping hold up the map, is a Black woman in black leggings, white running shoes and a purple t-shirt reading \"Can We Live.\" In the background is a group of Black people attending the rally, dressed in denim or khaki pants and a range of colors of shirts, from blue to red plaid. The rally is in front of a tall white fence.' width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/IMG_7892-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/IMG_7892-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/IMG_7892-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/IMG_7892-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/IMG_7892-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/IMG_7892-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/IMG_7892-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai explains her map of which contaminants are found at which locations at the Hunters Point Superfund site, during a rally on February 12, 2022 in Bayview-Hunters Point. \u003ccite>(Annelise Finney/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We’re tired of begging for our lives,” Harrison told KQED. “I holla for reparations because that’s paying for crimes against humanity. You can bet your bottom dollar we’re gonna need long-term care.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11906054/it-means-to-repair-what-you-should-know-about-reparations-for-black-californians\">California’s task force on reparations is deep in a conversation on how to repair the centuries of oppression\u003c/a> endured by descendants of the enslaved on a statewide level. San Francisco’s African American Reparations Advisory Committee is exploring how the city can repair the harm its discriminatory policies have caused to Black homeownership, access to schools and availability of health care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bayview-Hunters Point residents regularly attend the meetings of San Francisco’s advisory committee to express their concerns. Lonnie Mason said at a January session that the city is not giving enough attention to the historically Black area of San Francisco. He was born and raised in the neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our health risks within the community are very deep,” he said. “It goes way back. We know what time it is when it comes to Hunters Point.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Reparations mean preparing for sea level rise\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For longtime Bayview-Hunters Point residents like Tonia Randell, city leaders have taken way too long to demonstrate they value people of color in this neighborhood, \u003ca href=\"https://oehha.ca.gov/calenviroscreen/report/calenviroscreen-40\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">one of the most polluted parts of San Francisco, according to a state environmental analysis\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have all the utilities here,” she said, noting the neighborhood is home to \u003ca href=\"https://www.recology.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Recology\u003c/a>; the city’s sewage treatment plant; and other waste facilities. “We still have the garbage dump here. Why is it all in our area? Because they don’t value us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ce.berkeley.edu/people/faculty/mcarrasquillo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">UC Berkeley professor Maya Carrasquillo\u003c/a> says it’s not unusual for Black people to feel left out of plans to improve residents’ lives, even if they are represented by Black city officials. Carrasquillo, who identifies racially as a Black American and ethnically as an Afro-Latina, is a civil and environmental engineering professor focused on environmental justice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She says Black people in power would argue they advocate for all Black residents, but decisions made by those in control often center communities of affluence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is still a distinct difference of how we value Black and brown lives across class barriers,” she said. “When we say ‘Black Lives Matter,’ it is all Black lives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979619\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/028_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1979619 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/028_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A black woman with a turquoise shirt and hair pulled back into a tight bun. \" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/028_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/028_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/028_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/028_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/028_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/028_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai is documenting the toxic load in Bayview-Hunters Point residents. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Carrasquillo says Bayview-Hunters Point deserves the same kind of investment that wealthy neighborhoods of San Francisco receive. If that doesn’t happen, lower-income people of color will suffer disproportionately as the world warms and the bay rises. She says San Francisco and other cities should invite the people who will be the most harmed by rising tides to decide their own future by including them in every aspect of climate adaptation plans. That is an act of reparation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What’s actually at stake here are people’s lives,” she added. “We need to make sure that people are not at the risk of death, if we really say that their lives matter.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘That set my hair on fire’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>To seize the attention of city leaders, residents are documenting their health conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A map of Bayview-Hunters Point lies on the wood desk in Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai’s office. It’s filled with red, blue, black, yellow and white pushpins — they look like ants piled up on a piece of food. Each pin represents a person whom she tested and found to have high levels of a toxic chemical in their body at that time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[Toxic chemicals] have no role in the human body, and there is no justification for any of them,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979636\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/012_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1979636 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/012_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A map of San Francisco's east side with clusters of yellow, blue, white and red pushpins.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/012_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/012_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/012_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/012_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/012_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/012_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pushpins on a map show where the elements arsenic, gadolinium, manganese and vanadium were found in tests of Bayview-Hunters Point residents. Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai is conducting the urine tests and correlating the results with residents’ illnesses. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In 2018, the state announced that \u003ca href=\"https://ce.berkeley.edu/people/faculty/mcarrasquillo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a radioactive object was found near new condos in the community\u003c/a> in an area the city and numerous government agencies said was cleaned up. For Porter Sumchai, that was the last straw.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2019, she began testing residents who volunteered to have their urine examined for toxic contaminants. The 70-year-old physician is the founder and medical director of the \u003ca href=\"https://hunters-point-community-biomonitoring-program.business.site/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hunters Point Biomonitoring Foundation\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s now tested and retested more than 100 residents for toxic elements like lead, mercury and arsenic, and for elevated levels of natural elements that people need, like iron and zinc. Porter Sumchai said she recently tested a woman in her 40s and found uranium at dangerously high levels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That set my hair on fire,” she said. “I had never seen anything like that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harrison was tested in 2021. Porter Sumchai found cadmium, copper, manganese and other contaminants in her body at levels she described as “very dangerous.” The contaminants could cause damage to the brain, heart, kidney, liver and lungs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am retaining fluid, have muscle tightness, tingling in my feet and my hair is falling out of my head like a cancer patient,” she said, pointing to the test results on her office computer. “It doesn’t look like it because my wig is really cute.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On that day she wore long, black braids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials with the San Francisco Department of Public Health told KQED in an emailed statement that the agency is “committed to protecting and promoting the health of those in the Bayview-Hunters Point” neighborhood, but wouldn’t comment directly on Porter Sumchai’s testing, saying the agency did not have a “subject matter expert.” They deferred comment to state health officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979754\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/RS54031_004_KQED_BayviewAriannHarrison_03022022-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1979754\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/RS54031_004_KQED_BayviewAriannHarrison_03022022-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/RS54031_004_KQED_BayviewAriannHarrison_03022022-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/RS54031_004_KQED_BayviewAriannHarrison_03022022-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/RS54031_004_KQED_BayviewAriannHarrison_03022022-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/RS54031_004_KQED_BayviewAriannHarrison_03022022-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/RS54031_004_KQED_BayviewAriannHarrison_03022022-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/RS54031_004_KQED_BayviewAriannHarrison_03022022-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The results of Arieann Harrison’s tests for toxic elements her body is carrying are displayed on her computer in the Bayview on March 2, 2022. Bright red bars show high levels of lead, mercury, cadmium and thallium, among others. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The California Department of Public Health told KQED in an email that it is “aware” of the community testing, but “has not been directly provided any test results from those samples.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://sfenvironment.org/sites/default/files/fliers/files/sfe_ej_sfhh_community_health_status_assessment.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The city conducted a community health survey in 2006\u003c/a> that found “cancer is a major cause of years of life lost in Bayview Hunters Point,” and “African-American women and men have the highest mortality rates of any other racial/ethnic group for several major cancers.” But the city did not look at whether buried toxic contamination at the shipyard contributed to any health problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. Timur Durrani, a UCSF physician who is not involved with Porter Sumchai’s effort, said the tests are cause for a wider-scale survey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://profiles.ucsf.edu/timur.durrani\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Durrani, who provides care for acutely poisoned patients\u003c/a> at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, cautioned that to understand the full extent of the problem, a comprehensive evaluation of the exposure and the community is needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What it sounds like is the community wants to be heard,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Porter Sumchai submits her data on cancers and toxic contamination to the California Cancer Registry. She is compiling her own — the Hunters Point Community Toxic Registry — and hopes to gather enough evidence documenting a relationship between illness and toxic exposure to use in a structured legal settlement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The more evidence we collect, the more pins we place in this map,” she said. “I do think, ultimately, there is going to be a recovery for this community. It’s just in the stars.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But any recovery takes hard work. Porter Sumchai and Harrison’s work is practical, methodical and deliberate. Climate change adds extreme urgency to their effort.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the June protest on the steps of City Hall, Harrison invited Porter Sumchai to speak on her findings. Rallying the crowd, she called her “a woman who has been fighting since Day One. I like to call her my second mother.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People in Bayview-Hunters Point are being treated like canaries in the coal mine for an impending catastrophe that will impact the entire city,” Porter Sumchai said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bayview-Hunters Point residents are facing a life-or-death crisis, she said, but she promised to fight, even if city leaders don’t act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then she quoted Marie Harrison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ll never surrender,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s Annelise Finney contributed reporting to this story. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Rising bay waters will move in under the surface of the land, pushing up groundwater and likely spreading buried toxic contamination to neighborhoods surrounding the Hunters Point Superfund site.\r\n","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1704846237,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":true,"iframeSrcs":["https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Embed/index.html"],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":74,"wordCount":3223},"headData":{"title":"For These Black Bayview-Hunters Point Residents, Reparations Include Safeguarding Against Rising, Toxic Contamination | KQED","description":"Rising bay waters will move in under the surface of the land, pushing up groundwater and likely spreading buried toxic contamination to neighborhoods surrounding the Hunters Point Superfund site.\r\n","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"For These Black Bayview-Hunters Point Residents, Reparations Include Safeguarding Against Rising, Toxic Contamination","datePublished":"2022-07-05T07:01:16.000Z","dateModified":"2024-01-10T00:23:57.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"source":"Sea Level Rise","audioUrl":"https://traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/0af137ef-751e-4b19-a055-aaef00d2d578/ffca7e9f-6831-41c5-bcaf-aaef00f5a073/f143f583-bc69-4e87-8fa5-aeaf01213dbb/audio.mp3","sticky":false,"excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","showOnAuthorArchivePages":"No","articleAge":"0","path":"/science/1979614/for-these-black-bayview-hunters-point-residents-reparations-include-safeguarding-against-rising-toxic-contamination","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of KQED’s series, “Sacrifice Zones: Bay Area Shoreline Communities Reimagining Their Homes in the Face of the Climate Emergency.” The project looks at communities of color facing the worst of rising seas and fighting to thrive. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/reparations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Read more of KQED’s reparations coverage.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Arieann Harrison accepted her calling at her mother’s funeral, sitting in St. John Missionary Baptist Church in the San Francisco shoreline community of Bayview-Hunters Point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You find out a lot about yourself at a funeral,” said Harrison. Her mother, Marie Harrison, passed away in 2019 at 71 from lung disease. Harrison says her mom believed the illness was tied to pollution from a nearby shipyard, where she once worked and lived close to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At St. John’s, person after person shared reasons why they valued Harrison’s mother.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She organized, marched and protested for decades, pushing for a shipyard cleanup — even chaining herself to the fence outside the site. Marie Harrison famously said to neighbors, officials and anyone who would listen, “We’ll never surrender.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harrison realized it was time to stand on her mother’s shoulders, taking on her legacy of advocacy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What I learned in that moment is that love is an action word,” she said. She’s since launched the \u003ca href=\"https://www.canwelive.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marie Harrison Community Foundation, whose focus is environmental justice\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"‘We’re just one natural disaster away from something we can never come back from. This is not a game.’","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"size":"medium","citation":"Arieann Harrison, Marie Harrison Community Foundation","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.Cleanup&id=0902722#bkground\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The shipyard is now a Superfund site\u003c/a>, one of the country’s most polluted places. The 866-acre area is a jigsaw slab of concrete docking bays and abandoned buildings jutting out of the southeast shoreline of San Francisco. The site butts up against the community of Bayview-Hunters Point, where more than 35,000 people live.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marie Harrison fought for a cleanup. Her daughter’s struggle is arguably more difficult, as climate change and sea level rise threaten to flood the area. Scientists are increasingly sounding the alarm about rising bay water pushing freshwater up from belowground, uncorking chemicals from the shipyard before spilling into homes and businesses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re just one natural disaster away from something we can never come back from,” said Harrison, who lives in the neighborhood and works helping military veterans and unhoused people find housing and recovery programs in San Francisco. “This is not a game.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three years after her mother’s death, Harrison, who is in her mid-50s, is pressing officials for the strongest possible cleanup of the site to ensure the community isn’t exposed to toxic waste. She’s helping lead an effort to document how living near the Superfund site may have exposed residents — many of whom are people of color — to toxics, by testing for contaminants in their bodies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979686\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/RS54637_024_KQED_BaykeeperBayviewHuntersPoint_03082022-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1979686 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/RS54637_024_KQED_BaykeeperBayviewHuntersPoint_03082022-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Blue bay water lies in the foreground with white apartments rising up a green hillside. \" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/RS54637_024_KQED_BaykeeperBayviewHuntersPoint_03082022-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/RS54637_024_KQED_BaykeeperBayviewHuntersPoint_03082022-qut-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/RS54637_024_KQED_BaykeeperBayviewHuntersPoint_03082022-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/RS54637_024_KQED_BaykeeperBayviewHuntersPoint_03082022-qut-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/RS54637_024_KQED_BaykeeperBayviewHuntersPoint_03082022-qut-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/RS54637_024_KQED_BaykeeperBayviewHuntersPoint_03082022-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Apartment buildings in Hunters Point sit behind the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco on March 8, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>People of color, all around the bay and the globe,\u003ca href=\"https://psci.princeton.edu/tips/2020/8/15/racial-disparities-and-climate-change#:~:text=Communities%20of%20color%20are%20disproportionately,waste%20are%20people%20of%20color.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> are disproportionately victimized by the effects of climate change\u003c/a>. Harrison is one of the many Black women who are increasingly focused on climate justice and are \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/25/opinion/black-women-leaders-climate-movement.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">leading the modern environmental movement\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Climate justice is a real thing. Sea level rise is real,” she said. “This is the opportunity to stand up and do the right thing by the people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her advocacy also now includes a call for reparations for descendants of enslaved people, saying the tendrils of slavery are still very alive today in this historically Black neighborhood. Racist housing policies siloed Black and brown people in this part of San Francisco, where she says they were exposed to contaminants from the Superfund site; repair is needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘The worst contaminants you can imagine’\u003c/h2>\n\u003ch5>Bayview-Hunters Point Hazardous Sites and 2100 Sea Level Rise\u003c/h5>\n\u003cp style=\"line-height: 90%\">\u003cspan style=\"font-size: small\">\u003cem>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\">Click the arrow to view the map legend. Use your mouse to move the map. Use the + and – signs to zoom in and out. Click on the dots to view details. Click on the magnifying glass to search for a specific address. Areas marked by circles show the impact of rising seas and groundwater together, while squares show groundwater impacts only. Sources: Climate Central, UCLA, UC Berkeley, USGS.\u003c/i>\u003c/em>\u003c/span>\u003cbr>\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://www.arcgis.com/apps/Embed/index.html?webmap=a1084b48e926492da63630c2c003ccc6&extent=-122.4351,37.6958,-122.3415,37.7728&home=true&zoom=true&previewImage=false&scale=true&search=true&searchextent=false&details=true&legend=true&active_panel=legend&disable_scroll=true&theme=light\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\n\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, communities of color are\u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2021-11-30/toxic-tides-sea-level-rise\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> five times more likely than the general population to live within a half mile of polluted places\u003c/a> like San Francisco’s shipyard, \u003ca href=\"https://sites.google.com/berkeley.edu/toxictides/home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">according to an analysis\u003c/a> by environmental health scientists from UCLA and UC Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The researchers predict these same spots could flood from rising seas in the coming decades; they launched a statewide mapping project last year called Toxic Tides, to \u003ca href=\"https://sites.google.com/berkeley.edu/toxictides/home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">identify hazardous places along the state’s shoreline\u003c/a>. They’ve studied a less-understood threat: Rising seas flood over the top of the land and also push in underneath, propelling any buried contamination toward the surface. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1979092/how-rising-sea-levels-could-push-up-a-toxic-soup-into-bay-area-neighborhoods\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Groundwater could rise as far as 3 miles inland from the edge of San Francisco Bay.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Researchers identified as many as 900 power plants, cleanup sites, refineries and other places in California that could experience flooding from sea level rise or groundwater spreading into neighborhoods — sometimes both.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://opc.ca.gov/webmaster/ftp/pdf/agenda_items/20180314/Item3_Exhibit-A_OPC_SLR_Guidance-rd3.pdf\">California’s latest guidance report on sea level rise\u003c/a> says bay waters may rise more than 10 feet by the end of the century and nearly 3 feet by 2050 in the most extreme scenarios. The leading cause of climate change is humans burning fossil fuels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Hunters Point Superfund site is one of those hazardous sites. In the middle of the last century, the U.S. Navy decontaminated ships after atomic bomb tests and \u003ca href=\"https://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/decommissioning/complex/hunters-point-naval-shipyard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">established the Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory at the shipyard\u003c/a>. This process contaminated the soil with radionuclides, heavy metals and petroleum fuels, among other toxic compounds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Area scientists say that before rising tides flood aboveground, bay waters will press inward under the surface of the land, pushing up the groundwater, spreading buried contamination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"‘Our health risks within the community are very deep. It goes way back. We know what time it is when it comes to Hunters Point.’","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"size":"medium","citation":"Lonnie Mason, Bayview-Hunters Point resident","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“The Hunters Point Superfund site is expected to experience monthly flooding by the end of the century,” said UCLA’s Lara Cushing, who created the mapping project with UC Berkeley’s Rachel Morello-Frosch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Superfund site is partially cleaned up. With the oversight of the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the \u003ca href=\"https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.redevelop&id=0902722\">Navy is preparing for the eventual development of research institutions, parks and thousands of homes\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Morello-Frosch says any cleanup that caps toxic contamination likely won’t be good enough as the bay presses groundwater upward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you start having groundwater encroachment, those caps of legacy sites can be breached,” she noted. “So it can come up, and it can move to different areas.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cole Burchiel, a field investigator for the environmental watchdog group San Francisco Baykeeper, is worried that rising groundwater levels will harm human and aquatic life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re dealing with some of the worst contaminants you can imagine — lead, arsenic, radioactive isotopes,” he said. “They will infiltrate existing infrastructure. We’re talking sewer lines, water supply lines — and that has a direct impact on people’s homes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979625\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/RS53940_004_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1979625\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/RS53940_004_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Tall pine trees fill the foreground, while in the distance is a large, flat industrial area, with cranes in the distance. The top half of the photo is a deep blue sky.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/RS53940_004_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/RS53940_004_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/RS53940_004_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/RS53940_004_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/RS53940_004_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/RS53940_004_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A view of the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard from the housing development above it on Feb. 25, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>‘We’re tired of begging for our lives’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.envirostor.dtsc.ca.gov/public/deliverable_documents/2878295719/Final_HPNS%20FYR.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Every five years the Navy examines progress on the shipyard’s cleanup.\u003c/a> The last study, completed in 2020, said they “have adequately addressed all exposure pathways that could result in unacceptable risks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s office denied multiple requests for an interview for this story. The city said in an emailed statement that it’s conducting a study with Bay Area climate scientists on how sea level rise will affect groundwater, and they’re seeking funding to study how sea level rise could affect known contaminated sites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A May report released by the San Francisco Civil Grand Jury reprimands city and Navy officials, saying they have not accounted for the serious risk that rising groundwater could have here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Aside from some glimmers of awareness at regulatory agencies, groundwater rise has not yet been meaningfully considered in the cleanup at the Hunters Point Shipyard,” \u003ca href=\"https://civilgrandjury.sfgov.org/2021_2022/2022%20CGJ%20Report_Buried%20Problems%20and%20a%20Buried%20Process%20-%20The%20Hunters%20Point%20Naval%20Shipyard%20in%20a%20Time%20of%20Climate%20Change.pdf\">the grand jury wrote\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"‘What’s actually at stake here are people’s lives. We need to make sure that people are not at the risk of death, if we really say that their lives matter.’","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"size":"medium","citation":"Maya Carrasquillo, UC Berkeley","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>San Francisco Supervisor Shamann Walton, whose district includes Bayview-Hunters Point, \u003ca href=\"https://sfgov.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5688190&GUID=B80E7D1A-48DC-4E89-96F6-9BF9C8493F1E&Options=Advanced&Search=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">requested a hearing on the jury report\u003c/a>. But his office declined repeated requests for an interview. In an emailed statement, he said he is aware of the longstanding issue of radioactive contamination and is working with all the agencies involved in the cleanup.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he acknowledged that “the effect of sea level rise and groundwater rise has not been studied” for the Hunters Point Superfund site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harrison organized a June rally in front of City Hall to highlight the findings. Wearing a bright purple shirt with “CAN WE LIVE” printed on the front and speaking into a megaphone, she said the city needs to prepare Bayview-Hunters Point for the effects of sea level rise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I want to invite our mayor, who we love, to show us that she loves us back,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She said reparations are necessary to create an equitable future for Bayview-Hunters Point and its Black and brown residents who will be disproportionately harmed by climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://antievictionmap.com/bayview-hunters-point\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Government agencies redlined Black people into the neighborhood now dominated by polluting industries.\u003c/a> As a result, residents live near toxic sites and face potentially deadly impacts from climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979753\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/IMG_7892-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1979753\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/IMG_7892-800x600.jpg\" alt='A Black woman in a red coat and red leggings speaks at a rally, holding up a map showing contaminated areas of the former Hunters Point naval shipyard. To the right of the photo, helping hold up the map, is a Black woman in black leggings, white running shoes and a purple t-shirt reading \"Can We Live.