STRIKE FOR THE PLANET
because, to make any difference at all, it’s now or never.
It won’t be cheap, easy, politically feasible, pro-capitalist, or any of the rest of the nonsense we’ve let blind us so long to both the science and the screaming of the biosphere as it dies. But we have to do it, and we have to do it now.
So this week let’s talk about ELEVATION.
San Francisco is a peninsula with very limited area on which to build, but: People who work in SF cannot afford housing in SF.
San Francisco’s small businesses and the arts desperately need affordable spaces.
San Francisco’s non-profits are moving out or dying due to lack of affordable spaces. San Francisco’s industrial base is almost non-existent due to lack of affordable spaces. San Francisco’s infrastructure requires ongoing repair and replacement.
So we, in SF, have to be building now but: Thermal expansion has caused 1.4 inches of sea level rise in the last 25 years. The West Antarctic Ice Sheet holds 126 in. or 10.5 ft. of additional sea level rise. The Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet holds 9 in. of additional sea level rise.
The East Antarctic Ice Sheet holds 2362 in. or 197 ft. of additional sea level rise. Greenland’s ice sheet holds 283 in. or 23.6 ft. of additional sea level rise.
Just these give us a total of 2780 in. or 232 ft. sea level rise, but: The rate of glacial melting has recently been found to be much faster than previously thought. The 232 ft. rise doesn’t include additional rises due to tides, storm surges, and flooding events. SF’s housing and infrastructure have to endure for a long time (70-100 yrs seems expected). SF’s elevations range from sea level to 934 ft. with an average of 52 ft.
That means we must: NOT invest in building any housing below 200 ft. unless it is portable or floatable, Rezone all residential areas above 200 ft. for dense multi-family buildings,
Move all critical infrastructure to above 200 ft.,
Plan for evacuation camps and resettlement for those who will be flooded out,
Create parks, water and sewage treatment facilities, and grid infrastructure above 200 ft., And aggressively plant along all of SF’s coasts.
Native marshes and wetlands will absorb some of the sea level rise, lessen the impact of storms and hurricanes, and make it easier to transition some of SF’s housing, especially on the east side of the city, to floating stock. Planning for all of this now costs much less in money, resources, and lives than waiting for disaster to strike. We can’t wait even a few months to have this conversation. We declared war on the planet, and we will lose unless we adapt – now.