The world and humanity are in the dangerous crosshairs of Climate Change. As our modern age has increased the release of non-naturally occurring Greenhouse Gases because we have stepped up our demand for fossil fuels. These Greenhouse Gases traps heat from the sun. As the amount of Greenhouse Gases increase, so does the heat trapped in the atmosphere. As the planet gets warmer, we begin to see the effects. Disease, wildfires, polluted water, drought, sea level rise, and mass extinction are possible outcomes if the current culture of reliance on plastic, fossil fuels, and pollution continue.
As the effects of Climate Change increases the global temperature, the polar ice caps will melt and increase sea levels across the globe. In California that means more saltwater into rivers and deltas decreasing the amount of water available for people who rely on them. Coastal flooding hazards become an increasing issue as saltwater infiltrates into coastal aquifers Beaches would normally migrate inland, but with infrastructure being unmovable, the sea will engulf many roads, homes, and population centers.
California is known as the Golden State in part to the Gold Rush of the 19th century, the immense fields of golden poppies that bloom in the spring, and the golden hills and landscapes during the summer months. However, California has been in a declared drought state for nearly two decades. Climate science has increasingly focused on the establishing climate fingerprints in diverse meteorological phenomena around the world from heat waves, coastal erosion from sea level rise, storms and floods, increased frequency and severity of flooding, and the level of torrential rain and severe drought.