Category: Extremes
Beach Loss Looms for the California Coast
Even though Dan Hoover’s been surveying the same stretch of San Francisco’s Pacific coast for 15 years on his ATV, it never looks the same. In summer it’s wider and in winter narrower. With El Niño the beach will erode more than ever.
Working and Playing in the Coastal Zone
KneeDeep profiles Arye Janoff and Bekah Lane. Janoff surfs and manages coastal dredging and restoration projects for the Army Corps; Lane monitors whales for the Marine Mammal Center. Climate change is their newest challenge.
Living with Climate Swings: Heat 101
The Bay Area’s mild weather is a liability for its residents in the face of growing heat risks from temperature swings to hotter nights. But what exactly makes the heat linger?
All Stories
Isolated Town Forges Resilience on Mendocino Coast
After experiencing wildfire, flooding, power outages, and even a snowstorm in the last three years, Point Arena residents are taking climate preparedness into their own hands.
Beach Loss Looms for the California Coast
Even though Dan Hoover’s been surveying the same stretch of San Francisco’s Pacific coast for 15 years on his ATV, it never looks the same. In summer it’s wider and in winter narrower. With El Niño the beach will erode more than ever.
Working and Playing in the Coastal Zone
KneeDeep profiles Arye Janoff and Bekah Lane. Janoff surfs and manages coastal dredging and restoration projects for the Army Corps; Lane monitors whales for the Marine Mammal Center. Climate change is their newest challenge.
Living with Climate Swings: Heat 101
The Bay Area’s mild weather is a liability for its residents in the face of growing heat risks from temperature swings to hotter nights. But what exactly makes the heat linger?
Making Shade Where There Isn’t Any
There are few trees and public spaces where residents can escape the unrelenting heat in the eastern Coachella Valley. A master plan for shade equity aims to change that.
Unpacking the Hold Up on Heat Protection for Indoor Workers
A long queue of indoor laborers pleaded with the Standards Board of the Cal OSHA last spring to implement long-awaited rules, developed almost five years ago, to protect workers from heat.
Being Human in Big Weather
When it rained this May, it felt unexpected. Based on over 150 years of climate data for San Francisco, May typically gets several days with a light rain. But context is key, and we are coming out of three years of drought—a fact which will generally color memories in a drier hue. “If I’ve learned anything it is that people’s perceptions are usually wrong,” says Jan Null….
Return of a Lost Lake
On the heels of the worst drought in 1,200 years, Tulare Lake, at the southern end of California’s San Joaquin Valley, filled and filled again in the heavy rains and runoff, inundating over 100,000 acres. As the Sierra snowpack melts over the next few months, the lake could spread, prompting water managers and locals to reconsider the future of this lake, long thought “dead.”
Why California’s Water Extremes Are Wilder than Ever — And What We Can Do About It
While alternating between drought and deluge is nothing new for California, climate change is making these swings even more dramatic. New research and new policies will help the state prepare as the boom and bust cycle grows ever wilder.
Safer at School from Wildfire Smoke?
Research confirms the drastic impacts wildfire smoke has had on school learning. But 16 East Bay schools now have updated air filters and more actions are in the pipeline statewide.
My Neighborhood Wised Up to Fire
When we fled the house in the Santa Cruz mountains that we had been living in for just nine months, we knew exactly two of our neighbors.
Extremes-in-3D
In Part 1 FIRE, KneeDeep explores where to expect debris flows from burn scars, how one neighborhood became fire wise, and what schools are doing to become safe havens.