Social Vulnerability to Climate Change in California

California Energy Commission (CEC) | July 31st, 2012

The State of California faces a range of impacts from global climate change, including increases in extreme heat, wildfires, coastal flooding, and erosion. Changes are al

The State of California faces a range of impacts from global climate change, including increases in extreme heat, wildfires, coastal flooding, and erosion. Changes are also likely to occur in air quality, water availability, and the spread of infectious diseases. To date, a great deal of research has been done to forecast the physical effects of climate change, while less attention has been given to the factors that make different populations more or less vulnerable to harm from such changes. While disaster events may not discriminate, impacts on human populations are shaped by intervening conditions that determine the human impact of the event and the specific needs for preparedness, response, and recovery. In this study, the authors analyzed the potential impacts of climate change by using recent downscaled climate model outputs to create a variety of statistics and visualizations that show their distribution across the state. To understand how the population exposed to these impacts will be affected, social vulnerability – defined as the susceptibility of a given population to harm from exposure to a hazard, directly affecting its ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover, must be evaluated. The researchers developed a new climate vulnerability index to indicate the social vulnerability of a region’s population to climate?related harm. The index combines 19 indicators into one overall climate vulnerability score and includes factors specifically related to climate impacts, such as air conditioner ownership, childhood obesity, percentage of tree cover, pre?term births, workers in outdoor occupations, and others. The authors present a series of maps showing where social vulnerability to climate change is greatest, and where it intersects with the most severe projected climate change impacts. The most significant risk from climate change occurs where there are large groups of people exposed to a climate?related hazard and where there is high social vulnerability. Understanding vulnerability factors and the populations that exhibit these factors are critical for crafting effective climate change policies and response strategies. They are also important to the emerging study of climate justice, which is the concept that no group of people should disproportionately bear the burden of climate impacts or the costs of mitigation and adaptation.

State and green crimes related to water pollution and ecological disorganization: water pollution from publicly owned treatment works (POTW) facilities across US states

Palgrave Communications | August 1st, 2017

Green criminologists often refer to water pollution as an example of a green crime, but have yet to produce much research on this subject. The current article addresses�

Green criminologists often refer to water pollution as an example of a green crime, but have yet to produce much research on this subject. The current article addresses the need for green criminological analyses of water pollution problems, and draws attention to an overlooked issue: water pollution emissions from state owned public water treatment facilities or POTWs. Legally, POTWs may emit certain quantities and kinds of pollutants to waterways following treatment. This does not mean, however, that those emissions have no adverse ecological or public health impacts, or that those emissions cannot also be employed as examples of green crimes or green-state crimes. Indeed, from the perspective of environmental sociology and ecological Marxism, those emissions generate ecological disorganization. Moreover, POTW emissions contain numerous pollutants that generate different forms of ecological disorganization. The current study uses POTW emissions data drawn from the US EPA’s Discharge Monitoring Report system for 2014 to illustrate the extent of pollution emitted by POTWs in and across US states as one dimension of ecological disorganization. To contextualize the meaning of those data, we review US water pollution regulations, review the health and ecological impacts of chemicals emitted by POTWs, and situate those emissions within green criminological discussions of green crime and greenstate crimes.

Storing Water for the Environment: Operating Reservoirs to Improve California’s Freshwater Ecosystems

Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) | August 23rd, 2022

Large reservoirs like those that rim the Central Valley are essential for managing water in California’s highly variable climate. They provide multiple benefits includi

Large reservoirs like those that rim the Central Valley are essential for managing water in California’s highly variable climate. They provide multiple benefits including water supply, hydropower, flood management, and recreation. However, construction and operation of these reservoirs have also imposed significant environmental costs, including native fishes’ loss of access to high-quality habitat above dams and degradation of freshwater ecosystems below them. Moreover, regulatory uncertainty for water users is rising as these ecosystems decline. California needs a new approach for managing environmental water in its large reservoirs, particularly as the climate warms and droughts become more intense.

Sustainable Development and Environmental Justice

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | September 7th, 2004

This chapter addresses the incorporation of environmental justice into the general plan. While environmental justice is not a mandatory topic in the general plan, ther

This chapter addresses the incorporation of environmental justice into the general plan. While environmental justice is not a mandatory topic in the general plan, there is a strong case for its inclusion. Federal and state anti-discrimination statutes, which have a long history, apply to planning as they do to other policy areas. As discussed below, environmental justice issues are often related to failures in land use planning. Planning policies that promote livable communities and smart growth can be tools for achieving environmental justice. In keeping with that idea, this chapter begins with a discussion of sustainable development. Sustainable development provides a context for understanding how environmental justice fits into land use planning. This chapter concludes with a discussion of transit-oriented development, which has important implications for environmental justice and sustainable development.

