Sea Level Rise a Threat to U.S. Coastal Cities

This map shows where increases in sea level could affect New Orleans, Virginia Beach, Va., Miami, Tampa, Fla., New York and Washington, D.C. The colors indicate areas along the coast that are elevations of 1 meter or less (russet) or 6 meters or less (yellow) and have connectivity to the sea. (Map by Jeremy Weiss, University of Arizona) A team of researchers at the University of Arizona has projected how future sea level rise will impact 180 of the... Read More

Managed Retreat from Rising Sea Levels Begins at Surfers Point

What is likely the first example of what lies ahead for many coastal communities worldwide, Ventura, CA is beginning its retreat from the ocean. Sea levels are projected to rise at least 45-55 inches this century, wreaking havoc on coastal infrastructure. Surfers Point, Ventura, CA (Photo: Flickr user Michael McCarty) 20 years ago Ventura built a bike path along the beach next to the famous surf spot Surfers Point, but within only a few years erosion... Read More

California Council Adopts Sea Level Rise Projections

Projected SLR in Monterey, CA (in blue) The California Ocean Protection Council, has released a draft resolution that calls for state agencies to account for sea level rise (SLR) of up to 55 inches by 2100 in their planning processes. They based their SLR projections on a publication by Vermeer and Rahmstorf in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science. A 100-year storm event coupled with SLR caused by climate change could cause as much... Read More

Eager Beavers Enlisted to Fight Climate Change

Photo by Flickr user stevehdc With climate change expected to lead to longer and drier summers here in Washington State, the timing of spring and summer runoff from mountains has become a concern for communities and farmers. During spring runoff, water demands are generally low, and most of the water goes unused. In the late summer, runoff from snow melt decreases and many streams run low, even though this is the time when water demands for agriculture... Read More

What you can do about climate change

A wonderful video animation and public service announcement from the Monterey Bay Aquarium about climate change, our changing ocean, and some quick things you can do about it.  Read More

Visualizing Climate Change at the Ventura Boardwalk

Do You Know How Climate Change and Sea Level Rise Will Impact YOU? As a surfer, I often think about how my local surf spots—as well as the world’s most famous surf breaks—may change completely in the future due to sea level rise. Last week, though, as I got out of the water at Surfer’s Point in Ventura, CA, climate change was the last thing on my mind—until I saw my first SLAP stick. A SLAP stick on the Boardwalk SLAP stands for the Sea... Read More

Biodiversity Conservation Can Reduce Poverty

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of traveling to London to help give a presentation at the Zoological Society of London for the symposium: Linking Biodiversity Conservation and Poverty Reduction: What, Why, and How? Since December, I have been working with Craig Leisher at The Nature Conservancy on drafting a knowledge review that was commissioned specifically for the symposium. We presented our report, “Biodiveristy as a Mechanism for Poverty... Read More

Water Security and Conflict on a Changing Planet

Water on my mind (Photo: Scott MacKenzie) As the rains fall here in Northern California, and snowstorms pound the Northeast of the United States, water is on my mind. It is a topic that is of vital importance but continues to be misunderstood. Perhaps most importantly, it is at the center of considerations that must be taken into account in considering how humanity will adapt to climate change. A recent article in Reuters highlighted this very issue,... Read More

Weekly gRound-Up: 11/14/09

Prospects at Copenhagen: No Deal, No time President Obama announced that the prospects of securing a binding agreement on climate targets at Copenhagen was not possible given the time remaining to the conference in December and the challenges that still remained in negotiating a deal amongst the parties. Read more at the Guardian. Moving Species? As local and regional climates change in the near future, many plant species are unlikely to naturally... Read More

Weekly gRound-Up: 11/7/09

Here are some items in the news that we found this past week that are worth a read: At the Intersection of Conflict and Environment What is the role of natural resources and the environment in conflict and post conflict settings? Watch an interview with David Jensen by Geoff Dabelko at the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program. David is a Policy Manager at UNEP’s Post Conflict and Disaster Management Branch,... Read More