What Sea Level Rise Means for the Bay Area: Rosanna Xia & Liam O'Donoghue

Wherever land meets sea, heating oceans swell into higher-than-high tides and city-leveling storms. For the last hundred years, however, California’s 1,200-mile Pacific coastline had enjoyed relative calm, but shifting tides exacerbated by climate change are bringing this serene century to a screeching close. In , now releasing in paperback and audiobook, Pulitzer finalist Rosanna Xia dives deep into the stakes, stopgaps, and potential paths forward for the 27 million people who call this coastline home.

In this conversation with East Bay Yesterday's Liam O'Donoghue, Xia dials her lens into the Bay Area to explore what warming oceans mean for our region and how we can prepare. The two will explore how low-income communities have borne the brunt of environmental challenges in the past and are poised to do so again unless we course correct now, drawing inspiration from local leaders and organizers who are raising awareness today for what may come tomorrow.

Xia's book, declared a 2024 Great Read from Great Places by the Library of Congress, and winner of the California Book Award, the Nautilus Book Award, and the Golden Poppy (voted on by more than 230 independent booksellers), will be available for sale and signing following the conversation.

About the Speakers

Rosanna Xia is an environmental reporter for the Los Angeles Times, where she specializes in stories about the coast and ocean. Her work spans feature writing to investigative reporting and engages themes of climate and social justice. She was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2020 for explanatory reporting on sea level rise, which inspired the work that culminated in California Against the Sea. Her writing has been anthologized in the Best American Science and Nature Writing series.

Liam O’Donoghue is the host and producer of the podcast, which airs on 94.1 KPFA-FM, and the Oakland columnist for SF Gate. His journalism has appeared in outlets such as KQED, Oaklandside, Mother Jones, Salon, 99% Invisible, The Kitchen Sisters, and Snap Judgement. O’Donoghue has given presentations on local history throughout the Bay Area, at institutions such as Oakland Museum of California, The California Historical Society, and The Commonwealth Club. Follow Liam's Substack for updates about his tours and events.

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