Sustainable Development and Environmental Justice

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | September 7th, 2004

This chapter addresses the incorporation of environmental justice into the general plan.  While environmental justice is not a mandatory topic in the general plan, there

This chapter addresses the incorporation of environmental justice into the general plan.  While environmental justice is not a mandatory topic in the general plan, there is a strong case for its inclusion. Federal and state anti-discrimination statutes, which have a long history, apply to planning as they do to other policy areas. As discussed below, environmental justice issues are often related to failures in land use planning. Planning policies that promote livable communities and smart growth can be tools for achieving environmental justice. In keeping with that idea, this chapter begins with a discussion of sustainable development. Sustainable development provides a context for understanding how environmental justice fits into land use planning. This chapter concludes with a discussion of transit-oriented development, which has important implications for environmental justice and sustainable development.

The Definition of Environmental Justice and the Designation of the California Office of Planning and Research as Coordinating Agency for Environmental Justice

State of California | November 18th, 2019

The disappearing Salton Sea: A critical reflection on the emerging environmental threat of disappearing saline lakes and potential impacts on children's health

Science of the Total Environment (Elsevier) | February 6th, 2019

Changing weather patterns, droughts and competing water demands are dramatically altering the landscape and creating conditions conducive to the production of wind-blown

Changing weather patterns, droughts and competing water demands are dramatically altering the landscape and creating conditions conducive to the production of wind-blown dust and dust storms. In California, such factors are leading to the rapid shrinking of the Salton Sea, a 345 mile2 land-locked “sea” situated near the southeastern rural border region known as the Imperial Valley. The region is anticipated to experience a dramatic increase in wind-blown dust and existing studies suggest a significant impact on the health and quality of life for nearby residents of this predominantly low-income, Mexican-American community. The discussion calls attention to the public health dimensions of the Salton Sea crisis. We know little about the possible long-term health effects of exposure to mobilized lakebed sediments or the numerous toxic contaminants that may become respirable on entrained particles. We draw on existing epidemiological literature of other known sources of wind-blown dust, such as desert dust storms, and related health effects to begin to understand the potential public health impact of wind-blown dust exposure. The increased production of wind-blown dust and environmental exposures to such non-combustion related sources of particulate matter are a growing health threat, due in part to drought coupled with increasing pressures on limited water resources. Recent population-based studies have linked dust storms with cardiovascular mortality, asthma hospitalization and decrease in pulmonary function in both adults and children. A growing number of studies provide evidence of the acute health effects of wind-blown dust exposures among children, which with repeated insults have the potential to influence respiratory health over time. The shrinking of the Salton Sea illustrates a public health and environmental justice crisis that requires action and attention to protect the health and well-being of local communities.

The Effect of a Receding Saline Lake (The Salton Sea) on Airborne Particulate Matter Composition

American Chemical Society (ACS) | July 12th, 2017

The composition of ambient particulate matter (PM) and its sources were investigated at the Salton Sea, a shrinking saline lake in California. To investigate the influenc

The composition of ambient particulate matter (PM) and its sources were investigated at the Salton Sea, a shrinking saline lake in California. To investigate the influence of playa exposure on PM composition, PM samples were collected during two seasons and at two sites around the Salton Sea. To characterize source composition, soil samples were collected from local playa and desert surfaces. PM and soil samples were analyzed for 15 elements using mass spectrometry and X-ray diffraction. The contribution of sources to PM mass and composition was investigated using Al-referenced enrichment factors (EFs) and source factors resolved from positive matrix factorization (PMF). Playa soils were found to be significantly enriched in Ca, Na, and Se relative to desert soils. PMF analysis resolved the PM10 data with four source factors, identified as Playa-like, Desert-like, Ca-rich, and Se. Playa-like and desert-like sources were estimated to contribute to a daily average of 8.9% and 45% of PM10 mass, respectively. Additionally, playa sources were estimated to contribute to 38–68% of PM10 Na. PM10 Se concentrations showed strong seasonal variations, suggesting a seasonal cycle of Se volatilization and recondensation. These results support the importance of playas as a source of PM mass and a controlling factor of PM composition.

The evolution of dam induced river fragmentation in the United States

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | June 28th, 2023

The Human Right to Water

Pacific Institute | May 1st, 2007

More than a billion people lack access to safe drinking water. Two and a half billion people live without access to adequate sanitation systems necessary to reduce exposu

More than a billion people lack access to safe drinking water. Two and a half billion people live without access to adequate sanitation systems necessary to reduce exposure to water-related diseases. The failure of the international aid community, nations, and local organizations to satisfy these basic human needs has led to substantial, unnecessary, and preventable human suffering. Tens of thousand of people, mostly young children and the elderly, die every day from water-related diseases. In this analysis, Peter Gleick address three critical questions: 1. Is there a human right to water? 2. If there is a human right to water, what is the advantage and implications of acknowledging such a right? 3. What are the obligations of states, regional governments, organizations, and individuals in achieving these rights? […]