Coastal cities like Malibu will be affected by rising sea levels as the world’s glaciers and polar ice caps melt from global warming. And not only will the ocean get larger, causing lowland flooding during storms and high tides, but the entire region will experience longer droughts and more wildfires.
Not a pretty picture, but an assembly of experts on climate change in our area has been pulled together by Randy Olson, Ph.D., biologist-turned-filmmaker and Point Dume resident, to speak on the subject. Olson will serve as moderator for the upcoming Malibu Library Speaker Series on Aug. 30, “Malibu Climate Change: Hopes & Fears.” The production is a one-time original event.
“My connection with climate is ‘Sizzle: A Global Warming Comedy (2008)’,” Olson said, referring to his documentary-mockumentary film. “I know a lot of people from UCLA, USC, Heal the Bay and the Surfrider Foundation that are coming [to the event].”
Alarmed by the signs of climate change from around the world, Olson observed, “The vanishing of the ice sheets has been stunning this year …The new photos of coral bleaching are also stunning. The pH of the ocean is different and more acidic now than it was 30 years ago.”
Gary Griggs, distinguished professor of earth and planetary sciences and director of the Institute of Marine Sciences at U.C. Santa Cruz, will be one of the panelists, focusing on the local impacts of climate change. Growing up in the L.A. area, he regularly came to Zuma Beach as a child, and also consulted with the engineering firm for the Broad Beach sand replenishment project.
Griggs said Malibu is already seeing the effects of climate change with some of the super high tides as well as the large waves brought in by the El Niño weather event this winter.
“Climate change is going to be the biggest challenge of human civilization,” Griggs said. “All of the world’s mega-cities are on the coast, with millions of people.”
At the speaker series, he plans to talk about Malibu’s shoreline, sea level rise and “the whole Malibu coast.”
Griggs described the disappearance of sand on Broad Beach as a combination of both short- and long-term issues, and said the residents’ plan to bring in more sand is a “very expensive gamble.” He described the normal movement of sand in a southward direction from Point Mugu to an underwater trench south of Santa Monica.
Jonathan Parfrey, who grew up in Malibu West, founded Climate Resolve, co-founded CicLAvia and has too many other credentials and awards to mention, will be the panelist focusing on regional climate change issues.
“I’m the good news guy,” he said in a phone interview. “Climate change is an important, urgent issue, but there are things we can do about it. The State of California, Santa Monica, the City of LA and even Ventura County are taking actions today to protect themselves from climate impacts.
“I’m telling the audience there are ways to get involved locally, statewide and nationally,” Parfrey added. “And if we all decide to get involved, it can make a difference.”
Sarah Myhre, Ph.D., a post-doctoral scholar at the University of Washington with a long list of climate change-related publications and studies, will focus on the global effects of climate change, in particular the world’s oceans.
The City of Malibu has been partnering with the county-run Malibu Library to offer the speaker series since 2013. The series, which is free and open to the public, has featured a wide variety of authors and public speakers.
City Council Member Laura Rosenthal, who has been involved with the speaker series, said that this year, they tried to select “more topical things that are relevant to our society right now,” such as climate, the Olympics and the election.
“One of the things we always strive for is to get speakers who not only have good backgrounds, but are also good speakers,” Rosenthal said.
The Malibu Library Speaker Series on “Malibu Climate Change: Hopes & Fears” will take place on Tuesday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. at the Malibu Civic Theater inside Malibu City Hall at 23825 Stuart Ranch Rd. To RSVP, go to: colapublib.org/libs/malibu/events.php or call the Malibu Library at 310.456.6438.
