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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Resilient Connecticut Expands Statewide
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Final Resilient Connecticut Report:
Identifying the Change in Heat Vulnerability and Land-use Influence
In the last 30 years, extreme heat events have been the deadliest weather-related hazards in the United States. In order to adequately address heat vulnerability, we need to understand the interactions between land surfaces and temperature to support climate-related decision making. A CIRCA funded research team led by Dr. Mariana Fragomeni has a new report available about the occurrence and intensification of urban heat islands in Connecticut cities. Findings indicate that the appearance and intensification of urban heat islands in Fairfield and New Haven counties are linked to the loss of vegetation due to expansion and intensification of urbanization in the last 20 years. Read more on the heat project page...
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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
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Long Island Sound Futures Fund 2022 - Request for Proposals Now Open!
The Long Island Sound Futures Fund (LISFF) is seeking proposals to restore the health and living resources of Long Island Sound with funding of approximately $10 million for awards in 2022. Grants range from $50k - $1.5m with lower match requirements this year. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's LISFF operates within a partnership of federal and state agencies, foundations, non-governmental organizations, educational institutions, user groups, and individuals dedicated to restoring and protecting the Sound. The deadline to submit LISFF project ideas is April 22, 2022 and final proposal deadline is May 19, 2022. Check out the RFP to learn more about eligible projects and upcoming webinars.
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CT DEEP: The Urban Forestry Equity Through Capacity Building Grant Program
The Urban Forestry Equity through Capacity Building Grant Program is designed to assist municipalities and non-profits interested in pursuing urban forestry projects while also building capacity within their organization. Awards range from $5,000-$10,000 and can fund projects that will address issues of environmental justice and combat the impacts of climate change. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis through March 15, 2022.
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Requests for FEMA Flood Plain Management Services Assistance
Under the authority provided by Section 206 of the 1960 Flood Control Act, the Corps of Engineers can provide the full range of technical services and planning guidance that is needed to support effective flood plain management. Types of studies that have been conducted under the Floodplain Management Services (FPMS) program include: flood plain delineation/hazard, dam failure analyses, hurricane evacuation, flood damage reduction, stormwater management, flood proofing, and inventories of flood prone structures. FPMS proposals must be provided for review by Thursday, March 31, 2022. Proposals must describe work capable of being completed within 12-18 months from initiation; a 12-month timeline is preferred. An average proposal requests approximately $100,000 in funding.
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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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Yale Energy Justice Speaker Series: Spring 2022
Join the Yale School of the Environment on Mondays at 2:30 pm EST for their public speaker series exploring the multifaceted and exciting role of justice in the clean energy transition. Energy justice refers to the goal of achieving equity in the social and economic participation in the energy system, while also remedying social, economic, and health impacts on those disproportionately harmed by the way we produce and consume energy. This series will draw from multiple disciplines and will cover broad topics on policy and regulation, community advocacy, housing, transportation, labor, utilities, and more.
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Pew Charitable Trust Climate Adaptation Webinar
March 8, 3:00 - 4:30 p.m.
The frequency and severity of flood-inducing storms is projected to rise over the next several decades, placing a premium on the need to adapt now and better prepare communities for current and future impacts of climate change. The State Resilience Partnership, a network of organizations committed to support state planning and implementation efforts conducted first-of-its-kind research on resilience and adaptation planning in the U.S. Join this webinar for a conversation with research partner, the Urban Institute, and state Chief Resilience Officers to discuss how state governments across the country are rising to the challenge with long-range adaptation plans and integrated resilience efforts across sectors.
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CEF Meeting: Infrastructure Act Funding
March 9, 8:30 - 10:00 a.m.
Join the Connecticut Environmental Forum (CEF) for a March 9 webinar where speakers will: 1) report on recent activities of state and federal regulators, and 2) describe funding that is available through the Federal Infrastructure Act in more detail. CEF is an organization which provides a forum for environmental professionals to share and exchange information and experiences on environmental matters. Members of The Forum meet monthly to discuss upcoming changes in laws and regulations and community impacts. No registration is required for attending CEF meetings. CEF meetings are free to members. Non-members are invited to attend one meeting at no charge.
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National Adaptation Forum Webinar Series:
Monitoring and Evaluation of Adaptation Progress and Successes
Implementation of climate adaptation strategies rarely include efforts to assess whether or not they are resulting in desired resilience to climate change impacts. As a result there is little data on the efficacy of adaptation practice. The goal of this series is to advance the practice of monitoring and evaluating climate adaptation work. This four-part virtual series aims to highlight different approaches, examples, and frameworks from across the adaptation community, spanning natural, built, and social systems.
