Halloween has just passed, yet some may realize how hot it is even after October and going into November. 

Climate change has been a pressing topic and City College’s environmental studies faculty knows the insights into climate change struggles.

According to a recent report, massive coral die-offs signal the Earth passing a major “climate tipping point.” As the United States goes through the process of withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement, there may be potential increases or effects of climate change.

But how does this affect Santa Barbara?

“Overfishing in the [Santa Barbara] Channel is apparent,” Environmental horticulture professor Michael Gonella said. “The number and diversity of fish has diminished in the last 50-75 years.” Gonella has spoken with fishermen about the recall of fishing off the pier as a kid. Gonella said fishermen were able to easily catch a variety of different kinds of fish and in greater numbers than are present now.

Climate change in the county isn’t merely impending anymore, but many signs of it have already arrived, according to experts. 

According to the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management’s (OEM) February 2023 Multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan report, fire risk in the county, indicated by acreage burned, is expected to increase to around 23,040 acres a year by 2030. 

An article by the Santa Barbara Independent had reported that access to around 200 beaches in and around Santa Barbara County will become inaccessible due to sea level rise. 

“If things continue, we will see sea level rise effects in Santa Barbara city and county, especially in populated waterfront areas like the city of Santa Barbara,” Gonella said. “Where businesses and residential homes are directly on the coast.” 

These and many other consequences of climate change have been occurring around the world for years. 

“It’s not new,” Biological sciences and marine biology professor Michelle Paddack said. 

Paddack sat in her office in the Earth and Biological Sciences Building, which looked out toward the sea through her third-story window and said that researchers have known about the climate’s issues. 

“This is something all [researchers] have known and have been yelling about trying to get the public to pay attention to for decades,” Paddack said.

Ultimately, Paddack explained this recent “climate tipping point” is only the beginning.

“[It’s] only a sad confirmation of what we already know to be true,” Paddack said. “We’ve all been working really hard to keep us from this place and hoping that we wouldn’t reach this moment in time, but we are undeniably here.” 

As conditions continue to worsen, Gonella encourages people to be mindful of their consumption and carbon emissions. 

Eating seafood may seem counterintuitive, but it actually helps the environment more than eating land-grown meat products.

“Eating seafood, although a locally finite product, helps the great problem because seafood takes much less fossil fuel to produce than land-grown food,” Gonella said. 

However, mitigating climate change is more than just changing one’s lifestyle. Paddack said that one should participate in their civic government to push local and national policy toward a more climate-conscious direction.

“Of course I would say vote,” Paddack said. “Taking part in your civic system, even at the local level is really critical.”

Paddack said educating oneself on the issue of climate change is also very important. 

“Having a little bit of scientific literacy is critical,” Paddack said.“I think that the sharing of knowledge and the resource of finding, the source of this knowledge, is really, really important.”

As climate experts, professors at City College and many across the country continue to work towards negating the effects of climate change, they emphasize the importance of joining the fight.