Erosion and Debris In Santa Cruz, California — By Josiah Cerda
WHERE OCEAN MEETS MOUNTAIN
Santa Cruz, California is home to thousands and thousands of people and is also the hub of tons of vacation seekers. This Northern Californian, breezy, little city is a simplistic coast line city with a variety of lovely beaches that stretch for miles. This particular city is known for being relatively environmental conscious, with a rep of being full of ‘tree huggers’ and ‘hippies.’ This town has a quaint downtown that attracts people but most importantly draws its attractions through its stellar surfing layout and wildlife abundant ecosystems with their mountains and beaches. Residents are extremely passionate of their beloved Santa Cruz and take pride in being a ‘local.’ Tourists come throughout the whole year, whether it be warm long summers or even holiday vacation seasons. With this abundance of people constantly going in and out, and constantly present it is natural for their affect to wear on a environment but these issues are perpetually growing bigger and more threatening to wildlife in Santa Cruz as a whole.
Best of Both World, Forest and Ocean
Erosion of the Coast
Santa Cruz, like many other coastal cities of all around the world and in California, erosion has become a significant issue. With the ongoing problem of climate change, and the continuously rising sea levels this problem just bigger and bigger. There are ways in which the rising sea levels pose threats to the human life and houses on the coast line but with the ocean there is only delaying an issue rather than preventing it entirely. The environmental issues behind climate change go hand in hand with the problem of rising sea levels. These rising sea levels are slowly (or maybe not so slowly) eating away at the cliffs in Santa Cruz. This coastal city is lined with beach houses that fill the coastline of Santa Cruz and with the ocean eating away at the cliffs it poses a major issues to the future of housing in this city. Housing and families, whether resident or vacation properties, are forced backwards further and further away from the edge due to the safety precautions that surround this issue.
The causes of erosion vary. The causes of erosion in Santa Cruz is related to multiple things. Climate change plays a role in erosion because with climate change comes warmer weather and rising sea levels. These sea levels that are chipping away and increasing erosion. Another issue that runs alongside the problem of climate change are the vigorous storms that have only gotten worse over the years that climate change has worsened. Storms, like El Nino, has contributed to the eroding coastline of Santa Cruz and can only be expected in the future timeline as well. However, outside of climate change, people influence the coastline erosion in other ways as well. Man made action effect the beaches and their erosion rate with things such as dams and sand mining, both of which accelerate erosion extensively. Outside of the causes to erosion accelerating it may be beneficial how erosion is caused physically.
Erosion is causes by waves and the oceans currents that are beating against the sand, cliff walls, and surfaces they meet at. Erosion is heavily backed by the currents in the particular place and that current and wave pattern is heavily based on weather patterns and environmental reactions of human actions.
The speed of erosion in Santa Cruz has expedited to alarming rates. As of 2018 erosion to Santa Cruz coastline was on average of a foot but that was multiple years and has since only gotten worse. Santa Cruz cliff side housing and businesses are said to be taken back by the ocean as early as 2060 and this issue of of reclaiming is predicted to be stretched into it’s downtown city by 2100. The erosion to the coastline is only growing into a larger and larger issue and these rates are already alarming and predicted to only get worse.
Sunset meets Erosion of Santa Cruz Dock
Nature Wins Every time
When it comes to a battle with nature, humans have learned that nature wins each time. With something as immense as the ocean, the ocean will inevitably be victorious. While this issue of erosion of coast lines has been an issue all throughout the country, Santa Cruz and the West coast as a whole seemed to face it slightly delayed. With colder ocean temperatures and climates, and less of a rise all around Santa Cruz coastline faces this issue of rising sea levels today. With so much of this city and the community on the very edge of the coast every inch that is given back to nature is pivotal. However, while this is a major issue for people of the community it is large result of human actions that the planet sea levels are rising in the first place. It really is a full circle process where humans have neglected nature and contributed to the environmental issues that have overcome our planet and then show anger toward nature for simple running its course.
An important question that arises amidst this issue is Santa Cruz better or worse off?
