Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
One of the things humans do best is adapt. With hope, some of the historic
resilience of estuarine organisms will help the ecosystem adjust as well.
However, parts of the ecosystem may be too stressed already to cope with
this additional challenge.
The bay region will soon need to decide what to save and what to let go.
Planners say that expensive investments like airports, bridge approaches,
and urban downtowns will have to be protected. And they say help will
have to be provided to low-income residents in the flood zone.
BCDC is shifting its focus from saving a shrinking bay to managing a
growing one. The first step is to assess and pinpoint vulnerable areas. Local
and regional governments will then have to figure out just how bad it
could get. Estimates will need to be made of the risk to life, limb, property,
and local ecology.
Instead of just focusing on the reduction of greenhouse gases by curb-
ing emissions, regional agencies hope to spearhead a combination of miti-
gation and adaptation. In 2008, BCDC began working jointly with the As-
sociation of Bay Area Governments (ABAG; cities and counties), the
Urban development surrounds the bay, creating congestion, smog, and greenhouse
gases. (Max Eissler)
