This conference, held once every five years, offers presentations of research and discussions by professionals about issues concerning Santa Monica Bay and its watersheds. It’s presented by the Bay Foundation, The Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission, and Loyola Marymount University (LMU). This year’s edition, held on September 9, was sponsored by Mia Lehrer + Associates, Urban Design and Landscape Architecture.
The conference might seem aimed at specialists, but in fact it was very accessible to members of the public who care about the environment, especially Ballona Creek and watershed, Ballona Wetlands and Santa Monica Bay. There were 4 concurrent sessions for most of the presentations so that attendees had to choose: Water Resources and Climate Change; Water Quality; Urban Watersheds; and Marine Resources. The conference and breakout sessions were held mostly in LMU’s new state-of-the-art Life Sciences Building, which has excellent air-conditioning that was worth the price of admission. Bobbi Gold and Jim Lamm attended on behalf of BCR.
So was the news depressing? No. It did point out that we’ll have to make considerable adjustments to deal with sea level rise and global warming, and other resulting challenges such as increasing ocean acidity, reduced oxygen, and intrusion of seawater into fresh water supplies. But there were plenty of examples of how we’re already coping with environmental change and working to minimize it.