IN THE NEWS (UPDATED JUNE 30): Wildfires have been scorching California, Arizona and New Mexico for two weeks, fueled by sweltering summer heat. As of Wednesday night, at least four were dead late Sunday night Eastern Time, at least two were dead and 200 structures burned, with one blaze, the 46,00043,000-acre Erskin Fire north of Los Angeles, still only 60%40% contained.
BACK STORY: Intense and early summer fire seasons may now be the “new normal,” as persistent hot, dry conditions compound years of drought to worsen seasonal wildfires. Meanwhile, tens of millions of dead trees in the region are fueling the tinderbox conditions. Another round of triple-digit temperates expected this week could aggravate the fires.
ADAPTATION ANGLE: Climate change is producing conditions “ripe for wildfires” -- rising temperatures reduce snowpack or melt it earlier, and cause more extremely hot days, all of which dries out grasslands and forest, and increases the likelihood of dramatic increases in large wildfires across the West. According to Climate Central, which has put together a new wildfire tracker, the previous 2015 wildfire season was already the worst on record in the United States, with more than 10 million acres burned. Calls for more Forest Service funding have come to help combat the problem through controlled burns, and by treating fires as natural disasters through federal emergency money, instead of its own programs to prevent fires.
QUESTIONS TO ASK:
- What should local residents do to prepare for fire, including establishing protected space around their homes or preparing for evacuation?
- What are the human health impacts of wildfires? For instance, studies have shown worsening air quality from western fires. Are local or even distant fires harming health in your community? Examples from Las Vegas and Aspen, Colo.
- How have building homes and developing on the wildland-urban interface exacerbated widlfires?
- What effect will future heat waves and drought have on wildfires?
- How are controlled burns used to clear dead trees and otherwise prevent larger, out-of-control fires? Examples are not just from the Southwest, but also from Florida (more) and the Pacific Northwest.
- What’s the status of funding Forest Service to fight the forest die-off that is helping fuel wildfires?
- How does vegetation and wildlife change after wildfires?
- What the source of beetle and caterpillar infestations that have killed off millions of trees, not just in the Southwest, but in Southern New England as well.
REPORTING RESOURCES: Dig deeper on the wildfire story using more than a dozen fire-related resources in the database of the Reporter’s Guide to Climate Adaptation.
- For California-specific information, check Cal-Adapt for wildfire risk maps and case studies, and see the state’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment for infographics on the history of wildfires and 2085 wildfire projections.
- U.S.-wide information and data on wildfires can be found at U.S. Forest Service Climate Resource Center, where there are links to database tools and to research about likely changes and options for management; at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s site on climate change indicators, under “ecosystems;” and at the U.S. National Park Service’s climate and wildland fire resources pages
- Check state-by-state wildfire preparedness plans through the “States at Risk Report Card.”
- Check Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities program to see if your city is one of the half dozen that face wildfires. Use the “selected cities” database and search for wildfires under “challenge.”
- Read about the connection between climate change, development and wildfire in the West in the Union of Concerned Scientists 2014 “Playing with Fire” report.
- Plus, watch a brief video explainer on climate change and wildfires.
Know of other wildfire-related resources we should have in our database? Share your resources here. And share your own wildfire stories, story angles and questions to ask.
Posted by A. Adam Glenn on June 27, 2016
News Backgrounders
- Extreme rain: New research predicts wetter, riskier storms for much of U.S.
- COP22: UN climate gathering falls under Trump shadow
- In natural disasters, less resilient poor most at risk
- Road from Paris: Global climate deal expected to take effect soon
- Hurricane watch: Could coastal storms cost your community?
- Deep South, Deep Risk: Region faces climate adaptation challenges
- Dry spell: Covering worsening droughts
- Harmed by heat: Covering the health risks of extreme weather
- Hot zone: Covering the rise in heat waves
- Wildfires in the West: Covering Fire’s Climate and Adaptation Angles
- Mayors Merge on Climate: Covering Adaptation in Cities
- Bay Area Adaptation Tax: Covering Public Resilience Funding in Your Community
- Flooding in Texas – Is Your State Next? How to Cover Inland Flood Risk
News Backgrounders:
- Extreme rain: New research predicts wetter, riskier storms for much of U.S.
