In an op-ed out this week in the Los Angeles Times, Blum Center expert Dr. Brett Sanders offers expert, if disquieting, observations. In the wake of the Rolling Hills landslide, Dr. Sanders writes about the warning signs all around us – massive flooding, intense rainfall, disastrous wildfires, coastal erosion, tragic landslides – that the environment is changing at a speed faster than it has before and with severe impacts on citizens and infrastructure. He has several takeaways for readers: (1) we need scientific prediction models because historic benchmarks like “100 year flood” are no longer helpful in risk decision making in a rapidly changing environment; (2) we should consider effective mitigation and resilience actions- even if they might be unpopular – like coastal retreat, to limit damage.
Read the full, original LA Times article here.
This op-ed was also pick up by: The Brunswick News(Georgia), and the Chattanooga Times Free Press (Tennessee).