Posts by KCET & The Autry Museum of the American West

KCET & The Autry Museum of the American West
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Untold History: The Survival of California’s Indians

Originally posted on KCET If you grew up in California, you probably learned most of what you know about the history of California Indians while you were in fourth grade. All that several generations of Californians learned of the state’s Native peoples can be summed up thusly: California was originally populated by people who did…

Recap: Youth Day and the 2017 Tribal Summit

Please note that this article will be updated in April to include adaptation-specific connections, best practices, and lessons learned.   In mid-November, the Native Waters on Arid Lands (NWAL) team hosted our third annual Tribal Summit. Approximately 120 people attended the 2017 Summit, traveling to Sparks, Nev. from communities, reservations, colleges and universities located across…

Wildfire Resilience in California

Climate change is intensifying weather events, including drought and heat waves, which accelerate wildfires. California is experiencing lower humidity and higher temperatures for longer periods of time during the year. The average fire season has increased by 78 days over the last four decades and in many areas of the State, fire season is occurring…

Into the Fire

It was unusually warm the evening the fires broke out in Sonoma County. Until then it was a very non-memorable evening. My term serving as a fellow with the County of Sonoma Energy and Sustainability Division had just begun. I had known that Sonoma County is an enviable center from which to learn and work…

Building Climate Resilience Through Private Investment in Forest Health

2017 ended as the deadliest and most destructive fire season in California’s history with over 9,000 fires burning nearly 1.3 million acres and taking the lives of 46 people. The repercussions of these fires are extensive, impacting lives and livelihoods, carbon emissions, air quality, water supply, wildlife, natural ecosystems, and more. There is such a…

If not now, then when?

With the rise of climate change, resilience, and adaptation as pressing environmental issues over the past decade, subject-matter experts have continuously failed to include people of color and poor working-class people (often termed vulnerable or at-risk populations) in discussions that frame the underlying agendas of climate policy. It has been the experience of many, as…

Climate and Health Equity

Four years ago, after another summer of wildfires, I looked out from my spot at the Plumas County Public Health Agency and could still see smoke covering the American Valley and as far as the eye could see on the horizon. Not long after that, I traded in my office overlooking the Plumas National Forest…

The Intersection of Watersheds and Homelessness [audio]

“Perhaps the most important [intersection between homelessness and watersheds] that we don’t think about enough is the flood risk that is faced by the people experiencing homelessness. If they have placed themselves in stream ways or along the riparian corridors of our region, we have a Mediterranean climate here so many of our streams are dry most…

Addressing Racism Personally and Professionally [audio]

“Once a system has been working or functioning a certain way for long periods of time, we start to normalize the outcomes and the processes, and they become accepted as natural. Even if we can observe that people are suffering as a consequence. It doesn’t matter in some ways if it’s racism, sexism, heterosexism, ableism –…

Climate Adaptation, Adaptive Climate Justice, and People with Disabilities

Originally published on the Union of Concerned Scientists Blog Climate activism tends to frame climate change as a problem to be solved by fighting against it, raising calls to reduce emissions in order to minimize or avoid the consequences of climate change (“climate mitigation”). Cutting emissions is certainly important, as lower emissions will lead to smaller temperature increases,…