A vintage convertible drives down Sunset strip, past the palm trees of Beverly Hills, and to the soft sands alongside the Pacific Coast Highway. The images may seem timeless–- and eternal -– images of Los Angeles. But what if they are all in jeopardy?

Various trends suggest that the day of such gas-powered cars, not to mention the long beaches and even the palm trees are all at risk, largely due to climate change.

“The evidence of climate change is in front of our eyes but everyone prefers to look away,” explains conceptual Artist Perry Vasquez, who communicates about climate change through his paintings.

Well, not eveyone. Various experts and data suggest that rising sea levels are depleting our sands and threatening parts of the Pacific Coast Highway, and many of the Southland’s palm trees are approaching the end of their long life spans. City officials have made clear that many won’t be replanted. Our roads are expected to change too. California plans to end the sale of new gas-powered cars’ by 2035.

Our California beaches are predicted to lose about three-quartes of it's beaches by 2100, according to Sean Vitousek, a research oceanograoher alongside the U.S. Geological Survey. Not only are our beaches and oceans going to be affected by this, but so is Malibu, one of the most famous landmarks of the area, the famous Pacific Coast Highway. The erosion is due to the rising sea levels caused by climate change, leading to more sand being pulled into the ocean and removed from the beaches.

‘The Palms of California’

Palm trees were first brought to California in the late 1700s by Spanish missions and used for religious and biblical services like Palm Sunday, a religious feast that occurs the Sunday before Easter, where Christians carry palm fronds to honor Jesus Christ.

The history of palms making their way to California. (Photo by Piper Vaughn)

The California region began booming and around 40,000 palms were planted by the city. The idea was led by the city's first forestry chief L. Glenn Hall is often characterized as planting the palms as a “beautification project” and was part of a larger “unemployment relief program” before the Summer Olympics as a way to glam up the city and are the same palms that Angelenos and tourists often admire today. The cost to plant a palm tree at the time was $3.60. Today, depending on the type of palm tree, one can expect to pay up to more than $1,000 for a matured plant tree with well grown roots.

By the time Los Angeles next hosted the Olympics in 1984, there were around 75,000 palm trees in the city. Meaning that the first Olympic palms are expected to start dying off starting in 2084.

There are many types of palms in Southern California. Despite the famous trees coating the majestic land of California, not all of the trees are native to the state.

There are 10 types of palm trees in California including: the California Fan Palm, King Palm, True Date Palm, Cuban Royal Palm, Mexican Fan Palm, Queen Palm, Washington Fan Palm, Beach Palm, Canary Island Date Palm, and the Mediterranean Fan Palm.

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Photo of the oldest palm tree in California at Exposition Park. (Photo by Piper Vaughn)

The oldest palm tree in Los Angeles currently resides just outside of the University of Southern California Coliseum. The tree was planted about 200 years ago in the 1800s and is still living today. The tree has been uprooted several times from San Pedro Street. Since then the fan palm moved again and is now located at Exposition Park. The plaque at the bottom of the tree describes the plant being a “mute witness” to the changing of Los Angeles over centuries.

Palm trees face other threats, including weevils and disease. While climate change isn't likely to kill too many of them, it is changing our relationship to our city, and that means municipal leaders don't believe they are worth replanting for an increasingly climate-changed future.

Donald R. Hodel, retired University of California environmental and landscape horticulture advisor for palm trees, says we only have between 20 and 40 years before thousands of palms in Southern California are expected to die and the city is not replacing them. due to the cost of upkeep, and speculation about their role in climate change.

A beetle known as the South American Palm Weevil burrows into the tree and rots the palm. This causes the palm tree to struggle to reproduce its fonds (its leaves) which eventually leads to the death of the palm tree. Fusarium Wilt is a disease of palm trees and is often spread by infected pruning materials.

Faith Campbell, President of the Center for Invasive Species Prevention, says that the US Department of Agriculture has tried to prevent the introduction of plant pests from all trees, including palms under the Plant Protection Act.

Campbell says that palms have become a part of our local ecosystem and need to be protected from the fungus and palm weevils.

“The California Department of Agriculture, I think, is putting some effort into this… because of the iconic aspects of Palm Trees in Southern California,” she said.

The City of Los Angeles doesn’t intend to replant the palms, preferring to instead plant native trees that provide more canopy cover that provide more shade, and that are beneficial for the climate by absorbing CO2, and the economy by adding property value, according to Hodel.

Donald R. Hodel poses in his yard in Lakewood next to foliage in his yard. (Photo by Piper Vaughn)

Hodel says the palms do serve a purpose, “They collect rainwater and channel it down the trunk, helping to conserve it and prevent erosion. They sequester carbon from the environment. They add to property values,” he said.

Meaning, palms are able to remove carbon from the air and absorb it and the palms' iconic look is what adds to property values in Los Angeles.

“[Palms are] highly sought after for their unique motif that they bring to the landscape, you know, conjuring up these images of tropical faraway places,” he said.

