California is experiencing the acceleration of unprecedented climate disasters. Many of our communities have lived through the first few phases of climate disasters and now have the opportunity to apply lessons we have learned to how we prepare ourselves for the current and additional impending crises: Most California localities are wildly underprepared. Some of the biggest challenges have been language access, cultural relevancy, and bridging the gaps of racial and economic inequities and emergency response models that are siloed and do not address community needs before, during, and after a crisis. Smaller, more community-driven organizations have been more effective than larger NGO or government entities in reaching those most in need, and yet are profoundly underresourced.
There is no time to waste. As we prepare for and recover from climate crises, our communities are seeing that we can’t rebuild with the same values that resulted in the destruction we are seeing all around us. We must rebuild with the common good at the center of our communities, our governance models, and our relationship to the land, air, water, energy, and one another.