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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UConn Today Article: CIRCA Researchers Helping CT Towns
Get Wired in for a Clean Energy Transition
When the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed in August, Kirt Mayland, CIRCA's energy legal fellow said it was a welcome surprise. The Inflation Reduction Actoffers great promise for building resilience with measures for municipalities to grow their clean energy capacity and grid resilience. However, with a text over 700 pages long – and with the fact that some funds are first come, first served – municipalities may not know where to start with the legislation. While developers are adept at seizing funds first, Mayland wants to help give municipalities an edge. Learn more in the UConn Today article that came out on Tuesday this week.
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To help your municipality get started in looking for state or IRA funding and incentives, connect them with CIRCA by contacting Kirt Mayland at kirt.mayland@uconn.edu
A new infographic, Energy Resilience for Municipalities, provides more information on topics including renewables, microgrids, electrification, efficiency, storage, and demand response. Grant programs and successful municipal energy plans are also highlighted.
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Phase III Projects - Public Meeting Launch
Consultants working on CIRCA's Resilient Connecticut Phase III projects are launching the first public meeting with this Monday's "Resilient Stratford South End Drop-In Workshop". This open house workshop will explore the impacts of climate change on South Stratford's homes, businesses, and community. You can spend as little or as much time as you'd like at the event, exploring a series of interactive stations about the area.
Monday, December 5, 1 - 6:00 p.m.
Connecticut Distributors, Inc.
333 Lordship Boulevard, Stratford
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CIRCA is Hiring - Data Analyst/Programmer
CIRCA seeks applicants for the position of Data Analyst/ Programmer (Research Assistant 2) to provide support for activities associated with the Resilient Connecticut & Environmental Justice Mapping Tool projects. With the supervision of the Assistant Director of Research, the Data Analyst/Programmer will work on a team developing GIS maps, data archiving, sharing, and analysis associated with CIRCA projects. The development of documentation and presentations will be required. Applications close 12/25/22. Learn more and apply HERE.
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Climate and Equity Grant Program Survey
Did you apply to CIRCA’s recent Climate and Equity grant program OR did you consider applying but ultimately decide not to? CIRCA would like to hear from you! Please take this brief anonymous survey to share your impressions of the grant application process and/or any barriers that prevented you from applying. The survey will take less than 5 minutes of your time. We will use this information to improve future grant programs. Thank you!
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CIRCA Receives CCAPA Award for Resilient Connecticut
Each year the Connecticut Chapter of the American Planning Association invites nominations for its annual Planning Awards to showcase outstanding projects, people and places. CIRCA received the "Best Statewide Planning Program Award" for our Resilient Connecticut project, a regional resilience planning and assessment project which is resulting in concept designs for adaptation projects in seven municipalities. Learn more about the award HERE.
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UConn Attends COP 27 Egypt Meetings: Reflections from CIRCA's Jim O'Donnell
Last month, CIRCA's Exec. Director Jim O'Donnell helped lead a UConn contingent, including 14 students, to the 27th United Nations Conference of Parties Climate Conference (COP) taking place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The COP is an opportunity for world climate experts, activists, and leaders to meet and discuss measures to act in the face of the climate crisis. Read here for a summary of a "High Level Panel on a Sustainable Ocean Economy," including reflections from Dr. O'Donnell who attended the panel introduced by John Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate. UConn's COP27 fellows also wrote about their impressions of this world event; read excerpts in a UConn Today article, UConn@COP 27: Looking for Solutions to the Climate Crisis.
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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 (NYSG) and Connecticut Sea Grant (CTSG) announce a funding opportunity open to municipalities and community organizations to facilitate the hiring of grant preparation and writing support to assist with the development of a grant application for sustainable and resilience focused projects that will 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 will be held on December 13th, 2 – 3:00 pm.
