For the past decade, the concept of “sustainability” has dominated climate change conversation around the world. Sustainable development, which aims to meet present needs without sacrificing future well-being, has been an appropriate focus toward the threats that climate change and natural resource depletion pose to our society. However, sustainability is not strong enough, or resilient enough, to stand alone. Global climate change is no longer an event to anticipate and plan for; it is a

With a myriad of different policies around the environment on all levels including the national, state, and even in the city of San Diego itself, there are examples from other regions that we can implement in our current system. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and Carbon Fee and Dividend Policy put caps on the carbon emissions on the power sector. Likewise, the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act manage the amount of hazardous pollutants in U.S. air and water, whereas, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires companies to take into account the environmental impact of their actions. Even the President’s Climate Action Plan has strategies to tackle the issues related to the effects of climate change.

While the United States is the world’s most economically prosperous nation by a large margin in terms of gross domestic product (GDP), it may not be the most resilient economy.  Although GDP is crucial for evaluating economic growth, policymakers and planners must also consider the health of their populace.  Therefore, the United Nations created a new index called the Human Development Index (HDI) that factors in life expectancy, education, and income.  Under these criteria, the US ranked only 5th in the world, which should spark a discussion into whether the US really is as economically resilient as we all assume. 

The United States is a leading country in healthcare spending but lacks quality. According to many health organizations’ rankings, the US does not rank high compared to other countries who spend less on healthcare. Various factors such as demographics and diet affect rankings, however, healthcare quality plays a big role. To address this issue, President Obama has adopted healthcare plans from more successful countries and passed the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare). However, is our healthcare system ready to withstand spikes in demand due to climate change impacts on public health?

One of the byproducts of an ever increasing population is the municipal waste that we leave behind.  This waste exacerbates an already deteriorating climate situation by further damaging air quality and emitting toxic gasses.  Given that the typical four-member American family wastes 122 pounds of food each month on average, it is no surprise that the United States produces 70% of the world’s solid waste.  However, although we live wasteful lifestyles, the US has a unique platform to make-up by being a leading innovator in reducing waste and building resilient waste systems.   

Today, food security, especially in urban cities, is a critical issue. Developing countries are improving their quality of life and, consequently,  by 2050 the world will require 70% more food than we produce today to supply not only a growing population but a growing middle class that will be consuming more meat and dairy according to The Earth Institute (Columbia University). Agriculture consumes approximately 70% of our water supply, 34% of land area and contributes between 17%-30% of all greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, not only is agriculture contributing to climate change but it is also suffering from the affects of it.

Here in San Diego, California, we are well behind the world’s leading innovators in transportation and even rank poorly in our own country.  If the city has any hope to develop in a resilient fashion, it must start with reliable transit options since the system is so directly related to critical issues such as health, economics, and the environment.

Most importantly, to fight climate change, we must wean ourselves off our dependence on the automobile and reinvent the way we view the transit. While public transportation is becoming more popular as a whole in the US, San Diego’s ridership numbers have actually stalled over the past few years, with many residents still opting to commute to work in their single occupancy vehicles.  In addition, San Diego ranks poorly in transportation infrastructure, air quality, and safety.  

In order to build a more resilient energy system, it is essential for us to shift our energy reliance from fossil fuels to renewable sources. Residential energy use in the U.S. is about six times that of the world, where most of the sources are fossil fuels. San Diego’s largest energy source is natural gas, which accounts for over 60% of its energy supply, while renewables make up only 19%. A majority of San Diego’s renewable energy comes from wind and geothermal sources. San Diego’s wind and geothermal potential alone can satisfy the city’s peak demand of 4500 MW of electricity. This reality creates a strong case for renewable development and integration in our region.

Clean water is an essential necessity to everyday life. In the world today, around 1.6 billion people are experiencing complete water scarcity and by 2025, 2.8 billion will. Water related challenges such as droughts, floods, and wildfires are caused by global warming. These challenges are impacting the world at an economical, social, and environmental level. For example, farmers are expected to spend more money on irrigation and the chance of species endangerment has increased. Additionally, health problems arose due to poor water quality and the lack of water...

Urban population has increased dramatically throughout the last 50 years. We have gone from less than 10% of populating cities in 1950 to more than 50% today. Developing countries have experienced urbanization at even faster rates which, consequently, leads to major deficiencies in infrastructure, thereby, exposing marginalized portions of society to high-risk living arrangements, unemployment, and poor sanitation. Today, human economic activity is concentrated in large urban areas. Fossil fuels, being a high energy embedded resource, played an indispensable role in powering our daily activities; however, burning carbon-rich fuels has disastrous consequences. Although carbon emissions effect seemingly inconsequential changes to climate; they continue to drastically change worldwide weather patterns.