The Resilience Roundup highlights announcements and events along with links to the previous month's state, regional, and national resilience news.
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Upcoming CIRCA Events
Resilient Connecticut Innovative Design Workshop
May 15, 9:30 a.m. - 3:45 p.m.
Through the Resilient Connecticut project, CIRCA is partnering with municipalities, COGs, state agencies, technical planning teams, and community stakeholders to develop innovative solutions to local and regional climate challenges.
The purpose of this workshop will be to collaborate and develop innovative design ideas to resilience typologies that are common across Connecticut.
We will collaborate in-person on different types of adaptation approaches and strategies and how to choose and apply these strategies locally. We will also review case studies from the Resilient Connecticut pilot region (Fairfield & New Haven Counties). Click HERE to register and for more information.
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Sustainable CT: Planning for Extreme Heat - How to Use CIRCA's Climate Change Vulnerability Index
May 24th, 1 p.m.
The Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA) developed the Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI) to represent a community’s vulnerabilities to two of the most pressing climate change-driven threats in Connecticut – flooding and extreme heat events. The CCVI aggregates three categories (exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity) to calculate relative vulnerabilities across Connecticut. This webinar will focus on the extreme heat CCVI mapping tool and describe potential uses of the tool for local and regional planning, selection of climate adaptation and resilience projects that address extreme heat, and how zoning regulations provide a change to land use policy for heat adaptation. Click HERE for registration and to learn more.
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Danbury Public Workshop: East Ditch Flooding and Extreme Heat
April 3, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.
The Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA) will be holding a Public Workshop with the Town of Danbury at the Rogers Park Middle School Cafeteria (21 Memorial Dr, Danbury) on April 3rd from 6-8pm. The meeting will provide a project overview to address flooding in East Ditch and extreme heat concern. Please join us so we can hear from you!
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NFWF: National Coastal Resilience Fund 2023 Request for Proposals
Pre-Proposal Due Date: April 12, by 11:59 p.m.
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is pleased to announce the 2023 National Coastal Resilience Fund (NCRF) Request for Proposals (RFP). NFWF will make investments in planning, design, and implementation of natural and nature-based solutions. The goal is to enhance protections for coastal communities from the impacts of storms, floods, and other natural coastal hazards and to improve habitats for fish and wildlife. NFWF will award approximately $140 million in grants to create and restore natural systems to increase protection for communities from current and future coastal hazards and improve habitats for fish and wildlife species. The availability of federal funds estimated in this solicitation is contingent upon the federal appropriations process; funding decisions will be made based on level of funding and timing of when it is received by NFWF.
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National Sea Grant Law Center: Coastal Resilience Program
The National Sea Grant Law Center is accepting applications from eligible applicants to conduct research on the effectiveness of coastal adaptation laws and policies. The Coastal Resilience Program grants have a recommended funding level of $75,000. The National Sea Grant Law Center anticipates sufficient funding to make one to two grant awards. Eligible applications for this funding opportunity are Sea Grant Programs, institutions of higher education, state agencies, and non-profit organizations that have the ability and capacity to conduct rigorous, non-partisan law and policy research. Letters of Intent are due on Wednesday, March 1. Full proposals are due on Friday, April 14, 2023.
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Sea Grant: Long Island Sound Resilience Grant Writing Assistance Program
With funding from US EPA through the Long Island Sound Study (LISS), New York Sea Grant and Connecticut Sea Grant announced a funding opportunity open to municipalities and community organizations. This new program funds grant preparation and writing support to develop a grant application for sustainable and resilience projects that impact a community(ies) within or partially within the Long Island Sound Coastal boundary.
Funding is to be awarded in a range of $5,000- $9,950 per application directly to the applicant’s selected grant writing support contractor on a cost reimbursable basis. Match will not be required. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until all available funding is allocated, which may be no later than September 30th, 2023. A Connecticut Applicant Informational Webinar was held on December 13th - click HERE for a recording.
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National Adaptation Forum Series: Responding to Climate-Amplified Extreme Weather Events
Extreme weather events can have devastating impacts on human communities, infrastructure, and ecosystems. Yet, these impacts will only worsen as extreme weather event frequency, severity, and duration are made worse by climate change and recovery times are shortened, limiting the ability of already resource-limited communities to prepare for the next event. Therefore, it is critical that extreme weather event preparedness and response are integrated into our climate adaptation strategies. This four-part virtual series, hosted by the National Adaptation Forum, will feature presentations focused on innovative approaches for minimizing the impacts of extreme storms. The ultimate goal of this series is to better prepare communities for climate-amplified extreme weather by showcasing approaches, plans, and community-engagement strategies that are being used across the country.
Session One: April 5
Session Two: April 19
Session Three: May 3
Session Four: May 17
All sessions will be held from 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
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CEEL's Earth Day Conference: The Green Consumer and the Future: From Today's Fast Fashion to the Law of Tomorrow
April 21, 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
UConn’s Center for Energy and Environmental Law’s annual Earth Day conference will tackle the question of what it means to be a “green consumer,” and will seek to understand how the law can protect both consumers and the planet. Please register by April 17th. Registration is free for students, faculty, staff and the general public.
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U.S Army Corps of Engineers: Flood Awareness Workshops
A series of Flood Awareness Workshops is being sponsored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in cooperation with the Connecticut Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, National Weather Service, and the United States Geological Survey. These workshops are intended for local Emergency Management Directors, Chief Elected Officials, Local Planning and Zoning Officials, Town Engineers and organizations that work with underserved populations.
The workshop for DEMHS Region 1 municipalities and stakeholders will be held on Thursday May 4th at the Fairfield County Regional Fire School - 205 Richard White Way, Fairfield. Click HERE for registration and to learn more.