Session One
March 16, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Session Two
March 30, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Session Three
April 13, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Session Four
April 27, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
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New England Social Coast Forum: Fostering Social Resilience and Climate Adaptation in New England
March 24, 1:00 - 3:30 p.m.
This virtual gathering will include live presentations and a chance to talk with other professionals in small groups about the connections between social resilience and climate adaptation, and what this means for work in New England. In coordination with NOAA and the National Estuarine Research Reserve Association, the Wells (Maine), Great Bay (New Hampshire), Waquoit Bay (Massachusetts) and Narragansett Bay (Rhode Island) National Estuarine Research Reserves are hosting this local gathering of the Social Coast Forum for their New England partners working on coastal management, climate adaptation, and social resilience. Register by March 18th.
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FEMA Updates Shelter Locator Texting Feature
Having the right information at the right time is often key to surviving a natural disaster. FEMA’s updated texting feature allows the public to access shelter addresses when they need it most. Users can text “shelter” and their ZIP code to 43362 to get a list of nearby shelter locations. FEMA’s old text feature only showed shelters within the requested ZIP code. This new feature uses Geographic Information System (GIS) capabilities to give users shelter addresses within 200 miles of their ZIP code. The texting feature is available across all 50 states and U.S. territories.
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FEMA: Addressing Future Climate, Population, and Land Use Changes Through Hazard Mitigation Planning
As the number and intensity of disaster events continue to grow, it is important to account for future conditions and climate change in your hazard mitigation plan. “Future Conditions” include the impacts of a changing climate, changes in population, and changes in land use and the built environment. This recorded webinar provides ideas, resources and examples of how to integrate future conditions information into your hazard mitigation planning process to increase overall resilience.
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CarbonBrief Analysis: The Climate Papers Most Featured in the Media in 2021
Carbon Brief has compiled its annual list of the 25 most talked-about climate change-related papers that were published the previous year. These studies were picked up around the world by news outlets and shared on social media platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Tracking all these “mentions” was Altmetric, an organization that scores academic papers according to the attention they receive. This year’s list includes research on “noisy” oceans, record weather extremes and the “climate denial” of major oil companies.
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Short Wave Podcast: How Climate Change is Forcing Cities
to Rebuild Stormwater Systems
Deep below our city streets lie intricate networks of underground piping built to carry away excess rainfall run off. These stormwater systems mostly go unnoticed until heavy rains overwhelm them, causing streets to flood. Now, with rising rainfall averages in much of the nation, cities need to plan for more water. Guest host Dan Charles talks to climate correspondent Lauren Sommer about the challenges of such planning and why many cities aren't set up to handle the coming rains.
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Climate Social Science Network: New Report Illustrates Patterns of Pro-Fossil Fuel Influence on Climate and Energy Issues in Connecticut
A new analysis authored by scholars at the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society provides insights about who is influencing action and inaction on environmental and clean energy policy in the Connecticut State House. The analysis showed that electric and gas utilities spent $24 million on lobbying between 2013-2020, amounting to four times that of renewable energy firms ($6 million) and more than eight times that of environmental organizations ($2.7 million). The majority of positions taken in written testimony given by the electric/gas utility, heating oil, business association, auto, fossil fuel, and real estate sectors opposed priority climate legislation.
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Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center Report -
Buying Time With Runnels: A Climate Adaptation Tool for Salt Marshes
The health of New England salt marshes is threatened by increasing surface water caused by interactions between sea level rise and historic changes made to marshes by people. In this new paper from Estuaries and Coasts, a team of scientists and resource managers investigates the efficacy of runnels, shallow channels that help drain standing water, in expediting marsh restoration. Toward this end, the team summarizes information from a workshop, stakeholder meetings, literature review, and a runnel case study.
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RISCC Management Challenge: Marine Mischief
In this handout from the Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change Management Network, the RISCC team details how the convergence of invasive species and climate change is negatively impacting New England's salt marshes and summarize current management strategies to address this problem. Most importantly, the team also suggests new options that may prove effective in promoting salt marsh stability, including limiting removal of natural predators from these areas, reducing release of invasives such as the green crab, and increasing multi-agency stakeholder collaboration.
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Nature Climate Change Article:
Inequitable Patterns of US Flood Risk in the Anthropocene
Current flood risk mapping, relying on historical observations, fails to account for increasing threat under climate change. The authors’ national depiction of comprehensive and high-resolution flood risk estimates in the United States indicates current average annual losses of US $32.1 billion in 2020’s climate. The future increase in risk will disproportionately impact Black communities, while remaining concentrated on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Projected population change could cause flood risk increases that outweigh the impact of climate change fourfold. These results make clear the need for adaptation to flood and emergent climate risks in the United States.
