Climate Change Quick Reads & FAQ

A study at Point Reyes National Seashore finds habitat loss from sea level rise isn’t the only significant climate-related impact on these at-risk shorebirds.

Here, we’ll dive into a collection of stories about how six San Francisco Bay Area Network vital signs—indicators of park ecosystem health—are being impacted by climate change: rocky intertidal zones, western snowy plovers, coho salmon, plant communities, landbirds, and pinnipeds (seals). We’ll look at how network scientists and partners are learning about each sign, and how this long-term research is essential to structuring life-sustaining conservation initiatives.

Sudden oak death is devastating forests along the California and Oregon coast. Infection is particularly impacting the native tanoak tree, an ecologically and culturally important species that has long been a staple of west coast forests. The mass loss of tanoak trees has far-reaching affects, including on biodiversity, Indigenous tribes, and climate change. This immersive story aims to give an overview of the disease, local and wide-scale affects, and management strategies.

Endangered coho salmon in coastal streams within the Golden Gate National Recreational Area and Point Reyes National Seashore may be on the verge of disappearing from these sites. These populations are affected by what happens in both their stream and ocean habitats.

Are human activities causing climate change?

The sun's activity does affect Earth's seasonal cycles, but on timescales of thousands of years.

We are seeing impacts in many places around the world. Many fragile ecosystems and cultural resources are in danger of disappearing forever.

While alternative energy producers may be more expensive in the short-term, when long-term costs such as pollution, global warming, and quality of life are factored in, alternative energy is by far more cost effective.

While we may use the terms "climate" and "weather" interchangeably, they are two very different things. "Weather" describes day-to-day conditions; "Climate" is the average of these weather conditions over long periods of time. As Mark Twain put it, "Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get."

When faced with a question, scientists first develop a "hypothesis" and then subject their hypothesis to rigorous experimentation and observation, a process called the "scientific method."

According to a recent survey by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 97 percent of climate scientists agree that global climate change is occurring and that human activity is the primary cause.

One individual CAN make a difference, and even small efforts can add up to big change when people work together.

Earth's temperature fluctuates naturally over tens of thousands to millions of years. Scientists take these fluctuations into account when they assert that we are currently experiencing unique conditions in Earth's history.