\" In the background is a group of Black people attending the rally, dressed in denim or khaki pants and a range of colors of shirts, from blue to red plaid. The rally is in front of a tall white fence.' width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/IMG_7892-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/IMG_7892-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/IMG_7892-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/IMG_7892-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/IMG_7892-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/IMG_7892-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/IMG_7892-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai explains her map of which contaminants are found at which locations at the Hunters Point Superfund site, during a rally on February 12, 2022 in Bayview-Hunters Point. \u003ccite>(Annelise Finney/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We’re tired of begging for our lives,” Harrison told KQED. “I holla for reparations because that’s paying for crimes against humanity. You can bet your bottom dollar we’re gonna need long-term care.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11906054/it-means-to-repair-what-you-should-know-about-reparations-for-black-californians\">California’s task force on reparations is deep in a conversation on how to repair the centuries of oppression\u003c/a> endured by descendants of the enslaved on a statewide level. San Francisco’s African American Reparations Advisory Committee is exploring how the city can repair the harm its discriminatory policies have caused to Black homeownership, access to schools and availability of health care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bayview-Hunters Point residents regularly attend the meetings of San Francisco’s advisory committee to express their concerns. Lonnie Mason said at a January session that the city is not giving enough attention to the historically Black area of San Francisco. He was born and raised in the neighborhood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our health risks within the community are very deep,” he said. “It goes way back. We know what time it is when it comes to Hunters Point.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Reparations mean preparing for sea level rise\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For longtime Bayview-Hunters Point residents like Tonia Randell, city leaders have taken way too long to demonstrate they value people of color in this neighborhood, \u003ca href=\"https://oehha.ca.gov/calenviroscreen/report/calenviroscreen-40\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">one of the most polluted parts of San Francisco, according to a state environmental analysis\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have all the utilities here,” she said, noting the neighborhood is home to \u003ca href=\"https://www.recology.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Recology\u003c/a>; the city’s sewage treatment plant; and other waste facilities. “We still have the garbage dump here. Why is it all in our area? Because they don’t value us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ce.berkeley.edu/people/faculty/mcarrasquillo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">UC Berkeley professor Maya Carrasquillo\u003c/a> says it’s not unusual for Black people to feel left out of plans to improve residents’ lives, even if they are represented by Black city officials. Carrasquillo, who identifies racially as a Black American and ethnically as an Afro-Latina, is a civil and environmental engineering professor focused on environmental justice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She says Black people in power would argue they advocate for all Black residents, but decisions made by those in control often center communities of affluence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is still a distinct difference of how we value Black and brown lives across class barriers,” she said. “When we say ‘Black Lives Matter,’ it is all Black lives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979619\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/028_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1979619 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/028_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A black woman with a turquoise shirt and hair pulled back into a tight bun. \" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/028_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/028_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/028_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/028_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/028_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/06/028_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai is documenting the toxic load in Bayview-Hunters Point residents. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Carrasquillo says Bayview-Hunters Point deserves the same kind of investment that wealthy neighborhoods of San Francisco receive. If that doesn’t happen, lower-income people of color will suffer disproportionately as the world warms and the bay rises. She says San Francisco and other cities should invite the people who will be the most harmed by rising tides to decide their own future by including them in every aspect of climate adaptation plans. That is an act of reparation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What’s actually at stake here are people’s lives,” she added. “We need to make sure that people are not at the risk of death, if we really say that their lives matter.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘That set my hair on fire’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>To seize the attention of city leaders, residents are documenting their health conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A map of Bayview-Hunters Point lies on the wood desk in Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai’s office. It’s filled with red, blue, black, yellow and white pushpins — they look like ants piled up on a piece of food. Each pin represents a person whom she tested and found to have high levels of a toxic chemical in their body at that time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“[Toxic chemicals] have no role in the human body, and there is no justification for any of them,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979636\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/012_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1979636 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/012_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A map of San Francisco's east side with clusters of yellow, blue, white and red pushpins.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/012_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/012_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/012_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/012_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/012_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2024/06/012_KQED_BayviewBloodTesting_02252022.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pushpins on a map show where the elements arsenic, gadolinium, manganese and vanadium were found in tests of Bayview-Hunters Point residents. Dr. Ahimsa Porter Sumchai is conducting the urine tests and correlating the results with residents’ illnesses. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In 2018, the state announced that \u003ca href=\"https://ce.berkeley.edu/people/faculty/mcarrasquillo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a radioactive object was found near new condos in the community\u003c/a> in an area the city and numerous government agencies said was cleaned up. For Porter Sumchai, that was the last straw.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2019, she began testing residents who volunteered to have their urine examined for toxic contaminants. The 70-year-old physician is the founder and medical director of the \u003ca href=\"https://hunters-point-community-biomonitoring-program.business.site/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hunters Point Biomonitoring Foundation\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She’s now tested and retested more than 100 residents for toxic elements like lead, mercury and arsenic, and for elevated levels of natural elements that people need, like iron and zinc. Porter Sumchai said she recently tested a woman in her 40s and found uranium at dangerously high levels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That set my hair on fire,” she said. “I had never seen anything like that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Harrison was tested in 2021. Porter Sumchai found cadmium, copper, manganese and other contaminants in her body at levels she described as “very dangerous.” The contaminants could cause damage to the brain, heart, kidney, liver and lungs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I am retaining fluid, have muscle tightness, tingling in my feet and my hair is falling out of my head like a cancer patient,” she said, pointing to the test results on her office computer. “It doesn’t look like it because my wig is really cute.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On that day she wore long, black braids.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials with the San Francisco Department of Public Health told KQED in an emailed statement that the agency is “committed to protecting and promoting the health of those in the Bayview-Hunters Point” neighborhood, but wouldn’t comment directly on Porter Sumchai’s testing, saying the agency did not have a “subject matter expert.” They deferred comment to state health officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979754\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/RS54031_004_KQED_BayviewAriannHarrison_03022022-qut.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1979754\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/RS54031_004_KQED_BayviewAriannHarrison_03022022-qut-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/RS54031_004_KQED_BayviewAriannHarrison_03022022-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/RS54031_004_KQED_BayviewAriannHarrison_03022022-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/RS54031_004_KQED_BayviewAriannHarrison_03022022-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/RS54031_004_KQED_BayviewAriannHarrison_03022022-qut-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/RS54031_004_KQED_BayviewAriannHarrison_03022022-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2023/06/RS54031_004_KQED_BayviewAriannHarrison_03022022-qut.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The results of Arieann Harrison’s tests for toxic elements her body is carrying are displayed on her computer in the Bayview on March 2, 2022. Bright red bars show high levels of lead, mercury, cadmium and thallium, among others. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The California Department of Public Health told KQED in an email that it is “aware” of the community testing, but “has not been directly provided any test results from those samples.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://sfenvironment.org/sites/default/files/fliers/files/sfe_ej_sfhh_community_health_status_assessment.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The city conducted a community health survey in 2006\u003c/a> that found “cancer is a major cause of years of life lost in Bayview Hunters Point,” and “African-American women and men have the highest mortality rates of any other racial/ethnic group for several major cancers.” But the city did not look at whether buried toxic contamination at the shipyard contributed to any health problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. Timur Durrani, a UCSF physician who is not involved with Porter Sumchai’s effort, said the tests are cause for a wider-scale survey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://profiles.ucsf.edu/timur.durrani\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Durrani, who provides care for acutely poisoned patients\u003c/a> at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, cautioned that to understand the full extent of the problem, a comprehensive evaluation of the exposure and the community is needed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What it sounds like is the community wants to be heard,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Porter Sumchai submits her data on cancers and toxic contamination to the California Cancer Registry. She is compiling her own — the Hunters Point Community Toxic Registry — and hopes to gather enough evidence documenting a relationship between illness and toxic exposure to use in a structured legal settlement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The more evidence we collect, the more pins we place in this map,” she said. “I do think, ultimately, there is going to be a recovery for this community. It’s just in the stars.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But any recovery takes hard work. Porter Sumchai and Harrison’s work is practical, methodical and deliberate. Climate change adds extreme urgency to their effort.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the June protest on the steps of City Hall, Harrison invited Porter Sumchai to speak on her findings. Rallying the crowd, she called her “a woman who has been fighting since Day One. I like to call her my second mother.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People in Bayview-Hunters Point are being treated like canaries in the coal mine for an impending catastrophe that will impact the entire city,” Porter Sumchai said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bayview-Hunters Point residents are facing a life-or-death crisis, she said, but she promised to fight, even if city leaders don’t act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then she quoted Marie Harrison.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ll never surrender,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s Annelise Finney contributed reporting to this story. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/science/1979614/for-these-black-bayview-hunters-point-residents-reparations-include-safeguarding-against-rising-toxic-contamination","authors":["11746"],"categories":["science_46","science_31","science_40","science_43","science_4450"],"tags":["science_182","science_4417","science_4414","science_206"],"featImg":"science_1979622","label":"source_science_1979614"},"science_1979262":{"type":"posts","id":"science_1979262","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"science","id":"1979262","score":null,"sort":[1651884074000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"from-giant-isopods-to-glowing-jellies-this-new-monterey-bay-aquarium-exhibit-features-deep-sea-creatures-never-seen-before","title":"From Giant Isopods to Glowing Jellies, This New Monterey Bay Aquarium Exhibit Features Deep-Sea Creatures Never Seen Before","publishDate":1651884074,"format":"image","headTitle":"From Giant Isopods to Glowing Jellies, This New Monterey Bay Aquarium Exhibit Features Deep-Sea Creatures Never Seen Before | KQED","labelTerm":{},"content":"\u003cp>The midnight zone begins half a mile beneath the ocean, and is an area so deep that no sunlight can reach it. Few humans have seen the animals who live there — until now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A groundbreaking exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium is bringing deep-sea animals from the midnight zone up to the surface and into public view for the first time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What’s really cool about this exhibit is that we are the only humans on Earth right now that are likely looking at some of these animals,” said Allen Protasio, exhibit guide at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size='small' citation='Samantha Muka, aquarium historian and professor, Stevens Institute of Technology']‘We should be completely astounded by the technological things that they’ve done. It probably couldn’t have been done even 10 or 15 years ago. It’s that cutting-edge.’[/pullquote]The midnight zone is cold and dark, and can only be explored by remote operating vehicles (ROVs) controlled by pilots in submarines. The deep sea is rich with strange and often bioluminescent creatures, many of them delicate and unable to withstand the drastic transition to the low pressure, bright lights and high temperatures at the surface. Monterey Bay researchers have experimented for over a decade with ways to bring elusive deep-sea life safely up from the depths.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The exhibit takes visitors on a descending tour of the abyss, starting with a model of Monterey Bay’s underwater canyon. Some parts of the canyon are more than a mile deep, and the canyon comes remarkably close to shore. Visitors can meander through a darkened gallery of tanks displaying gelatinous creatures from the shallower end of the midnight zone, known as the midwater, which ranges from 650 feet to 3,300 feet deep.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979270\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Whalefall_Japanese_crab_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1979270\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Whalefall_Japanese_crab_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A rust-colored crab with an oval body and white markings on its shell and legs rises up on four legs, two legs extended out above and in front of its body like an orchestra conductor. The crab is on a sandy floor inside an aquarium, with models of whale bones on the ground and looming in the background.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Whalefall_Japanese_crab_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Whalefall_Japanese_crab_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Whalefall_Japanese_crab_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Whalefall_Japanese_crab_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Whalefall_Japanese_crab_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Whalefall_Japanese_crab_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Whalefall_Japanese_crab_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Japanese spider crab is the size of a small dog. \u003ccite>(Tyson V. Rininger/Monterey Bay Aquarium)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the midwater gallery, screens show dazzling ROV footage of shimmering bioluminescence. A goopy string adorned with stingers — a creature known as a siphonophore — floats suspended in its tank.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tommy Knowles, a jellyfish expert and one of the scientists who developed the exhibit, described his favorite midwater creature — a crimson dome bedazzled with ridges of strobing rainbow lights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is the bloody belly comb jelly, Lampocteis,” Knowles said. “It’s one of the most delicate jellies in the world. It’s like a sparkly bowl of Jell-O.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Knowles and other scientists tinkered with the acidity, light and temperature to achieve conditions that were just right for each deep-sea animal on display.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We should be completely astounded by the technological things that they’ve done,” said Samantha Muka, aquarium historian and professor at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. “It probably couldn’t have been done even 10 or 15 years ago. It’s that cutting-edge.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the deep sea is known for its high pressures, the aquarium scientists found that some deep-sea creatures could survive the ascent if they were given time to acclimate to the lower pressure and higher temperatures, not unlike the delicacy required when human divers return from high-pressure depths.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979302\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Deep_sea_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize2.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1979302\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Deep_sea_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize2-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Inside a deep sea exhibit, black boulders looking like pieces of charcoal, pocked with lines and small holes line the ground. Growing on these boulders are tall, pale orange corals with trunks like a tree and branches like a curved fan. \" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Deep_sea_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Deep_sea_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Deep_sea_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Deep_sea_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Deep_sea_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize2.jpg 1044w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Corals and sponges that grow on underwater mountains, or “seamounts” develop so slowly that damaged habitats could take centuries to recover. Drilling, mining, and fishing can put corals, sponges, and the animals they shelter at risk. \u003ccite>(Tyson V. Rininger/Monterey Bay Aquarium)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“They’re the only people right now that know how you can push these animals, like the plasticity of their pressure needs at the moment,” said Muka. “They already know more about those deep-sea animals than we’ve ever known about them ever.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While it took years of trial and error to figure out each deep-sea creature’s specific requirements, achieving low-enough oxygen levels proved to be a particular challenge. Many deep-sea creatures from an area known as the oxygen minimum zone need as little as 5% of the oxygen found at the ocean’s surface to survive. Some displays required developing new methods to strip oxygen out of seawater.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had to use equipment that I don’t think has ever been used in aquariums before,” Knowles said. “It was used in food production, for stripping gasses out of liquids.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The exhibit is more than a technological marvel or a way to show off exotic animals. In addition to educating the public, it serves as a reconstructed ecological system that allows scientists to study deep-sea environments without the expense and difficulty of submarine voyages. This combination of public outreach and basic science is a hallmark of the Monterey Bay Aquarium.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re basically setting up a long-term laboratory for those scientists to be able to study those organisms,” Muka said. “In some sense, it is the ultimate reason for the public aquarium to exist.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because it is so challenging to access and study, deep-sea biology is still in its infancy. Although scientists are only beginning to understand deep-sea environments, those environments are already under threat from human influence, such as deep-sea drilling, mining operations, climate change and microplastic pollution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deep-sea creatures feed on marine snow, tiny flecks of rotten flesh and other debris that drift down and eventually reach the sunless depths. But now, much of that snow is made up of tiny bits of microplastic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To demonstrate how microplastic pollution affects deep-sea animals, the exhibit includes an interactive game that shows how hard it is for these animals to survive. Players take control of different deep-sea creatures and must avoid getting eaten or stung, all while chasing down and gobbling up bits of marine snow. If a player survives the game, the screen displays the percentage of plastic they consumed along with their marine snow meals — often more than half.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As those plastics break down smaller and smaller, they get into the food chain,” said Protasio. “And these deep-sea critters may not be able to distinguish between what’s marine snow and what’s microplastic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the deep end of the exhibit, visitors reach the muddy plains of the sea floor, studded with microhabitats. In one seafloor tank, spiny Japanese spider crabs the size of small dogs crawl over a model of a sperm whale skeleton settled into the mud. Cartilaginous ghost sharks lurk, and elephant fish probe for food with their long snouts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size='small' citation='Tommy Knowles, jellyfish expert, Monterey Bay Aquarium']‘In one sense they’re so foreign to us, they’re very alien. But in another sense, they are earthlings.’[/pullquote]While every other animal in the exhibit lives behind glass, giant deep-sea isopods with 14 legs huddle in a touch tank. They look like roly-polys from your garden, except they’re ghostly pale and as big as bread loaves. Isopods can thrive in a vast range of depths and environments, from just 550 feet below the surface to as deep as 7,000 feet. They can switch between crawling along the muddy plains of the seafloor to swimming with muscular flaps called pleopods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because the deep sea is so different from what we’re used to, it can seem far away, and has often been compared to another planet. The creatures who call it home, with their many limbs and glowing, gelatinous bodies, might strike some visitors as otherworldly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In one sense they’re so foreign to us, they’re very alien. But in another sense, they are earthlings,” said Knowles. “I feel like the alien, coming in with my submarine with bright lights. They’re probably wondering, ‘What is that?!’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Monterey Bay Aquarium has successfully brought a glimpse of the midnight zone into the light. The exhibit provides scientists with new tools to keep learning about the earthlings who call it home, and reminds us just how close we are to our deep, dark neighbors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"The midnight zone begins half a mile beneath the ocean and is an area so deep that no sunlight can reach it. Few humans have seen the animals who live there — until now.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1704846265,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":27,"wordCount":1389},"headData":{"title":"From Giant Isopods to Glowing Jellies, This New Monterey Bay Aquarium Exhibit Features Deep-Sea Creatures Never Seen Before | KQED","description":"The midnight zone begins half a mile beneath the ocean and is an area so deep that no sunlight can reach it. Few humans have seen the animals who live there — until now.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"From Giant Isopods to Glowing Jellies, This New Monterey Bay Aquarium Exhibit Features Deep-Sea Creatures Never Seen Before","datePublished":"2022-05-07T00:41:14.000Z","dateModified":"2024-01-10T00:24:25.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"source":"Oceans","audioUrl":"https://traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/0af137ef-751e-4b19-a055-aaef00d2d578/ffca7e9f-6831-4[…]f-aaef00f5a073/44e7dfc5-3e1e-466c-a06e-ae7b0129cf16/audio.mp3","sticky":false,"nprByline":"Guananí Gómez-Van Cortright ","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","showOnAuthorArchivePages":"No","path":"/science/1979262/from-giant-isopods-to-glowing-jellies-this-new-monterey-bay-aquarium-exhibit-features-deep-sea-creatures-never-seen-before","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The midnight zone begins half a mile beneath the ocean, and is an area so deep that no sunlight can reach it. Few humans have seen the animals who live there — until now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A groundbreaking exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium is bringing deep-sea animals from the midnight zone up to the surface and into public view for the first time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What’s really cool about this exhibit is that we are the only humans on Earth right now that are likely looking at some of these animals,” said Allen Protasio, exhibit guide at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"‘We should be completely astounded by the technological things that they’ve done. It probably couldn’t have been done even 10 or 15 years ago. It’s that cutting-edge.’","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"size":"small","citation":"Samantha Muka, aquarium historian and professor, Stevens Institute of Technology","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The midnight zone is cold and dark, and can only be explored by remote operating vehicles (ROVs) controlled by pilots in submarines. The deep sea is rich with strange and often bioluminescent creatures, many of them delicate and unable to withstand the drastic transition to the low pressure, bright lights and high temperatures at the surface. Monterey Bay researchers have experimented for over a decade with ways to bring elusive deep-sea life safely up from the depths.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The exhibit takes visitors on a descending tour of the abyss, starting with a model of Monterey Bay’s underwater canyon. Some parts of the canyon are more than a mile deep, and the canyon comes remarkably close to shore. Visitors can meander through a darkened gallery of tanks displaying gelatinous creatures from the shallower end of the midnight zone, known as the midwater, which ranges from 650 feet to 3,300 feet deep.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979270\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Whalefall_Japanese_crab_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1979270\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Whalefall_Japanese_crab_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A rust-colored crab with an oval body and white markings on its shell and legs rises up on four legs, two legs extended out above and in front of its body like an orchestra conductor. The crab is on a sandy floor inside an aquarium, with models of whale bones on the ground and looming in the background.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Whalefall_Japanese_crab_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Whalefall_Japanese_crab_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Whalefall_Japanese_crab_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Whalefall_Japanese_crab_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Whalefall_Japanese_crab_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Whalefall_Japanese_crab_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Whalefall_Japanese_crab_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Japanese spider crab is the size of a small dog. \u003ccite>(Tyson V. Rininger/Monterey Bay Aquarium)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the midwater gallery, screens show dazzling ROV footage of shimmering bioluminescence. A goopy string adorned with stingers — a creature known as a siphonophore — floats suspended in its tank.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tommy Knowles, a jellyfish expert and one of the scientists who developed the exhibit, described his favorite midwater creature — a crimson dome bedazzled with ridges of strobing rainbow lights.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is the bloody belly comb jelly, Lampocteis,” Knowles said. “It’s one of the most delicate jellies in the world. It’s like a sparkly bowl of Jell-O.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Knowles and other scientists tinkered with the acidity, light and temperature to achieve conditions that were just right for each deep-sea animal on display.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We should be completely astounded by the technological things that they’ve done,” said Samantha Muka, aquarium historian and professor at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. “It probably couldn’t have been done even 10 or 15 years ago. It’s that cutting-edge.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the deep sea is known for its high pressures, the aquarium scientists found that some deep-sea creatures could survive the ascent if they were given time to acclimate to the lower pressure and higher temperatures, not unlike the delicacy required when human divers return from high-pressure depths.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979302\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Deep_sea_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize2.