- COP22: UN climate gathering falls under Trump shadow
- In natural disasters, less resilient poor most at risk
- Road from Paris: Global climate deal expected to take effect soon
- Hurricane watch: Could coastal storms cost your community?
- Deep South, Deep Risk: Region faces climate adaptation challenges
- Dry spell: Covering worsening droughts
- Harmed by heat: Covering the health risks of extreme weather
- Hot zone: Covering the rise in heat waves
- Wildfires in the West: Covering Fire’s Climate and Adaptation Angles
- Mayors Merge on Climate: Covering Adaptation in Cities
- Bay Area Adaptation Tax: Covering Public Resilience Funding in Your Community
- Flooding in Texas – Is Your State Next? How to Cover Inland Flood Risk
Mayors Merge on Climate: Covering Adaptation in Cities
IN THE NEWS: The world’s mayors are forming a broad new alliance to fight climate change, and the effort is expected to be led day-to-day by billionaire climate activist and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg’s Compact of Mayors and the European Union’s Covenant of Mayors will merge into a new Global Covenant of Mayors, representing 7,500 cities, with a signing ceremony June 22. It is expected to be up and running by early 2017.
BACKSTORY: Cities are considered key to successful climate adaptation. That’s not just because they produce the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions and house the majority of the world’s population, but also because they often find themselves at the front line of climate risks and are relatively nimble in their policy responses.
ADAPTATION ANGLE: Thousands of cities have embraced climate plans, pledging to cut carbon dioxide emissions and adopt resilience strategies. Yet many initiatives have failed, hampered by poor coordination within city government and between city, regional and national governments, communication challenges with stakeholders, lack of private sector partnerships and poor funding.
QUESTIONS TO ASK: Here are a few of the many questions to ask about your city’s climate planning:
- What are the specific risks your city faces with regard to climate, such as extreme weather, sea-level rise, or threats to infrastructure and public health? Where are the most vulnerable areas of the city? Who are the most at-risk populations?
- What programs has your city enacted, either for climate adaptation or carbon emission reductions? For instance, has it enacted plans for green infrastructure, like green roofs to reduce urban heat island effects, or has it cleared drains to reduce flooding, or built sea walls or restored wetlands to combat sea-level rise?
- Has your city put in place any disaster preparedness programs?
- How will your city fund any of its planned climate action (see our separate news backgrounder on covering public funding)?
- Can your city’s climate adaptation and mitigation planning jump-start local economic development?
- Are there any simple city-level operational changes that might help, such as through purchasing or transportation programs?
- To what extent is sprawl and development a factor in climate decision-making for your city?
- Does your community have centers of innovation to tap on climate issues? What local expertise is available to move adaptation plans forward, such as local universities, think tanks or businesses?
- What are other cities and towns in your state or region doing about climate adaptation? Could they be a model for your community?
- How well has your city worked with state, regional or federal governments to develop and enact its plans?
- Has your city signed on with the climate goals of either the Compact of Mayors or the Covenant of Mayors?
REPORTING RESOURCES: Dig deeper on the city adaptation story using the dozens of related resources in the database of the Reporter’s Guide to Climate Adaptation, where you can start your search either by your region, or specific risks and responses.
- Review our list of more than 40 city-related adaptation resources, ranging from government sources to think tanks and foundations that focus on urban climate policy.
- Scope out organizations that focus deeply on urban climate policy issues, such as The Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities initiative, the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, or the Compact of Mayors. Also visit the EU Covenant of Mayors site.
- Check out city climate adaptation plans and policy resources such as from New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston and Cambridge, MA, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Toronto and cities outside North America.