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FEMA Announces FY22 BRIC and FMA Notice of Funding Opportunities
FEMA announced the FY22 Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) for the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) and Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) programs. The funding level for BRIC has increased to $2.3 billion for FY22, with FMA funding increasing to $800 million. BRIC’s non-financial Direct Technical Assistance program will also increase to at least 40 communities (from 20) for the FY22 cycle. The application closes on Jan. 27, 2023.
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YCCCH Seminar Series: Fossil Fueled Environmental Injustice - Population Health Studies from Extraction to Climate Change Repercussions
December 5, 12:00 p.m.
Join the Yale Center on Climate Change and Health for this 1 hour seminar with Dr. Joan Casey, an environmental epidemiologist who focuses on environmental health, environmental justice, and sustainability. Her research uses electronic health records and spatial statistics to study the relationship between emerging environmental exposures and population health. She also considers vulnerable populations and the implications of health disparities, particularly in an era of climate change.
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Governor's Council on Climate Change Meeting (GC3)
December 6, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
In the fall of 2022, Working Groups convened to monitor and report on the progress of the GC3's 2021 recommendations, including new opportunities for implementation with unprecedented federal funding for climate mitigation and resilience. This meeting will include presentations from the Working Groups as well as time for a Q&A. Anyone wishing to provide comments may sign up in advance by emailing deep.climatechange@ct.gov by 5pm Dec. 5th or via the chat during the meeting. For in person attendees, there will be a sign-up sheet at the door. For more information and the meeting agenda, click HERE.
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CT Bar Association Virtual Roundtable - The Climate Change Crisis in CT: The Impact on Low-Income Communities and What Can Be Done
December 6, 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
As global warming alters our living and working environment, no region will remain unaffected, but as the CT Mirror reports, low-income neighborhoods, people who are homeless, residents with chronic health conditions, and people who are uninsured are more likely to experience dire health consequences before any other population. This Roundtable will explore what the legal community can do in cooperation with lay activists to avoid and alleviate suffering while building better community resiliencies for us all.
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EBC Lunchtime Webinar Series: Let’s Talk about IT – Innovative Tools to Address Climate Change, Fleet Electrification Tool
December 7, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
Technological innovation plays a vital role in addressing the challenges and complexities of climate change. This EBC Lunchtime Webinar Series developed by the EBC Climate Change and Air Committee highlights innovative tools to address climate change mitigation and adaptation needs for your projects. Led by industry experts, this webinar series will include a walk-through of each tool’s inputs and outputs, interface, use cases, and project case studies. The presentation series covers topics such as resilience planning, flood hazard mapping, greenhouse gas reduction, fleet transition, and a robust Q&A discussion.
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EBC: Nature-Based Adaptation: Getting to Scale
December 9, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Join this EBC webinar to learn about the opportunities and barriers to scaling up nature-based approaches to climate adaptation, from planning to permitting to implementation. Funders, regulators, adaptation professionals, and the public now view nature-based adaptation as no longer an aspiration, but a priority or requirement. Pilot projects are being scaled up to billions of oysters, miles of shoreline, and hectares of wetlands. But how feasible and effective are these projects? And how do we effectively regulate and build the capacity to plan and implement them at scales that match the urgency of risks?
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UNEP Adaptation Gap Report 2022
Climate change is landing blow after blow upon humanity and the planet, an onslaught that will only intensify in the coming years even if the world begins to bring down greenhouse gas emissions. UNEP’s Adaptation Gap Report 2022, "Too Little, Too Slow – Climate Adaptation
Failure Puts World at Risk" finds that the world must urgently increase efforts to adapt. The report looks at progress in planning, financing and implementing adaptation actions.
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The 2022 Global Report of the Lancet Countdown Report
Governments and companies in both high- and low-income countries continue to prioritize fossil fuel interests. This year’s report launches as countries and health systems grapple with the health, social and economic implications of climate change, which now compound the impacts of the the global energy crisis, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The 2022 Lancet Report tracks the relationship between health and climate change across five key domains and 43 indicators, revealing that the world is at a critical juncture.
