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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CIRCA on CT DOT "Along the Lines" Podcast:
Climate Change Effects on State Transportation
Our choices for how we travel have a lasting impact on the climate where we live, work, and play. In Episode 23 of DOT’s Along the Lines that aired on January 18, host Rich Andreski and his guests from the Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) and CIRCA's Director of Resilience Planning, John Trusckinski discuss the importance of making our vital public transportation systems more resilient to climate change. The podcast's roundtable members also discuss the vulnerability of transportation systems and how decisions of greener commuting choices can help combat climate change.
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CIRCA Research Seed Grants Available
CIRCA is seeking four, $15,000 research seed grant proposals from UCONN faculty. These awards are intended to support development of larger, competitive grant proposals to advance CIRCA’s mission. Proposals should address specific research topics that include socioeconomic impacts of climate change, effective engagement strategies for community resilience, innovative approaches to resilient engineering, and innovative financing approaches for adaptation strategies. For more information and to apply, visit the Research Grants Announcement. Applications are due March 15, 2022.
Two webinars for UConn faculty to learn more about this grant funding will be held on:
February 14, 2022 from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. Register
February 17, 2022 from 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. Register
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NOAA Webinar: Funding and Financing Coastal Resilience
Spotlight on Community Development Financial Institutions
Investing in Underserved Communities
February 1, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Experts from the field will share how Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) are helping economically disadvantaged communities build their resilience. Learn how CDFI’s are creating equitable access to prosperity and financing community resilience. To help guide the discussion, participants will be encouraged to ask questions and talk about their funding and financing challenges.
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Lincoln Institute of Land Policy:
Consortium for Scenario Planning 2022 Conference
February 3 - 4
The Consortium for Scenario Planning invites you to register for their fifth annual conference, a virtual gathering that will run from February 3 to 4, 2022. Building on last year’s successful gathering, the fifth annual Consortium for Scenario Planning Conference will focus on how scenario planning can help us better prepare for and reduce the impacts of climate change.
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Present at the 5th National Adaptation Forum - Call for Proposals Open Now
February 4 - Submission Deadline
The Program Committee invites proposals for presentation at the 5th National Adaptation Forum. The program emphasizes the implementation of climate adaptation strategies and sharing lessons learned. Presentations and sessions that connect science to management decisions and the implementation and evaluation of adaptation actions’ effectiveness are of high priority. Proposals are due 2/4 at 11:59pm (Hawaiian-Aleutian Time).
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EBC Climate Change Member Workshop: COP26 Report Out
February 8, 9:30 - 11:00 a.m.
This EBC Climate Change Member Workshop will present perspectives and information regarding COP 26 from those who participated directly and answer the all-important question: Did COP26 deliver? This workshop is open to EBC members only.
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Yale Global Initiative on Climate Change and Public Health Ethics Webinar
February 21, 12:00 p.m.
Join Dr. Laura Bothwell, Associate Research Scientist in Epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health for "Climate Change and Public Health Ethics: Our Duty to Displaced Global Populations." Dr. Bothwell's research examines social, historical, and ethical dimensions of epidemiology with a particular focus on randomized controlled trials. She also does work on the intersection of climate change, epidemiology, and ethics.
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Yale Center on Climate Change and Health Webinar
When Data Isn’t Enough: Health, Science, and Climate Advocacy
February 28, 12:00 p.m.
Join the Yale Center on Climate Change and Health as they host a webinar with Dr. Kim Knowlton, senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council and assistant professor at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. Dr. Knowlton specializes in the human health impacts of climate change, served as co-convening lead author for the human health chapter of the U.S. Third National Climate Assessment, as a member of the 2nd and 4th New York City Panels on Climate Change, and participated in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Fourth and Fifth Assessment Reports.
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U.S. DOT Funding: Rebuilding American Infrastructure with
Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant Program
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has published a Notice of Funding Opportunity for $1.5 billion in grant funding through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program. The popular program helps communities around the country carry out projects with significant local or regional impact. RAISE discretionary grants, which were originally created under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as TIGER grants, can be used for a wide variety of projects including resilient infrastructure. The deadline for applications is 5 p.m. EST on April 14. Webinars on the grant program will be offered soon – stay tuned by following the RAISE website.
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NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information:
State Climate Summaries 2022
New NOAA State Climate Summaries provide updated information and extend the historical climate record for each state. The summaries cover assessment topics directly related to NOAA’s mission, specifically historical climate variations and trends, future climate model projections of climate conditions during the 21st century, and past and future conditions of sea level and coastal flooding. Additional background information and links are included.
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FEMA Resources for Climate Resilience
As climate change increases disaster risks across the country, emergency managers and government officials are beginning to implement strategies to build community resilience. FEMA Resources for Climate Resilience provides a roadmap of FEMA programs and initiatives that advance community climate resilience and assists FEMA’s state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) partners in navigating the FEMA resources that are available to support communities in mitigating impacts of climate change.
