The adaptation beat has many facets, from local governance to human health impacts, business implications to social reverberations. Check out story angles below, along with video briefings and lists of questions. While not comprehensive by any means, these lists are meant to suggest ideas for various approaches to adaptation. We welcome your thoughts on this emerging story - What’s your adaptation angle?
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How might impacts of extreme weather threaten your community’s infrastructure, such as transportation, electrical fuel supplies, food supply?
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What local policy actions are being taken that might help promote adaptation - do zoning rules require flood protection or limit housing in flood-prone areas or are there incentives for power supply redundancy?
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If your community is coastal, is it facing saltwater intrusion during high tides?
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Who are first responders in your area?
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How are they trained - what are they ready/not ready for?
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Are chief resilience officers being considered/appointed in your city, as they are in others?
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How does your community decide on what climate risk to respond to?
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Is there inequity in how some communities are protected and others not?
Click this image for a video on local angles...
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Are hikes in flood insurance rates forcing out homeowners? Or in the wake of a disaster, are insurance companies lowballing residents on their claims, as is being alleged in the wake of Hurricane Sandy in the NY metro area?
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Are local commercial enterprises being harmed by climate change and are moving out as a result, such as has occurred with Seattle-area oyster farmers affected by ocean acidification, several of which are moving parts of their operations to Hawaii, or being forced to heavily treat local saltwater?
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Are businesses in your community co-locating algae plants next to carbon emitters, since the co2 encourages growth of the algae, which is then used for animal food, pharmaceuticals, and biofuels?
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What is the power/electricity sector doing to harden their physical assets against unpredictable weather?
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Are whole business sectors planning latitude changes to address changes in climate zones?
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What business opportunities are presenting themselves as a result of climate change, such as creation of new ice-free ocean shipping lanes in the far north?
Click this image for a video on business angles...
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How are health concerns affected by climate change?
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Are allergies going to worsen?
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Will infectious disease transmission change as warming changes insect populations?
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Are local hospitals/emergency facilities prepared for extreme weather (protected against flooding, power outtages)?
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Is your community prepared for heat waves with cooling centers for vulnerable populations?
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Will shifting climatic zones affect the crop makeup and yields in your region?
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What is agribusiness doing to adjust to anticipated changes?
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What is agribusiness doing to adjust to anticipated changes?
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How will planting patterns and food management planning change?
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Will communities eat more locally?
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How will water shortages and ongoing drought affect water usage patterns, especially in the balance between farmers and city-suburb dwellers?
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How do you prepare a disaster go-kit or install a storm room?
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How do you protect your home against floods?
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Is your community facing rising extreme weather insurance costs?
Click this image for a video on consumer angles...
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Does Pope Francis’ stance on climate change resonate in your community?
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Are local religious institutions active in looking for ways to prepare for climate impacts?
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How do different denominations respond to warnings of climate risk?
Click this image for a video on religion angles...
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Is one of the estimated 120-plus U.S. military sites that could be impacted by sea-level rise in or near your community?
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What national security effects arise abroad as a result of climate risk, such as in the aftermath of humanitarian disasters, or in the creation of large numbers of climate refugees in the wake of drought of flooding?
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Are military researchers experimenting with alternative energy sources to secure power supplies in case of disruption?
Click this image for a video on military angles...
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Will extreme weather disrupt major sporting events in future, such as when Hurricane Sandy forced NY to cancel the 2012 Marathon?
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How will regional weather shifts affect ski and winter resort areas, which may lack snow, or summer beach destinations losing shoreline to sea-level rise and flooding?
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How are those resort areas and tourist sites responding?
Click this image for a video on sports angles...
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What protected areas in your region - parks, preserves, etc. - are likely to be affected by climate change, and how?
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What will that mean for the threatened or endangered species in the region?
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How might that affect tourism and related businesses connected to those protected areas?
Click this image for a video on environment angles...
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