- Scan city-related climate news sources, such as CityLab: Climate Change and Next City.
- Review community-level adaptation case studies from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,the Georgetown Climate Center, the Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange (CAKE), and the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.
Know of other resources we should have in our database? Share your resources here. And share your own stories, story angles and questions to ask.
Posted by A. Adam Glenn on June 20, 2016
News Backgrounders
- Extreme rain: New research predicts wetter, riskier storms for much of U.S.
- COP22: UN climate gathering falls under Trump shadow
- In natural disasters, less resilient poor most at risk
- Road from Paris: Global climate deal expected to take effect soon
- Hurricane watch: Could coastal storms cost your community?
- Deep South, Deep Risk: Region faces climate adaptation challenges
- Dry spell: Covering worsening droughts
- Harmed by heat: Covering the health risks of extreme weather
- Hot zone: Covering the rise in heat waves
- Wildfires in the West: Covering Fire’s Climate and Adaptation Angles
- Mayors Merge on Climate: Covering Adaptation in Cities
- Bay Area Adaptation Tax: Covering Public Resilience Funding in Your Community
- Flooding in Texas – Is Your State Next? How to Cover Inland Flood Risk
News Backgrounders:
- Extreme rain: New research predicts wetter, riskier storms for much of U.S.
- COP22: UN climate gathering falls under Trump shadow
- In natural disasters, less resilient poor most at risk
- Road from Paris: Global climate deal expected to take effect soon
- Hurricane watch: Could coastal storms cost your community?
- Deep South, Deep Risk: Region faces climate adaptation challenges
- Dry spell: Covering worsening droughts
- Harmed by heat: Covering the health risks of extreme weather
- Hot zone: Covering the rise in heat waves
- Wildfires in the West: Covering Fire’s Climate and Adaptation Angles
- Mayors Merge on Climate: Covering Adaptation in Cities
- Bay Area Adaptation Tax: Covering Public Resilience Funding in Your Community
- Flooding in Texas – Is Your State Next? How to Cover Inland Flood Risk
Bay Area Adaptation Tax: Covering Public Resilience Funding in Your Community
IN THE NEWS: In an important first this week, San Francisco Bay Area voters approved a unique regional climate adaptation tax. Measure AA will impose a $12 annual property tax to raise $500 million over 20 years, the funds earmarked to prepare for sea-level rise by helping to restore thousands of acres of wetlands (more coverage).
BACKSTORY: Public funding to protect against climate risk isn’t easy to come by. In the case of the Bay Area, for instance, area non-profit SPUR, which supported Measure AA, said regional agencies had years ago set a goal of restoring 100,000 acres of wetlands around the bay. But according to SPUR, the lack of funding meant only 15,000 acres have actually been restored, while the backlog is decades long for restoration of another 35,000 acres (more). In other areas of the country, like southern Florida, regional efforts to address sea-level rise have won little interest at the state level, where climate change risk is viewed as overblown (more).
ADAPTATION ANGLE: It’s not the first time communities have levied taxes for green restoration that could help with climate adaptation. In a Climate Central report on the Bay Area vote, the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association noted it is common for beach municipalities whose economies rely on tourism to levy hotel taxes to raise money for beach maintenance. And Boulder, Colo., in 2007 became what was believed to be the first municipality to impose a carbon tax on residents (read a 2015 Q&A).
QUESTIONS TO ASK:
- What adaptation initiatives in your community need public funding?
- What tax approaches are currently in place in your community for other kinds of public services and initiatives? And how might an adaptation tax fit in with that regime?
- Is a new tax even the best approach to adaptation funding? What other funding approaches are possible? Is private sector funding an alternative?
- Could regional collaboration or funding help with adaptation planning and execution? Is funding available from upstream, like from state or federal governments? What public funding approaches might already have been tried (and perhaps failed)?
