Review by Evelyn Williamson
Welcome back to the OAP Book Club!
California Against the Sea: Visions for Our Vanishing Coastline by Rosanna Xia
In this book, LA Times reporter Rosanna Xia spoke with experts, activists and local leaders up and down the state to show how different communities are responding to (or refusing to respond to) sea level rise. This book mixes a lot of topics besides climate science including the social and natural history of California, socio-economic issues and racial inequities in the communities she visits. Xia does a great job illuminating some of the specific challenges ahead of us, and while moments in the book paint a bleak picture, overall I felt hopeful after reading it. One of the strengths of this book is that Xia lets the people she speaks to tell the story, and it was inspiring to me to see how many intelligent, thoughtful people are putting their energy into solving the problem roaring towards us. Several chapters in the book focus on cities and communities around the bay, including a look at environmental justice work being done in East Oakland. On top of all that, this book was easy to read, with a natural flow and descriptive narrative. I highly recommend it!
