In our previous article we focused on why and how sea levels are rising. Now, we’re going to focus on threats that come with sea level rise, and what’s at risk.
San Francisco Bay!
You’ve walked its shores!
You’ve breathed in its beauty!
But, beyond being gorgeous, did you know we depend on our Bay?
Our Bay ecology cleans our water of pollution, removing nitrogen, heavy metals, harmful wastes, and toxins! Our shoreline plants are more effective at absorbing carbon than even tropical rainforests. Our sponge-like marshes soak up huge amounts of storm, flood, and tidal water. The powerful energy of waves hitting the shore are buffered and dispersed by our wetlands.
Our shallow Bay waters, tidal marshes, and mud flats are home and nursery for thousands of creatures which makeup our complex ecosystem. Millions of native and migrating birds feast on the banquet provided by our Bay, dependent on it for their shelter and safe passage. And our eelgrass meadows and marshes act as lungs of the Bay area, a tremendous source of fresh air and oxygen for us all.
It’s easy to take for granted how much we all depend upon those ecosystem services. They will only become more essential as climate change worsens and our communities grow. During a century of abuse, the wetlands were reduced to a fraction of their original size. The survival of critically endangered species is due to fifty years of our commitment to improving care of this delicate ecosystem.
THEN we learned that we HAD to get involved to save what was ours.
NOW the threat of sea level rise requires that we re-engage to protect our Bay!
Today there are many threats:
- Ill-considered shoreline development
- Seawalls and levees turning living green shorelines into dead shore edges
- Sea level rise drowning our existing marshes, and flooding into ill-prepared lands
- Mobilization of legacy toxins in our soils due to groundwater rise
Fortunately, under a new state law, all jurisdictions around the Bay are required to start planning for sea level rise.
Will each of these communities protect our existing marshes and wetlands or will they ignore and undermine all the environmental benefits the wetlands give us? The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission has been given new authority to approve or deny those plans. Every Bay shoreline community will have to follow those guidelines so the impacts will be Bay-wide and will last for decades to come.
You have an unprecedented chance to ensure your values and priorities are incorporated in our response to sea level rise. Climate change is overwhelming. It is rare that we have an opportunity as individuals to make an impact on our future. But NOW is one of those times. YOU can make a difference!
The Sierra Club’s Bay Alive Campaign is here to help! Join the Campaign today and show policy makers that you care about keeping the San Francisco Bay alive!