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1979302\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Deep_sea_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize2-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Inside a deep sea exhibit, black boulders looking like pieces of charcoal, pocked with lines and small holes line the ground. Growing on these boulders are tall, pale orange corals with trunks like a tree and branches like a curved fan. \" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Deep_sea_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Deep_sea_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Deep_sea_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Deep_sea_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/05/Deep_sea_Tyson-V.-Rininger-resize2.jpg 1044w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Corals and sponges that grow on underwater mountains, or “seamounts” develop so slowly that damaged habitats could take centuries to recover. Drilling, mining, and fishing can put corals, sponges, and the animals they shelter at risk. \u003ccite>(Tyson V. Rininger/Monterey Bay Aquarium)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“They’re the only people right now that know how you can push these animals, like the plasticity of their pressure needs at the moment,” said Muka. “They already know more about those deep-sea animals than we’ve ever known about them ever.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While it took years of trial and error to figure out each deep-sea creature’s specific requirements, achieving low-enough oxygen levels proved to be a particular challenge. Many deep-sea creatures from an area known as the oxygen minimum zone need as little as 5% of the oxygen found at the ocean’s surface to survive. Some displays required developing new methods to strip oxygen out of seawater.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had to use equipment that I don’t think has ever been used in aquariums before,” Knowles said. “It was used in food production, for stripping gasses out of liquids.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The exhibit is more than a technological marvel or a way to show off exotic animals. In addition to educating the public, it serves as a reconstructed ecological system that allows scientists to study deep-sea environments without the expense and difficulty of submarine voyages. This combination of public outreach and basic science is a hallmark of the Monterey Bay Aquarium.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re basically setting up a long-term laboratory for those scientists to be able to study those organisms,” Muka said. “In some sense, it is the ultimate reason for the public aquarium to exist.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because it is so challenging to access and study, deep-sea biology is still in its infancy. Although scientists are only beginning to understand deep-sea environments, those environments are already under threat from human influence, such as deep-sea drilling, mining operations, climate change and microplastic pollution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deep-sea creatures feed on marine snow, tiny flecks of rotten flesh and other debris that drift down and eventually reach the sunless depths. But now, much of that snow is made up of tiny bits of microplastic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To demonstrate how microplastic pollution affects deep-sea animals, the exhibit includes an interactive game that shows how hard it is for these animals to survive. Players take control of different deep-sea creatures and must avoid getting eaten or stung, all while chasing down and gobbling up bits of marine snow. If a player survives the game, the screen displays the percentage of plastic they consumed along with their marine snow meals — often more than half.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As those plastics break down smaller and smaller, they get into the food chain,” said Protasio. “And these deep-sea critters may not be able to distinguish between what’s marine snow and what’s microplastic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the deep end of the exhibit, visitors reach the muddy plains of the sea floor, studded with microhabitats. In one seafloor tank, spiny Japanese spider crabs the size of small dogs crawl over a model of a sperm whale skeleton settled into the mud. Cartilaginous ghost sharks lurk, and elephant fish probe for food with their long snouts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"‘In one sense they’re so foreign to us, they’re very alien. But in another sense, they are earthlings.’","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"size":"small","citation":"Tommy Knowles, jellyfish expert, Monterey Bay Aquarium","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>While every other animal in the exhibit lives behind glass, giant deep-sea isopods with 14 legs huddle in a touch tank. They look like roly-polys from your garden, except they’re ghostly pale and as big as bread loaves. Isopods can thrive in a vast range of depths and environments, from just 550 feet below the surface to as deep as 7,000 feet. They can switch between crawling along the muddy plains of the seafloor to swimming with muscular flaps called pleopods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because the deep sea is so different from what we’re used to, it can seem far away, and has often been compared to another planet. The creatures who call it home, with their many limbs and glowing, gelatinous bodies, might strike some visitors as otherworldly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In one sense they’re so foreign to us, they’re very alien. But in another sense, they are earthlings,” said Knowles. “I feel like the alien, coming in with my submarine with bright lights. They’re probably wondering, ‘What is that?!’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Monterey Bay Aquarium has successfully brought a glimpse of the midnight zone into the light. The exhibit provides scientists with new tools to keep learning about the earthlings who call it home, and reminds us just how close we are to our deep, dark neighbors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/science/1979262/from-giant-isopods-to-glowing-jellies-this-new-monterey-bay-aquarium-exhibit-features-deep-sea-creatures-never-seen-before","authors":["byline_science_1979262"],"categories":["science_2874","science_46","science_40","science_2873","science_43"],"tags":["science_4414","science_2698","science_324"],"featImg":"science_1979272","label":"source_science_1979262"},"science_1979155":{"type":"posts","id":"science_1979155","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"science","id":"1979155","score":null,"sort":[1649764835000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"newsom-hailed-this-critical-wildfire-prevention-program-two-years-on-it-hasnt-completed-a-single-project","title":"Newsom Hailed This 'Critical' Wildfire-Prevention Program. Two Years On, It Hasn't Completed a Single Project","publishDate":1649764835,"format":"standard","headTitle":"Newsom Hailed This ‘Critical’ Wildfire-Prevention Program. Two Years On, It Hasn’t Completed a Single Project | KQED","labelTerm":{},"content":"\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the foothills of Mendocino County, where stretches of flat grazing land give way to thick brush and towering conifers, sits the community of Brooktrails.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Idyllic, picturesque — and primed for burning. Most of its 3,800 residents fled their homes in 2020 when the Oak Fire ignited north of town. Evacuees funneled onto Sherwood Road, the only route down the hillside and away from the flames.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[pullquote size='medium' citation='Gov. Gavin Newsom']‘The scale of the wildfire crisis in California is unprecedented, and we need a response to match the scale and severity of this challenge.’[/pullquote]Residents fear the next blaze could burn straight across the community and the town’s only evacuation route won’t be enough. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But the people of Brooktrails don’t need to fear being trapped. For two years, a local wildfire safety nonprofit, Sherwood Firewise Communities, has sought to clear a series of old, overgrown logging and emergency access roads that could provide alternative paths out of town. The roads also would allow fire engines into the community, easing congestion on existing evacuation routes. In March 2020, months before the Oak Fire, the nonprofit secured a grant from Cal Fire for over $447,000 to complete the project. But as of March, only four of the 20-plus miles of planned evacuation and access roads have been cleared. Most of the project is still waiting on paperwork and approvals.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Area residents, who had to evacuate before, are worried about \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the slow progress.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It makes me very angry, very cynical, [and] frustrated,” said Brooktrails retiree Luis Celaya, 85. “This is something that is so important and the potential is so high that a fire could happen.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A monthslong investigation by CapRadio and The California Newsroom found that projects across the state, like the one in Brooktrails, are encountering a bureaucratic bottleneck before shovels can even break ground. The state’s byzantine environmental approval process, required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), is slowing projects from Mendocino County to the Sierra Nevada to the Central Coast. The landmark environmental law was intended to protect ecologically and environmentally sensitive landscapes. But foresters worry that the glacial pace of environmental approvals under CEQA may lead to a much worse outcome — extreme wildfires obliterating these areas. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">To combat this, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration launched a program more than two years ago that promised to break the logjam, by fast-tracking environmental reviews. But that program, called the California Vegetation Treatment Program (CalVTP), hasn’t led to the completion of a single project so far. This stands in stark contrast to projections by the state Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, which anticipated CalVTP would lead to 45,000 acres of completed work in its first year. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979163\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/Brooktrails2.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1979163\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/Brooktrails2-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A huge pile of bent and twisted metal fills the image, with blackened tree trunks in the background. A rusty, once-white car is behind the remains of a huge storage building. \" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/Brooktrails2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/Brooktrails2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/Brooktrails2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/Brooktrails2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/Brooktrails2.jpg 1344w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Just a few yards off Highway 101, a huge storage building was reduced to ash and twisted metal on Oct. 5, 2020. Property owner Rochelle Harn barely escaped the flames. \u003ccite>(Mathew Caine/Willits Weekly)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Keith Rutledge, project manager for Sherwood Firewise Communities in Brooktrails, told CapRadio and The California Newsroom that he had never heard of CalVTP. The nonprofit instead used the established system to satisfy CEQA to clear the first few miles of road, which took over a year. When they later asked a Cal Fire representative about using CalVTP on the rest of the project, the representative discouraged them from using the new program, cautioning it would be even more burdensome, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Other experienced foresters said they didn’t know how to use the new system, which includes many new bureaucratic processes. The Board of Forestry did not respond to inquiries about its outreach and training for CalVTP; the earliest training webinar available on the board’s website is dated more than a year after the program’s launch. As a result, many foresters use the sluggish CEQA system they already understand.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Money is not the problem. The state set aside roughly \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/business-health-fires-climate-california-eec48e6279099449851b3c7f150cda33\">$1.5 billion for fire mitigation and forest resilience\u003c/a> last year. Cal Fire is \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4495\">scrambling to get this money out the door\u003c/a>, and many projects across the state are funded. But the clock is ticking. Without the green light to complete prescribed burns, fuel breaks and vegetation thinning, nearby communities are at the mercy of another wildfire season that threatens to be just as devastating as the last two, which burned nearly 7 million acres combined.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Though not a single CalVTP project has been completed, Lisa Lien-Mager, deputy secretary for communications at the California Natural Resources Agency, claimed in a series of emails that the state’s efforts to speed up environmental reviews have shown early signs of success. She declined repeated requests for an interview. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Newsom did not respond to an interview request, though a spokesperson acknowledged receiving the inquiry. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>New program, same problems\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In 2020, Newsom signed an agreement with the U.S. Forest Service, in which \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/8.12.20-CA-Shared-Stewardship-MOU.pdf\">USFS and California each promised to perform 500,000 acres of fire prevention\u003c/a> and forest management work in the state every year by 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">To help meet the state’s responsibility, the Newsom administration launched CalVTP in late 2019. The program promised to streamline the time-consuming environmental approval process for forest management projects. CalVTP completed a massive environmental review on more than 20 million acres in California. The idea was for new projects to cut through red tape by using this existing environmental review template instead of starting from scratch. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the program launched, \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2019/12/31/california-certifies-statewide-programmatic-environmental-impact-review-to-protect-californians-from-catastrophic-wildfires/\">Newsom hailed it\u003c/a> as a way to “increase the pace and scale of critical vegetation treatment in a way that safely and responsibly protects our environment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“The scale of the wildfire crisis in California is unprecedented, and we need a response to match the scale and severity of this challenge,” he said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Board of Forestry projected CalVTP’s output would skyrocket after its first year, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">setting a goal of accomplishing approximately 250,000 acres through CalVTP — half the state’s annual target — every year by 2024. Achieving this lofty target would mean completing hundreds of projects annually, according to the board’s estimates.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But more than two years into the program, it hasn’t resulted in a single completed project. A handful of local groups have begun projects using CalVTP, but it’s unclear how much progress they’ve made, because the Board of Forestry only collects data on a project when it’s finished. As of late March, the Natural Resources Agency said only 26 projects had been approved and another 45 proposals were being reviewed. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The agency did not provide current figures on the number of project acres approved through CalVTP. In December, it told CapRadio and The California Newsroom that the program had approved 28,000 acres. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“This is not enough by any stretch of the imagination,” said Char Miller, professor of environmental analysis and history at Pomona College, who has monitored the development of CalVTP. He says California has millions of acres in desperate need of forest management and fuel reduction. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Nevertheless, officials in the Newsom administration have continued to gloss over CalVTP falling dramatically short of its goals.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“The California Vegetation Treatment Program, this one-stop shop for permitting … is now in action,” said Wade Crowfoot, California Natural Resources Agency secretary, at a \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.assembly.ca.gov/media/assembly-budget-subcommittee-3-20220202/video\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">legislative oversight hearing\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in early February. “And it’s starting to be used.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lien-Mager, with the Natural Resources Agency, did not address specific requests for comment regarding Crowfoot’s remarks. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In interviews, foresters and fire prevention experts around the state said they still don’t fully understand how the program is supposed to work. Others were turned off by the large amount of unfamiliar paperwork required under the program. \u003ca href=\"https://bof.fire.ca.gov/media/extnp0al/psa-flow-chart_ada.pdf\">CalVTP’s official workflow template\u003c/a>, published\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> on the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection’s website\u003c/span>\u003cb>, \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">includes a dizzying decision tree of acronyms.\u003c/span>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979165\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/CalVTP_flowchart.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1979165\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/CalVTP_flowchart-800x688.png\" alt='A green rectangle named \"Planned Project\" starts off a decision tree with 9 layers of approvals and multiple arrows categorizing the project status, ending at the bottom with a green rectangle called \"Completed Projects.\"' width=\"800\" height=\"688\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/CalVTP_flowchart-800x688.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/CalVTP_flowchart-160x138.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/CalVTP_flowchart-768x660.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/CalVTP_flowchart.png 814w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">CalVTP’s official workflow template, published on the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection’s website, includes nine layers of decision-making and marks the process with multiple arrows. \u003ccite>(Board of Forestry and Fire Protection)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Fire prevention project managers who’ve tried to use the program have faced unforeseen hurdles. For example, the Central Coast Prescribed Burn Association wanted to use a single CalVTP application for a series of controlled burns across Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey counties. The 10 prescribed burn sites would help protect homes and ecologically sensitive habitats, including freshwater wetlands. The threat of fire isn’t hypothetical in this area — just two years ago, the 48,000-acre \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2020/8/16/river-fire/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">River Fire\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> burned within 15 miles of one project site.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But the projects straddle two Cal Fire units, according to Nadia Hamey, a forester and environmental consultant working with the burn association. She said each unit wanted a separate CalVTP application for the proposed burns in their area. Completing two versions of the new, unfamiliar paperwork proved too burdensome.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So the burn association decided to use the traditional environmental review process. That required 10 separate project applications. As of this winter, two burns had been completed, with the rest moving through the development and approval process.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hamey said she would love to use CalVTP — “if it was a straightforward path for the projects we’re trying to do.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A few projects breaking ground\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In an email, Lien-Mager said the number of projects approved is not the best way to gauge CalVTP’s success.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“The measure of CalVTP’s success is the time it takes to get projects cleared and on the ground,” she said. “The physical work of fuels treatment is an entirely separate exercise.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Based on the early data available, CalVTP has significantly expedited projects,” she added. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That claim is at odds with an initial review by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“We didn’t find clear data showing that it had significantly expedited projects,” Helen Kerstein, an analyst with the LAO, told lawmakers during a \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.capradio.org/articles/2021/12/07/after-long-delay-california-lawmakers-hold-wildfire-oversight-hearing/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">wildfire oversight hearing\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> late last year.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Although two years had passed since Newsom formally launched the program, Kerstein told lawmakers that “it’s very early days” for CalVTP. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There are other potential complications. A \u003ca href=\"https://bof.fire.ca.gov/media/dannit4m/calvtp-faqs.pdf\">lawsuit brought by two groups opposed to CalVTP’s expedited environmental review\u003c/a> — the California Chaparral Institute and the Endangered Habitats League — could invalidate CalVTP completely or introduce more burdensome and timely hoops for forest managers to jump through, according to a \u003c/span>memo\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> from the Board of Forestry.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While the lawsuit isn’t preventing any projects from moving forward right now, the board memo cautions that project managers should consider the “uncertainty” posed by the litigation before using CalVTP.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some people using the new program say it is accomplishing what it set out to do. While no CalVTP project has been completed, a few are making progress on the ground. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">JoAnna Lessard, manager of the Yuba Water Agency’s Watershed Resilience and Forest Health Program, said CalVTP “allowed us to get out there in the field probably a year faster than we would have otherwise.” The program has helped expedite \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.yubawater.org/337/Yuba-Foothills-Healthy-Forest-Project%5D\">a 5,400-acre project in Yuba County\u003c/a>, she said. So far, about 3,000 acres of vegetation thinning and removal have been completed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Wood chippers have started thinning ladder fuels between stands of looming trees in the Yuba River watershed in the Sierra foothills, north of Sacramento. Prescribed burning also is planned to help reintroduce low-intensity fire to the landscape. The project aims to protect an essential ecological feature of the foothills, as well as surrounding communities.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Yuba Water Agency hired the same consulting firm that crafted the giant environmental review document for CalVTP. Lessard said that decision also helped the agency navigate the new approval process. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“We had the money, we had the people — we just needed the ability to get out there by completing environmental compliance,” Lessard said. “And [CalVTP] really did streamline that.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Wolfy Rougle, forest health watershed coordinator for the Butte County Resource Conservation District, also is using CalVTP for a roughly 1,200-acre prescribed burn.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In an email, Rougle said that the program helped save the district $2,000 in fees. And she believes it could be useful for “\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">smaller organizations [without] experience or confidence creating their own” projects.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But, in an email, she noted that “it’s not *necessarily* faster” than the traditional project review process.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Still waiting for approval\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Still, most project managers are using the old environmental review process. And even relatively simple, low-impact projects can get bogged down. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Back in the Mendocino County community of Brooktrails, workers have started clearing brush on a few miles of planned access and evacuation routes. But most roads remain overgrown and impassable.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979162\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/Brooktrails1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1979162\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/Brooktrails1-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Five men in work clothes and blue hardhats clear brush and saw small tree trunks. They are working on a hillside, with larger trees in the background.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/Brooktrails1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/Brooktrails1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/Brooktrails1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/Brooktrails1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/Brooktrails1.jpg 1248w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A California Conservation Corps crew works on mitigating small-diameter trees and branches off Spring Creek Road near Brooktrails atop the ridge in the Sherwood Corridor, in February 2022. The work will help provide a safe exit to Highway 101 in case Sherwood Road becomes impassible. \u003ccite>(Mathew Caine/Willits Weekly)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After awarding the grant nearly two years ago, Cal Fire advised Sherwood Firewise Communities that the project’s environmental impact was likely so minimal that it could apply for a “notice of exemption” — what is supposed to be the most efficient way of satisfying CEQA under the established system. The nonprofit would still have to clear a few hurdles, such as a plant survey and archaeological review — but that process, for only the first part of the project, took over a year. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They’re now preparing the notice of exemption paperwork for the second leg of the project — after Cal Fire discouraged them from using CalVTP.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rutledge, the project manager, said he understands that approvals for fire prevention projects can’t be completed overnight. But he added that he’d like to see the state “step up and streamline their process” for environmental review, especially as it pumps more money into proposed projects.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> “Our No. 1 goal,” he said, “is to try to keep people from dying.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The California Newsroom is a collaboration of public radio stations, NPR and CalMatters.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"In late 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a new program to dramatically speed up the state's wildfire prevention work. But a monthslong investigation found that a bureaucratic bottleneck is holding up projects before shovels can even break ground.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1704846272,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":53,"wordCount":2462},"headData":{"title":"Newsom Hailed This 'Critical' Wildfire-Prevention Program. Two Years On, It Hasn't Completed a Single Project | KQED","description":"In late 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a new program to dramatically speed up the state's wildfire prevention work. But a monthslong investigation found that a bureaucratic bottleneck is holding up projects before shovels can even break ground.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"Newsom Hailed This 'Critical' Wildfire-Prevention Program. Two Years On, It Hasn't Completed a Single Project","datePublished":"2022-04-12T12:00:35.000Z","dateModified":"2024-01-10T00:24:32.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"source":"Wildfires","audioUrl":"https://traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/0af137ef-751e-4b19-a055-aaef00d2d578/ffca7e9f-6831-4[…]f-aaef00f5a073/6a38f528-7751-4f6d-bd24-ae7500f1e219/audio.mp3","sticky":false,"nprByline":"Scott Rodd, CapRadio","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","showOnAuthorArchivePages":"No","path":"/science/1979155/newsom-hailed-this-critical-wildfire-prevention-program-two-years-on-it-hasnt-completed-a-single-project","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the foothills of Mendocino County, where stretches of flat grazing land give way to thick brush and towering conifers, sits the community of Brooktrails.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Idyllic, picturesque — and primed for burning. Most of its 3,800 residents fled their homes in 2020 when the Oak Fire ignited north of town. Evacuees funneled onto Sherwood Road, the only route down the hillside and away from the flames.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"‘The scale of the wildfire crisis in California is unprecedented, and we need a response to match the scale and severity of this challenge.’","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"size":"medium","citation":"Gov. Gavin Newsom","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Residents fear the next blaze could burn straight across the community and the town’s only evacuation route won’t be enough. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But the people of Brooktrails don’t need to fear being trapped. For two years, a local wildfire safety nonprofit, Sherwood Firewise Communities, has sought to clear a series of old, overgrown logging and emergency access roads that could provide alternative paths out of town. The roads also would allow fire engines into the community, easing congestion on existing evacuation routes. In March 2020, months before the Oak Fire, the nonprofit secured a grant from Cal Fire for over $447,000 to complete the project. But as of March, only four of the 20-plus miles of planned evacuation and access roads have been cleared. Most of the project is still waiting on paperwork and approvals.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Area residents, who had to evacuate before, are worried about \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the slow progress.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It makes me very angry, very cynical, [and] frustrated,” said Brooktrails retiree Luis Celaya, 85. “This is something that is so important and the potential is so high that a fire could happen.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A monthslong investigation by CapRadio and The California Newsroom found that projects across the state, like the one in Brooktrails, are encountering a bureaucratic bottleneck before shovels can even break ground. The state’s byzantine environmental approval process, required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), is slowing projects from Mendocino County to the Sierra Nevada to the Central Coast. The landmark environmental law was intended to protect ecologically and environmentally sensitive landscapes. But foresters worry that the glacial pace of environmental approvals under CEQA may lead to a much worse outcome — extreme wildfires obliterating these areas. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">To combat this, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration launched a program more than two years ago that promised to break the logjam, by fast-tracking environmental reviews. But that program, called the California Vegetation Treatment Program (CalVTP), hasn’t led to the completion of a single project so far. This stands in stark contrast to projections by the state Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, which anticipated CalVTP would lead to 45,000 acres of completed work in its first year. