Bummer: Chinatown in SF Is Already Living Through Climate Doom

Reading something like this reinforces that this is not about science, but, hardcore leftist politics

San Francisco’s Chinatown is already living through the climate crisis

Climate change is no longer distant. It is not a future event or a theoretical debate. It is already reshaping daily life in San Francisco’s Chinatown.

This is one of the city’s oldest and most culturally rooted neighborhoods. It is home to 14,000 residents and more than 900 small businesses. These are not statistics. They are grandmothers living in single-room apartments, restaurant workers cooking with the windows closed, kids studying next to space heaters. The stakes are personal and immediate.

The majority of buildings were built decades ago, with little to no insulation or ventilation planning. Most do not have the structural capacity to respond to heat waves, wildfire smoke, or storm flooding. Poor air circulation compounds indoor heat and traps pollution. During wildfire season, many residents are forced to keep their windows closed, with only a small crack for airflow. Even then, the air inside remains heavy with smoke.

Chinatown is rather high, at least 64 meters, above sea level, and is on the downward slope of Nob Hill: water runs downhill, it doesn’t sit there. As for smoke, perhaps they should tell their governor and elected officials to manage the forested areas properly? It’s also a built up area: air circulation is never the best. Nothing to do with Hocoldwetdry

Children and elders are especially at risk. According to data from San Francisco Health Improvement Partnership, Chinatown’s geography and building density make it harder for air to circulate. Tall structures and narrow streets form physical barriers that concentrate vehicle emissions and ambient toxins. This leads to sustained poor air quality, especially harmful to young lungs and aging respiratory systems.

See? How is this Your Fault for driving a fossil fueled vehicle?

This is not just about temperature or weather. It is about access to breathable air, functional housing, and the basic right to live in health and dignity. And it is compounded by economic precarity and the lack of emergency support structures.

So, it’s not really about a small increase in global temperatures since 1850? Or coming doom?

During wet weather, the steep slopes of Chinatown become hazardous. Many elders avoid leaving their homes during storms, which cuts them off from groceries and community services. One rainy season can mean months of isolation or malnutrition for seniors who already face mobility challenges.

Many of the buildings serve multiple purposes — homes, religious spaces, restaurants, family businesses, childcare centers — all operating within the same footprint. The infrastructure was not built for environmental resilience. Outdated materials and inadequate retrofitting lead to higher energy bills, greater indoor exposure to extreme temperatures, and greater vulnerability during power outages or heat events.

OK, and? Perhaps if it wasn’t so darned expensive in SF something could be done. Why is ‘climate change’ being mentioned?

Climate resilience cannot be reserved for the well-resourced. It must start with those already bearing the burden. San Francisco’s cultural districts, and the people who built them, deserve more than symbolic recognition. They deserve action.

So, government must allocate a lot of money to this and pass it through NGOs which skim off huge chunks and feed some back to Democrat politicians. Perhaps they would be better off putting the money into policing and crime reduction programs. It’s not a particularly safe area.

Also, notice that the people who bitch the most never offer to help with their own time and/or money.