Pacifica Against the Sea?

*** Update *** We're delighted by the response to this event, that is now at capacity and no longer accepting Wait List RSVPs and will also not be able to accept walkups.  (All who had been on the Wait List  were notified via email on Tues, 2/27,  that the event is at capacity and won't be able to be accommodated.)    

The hosting organizations have made arrangements with PCT26, our local community television station, to record the program for availability after the event.    

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Pacifica Historical Society, Pacifica Climate Committee and Pacifica's Environmental Family invite you to join us for this free and thought-provoking program, Sun, March 3, 2024, beginning at 1:00 pm at the Pedro Point Firehouse.

Rosanna Xia, a Los Angeles Times reporter and author who covers the California coast, andGary Griggs, a noted coastal expert and UC Santa Cruz professor, will discuss the impact of rising sea levels at a March 3 event at the Pedro Point Firehouse.  The program, entitled “Pacifica Against the Sea?”, is sponsored by the Pacifica Climate Committee, Pacifica's Environmental Family, Pacifica Historical Society and the Pedro Point Community Association.

Xia is the author of “California Against the Sea: Visions for Our Vanishing Coastline,” published by Heyday Books and the winner of the Golden Poppy Award for best 2023 California nonfiction work.  Xia’s book focuses on California communities struggling because of rising sea levels. Pacifica is featured in a chapter entitled “A Town on the Edge” that traces the city’s difficulties in addressing its crumbling shoreline. Xia wrote about Pacifica in deeply researched Los Angeles Times articles in 2022 that led to her being named as a Pulitzer Prize finalist.

Griggs is a Distinguished Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at UC Santa Cruz with expertise in coastal erosion, sea level rise and geologic hazards. He has served on the State of California’s Ocean Protection Council’s Sea Level Rise Task Force, producing the “Sea Level Rise Guidance, 2024 Science and Policy Update”. Griggs also has studied the challenges facing Pacifica, having written the evaluation for the Beach Boulevard Seawall Replacement Project.

Xia and Griggs have “devoted considerable time and energy to how coastal communities are affected by the changing coastline,” said Nancy Tierney of the Pacifica Climate Committee, one of the event sponsors. “We all stand to benefit from learning more about the nature of the environmental changes and how some communities have responded.”

The program will start with an invocation and recognition of native tribes that for centuries cared for the coast by Catalina Gomes of the Muchia Te` Indigenous Land Trust and a descendent of the Rammaytush, Salinan and Bay Miwok. Pat Kremer of the Pacifica Historical Society will give a brief visual presentation of the changes along Pacifica’s shoreline.

The program will conclude with a book signing by Xia. Attendees can purchase books at the event or bring books to be signed by the author. “California Against the Sea” can also be bought at Pacifica’s local bookseller Florey’s, 2120 Palmetto Ave.

The program starts at 1 p.m. at the Pedro Point Firehouse, 1227 Danmann Ave., and is free. Carpooling, walking and biking are recommended due to limited parking adjacent to the venue. Those planning to attend are asked to RSVP

Don't have the book yet?  Order a copy at our local bookstore, Florey's Book Co, 2120 Palmetto Ave, Pacifica.  650.355.8811.  

Bring your book to the event to be signed by Rosanna Xia!  A small number of copieswill also be available at the event.

Consider car-pooling, walking, or biking to the event.  Limited neighborhood parking otherwise will require a short walk to the charming historic venue.