Toxic Tides and Environmental Injustice: Social Vulnerability to Sea Level Rise and Flooding of Hazardous Sites in Coastal California

Cushing, Lara; Ju, Yan; Kulp, Scott; Depsky, Nicholas; Karasaki, Seigi; Jaeger, Jessie M.; Raval, Amee; Strauss, Benjamin; Morello‐Frosch, Rachel

doi:10.1021/acs.est.2c07481

Cited by 11 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Further analysis of our results showed that the average increase in treatment capacity required to accommodate projected runoff changes was 21%, which will increase capital costs for their construction accordingly. Such investment decisions also provide an opportunity to take into account the environmental justice implications of the disproportionate impact that projected climate change impacts are likely to have on socially underserved communities 76 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling the impact of future rainfall changes on the effectiveness of urban stormwater control measures

Nodine,

Conley,

Riihimaki

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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The convergence of urban expansion, deteriorating infrastructure, and a changing climate will escalate the risks of stormwater pollution and urban flooding in the coming decades. Using outputs from an ensemble of global climate models to drive a high spatial resolution stormwater model, we analyzed climate change impacts on urban stormwater runoff and control measures for 23 cities across the United States. Runoff model outputs for two future emissions scenarios ending in 2055 were compared against a historical scenario to assess changes. All cities showed increases in average annual stormwater runoff, with changes up to 30% over the next 30 years due to a greater frequency of high intensity storm events. Runoff model outputs showed substantial variation across cities with untreated stormwater runoff increasing by as much as 48%. Patterns of future runoff impacts within cities will affect the performance of distributed treatment strategies such as Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) to meet municipal water quality improvement and runoff reduction goals. Results indicate that adoption of adaptable design standards and decision support tools that readily accommodate projected precipitation changes are critical for supporting more resilient designs of stormwater control measures.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling the impact of future rainfall changes on the effectiveness of urban stormwater control measures

Nodine,

Conley,

Riihimaki

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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“…Sea level rise will flood toxic waste sites, cesspools and septic systems, municipal dumps, and polluted groundwater. In many cases, communities of color will be first to experience health impacts ( 123 ).…”

Section: Oceansmentioning

confidence: 99%

Earth at risk: An urgent call to end the age of destruction and forge a just and sustainable future

Fletcher,

Ripple,

Newsome

et al. 2024

PNAS Nexus

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Human development has ushered in an era of converging crises: climate change, ecological destruction, disease, pollution, and socioeconomic inequality. This review synthesizes the breadth of these interwoven emergencies and underscores the urgent need for comprehensive, integrated action. Propelled by imperialism, extractive capitalism, and a surging population, we are speeding past Earth's material limits, destroying critical ecosystems, and triggering irreversible changes in biophysical systems that underpin the Holocene climatic stability which fostered human civilization. The consequences of these actions are disproportionately borne by vulnerable populations, further entrenching global inequities. Marine and terrestrial biomes face critical tipping points, while escalating challenges to food and water access foreshadow a bleak outlook for global security. Against this backdrop of Earth at risk, we call for a global response centered on urgent decarbonization, fostering reciprocity with nature, and implementing regenerative practices in natural resource management. We call for the elimination of detrimental subsidies, promotion of equitable human development, and transformative financial support for lower income nations. A critical paradigm shift must occur that replaces exploitative, wealth-oriented capitalism with an economic model that prioritizes sustainability, resilience, and justice. We advocate a global cultural shift that elevates kinship with nature and communal well-being, underpinned by the recognition of Earth’s finite resources and the interconnectedness of its inhabitants. The imperative is clear: to navigate away from this precipice, we must collectively harness political will, economic resources, and societal values to steer toward a future where human progress does not come at the cost of ecological integrity and social equity.

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“…It has also been reported that the specific geographic conditions may impact the risk of coastal floods, such as the coastal geomorphology and coast types [5,6]. A number of studies have predicted that coastal flooding will continue to be one of the main risks for worldwide coastal environmental security, with increasing intensity (e.g., [7][8][9][10][11]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effective Communication of Coastal Flood Warnings: Challenges and Recommendations

Pang,

Penney,

Wang

2023

Sustainability

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With the increasing risk of coastal flooding facing coastal communities due to climate change, coastal flood warnings (CFWs) are expected to play a critical role in the protection of people and property to ensure communities’ sustainable development. However, as destructive coastal flooding hazards have caused considerable damage in recent years, the effectiveness of coastal flooding warnings could be questioned considering their objective of disaster risk reduction. Here, we deliver a review investigation of the current CFWs in the USA and Canada based on their setup and dissemination, and a case study of two representative coastal flooding events. Through this review, we found that collaboration between multi-level administration regarding CFW mechanisms has the potential to strengthen these mechanisms, improving their efficacy. We also found that CFWs presented in the media often lacked consideration of public acceptance and practicability in their reports, which may have affected the performance of these CFWs. Meanwhile, the technological limitations and uncertain public acceptance may also reduce the CFWs’ effectiveness in application. Accordingly, the media should further consider the understandability of CFW-related reports. Moreover, emergency information channels should be set in both traditional media and social media for accessible use by residents with different customs. Lastly, starting from the normalized prevention of coastal flood disaster, a consensus of crisis awareness should be built with which the social aspects of the defense against coastal flooding can be established for future environmental sustainability.

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Toxic Tides and Environmental Injustice: Social Vulnerability to Sea Level Rise and Flooding of Hazardous Sites in Coastal California

Cited by 11 publications

References 54 publications

Modeling the impact of future rainfall changes on the effectiveness of urban stormwater control measures

Modeling the impact of future rainfall changes on the effectiveness of urban stormwater control measures

Earth at risk: An urgent call to end the age of destruction and forge a just and sustainable future

Effective Communication of Coastal Flood Warnings: Challenges and Recommendations

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