- Should adaptation taxes differentiate between residential, commercial and industrial sectors? Wealthier or poorer residents? These equity issues were raised in the Bay Area case, for example, or are at play in the aftermath of Katrina in New Orleans, where shrunken populations are asked to shoulder the rising cost of flood resilience measures.
- How might the local economy, businesses, jobs and other revenue streams be affected if adaptation initiatives were not publicly funded in your community? Examples might be tourism dollars and hotel levies from local beaches (more) or other green amenities.
- Even if funded locally, are adaptations compatible with adjacent communities? Or are there state regulations that might conflict with adaptation plans, or that require changes to infrastructure managed at the state level? How well aligned is your community in terms of working with different levels of governmental policymaking?
REPORTING RESOURCES: Dig deeper on the public funding story using the dozens of related resources in the database of the Reporter’s Guide to Climate Adaptation.
- Scan tax-related climate adaptation case studies in the database of the Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange, and through the Adaptation Clearinghouse Database of the Georgetown Climate Center.
- See data on how a city like New Orleans used climate adaptation investment to bolster the city’s economy following Hurricane Katrina.
- Explore innovative public funding mechanisms like the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development’s National Disaster Resilience Competition or Rebuild by Design.
- Read a report from the C40 Cities group on how climate adaptation creates resilient places for business.
- Learn more about taxes and resilience through the Lincoln Institute on Land Policy, which publishes numerous climate policy reports, or economic think tanks dealing with environment and climate issues, like Resources for the Future.
- Scan dozens of resources in our Public Sector Investment database, which also includes numerous international adaptation financing information sources. Check our Private Investment database as well.
Posted by A. Adam Glenn on June 13, 2016
News Backgrounders
- Extreme rain: New research predicts wetter, riskier storms for much of U.S.
- COP22: UN climate gathering falls under Trump shadow
- In natural disasters, less resilient poor most at risk
- Road from Paris: Global climate deal expected to take effect soon
- Hurricane watch: Could coastal storms cost your community?
- Deep South, Deep Risk: Region faces climate adaptation challenges
- Dry spell: Covering worsening droughts
- Harmed by heat: Covering the health risks of extreme weather
- Hot zone: Covering the rise in heat waves
- Wildfires in the West: Covering Fire’s Climate and Adaptation Angles
- Mayors Merge on Climate: Covering Adaptation in Cities
- Bay Area Adaptation Tax: Covering Public Resilience Funding in Your Community
- Flooding in Texas – Is Your State Next? How to Cover Inland Flood Risk
News Backgrounders:
- Extreme rain: New research predicts wetter, riskier storms for much of U.S.
- COP22: UN climate gathering falls under Trump shadow
- In natural disasters, less resilient poor most at risk
- Road from Paris: Global climate deal expected to take effect soon
- Hurricane watch: Could coastal storms cost your community?
- Deep South, Deep Risk: Region faces climate adaptation challenges
- Dry spell: Covering worsening droughts
- Harmed by heat: Covering the health risks of extreme weather
- Hot zone: Covering the rise in heat waves
- Wildfires in the West: Covering Fire’s Climate and Adaptation Angles
- Mayors Merge on Climate: Covering Adaptation in Cities
- Bay Area Adaptation Tax: Covering Public Resilience Funding in Your Community
- Flooding in Texas – Is Your State Next? How to Cover Inland Flood Risk
European Climate Adaptation Platform (Climate-ADAPT)
Overview: Climate Adapt is a partnership between the European Commission and the European Environment Agency working to adapt Europe to climate change by providing a platform to publish and share information.
How to Use This Resource: This database contains European climate change projections in Europe, maps of regions vulnerable to climate change, national and transnational adaptation strategies, case studies and potential adaptation options.
Global Climate Adaptation Partnership
Overview: The Global Climate Adaptation Partnership is a leading climate change adaptation consultancy, training and knowledge management companies, based in England.
