Author: Westside German Shepherd Rescue
Clicking for a Cause
Is it okay to plug yourself on your own site?
Either way, I’m doing it.
Humboldt County’s Top Concern
Why the Seas are Rising
“As human beings, we are vulnerable to confusing the unprecedented with the improbable. In our everyday experience, if something has never happened before, we are generally safe in assuming it is not going to happen in the future, but the exceptions can kill you and climate change is one of those exceptions.” — Al Gore
Climate Change and Tsunami Season
Humboldt Bay Tsunami Evacuation Map
Photo Courtesy: HSU and Redwood Coast Tsunami Work Group
Does climate change mean more tsunamis? According to sources Grist and Reuters, (and just about any reliable source out there) this is expected to be the case. In Christopher Mims article, he explains the concept of climate change and how it affects not just the atmosphere and oceans, but the earth’s crust as well. Bill McGuire, professor at University College London said “When the ice is lost, the earth’s crust bounces back up again and that triggers earthquakes, which triggers submarine landslides, which causes tsunamis.”
As for Humboldt, this news isn’t the most heart-warming. With such low elevation, comes the major threat of tsunamis. Will you be impacted?
When Change Becomes Action :)
Check out this interview I conducted with HSU’s Climate Change analyst, Morgan King. He elaborates on his efforts of the new bike share program–Zagster. King explains his work with the office of Sustainability on campus, and what he hopes will come of this new environmentally-friendly opportunity.
Not your Average Attempts
Burl Poaching
Removing burls exposes redwoods’ heartwood to further damage, may deny the tree its primary means of reproduction, and results in the felling of redwood trees to access burls higher up the trunks.
What is the solution? What is the League doing to help?
The League has offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the prosecution of burl poachers. Education can help curb the demand for burlwood, and the League has taken a leadership role in informing the public of this issue.
Save the Redwoods League is working extremely hard in all aspect of climate change in Humboldt county. Whether it’s land conversion, illegal marijuana cultivation, or even a detachment from nature, this organization is working towards positive solutions. The section above captures the importance of what particular impacts can achieve, especially on something as crazy as burl poaching!
What exactly are you doing in your efforts to get involved?
Source: Save the Redwoods League
Sea Level Rise Response !!
Photo courtesy: City of Arcata
The 101 highway and Samoa Boulevard literally look like bridges from the bay area in this photo. However, that’s obviously not the case; this is simply Arcata after a major rain storm in 1975.
According to the Mad River Union, this photo is most likely a “preview of the city’s future, as global warming raises sea levels,” said Arcata Community Development Director, David Loya, in a City Council meeting on the planning commission. If this excess amount of water has been proven possible to negatively impact our environment in the past, it’s really not that hard to expect this for the future.
Direct Action Against Climate Change
Amanda Tierney shares her story as a forest defender and student in Humboldt County. She explains the experience of living in a tree for 9 months for Berkeley’s tree-sit, which was noted the longest in U.S. history. Tierny believes that the only way our society can counteract the catastrophe of climate change is for regular, everyday people to take part in daily adjustments of direct action in protecting their local ecosystems. Just imagine all that could happen.
HumCo’s very own Clam Beach named “Most Polluted Beach in California”
Lost Coast Outpost’s article reported that throughout the entire coast of California, Humboldt County’s Clam Beach is indeed the dirtiest in the state. Heal the Bay has listed it top on it’s Beach Bummer List, with Luffenholtz following behind at number eight. The cause? An infestation of bacteria. But this isn’t really the first time we’ve heard about this. Back in 2015, our very own classroom speaker, Jennifer Savage, reported that Clam Beach is ‘F’ed in the Lost Coast Outpost. This piece called attention to the fact that Clam beach was number three on the list. Was anything done to restore this back then? Obviously not, and look what has come of it. Even when reporting is as blatant as can be nothing is changed. Think about it. Three to one.
Two major beaches–completely contaminated–in the span of just a few miles of each other.
Zero Waste Humboldt’s Take on Shrinking your Carbon Footprint
After communicating with a few others about their carbon footprints, I was pretty surprised to find out the amount of people that actually didn’t know what this entailed. That is why this week, I decided to do a little digging into our own print of Humboldt County, and found a whole bunch of great sites. Zero Waste Humboldt informed the North Coast Journal on ten easy tips we can each partake in, to make for a smaller carbon footprint. Check them out down below!