The workshop for DEMHS Region 2 municipalities and stakeholders will be held on Tuesday May 23rd at United Illuminating 100 Marsh Hill Rd., Orange, CT. Click HERE for registration and to learn more.
The workshop for DEMHS Region 3 municipalities and stakeholders will be held on Tuesday, June 6th at the Holy Family Monastery and Conference Center located at 33 Tunxis Road, in West Hartford, CT. Click HERE for registration and to learn more.
The workshop for DEMHS Region 4 municipalities and stakeholders will be held on Tuesday June 13th at the Eastern CT Fire School in Windham located at 1 Fire School Rd, Willimantic, CT. Click HERE for registration and to learn more.
The workshop for DEMHS Region 5 municipalities and stakeholders will be held on Wednesday June 21st at the Kent School, Dickinson Auditorium - 1 Macedonia Road, Kent, CT 06757. Click HERE for registration and to learn more.
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EBC Creating Pathways into Climate Adaptation and Resilience: Training Future Leaders
April 14, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
The climate resilience field is rapidly growing. As climate disasters increase and climate risks become more and more obvious, the need for adaptation professionals continues to increase. Who is training the next generation of climate resilience leaders? How can we ensure that these jobs are going to a diverse group of people? And what are the skills necessary to be able to meet challenges we don’t yet know we will face? Join the Climate Adaptation Forum to hear about best practices nationally and local efforts to train climate adaptation professionals in a wide range of fields.
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NOAA: Climate Change Resource Collection
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of National Marine Sanctuaries has launched a new Climate Change Resource Collection, which provides lesson plans, activities, webinars, videos, web stories, and other educator resources on climate change and ocean health. A rapidly changing climate brings challenges to our underwater parks in ways we have never seen before. Climate-related impacts, like changing weather patterns and storm events, warming seas, ocean acidification, and sea level rise, are becoming more prevalent around the globe. Changes in climate will affect national marine sanctuaries and the overall health of the ocean, which is vital to our quality of life and, ultimately, our survival.
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State and Regional News Clips |
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CT Leaders Respond to Climate Crisis Report Released by U.N. Panel
FOX 61 - March 23, 2023
A United Nations climate panel issued a startling warning and said the clock is ticking in preventing global warming. A recent report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change showed the dramatic effects of oil, coal and gas had on the planet. Officials on the panel urged countries to take action now since the window of opportunity for a sustainable future is quickly closing.
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Danbury To Hold Public Workshop On East Ditch Flooding
& Extreme Heat
Patch - March 29, 2023
On Monday, April 3, 2023, the City of Danbury in partnership with the Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA), will be hosting a public workshop to discuss how the East Ditch flooding and extreme heat may impact the community. The City of Danbury has endured decades of flooding that presents public safety challenges, leading to the closure of Main Street and damage to properties situated along the East Ditch alignment. Downtown Danbury is also vulnerable to extreme heat. This is attributed primarily to the high social vulnerability within the community, combined with dense housing. This project will focus on developing adaption strategies and implementable concepts which will help to mitigate the impacts of current and future climate induced flooding.
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Carbon Dioxide Emissions Reached a Record High in 2022
March 2, 2023 - AP News
Communities around the world emitted more carbon dioxide in 2022 than in any other year on records dating to 1900, a result of air travel rebounding from the pandemic and more cities turning to coal as a low-cost source of power. Emissions of the climate-warming gas that were caused by energy production grew 0.9% to reach 36.8 gigatons in 2022, the International Energy Agency reported. (The mass of one gigaton is equivalent to about 10,000 fully loaded aircraft carriers, according to NASA.)
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First Look: Hud Invests Billions in Equitable Disaster Recovery
Axios - March 15, 2023
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is overhauling its disaster recovery efforts to better serve communities that face the direct impacts of climate change, officials will announce soon.This includes more than $3.3 billion in grants to localities around the U.S. for equitable disaster relief and resilience.
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Climate Change Is Speeding Toward Catastrophe. The Next Decade Is Crucial, U.N. Panel Says.
New York Times - March 20, 2023
Earth is likely to cross a critical threshold for global warming within the next decade, and nations will need to make an immediate and drastic shift away from fossil fuels to prevent the planet from overheating dangerously beyond that level, according to a major new report released. The report, by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a body of experts convened by the United Nations, offers the most comprehensive understanding to date of ways in which the planet is changing.
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New Way to Predict River Flood Risk Could Help
Prepare for Disasters
New Scientist - March 30, 2023
An analysis of flood data from 101 rivers in Germany and the US has identified clues that indicate a danger of unprecedented extreme flooding. We may now be able to better predict which rivers are at risk of extreme flooding, even if they haven’t caused severe floods before. Extreme flooding, such as the devastating 2021 floods in Germany that killed at least 196 people, is difficult to predict, says Stefano Basso at the Norwegian Institute for Water Research in Oslo. Typically, researchers only know a river is prone to extreme floods if this has happened in the past. “For this method to work, you have to wait for something bad to happen,” says Basso.
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The Resilience Roundup highlights CIRCA's presence in the news, provides links to recent local/state/national news articles related to resilience and adaptation, and announces upcoming events and seminars.
The Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation's (CIRCA) mission is to increase the resilience and sustainability of vulnerable communities along Connecticut's coast and inland waterways to the growing impacts of climate change and extreme weather on the natural, built, and human environment. The institute is located at the University of Connecticut's Avery Point campus and includes faculty from across the university. CIRCA is a partnership between UConn and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP).
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State and Regional News Clips |
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