Wednesday night's town hall conversation on Santa Barbara's survival in the time of climate change ran along parallel tracks of thought that jumped occasionally but never quite met. The issues were both broad — what will the future bring? what should we do now? — and specific — how will Montecito rebuild? don't vote for Prop. 70 — and the answers plentiful. But by the end, the question they were answering was definitely somewhere out there; I just couldn't find it. The talk had been about fire, flood, drought, and social justice — all dire, all imminent, altogether confusing.
But maybe it was my notes, which were scribbled in the dark during the two-hour meeting. The Granada Theatre lights were dim and the house crowded with people coming and going along the narrow aisles. A VIP section was set up in the orchestra for those wanting front seats to the apocalypse, which may recur in 100 or 200 years. Or maybe next year. It all depended on who spoke.
A video is being edited of the meeting, said Karl Hutterer, one of many who quietly worked behind the scenes to help organize the summit, so readers will have a chance to catch the town hall later. A recap of the interesting bits follows.