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Climate Interactive: The En-ROADS Climate Solutions Simulator
En-ROADS is a global climate simulator that allows users to explore the impact of roughly 30 policies—such as electrifying transport, pricing carbon, and improving agricultural practices—on hundreds of factors like energy prices, temperature, air quality, and sea level rise. Developed by Climate Interactive, the MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative, and Ventana Systems, En-ROADS helps users can quickly see the long-term effects of the global climate policies and actions they imagine.
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Biden-Harris Administration Launches Version 1.0 of Climate
and Economic Justice Screening Tool
The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) launched version 1.0 of the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST), an essential step in implementing President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative and ensuring that the benefits of Federal programs are reaching communities that are overburdened by pollution and historic underinvestment. The tool shows information about the burdens that communities experience using census tracts and ranks most of the burdens using percentiles.
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FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Announces Roadmap for Nature-Based Solutions to Fight Climate Change, Strengthen Communities, and Support Local Economies
New actions and recommendations announced at COP27 will make nature-based solutions a go-to option for fighting climate change and boost progress towards U.S. climate goals. The Biden-Harris Administration is releasing the Nature-Based Solutions Roadmap, an outline of strategic recommendations to put America on a path that will unlock the full potential of nature-based solutions to address climate change, nature loss, and inequity. This marks the first time the U.S. has developed a strategy to scale up nature-based solutions.
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State and Regional News Clips |
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November Heat Wave Shatters High-Temperature Records Across New England
Connecticut Public Radio - November 6, 2022
A November heat wave shattered temperature records across New England over the weekend. Hartford reached 78 degrees Saturday afternoon, breaking an old record of 76 degrees set in 1994, the National Weather Service said. Providence, R.I. got to 75 degrees and Worcester, Mass., reached 73 degrees – both of those readings tied records from 1994.
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Project Aimed at Protecting Masons Island from Sea Level Rise
The Day - November 9, 2022
Mason’s Island in Stonington, CT is in the crosshairs of rising sea levels due to climate change, but its residents are taking proactive steps to help others and themselves by launching an innovative pilot program. Members of the Island's Fire District’s Shoreline Protection Task Force have been tracking erosion along Chippechaug Trail, the only egress from the southern part of the island. Over the last two years they say they have seen a startling loss of land.
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CIRCA OpEd: A Decade of Change for Connecticut and Climate Change
Hartford Courant - November 14, 2022
Jim O'Donnell, CIRCA Executive Director says that Connecticut has always been a leader in climate change research and policy. In 1862 professors from Yale published the results of temperature measurements in New Haven. They compared data from 1779-1820 to data from 1820-1865 and found that there was no significant difference. There was no warming. Unfortunately, data now shows significant warming and higher sea levels, and scientists attribute this to greenhouse gas, or GHG, emissions and expect these trends to continue.
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In Connecticut, Climate Change is Another Way to Say Opportunity
UConn Today - November 17, 2022
A panel of University of Connecticut climate experts discussed how Connecticut could become the Silicon Valley of sustainable energy during a roundtable in Greenwich on Nov. 16. UConn will install several fuel cells around campus this year, building on the success of the fuel cell power plant originally installed at the Depot Campus in April 2012. That fuel cell has supplied the Depot with heating, cooling, and electricity for almost a decade.
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New York Voters Approved $4.2 Billion for Climate Infrastructure. Now What?
Washington Post - November 18, 2022
Voters across New York approved a $4.2 billion environmental bond measure during midterm elections that is intended to bolster climate mitigation and land preservation projects. But while the act has been applauded by environmentalists, many are calling on New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to do more now that she has won her first full term as governor.
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Grant Enhances Solar Energy, Storm Readiness Efforts
UConn Today - November 21, 2022
UConn continues to develop more advanced technologies and resources to prepare communities for power outages and shorten restoration time. The latest initiative – made possible through a recent $4.4 million federal grant – enhances towns’ access to solar power and battery energy storage in the event of a storm or emergency that disables electricity.