How to Use This Resource: The site provides links to a compendium of adaptation and disaster risk reduction practices, as well as information about a training program, the Oxford Adaptation Academy,
Adaptation Professionals Database
Overview: The American Society of Adaptation Professionals helps build climate resilience for communities across the country by providing a platform for climate adaptation leaders to share knowledge, plans, and resources.
How to Use This Resource: Journalists can use this database to find climate adaption experts and professionals by region within the United States.
Adaptation Strategies and Adaptation Mitigation Nexus
Overview: The Asian-Pacific Adaptation Project is an organization within the United Nations Environmental Programme, working to build climate change resilience in Asian nations.
How to Use This Resource: This archive holds reports, news updates and data on adaptation strategies in the Asian-Pacific region.
Climate Adaptation Case Studies Map
Overview: The Climate Adaptation Knowledge Exchange is a shared information database by EcoAdapt and Island Press. It focuses on managing natural and built systems in the face of rapid climate change.
How to Use This Resource: The Case Studies Database map profiles on-the-ground adaptation investments across the globe and provides links to complete project information.
ND-GAIN Global Adaptation Index
Overview: The Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index (GAIN) researches strategies for increasing resilience in climate change-vulnerable communities across the globe.
How to Use This Resource: The GAIN index maps the world’s climate change readiness based on water, food, health infrastructure data on every continent.
Dry spell: Covering worsening droughts
In the news: A months-long drought has hit the northeastern United States, and while it’s not as dire as the West Coast’s five-year dry spell, it has stressed farms, prompted water restrictions and threatened more wildfires. It stretches from Maine to Pennsylvania and has hit Massachusetts particularly hard, as well as New Hampshire, Maine and New York.
Back story: U.S. drought has worsened in recent decades, and is affecting much of the country. As of early August drought is affecting 17.7 percent of the United States., and more than 100 million people. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, large portions of the Southwest have experienced the most persistent droughts on record in the last decade. Globally, since the 1950s, regions like southern Europe and West Africa have also experienced longer and more intense droughts.
Adaptation angle: Projections see worsening drought ahead, requiring government, businesses and individuals to adjust water consumption, and to prepare for impacts of drought on food and water supplies, human health, energy production, transportation, migration and a slew of other policy areas.
The United Nations expects more drought in the coming decades not just in southern Europe and the Mediterranean, but also in central Europe, central North America, northeast Brazil, southern Africa, Mexico and Central America. In the United States, Climate Central projects 36 states will see an increase in drought threat by 2050, with many states facing severe, widespread drought causing major economic and environmental impacts. By 2050, it says nine states — Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Texas, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Washington — are projected to face a greater summer drought threat than the most at-risk state, Texas, does today.
Questions to ask
- Is your community in a state or region that has experienced or is expected to see worsening drought? If so, what, if any, response plans are in place from policymakers?
- What state and local agencies have authority over water usage?
- Are water-use restrictions currently in place? Are they mandatory or voluntary? If mandatory, are they being enforced?
- What kind of water efficiencies might be possible in your area, such as shorter pipe networks?
- What kind of land-use policies, such as more compact communities, might improve drought resilience in your community?
- What drought-resistant lawns or landscaping techniques can residents use?
- What might be the infrastructure impact of drought in your area? Are soils shrinking, damaging pavements? Are buildings in your area experiencing drought-related foundation cracking? Is there damage to underground pipelines?
- What is your area’s primary water supply and what is the impact of drought? Are reservoir levels dropping or streams drying up? Is drinking water quality being affected?
- Could low river flows cause salt-water intrusion in your area? Or foster subsidence in soils as groundwater supplies are used up?
- What kind of public health considerations does drought bring to your community, whether with food preparation, sanitation, recreation or water quality?
- Is the balance of the water supply going to agriculture or populated areas? Should water resources be diverted from one to the other?
- For agricultural areas, what are the impacts of drought, ranging from slower plant growth to crop losses?
- Are agricultural firms or scientific organizations in your area researching drought-resistant crops?
- Is drying vegetation elevating the risk of wildfire in your area? Is drought weakening forests and making them vulnerable to infestations?
