Rosanna Xia brings hope for environmental reporting to Cal Poly Humboldt

by Emma Wilson

Rosanna Xia, an environmental reporter from The Los Angeles Times, visited Cal Poly Humboldt on Thursday, Nov. 30 in the library.

After the student lunch-and-learn event, Xia attended Professor Sarah Ray’s class, called Power Privilege and the Environment, as a guest speaker. She was also a guest speaker in Professor Laurie Richmond’s Coastal and Marine Planning class. 

Later that day, she gave a thought provoking presentation in the Native American Forum from 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. on her newly published book, “California Against the Sea, Visions for our Vanishing Coastline,” discussing hope for environmental studies, science and journalism students. 

After the presentation, Xia did a book signing for all who purchased her book. 

“This book is dedicated to all the people who cherish and belong to the California coast–past, present, and well into the future,” she wrote in her book’s dedication. 

Writing for the LA Times, Xia tackles stories on the California Coast and the concerns about sea level rise and the effects they have on communities up and down the coast of California.

One takeaway from Xia’s presentation is to take an important look to the past to understand the present in the context of how we need to move into the future. 

“You know, it’s stunning to think about how so many folks today that I run into still don’t really recognize the way we’ve built our environments today,” Xia said. “Our cities or communities are so rooted in very specific systems, from the near past on, how we chose to zone some places for industrial use, and others for residential use.” 

According to Xia, when writing and reporting on environmental issues, it is important to verify information, and to create space with trust where you listen and absorb someone’s perspectives.

“I have a personal rule when I’m reporting, which is trust, but verify,” Xia said. “And I think because it’s so important, to create a space where you are truly listening to someone, and absorbing their truth and absorbing their perspectives. I truly go into these conversations, trusting what someone is telling me. And then, it’s my job to verify, and to verify in a way that doesn’t disempower the person.”