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979163\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/Brooktrails2.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1979163\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/Brooktrails2-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A huge pile of bent and twisted metal fills the image, with blackened tree trunks in the background. A rusty, once-white car is behind the remains of a huge storage building. \" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/Brooktrails2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/Brooktrails2-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/Brooktrails2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/Brooktrails2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/Brooktrails2.jpg 1344w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Just a few yards off Highway 101, a huge storage building was reduced to ash and twisted metal on Oct. 5, 2020. Property owner Rochelle Harn barely escaped the flames. \u003ccite>(Mathew Caine/Willits Weekly)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Keith Rutledge, project manager for Sherwood Firewise Communities in Brooktrails, told CapRadio and The California Newsroom that he had never heard of CalVTP. The nonprofit instead used the established system to satisfy CEQA to clear the first few miles of road, which took over a year. When they later asked a Cal Fire representative about using CalVTP on the rest of the project, the representative discouraged them from using the new program, cautioning it would be even more burdensome, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Other experienced foresters said they didn’t know how to use the new system, which includes many new bureaucratic processes. The Board of Forestry did not respond to inquiries about its outreach and training for CalVTP; the earliest training webinar available on the board’s website is dated more than a year after the program’s launch. As a result, many foresters use the sluggish CEQA system they already understand.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Money is not the problem. The state set aside roughly \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/business-health-fires-climate-california-eec48e6279099449851b3c7f150cda33\">$1.5 billion for fire mitigation and forest resilience\u003c/a> last year. Cal Fire is \u003ca href=\"https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4495\">scrambling to get this money out the door\u003c/a>, and many projects across the state are funded. But the clock is ticking. Without the green light to complete prescribed burns, fuel breaks and vegetation thinning, nearby communities are at the mercy of another wildfire season that threatens to be just as devastating as the last two, which burned nearly 7 million acres combined.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Though not a single CalVTP project has been completed, Lisa Lien-Mager, deputy secretary for communications at the California Natural Resources Agency, claimed in a series of emails that the state’s efforts to speed up environmental reviews have shown early signs of success. She declined repeated requests for an interview. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Newsom did not respond to an interview request, though a spokesperson acknowledged receiving the inquiry. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>New program, same problems\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In 2020, Newsom signed an agreement with the U.S. Forest Service, in which \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/8.12.20-CA-Shared-Stewardship-MOU.pdf\">USFS and California each promised to perform 500,000 acres of fire prevention\u003c/a> and forest management work in the state every year by 2025.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">To help meet the state’s responsibility, the Newsom administration launched CalVTP in late 2019. The program promised to streamline the time-consuming environmental approval process for forest management projects. CalVTP completed a massive environmental review on more than 20 million acres in California. The idea was for new projects to cut through red tape by using this existing environmental review template instead of starting from scratch. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When the program launched, \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/2019/12/31/california-certifies-statewide-programmatic-environmental-impact-review-to-protect-californians-from-catastrophic-wildfires/\">Newsom hailed it\u003c/a> as a way to “increase the pace and scale of critical vegetation treatment in a way that safely and responsibly protects our environment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“The scale of the wildfire crisis in California is unprecedented, and we need a response to match the scale and severity of this challenge,” he said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Board of Forestry projected CalVTP’s output would skyrocket after its first year, \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">setting a goal of accomplishing approximately 250,000 acres through CalVTP — half the state’s annual target — every year by 2024. Achieving this lofty target would mean completing hundreds of projects annually, according to the board’s estimates.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But more than two years into the program, it hasn’t resulted in a single completed project. A handful of local groups have begun projects using CalVTP, but it’s unclear how much progress they’ve made, because the Board of Forestry only collects data on a project when it’s finished. As of late March, the Natural Resources Agency said only 26 projects had been approved and another 45 proposals were being reviewed. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The agency did not provide current figures on the number of project acres approved through CalVTP. In December, it told CapRadio and The California Newsroom that the program had approved 28,000 acres. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“This is not enough by any stretch of the imagination,” said Char Miller, professor of environmental analysis and history at Pomona College, who has monitored the development of CalVTP. He says California has millions of acres in desperate need of forest management and fuel reduction. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Nevertheless, officials in the Newsom administration have continued to gloss over CalVTP falling dramatically short of its goals.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“The California Vegetation Treatment Program, this one-stop shop for permitting … is now in action,” said Wade Crowfoot, California Natural Resources Agency secretary, at a \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.assembly.ca.gov/media/assembly-budget-subcommittee-3-20220202/video\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">legislative oversight hearing\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in early February. “And it’s starting to be used.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lien-Mager, with the Natural Resources Agency, did not address specific requests for comment regarding Crowfoot’s remarks. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In interviews, foresters and fire prevention experts around the state said they still don’t fully understand how the program is supposed to work. Others were turned off by the large amount of unfamiliar paperwork required under the program. \u003ca href=\"https://bof.fire.ca.gov/media/extnp0al/psa-flow-chart_ada.pdf\">CalVTP’s official workflow template\u003c/a>, published\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> on the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection’s website\u003c/span>\u003cb>, \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">includes a dizzying decision tree of acronyms.\u003c/span>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979165\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/CalVTP_flowchart.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1979165\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/CalVTP_flowchart-800x688.png\" alt='A green rectangle named \"Planned Project\" starts off a decision tree with 9 layers of approvals and multiple arrows categorizing the project status, ending at the bottom with a green rectangle called \"Completed Projects.\"' width=\"800\" height=\"688\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/CalVTP_flowchart-800x688.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/CalVTP_flowchart-160x138.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/CalVTP_flowchart-768x660.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/CalVTP_flowchart.png 814w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">CalVTP’s official workflow template, published on the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection’s website, includes nine layers of decision-making and marks the process with multiple arrows. \u003ccite>(Board of Forestry and Fire Protection)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Fire prevention project managers who’ve tried to use the program have faced unforeseen hurdles. For example, the Central Coast Prescribed Burn Association wanted to use a single CalVTP application for a series of controlled burns across Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey counties. The 10 prescribed burn sites would help protect homes and ecologically sensitive habitats, including freshwater wetlands. The threat of fire isn’t hypothetical in this area — just two years ago, the 48,000-acre \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2020/8/16/river-fire/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">River Fire\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> burned within 15 miles of one project site.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But the projects straddle two Cal Fire units, according to Nadia Hamey, a forester and environmental consultant working with the burn association. She said each unit wanted a separate CalVTP application for the proposed burns in their area. Completing two versions of the new, unfamiliar paperwork proved too burdensome.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So the burn association decided to use the traditional environmental review process. That required 10 separate project applications. As of this winter, two burns had been completed, with the rest moving through the development and approval process.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hamey said she would love to use CalVTP — “if it was a straightforward path for the projects we’re trying to do.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A few projects breaking ground\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In an email, Lien-Mager said the number of projects approved is not the best way to gauge CalVTP’s success.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“The measure of CalVTP’s success is the time it takes to get projects cleared and on the ground,” she said. “The physical work of fuels treatment is an entirely separate exercise.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Based on the early data available, CalVTP has significantly expedited projects,” she added. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That claim is at odds with an initial review by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“We didn’t find clear data showing that it had significantly expedited projects,” Helen Kerstein, an analyst with the LAO, told lawmakers during a \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.capradio.org/articles/2021/12/07/after-long-delay-california-lawmakers-hold-wildfire-oversight-hearing/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">wildfire oversight hearing\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> late last year.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Although two years had passed since Newsom formally launched the program, Kerstein told lawmakers that “it’s very early days” for CalVTP. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There are other potential complications. A \u003ca href=\"https://bof.fire.ca.gov/media/dannit4m/calvtp-faqs.pdf\">lawsuit brought by two groups opposed to CalVTP’s expedited environmental review\u003c/a> — the California Chaparral Institute and the Endangered Habitats League — could invalidate CalVTP completely or introduce more burdensome and timely hoops for forest managers to jump through, according to a \u003c/span>memo\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> from the Board of Forestry.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While the lawsuit isn’t preventing any projects from moving forward right now, the board memo cautions that project managers should consider the “uncertainty” posed by the litigation before using CalVTP.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some people using the new program say it is accomplishing what it set out to do. While no CalVTP project has been completed, a few are making progress on the ground. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">JoAnna Lessard, manager of the Yuba Water Agency’s Watershed Resilience and Forest Health Program, said CalVTP “allowed us to get out there in the field probably a year faster than we would have otherwise.” The program has helped expedite \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.yubawater.org/337/Yuba-Foothills-Healthy-Forest-Project%5D\">a 5,400-acre project in Yuba County\u003c/a>, she said. So far, about 3,000 acres of vegetation thinning and removal have been completed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Wood chippers have started thinning ladder fuels between stands of looming trees in the Yuba River watershed in the Sierra foothills, north of Sacramento. Prescribed burning also is planned to help reintroduce low-intensity fire to the landscape. The project aims to protect an essential ecological feature of the foothills, as well as surrounding communities.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Yuba Water Agency hired the same consulting firm that crafted the giant environmental review document for CalVTP. Lessard said that decision also helped the agency navigate the new approval process. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“We had the money, we had the people — we just needed the ability to get out there by completing environmental compliance,” Lessard said. “And [CalVTP] really did streamline that.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Wolfy Rougle, forest health watershed coordinator for the Butte County Resource Conservation District, also is using CalVTP for a roughly 1,200-acre prescribed burn.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In an email, Rougle said that the program helped save the district $2,000 in fees. And she believes it could be useful for “\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">smaller organizations [without] experience or confidence creating their own” projects.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But, in an email, she noted that “it’s not *necessarily* faster” than the traditional project review process.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Still waiting for approval\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Still, most project managers are using the old environmental review process. And even relatively simple, low-impact projects can get bogged down. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Back in the Mendocino County community of Brooktrails, workers have started clearing brush on a few miles of planned access and evacuation routes. But most roads remain overgrown and impassable.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1979162\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/Brooktrails1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1979162\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/Brooktrails1-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Five men in work clothes and blue hardhats clear brush and saw small tree trunks. They are working on a hillside, with larger trees in the background.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/Brooktrails1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/Brooktrails1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/Brooktrails1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/Brooktrails1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/04/Brooktrails1.jpg 1248w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A California Conservation Corps crew works on mitigating small-diameter trees and branches off Spring Creek Road near Brooktrails atop the ridge in the Sherwood Corridor, in February 2022. The work will help provide a safe exit to Highway 101 in case Sherwood Road becomes impassible. \u003ccite>(Mathew Caine/Willits Weekly)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After awarding the grant nearly two years ago, Cal Fire advised Sherwood Firewise Communities that the project’s environmental impact was likely so minimal that it could apply for a “notice of exemption” — what is supposed to be the most efficient way of satisfying CEQA under the established system. The nonprofit would still have to clear a few hurdles, such as a plant survey and archaeological review — but that process, for only the first part of the project, took over a year. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">They’re now preparing the notice of exemption paperwork for the second leg of the project — after Cal Fire discouraged them from using CalVTP.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rutledge, the project manager, said he understands that approvals for fire prevention projects can’t be completed overnight. But he added that he’d like to see the state “step up and streamline their process” for environmental review, especially as it pumps more money into proposed projects.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> “Our No. 1 goal,” he said, “is to try to keep people from dying.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The California Newsroom is a collaboration of public radio stations, NPR and CalMatters.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/science/1979155/newsom-hailed-this-critical-wildfire-prevention-program-two-years-on-it-hasnt-completed-a-single-project","authors":["byline_science_1979155"],"categories":["science_46","science_40","science_43","science_4450","science_3730"],"tags":["science_113"],"featImg":"science_1979164","label":"source_science_1979155"},"science_1978941":{"type":"posts","id":"science_1978941","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"science","id":"1978941","score":null,"sort":[1649163640000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"as-fires-intensify-psychologists-are-concerned-about-suicide-risk-among-firefighters","title":"As Fires Intensify, Psychologists Are Concerned About Suicide Risk Among Firefighters","publishDate":1649163640,"format":"standard","headTitle":"As Fires Intensify, Psychologists Are Concerned About Suicide Risk Among Firefighters | KQED","labelTerm":{},"content":"\u003cp>As climate change fuels \u003ca href=\"https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2020GL089858\">more severe wildfires\u003c/a> that burn through larger swaths of forestland and homes each year, firefighters are facing increasingly unpredictable, catastrophic blazes, leading many to speak out about suicide among their ranks, an occupational hazard they once kept to themselves. But a dearth of studies investigating the psychological costs of battling these blazes is hindering efforts to provide firefighters with help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildland firefighters routinely endure treacherous, emotionally taxing conditions. But those conditions have become increasingly untenable as fires grow bigger and fiercer, and keep firefighters battling erratic blazes with no relief for weeks on end.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The current federal wildland fire workforce is understaffed and overworked,” Riva Duncan, a retired U.S. Forest Service fire staff officer and executive secretary of the nonprofit Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, testified before the House Natural Resources Committee last April.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size='small']\u003cem>If you or someone you love is having thoughts of suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-TALK (8255) or text 741741 to connect with a trained crisis counselor.\u003c/em>[/pullquote]People are “at their breaking point,” Duncan said, “leaving a wake of mental health issues, suicides, high divorce rates and very concerning numbers surrounding high incidences of cancer and cardiovascular disease, all from a career of undocumented exposure to smoke, particulate matter and other effects from hazardous conditions we face every operational shift.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfires across the West Coast reached historic proportions during the 2020 fire season, burning an unprecedented 4 million acres in California and leaving a dozen Oregon counties battling “\u003ca href=\"https://www.oregon.gov/gov/policies/Documents/sep2020-wildfires-aar-execsumm-050521.pdf\">conflagrations\u003c/a>” during a single day. That year, Duncan testified, “I had more firefighters reach out for help with thoughts of suicide, depression and traumatic events than at any other time in my career.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet, despite anecdotal reports of a rising mental health crisis among wildland firefighters, surprisingly few studies have investigated suicide risk among the people who put their lives on the line to fight increasingly devastating infernos. In a \u003ca href=\"https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/2/e051227\">small survey of wildland firefighters\u003c/a> in British Columbia, published in the journal \u003ca href=\"https://bmjopen.bmj.com/\">BMJ Open\u003c/a> in February, 78% of respondents identified mental health risks associated with their job as one of the most important research priorities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t have hard numbers on completed suicides among wildland firefighters,” said Patricia O’Brien, an Oregon psychologist who worked as a wildland firefighter for 15 years, including a decade with the specially trained Lolo “\u003ca href=\"https://gacc.nifc.gov/swcc/dc/nmsdc/documents/Crews/NMSDC_Hotshot_Crew_History_2013.pdf\">hotshots\u003c/a>” in Missoula, Montana.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Studying a quiet epidemic\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Part of the reason it’s hard to get accurate numbers, said Marilyn Wooley, a California psychologist who specializes in treating first responders, is because there’s still a “huge stigma” around suicide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stigma persists partly because of enduring misperceptions surrounding suicide, including the notion that it’s a weak or selfish act, when in fact people who take their own lives often believe the world would be better off without them. These myths make people reluctant to seek help and prevent some families from reporting a loved one’s suicide. “There may be a lot of suicides that nobody knows about,” Wooley said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size=\"small\" citation=\"Patricia O'Brien, psychologist and former 'hotshot' firefighter\"]‘It’s a job skill to be able to manage personal discomfort, physical discomfort, emotional discomfort and stress while working in high-demand, high-consequence occupations. But it can be really difficult to shift gears and switch that off.’[/pullquote]A large body of research on other first responders, including police officers, urban firefighters and emergency medical technicians, \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26719976/\">reveals an elevated risk for suicide\u003c/a>. More than half of the firefighters who responded in a \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29573853/#:~:text=A%20total%20of%201.8%25%20(n,burdensomeness%2C%20statistically%20explained%20this%20link.\">2018 study\u003c/a> said they’d considered suicide, but only 20 wildland firefighters participated in that survey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The nature of wildland firefighting makes it difficult to study the people who risk their lives to keep communities safe. Wildland firefighters are employed by numerous federal, state, local and tribal agencies whose crews expand and contract in response to need over the fire season. Many are seasonal workers or volunteers. As a result, no one knows exactly how many people fight wildfires in a given year, though estimates range from 35,000 to 50,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a population that’s really hard to track, to describe, even just to get some numbers on,” said O’Brien.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Skip to: \u003ca href=\"#legislation\">A bill proposing mental health services for federal wildland firefighters\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The number of firefighters killed in the line of duty fighting fires in forests and grasslands averaged around 13 per year between 2010 and 2019, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. At some point, suicides seemed to surpass that, said Charles Palmer, a University of Montana professor who worked nearly two decades as a wildland firefighter. If the number of people who died doing the job is now lower than the number of individuals who took their own lives, Palmer said, “that should be extremely well publicized, well researched and validated.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Palmer hasn’t seen the type of investments needed to determine whether the data support what has become conventional wisdom. If it were any other problem related to wildland firefighting, he said, it would be well funded and researched.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Palmer attributes the dearth of data partly to the way suicide is treated in general. “It’s just this elephant in the room that nobody seems to want to talk about,” he said. “It touches everyone in some way, yet we seem reluctant to sit down and figure out a plan to address it, to find out more about it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if researchers never get accurate numbers on how many wildland firefighters are taking their own lives, O’Brien said, it’s clear that they’re exposed to trauma and other factors that increase risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And it’s safe to assume that as climate change drives higher-intensity fires, more frequent fires and longer fire seasons, firefighters will experience changes in their working conditions that affect how much time they can spend with family and doing things that are important to them “outside of fire,” she said. “And it’s those kinds of family connections and community involvement that buffer people from negative mental health experiences.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Understanding risks\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>People are attracted to wildland firefighting for “a multitude of different reasons,” Palmer said, but the quick bonds people forge working in high-risk, remote environments is part of the allure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a brotherhood and a sisterhood,” said Palmer, who spent several years parachuting from planes into fire zones as part of a rarified cadre of highly trained “smokejumpers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Palmer loved going to work “every single day,” even when he got banged up. He recalled one jump when he steered his parachute into a fire north of Yellowstone National Park. “I made some mistakes on my flight,” he said. His right side crashed into a log, followed by his ribs and leg. “The log didn’t give,” Palmer said. “My body did.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At first Palmer didn’t let on that he was hurt. “I limped myself up the hill with my gear, then realized I had done more damage than I thought,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Palmer alerted one of his “brothers,” who had trained as an emergency medical technician, that he needed help. The EMT did what he could and radioed for an emergency evacuation, but they were in such a remote area that the medivac didn’t reach Palmer until the middle of the night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like most wildland firefighters, Palmer relied on an iron will and steely resolve to get through his ordeal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a job skill to be able to manage personal discomfort, physical discomfort, emotional discomfort and stress while working in high-demand, high-consequence occupations,” O’Brien said. “But it can be really difficult to shift gears and switch that off.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The same ability to bury distress that helps firefighters manage emergency situations can prove counterproductive in the long run, especially when traumatic events, persistent injuries and chronic illnesses from the job begin to take a psychological toll.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In what may be the largest study of its kind, O’Brien surveyed more than 2,600 wildland firefighters about factors related to physical and mental health. Although O’Brien’s research, completed in 2019 as part of her doctoral program, has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, it remains \u003ca href=\"https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/11445/\">the most extensive investigation of wildland firefighters’ health and psychological challenges\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildland firefighters are at increased risk of heart disease, so a primary aim of O’Brien’s work was to identify risk factors for those illnesses. But she also wanted to gauge the prevalence of mental health problems and unhealthy behaviors that could increase cardiovascular risk, including depression, poor diet and substance abuse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She found that binge-drinking rates for wildland firefighters were twice as high as those reported in the general population, while smokeless tobacco use was 10 times higher. Depression, anxiety and PTSD, all risk factors for suicide, were common among her survey respondents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Close to 1 in 5 firefighters had “probable” depression — that is, they had not been diagnosed but reported feeling down and having trouble sleeping and concentrating, among other symptoms. That’s about twice the rate observed in the general population, O’Brien said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fact that there’s so much undiagnosed depression is concerning because it’s treatable, she said. And wildland firefighters, at least those working in federal agencies, can access treatment through programs like the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nifc.gov/resources/taking-care-of-our-own/employee-assistance-program\">Employee Assistance Program\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly a third of O’Brien’s respondents had considered killing themselves since starting to work as a wildland firefighter. Close to 40% reported knowing someone well in the wildland fire service who died by suicide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Legislation now in Congress would provide mental health education and services for federal wildland firefighters. \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/5631/text?r=1&s=1\">HR 5631\u003c/a>, co-sponsored by five California Democrats, is currently in the Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry and would include:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>mental health education and training;\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>a peer-to-peer mental health support network for firefighters and their families;\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>services from skilled mental health professionals who are readily available to firefighters and their families; and\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>seven days of mental health leave for federal firefighters.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>A call for support\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Palmer lost a fellow smokejumper to suicide in 2017. Ian Pohowsky was 42 years old when he took his life. He was the fifth smokejumper to die by suicide in the seven years prior. Only two smokejumpers died on the job over the same period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Ian was unbelievably talented,” Palmer said. “He was extremely interested in giving back and helping young firefighters develop. He was a beautiful person, as are too many of the people that end up taking their own lives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the tight-knit world of wildland firefighters, when someone dies or gets injured, Palmer said, “it strikes the community hard.