State of Change

@stateofchange.bsky.social

A project of the Climate Equity Reporting Project at Berkeley Journalism. Our small team is using journalism to explore the equity implications of greenhouse gas reduction efforts in California. Read the newsletter here https://caclimateequity.substack.com

“In Altadena, a series of public and private failures left Black households most likely to face the complete loss of a home — a racial line seen nationwide, regardless of the type of disaster, due to housing policies that have left people of color in disaster zones." capitalbnews.org/black-retire...

Climate Disasters Are Destroying Black Retirements and the American Dream

Workers facing disasters and failed insurance are draining their retirement savings, leaving many on their own in old age.

capitalbnews.org

Here's the thing: 2.5-3C of global warming is actually still really bad news. Is it better than 3-5C of warming? Undoubtedly. But I don't think many folks, apparently including Gates & advisors, appreciate just how radically transformed a 2.5-3C warmer world would be. [10/n]

In the 2025 State of Wildfires report, the authors suggest that climate change made southern California wildfires much more expansive in 2025, increasing burned area 25-fold. And also that, in decades ahead, fire risk may *decrease* in the region, despite warming. essd.copernicus.org/articles/17/...

State of Wildfires 2024–2025

Abstract. Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme wildfires globally, yet our understanding of these high-impact events remains uneven and shaped by media attention and reg...

essd.copernicus.org

I'm proud to help lead the United Nations' #COP30 Local Leaders Forum next month in Brazil. Regional leaders — from mayors to governors — are uniquely able to turn ambitious plans to tackle the climate crisis into reality at the local level. California is all-hands-on-deck in this fight.

Hundreds of students across more than 50 California high schools are planning to participate in walkouts on Oct. 24 to voice support for legislation that would hold oil companies accountable for damage to infrastructure and costs associated with the climate crisis. Learn more: bit.ly/47gxqSv

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“You’re paying home and business owners to be part of the solution to accommodate data centers. They’re already facing bill increases, not just because of large loads but because of utility investments, costs of climate change. This is a way to offset that.” www.canarymedia.com/articles/vir...

Can crowdsourcing help solve the data center power crunch?

Data centers want to connect to the grid faster. Voltus says virtual power plants can help them do so — and cut costs for everyday utility customers.

canarymedia.com

"Where we've gone awry is that we've put flood insurance in the automobile & household insurance buckets, and those are high-probability low-consequence events. Flood insurance is a low-probability high-consequence event, and more like life insurance." caclimateequity.substack.com/p/its-not-if...

How Can We Protect Marginalized Communities From Flood Damages?

Californians are used to thinking about wildfires, but flooding is even harder to plan for.

caclimateequity.substack.com

"Though snakes may make you recoil, they’re essential parts of our ecosystems. The giant gartersnake is unique to California, found only in the Central Valley. It is the largest of all garter snakes — some have been documented at more than 5 feet long!" @laist.com laist.com/news/climate...

A state snake and shrub? Meet California’s newest designated state symbols

Californians, your newest state symbols are the native big berry manzanita and the giant garter snake.

laist.com

The entire proposed Highway 37 Solano-Marin super bridge is estimated to cost $11 billion, all to replace an existing road between a couple of suburbs. And it's proposed at 114 feet wide. For comparison, the Golden Gate Bridge is 90 feet wide.

Warren Wells, AICP@warrenjwells.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Caltrans has released a cross section for the ultimate (raised viaduct) version of SR-37. Now maybe I'm just being paranoid, but if you were building a road that you planned to keep at 4 lanes wide, I don't think it would look like this.

Cross section of 114' wide bridge structure with each direction having a 12' outside shoulder and a 10' inside shoulder.