Those of us who live and work on the West Coast or in California experience life on the continental edge. As the climate changes, as the ocean gets higher, San Francisco Bay bigger, and storms wetter; as wildfires and summer heat intensify; as we juggle the complexities of life during extremes of both culture and weather, how will you react? Acclimatewest is an independent hub for stories about people and places engaged in the work of becoming more resilient. We tell stories around watersheds, translate and celebrate science, offer resources, demystify government initiatives, network and collaborate, and dare you individually and collectively to act.
AcclimateWest is an experimental independent storytelling project created by writers who regularly cover environmental stories in the San Francisco Bay region. We are working to develop collaborative relationships with public media, public interest agencies, and communities both locally and on the West Coast as we explore and prepare for climate change. This site is a work in progress. Help us build it with your ideas, stories, art, support. See ABOUT.
Inspired by the AIDs quilt, we invite individuals, schools, communities, and organizations to stitch some digital quilt squares. Join our quilting bee as a message of hope and solidarity.
CITIZEN QUILT tells stories of individual acts of resilience, from planting fruits and veg in a suburban driveway to hydrating herbs with dishwater to forgoing burgers.
BIZ QUILT offers a patchwork of organizations and businesses with a special interest in environmental quality or resilience. Write up an organization you admire or a business doing the right thing.
NEXT-GEN QUILT reveals the hopes, fears, and insights of those who will inherit our climate successes and failures, from teenagers to college students to young professionals.
On AcclimateWest, we write about real places and real people on waterfronts, creek fronts, or shorelines interacting with San Francisco Bay and rising sea levels. We’ve chosen these waterways as places to start our explorations, but plan to expand as we hear more of your stories.
Can you Ramp it Up, Scale it Up? Everyone does a little for the planet. Maybe its swapping out light bulbs, taking shorter showers, choosing paper over plastic, riding the bus or planting a tree. Meet our challenge and help yourself to help the planet!
Ever sampled the water quality in your local creek or slough? Tested the amount of dust, allergens, particulate matter in your air? Tracked the migrations of birds along the shoreline or counted the number of cigarette butts found on a beach? Citizen science can help us learn about how healthy our local environment is for both humans and wildlife. it can also help other scientists collect information. Kids can help too.