Every day we read something about the global effects of changes in our climate: Arctic snow melts and how they affect polar bears, marine transportation and oil exploration; Midwestern farmers experiencing changes in growing seasons; water shortages; and thousands of heat records in the U.S. in March. We are also beginning to feel these changes closer to home: In San Diego County, we experienced record-high temperatures, snow in the mountains and flood-generating rain in a span of three weeks. Changes are happening and we feel the effects in our collective regional “backyard.”