Building upon a Pulitzer finalist Los Angeles Times explanatory piece on sea level rise, Rosanna Xia’s California Against the Sea explores our shifting relationship with the space between land and sea. “Few people are more qualified to explain and analyze this landscape.” (Science Magazine)

Xia’s courtyard conversation with Santa Barbara oceanography professor Dr. Stephanie Mendes is not to be missed by anyone who loves the wide horizon of our California coast.

Listen to Rosanna Xia on NPR’s Here and Now

“I’m constantly wrestling with how I want the reader to feel at the end of any story about climate change. The more I’ve tried to balance the “right” amount of hope versus despair, or an urgent sense of loss, I’ve come to realize that it’s not the feeling of hope that I should be indexing on. It’s responsibility. We have a responsibility to take better care of the air we breathe, the forests we rely on, and, of course, the ocean, this massive body of water that has quietly absorbed the brunt of our emissions. We have a duty to clean up these messes of our past, and to reconsider how we want to live in the future. And embracing this responsibility takes courage.

I feel like courage, and not being afraid of change—and being brave enough to question whether we need to change—is at the heart of both our books. Can we reimagine and rebuild in a way that is in better relationship with our natural world?” from Wildfires and Vanishing Coastlines: Rosanna Xia and Lizzie Johnson on Turning Their Climate Reporting into Books

This event is free to attend, no need to RSVP. Come join us, buy a book, and grab a seat in our courtyard.
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