Santa Cruz needs to be prioritized. The elements threatening Santa Cruz’s future are very serious and have the chance to be stopped. Santa Cruz is definitely better off being made a priority because of how much life lives on this coastline. Santa Cruz, as an entire city, is valued for it’s beach cities. The homes, businesses, and restaurants that line this coastline and cliffs are what make this city what it is so it is important to preserve the edges of land they sit on. This society of Santa Cruz would be much more worse off if this issue of erosion isn’t taken seriously. The culture, history, and love behind this city is important to preserve but most importantly the ecosystems and environmental wildlife that lives on the land in Santa Cruz. This erosion that is eating away at the coastline threatens all the land based wildlife, as well as, the human life that exists. While the damage has increased and has some major work to be done this city as a whole would be much more worse off is not focused on going forward. Santa Cruz would be much more better off if prioritized and focused on in regards to environmental issues.
Sunset in Santa Cruz
Chain Reaction of Climate Change
Climate change has become a growing issue for many years now, and climate change is a main proponent to rising sea levels. It is well understood that the main driving factor behind climate change is human activity. The fossil fuels emitted by humans are a major factor in climate change and constantly growing worse. While a portion of people make efforts to be environmentally conscious it truly is a global issue that must be tackled to enact real change. It is common knowledge that humans, their actions, and mass release of fossil fuel emissions are the main cause behind climate change but the chain reaction that leads to sea levels rising, land erosion, and then eventually housing issues and life on coastal lines being taken away at sea may be a more complex chain to follow.
chain reactions broken down:
-human actions lead to climate change
-climate change lead to rising sea levels
-rising sea levels lead to erosion of the coast line
To Please: The Flat Beach, Not Cliff View of Santa Cruz
cause and effect behind climate change
causes — effects
-pollution — rising temperatures
-transportation methods — rising sea levels
-consumerism and waste — loss of ecosystems and the wildlife
-destruction of the forest — weather that can’t be predicted
the list to both goes on and on
To Please: Overflowing Trash and Carelessness
The Basics
The first and most important, while it may seem simple is to be more conscious of your impact on the environment. As mentioned and highlighted, human actions are what creates these much larger issues behind rising sea levels and erosions but they see it happening and remove themselves from being a problem. It may seem like as an individual you do not make a difference but you truly do. It must start somewhere and every environmental issue can be helped through one’s own actions.
Basic Actions each individual can take to help:
- reduce one’s water waste
- look into more renewable energy options
- reduce one’s waste overall
- look into earth friendlier commute options
- reduce your “consumerism”
- educate yourself
- use your voice and spread awareness
Bigger Picture
With this particular issue surrounding Santa Cruz’s coastline it is important to think ‘bigger picture.’ The rising sea levels that Santa Cruz faces has led to an abundance of erosion along their communities coast. This issue is one that can be contained but ultimately is too far gone to be entirely fixed. As the ocean erodes the cliffs that hold so many business, homes, and human activity it is only a matter of time before the inevitable. However, there are current fixes that can be made to help fix the current problem. Santa Cruz community and other environmentalists concerned with the fate of the city must look into solutions and raising money for things such as sea walls. The barriers can help buy time for the community to make some changes and adjust their living and business venture to relocate. Sea walls are barriers that can battle the rising sea level by simply acting as a ‘wall.’ However, this solution as well is almost a ‘bandaid’ to the inevitable.
What is Being Done to Stop Erosion
In order to stop erosion in Santa Cruz there are plethora of things being down big and small. Alongside very individual efforts there are people trying to form initiatives for the community to follow, raises awareness, and gather resources for. Santa Cruz has built barriers to block and slow the damage of the coast but aside from that the community has created things such as the Resilient Coast Santa Cruz Initiative. This initiative is raising awareness of the erosion on the coastline and gathering volunteers and funding to supports the milestones. Within their milestones they hope to hit three major accomplishments: assessing coastlines structuring, completion of infrastructure updates in policy form, and lastly the completion of those policy reforms to infrastructure. They are attempting to enact change to stop erosion in not only their personal actions but larger scale actions that the community can contribute to as a whole.
