New Resource: SMAQMD release the Draft GHG Handbook Available for Public Review

The Water Forum’s new executive director Jessica Law in the August edition of Comstocks Magazine on how California is managing its water supply

Recent Blog Post: Investing in Our Region

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The Public Policy Institute of California release two new factsheets: Groundwater Recharge and California’s Water Market

All forum recordings, presentations slides, and additional resources are available on our website. Additionally, all recordings can be found on this Youtube Playlist and best practices and case studies shared throughout the forum have been added to the CCEC Best Practices Database.

LGC's Community Design team is looking to partner with 5-8 agencies serving disadvantaged communities and communities of color to provide pro-bono assistance to apply for the Caltrans Sustainable Communities Planning Grant Program! Applications will likely be due in October or November 2021 for planning projects with an active and/or public transportation nexus. Reach out to Cayla McDonell-Encina, Community Design Project Manager at [email protected] for more information.

LGC is still seeking California communities to participate in the Growing Water Smart program. The program includes a virtual workshop and technical assistance follow-up to collaboratively and effectively address the water-related growth and development challenges in your community. Link.

America's Service Commissions (ASC), in coordination with the Local Government Commission and Farallon Strategies, would like to understand how Climate Change and Resilience AmeriCorps initiatives may be developed to support tribal, local, regional, and state climate initiatives across the ASC service areas. ASC supports the work of all State Service Commissions across the US and and US territories. Please distribute this Climate Corps Interest Survey throughout your network to help us understand how service members might be of greatest value in advancing climate and resilience projects in your community. Survey.

Applications will be accepted for implementation projects only, which prevent and clean up contamination of groundwater that serves (or has served) as a source of drinking water. Concept Proposals for Round 3 are currently being accepted with a deadline of September 7, 2021. $70 million remaining for Round 3, including $20 million for DACs and $50 million for non-DACs. Link.

For more funding and grant opportunities please visit fundingresource.org/

During this seminar, three Spanish speakers will provide insight into their unique experiences working in the climate adaptation space with an audience of adaptation practitioners across the state. Individual presentations will be followed by a moderated panel discussion with opportunities for audience Q&A. This event is open to the public and we hope you will be able to join us! Registration.

State agency Councilmembers will highlight their agencies’ work on climate adaptation and resilience and ICARP staff will provide programmatic updates. This meeting will be the first meeting at which the ICARP Council will also serve as the Citizen Advisory Committee for The Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD)’s Community Development Block Grant – Mitigation program. ICARP Councilmembers will provide feedback on HCD’s Action Plan. CA Coastal Commission staff will also present on the recently released public review draft of their guidance document, Critical Infrastructure at Risk: Sea Level Rise Planning Guidance for CA’s Coastal Zone. This is a public meeting and will be held virtually.

Download the full TAC meeting agenda and please register in advance for the meeting.

The Renaissance Society at California State University, Sacramento is pleased to host a Virtual Climate Event on September 10, 2021 at 3:00-4:15 pm (Pacific) featuring a presentation by renowned climate scientist Dr. Katharine Hayhoe about our climate crisis and what we can do about it. Registration.

As California makes the switch to widespread electric vehicle transportation, the Greater Sacramento Region needs to ensure our training programs keep pace and provide access to traditionally disinvested populations. This advisory will feature an employer and industry panel discussion with an opportunity for questions and answers on current and emerging skill needs for these careers. Registration.

At the Cleaner Air Partnership’s September 2021 *Virtual* Quarterly Luncheon, attendees will learn about the intersection of air quality and climate change, with a focus on Climate Action Plans. These two topics are often separated based on how each is discussed, regulated, and addressed, despite being deeply connected issues. Cleaner Air Partnership events are an opportunity to learn about important air quality topics affecting the Sacramento region. Registration.

Every year the California State Parks, in partnership with SMUD, celebrates the history of the Historic Folsom Powerhouse and the power of electricity in our lives. More Info.

Registration.

The Behavior, Energy & Climate Change Conference is the premier international conference focused on understanding human behavior and decision making and using that knowledge to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon future. Currently, in its 14th year, BECC is associated with a growing set of allied conferences in Europe and Asia. Registration.

Climate change is expected to alter the patterns of water availability for hydropower by intensifying and lengthening storms during wet periods and droughts during dry periods. Even if annual rainfall is the same, a change in the timing of precipitation can thwart the utility of hydro plants. Link.

Since the 1920s, farmers have grown rice in the Sacramento Valley, where old hands fly crop duster planes and rice emblems mark the county buildings. Now, due to decades-old agreements with the federal government, rice farmers like Gallagher are going relatively unscathed by unprecedented emergency water cuts to farmers this month as others fallow fields, wells go dry and low water levels imperil Chinook salmon, the native cold-water fish that play critical ecological roles and support a billion-dollar fishing industry. Link.

"Intense heat can affect human behavior, from making it hard to focus to prompting aggression. One solution is to ensure broader access to air conditioning (as seen in these window units in a Manhattan building), particularly in areas where an abundance of paved and built surfaces can create urban heat islands." Link

"It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the implications of [the IPCC} report, but the good news is that we know what we need to do to equitably address the climate crisis. The solutions are at our fingertips, and current technologies can go a long way towards reducing climate pollution and drawing down carbon already in the atmosphere. But these solutions require political will and greater ambition from elected officials, especially in California." Link

The IPCC’s latest climate report is dire. But it also included some prospects for hope. The striking thing is not the bad news, which is not really news for those who have followed the science closely. It’s the report’s insights on possibilities for cautious optimism. Link

The Capital Region Climate Readiness Collaborative is a membership based collaborative network designed to promote greater climate change resilience planning coordination in the six-county Sacramento Region. The purpose of this collaborative network is to create a forum where leaders from government, academia, environmental and community groups, the business community, and labor can come together to exchange information, identify vulnerabilities and data gaps, leverage resources, and advance comprehensive solutions in an effort to create stronger, sustainable, and economically viable communities in the Capital Region.

CRC is a program of the Local Government Commission.