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State and Regional News Clips |
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DEC Announces $11 Million for Climate Smart Community Projects
NY State Department of Environmental Conservation - January 4, 2022
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos announced that DEC's Climate Smart Communities Grant program awarded $11 million to municipalities across the State as part of the $196 million in Regional Economic Development Council awards. The projects will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the ongoing impacts of climate change, including reducing flood risk, increasing natural resiliency, and relocating or retrofitting critical infrastructure.
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Connecticut Targets Building Emissions, Energy Equity as it
Moves to Update Energy Strategy
Utility Dive - January 10, 2022
In September 2021, the state reported that it was no longer on track to meet its greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets. Emissions rose 2.7% from 2017 to 2018, the report found based on the latest state data available, off the pace needed to reduce economywide GHG emissions 80% below 2001 levels by 2050. Although the state’s electricity sector had made strides, the state found that the transportation and building sectors continued to be major sources of climate pollution.
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Baker-Polito Administration Awards Climate Change Habitat Resilience Grants to Municipalities and Conservation Organizations
Newswires - January 11, 2022
BOSTON — The Baker-Polito Administration today announced $216,078 in grants through the Climate Change Resilience Grant Opportunity Program to five conservation organizations and municipalities. The funds, administered through the Department of Fish and Game’s (DFG) Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife), will be used in six habitat improvement projects totaling 237 acres in seven Massachusetts communities.
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UConn Alum Shapes U.S. Climate Policy
Uconn Today - January 11, 2022
Catherine Pomposi ’10 (CLAS) graduated from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences with a degree in statistics and environmental analysis. She earned a Ph.D. in climate science from Columbia University; was a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at UC Santa Barbara; and served as a legislative fellow in the office of U.S. Senator Kamala Harris. In 2019, she joined the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), where she is currently a Climate Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor. Pomposi explains how her time at UConn helped shape her career.
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Groton to Develop Coastal Resiliency Plan for Downtown Mystic
The Day - January 15, 2022
Groton — The town soon will begin a project to develop a plan to help make downtown Mystic more resilient to sea-level rise and climate change. Downtown Mystic is one of the most vulnerable areas in Groton, as it is low-lying, has a dense population and many historic homes, businesses, and infrastructure that were mostly built prior to FEMA flood zones and National Flood Insurance Program regulations, according to a grant proposal. The town anticipates sea levels to rise 20 inches by 2050, according to its grant application.
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Storm Closed Roads, Caused Power Outages and Flooding
The Day - January 17, 2022
An overnight storm on Sunday brought heavy wind and rain to the region, resulting in flooding, downed power lines that closed roads and left many Eversource customers without power Monday morning. Groton Town Police said River Road north of Bindloss Road in Mystic and Poquonnock Road/Route 1 in the area of South Road in downtown Groton were flooded and impassable Monday morning due to the rain and high tide. There was also flooding in downtown Mystic, that closed roads, a common occurrence with coastal storms.
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Will Climate Change Impact the Tweed Airport Expansion?
Here’s What Experts Think
Hartford Courant - January 18, 2022
Just two days after the details of a master plan to expand Tweed New Haven airport were released in July, there was a harsh reminder that in a showdown between climate change and Tweed, climate change may well win. Elsa, the first of three tropical systems this past summer that drenched the Connecticut shoreline, dumped a whole lot of water on Tweed. The problematic climate future Tweed faces actually is possible along just about all of New Haven’s shoreline. Parts of that shoreline – including the Long Wharf area — were once under water and may be destined for it again as the entire area faces increased battering from ever more-intense and frequent storms.
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Feds Come Through With $160M For Coastal Climate-Change Plan
New Haven Independent - January 19, 2022
The feds are all in. So New Haven has learned, as far as one of the city’s most ambitious climate-change efforts is concerned. That effort is called the New Haven County Coastal Storm Risk Management Project. It aims plan to protect the city from the effects of rising sea levels. The plan calls for building a flood wall along I‑95 by the harbor; five removable gates at flood-prone spots on Long Wharf; and a large pump station for stormwater that accumulates in major storms, potentially overwhelming Long Wharf and the area around the train station and police station.
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Governor Lays Out Climate Change Plan for Rhode Island
AP News - January 19, 2022
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee proposed spending more than $150 million during the next fiscal year on several initiatives intended to address threats to the state from climate change by cutting greenhouse gas emissions. His plan includes spending $95 million to improve two ports and support the development of offshore wind energy. It also proposes spending $23 million to expand the state’s network of electric vehicle charging stations, and $37 million to reduce the costs of installing efficient electric heat pumps.