What Must be Done to Enact Big Change
To enact bigger change Santa Cruz county has created a few plans to address, control, and help coastal erosion. The county has turned their focus to the environment and creating these long term plans to stretch for five to ten years and enact a positive change or turn in the right direction in regards to the erosion problem. The two plans that were drawn up and brought up were taking a look at the Local Coastal Program and the Adaption and Management Plan. These two plans are ideas that can be looked at as a societal whole for things that must be argued and fought for in order for big change to be accomplished. These plans entail a lot of different things. The West Cliff Adaption and Management Plan is a detailed outline of both short and long term procedures and adaption processes that will be implemented and set in place in order to prevent erosion and work towards protection. This plan covers prevention measures, shoreline restoration, structure for protection, moving assets over time, structure for the future generation, and alternative measure that will damage the environment the least. One of the main initiatives behind this management plan is removing transportation by the automotive. With the coast being eaten away by the waves it will be realistic and helpful to narrow the road to a one way and eventually pushing back car transportation methods altogether. Having alternative methods of transportation, such as by foot or by bicycle, as the main way to reach the beach and water is an environmentally friendly way to reduce the space used and help the planet as well. The plan also includes prevention measures to enact right away and over time. Things in the prevention measures include: coastal access control, water management (storm water), rip raps, soil tie walls, and sea walls. This extensive plan covers a large and structured layout that society can restructure around and follow in hopes to change the future of the land. The second plan that is drawn up in hopes to bring change and protection to Santa Cruz’s coast is the bringing focus to the Local Coastal Program. Within this plan it focuses on the idea of remodeling Santa Cruz layout, rather then just redeveloping and adding on top of the issues at hand. With remodeling on the horizon it leaves more room for the restructuring to the coastal city in a way that takes the issues of erosion into consideration.
Giving Back to Nature
Eventually the land will be taken by nature. The issue of rising sea levels and erosion can definitely be helped and aided but things like seawalls are temporary as well. The land and cliffs that the ocean is eroding away and taking back to the sea is the sad truth. However, it is important for people to be aware that this land eventually will be going back to nature, and in a way is beyond repair from the current damage. This does not mean that rising sea levels are hopeless, but for the regions and cliffs of Santa Cruz that are already eroding it is important to take the proper preparations and let those areas already to far gone go back to nature. However, going forward this must be wake up call to take action. What is lost is lost but by loving your environment and all the wildlife it holds it will love you back. It is important not to neglect the nature that surrounds because it can come back to bite you and in this situation erode the sea cliffs you reside and consume with human activity. Taking action to be more sustainable, whether it be small or big, is vital for environmental change. Looking at Santa Cruz and all the beauty that consumes it, it may seem like a simple decision to take action and help their environmental. However, enacting change and spreading awareness are vital because actions are always more powerful then simple words.
Based on the sources I provided below, things in Santa Cruz look relatively bleak. Things look very grim and in my own opinion while they may look bleak, there is always hope. With environmentally issues sometimes being hopeful can be a very hard, especially when damage surpasses a certain point but for the city of Santa Cruz I believe there is a chance. Santa Cruz is an extremely valued city, especially to the locals, and is worth being made a priority with hopes to turn this bleak future around. Based on other sources they come from a very blunt standpoint; a standpoint that believes things in Santa Cruz have a very difficult path to overcoming the problem of erosion. However, the path may be difficult but it is not impossible. With certain precautions taken, plans put in place, and overall awareness truly heightened with the concern of coastal erosion in Santa Cruz as a priority there is definitely room for improvement and overall saving to this coastal county and town.
Resources:
The California coast is disappearing under the rising SEA. our choices are grim. (2019, July 07). Retrieved April 30, 2021, from https://www.latimes.com/projects/la-me-sea-level-rise-california-coast/
How much would it cost to end climate change? (2021, April 20). Retrieved April 30, 2021, from https://www.globalgiving.org/learn/cost-to-end-climate-change