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CT Green Bank driving Private Investment In Climate Tech Through Crowdfunding, Partnerships
Hartford Business Journal - November 21, 2022
Over the past decade, there have been plenty of events to showcase innovative startups with the potential to transform industries. But last month, amid a heightened focus on addressing climate change and increasing energy efficiency statewide, Connecticut hosted its first VentureClash, Climate Edition startup pitch event at District in New Haven.
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Small Steps Can Mean Big Results for Climate Change
The Day - November 29, 2022
More frequent severe storms and sea level rise are combining to seriously endanger one of southeastern Connecticut’s most valuable assets - its shoreline. The impact of climate change on the state’s shoreline is dramatic. CIRCA predicts sea level will rise by one foot, eight inches in the state by the year 2050.
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Factbox: COP26 a Year Later: Where do Last Year's Climate Pledges Stand?
Reuters - November 1, 2022
A year ago at the U.N. climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, countries, banks and business leaders announced a slew of climate plans and pledges. Here is an update on how some of the biggest promises have since progressed.
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The World is Going to Miss the Totemic 1.5°C Climate Target
The Economist - November 5, 2022
Three strikes and you’re out is a pretty good rule. And the politicians and negotiators attending the Paris climate summit, COP21, in December 2015 were facing their third strike. In the years since Paris, the 1.5°C target went from something to be pursued to something totemised. A stretch goal has been widely treated as a paramount one.
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New UN weather Report ‘a chronicle of chaos’: UN chief
UN News - November 6, 2022
The latest report from the UN World Meteorological Organization, released, shows that the last eight years have been the warmest on record, fueled by ever-rising greenhouse gases. The provisional 2022 State of the Global Climate study outlines the increasingly dramatic signs of the climate emergency. The full report is due to be released in Spring of 2023.
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How Climate Change, Rising Sea Levels are
Transforming Coastlines Around the World
ABC News - November 7, 2022
Communities have gravitated toward the shore for thousands of years, building their lives in proximity to major waterways for easy access to trade, seafood and recreation. But those who reside near coastlines will need to learn to adjust as climate change continues to create conditions that chip away at these malleable geological structures, according to experts.
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After Decades of Resistance, Rich Countries Offer Direct Climate Aid
New York Times - November 8, 2022
For 30 years, developing nations have been calling for industrialized countries to provide compensation for the costs of devastating storms and droughts caused by climate change. For just as long, rich nations that have generated the pollution that is dangerously heating the planet have resisted those calls, until now.
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NASA Study: Rising Sea Level Could Exceed Estimates for U.S. Coasts
NASA - November 15, 2022
By 2050, sea level along contiguous U.S. coastlines could rise as much as 12 inches above today’s waterline, according to researchers who analyzed nearly three decades of satellite observations. The results from the NASA Sea Level Change Team could help refine near-term projections for U.S. coastal communities.
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Report: 90% of US Counties Hit With Disaster in Last Decade
AP News - November 16, 2022
Ninety percent of the counties in the United States suffered a weather disaster between 2011 and 2021, according to a new Rebuild by Design report. Some endured as many as 12 federally-declared disasters over those 11 years. More than 300 million people — 93% of the country’s population — live in these counties.
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Did the World Make Progress on Climate Change?
Here's What was Decided at Global Talks
NPR - November 20, 2022
Contentious climate negotiations ended in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, as negotiators from around the world finalized a modest deal to help control global warming and pay for the costs of a hotter Earth. In a historic move, countries agreed to establish a fund to support poorer countries already hit hardest by the impacts.
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With Federal Aid on the Table, Utilities Shift to Embrace Climate Goals
New York Times - November 29, 2022
As billions in government subsidies were at stake, the electric utility industry shed its opposition to clean-air regulation and put its lobbying muscle behind passing President Biden’s climate bill. Their new stance is driven by the changing economics of renewable energy, fueled in part by the sheer amount of money the federal government is putting on the table to encourage utilities to move more quickly to cleaner sources of energy.
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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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