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State and Regional News Clips |
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Climate Policy Must Focus on Black and Brown Communities, Advocates Say
NJ Spotlight News - February 3, 2022
As the climate crisis continues, more and more research demonstrates that Black and brown communities across the country and in New Jersey are bearing the burden of its disastrous effects — more flooding, increased air pollution and higher instances of health issues. And if the devastation that Hoboken, Jersey City and Elizabeth residents experienced from the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida was any indication, the worst is yet to come.
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New Report Details Steps Needed to Build Climate Resilience in Vulnerable Connecticut Communities
Yale School of the Environment - February 4, 2022
A new report on climate resilience in Connecticut is recommending that the state take more steps to dismantle underlying inequality that makes vulnerable communities more susceptible to the effects of climate change. The report, a collaboration between the Yale School of the Environment, the Yale School of Public Health Center on Climate Change and Health, and Vermont Law School, details ways the state can mitigate the impact of natural disasters on vulnerable communities.
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4 Things to Know About Connecticut’s New Energy Storage Incentive Program
Energy News Network - February 4, 2022
Thousands of dollars in incentives are now available to Connecticut residents who want to install electric storage devices in their homes or businesses. Overseen by the state Public Utility Regulatory Authority, the Energy Storage Solutions program is designed to deploy 580 megawatts of behind-the-meter battery storage throughout Connecticut by the end of 2030. The batteries can act as a backup power supply in the event of an outage. But they may also feed the grid during times of peak demand and help to enhance grid resiliency.
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RI State Climate Summary Addresses Warming, Precipitation, Sea Level Rise
The Brown Daily Heard - February 7, 2022
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released its State Climate Summaries for 2022. The Rhode Island report, written by climate researchers Jennifer Runkle and Kenneth Kunkel, predicts unprecedented warming, extreme precipitation events and sea level rise that could cause coastal flooding and erosion in the Ocean State by the end of the century. But Rhode Island officials say they are working to adapt.
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Free Online Tool Identifies Climate Risks in Your Neighborhood
Yale Climate Connections - February 8, 2022
Heatwaves and storms. Floods and fires. Climate change will affect all communities, but in diverse ways. To help people understand what’s expected where they live, the nonprofit research group Headwaters Economics created a free online tool called Neighborhoods at Risk. It also provides racial and socioeconomic data – for example, the percentage of people in an area who live in poverty, lack health insurance, or are elderly.
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Transit Oriented Development Efforts Should Leverage CT's Walkable Cities
CT By the Numbers - February 13, 2022
Building transit-oriented development (TOD) along Connecticut’s new and existing transit infrastructure provides an opportunity to structure economic growth around “resilient corridors,” as studies have shown that walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods are more resilient to economic shock and better for the planet. Yet the data shows a failure to develop concrete metrics for TOD, which has deprioritized investing in CT's walkable cities.
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Unprecedented’ Investment in Long Island Sound to Improve Environment, Climate Resiliency, and Bolster Fishing, Swimming, Boating and Tourism
Hartford Courant - February 16, 2022
An “unprecedented” $106 million investment in the Long Island Sound will improve the estuary’s environmental health and increase climate resiliency along its shoreline, federal and state leaders said. The funding will be delivered through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to the Long Island Sound Study — a partnership between the agency, Connecticut and New York — over the next five years.
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Here’s What Rising Sea Levels Mean for Boston
The Boston Globe - February 16, 2022
The United States got a wake-up call about sea level rise in the form of a major new federal report. An interagency study, led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, forecasts that by 2050, sea levels along US coast will be about a foot higher than they were in 2000. That increase will be even sharper in Boston and elsewhere in the Northeast: the region is likely to see 16 inches of sea level rise compared with 2000 levels.
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From Policy to Practical: UConn Students, Alumni Use Personal Strengths to Address Climate Change
UCONN Today - February 18, 2022
Sena Wazer ’22 (CLAS) was only 11 years old when the Paris Climate Accord was signed, but it wasn’t until three years later in 2018 when she started to pay attention. That was the year the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change stated in a special report that to prevent the most devastating impacts of climate change, the world must work quickly to adhere to the 1.5-degree Celsius temperature rise agreed to in the Paris Accord and must make significant changes to do so before 2030 or face severe consequences.
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Sea level Rise is Inevitable. Now What?
wbur - February 22, 2022
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a new report on the state of sea level rise. That report presents five predictions for the level of sea level rise between now and 2100. At the low end of the scale, we could see as little as two feet, on the high end, upwards of seven. Rebecca Herst, the director of the Sustainable Solutions Lab at UMass Boston, and Andrew Gottlieb, the executive director of the Association to Preserve Cape Cod, were interviewed to discuss the report and its impacts.