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First responders are naturally resilient, said Wooley, the California psychologist. “But with these epic fires, they’re out for weeks, they don’t see their families and they’re just exhausted.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some firefighters who feel suicidal told her they’ve lost hope. They feel like they’ve “been in hell forever,” said Wooley, who survived the Carr Fire “tornado” that incinerated two California towns in 2018. Then they go home, and it’s hard to adjust to the mundane rhythms of daily life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it gets to the point that they’re feeling isolated and exhausted, and engaging in behaviors that alienate people, that’s when they can feel suicidal, Wooley said: “And they stop seeing other options.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s time for suicide to move from being “the elephant in the room” to something that’s recognized as a risk to the workforce and finally gets the attention and resources it deserves, Palmer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There should be a slot on crews for people trained to provide psychological support just like there is for EMTs, he said. “We’ve been trying hard to get an athletic trainer for every crew,” he said, referring to someone who’s trained to prevent injuries. “But even that hasn’t happened.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>O’Brien said that even though she’s seen a shift in willingness in talk about suicide, “I don’t really know of any formalized interventions that have been done with wildland firefighters.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She would like to see programs that focus on depression, anxiety, PTSD and substance abuse treated as if they’re no different from firefighters’ physical drills. And firefighting crew members need to be \u003ca href=\"https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/warning-signs-of-suicide\">trained to spot warning signs\u003c/a>, such as colleagues’ increasing use of alcohol or drugs, sleeping issues or talking about being a burden to others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The psychological demands of the job will only grow as warmer, drier conditions fuel more severe, unpredictable fires, experts say. And the boom in destructive wildfires is increasing the demand for wildland firefighters, even as agencies scramble to fill vacancies, placing an even greater burden on crews.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet researchers are just starting to understand wildland firefighters’ unique mental health challenges, O’Brien said. Because people volunteered in her study and self-reported their symptoms, the results could be skewed based on who responded. “But it’s the best data that we have at this point,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And it’s worrying that 20% of those who responded reported having thoughts of suicide in the past year. “That alone, whether it’s worse or lower than anyone else,” she said, “is worthy of attention.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>If you or someone you love is having thoughts of suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-TALK (8255) or text 741741 to connect with a trained crisis counselor.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://insideclimatenews.org/\">Inside Climate News\u003c/a> is a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. \u003ca href=\"https://insideclimatenews.org/newsletter/\">Sign up for the ICN newsletter here.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Amid reports of rising suicides, researchers say there's an urgent need to assess the risks facing an understudied population.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1704846284,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":49,"wordCount":2426},"headData":{"title":"As Fires Intensify, Psychologists Are Concerned About Suicide Risk Among Firefighters | KQED","description":"Amid reports of rising suicides, researchers say there's an urgent need to assess the risks facing an understudied population.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"As Fires Intensify, Psychologists Are Concerned About Suicide Risk Among Firefighters","datePublished":"2022-04-05T13:00:40.000Z","dateModified":"2024-01-10T00:24:44.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"source":"Inside Climate News","audioUrl":"https://traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/0af137ef-751e-4b19-a055-aaef00d2d578/ffca7e9f-6831-4[…]f-aaef00f5a073/ff7ffbaf-1717-46bc-935d-ae750131a5de/audio.mp3","sticky":false,"nprByline":"Liza Gross, Inside Climate News","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","showOnAuthorArchivePages":"No","path":"/science/1978941/as-fires-intensify-psychologists-are-concerned-about-suicide-risk-among-firefighters","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>As climate change fuels \u003ca href=\"https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2020GL089858\">more severe wildfires\u003c/a> that burn through larger swaths of forestland and homes each year, firefighters are facing increasingly unpredictable, catastrophic blazes, leading many to speak out about suicide among their ranks, an occupational hazard they once kept to themselves. But a dearth of studies investigating the psychological costs of battling these blazes is hindering efforts to provide firefighters with help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildland firefighters routinely endure treacherous, emotionally taxing conditions. But those conditions have become increasingly untenable as fires grow bigger and fiercer, and keep firefighters battling erratic blazes with no relief for weeks on end.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The current federal wildland fire workforce is understaffed and overworked,” Riva Duncan, a retired U.S. Forest Service fire staff officer and executive secretary of the nonprofit Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, testified before the House Natural Resources Committee last April.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"\u003cem>If you or someone you love is having thoughts of suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-TALK (8255) or text 741741 to connect with a trained crisis counselor.\u003c/em>","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"size":"small","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>People are “at their breaking point,” Duncan said, “leaving a wake of mental health issues, suicides, high divorce rates and very concerning numbers surrounding high incidences of cancer and cardiovascular disease, all from a career of undocumented exposure to smoke, particulate matter and other effects from hazardous conditions we face every operational shift.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildfires across the West Coast reached historic proportions during the 2020 fire season, burning an unprecedented 4 million acres in California and leaving a dozen Oregon counties battling “\u003ca href=\"https://www.oregon.gov/gov/policies/Documents/sep2020-wildfires-aar-execsumm-050521.pdf\">conflagrations\u003c/a>” during a single day. That year, Duncan testified, “I had more firefighters reach out for help with thoughts of suicide, depression and traumatic events than at any other time in my career.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet, despite anecdotal reports of a rising mental health crisis among wildland firefighters, surprisingly few studies have investigated suicide risk among the people who put their lives on the line to fight increasingly devastating infernos. In a \u003ca href=\"https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/2/e051227\">small survey of wildland firefighters\u003c/a> in British Columbia, published in the journal \u003ca href=\"https://bmjopen.bmj.com/\">BMJ Open\u003c/a> in February, 78% of respondents identified mental health risks associated with their job as one of the most important research priorities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t have hard numbers on completed suicides among wildland firefighters,” said Patricia O’Brien, an Oregon psychologist who worked as a wildland firefighter for 15 years, including a decade with the specially trained Lolo “\u003ca href=\"https://gacc.nifc.gov/swcc/dc/nmsdc/documents/Crews/NMSDC_Hotshot_Crew_History_2013.pdf\">hotshots\u003c/a>” in Missoula, Montana.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Studying a quiet epidemic\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Part of the reason it’s hard to get accurate numbers, said Marilyn Wooley, a California psychologist who specializes in treating first responders, is because there’s still a “huge stigma” around suicide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stigma persists partly because of enduring misperceptions surrounding suicide, including the notion that it’s a weak or selfish act, when in fact people who take their own lives often believe the world would be better off without them. These myths make people reluctant to seek help and prevent some families from reporting a loved one’s suicide. “There may be a lot of suicides that nobody knows about,” Wooley said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"‘It’s a job skill to be able to manage personal discomfort, physical discomfort, emotional discomfort and stress while working in high-demand, high-consequence occupations. But it can be really difficult to shift gears and switch that off.’","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"size":"small","citation":"Patricia O'Brien, psychologist and former 'hotshot' firefighter","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>A large body of research on other first responders, including police officers, urban firefighters and emergency medical technicians, \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26719976/\">reveals an elevated risk for suicide\u003c/a>. More than half of the firefighters who responded in a \u003ca href=\"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29573853/#:~:text=A%20total%20of%201.8%25%20(n,burdensomeness%2C%20statistically%20explained%20this%20link.\">2018 study\u003c/a> said they’d considered suicide, but only 20 wildland firefighters participated in that survey.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The nature of wildland firefighting makes it difficult to study the people who risk their lives to keep communities safe. Wildland firefighters are employed by numerous federal, state, local and tribal agencies whose crews expand and contract in response to need over the fire season. Many are seasonal workers or volunteers. As a result, no one knows exactly how many people fight wildfires in a given year, though estimates range from 35,000 to 50,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a population that’s really hard to track, to describe, even just to get some numbers on,” said O’Brien.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Skip to: \u003ca href=\"#legislation\">A bill proposing mental health services for federal wildland firefighters\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The number of firefighters killed in the line of duty fighting fires in forests and grasslands averaged around 13 per year between 2010 and 2019, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. At some point, suicides seemed to surpass that, said Charles Palmer, a University of Montana professor who worked nearly two decades as a wildland firefighter. If the number of people who died doing the job is now lower than the number of individuals who took their own lives, Palmer said, “that should be extremely well publicized, well researched and validated.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Palmer hasn’t seen the type of investments needed to determine whether the data support what has become conventional wisdom. If it were any other problem related to wildland firefighting, he said, it would be well funded and researched.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Palmer attributes the dearth of data partly to the way suicide is treated in general. “It’s just this elephant in the room that nobody seems to want to talk about,” he said. “It touches everyone in some way, yet we seem reluctant to sit down and figure out a plan to address it, to find out more about it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if researchers never get accurate numbers on how many wildland firefighters are taking their own lives, O’Brien said, it’s clear that they’re exposed to trauma and other factors that increase risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And it’s safe to assume that as climate change drives higher-intensity fires, more frequent fires and longer fire seasons, firefighters will experience changes in their working conditions that affect how much time they can spend with family and doing things that are important to them “outside of fire,” she said. “And it’s those kinds of family connections and community involvement that buffer people from negative mental health experiences.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Understanding risks\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>People are attracted to wildland firefighting for “a multitude of different reasons,” Palmer said, but the quick bonds people forge working in high-risk, remote environments is part of the allure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a brotherhood and a sisterhood,” said Palmer, who spent several years parachuting from planes into fire zones as part of a rarified cadre of highly trained “smokejumpers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Palmer loved going to work “every single day,” even when he got banged up. He recalled one jump when he steered his parachute into a fire north of Yellowstone National Park. “I made some mistakes on my flight,” he said. His right side crashed into a log, followed by his ribs and leg. “The log didn’t give,” Palmer said. “My body did.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At first Palmer didn’t let on that he was hurt. “I limped myself up the hill with my gear, then realized I had done more damage than I thought,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Palmer alerted one of his “brothers,” who had trained as an emergency medical technician, that he needed help. The EMT did what he could and radioed for an emergency evacuation, but they were in such a remote area that the medivac didn’t reach Palmer until the middle of the night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like most wildland firefighters, Palmer relied on an iron will and steely resolve to get through his ordeal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a job skill to be able to manage personal discomfort, physical discomfort, emotional discomfort and stress while working in high-demand, high-consequence occupations,” O’Brien said. “But it can be really difficult to shift gears and switch that off.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The same ability to bury distress that helps firefighters manage emergency situations can prove counterproductive in the long run, especially when traumatic events, persistent injuries and chronic illnesses from the job begin to take a psychological toll.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In what may be the largest study of its kind, O’Brien surveyed more than 2,600 wildland firefighters about factors related to physical and mental health. Although O’Brien’s research, completed in 2019 as part of her doctoral program, has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, it remains \u003ca href=\"https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/11445/\">the most extensive investigation of wildland firefighters’ health and psychological challenges\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wildland firefighters are at increased risk of heart disease, so a primary aim of O’Brien’s work was to identify risk factors for those illnesses. But she also wanted to gauge the prevalence of mental health problems and unhealthy behaviors that could increase cardiovascular risk, including depression, poor diet and substance abuse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She found that binge-drinking rates for wildland firefighters were twice as high as those reported in the general population, while smokeless tobacco use was 10 times higher. Depression, anxiety and PTSD, all risk factors for suicide, were common among her survey respondents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Close to 1 in 5 firefighters had “probable” depression — that is, they had not been diagnosed but reported feeling down and having trouble sleeping and concentrating, among other symptoms. That’s about twice the rate observed in the general population, O’Brien said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fact that there’s so much undiagnosed depression is concerning because it’s treatable, she said. And wildland firefighters, at least those working in federal agencies, can access treatment through programs like the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nifc.gov/resources/taking-care-of-our-own/employee-assistance-program\">Employee Assistance Program\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nearly a third of O’Brien’s respondents had considered killing themselves since starting to work as a wildland firefighter. Close to 40% reported knowing someone well in the wildland fire service who died by suicide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Legislation now in Congress would provide mental health education and services for federal wildland firefighters. \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/5631/text?r=1&s=1\">HR 5631\u003c/a>, co-sponsored by five California Democrats, is currently in the Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry and would include:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>mental health education and training;\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>a peer-to-peer mental health support network for firefighters and their families;\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>services from skilled mental health professionals who are readily available to firefighters and their families; and\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>seven days of mental health leave for federal firefighters.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>A call for support\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Palmer lost a fellow smokejumper to suicide in 2017. Ian Pohowsky was 42 years old when he took his life. He was the fifth smokejumper to die by suicide in the seven years prior. Only two smokejumpers died on the job over the same period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Ian was unbelievably talented,” Palmer said. “He was extremely interested in giving back and helping young firefighters develop. He was a beautiful person, as are too many of the people that end up taking their own lives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the tight-knit world of wildland firefighters, when someone dies or gets injured, Palmer said, “it strikes the community hard.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First responders are naturally resilient, said Wooley, the California psychologist. “But with these epic fires, they’re out for weeks, they don’t see their families and they’re just exhausted.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some firefighters who feel suicidal told her they’ve lost hope. They feel like they’ve “been in hell forever,” said Wooley, who survived the Carr Fire “tornado” that incinerated two California towns in 2018. Then they go home, and it’s hard to adjust to the mundane rhythms of daily life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it gets to the point that they’re feeling isolated and exhausted, and engaging in behaviors that alienate people, that’s when they can feel suicidal, Wooley said: “And they stop seeing other options.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s time for suicide to move from being “the elephant in the room” to something that’s recognized as a risk to the workforce and finally gets the attention and resources it deserves, Palmer said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There should be a slot on crews for people trained to provide psychological support just like there is for EMTs, he said. “We’ve been trying hard to get an athletic trainer for every crew,” he said, referring to someone who’s trained to prevent injuries. “But even that hasn’t happened.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>O’Brien said that even though she’s seen a shift in willingness in talk about suicide, “I don’t really know of any formalized interventions that have been done with wildland firefighters.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She would like to see programs that focus on depression, anxiety, PTSD and substance abuse treated as if they’re no different from firefighters’ physical drills. And firefighting crew members need to be \u003ca href=\"https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/warning-signs-of-suicide\">trained to spot warning signs\u003c/a>, such as colleagues’ increasing use of alcohol or drugs, sleeping issues or talking about being a burden to others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The psychological demands of the job will only grow as warmer, drier conditions fuel more severe, unpredictable fires, experts say. And the boom in destructive wildfires is increasing the demand for wildland firefighters, even as agencies scramble to fill vacancies, placing an even greater burden on crews.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet researchers are just starting to understand wildland firefighters’ unique mental health challenges, O’Brien said. Because people volunteered in her study and self-reported their symptoms, the results could be skewed based on who responded. “But it’s the best data that we have at this point,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And it’s worrying that 20% of those who responded reported having thoughts of suicide in the past year. “That alone, whether it’s worse or lower than anyone else,” she said, “is worthy of attention.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>If you or someone you love is having thoughts of suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-TALK (8255) or text 741741 to connect with a trained crisis counselor.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://insideclimatenews.org/\">Inside Climate News\u003c/a> is a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. \u003ca href=\"https://insideclimatenews.org/newsletter/\">Sign up for the ICN newsletter here.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/science/1978941/as-fires-intensify-psychologists-are-concerned-about-suicide-risk-among-firefighters","authors":["byline_science_1978941"],"categories":["science_46","science_40","science_43","science_4450","science_3730"],"tags":["science_4414","science_113"],"featImg":"science_1978966","label":"source_science_1978941"},"science_1978640":{"type":"posts","id":"science_1978640","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"science","id":"1978640","score":null,"sort":[1646333760000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"californias-transition-to-solar-energy-is-at-a-crossroads-what-that-means-for-equity-and-your-energy-bill","title":"California's Transition to Solar Energy Is at a Crossroads: What That Means for Equity and Your Energy Bill","publishDate":1646333760,"format":"standard","headTitle":"California’s Transition to Solar Energy Is at a Crossroads: What That Means for Equity and Your Energy Bill | KQED","labelTerm":{},"content":"\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The pitched battle over rooftop solar regulations in California is at a momentary détente, with several vested interests hoping that Gov. Gavin Newsom will intervene to swing the new rules on solar incentives their way. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The proposed changes would affect subsidies for generating power with rooftop solar arrays. In January, they provoked an all-out revolt among solar installers and some environmentalists. But unions and utilities are on the other side. They want drastic changes, arguing that renters and people with lower incomes shouldn’t have to pay more than their fair share for power. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[pullquote size='small' citation='Veronica Young, Berkeley resident']‘We always had crazy-high electric and gas bills, so we used some of her retirement to essentially eliminate the worry about unpredictable energy bills.’[/pullquote]Environmental groups that usually agree on green energy are divided on the proposed changes, because they say the changes that are supposed to promote equity will jeopardize the state’s ability to reach its ambitious climate goals. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Luverta Cooper, a retired accountant, installed solar panels last year on the family’s 1963 ranch-style home in Richmond’s Hilltop neighborhood. If the proposed net-metering changes were in place, they would’ve changed her entire calculus on whether to install solar. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It cost about $40,000. More than we were expecting, but we’re totally electrified now,” she said. “Our PG&E bill was running like $500 a month.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The family went big: 19 panels, 320 watts, a battery in the garage to store power for blackouts, and a heat pump in the side yard to replace the gas heater and AC. Her daughter, Veronica Young, who takes care of her parents, helped with the research and decision-making, and said the savings means the investment will pay off in about 10 years. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“We always had crazy-high electric and gas bills, so we used some of her retirement to essentially eliminate the worry about unpredictable energy bills,” Young explained. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The utility bill went from about $500 per month to only $5 per month — a fee for the gas connection. And now PG&E pays the family for the excess electricity their system generates and transmits to the electrical grid. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[pullquote size='small' citation='Mark Toney, executive director, The Utility Reform Network (TURN)']‘We think it’s important that the cost of greening the grid does not mean that low-income families, that communities of color are cut off from solar because the prices are too doggone high.’[/pullquote]At issue are the rules that govern selling power back to the utilities. It’s been five years since state utility regulators last adjusted the incentives to go solar so people like the Coopers could make the change financially feasible. Experts say it’s high time for adjustments, because when the Coopers pay less for power, that means their neighbors pay more. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The utilities still have to maintain infrastructure, build new and greener power plants, and bury power lines so they don’t start wildfires. Those costs are built into the cost of energy per kilowatt. Customers with solar pay for fewer kilowatts, or maybe don’t pay at all if they can sell enough extra solar power back to the utility. That means rates go up for the rest of the utility’s customers. The utilities argue that \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">someone \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">has to pay so the electrical grid functions. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It’s the other electrical customers who pay the subsidies. The subsidies do not come from the utility companies, it comes from utility customers,” said Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network, or TURN, a utility watchdog.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For once, TURN has found itself agreeing with the state’s investor-owned utilities. But TURN’s argument is about equity. The people who have a few extra thousand dollars to invest in rooftop solar aren’t representative of California as a whole, Toney said. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1972585\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/02/gettyimages-527740276_custom-44a9fba694aee1e1f2cd4d4751a8498bea2e25f3-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1972585\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/02/gettyimages-527740276_custom-44a9fba694aee1e1f2cd4d4751a8498bea2e25f3-800x551.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"551\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/02/gettyimages-527740276_custom-44a9fba694aee1e1f2cd4d4751a8498bea2e25f3-800x551.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/02/gettyimages-527740276_custom-44a9fba694aee1e1f2cd4d4751a8498bea2e25f3-1020x702.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/02/gettyimages-527740276_custom-44a9fba694aee1e1f2cd4d4751a8498bea2e25f3-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/02/gettyimages-527740276_custom-44a9fba694aee1e1f2cd4d4751a8498bea2e25f3-768x529.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/02/gettyimages-527740276_custom-44a9fba694aee1e1f2cd4d4751a8498bea2e25f3-1536x1057.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/02/gettyimages-527740276_custom-44a9fba694aee1e1f2cd4d4751a8498bea2e25f3-2048x1410.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/02/gettyimages-527740276_custom-44a9fba694aee1e1f2cd4d4751a8498bea2e25f3-1920x1322.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">President Biden has set a goal of making the U.S. carbon neutral by 2050, which will require steeper emissions cuts than the US has ever achieved. To reach it, coal power would have to wane into a footnote, replaced by renewables like solar and wind. \u003ccite>(Alex Wong/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Solar adopters \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://energyathaas.wordpress.com/2021/06/01/rooftop-solar-inequity/#:~:text=California%27s%20distributed%20solar%20policy%20hurts%20the%20poor.&text=As%20numerous%20EI%20blogs%20and,pumps%20kilowatts%20into%20the%20grid.\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">skew whiter and higher-income\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> compared to California’s demographics, although their median incomes are dropping gradually. However, most renters — 45% of California residents — don’t even have a chance to go solar, he said. People who invested in solar should pay their fair share. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It made sense for early adopters to receive a high subsidy rate. But the price of solar installation has dropped [by] more than 50% in the past several years. And the solar subsidies have tripled in that same time,” Toney said. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some environmental justice advocates are pushing for a grid participation fee that would be reduced for homeowners with lower incomes, along with lower subsidies for future solar customers, in alignment with the reduced cost of actually installing solar, plus more incentives to install battery storage and funding to help lower-income homeowners install solar. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“We think it’s important that the cost of greening the grid does not mean that low-income families, that communities of color are cut off from solar because the prices are too doggone high,” he said. “We have to find a solution that provides the greatest amount of clean energy at the most economical prices. The fact is, utilities are awful at doing that in a cost-effective manner.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On the environmental front, respected national organizations are split — with the Natural Resources Defense Council siding with the investor-owned utilities in the name of equity, and the Sierra Club lining up with the solar installers to keep things the same, so as not to jeopardize the state’s ambitious climate goals. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[pullquote size='small' citation='Ben Giustino, A1 Sun']‘People call it the solar coaster. It’s a disruptive technology. And so there’s a lot of larger powers that don’t really necessarily know what to do with it or like it because it challenges their way of doing business.’[/pullquote]The Public Utilities Commission proposal that went public in December would cut the rates that customers can get when they sell their excess solar power back to utilities. The proposal would also impose a new monthly fee to connect solar customers to the grid. Plus, it would set aside $600 million to help lower-income communities go solar and add battery storage for peak evening hours after the sun goes down, when electrical usage is still high.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There are two competing visions for what solar power generation will look like in California. Solar installers want it distributed, in small arrays on rooftops across the state. Utilities want to invest in large-scale arrays developed out in the desert and built by union labor. