KQED’s in-house cartoonist, Mark Fiore, has tackled many subjects over the years, including climate change. With the three-day Global Action Climate Summit convening this week in San Francisco, here are seven Fiore panels to put you in the mood. Or at least, a mood …
S.F. Bay Waters Rising Faster
Scientists say climate change could cause San Francisco Bay to rise 5 feet by 2100, putting airports, power plants and homes at risk. Over the past 118 years, the level of the bay — as measured at San Francisco’s Presidio — has risen 8 inches. A 5-foot sea level rise over the next 82 years would severely impact low-lying areas all around the region. (5/29/18)
Drought, Flood, Repeat
A new study shows California weather is set to get even wilder, with more extreme droughts and floods in the state’s future. UCLA climate scientists project wetter wets and drier dries as climate change increases California’s “weather whiplash.” The lead author of the study, Daniel Swain, said, “I can definitely attest to being unnerved by some of our findings.” Increasingly extreme weather events could lead to $1 trillion catastrophes. (4/23/18)
Summer in San Francisco
Fifty degrees or 90 degrees, which Bay Area summer do you prefer If it’s too hot for you, just get yourself to the coast. If it’s too cold, head inland. Choose your own summer (work and transportation permitting). (7/4/17)
‘Megafires’ in California
Seven of the most destructive wildfires in California history occurred in the past 10 months. If it seems like fires burning across the state are burning hotter and more intensely, it’s because they are. Climate change is one of the leading factors contributing to California’s new “megafires.” (8/18/18)
Gov. Jerry Brown on Climate Change Denier ‘Troglodytes’
At a climate change event coinciding with the U.N. meeting in New York, Gov. Jerry Brown compared Trump supporters to “people who dwell in deep, dark caves.” This isn’t the first time Brown has referred to climate deniers as “troglodytes.” It seems like Gov. Brown has upped the ante on Hillary Clinton’s “deplorables” comment. (9/20/17)
A Pink Christmas
The Thomas Fire in Ventura County, now the fifth largest in California history, grew over the weekend as Gov. Jerry Brown talked of the possibility of “firefighting at Christmas.” The governor warned that climate change has made big wildfires in California a year-round danger. Here’s hoping Santa has more in his sleigh than just toys. (12/11/17)
Back to the Future of Emissions
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rejected Obama-era fuel efficiency standards and set the stage for a battle with California clean air regulators. In a reference to the special exemption that allows California to set tougher emissions standards than the federal government does, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said, “cooperative federalism doesn’t mean that one state can dictate standards for the rest of the country.” (4/3/18)