By Guillermo Quiroz
Global sea levels rose by nearly 8 inches over the past century.
However, over the last two decades, that increase has doubled and continues to accelerate each year. San Rafael, in Marin County, is already feeling the impact of rising sea levels.
Climate change is a problem that will affect the entire area, but it will disproportionately impact residents of the Canal neighborhood, says Omar Carrera, CEO of Canal Alliance.
Many of the communities being impacted are marginalized or lower-income communities, or those living in the lowest-lying areas. In San Rafael, the Canal community is one of these communities that is being—or will be—affected as sea levels rise and the conditions currently being experienced continue.
In San Rafael, there are 12,000 residents who could be at risk of flooding, in addition to natural areas that could be submerged underwater.
The city’s priority is to protect the community, which is why it has secured $762,000 in funding to finance a resilience planning project for the Canal community.
Climate change is a problem that requires multisector collaboration.
We are very pleased with this project because it includes the city, the state of California, philanthropic institutions in the county such as the Marin Community Foundation, and key organizations that will participate in this project and create space for residents not only to learn about the impact of climate change, but also to take part in creating solutions.
Understanding how climate change affects us will give us the opportunity to be better prepared as a Latino community for these drastic changes that put our properties and our lives at risk.
Walter Gonzalez, analyst for the City of San Rafael, said: “While the Canal community is mostly Latino, we also have people from Vietnam, but the majority are Latino immigrants from Guatemala, Mexico, and El Salvador.
This Latino community plays a very important role in the local economy. This area generates a significant amount of sales tax revenue for the City of San Rafael.
These educational and interactive workshops are for all residents and undoubtedly help people understand the problem caused by climate change, while providing an opportunity to hear the opinions of the affected community itself.
Regardless of immigration status, climate change will affect them. We are going to work in a space that is safe for everyone, where regardless of immigration status people can participate and have their voices heard.
This is the moment to activate the community in order to save the community.”