Palm Trees are also expensive to plant, cut down, and maintain. Today, planting a palm tree can range between $190 to nearly $20,000 dollars for a California Fan Palm, depending on the size.

Furthermore, if they are not properly cared for, the fronds can fall and cause harm to cars or pedestrians below.

In Los Angeles, Palms are extremely expensive to maintain. Depending on the height and size of the Palm, prices to keep up and trim the fronds can be over $1,000.

Graphic explaining the different costs of palm trees keep up by size.(Photo by Piper Vaughn)

Since then, Vasquez has continued to think about the impact of climate change on the iconography of Southern California, and what might happen if we don’t take suitable action. Vasquez says he paints the palms on fire as a way to confront his fears about climate change.

“When I began painting burning palm trees in 2017, I was responding to a visceral feeling I had when I first saw an image of a burning palm tree. It was a potent experience and made me want to investigate the subject matter more deeply,” he said.

Even though Vasquez enjoys painting the palms, he is not sure about their environmental benefits. “You know, they're prone to catching on fire. So there's a lot of reasons not to replant … as the old ones die,” he said.

“We want trees that return a lot of oxygen to the environment. And that's one of the things that people think about is the carbon footprint. And so by that criteria, palm trees just don't really provide what people want,” said Vasquez.

The death of the palms won't be immediate, it will have a slow start. The palms will slowly start to lose their fronds, and once the palm tree's “heart” dies, that is when the tree's life officially ends.

“I wish that they would understand the amenities and benefits that the palms do provide, and they would understand that trees in general, including palms, are so important to us in this time of global warming. Yet we rarely give trees and palms. The proper requirements and conditions they need for optimal growth and to provide those optimal benefits and amenities,” he said.

‘It's not just the palms that are dying, our sand is deteriorating, too.’

At high tide, the waves completely cover the sand in parts of El Matador Beach in Malibu. (Photo by Piper Vaughn)

The sandy beaches of California are just as famous and loved as the Hollywood and Disney landmarks in SoCal, but the beaches we know today may vanish from parts of Malibu and other coastal areas of Los Angeles County.

A study says that beaches in Oceanside, California, are working to save their sand. The United States Geological Survey from the Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program study predicts that “24 to 75 percent of California's beaches could become completely eroded by the end of the century with no interventions and climate change."

According to the California Government's Division of Boating and Waterways website, “long-term erosion/narrowing of California’s beaches is of great concern to coastal managers as well as the general public, since habitat, recreational opportunities, and shore protection are adversely affected by such loss.” The article does not mention climate change.

Sand loss isn't new to California. Every five to seven years 1.3 million cubic yards of sand are added to beaches in Orange County. But as sea levels rise and more sand is swept into the ocean, this prevents our beaches from thriving in the future, California needs more sand.

Some coastal cities in California are participating in RE:BEACH where three design teams strategize ways to replenish their beaches and protect coastlines from further erosion. The city program could pick a beach to replenish by as early as 2024.

The catch?

Only one beach can win, and whatever the committee chooses, only buys the winning beach sand replenishment for a few decades, providing a potential solution-based pilot program for our beaches.

‘The Worst Air in the World’

The Los Angeles area, home to millions, has among the worst air quality in the United States. According to the American Lung Association State of the Air report, Los Angeles-Long Beach ranked the number 1 area with the worst high ozone day out of over 200 metropolitan areas. With hour-long traffic jams, container ships, and having one of the largest airports in the country. The Los Angeles metropolitan area also ranked in the top 5 for the worst annual particle pollutants out of 200 other metropolitan areas.

In 1975, California was the first state to require auto manufacturers to include catalytic converts to reduce pollutants in car exhaust. California later banned leaded fuel altogether in efforts to combat unclean air. So did some other measures.

Along with the switch to more and more electric vehicles are becoming more prevalent even as gas prices rise, the call for better air quality is gaining strength.

In an effort to help with the air in california, the list suggests Angelenos: walk or ride a bike when possible, take public transportation, organize and condense errands into one trip, when driving, accelerate gradually and obey the speed limit, drive less, particularly on days with unhealthy air, maintain your vehicle and keep your tires properly inflated, support the Smog Check Program, report smoking vehicles to 1-800-END-SMOG, travel lightly and remove any unnecessary items that may weigh down your vehicle, limit idling your vehicle to no more than 30 seconds, and when in the market for a new car, look for the most efficient, lowest-polluting vehicle or even a zero-emission electric car.

Perry Vasquez poses in front of his artwork. (Photo Credit: Lile Kvantaliani)

As Vasquez continues to paint, he too is reminded of the effect of climate change on California's mythology.

“Instead of actively working towards a solution, we will just continue to sleepwalk towards an inevitable wasteland which will arrive, not with a bang, but with a whimper.”

You will still drive, but what will you be driving by? If the California landscape continues to be burnt from fires, polluted with red sunsets and harmful smog, and has palm trees looking like toothpicks touching the skies.

Welcome to Los Angeles.

A view of the ocean and palm trees lining the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, CA.(Photo by Piper Vaughn)