In this interview, Wade Crowfoot, California Secretary of Natural Resources shares his thoughts about the carbon cycle and the state’s plan to get to carbon neutral. He discusses the indigenous forestry practices among other strategies to manage California lands in the face of climate change.
The recent atmospheric river storm events are a reminder that many urban stormwater systems are outdated for the expected future of more intense storms. Surface level climate adaptation measures like levees and sea walls are designed to withstand 50- or 100-year floods that have a small chance of occurring each year. But storm drain systems under most residential roads typically can only manage a 5- or 10-year event and suffer deferred maintenance. Flooded roads and communities will become more common until this infrastructure issue is prioritized.