- What are the ecosystem impacts of drought in your area? Disease among wildlife? Loss of wetlands? Soil erosion or desertification?
Reporting resources
- Review global prospects for drought and possible adaptations from the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports, or search among thousands of drought-related results from the U.N. Climate Change Newsroom.
- Get U.S. drought data from the EPA’s Climate Change Indicators in the United States, which has a section on drought, including a close-up look at temperature and drought in the Southwest. Also see the EPA’s site on drought response for the nation’s water utilities.
- Check the U.S. government’s Drought Portal weekly for a monitor showing where drought is hitting, plus get a seasonal outlook, drought impacts reporting, and a ZIP code interactive to see how drought is affecting your neighborhood. The site also has a planning and preparedness section with extensive links to drought response resources such as a “Planning and Drought” report from the American Planning Association.
- Scan drought maps and outlooks from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as well as this NOAA-funded Drought Risk Atlas. NOAA also has a technical service that helps planners in the Eastern United States improve drought preparedness.
- Detail U.S. drought risks using the 2014 National Climate Assessment, which includes discussion of drought in its section on extreme weather.
- Read up on the economic and policy risks of U.S. drought via the Risky Business Project, which also has special reports that touch on drought in California, Texas and the Southeast United States, and the Midwest.
- Explore drought policy plans via Georgetown Climate Center’s adaptation clearinghouse. Find dozens of results that can be filtered by relevance, date and rating by searching the database for “drought.” The Center has also prepared two drought case studies for Austin, Texas, and Beijing.
- Review state-by-state preparedness plans for “drought” through the States at Risk Report Card. Montana, for example, earned an F because it faces one of the highest threats in the country and has one of the worst preparedness scores, whereas Oregon (A-) is one of the leaders in preparing for its drought risks.
- Explore cities around the world focused on drought. There are a dozen-and-a-half in the 100 Resilient Cities program (use the Selected Cities database and search under “challenges” for drought).
Dig deeper on the drought story using the dozens of related resources in the Reporter’s Guide to Climate Adaptation database.
Know of other drought-related resources we should have in our database?
- Share your resources.
- Share your drought stories and story angles.
Posted by A. Adam Glenn on August 12, 2016
News Backgrounders
- Extreme rain: New research predicts wetter, riskier storms for much of U.S.
- COP22: UN climate gathering falls under Trump shadow
- In natural disasters, less resilient poor most at risk
- Road from Paris: Global climate deal expected to take effect soon
- Hurricane watch: Could coastal storms cost your community?
- Deep South, Deep Risk: Region faces climate adaptation challenges
- Dry spell: Covering worsening droughts
- Harmed by heat: Covering the health risks of extreme weather
- Hot zone: Covering the rise in heat waves
- Wildfires in the West: Covering Fire’s Climate and Adaptation Angles
- Mayors Merge on Climate: Covering Adaptation in Cities
- Bay Area Adaptation Tax: Covering Public Resilience Funding in Your Community
- Flooding in Texas – Is Your State Next? How to Cover Inland Flood Risk
News Backgrounders:
- Extreme rain: New research predicts wetter, riskier storms for much of U.S.
- COP22: UN climate gathering falls under Trump shadow
- In natural disasters, less resilient poor most at risk
- Road from Paris: Global climate deal expected to take effect soon
- Hurricane watch: Could coastal storms cost your community?
- Deep South, Deep Risk: Region faces climate adaptation challenges
- Dry spell: Covering worsening droughts
- Harmed by heat: Covering the health risks of extreme weather
- Hot zone: Covering the rise in heat waves
- Wildfires in the West: Covering Fire’s Climate and Adaptation Angles
- Mayors Merge on Climate: Covering Adaptation in Cities
- Bay Area Adaptation Tax: Covering Public Resilience Funding in Your Community
- Flooding in Texas – Is Your State Next? How to Cover Inland Flood Risk