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San Diego warns residents about eroding that has caused Sunset Cliffs to be dangerous on Nov. 18, 2022. (AP/Photo by Caitlynn Keenan)
Biden’s climate bill: New hope or disaster for San Diego?
Biden’s climate bill: New hope or disaster for San Diego?
By Caitlynn Keenan
Dec. 9, 2022
This year, President Joe Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act, an aggressive climate bill that promises improvement for climate change on a national level. However, it is yet to be seen how it will affect communities on a local level. San Diego faces rising sea levels, flooding, wildfires and extreme heat due to climate change, but people are concerned that the new act will not make an impact on current natural threats and disasters.
“This new Inflation Reduction Act is claiming to do a lot,” San Diego State University senior and marine biology major Izzy Kennedy said. “The natural disasters San Diego is facing are real, and I have doubts that this new bill will affect enough on a local level to make an impact.”
The White House states that the bill will expand tax credits for “energy efficient commercial buildings, new energy efficient homes, and electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure.”
It also states the act will expand credits for clean energy such as wind, solar, clean hydrogen, clean fuels, nuclear and carbon capture while incentivizing domestic production in clean energy technology.
Local impacts
Meanwhile, SDSU Sustainability Director Kristin Larson says the environmental concerns are currently affecting San Diego.
“The San Diego area is already experiencing the impact of climate change such as increased drought, temperature and wildfires,” said Larson via email. “There are going to be impacts of climate change regardless of sustainable actions being taken today but the impacts can be lessened and with good planning, something better than we have today may be able to be created.”
According to a report conducted by the California Climate Change Center, warming in San Diego will have serious implications for the water, energy, ecosystems and health needs in the region. In addition, climate warming will cause extreme temperatures to occur from June until September, with hotter temperatures increasing in duration, magnitude and frequency. In some parts of San Diego County, there will even be a threefold increase in hot days.
San Diegans are still absent from Mission Bay Campland after it reopens from unhealthy bacteria shutdown on Nov. 18, 2022. (AP/Photo by Caitlynn Keenan)
Clean energy
The White House has stated that the Inflation Reduction Act will build American clean energy supply chains and create incentives for clean energy across the nation.
“I like the idea of wind farms for energy as well as solar energy. Especially for locations exposed to heat waves where there is a lot of solar power,” Hawaii Pacific University marine science graduate student Rachel Nakamoto said. “Clean energy is pretty expensive on the short term scale in terms of building and maintaining, but this technology would help our environment over time and be efficient in the long term.”
Clean and renewable energy technology includes sources such as water, solar, wind, geothermal, natural gas, bioenergy, hydrogen and fuel cells, and nuclear power.
According to the International Energy Agency’s website, “The need for clean energy technology has never been more important. The way we currently produce and consume energy is unsustainable, and while technology is not the only ingredient to a cleaner energy future, there is no credible path to net-zero emissions without a significant and speedy ramping up of clean energy technologies across the entire energy sector.”
The Inflation Reduction Act also seeks to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by no later than 2050, as well as incentivize clean energy domestic production in the United States, according to the White House.
“I believe that incentivizing domestic production where space is available would be a great option. Preferably not in urban areas but in more rural areas could be a good use of space,” Nakamoto said. “This goal is, in my opinion, attainable but we should be doing more now to reduce those carbon emissions as soon as possible. Saying a year like 2030, 2050 isn’t good enough. These agreements have to implement more action and more detailed goals to be able to be carbon neutral.”
Local policies and goals
Currently, San Diego has policies in place to help prevent climate disasters due to climate change and warming. Mayor Todd Gloria signed into effect the Climate Action Plan update on Aug. 10.
Gloria states on the city's website that “this update to the City’s Climate Action Plan means cleaner air and water, local investment and jobs, infrastructure improvements, more safe and convenient mobility options, increased access to green space, and most of all, a better future for our children and grandchildren.”
“Small acts can pave the way for larger policies to fight climate change but changes need to occur at all levels — local, state and federal policies,” SDSU's Kristin Larson said in an email exchange.
The state of California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment outlines the future impacts all regions of San Diego County will face due to climate change. San Diego County and adjacent regions “will be confronted with, among others, increasingly warmer average temperatures, more frequent and likely more intense heat waves, more intense droughts, occasionally increased heavy rainfall events and foods, continuing Santa Ana winds and wildfire threats.”
The report also states that the coastline areas alone will see a substantial rise in sea level, which will affect beaches, real estate, infrastructure and more. Pamela Heatherington, a member of the Environmental Center of San Diego’s board of directors, states that San Diego is at risk due to sea level rise and ecosystems failing from pollution.
“I think for San Diego, the sea level rise is a big threat because we have so much coastal area. If you go south of highway eight, then you run into a whole different set of environmental problems where all of the industry and the ports are working with their shipbuilding and all the pollution rates in those areas are sky high,” Heatherington said. “For the Environmental Center, I sit on a lot of committees. I attend a lot of meetings that have to do with biodiversity, climate change, sea level rise and public access. There’s just a myriad of issues out there that unless they’re paid attention to, will exacerbate climate change.”
According to an article on climate change and regional planning from the University of San Diego, “the future magnitude of the increase in climate impacts will depend on how much greenhouse gas emissions are emitted in the future. It is critically important to reduce GHGs to minimize additional impacts on future generations.”
The biggest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions in California is the transportation sector, according to the University of San Diego, and direct transportation emissions alone accounted for 40% of statewide emissions in 2019, a pattern which is similar in San Diego.
“From 2015 to 2018, emissions from vehicle tailpipes alone contributed 54% to 56% of total emissions each year within the City of San Diego, even as the total emissions have decreased 5% since 2015,” according to USD.
“The Environmental Health Coalition works to try and get all the diesel trucks electrified, making sure that the air quality is improved,” Heatherington said. “So, I think things like that really help the climate crisis challenges that we’re all facing. Everybody doing a little bit of everything or everybody concentrating in their own area on projects that lessen the climate crisis.”
Local change
San Diego County officials urge residents to do their part and help in the fight against climate change. San Diegans can start by lowering energy consumption, reducing plastic use, conserving water at home, participating in neighborhood cleanups, and walking or biking to reduce vehicle emissions.
Infographic by Caitlynn Keenan
“I think the most important thing that a citizen can do right now is to make a commitment today to ensure their actions in their control are sustainable,” Larson wrote via email. “That means to vote and advocate for sustainable policies in their community. That means making the choice to make purchases that are more sustainable such as buying reused materials even if they cost more upfront or making the choice to use less. It means choosing to bike to work instead of taking a car. All these actions are a continuous choice and require the ability to adapt and change.”
For more information about what you can do to help with the effects of climate change in San Diego, visit San Diego County’s climate action website, www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/sustainability/TakeAction.html, or learn about current policy on the San Diego city website.
This project was produced by Caitlynn Keenan as a published learning experience in JMS 430 Digital Journalism, part of the Journalism and Media Studies Program at San Diego State University.
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