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many environmentalists ask, why don’t we have both? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It is going to be a tall order to build out all the resources we need to hit our climate targets. And California needs a thriving rooftop solar industry,” said Kate Ramsay, an attorney with the Sierra Club, one of the many parties that weighed in to ask state regulators to keep the subsidies. She says the fact that this discussion is going on at all means that California’s green energy industry is thriving and mature. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“We have greened many parts of our grid,” she said. “Now a lot of parties are trying to focus on decarbonizing those peak hours in the late afternoons and evenings, when we’re firing up our gas plants, particularly on the hottest days of the summer.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1978645\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/Ben-Giustino-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1978645\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/Ben-Giustino-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/Ben-Giustino-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/Ben-Giustino-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/Ben-Giustino-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/Ben-Giustino-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/Ben-Giustino-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/Ben-Giustino-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/Ben-Giustino-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ben Giustino, owner of A1 Sun, shows off a packet of rooftop solar panels at his Berkeley business in February 2022. \u003ccite>(Raquel Maria Dillon)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rooftop solar systems won’t solve that peak problem, unless more homeowners invest in battery storage. The proposed changes include incentives to install batteries. But they’ll also mean it’ll take longer for the savings on power bills to pay off after a home gets panels. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ben Giustino, with A1 Sun, the Berkeley company that installed the Coopers’ panels and battery, says solar installers are in limbo, waiting for the PUC to reevaluate its proposal and wondering what to tell their customers and sales leads in the meantime. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Giustino’s father founded the company, which makes Ben the second generation in his family to work in solar. It’s a family-owned business, complete with a dog named Sunshine. He and his colleagues are riled up about what the Public Utilities Commission might do to their industry. But he says one thing he’s learned from watching his dad over the years is that solar is a threat to the status quo, which benefits investor-owned utilities. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“People call it the solar coaster. It’s a disruptive technology. And so there’s a lot of larger powers that don’t really necessarily know what to do with it or like it because it challenges their way of doing business,” Giustino said. He thinks the proposal before the Public Utilities Commission was bought and paid for by investor-owned utilities and jeopardizes the future of clean energy in California. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“There’s rooftops that can be used” to generate power, he said. “That benefits the homeowners, it benefits the grid, it reduces CO2 emissions. So the main gist of what investor-owned utilities are trying to do is pull the rug out from the competition so they can maintain monopoly.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The California Solar and Storage Association, which represents installers and the 75,000 Californians who work in the solar industry, says the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://calssa.org/press-releases/2022/2/23/calssa-statement-on-california-energy-commissions-announcement-on-californias-clean-energy-progress\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">proposed changes to subsidies\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> would cost thousands of jobs statewide. Giustino says they would jeopardize a dozen jobs at his company. But worse, he says, cutting subsidies and adding fees would make solar power a niche industry, like it was when his dad got into the business — only for tinkerers, off-grid homesteaders and devoted environmentalists. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“There’s still lots of people here who are probably going to install solar just because it’s the right thing to do,” he said. “But if you look across the state and across the industry, there’s no doubt that people will stop installing solar if it stops making financial sense for them.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Since the proposal came out in December, it’s been busy at A1 Sun. Potential customers want to complete their solar projects and get grandfathered in before regulators make a decision. But even customers who already have rooftop arrays will lose their current rates eventually. Exactly when depends on what California utility regulators decide to do. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Under the much-criticized proposal that the PUC is reevaluating, Luverta Cooper will be grandfathered in and able to sell power for solar credits at current rates for the next 15 years, and then at dramatically lower rates. But Veronica Young is quick to admit that part of what inspired her and her family to go solar was that “we truly hate PG&E” because the company isn’t managing the environment and wildfire risk well.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“PG&E has not done what they should have,” she said. “And because of that, the customer is being punished. We’re the ones paying the lawsuits that they lost.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Young and her mother don’t buy the arguments about equity, even though the family is African American. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Veronica did not grow up poor, but I did. And so I do understand that part of it,” Cooper said. “I have family who couldn’t afford to do this, and I understand those issues, but I don’t feel like I need to be made responsible for what others are doing. I’m taking responsibility for my own situation.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cooper says she and her husband worked hard to buy this house back in 1984, so she could provide her daughter with all the privileges of a middle-class upbringing. She intends to keep her home updated so she can pass it on to her daughter and share the generational wealth she’s accumulated. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“A lot of the people who do solar aren’t exactly truly rich,” Young said. “I think they’re like us, who are [a] middle-class family who want to get off from paying unpredictable energy bills.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Homeowners with rooftop solar arrays can sell excess energy back to the utility company. A proposal to change how that works has erupted in conflicts over fairness, jobs and the state's climate goals. ","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1704846306,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":38,"wordCount":2187},"headData":{"title":"California's Transition to Solar Energy Is at a Crossroads: What That Means for Equity and Your Energy Bill | KQED","description":"Homeowners with rooftop solar arrays can sell excess energy back to the utility company. A proposal to change how that works has erupted in conflicts over fairness, jobs and the state's climate goals. ","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"California's Transition to Solar Energy Is at a Crossroads: What That Means for Equity and Your Energy Bill","datePublished":"2022-03-03T18:56:00.000Z","dateModified":"2024-01-10T00:25:06.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"source":"Climate","sticky":false,"excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","path":"/science/1978640/californias-transition-to-solar-energy-is-at-a-crossroads-what-that-means-for-equity-and-your-energy-bill","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The pitched battle over rooftop solar regulations in California is at a momentary détente, with several vested interests hoping that Gov. Gavin Newsom will intervene to swing the new rules on solar incentives their way. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The proposed changes would affect subsidies for generating power with rooftop solar arrays. In January, they provoked an all-out revolt among solar installers and some environmentalists. But unions and utilities are on the other side. They want drastic changes, arguing that renters and people with lower incomes shouldn’t have to pay more than their fair share for power. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"‘We always had crazy-high electric and gas bills, so we used some of her retirement to essentially eliminate the worry about unpredictable energy bills.’","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"size":"small","citation":"Veronica Young, Berkeley resident","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Environmental groups that usually agree on green energy are divided on the proposed changes, because they say the changes that are supposed to promote equity will jeopardize the state’s ability to reach its ambitious climate goals. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Luverta Cooper, a retired accountant, installed solar panels last year on the family’s 1963 ranch-style home in Richmond’s Hilltop neighborhood. If the proposed net-metering changes were in place, they would’ve changed her entire calculus on whether to install solar. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It cost about $40,000. More than we were expecting, but we’re totally electrified now,” she said. “Our PG&E bill was running like $500 a month.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The family went big: 19 panels, 320 watts, a battery in the garage to store power for blackouts, and a heat pump in the side yard to replace the gas heater and AC. Her daughter, Veronica Young, who takes care of her parents, helped with the research and decision-making, and said the savings means the investment will pay off in about 10 years. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“We always had crazy-high electric and gas bills, so we used some of her retirement to essentially eliminate the worry about unpredictable energy bills,” Young explained. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The utility bill went from about $500 per month to only $5 per month — a fee for the gas connection. And now PG&E pays the family for the excess electricity their system generates and transmits to the electrical grid. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"‘We think it’s important that the cost of greening the grid does not mean that low-income families, that communities of color are cut off from solar because the prices are too doggone high.’","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"size":"small","citation":"Mark Toney, executive director, The Utility Reform Network (TURN)","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>At issue are the rules that govern selling power back to the utilities. It’s been five years since state utility regulators last adjusted the incentives to go solar so people like the Coopers could make the change financially feasible. Experts say it’s high time for adjustments, because when the Coopers pay less for power, that means their neighbors pay more. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The utilities still have to maintain infrastructure, build new and greener power plants, and bury power lines so they don’t start wildfires. Those costs are built into the cost of energy per kilowatt. Customers with solar pay for fewer kilowatts, or maybe don’t pay at all if they can sell enough extra solar power back to the utility. That means rates go up for the rest of the utility’s customers. The utilities argue that \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">someone \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">has to pay so the electrical grid functions. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It’s the other electrical customers who pay the subsidies. The subsidies do not come from the utility companies, it comes from utility customers,” said Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network, or TURN, a utility watchdog.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For once, TURN has found itself agreeing with the state’s investor-owned utilities. But TURN’s argument is about equity. The people who have a few extra thousand dollars to invest in rooftop solar aren’t representative of California as a whole, Toney said. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1972585\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/02/gettyimages-527740276_custom-44a9fba694aee1e1f2cd4d4751a8498bea2e25f3-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1972585\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/02/gettyimages-527740276_custom-44a9fba694aee1e1f2cd4d4751a8498bea2e25f3-800x551.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"551\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/02/gettyimages-527740276_custom-44a9fba694aee1e1f2cd4d4751a8498bea2e25f3-800x551.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/02/gettyimages-527740276_custom-44a9fba694aee1e1f2cd4d4751a8498bea2e25f3-1020x702.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/02/gettyimages-527740276_custom-44a9fba694aee1e1f2cd4d4751a8498bea2e25f3-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/02/gettyimages-527740276_custom-44a9fba694aee1e1f2cd4d4751a8498bea2e25f3-768x529.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/02/gettyimages-527740276_custom-44a9fba694aee1e1f2cd4d4751a8498bea2e25f3-1536x1057.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/02/gettyimages-527740276_custom-44a9fba694aee1e1f2cd4d4751a8498bea2e25f3-2048x1410.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/02/gettyimages-527740276_custom-44a9fba694aee1e1f2cd4d4751a8498bea2e25f3-1920x1322.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">President Biden has set a goal of making the U.S. carbon neutral by 2050, which will require steeper emissions cuts than the US has ever achieved. To reach it, coal power would have to wane into a footnote, replaced by renewables like solar and wind. \u003ccite>(Alex Wong/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Solar adopters \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://energyathaas.wordpress.com/2021/06/01/rooftop-solar-inequity/#:~:text=California%27s%20distributed%20solar%20policy%20hurts%20the%20poor.&text=As%20numerous%20EI%20blogs%20and,pumps%20kilowatts%20into%20the%20grid.\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">skew whiter and higher-income\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> compared to California’s demographics, although their median incomes are dropping gradually. However, most renters — 45% of California residents — don’t even have a chance to go solar, he said. People who invested in solar should pay their fair share. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It made sense for early adopters to receive a high subsidy rate. But the price of solar installation has dropped [by] more than 50% in the past several years. And the solar subsidies have tripled in that same time,” Toney said. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Some environmental justice advocates are pushing for a grid participation fee that would be reduced for homeowners with lower incomes, along with lower subsidies for future solar customers, in alignment with the reduced cost of actually installing solar, plus more incentives to install battery storage and funding to help lower-income homeowners install solar. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“We think it’s important that the cost of greening the grid does not mean that low-income families, that communities of color are cut off from solar because the prices are too doggone high,” he said. “We have to find a solution that provides the greatest amount of clean energy at the most economical prices. The fact is, utilities are awful at doing that in a cost-effective manner.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On the environmental front, respected national organizations are split — with the Natural Resources Defense Council siding with the investor-owned utilities in the name of equity, and the Sierra Club lining up with the solar installers to keep things the same, so as not to jeopardize the state’s ambitious climate goals. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"‘People call it the solar coaster. It’s a disruptive technology. And so there’s a lot of larger powers that don’t really necessarily know what to do with it or like it because it challenges their way of doing business.’","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"size":"small","citation":"Ben Giustino, A1 Sun","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The Public Utilities Commission proposal that went public in December would cut the rates that customers can get when they sell their excess solar power back to utilities. The proposal would also impose a new monthly fee to connect solar customers to the grid. Plus, it would set aside $600 million to help lower-income communities go solar and add battery storage for peak evening hours after the sun goes down, when electrical usage is still high.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There are two competing visions for what solar power generation will look like in California. Solar installers want it distributed, in small arrays on rooftops across the state. Utilities want to invest in large-scale arrays developed out in the desert and built by union labor. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many environmentalists ask, why don’t we have both? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“It is going to be a tall order to build out all the resources we need to hit our climate targets. And California needs a thriving rooftop solar industry,” said Kate Ramsay, an attorney with the Sierra Club, one of the many parties that weighed in to ask state regulators to keep the subsidies. She says the fact that this discussion is going on at all means that California’s green energy industry is thriving and mature. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“We have greened many parts of our grid,” she said. “Now a lot of parties are trying to focus on decarbonizing those peak hours in the late afternoons and evenings, when we’re firing up our gas plants, particularly on the hottest days of the summer.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1978645\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/Ben-Giustino-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1978645\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/Ben-Giustino-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/Ben-Giustino-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/Ben-Giustino-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/Ben-Giustino-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/Ben-Giustino-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/Ben-Giustino-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/Ben-Giustino-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2022/03/Ben-Giustino-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ben Giustino, owner of A1 Sun, shows off a packet of rooftop solar panels at his Berkeley business in February 2022. \u003ccite>(Raquel Maria Dillon)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Rooftop solar systems won’t solve that peak problem, unless more homeowners invest in battery storage. The proposed changes include incentives to install batteries. But they’ll also mean it’ll take longer for the savings on power bills to pay off after a home gets panels. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ben Giustino, with A1 Sun, the Berkeley company that installed the Coopers’ panels and battery, says solar installers are in limbo, waiting for the PUC to reevaluate its proposal and wondering what to tell their customers and sales leads in the meantime. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Giustino’s father founded the company, which makes Ben the second generation in his family to work in solar. It’s a family-owned business, complete with a dog named Sunshine. He and his colleagues are riled up about what the Public Utilities Commission might do to their industry. But he says one thing he’s learned from watching his dad over the years is that solar is a threat to the status quo, which benefits investor-owned utilities. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“People call it the solar coaster. It’s a disruptive technology. And so there’s a lot of larger powers that don’t really necessarily know what to do with it or like it because it challenges their way of doing business,” Giustino said. He thinks the proposal before the Public Utilities Commission was bought and paid for by investor-owned utilities and jeopardizes the future of clean energy in California. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“There’s rooftops that can be used” to generate power, he said. “That benefits the homeowners, it benefits the grid, it reduces CO2 emissions. So the main gist of what investor-owned utilities are trying to do is pull the rug out from the competition so they can maintain monopoly.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The California Solar and Storage Association, which represents installers and the 75,000 Californians who work in the solar industry, says the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://calssa.org/press-releases/2022/2/23/calssa-statement-on-california-energy-commissions-announcement-on-californias-clean-energy-progress\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">proposed changes to subsidies\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> would cost thousands of jobs statewide. Giustino says they would jeopardize a dozen jobs at his company. But worse, he says, cutting subsidies and adding fees would make solar power a niche industry, like it was when his dad got into the business — only for tinkerers, off-grid homesteaders and devoted environmentalists. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“There’s still lots of people here who are probably going to install solar just because it’s the right thing to do,” he said. “But if you look across the state and across the industry, there’s no doubt that people will stop installing solar if it stops making financial sense for them.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Since the proposal came out in December, it’s been busy at A1 Sun. Potential customers want to complete their solar projects and get grandfathered in before regulators make a decision. But even customers who already have rooftop arrays will lose their current rates eventually. Exactly when depends on what California utility regulators decide to do. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Under the much-criticized proposal that the PUC is reevaluating, Luverta Cooper will be grandfathered in and able to sell power for solar credits at current rates for the next 15 years, and then at dramatically lower rates. But Veronica Young is quick to admit that part of what inspired her and her family to go solar was that “we truly hate PG&E” because the company isn’t managing the environment and wildfire risk well.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“PG&E has not done what they should have,” she said. “And because of that, the customer is being punished. We’re the ones paying the lawsuits that they lost.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Young and her mother don’t buy the arguments about equity, even though the family is African American. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Veronica did not grow up poor, but I did. And so I do understand that part of it,” Cooper said. “I have family who couldn’t afford to do this, and I understand those issues, but I don’t feel like I need to be made responsible for what others are doing. I’m taking responsibility for my own situation.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cooper says she and her husband worked hard to buy this house back in 1984, so she could provide her daughter with all the privileges of a middle-class upbringing. She intends to keep her home updated so she can pass it on to her daughter and share the generational wealth she’s accumulated. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“A lot of the people who do solar aren’t exactly truly rich,” Young said. “I think they’re like us, who are [a] middle-class family who want to get off from paying unpredictable energy bills.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/science/1978640/californias-transition-to-solar-energy-is-at-a-crossroads-what-that-means-for-equity-and-your-energy-bill","authors":["11495"],"categories":["science_31","science_33","science_40","science_43","science_4450"],"tags":["science_1134"],"featImg":"science_1978647","label":"source_science_1978640"},"science_1978657":{"type":"posts","id":"science_1978657","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"science","id":"1978657","score":null,"sort":[1646332216000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"finally-some-hope-on-the-climate-front-global-temperatures-will-stop-rising-if-we-act-fast","title":"Finally, Some Hope on the Climate Front: Global Temperatures Will Stop Rising, If We Act Fast","publishDate":1646332216,"format":"standard","headTitle":"Finally, Some Hope on the Climate Front: Global Temperatures Will Stop Rising, If We Act Fast | KQED","labelTerm":{"site":"science"},"content":"\u003cp>One of the biggest obstacles to avoiding global climate breakdown is that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1977314/climate-change-is-here-its-bad-heres-what-you-can-do\">so many people think there’s nothing we can do\u003c/a> about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They point out that record-breaking heat waves, fires and storms are already devastating communities and economies throughout the world. And they’ve long been told that temperatures will keep rising for decades to come, no matter how many solar panels replace oil derricks or how many meat-eaters go vegetarian. No wonder they think we’re doomed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size='small' citation='The authors']‘Understanding that we can still save our civilization if we take strong, fast action can banish the despair that paralyzes people and instead motivate them to get involved.’[/pullquote]But climate science actually doesn’t say this. To the contrary, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cjr.org/covering_climate_now/michael-mann-60-minutes-emissions-warming.php\">best climate science you’ve probably never heard of\u003c/a> suggests that humanity can still limit the damage to a fraction of the worst projections if — and, we admit, this is a big if — governments, businesses and all of us take strong action starting now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For many years, the scientific rule of thumb was that a sizable amount of temperature rise was locked into Earth’s climate system. Scientists believed — and told policymakers and journalists, who in turn told the public — that even if humanity hypothetically halted all heat-trapping emissions overnight, carbon dioxide’s long lifetime in the atmosphere, combined with the sluggish thermal properties of the oceans, would nevertheless keep global temperatures rising for 30 to 40 more years. Since shifting to a zero-carbon global economy would take at least a decade or two, temperatures were bound to keep rising for at least another half-century.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2019/09/Covering-Climate-Now-Logo.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1947420\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2019/09/Covering-Climate-Now-Logo-160x160.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"160\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/09/Covering-Climate-Now-Logo-160x160.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/09/Covering-Climate-Now-Logo-800x799.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/09/Covering-Climate-Now-Logo-768x767.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/09/Covering-Climate-Now-Logo-1020x1019.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/09/Covering-Climate-Now-Logo.png 1116w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003c/a>But guided by subsequent research, scientists dramatically revised that lag time estimate down to as little as three to five years. That is an enormous difference that carries paradigm-shifting and broadly hopeful implications for how people, especially young people, think and feel about the climate emergency and how societies can respond to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This revised science means that if humanity slashes emissions to zero, global temperatures will stop rising almost immediately. To be clear, this is not a get-out-of-jail-free card. Global temperatures also will not fall if emissions go to zero, so the planet’s ice will keep melting and sea levels will keep rising. But global temperatures will stop their relentless climb, buying humanity time to devise ways to deal with such unavoidable impacts. In short, we are not irrevocably doomed — or at least we don’t have to be, if we take bold, rapid action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The science we’re referencing was included — but inadvertently buried — in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/\">United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s recent report\u003c/a>, issued in August. Indeed, it was first featured in the IPCC’s landmark 2018 report, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/2/2019/06/SR15_Full_Report_High_Res.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Global warming of 1.5°C\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID=science_1977314]\u003c/span>That report’s key finding — that global emissions must fall by 45% by 2030 to avoid catastrophic climate disruption — generated headlines declaring that we had “12 years to save the planet.” That 12-year timeline, and the related concept of a “carbon budget” — the amount of carbon that can be burned while still limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels — were both rooted in this revised science. Meanwhile, the public and policy worlds have largely neglected the revised science that enabled these very estimates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nonscientists can reasonably ask: What made scientists change their minds? Why should we believe their new estimate of a three-to-five-year lag time if their previous estimate of 30 to 40 years is now known to be incorrect? And does the world still have to cut emissions in half by 2030 to avoid climate catastrophe?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The short answer to the last question is yes. Remember, temperatures only stop rising once global emissions fall to zero. Currently, emissions are not falling. Instead, humanity continues to pump approximately 36 billion tons of carbon dioxide a year into the atmosphere. The longer it takes to cut those 36 billion tons to zero, the more temperature rise humanity eventually will face. And as the IPCC’s 2018 report made hauntingly clear, warming of more than 1.5 degrees Celsius would cause unspeakable amounts of human suffering, economic loss and social breakdown — and perhaps trigger genuinely irreversible impacts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size='small' citation='The authors']‘If we want a livable future for today’s young people, temperature rise must be kept as close as possible to 1.5 C. The best climate science most people have never heard of says \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-11-13/cop26-glasgow-climate-change\">that goal remains within reach.