The Placer Grove of giant sequoias. (Photo by Dr. John Cloud, Historian, NOAA Central Library)
Climate change is dramatically altering the San Francisco Bay Area’s ecosystems and raising profound questions among conservationists about how to help species best adapt to new conditions.
Though we may not be able to detect it on a day-to-day basis, climate change has come to the Bay Area and is already leaving its mark on local ecosystems: rising tides in the Bay, increasingly severe wildfires, acidification of ocean waters. While it may be too late to avoid global warming's early stages, there is a lot we can do to both understand and mitigate its impacts on our landscapes and watersheds. With the support of world-class research institutions and an active environmental movement, Bay Area scientists are taking the lead in this crucial effort.
While living for a while on the Monterey Peninsula, I found myself drawn time and again from the cafes and shops of Pacific Grove down to the waters of Monterey Bay. Sometimes I would just sit on a bench and look for sea otters resting and feeding their pups in the undulating kelp beds. My time in Monterey was a small but privileged window into the wonderful diversity that makes the central coast of California one of the richest marine ecosystems in the world...
When I stand on San Francisco’s Ocean Beach and look west, it’s difficult for me to comprehend that we humans can have any impact of consequence on a body of water that is so vast, let alone impacts that are … Read more
In California, local upwelling centers power the extraordinary abundance of marine life at sites such as the Farallones, Monterey Bay, and the Channel Islands.
Q: Which spot in the Bay Area gets the most yearly average rainfall and which spot gets the least? Why? [Diane, Bolinas] A: Nearly all the precipitation we receive comes between November and April in the form of rain from … Read more
While the rest of the West bakes in the summer heat, Bay Area residents salute the return of the fog. Renowned environmental journalist Harold Gilliam explains the dynamics of the Bay Area's natural air-conditioning system as two local photographers capture its fleeting beauty.
