Local climate scientists bristle at Trump policy

As President Donald Trump’s administration fuels a rising wave of climate change skepticism, Petaluma scientists, nonprofit leaders and sustainability advocates remain steadfast in their dedication to research and rallying the community to incite change at a local level.

In his seven months in office, Trump has pulled the U.S. out of a historic multinational accord to reduce emissions, rolled back Obama-era policies intended to combat climate change and asserted that environmentally-focused regulations harm the American economy. Tweets and statements from officials across the administration have questioned the science supporting climate change, a stance that’s rattled the local community.

“On the one hand, there’s so much local enthusiasm and state-level support for climate change research, in some ways, I think we’re hopeful …. many of the federal scientists we’ve worked with have been understanding climate change patterns and we will continue to work with them to advance science and really respond to what the science is telling us,” said Sam Veloz, the climate adaptation group director for Petaluma-based Point Blue Conservation Sciences. “But, it’s scary on a federal level to have an administration clearly willing to disregard what is clear science. It’s obvious to anyone working in the field that the data and studies are consistently telling us the same story.”

A recently publicized draft climate report by scientists from 13 federal agencies is awaiting approval from the Trump administration, sparking a debate about whether the president will side with science or cater to his base of supporters that largely deny climate change.

That report shows that the average temperature in the U.S. has increased rapidly since 1980, and recent decades have been the hottest in the past 1,500 years. It claims human activity, such as emission of greenhouses gases thought to trap heat, are “primarily responsible” for climate change.

“Evidence for a changing climate abounds, from the top of the atmosphere to the depths of the oceans,” a draft of the report reads.

Veloz said modeling predicts that Petalumans will see impacts in their own city – ranging from sea level rise-related flooding to changes in rainfall or weather that could impact local resources in Sonoma County’s booming agricultural economy. He noted that future models are subject to change, but it’s advantageous to act now rather than take a wait-and-see approach.

Federal rhetoric has also cast a shadow of uncertainty over some funding sources that make up a “significant” portion of the budget for the organization, though Veloz remains hopeful that any potential funding cuts would be buoyed by state or private monies.

Despite a somewhat gloomy outlook at the federal level, Veloz, who heads a team that utilizes science to help policy makers effectively prepare for future changes to the environment, pointed to aggressive local efforts across multiple agencies as a bright spot. In addition to Veloz’s work, the five-decade old entity was recently invited to be an observing organization to a conference of the United Nation’s global body that addresses climate change.

“We are fortunate that we’re in a great place where we’re working with people in the area and we’re not having to convince people that climate change is going to happen – people are already on board, the questions is really what are we going to do about it,” he said.

California Gov. Jerry Brown has taken a strong stance on reversing climate change, and in June, Petaluma Mayor David Glass sent a letter detailing steps Petaluma is taking to reduce emissions to the Climate Mayors Network. The network is a consortium of local leaders that “have pledged to adopt, honor and uphold the Paris agreement goals in their cities,” according to its website.

Petaluma also follows the Sonoma County Regional Climate Action Plan, which was created through the Regional Climate Protection Authority and outlines actions local cities are taking to deal with a changing climate.

Trathen Heckman, the executive director of Petaluma-based sustainability nonprofit Daily Acts, said recent statements have served to only strengthen the organization’s mission.

“For us, I think that our core focus is only reaffirmed by everything that’s going on in the Trump administration,” he said.

The nonprofit, which facilitates water conservation projects, community challenges and civic programs, has helped conserve 6.6 million gallons of water through lawn removal across the county since 2009, according to Senior Programs Coordinator Kellen Watson.

Heckman highlighted the individual’s power to spark change through daily decisions and emphasized the value of partnerships and civic engagement.

“With things like climate change and racism and what’s going on 24 hours a day with all these bad things happening, it’s totally overwhelming for most people … No matter what it is, you always want to spend the most time in your circles of influence,” he said. “The more you spend daily actions on things you can positively influence, your power to affect change grows.”

Torrie Estrada, the executive director of Petaluma’s Carbon Cycle Institute, a nonprofit that works to halt and reverse climate change globally by advocating for scientific solutions, said that the denial is disheartening, but won’t hinder the institutes’s work.

“It certainly has a demoralizing impact but I think we knew it was coming,” he said. “I feel like we work around it.”

The institute hones in on carbon cycle solutions, including tailoring farming techniques to build healthier soil that captures and removes carbon from the atmosphere, slowing the accumulation of greenhouse gases.

Scientists and advocates encouraged Petalumans to unite to influence the changes they’d like to see.

“We can always do more, and people are so hungry for positive solutions that enrich their lives, take care of their kids and their future,” Heckman said.

(Contact Hannah Beausang at hannah.beausang@arguscourier.com.)