From shrinking beaches to crumbling cliffs, rising sea levels are reshaping California’s coasts. So, do we need to change our connection with the sea?
That’s one of the questions at the heart of journalist Rosanna Xia’s forthcoming debut book, “California Against the Sea: Visions for our Vanishing Coastline.”
Xia, who has spent years traversing the state’s shores as a coastal reporter for the LA Times, says responding to sea level rise will require us to do more than barricading ourselves from the waves or retreating inland — we’ll need to rethink our relationship with coastal ecosystems.
“So many people today think of the coast as static, as this fixed line in the sand,” says Xia. “And so part of the shift in our relationship with the ocean is to recognize that the coast itself is supposed to move, that the ocean is supposed to move, and that we're supposed to move with it.”
The book features interviews with researchers studying the rising tides of coastal California, plus stories of how past and present California communities have navigated changes in the landscape.
Drawing from Indigenous knowledge and modern-day research, Xia explores the various ways Californians might handle our climate future.
“We haven't even really started this conversation yet, this reset with the ocean that I think radically needs to happen sooner than later,” says Xia. “Once we actually take that first step past the starting line, I wonder if it's still going to feel like a race [with rising sea levels], or if we will feel more in harmony with how we could live with the ocean.”
Rosanna Xia, author of "California Against the Sea," is at the beach in Santa Monica. Photo by Saul Gonzalez.
Xia says she hopes that the book will serve not as a fatalistic forecast, but as a map for how we can move forward.
“There's a lot of hope. There's also a lot of courage that I'm asking people to embrace,” she says. “We are running out of time, but there still is time, and that is something that I think is really important to remember.”