\u003c/a>‘[/pullquote]Scientists changed their minds about how much warming is locked in because additional research gave them a much better understanding of how the climate system works. Their initial 30-to-40-year estimates were based on relatively simple computer models that treated the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as a “control knob” that determines temperature levels. The long lag in the warming impact is due to the oceans, which continue to warm long after the control knob is turned up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More recent climate models account for the more dynamic nature of carbon emissions. Yes, CO2 pushes temperatures higher, but carbon “sinks,” including forests and in particular the oceans, absorb almost half of the CO2 that is emitted, causing atmospheric CO2 levels to drop, offsetting the delayed warming effect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Knowing that 30 more years of rising temperatures are not necessarily locked in can be a game-changer for how people, governments and businesses respond to the climate crisis. Understanding that we can still save our civilization if we take strong, fast action can banish the despair that paralyzes people and instead motivate them to get involved. Lifestyle changes can help, but that involvement must also include political engagement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Slashing emissions in half by 2030 demands the fastest possible transition away from today’s fossil-fueled economies in favor of wind, solar and other non-carbon alternatives. That can happen only if governments enact dramatically different policies. If citizens understand that things aren’t hopeless, they can better push elected officials to make such changes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year’s record wildfires in California and the Pacific Northwest illustrated just how deadly climate change can be in the United States. Yet minimizing temperature rise matters even more in the highly climate-vulnerable communities throughout the global south. Countless people in Bangladesh, the Philippines, Madagascar, Africa’s Sahel nations, Brazil, Honduras and other countries have already been suffering from climate disasters for decades because their communities tend to be more exposed to climate impacts and have less financial capacity to protect themselves. For millions of people in such countries, limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius is not a scientific abstraction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The IPCC’s most recent report, released this week, addresses how societies can adapt to the temperature rise now underway and the fires, storms and rising seas it unleashes. If we want a livable future for today’s young people, temperature rise must be kept as close as possible to 1.5 C. The best climate science most people have never heard of says that goal \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-11-13/cop26-glasgow-climate-change\">remains within reach\u003c/a>. The question is whether enough of us will act on that knowledge in time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article from The Washington Post is published here as part of the global journalism collaboration Covering Climate Now.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Mark Hertsgaard is the executive director of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of news outlets strengthening coverage of the climate story. Follow him on\u003ca class=\"font-xxxs gray-dark pointer nowrap truncate\" href=\"https://twitter.com/markhertsgaard\" data-sc-v=\"6.5.3\" data-sc-c=\"twitterlink\"> \u003cspan class=\"dib b bb bc-gray\" data-sc-v=\"6.5.3\" data-sc-c=\"twitterlink\">Twitter\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Saleemul Huq is the director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Follow him on \u003ca class=\"font-xxxs gray-dark pointer nowrap truncate\" href=\"https://twitter.com/SaleemulHuq\" data-sc-v=\"6.5.3\" data-sc-c=\"twitterlink\"> \u003cspan class=\"dib b bb bc-gray\" data-sc-v=\"6.5.3\" data-sc-c=\"twitterlink\">Twitter\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Michael E. Mann is a professor of atmospheric science at Penn State University and author of “The New Climate War.” Follow him on\u003ca class=\"font-xxxs gray-dark pointer nowrap truncate\" href=\"https://twitter.com/@MichaelEMann\" data-sc-v=\"6.5.3\" data-sc-c=\"twitterlink\"> \u003cspan class=\"dib b bb bc-gray\" data-sc-v=\"6.5.3\" data-sc-c=\"twitterlink\">Twitter\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"We can stop rising temperatures sooner than we thought. We have to act fast, much faster than nations are acting, but if we do, we can avoid the worst. ","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1704846308,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":22,"wordCount":1357},"headData":{"title":"Finally, Some Hope on the Climate Front: Global Temperatures Will Stop Rising, If We Act Fast | KQED","description":"We can stop rising temperatures sooner than we thought. We have to act fast, much faster than nations are acting, but if we do, we can avoid the worst. ","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"Finally, Some Hope on the Climate Front: Global Temperatures Will Stop Rising, If We Act Fast","datePublished":"2022-03-03T18:30:16.000Z","dateModified":"2024-01-10T00:25:08.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"sticky":false,"nprByline":"Mark Hertsgaard, Covering Climate Now \u003cbr>Saleemul Huq, International Centre for Climate Change and Development \u003cbr>Michael Mann, Penn State University","excludeFromSiteSearch":"Include","showOnAuthorArchivePages":"No","path":"/science/1978657/finally-some-hope-on-the-climate-front-global-temperatures-will-stop-rising-if-we-act-fast","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>One of the biggest obstacles to avoiding global climate breakdown is that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/science/1977314/climate-change-is-here-its-bad-heres-what-you-can-do\">so many people think there’s nothing we can do\u003c/a> about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They point out that record-breaking heat waves, fires and storms are already devastating communities and economies throughout the world. And they’ve long been told that temperatures will keep rising for decades to come, no matter how many solar panels replace oil derricks or how many meat-eaters go vegetarian. No wonder they think we’re doomed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"‘Understanding that we can still save our civilization if we take strong, fast action can banish the despair that paralyzes people and instead motivate them to get involved.’","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"size":"small","citation":"The authors","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>But climate science actually doesn’t say this. To the contrary, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.cjr.org/covering_climate_now/michael-mann-60-minutes-emissions-warming.php\">best climate science you’ve probably never heard of\u003c/a> suggests that humanity can still limit the damage to a fraction of the worst projections if — and, we admit, this is a big if — governments, businesses and all of us take strong action starting now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For many years, the scientific rule of thumb was that a sizable amount of temperature rise was locked into Earth’s climate system. Scientists believed — and told policymakers and journalists, who in turn told the public — that even if humanity hypothetically halted all heat-trapping emissions overnight, carbon dioxide’s long lifetime in the atmosphere, combined with the sluggish thermal properties of the oceans, would nevertheless keep global temperatures rising for 30 to 40 more years. Since shifting to a zero-carbon global economy would take at least a decade or two, temperatures were bound to keep rising for at least another half-century.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2019/09/Covering-Climate-Now-Logo.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1947420\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2019/09/Covering-Climate-Now-Logo-160x160.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"160\" height=\"160\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/09/Covering-Climate-Now-Logo-160x160.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/09/Covering-Climate-Now-Logo-800x799.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/09/Covering-Climate-Now-Logo-768x767.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/09/Covering-Climate-Now-Logo-1020x1019.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2019/09/Covering-Climate-Now-Logo.png 1116w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\">\u003c/a>But guided by subsequent research, scientists dramatically revised that lag time estimate down to as little as three to five years. That is an enormous difference that carries paradigm-shifting and broadly hopeful implications for how people, especially young people, think and feel about the climate emergency and how societies can respond to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This revised science means that if humanity slashes emissions to zero, global temperatures will stop rising almost immediately. To be clear, this is not a get-out-of-jail-free card. Global temperatures also will not fall if emissions go to zero, so the planet’s ice will keep melting and sea levels will keep rising. But global temperatures will stop their relentless climb, buying humanity time to devise ways to deal with such unavoidable impacts. In short, we are not irrevocably doomed — or at least we don’t have to be, if we take bold, rapid action.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The science we’re referencing was included — but inadvertently buried — in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/\">United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s recent report\u003c/a>, issued in August. Indeed, it was first featured in the IPCC’s landmark 2018 report, “\u003ca href=\"https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/2/2019/06/SR15_Full_Report_High_Res.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Global warming of 1.5°C\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"aside","attributes":{"named":{"postid":"science_1977314","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>That report’s key finding — that global emissions must fall by 45% by 2030 to avoid catastrophic climate disruption — generated headlines declaring that we had “12 years to save the planet.” That 12-year timeline, and the related concept of a “carbon budget” — the amount of carbon that can be burned while still limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels — were both rooted in this revised science. Meanwhile, the public and policy worlds have largely neglected the revised science that enabled these very estimates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nonscientists can reasonably ask: What made scientists change their minds? Why should we believe their new estimate of a three-to-five-year lag time if their previous estimate of 30 to 40 years is now known to be incorrect? And does the world still have to cut emissions in half by 2030 to avoid climate catastrophe?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The short answer to the last question is yes. Remember, temperatures only stop rising once global emissions fall to zero. Currently, emissions are not falling. Instead, humanity continues to pump approximately 36 billion tons of carbon dioxide a year into the atmosphere. The longer it takes to cut those 36 billion tons to zero, the more temperature rise humanity eventually will face. And as the IPCC’s 2018 report made hauntingly clear, warming of more than 1.5 degrees Celsius would cause unspeakable amounts of human suffering, economic loss and social breakdown — and perhaps trigger genuinely irreversible impacts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"‘If we want a livable future for today’s young people, temperature rise must be kept as close as possible to 1.5 C. The best climate science most people have never heard of says \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-11-13/cop26-glasgow-climate-change\">that goal remains within reach.\u003c/a>‘","name":"pullquote","attributes":{"named":{"size":"small","citation":"The authors","label":""},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Scientists changed their minds about how much warming is locked in because additional research gave them a much better understanding of how the climate system works. Their initial 30-to-40-year estimates were based on relatively simple computer models that treated the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as a “control knob” that determines temperature levels. The long lag in the warming impact is due to the oceans, which continue to warm long after the control knob is turned up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More recent climate models account for the more dynamic nature of carbon emissions. Yes, CO2 pushes temperatures higher, but carbon “sinks,” including forests and in particular the oceans, absorb almost half of the CO2 that is emitted, causing atmospheric CO2 levels to drop, offsetting the delayed warming effect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Knowing that 30 more years of rising temperatures are not necessarily locked in can be a game-changer for how people, governments and businesses respond to the climate crisis. Understanding that we can still save our civilization if we take strong, fast action can banish the despair that paralyzes people and instead motivate them to get involved. Lifestyle changes can help, but that involvement must also include political engagement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Slashing emissions in half by 2030 demands the fastest possible transition away from today’s fossil-fueled economies in favor of wind, solar and other non-carbon alternatives. That can happen only if governments enact dramatically different policies. If citizens understand that things aren’t hopeless, they can better push elected officials to make such changes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year’s record wildfires in California and the Pacific Northwest illustrated just how deadly climate change can be in the United States. Yet minimizing temperature rise matters even more in the highly climate-vulnerable communities throughout the global south. Countless people in Bangladesh, the Philippines, Madagascar, Africa’s Sahel nations, Brazil, Honduras and other countries have already been suffering from climate disasters for decades because their communities tend to be more exposed to climate impacts and have less financial capacity to protect themselves. For millions of people in such countries, limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius is not a scientific abstraction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The IPCC’s most recent report, released this week, addresses how societies can adapt to the temperature rise now underway and the fires, storms and rising seas it unleashes. If we want a livable future for today’s young people, temperature rise must be kept as close as possible to 1.5 C. The best climate science most people have never heard of says that goal \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-11-13/cop26-glasgow-climate-change\">remains within reach\u003c/a>. The question is whether enough of us will act on that knowledge in time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article from The Washington Post is published here as part of the global journalism collaboration Covering Climate Now.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Mark Hertsgaard is the executive director of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of news outlets strengthening coverage of the climate story. Follow him on\u003ca class=\"font-xxxs gray-dark pointer nowrap truncate\" href=\"https://twitter.com/markhertsgaard\" data-sc-v=\"6.5.3\" data-sc-c=\"twitterlink\"> \u003cspan class=\"dib b bb bc-gray\" data-sc-v=\"6.5.3\" data-sc-c=\"twitterlink\">Twitter\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Saleemul Huq is the director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Follow him on \u003ca class=\"font-xxxs gray-dark pointer nowrap truncate\" href=\"https://twitter.com/SaleemulHuq\" data-sc-v=\"6.5.3\" data-sc-c=\"twitterlink\"> \u003cspan class=\"dib b bb bc-gray\" data-sc-v=\"6.5.3\" data-sc-c=\"twitterlink\">Twitter\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Michael E. Mann is a professor of atmospheric science at Penn State University and author of “The New Climate War.” Follow him on\u003ca class=\"font-xxxs gray-dark pointer nowrap truncate\" href=\"https://twitter.com/@MichaelEMann\" data-sc-v=\"6.5.3\" data-sc-c=\"twitterlink\"> \u003cspan class=\"dib b bb bc-gray\" data-sc-v=\"6.5.3\" data-sc-c=\"twitterlink\">Twitter\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/science/1978657/finally-some-hope-on-the-climate-front-global-temperatures-will-stop-rising-if-we-act-fast","authors":["byline_science_1978657"],"categories":["science_31","science_40","science_43","science_4450"],"tags":["science_194","science_4414","science_140"],"featImg":"science_1978663","label":"science"},"science_1975665":{"type":"posts","id":"science_1975665","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"science","id":"1975665","score":null,"sort":[1625662807000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"camping-this-fire-season-heres-how-to-prepare-and-stay-safe","title":"Camping This Fire Season? Here's How to Prepare and Stay Safe","publishDate":1625662807,"format":"image","headTitle":"Camping This Fire Season? Here’s How to Prepare and Stay Safe | KQED","labelTerm":{},"content":"\u003cp>Summertime in California is synonymous with getting outdoors. Campers, hikers and backpackers flock to wilderness areas to disconnect from devices, connect with family and friends, take on new physical challenges, and push beyond mental limits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For people like Brad Branan from Sacramento, this connection with the outdoors is inseparable from their love for the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I started backpacking 20 years ago in California,” Branan said, “My love of California, the biggest thing is the outdoors.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for many, the growing intensity and unpredictability of fires is changing their relationship to California’s vast forests and wilderness. Wildfire season, which doesn’t typically peak in Northern California until the fall, increasingly overlaps with prime months for camping and backpacking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Branan, a former Sacramento Bee reporter who currently works as a data analyst for the state, says he now makes backcountry reservations for three different spots at the same time in case wildfires or smokey air make his plans untenable. Sometimes, Branan says, he’s “been shut out of all of them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last August, Branan was backpacking in the Ansel Adams Wilderness, south of Yosemite Valley in the Sierra Nevada, when heavy smoke from fire complexes burning across Northern California rolled in. Not wanting to hike through noxious and potentially dangerous smoke, he bailed on the trip two days early, hurrying back to his car.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Roughly a month later, rescue helicopters \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/california-wildfires/article/Dra\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">evacuated hundreds of campers\u003c/a> stranded at nearby Mammoth Pool Reservoir at the start of the Creek Fire. The blaze eventually burned more than 350,000 acres, covering the region in ash.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Already this summer, fires have \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/06/22/map-inyo-creek-fire-shuts-mount-whitney-trailhead-hikers-forced-to-abandon-cars/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">led to evacuations\u003c/a> in Inyo National Forest near Mount Whitney and forests around Big Sur, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/story/news/2021/06/09/gold-fire-burns-35-acres-near-millerton-lake-hikers-rescued/7627339002/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pilots airlifted two hikers\u003c/a> away from the Gold Fire near Fresno.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If I leave California,” Branan said, “it will be because of the wildfire smoke.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/BradB_Outdoors/status/1407132173828714498\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Branan says, for now, he’ll continue to get out to the backcountry, even if the danger for wildfires is high. This summer he’s planned trips to California’s Desolation Wilderness near Lake Tahoe, Yosemite and Lassen National Park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Park rangers say there are things you can do to make hiking and camping trips safer during the wildfire season — and that preparation should start before you hit the trail.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In a period of time where we’re clearly seeing more dangerous wildfires,” said Scott Elliott\u003cb>, \u003c/b>an emergency services chief for California State Parks, “Without getting paranoid about it, be mindful of the scenarios and mindful of escape routes and mindful of proper planning and communication.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Check Fire Danger Before Your Trip and ‘Become a Weather Nerd’\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elliott says hikers should be aware of where fires are burning and check park websites for advisories and trail closures before leaving for a trip.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think anybody who visits a park now, any time anybody goes out camping, really should become a weather nerd,” he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The old practice of checking the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/nm-state-wire-bears-us-news-ap-top-news-wa-state-wire-7c5b8473d3f246ef94c1e5cd1d6ef333\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Smokey Bear\u003c/a> signs, Elliott says, is no longer sufficient. He suggests people visiting parks keep tabs on heat indexes, wind, and red flag warnings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Richard Popchak, communications director for the nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://www.ventanawild.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ventana Wilderness Alliance\u003c/a>, advises that when conditions are prime for wildfire, campers should consider postponing or relocating to a less risky area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve reached that point where when people see red flag warnings and are aware that it’s extreme fire danger, it’s not the time to go camping or backpacking,” Popchak said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When planning a big trip, rangers say people should identify a backup destination or plan to recreate closer to home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Bring an Old Fashioned Paper Map and Have an Escape Route\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many hikers rely on online maps and their cellphones. But paper maps don’t require battery power or reception.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1975692\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1975692\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/07/GettyImages-151210725-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/07/GettyImages-151210725-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/07/GettyImages-151210725-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/07/GettyImages-151210725-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/07/GettyImages-151210725-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/07/GettyImages-151210725-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/07/GettyImages-151210725-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/07/GettyImages-151210725-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Williams fire spreads in the Angeles National Forest on September 3, 2012. The fire put an early end to Labor Day weekend camping and hiking for vacationers who were evacuated from the area. \u003ccite>(David McNew/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Always bring a paper map in addition to whatever tech you have, just as a backup.” Elliott said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you are using digital maps, it’s a good idea to download them onto your device so you’re not reliant on a signal, as remote areas can have spotty reception. (The signal can be even worse during a wildfire.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before heading out on a trail, study your map to identify possible escape routes in case you need to evacuate. Having options is important for times when your intended route is in the path of flames or heavy smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Popchak advises hikers “know which trails go where, even if they’re away from your base camp or your vehicle.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Know that during evacuations, park rangers are often dispatched to help people get out and will post signs around with safe evacuation routes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Consider a GPS Tracker\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When heading into the backcountry or other remote areas, consider a GPS tracker, sometimes called an emergency transponder or locator beacon. These satellite devices send out a ping with your location, which rescue crews can use to help find you in an emergency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On his backpacking trips, Branan carries a locator that’s registered with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. GPS transponders are easily found at REI and other outdoor retailers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I highly recommend them,” he said. “They’re really easy to use, they last a long time and you don’t have to buy a service for them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>More For the Packing List\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are a few other items rangers say hikers and campers should consider for wildfire season.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Plenty of water or a way to filter from streams or lakes.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>An emergency blanket (made of thin, heat-reflective material and sometimes called “space blankets” or “heat sheets”) in case you have to spend the night somewhere unexpected.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>A whistle. The universal distress signal is to whistle three times, pause for a few seconds, then repeat.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>A battery-operated or hand crank emergency radio.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>What To Do If You Smell Smoke or See Flames\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you see flames, dense smoke, or hear about a fire in your area, Tina Boehle, a former ranger and current National Park Service spokesperson, says to find a safe escape route and get out of the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Don’t lollygag,” she said, “This is not the time for further sightseeing. It’s time to get on the trail. Get out of there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Boehle notes that fire moves faster uphill than downhill, and recommends finding escape routes that move down away from hillsides. “You’ll also have access to more waterways,” she added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While a fire is spreading, Boehle says less forested areas are generally safer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Look for clear meadows,” she said, “And areas where it is clear of any dry vegetation where you could wait out a fire if needed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Let Someone Know Where You’re Going and Sign Up For Alerts\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Boehle says when heading into the wilderness it’s important to let someone know where you’re going. It’s always a good idea, she says, to check in with a ranger when you arrive at a park. Registering for a permit and checking in helps park officials know where you’ll be in case of an emergency. Rangers can also help you assess the fire danger and identify evacuation routes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just like you should register for emergency alerts in your local county, signing up for alerts for the region you’re camping in can help you keep up-to-date with wildfires as you gear up for your trip.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Don’t Be the Cause of a Wildfire\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lightning strikes have ignited some catastrophic wildfires in California, but many fires are caused by humans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Parks have restrictions on campfires and stoves during periods of high fire danger. Boehle says to also be aware of cigarette embers or chains dragging from your vehicle, which could spark and potentially touch off a grass fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You don’t want to be the cause of that fire,” she said. “Be responsible when you recreate in the outdoors and the wilderness, and keep that frame of mind that fires could happen anywhere if the conditions are right.\u003ci>”\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For more information on how to prepare for spending time outdoors during wildfire season, Boehle recommends people visit the \u003ca href=\"https://www.recreateresponsibly.org/wildfire-resources\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">recreateresponsibly.org\u003c/a> website.\u003c/p>\n\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"Fire unpredictability is changing the relationship that many Californians have with the wilderness. Here are some tips before heading out on trail. ","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1704846531,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":48,"wordCount":1464},"headData":{"title":"Camping This Fire Season? Here's How to Prepare and Stay Safe | KQED","description":"Fire unpredictability is changing the relationship that many Californians have with the wilderness. Here are some tips before heading out on trail. ","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"Camping This Fire Season? Here's How to Prepare and Stay Safe","datePublished":"2021-07-07T13:00:07.000Z","dateModified":"2024-01-10T00:28:51.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"source":"Wildfire","audioUrl":"https://traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/0af137ef-751e-4b19-a055-aaef00d2d578/ffca7e9f-6831-4[…]f-aaef00f5a073/d81f19dc-dab7-449d-bfcb-ad5901257944/audio.mp3","sticky":false,"path":"/science/1975665/camping-this-fire-season-heres-how-to-prepare-and-stay-safe","audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Summertime in California is synonymous with getting outdoors. Campers, hikers and backpackers flock to wilderness areas to disconnect from devices, connect with family and friends, take on new physical challenges, and push beyond mental limits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For people like Brad Branan from Sacramento, this connection with the outdoors is inseparable from their love for the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I started backpacking 20 years ago in California,” Branan said, “My love of California, the biggest thing is the outdoors.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for many, the growing intensity and unpredictability of fires is changing their relationship to California’s vast forests and wilderness. Wildfire season, which doesn’t typically peak in Northern California until the fall, increasingly overlaps with prime months for camping and backpacking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Branan, a former Sacramento Bee reporter who currently works as a data analyst for the state, says he now makes backcountry reservations for three different spots at the same time in case wildfires or smokey air make his plans untenable. Sometimes, Branan says, he’s “been shut out of all of them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last August, Branan was backpacking in the Ansel Adams Wilderness, south of Yosemite Valley in the Sierra Nevada, when heavy smoke from fire complexes burning across Northern California rolled in. Not wanting to hike through noxious and potentially dangerous smoke, he bailed on the trip two days early, hurrying back to his car.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Roughly a month later, rescue helicopters \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/california-wildfires/article/Dra\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">evacuated hundreds of campers\u003c/a> stranded at nearby Mammoth Pool Reservoir at the start of the Creek Fire. The blaze eventually burned more than 350,000 acres, covering the region in ash.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Already this summer, fires have \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/06/22/map-inyo-creek-fire-shuts-mount-whitney-trailhead-hikers-forced-to-abandon-cars/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">led to evacuations\u003c/a> in Inyo National Forest near Mount Whitney and forests around Big Sur, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.visaliatimesdelta.com/story/news/2021/06/09/gold-fire-burns-35-acres-near-millerton-lake-hikers-rescued/7627339002/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pilots airlifted two hikers\u003c/a> away from the Gold Fire near Fresno.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If I leave California,” Branan said, “it will be because of the wildfire smoke.