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CT's Infrastructure Struggles With More Frequent and Intense Storms
NBC CT - February 25, 2022
When Tropical Storm Henri hit last August, Gerard Street in Manchester was underwater in a matter of minutes. The storm dumped five inches of rain on the town. Manchester Town Manager Steve Stephanou said the unprecedented flooding was the result of severe runoff from nearby Bigelow Brook. Just a couple of miles away on Ambassador Drive, the road collapsed when the culvert underneath was overwhelmed by rushing water.
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A Pledge Inked in Glasgow is Already in Doubt
E&E News - February 1, 2022
One decision that came out of last year’s climate negotiations gained more attention than others for the pressure it puts on nations to cut planet-warming pollution faster. Rather than wait until 2025 to submit new plans for reducing emissions, each country would need to update their targets this year, according to the final pact sealed in Glasgow, Scotland.
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Climate Change Has Likely Begun to Suffocate the World's Fisheries
PHYS ORG - February 1, 2022
By 2080, around 70% of the world's oceans could be suffocating from a lack of oxygen as a result of climate change, potentially impacting marine ecosystems worldwide, according to a new study. New models find mid-ocean depths that support many fisheries are already losing oxygen at unnatural rates and passed a critical threshold of oxygen loss in 2021.
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How is the Federal Government Approaching Climate Resilience?
U.S. Government Accountability Office - February 1, 2022
Extreme weather events threaten the stability of critical infrastructure that we rely on every day. This includes systems like roads, electric grids, supply chains, as well as how this infrastructure is used for military operations. The projected impact of climate change on these critical infrastructures is a key source of federal fiscal exposure because of the size of the federal government’s investment and states’ increasing reliance on the federal government for disaster assistance.
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HUD Opens Access to $2B in Climate, Disaster Resilience Grants
The Hill - February 1, 2022
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is opening up access to more than $2 billion in federal funds, with a goal of bolstering community resilience to disasters and the impacts of climate change. HUD announced a set of guidelines for the use and “equitable distribution” of disaster recovery and mitigation funds in a notice on “Allocations for Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery,” in the Federal Register.
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An Unexpected Item is Blocking Cities' Climate Prep: Obsolete Rainfall Records
NPR - February 9, 2022
American cities are poised to spend billions of dollars to improve their water systems under the federal infrastructure bill, the largest water investment in the nation's history. Those new sewers and storm drains will need to withstand rainfall that's becoming more intense in a changing climate. Many cities are still building their infrastructure for the climate of the past, using rainfall records that haven't been updated in decades.
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How Billions in Infrastructure Funding Could Worsen Global Warming
New York Times - February 10, 2022
A Western frontier state with an affinity for the open road and Subaru Outbacks, Colorado’s traditional answer to traffic congestion could be summed up in two words: more asphalt. But widening highways and paving new roads often just spurs people to drive more, research shows. And as concerns grow about how tailpipe emissions are heating the planet, Colorado is among a handful of car-dominated states that are rethinking road building.
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White House Rolls Out $5B EV Charging Program
E&E Climatewire - February 10, 2022
The Biden administration will roll out a $5 billion program to help states build a national network of 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations by decade’s end. The newly dubbed National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program was established by President Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure law. The administration also released guidance to help states begin drafting their five-year deployment plans for building the chargers.
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Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Introduce Coastal Resilience Legislation
The Hill - February 10, 2022
A group of bipartisan lawmakers introduced a bill that aims to protect against coastal and river flooding as climate change makes sea levels rise. The bill, from Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.), as well as Reps. Garret Graves (R-La.) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), comes as resilience and adaptation is emerging as an area of bipartisan cooperation on climate change, an otherwise highly partisan issue.
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U.S. Sea Level Rise Accelerating, NOAA Says
NBC News - February 15, 2022
Sea level rise is accelerating rapidly and U.S. coasts could on average see another foot of water by 2050, according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report. The report predicted 10 to 12 inches of additional sea level rise by midcentury, though projections for specific regions and communities vary because of changes in land height. Some parts of the coastal U.S. are subsiding, while others are experiencing uplift or rebound.
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IPCC Report ‘a damning indictment of failed global leadership on climate’
UN News - February 28, 2022
UN scientists on Monday delivered a stark warning about the impact of climate change on people and the planet, saying that ecosystem collapse, species extinction, deadly heatwaves and floods are among the "unavoidable multiple climate hazards” the world will face over the next two decades due to global warming. According to the report, human-induced climate change is causing dangerous and widespread disruption in nature and affecting billions of lives all over the world, despite efforts to reduce the risks.
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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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