Exploring California Climate Change Connections

This virtual workshop explored the latest scientific evidence for the interconnections between climate change and its impacts, featuring presentations from leading researchers and representatives of tribes and community organizations. Links to recordings are provided in the agenda below.

The goals of the workshop were:

• To better understand how the various manifestations of climate change and their impacts interact in ways that create previously unrecognized risks, or magnify known risks to humans and the environment.
• To collect scientific information on the links between the changes in climate and their cascading impacts for incorporation into the next indicator report.
• To identify additional climate-related issues to track using indicators.

The workshop will inform the next update of the Indicators of Climate Change in California report, scheduled for release in 2021. The report presents indicators that track trends in climate change, its drivers and its impacts on physical systems, vegetation, wildlife and humans.

Information about the workshop's speakers and moderators can be found on the biographies page or by following the links below.

Download a pdf copy of the agenda and speaker biographies as a pdf here.

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Exploring California Climate Change Connections:
What Science Knows

For a full list of the video recordings. A link to the corresponding video recording is also provided with each agenda item.

For a summary of the workshop.

For graphical recordings by Adi Brown.

Wednesday, December 2, 2020

Guidelines and Workshop overview [9:00 a.m.]

Orit Kalman
Sac State, Consensus and Collaboration Program

Welcome and Opening remarks [9:15 a.m.]

Tribal Blessing and Lands Acknowledgement
Valentin Lopez
Chairman, Amah Mutsun Tribal Band

Jared Blumenfeld
Secretary, California Environmental Protection Agency

Lauren Zeise, Ph.D.
Director, Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment

Opening Keynote [9:40 a.m.]

A "discernible human influence on global climate": Personal reflections on scientific progress since the 1995 IPCC finding
Benjamin D. Santer, Ph.D.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Overview: Indicators of Climate Change in California [10:10 a.m.]

Carmen Milanes
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment

Session 1: California’s changing climate [10:30 a.m.]

Moderator: Mike Kolian, US Environmental Protection Agency

An overview of California’s changing climate
Michael Anderson, Ph.D., P.E., California Department of Water Resources

California weather and climate extremes: connections, consequences, and emerging collaborations
Benjamin Hatchett, Ph.D., Desert Research Institute and Western Regional Climate Center

Atmospheric rivers
F. Martin (Marty) Ralph, Ph.D., Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego

Large-scale climate patterns and their influence on California
Samantha Stevenson, Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara

Panel discussion

LUNCH [12:15 p.m.]

Session 2: Impacts on California physical systems and their connections [1:00 p.m.]

Moderator: Elissa Lynn, California Department of Water Resources

Changes in ocean conditions along the California coast
Marisol García-Reyes, Ph.D., Farallon Institute

Hydrologic resilience from summertime fog and recharge: a case study for Coho salmon recovery planning
Lorraine E. Flint, Ph.D. and Alicia Torregrosa, US Geological Survey

The implications of climate change for water resources
Alex Hall, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles, Center for Climate Science

Climate in the Sierra Nevada: Consequences for aquatic ecosystems
Steven Sadro, Ph.D., University of California, Davis

Panel discussion

Session 3: Impacts on Californians’ health and well-being [2:55 p.m.]

Moderator: Paul English, Ph.D., M.P.H., California Department of Public Health

Ambient heat exposure, wildfires and health impacts
Rupa Basu, Ph.D., M.P.H., CalEPA Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment

Climate change, health, and California’s Indian Nations
Shasta Gaughen, Ph.D., Pala Band of Mission Indians

Farmworker Communities Under Fire & Heat: Climate Justice Learnings
Maricela Morales, Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE)

Disproportionate impacts of climate change on communities
Amee Raval, Asian Pacific Environmental Network

Panel discussion

Reflections on Day 1 [4:45 p.m.]

Adjourn [5:00 p.m.]

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Thursday, December 3, 2020

Welcome and opening remarks [9:00 a.m.]

Lauren Zeise, Ph.D.
Director, Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment

Wade Crowfoot
Secretary, California Natural Resources Agency

Biodiversity keynote [9:35 a.m.]

Biodiversity conservation in a changing climate
David Ackerly, PhD., University of California, Berkeley

Session 4: Impacts on California vegetation and their connections [10:15 a.m.]

Moderator: James Thorne, Ph.D., University of California, Davis

Climate change effects on California desert vegetation
Anne Kelly, Ph.D., California State University Desert Studies Center

Forest fires in California: The role of climate change and management
Scott Stephens, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley

Impacts of climate change on Tribal agroecosystems and cultural foods and fibers in Karuk Aboriginal Territory
Shawn “Shay” Bourque, Karuk Department of Natural Resources
and
Daniel Sarna-Wojcicki, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley

How does climate change impact California agriculture and vice-versa?
Louise Jackson, Ph.D., University of California, Davis

Panel discussion

LUNCH [12:00 p.m.]

Session 5: Impacts on California wildlife and their connections [1:00 p.m.]

Moderator: Whitney Albright, California Department of Fish and Wildlife

Survival by Degrees: Past and future impacts of climate change on birds
Joanna Wu, M.S., National Audubon Society

Stability or collapse: Climate and land-use change impacts on birds and mammals in California's most transformed landscapes
Steve Beissinger, PhD., University of California, Berkeley

The impacts of climate-driven and anthropogenic pressures on Pacific Coast marine ecosystems
Steven Bograd, Ph.D., National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Climate change impacts on freshwater species
Jeanette Howard, PhD., The Nature Conservancy

Panel discussion

Reflections on Day 2 and Workshop takeaways [3:00 p.m.]

Closing Keynote [3:30 p.m.]

Climate change: Finding the accelerator pedal
Christopher Field, Ph.D., Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment

Closing remarks [4:00 p.m.]

Kate Gordon
Director, Governor's Office of Planning and Research

Wrap up and acknowledgements [4:15 p.m.]

Carmen Milanes
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment

Lauren Zeise, Ph.D.
Director, Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment

Adjourn [4:30 p.m.]