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"singleTwitterStatus","attributes":{"named":{"id":"1407132173828714498"},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Branan says, for now, he’ll continue to get out to the backcountry, even if the danger for wildfires is high. This summer he’s planned trips to California’s Desolation Wilderness near Lake Tahoe, Yosemite and Lassen National Park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Park rangers say there are things you can do to make hiking and camping trips safer during the wildfire season — and that preparation should start before you hit the trail.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In a period of time where we’re clearly seeing more dangerous wildfires,” said Scott Elliott\u003cb>, \u003c/b>an emergency services chief for California State Parks, “Without getting paranoid about it, be mindful of the scenarios and mindful of escape routes and mindful of proper planning and communication.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Check Fire Danger Before Your Trip and ‘Become a Weather Nerd’\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Elliott says hikers should be aware of where fires are burning and check park websites for advisories and trail closures before leaving for a trip.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think anybody who visits a park now, any time anybody goes out camping, really should become a weather nerd,” he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The old practice of checking the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/nm-state-wire-bears-us-news-ap-top-news-wa-state-wire-7c5b8473d3f246ef94c1e5cd1d6ef333\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Smokey Bear\u003c/a> signs, Elliott says, is no longer sufficient. He suggests people visiting parks keep tabs on heat indexes, wind, and red flag warnings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Richard Popchak, communications director for the nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://www.ventanawild.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ventana Wilderness Alliance\u003c/a>, advises that when conditions are prime for wildfire, campers should consider postponing or relocating to a less risky area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve reached that point where when people see red flag warnings and are aware that it’s extreme fire danger, it’s not the time to go camping or backpacking,” Popchak said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When planning a big trip, rangers say people should identify a backup destination or plan to recreate closer to home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Bring an Old Fashioned Paper Map and Have an Escape Route\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many hikers rely on online maps and their cellphones. But paper maps don’t require battery power or reception.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1975692\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-1975692\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/07/GettyImages-151210725-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/07/GettyImages-151210725-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/07/GettyImages-151210725-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/07/GettyImages-151210725-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/07/GettyImages-151210725-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/07/GettyImages-151210725-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/07/GettyImages-151210725-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2021/07/GettyImages-151210725-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Williams fire spreads in the Angeles National Forest on September 3, 2012. The fire put an early end to Labor Day weekend camping and hiking for vacationers who were evacuated from the area. \u003ccite>(David McNew/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Always bring a paper map in addition to whatever tech you have, just as a backup.” Elliott said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you are using digital maps, it’s a good idea to download them onto your device so you’re not reliant on a signal, as remote areas can have spotty reception. (The signal can be even worse during a wildfire.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before heading out on a trail, study your map to identify possible escape routes in case you need to evacuate. Having options is important for times when your intended route is in the path of flames or heavy smoke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Popchak advises hikers “know which trails go where, even if they’re away from your base camp or your vehicle.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Know that during evacuations, park rangers are often dispatched to help people get out and will post signs around with safe evacuation routes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Consider a GPS Tracker\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When heading into the backcountry or other remote areas, consider a GPS tracker, sometimes called an emergency transponder or locator beacon. These satellite devices send out a ping with your location, which rescue crews can use to help find you in an emergency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On his backpacking trips, Branan carries a locator that’s registered with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. GPS transponders are easily found at REI and other outdoor retailers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I highly recommend them,” he said. “They’re really easy to use, they last a long time and you don’t have to buy a service for them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>More For the Packing List\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are a few other items rangers say hikers and campers should consider for wildfire season.\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Plenty of water or a way to filter from streams or lakes.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>An emergency blanket (made of thin, heat-reflective material and sometimes called “space blankets” or “heat sheets”) in case you have to spend the night somewhere unexpected.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>A whistle. The universal distress signal is to whistle three times, pause for a few seconds, then repeat.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>A battery-operated or hand crank emergency radio.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>What To Do If You Smell Smoke or See Flames\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you see flames, dense smoke, or hear about a fire in your area, Tina Boehle, a former ranger and current National Park Service spokesperson, says to find a safe escape route and get out of the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Don’t lollygag,” she said, “This is not the time for further sightseeing. It’s time to get on the trail. Get out of there.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Boehle notes that fire moves faster uphill than downhill, and recommends finding escape routes that move down away from hillsides. “You’ll also have access to more waterways,” she added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While a fire is spreading, Boehle says less forested areas are generally safer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Look for clear meadows,” she said, “And areas where it is clear of any dry vegetation where you could wait out a fire if needed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Let Someone Know Where You’re Going and Sign Up For Alerts\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Boehle says when heading into the wilderness it’s important to let someone know where you’re going. It’s always a good idea, she says, to check in with a ranger when you arrive at a park. Registering for a permit and checking in helps park officials know where you’ll be in case of an emergency. Rangers can also help you assess the fire danger and identify evacuation routes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just like you should register for emergency alerts in your local county, signing up for alerts for the region you’re camping in can help you keep up-to-date with wildfires as you gear up for your trip.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Don’t Be the Cause of a Wildfire\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lightning strikes have ignited some catastrophic wildfires in California, but many fires are caused by humans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Parks have restrictions on campfires and stoves during periods of high fire danger. Boehle says to also be aware of cigarette embers or chains dragging from your vehicle, which could spark and potentially touch off a grass fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You don’t want to be the cause of that fire,” she said. “Be responsible when you recreate in the outdoors and the wilderness, and keep that frame of mind that fires could happen anywhere if the conditions are right.\u003ci>”\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"floatright"},"numeric":["floatright"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For more information on how to prepare for spending time outdoors during wildfire season, Boehle recommends people visit the \u003ca href=\"https://www.recreateresponsibly.org/wildfire-resources\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">recreateresponsibly.org\u003c/a> website.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/science/1975665/camping-this-fire-season-heres-how-to-prepare-and-stay-safe","authors":["11368"],"categories":["science_31","science_35","science_40","science_43","science_4450","science_3423","science_3730"],"tags":["science_1942","science_182","science_4417","science_254","science_4729","science_113"],"featImg":"science_1975691","label":"source_science_1975665"},"science_1974265":{"type":"posts","id":"science_1974265","meta":{"index":"posts_1591205157","site":"science","id":"1974265","score":null,"sort":[1619718490000]},"guestAuthors":[],"slug":"if-youre-offered-the-johnson-johnson-vaccine-take-it-experts-say-heres-why","title":"If You're Offered the Johnson & Johnson Vaccine, Take It, Experts Say. Here's Why","publishDate":1619718490,"format":"audio","headTitle":"If You’re Offered the Johnson & Johnson Vaccine, Take It, Experts Say. Here’s Why | KQED","labelTerm":{},"content":"\u003cp>This week, news of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/coronavirusliveupdates/news/11871298/bay-area-man-treated-for-rare-blood-clot-after-receiving-jj-vaccine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">rare blood clot\u003c/a> in a patient at UCSF, after he received the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine, brought this very small risk close to home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The chance of developing these blood clots is tiny \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">—\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> only 2 in 1 million. And UCSF reported Monday that the patient is doing well and expected to go home in a few days. Still, knowing there is a risk at all is upsetting and confusing. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Health experts agree Johnson & Johnson is still a great vaccine. \u003ca href=\"https://www.susanaramirez.net/\">\u003cb>Professor Susana Ramírez\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a UC Merced expert in \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.communicationculturehealth.org/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">communication, culture and public health\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, recently shared some guidelines with KQED’s \u003c/span>Raquel Maria Dillon\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> about how to evaluate risks around these vaccines. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This interview has been edited for length and clarity.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>There have been 16 of these rare blood clot cases out of about 8 million Johnson & Johnson doses given out in the U.S. Can you put that overall risk of this vaccine in context for us?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Susana Ramírez: \u003c/span>\u003c/i>The extraordinarily rare events that we are seeing, with these blood clotting disorders are tragic and sad, but they’re extremely rare. But the potential to be infected with the coronavirus is much higher than the potential to get one of these severe side effects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As humans, we really want to avoid bad outcomes. And so it’s really easy for us to focus on the negative outcomes that we might be hearing about, even when those outcomes are so very rare. And the risks from the coronavirus are not so obvious. Some people get very sick and they are hospitalized, and some people die, but other people may not get a very significant disease. I think what we need to focus on is the relative risk here is much lower for side effects than of getting the actual coronavirus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>We’ve heard from our audience that they have concerns that the J&J shot is for homeless people or people who don’t have time to come back for a second shot. They’re basically worried it’s a lower quality option. How do you address that? \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ci>Ramírez\u003c/i>: I think the very most important fact to remember is that all three of the vaccines that are available to people in the United States have incredibly high efficacy rates. The very best vaccine is the one that you can get in your arm as soon as possible.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All three of these vaccines have prevented serious hospitalization and death from this disease. And that’s the worst case, right? That’s the worst-case outcome. And all three of these vaccines are effective at preventing those.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003c/b>But the problem with trying to compare [efficacy rates] is that these three vaccines were developed at different times, and they were developed and tested with essentially different groups of people. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines were tested really at the early end of the pandemic over a year ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The J&J clinical trials finished very recently. And by that time, we’d been engaging in behavioral measures like wearing masks and social distancing. So those things had been in place for months when the J&J vaccine was tested. So we were a different population, and the disease itself was different by this point. We had more variants that were circulating. And so it was really tested under very different conditions. So there’s not an apples to apples comparison that you can do, although it’s tempting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In some ways, even though we see a lower effectiveness, it’s really among a disease that had evolved and changed and adapted to our conditions. And so the fact that the vaccine is still effective in that context, I think is a real strength and plus in the J&J column. \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I don’t think by any stretch of the imagination that we should think about it as a lesser kind of vaccine. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I think that there is definitely a kernel of truth to the idea that folks are talking about the two-dose vaccines, the Pfizer and Moderna, being for more privileged people. You have to have certain privileges like a flexible job, transportation to the vaccination site twice, a stable residence and a phone number to make those follow-up appointments, and then the ability to take some time off if you’re not feeling well after the vaccine. But that doesn’t make any of the vaccines better from a disease prevention perspective. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Are you concerned that the appeal of the J&J shot — convenience — might not be enough to convince people to get it at this point? And what would that mean for getting to herd immunity, which is the broader societal goal? \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ci>Ramírez\u003c/i>: You’re absolutely right. The number one goal is we want everybody to get a vaccine as soon as possible. We need to think about really messaging on that convenience. I think there are people like me who are terrified of needles. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We would prefer just having to go one time. And that convenience — it’s not just about the needle. You have to take time off to get the vaccine. We may have localized side effects, which is not a big deal. But if you’re feeling kind of yucky or you have a headache, you don’t really want to go back to work the next day. And so that would be twice that you have to do that for the other two vaccines. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So the convenience of a one-shot vaccine is really something that we need to be talking up and selling because it’s a big deal. It’s a positive condition of this particular vaccine.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In my opinion, I don’t see a clear clinical reason to prefer one vaccine over another vaccine. So it’s really about the convenience.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb> I think people want to make rational decisions, especially when it comes to their health, but there are a lot of numbers being thrown around. You’ve got Pfizer and Moderna with efficacy rates in the 90s and Johnson & Johnson’s lower. So why is this so confusing? \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ci>Ramírez\u003c/i>: I think the key number that we should be looking at as individuals is which of these vaccines is going to prevent me from getting this disease? And then which one of those is going to prevent such a severe case that I’m hospitalized or die from it? All of these have been tested in slightly different ways. And they’ve considered efficacy and measured it in different ways, like having some symptoms, any symptoms, having a positive test, or being hospitalized. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The takeaway is all three of these vaccines have prevented serious hospitalization and death from this disease. And that’s the worst case, right? That’s the worst-case outcome. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The numbers are really confusing. Even highly educated people have a really hard time making sense of risk because it’s not just a number, it’s a value and a set of values. We’re talking about our own health and the health of our loved ones. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, again, it’s hard to compare, but [the three vaccines are] all incredibly good. The Moderna and the Pfizer vaccines were tested early on in the pandemic and they had different clinical outcomes. And now that they’ve been out in the real world, the other comparisons of efficacy are hard to make.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s hard to give people what they want, which is a really concrete answer to the question, How risky is this vaccine? I think the best answer that we can give is the risk of the vaccines is much, much, much lower than the risk of serious complications from the coronavirus, should you not be vaccinated. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>This whole thing — the pandemic and the vaccines — is kind of a science experiment taking place on a world stage. What can people learn about science from this?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ci>Ramírez\u003c/i>: \u003c/span>The fact that we have three vaccines in the U.S. and seven in the world that are already authorized for preventing a disease that no one knew about 18 months ago — that is amazing! And millions of people have already been vaccinated. I think it’s really important that we appreciate the incredible scientific achievement and the logistical feats that were involved in getting to this point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When we stop to appreciate the fact that we have this global health crisis and we already have, and have had for months, the ability to control it — I think that should inspire confidence in science. And I also think that the temporary pause that occurred with the distribution of the J&J vaccine should also be applauded and celebrated as a way of increasing our confidence in science, because that pause shows that the real-world tracking and monitoring of the vaccines is is working.\u003c/p>\n","blocks":[],"excerpt":"The risk of a blood clot developing after a J&J vaccine is tiny, but it's also scary and confusing. We break down ways to evaluate vaccine options.","status":"publish","parent":0,"modified":1704846642,"stats":{"hasAudio":false,"hasVideo":false,"hasChartOrMap":false,"iframeSrcs":[],"hasGoogleForm":false,"hasGallery":false,"hasHearkenModule":false,"hasPolis":false,"paragraphCount":28,"wordCount":1531},"headData":{"title":"If You're Offered the Johnson & Johnson Vaccine, Take It, Experts Say. Here's Why | KQED","description":"The risk of a blood clot developing after a J&J vaccine is tiny, but it's also scary and confusing. We break down ways to evaluate vaccine options.","ogTitle":"","ogDescription":"","ogImgId":"","twTitle":"","twDescription":"","twImgId":"","schema":{"@context":"http://schema.org","@type":"Article","headline":"If You're Offered the Johnson & Johnson Vaccine, Take It, Experts Say. Here's Why","datePublished":"2021-04-29T17:48:10.000Z","dateModified":"2024-01-10T00:30:42.000Z","image":"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"}},"source":"COVID-19 Vaccines","audioUrl":"https://www.kqed.org/.stream/anon/radio/science/2021/04/VaxRisk5302wayRMDRamirez210428.mp3","sticky":false,"adSlotOverride":"kqed300x250_deeplook","path":"/science/1974265/if-youre-offered-the-johnson-johnson-vaccine-take-it-experts-say-heres-why","audioDuration":222000,"audioTrackLength":null,"parsedContent":[{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>This week, news of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/coronavirusliveupdates/news/11871298/bay-area-man-treated-for-rare-blood-clot-after-receiving-jj-vaccine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">rare blood clot\u003c/a> in a patient at UCSF, after he received the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine, brought this very small risk close to home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The chance of developing these blood clots is tiny \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">—\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> only 2 in 1 million. And UCSF reported Monday that the patient is doing well and expected to go home in a few days. Still, knowing there is a risk at all is upsetting and confusing. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Health experts agree Johnson & Johnson is still a great vaccine. \u003ca href=\"https://www.susanaramirez.net/\">\u003cb>Professor Susana Ramírez\u003c/b>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a UC Merced expert in \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.communicationculturehealth.org/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">communication, culture and public health\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, recently shared some guidelines with KQED’s \u003c/span>Raquel Maria Dillon\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> about how to evaluate risks around these vaccines. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This interview has been edited for length and clarity.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>There have been 16 of these rare blood clot cases out of about 8 million Johnson & Johnson doses given out in the U.S. Can you put that overall risk of this vaccine in context for us?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Susana Ramírez: \u003c/span>\u003c/i>The extraordinarily rare events that we are seeing, with these blood clotting disorders are tragic and sad, but they’re extremely rare. But the potential to be infected with the coronavirus is much higher than the potential to get one of these severe side effects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As humans, we really want to avoid bad outcomes. And so it’s really easy for us to focus on the negative outcomes that we might be hearing about, even when those outcomes are so very rare. And the risks from the coronavirus are not so obvious. Some people get very sick and they are hospitalized, and some people die, but other people may not get a very significant disease. I think what we need to focus on is the relative risk here is much lower for side effects than of getting the actual coronavirus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>We’ve heard from our audience that they have concerns that the J&J shot is for homeless people or people who don’t have time to come back for a second shot. They’re basically worried it’s a lower quality option. How do you address that? \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ci>Ramírez\u003c/i>: I think the very most important fact to remember is that all three of the vaccines that are available to people in the United States have incredibly high efficacy rates. The very best vaccine is the one that you can get in your arm as soon as possible.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All three of these vaccines have prevented serious hospitalization and death from this disease. And that’s the worst case, right? That’s the worst-case outcome. And all three of these vaccines are effective at preventing those.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>\u003c/b>But the problem with trying to compare [efficacy rates] is that these three vaccines were developed at different times, and they were developed and tested with essentially different groups of people. The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines were tested really at the early end of the pandemic over a year ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The J&J clinical trials finished very recently. And by that time, we’d been engaging in behavioral measures like wearing masks and social distancing. So those things had been in place for months when the J&J vaccine was tested. So we were a different population, and the disease itself was different by this point. We had more variants that were circulating. And so it was really tested under very different conditions. So there’s not an apples to apples comparison that you can do, although it’s tempting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In some ways, even though we see a lower effectiveness, it’s really among a disease that had evolved and changed and adapted to our conditions. And so the fact that the vaccine is still effective in that context, I think is a real strength and plus in the J&J column. \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I don’t think by any stretch of the imagination that we should think about it as a lesser kind of vaccine. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I think that there is definitely a kernel of truth to the idea that folks are talking about the two-dose vaccines, the Pfizer and Moderna, being for more privileged people. You have to have certain privileges like a flexible job, transportation to the vaccination site twice, a stable residence and a phone number to make those follow-up appointments, and then the ability to take some time off if you’re not feeling well after the vaccine. But that doesn’t make any of the vaccines better from a disease prevention perspective. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}},{"type":"component","content":"","name":"ad","attributes":{"named":{"label":"fullwidth"},"numeric":["fullwidth"]}},{"type":"contentString","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Are you concerned that the appeal of the J&J shot — convenience — might not be enough to convince people to get it at this point? And what would that mean for getting to herd immunity, which is the broader societal goal? \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ci>Ramírez\u003c/i>: You’re absolutely right. The number one goal is we want everybody to get a vaccine as soon as possible. We need to think about really messaging on that convenience. I think there are people like me who are terrified of needles. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">We would prefer just having to go one time. And that convenience — it’s not just about the needle. You have to take time off to get the vaccine. We may have localized side effects, which is not a big deal. But if you’re feeling kind of yucky or you have a headache, you don’t really want to go back to work the next day. And so that would be twice that you have to do that for the other two vaccines. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So the convenience of a one-shot vaccine is really something that we need to be talking up and selling because it’s a big deal. It’s a positive condition of this particular vaccine.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In my opinion, I don’t see a clear clinical reason to prefer one vaccine over another vaccine. So it’s really about the convenience.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb> I think people want to make rational decisions, especially when it comes to their health, but there are a lot of numbers being thrown around. You’ve got Pfizer and Moderna with efficacy rates in the 90s and Johnson & Johnson’s lower. So why is this so confusing? \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ci>Ramírez\u003c/i>: I think the key number that we should be looking at as individuals is which of these vaccines is going to prevent me from getting this disease? And then which one of those is going to prevent such a severe case that I’m hospitalized or die from it? All of these have been tested in slightly different ways. And they’ve considered efficacy and measured it in different ways, like having some symptoms, any symptoms, having a positive test, or being hospitalized. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The takeaway is all three of these vaccines have prevented serious hospitalization and death from this disease. And that’s the worst case, right? That’s the worst-case outcome. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The numbers are really confusing. Even highly educated people have a really hard time making sense of risk because it’s not just a number, it’s a value and a set of values. We’re talking about our own health and the health of our loved ones. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, again, it’s hard to compare, but [the three vaccines are] all incredibly good. The Moderna and the Pfizer vaccines were tested early on in the pandemic and they had different clinical outcomes. And now that they’ve been out in the real world, the other comparisons of efficacy are hard to make.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s hard to give people what they want, which is a really concrete answer to the question, How risky is this vaccine? I think the best answer that we can give is the risk of the vaccines is much, much, much lower than the risk of serious complications from the coronavirus, should you not be vaccinated. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>This whole thing — the pandemic and the vaccines — is kind of a science experiment taking place on a world stage. What can people learn about science from this?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ci>Ramírez\u003c/i>: \u003c/span>The fact that we have three vaccines in the U.S. and seven in the world that are already authorized for preventing a disease that no one knew about 18 months ago — that is amazing! And millions of people have already been vaccinated. I think it’s really important that we appreciate the incredible scientific achievement and the logistical feats that were involved in getting to this point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When we stop to appreciate the fact that we have this global health crisis and we already have, and have had for months, the ability to control it — I think that should inspire confidence in science. And I also think that the temporary pause that occurred with the distribution of the J&J vaccine should also be applauded and celebrated as a way of increasing our confidence in science, because that pause shows that the real-world tracking and monitoring of the vaccines is is working.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>","attributes":{"named":{},"numeric":[]}}],"link":"/science/1974265/if-youre-offered-the-johnson-johnson-vaccine-take-it-experts-say-heres-why","authors":["11495"],"categories":["science_39","science_40","science_43","science_4450","science_3423"],"tags":["science_4329","science_4417","science_4414","science_410"],"featImg":"science_1973732","label":"source_science_1974265"}},"programsReducer":{"possible":{"id":"possible","title":"Possible","info":"Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. 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