The Climate Crisis and Our Community: Sea-Level Rise and Health Impacts

How will the climate crisis affect our community? What are we seeing? What can we do? This forum will look at the impacts for our region overall and focus on two areas of impacts: sea-level rise and human health effects.

“It seems everyone now has a story about how climate change is affecting them and their families,” said Sigrid Wright, CEO/Executive Director of the Community Environmental Council. “For some it might be the loss of a special place. For others it is the anxiety of climate-related disasters, or heat-related stresses. For populations already at risk – including low-income people, women, seniors, youth, immigrants, and people of color –  climate threats bring even greater risk. In the face of this uncertainty, Santa Barbara is in a unique position to get organized and build resilience.”

Wright will provide an overview of the range of climate impacts expected for our region at the Community Forum. Linda Rudolph, MD, MPH, Director of the Center for Climate Change and Health at the Public Health Institute in Oakland, CA, will speak on health impacts. Said Rudolph, “Climate change is a global health emergency. We are seeing health impacts now in communities across California, and these impacts will only worsen without urgent and transformative action. The good news is that climate solutions offer big health benefits, so action on climate can improve the health of our communities.”

Forum Speakers:
Sigrid Wright, CEO/Executive Director, Community Environmental Council

Linda Rudolph, Director of the Center for Climate Change and Health at the Public Health Institute
Selena Evilsizor, Senior Planner-Long Range Planning Division, County of Santa Barbara Planning & Development (involved in sea-level rise planing effort)
Melissa Hetrick, Project Planner, City of Santa Barbara, managing the City’s Sea Level Rise Adaptation Plan

For more information, see www.lwvsantabarbara.org, or contact Mary Byrd at VPProgram@lwvsantabarbara.org.