Future Imperfect Shane Carter

What is climate change? What’s causing it? What will it mean for the world as a whole? And what does it mean to “fight” climate change? This first episode takes a look at the big picture. It also introduces our core three concepts: climate change mitigation, adaptation to climate change, and climate justice.

In California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, the Los Angeles region includes Los Angeles, Riverside, and Orange Counties, plus parts of Riverside and San Bernardino counties. 18 million people live here – almost half the population of California. How will climate change affect this part of the state? You'll hear from five young people in the region. Their experiences will help you understand Los Angeles' climate future.

In California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, the San Joaquin Valley region includes all of San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Kings, and Tulare counties, plus parts of Madera, Fresno, and Kern counties. It stretches from Stockton in the north to Bakersfield in the south. About 4 million people live in this region. That’s a little over 10% of the state population. Because its agricultural economy is so intimately connected to the physical environment, climate change is going to have unusually profound effects on life in this part of the state. Part 1 focuses on air quality and heat in the Valley. Part 2 will tackle the incredibly complicated topic of precipitation – both drought and flooding.

The San Francisco Bay is the westernmost of three interconnected bays - the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bays - that carry water from the state’s central river valley out to the ocean. In California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, the San Francisco Bay Area includes the nine counties that ring these bays, from Sonoma County in the north, to Solano and Contra Costa Counties in the east, to Santa Clara county in the south.

 7.2 million people live here. That’s about 18% of the state population and 30% of the state’s economy. Many of the world’s best-known tech companies are based here – Google, Apple, Tesla, Facebook, plus two major ports, three international airports, and a thriving wine industry.

In this episode we’re going to explore how climate change will alter the San Francisco Bay Area.

In California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment, San Diego County is its own region. In the south it borders Mexico. Its western edge is 70 miles of Pacific coast, lined with beaches and cliffs. To the east is mountainous desert. This part of the state is home to about 3.4 million people – projected to grow to 4 million by 2050 and most of them live in the western part of the county. This episode looks at San Diego's climate future, which includes sea-level rise, plus a whole lot more.

How do young people determine that climate change is a problem that affects them, personally? What kinds of actions do they take, both individually and in community with others? And how do they describe the future they hope for? This episode explores how people make the transition from being concerned about climate change to taking action.