#factchecklife —> original source
Sea Level Rise in Eureka
Pictured below is an estimate of what will effect Eureka in the efforts of sea level rise. The shaded blue area represents areas which are expected to endure anything from a 5 to 25 inch rise. Climate change has never been a joke; this isn’t something that will just “go away.” We will be influenced. All of the houses, the establishments, the animals and the plants–effected by this tragedy.
HumCo Carbon Calculator
What’s a carbon calculator?
Well, a carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases that are produced directly and indirectly from human activities. The footprint is usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), and is calculated through a carbon calculator. This is a determination of personal usage for transportation, utilities, solid waste, air travel, and water. Do you think that living in Humboldt County would automatically make for a smaller Carbon footprint?
The Humboldt County Carbon Calculator… right here!
CSUF Science Fair Experiment: What Influences Early-Teens’ Views of Climate Change in Humboldt County
I understand that a science experiment seems daunting..(boring, or whatever) but just scope out this abstract really quick. It’s an interesting experiment tested by a Humboldt County local, and student of San Fransisco State. With an online survey conductor, the experimenter was able to question both adults and middle school students on their views of climate change. The analysis proved that older generations were rather uneducated on the topic, and students agreed that adults weren’t doing their part to initiate the change.
Would you look at that–check out the link.
NOW & THEN
When asked to document this topic through the lens of my own camera, I was actually pretty lost. How does one document climate change in real time? This is a concept of time–not visibility. I could have documented the 101 highway, and how sea level rise will diminish our roads. I could have snapped some horribly foggy pictures of the marine wildlife that will be lost in the process. But does that really capture the change? I decided to take pictures of anything and everything. This is what will be effected.
A colorless future.
A look into now and then.
Humboldt State University’s own Climate Change Efforts
HSU has recently been conflicting with some environmental issues after Trump pulled the U.S out of the Paris Climate Agreement. As a result, the university has pledged to stand by the change. HSU’s Climate Action Plan is one of the many ways this process has been implemented. The plan elaborates on past, present and future accommodations that are heading our community and university to a more sustainable environment–much like these.
Projections for our Coastal Region
As shown above, temperatures are expected to rise substantially throughout this century. During the next few decades alone, scenarios predict average temperatures to rise between 1°F and 2.3°F in California. At first glance, this might not seem like much. But any informed environmentalist knows the damage this can cause.
Looking for some credibility towards the concept?
NASA credibility = best credibility 😉
Pictures provided to you by the Climate Change and Health Profile Report for Humboldt County right over here.
Is this mollusk an effect of climate change?
I’m not exactly sure how I feel about this video. Is this something that our county should be worried about, or is this some sort of hoax? Either way, it’s definitely a little frightening. Who knew this would be an effect? I think we all knew sea level rise was an obvious result, but animal mutation? A seven foot long squid with ten arms?! Interesting… 😦
Humboldt State’s Very Own professor Moving Mountains–With Trees!
HSU Professor, Stephen Sillett, was featured on Planet Forward in 2011, and explained his techniques in researching climate change through redwood trees. He describes the method of measuring the width of a tree from top to bottom, and the intricacy that must be followed. These measurements insinuate the environmental changes throughout the lifespan of the tree, and it’s growth.
“It’s not like climate change is new; the climate is always changing to some degree, said Sillett. “Its just the speed with which it’s changing now.”
“Humboldt May Be the Best Place for Californians to Endure the Climate Madness Now Upon Us, Says Sac Bee Writer”- Lost Coast Outpost
The best perspective to have! A quick read on why Humboldt “should” be the place to be in this midst of climate change. But, that’s really not the case. It doesn’t matter where you live; climate change in society is inevitable. I’m not exactly sure whats worse, though. Is is the issue itself, or the so called “climate change deniers” in the comment section? Check it out–right here.
What are you doing for the environment? — Sukanya Ramanujan
Almost all of us bloggers here on wordpress love those beautiful landscape images. Images of unbroken canopies of forest green or verdant slopes of alpine mountains in spring, of unsullied crystal blue waters of a stream or even the sparkling sands of a desert. We love them all and can’t get enough of them either […]
via What are you doing for the environment? — Sukanya Ramanujan
How could a self-destructive human become environment-friendly? — decluttering my life
The pressure is overwhelming to acknowledge the unsustainability of our lifestyle. Despite being shown photografic evidence, we let the process go on. How can this narcissistic species afford to neglect its own future? Is our intelligence overrated and are we fatally inconsistent? I suppose that the answer may root in our self-destructive nature. We exploit our own […]
via How could a self-destructive human become environment-friendly? — decluttering my life
The Environmental Reporter 