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Need for Coastal Resilience Plans Grows Urgent
The Day - January 22, 2022
Stack four soda cans on top of one another, then visualize water that deep. That's about how much sea level in Long Island Sound is projected to rise in less than 30 years. It's enough to put underwater many coastal areas that currently are dry and above the water mark. In addition to this general projection of sea level rise, more frequent storms that more often flood lower lying neighborhoods and streets also are now a reality.
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Ocean Temperatures: Climate Warning for New England
EcoRi - January 26, 2022
New England’s historical and cultural identity is inextricably linked to the ocean that laps at nearly 6,200 miles of coastline. And the region’s ocean waters are warming, and not just a little. The world’s oceans, in 2021, were the hottest ever recorded by humans. A chart shows just how much the ocean has warmed over the past 65 years and, due to the accumulation of greenhouse gases, the heat dumped into the ocean has doubled since 1993. It is even more concerning that ocean warming has accelerated since 2010.
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Will 2022 Finally Spell the End for Fossil Fuels?
Here’s What’s on the Climate Agenda
Euronews Green - January 2, 2022
The last 12 months have seen people power come out on top with wins on environmental issues around the world. On the other side, we were warned about the “unequivocal” effect human actions were having on our planet. Experts warned of “code red” for humanity if we don’t change our ways and the climate crisis was top of the agenda in international politics and company boardrooms worldwide.
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Top 2021 Climate Realities Demand a New Year's Resolution for Our Planet
The Hill - January 4, 2022
When pondering resolutions for a new year, it can be helpful to review the year gone by. In the case of 2021, one of the most striking realizations is that we’ve clearly entered an era of extreme weather disasters supercharged by accelerating climate change. It’s important to understand the realities of what is happening to our nation and planet, as well as what it means for the future.
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How to Address Climate Locally? These 6 Places Have Plans
E&E ClimateWire - January 5, 2022
While much of the nation’s attention to climate adaptation has focused on large coastal cities with outsize risks, some of the most forward-leaning climate policies are coming from less urbanized places. Experts say local government innovation will continue to shape the nation’s climate agenda over the coming years, even as funding for such initiatives ebbs and flows. Here are six places meeting unique climate challenges head on, often through local commissions, councils and even volunteers.
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EPA’s Draft Strategic Plan Emphasizes Resilience
and Adaption to Climate Change
JD Supra - January 5, 2022
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published its draft Fiscal Year 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, which lays out seven overarching goals with corresponding objectives to achieve each goal. Under the first goal, entitled “Tackle the Climate Crisis,” EPA emphasizes its objective to “Accelerate Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Change Impacts.” The EPA’s emphasis on climate change adaptation and resilience will likely increase the time and cost of permitting facilities, implementing remediation plans, and constructing infrastructure to accommodate anticipated climate change impacts.
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A Vivid View of Extreme Weather: Temperature Records in the U.S. in 2021
New York Times - January 10, 2022
Temperatures in the United States last year set more all-time heat and cold records than any other year since 1994, according to a New York Times analysis of Global Historical Climatology Network data. Heat waves made up most of these records. All-time heat records were set last year at 8.3 percent of all weather stations across the nation, more than in any year since at least 1948, when weather observations were first digitally recorded by the U.S. government. Extreme-temperature events can often demonstrate the most visible effects of climate change.
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Extreme Weather in the U.S. Cost 688 Lives and $145 Billion Last Year
NPR - January 11, 2022
Wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes and a winter storm and cold wave were among 20 weather and climate disasters in the U.S. last year that cost $1 billion or more, totaling $145 billion and killing 688 people, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In an overview of an annual report released on Monday by NOAA, scientists also said that 2021 ranked as the fourth-warmest year on record in the United States, with December 2021 being the warmest December ever recorded.
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World Ocean Temperatures in 2021 Were Hottest Ever Recorded
Axios - January 12, 2022
World ocean temperatures in 2021 were the hottest ever recorded by humans. The research ties the warming trend conclusively to human emissions of greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas. The oceans store at least 90% of the extra heat retained in the atmosphere from human-induced greenhouse gas emissions, and ocean warming is increasingly tied to extreme weather and climate events.
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State of the Climate: How the World Warmed in 2021
Carbon Brief - January 17, 2022
The climate data for 2021 is now mostly in, and it has proved to be another noteworthy year across the oceans, atmosphere, cryosphere and surface temperature of the planet. In this article, Carbon Brief unpacks the different datasets, remarkable records and extreme events of last year.
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A Federal Judge Canceled Major Oil and Gas Leases Over Climate Change
NPR - January 28, 2022
Late last year, just days after pledging to cut fossil fuels at international climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, the Biden administration held the largest oil and gas lease sale in U.S. history. On Thursday, a federal judge invalidated that sale in the Gulf of Mexico, saying the administration didn't adequately consider the costs to the world's climate.
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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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