pages: CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2018-05-09.pdf, 5
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CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities | 2018-05-09 | 5 | COMMISSION ON DISABILITY MEETING MUTES OF Wednesday May 9, 2018 6:30 p.m. will lead to a greater number of people with disabilities and exacerbate disabilities, which is certainly something pertinent to this commission. There will be economic disruptions which I know certainly, I think people with disabilities rely on the modern economy and social services a whole lot more in some ways than able-bodied folks do. So certainly, if that goes haywire, that'll affect our community. Alex Ghenis: And then other issues, I'd say, widespread migration and displacement in climate refugees here. But one of the things that Alameda's initial scoping shows is that, if certain parts of the city in the very long-term, start to deal with sea level rising go under water, then the city might have to plan a certain amount of managed retreat from certain parts of the island of Alameda. Really quickly, we can't stop it. And I love Al Gore and 350.org, and the rest of that. But the reality is that if you look at the left side of this slide, this was from actually the mid 2000s, one of the International Panel on Climate Change graphs. And you can see where we've come from 1850 in terms of average surface temperature. And depending on how much we omit moving forward, that blue is the lowest optimistic scenario, which a lot of people are saying is pretty much not going to happen, and things can go all the way up to the red. And if some of the nature's feedback loops go, then it can go even more than that. Again, it's a very serious issue for us. Alex Ghenis: It's important for us to adapt. And this actually I think is one of the most under addressed issues, but something that really, really matters for society and saving lives and well being. And I see it as two main steps, which is, number one, generate general resiliency in society in general. This is economic resiliency. This is strong social systems. This is strong infrastructure. And whether you're focusing on climate change or otherwise, this is really valuable. The Bay Area might get hit by an earthquake. If we have more community and infrastructure resilience, in the face of climate change, it's beneficial regardless. And then finally, situation focused planning, on the many impacts of climate change. And I'll talk about the specific ones that Alameda is looking at in a minute. And this all does take time, partnerships, very detailed planning and resources. And it's best to start early and really invest with a strong forward looking plan. So adaptive climate justice. People talk about climate justice, is that the basics are certain vulnerable communities will get hit hardest by climate change. Alex Ghenis: What we've found in our research, and in a lot of the literature and planning, is that people with disabilities are just a word in a list of "vulnerable communities" as opposed to recognizing kind of the intersectionality, the diversity of types of disabilities and the diversity of needs. But certainly other communities are developing countries and the global south. Economically disempowered individuals, which is a focus of the city's resilience planning. People of color and religious and ethnic minorities that might be marginalized already. And then again, people with disabilities. Adaptive climate justice says, first of all, this is something we all care about period is, address the root causes of vulnerability and disproportionate kind of marginalization, and make sure that that isn't there on the baseline. Provide the resources for people to have a healthy, sustainable life. But then as we are preparing for climate change, recognize that certain communities will need specialized, focused resources for the future. Provide those and continue to provide them into the future, using what we call an equity framework. Alex Ghenis: Don't just say, "We're going to give out all the resources equally and everybody will be happy.' Recognize that some people need more and then distribute them in an equitable way. So 05/30/18 Page 5 of 32 | CommissiononPersonswithDisabilities/2018-05-09.pdf |