Climate Mitigation and Adaptation News

September 30, 2022

Building Decarbonization Working Group

As a member of The Capital Region Climate Readiness Collaborative, all staff and affiliates of your organization are able to participate in a working group!

CRCRC recently restarted its Building Decarbonization Working Group. This group will focus on information sharing and resource consolidation to advance building decarbonization efforts throughout the Capital Region. Each of these sessions, occurring monthly, will feature a guest speaker with expertise in one area of building decarbonization and provide an opportunity to coordinate and collaborate with members of other organizations.

If you are interested in joining or leading a working group please complete this interest form.

Does your organization have updates you would like to share with the rest of the CRCRC? Share them through this newsletter!

If you or anyone at your organization has updates you would like to have promoted through this newsletter, utilize this form to submit them to be included in this newsletter! This can include any updates, upcoming projects, or opportunities for collaboration that you would like to share with the broader CRCRC network!

American River Basin Study finds that Increasing Temperatures and Changing Precipitation Will Impact Basin through Rest of the 21st Century

The Bureau of Reclamation recently released the American River Basin Study, which uses global climate models and local information to predict potential future precipitation, runoff and water supply scenarios for the American River Basin in 2050, 2070 and 2085. This study also found an increased variability of fall and winter precipitation that will amplify the severity of droughts and flooding in the basin.

Read this full report here.

Water Agencies Applaud Governor Newsom's New

Water Supply Strategy

The Solve the Water Crisis Coalition, which includes El Dorado County Water Agency, San Juan Water District and other water agencies around the state, recently responded to Governor Newsom's new water supply strategy focusing on accelerated infrastructure projects that would better prepare the State for perpetual years of drought and address the ongoing water supply crisis. 

Read the full report here.

White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health: Summary of Recommendations from America's Farm-to-Fork Capital

This document summarizes key issues and recommendations from more than 75 community partners in the Greater Sacramento region who gathered at an input session for the September 15th, 2022 White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. The session was convened by Valley Vision, in partnership with the Sacramento Region Community Foundation and Mulvaney’s B&L. Organized under the banner of our community food system network “We are Farm to Fork,” participants included a vibrant cross-section of over 75 leaders representing food banks, restaurants, school districts, nonprofits, local, state, and federal agencies, tribal and many more.

Read this full report here.

Alliance of Regional Collaboratives for Climate Adaptation (ARCCA) State Funding Tracker

This tracker has been developed to provide ARCCA staff's best estimation of program development and grant-making timelines for new climate resilience grant programs as a resource for California’s climate resilience practitioners. While this tracker has been informed by direct engagement with program staff, please note that all content included here is subject to change and, unless otherwise stated, only reflects ARCCA staff estimates. All users are encouraged to visit agency websites to view official timelines.

The full tracker is available here. 

2022 Placer County Community Themes and Strengths Assessment Survey

The Placer County Health and Human Services Department - Public Health Division is hoping to gain a deeper understanding of the issues important to those who live, work, learn, shop, or play in Placer County. Your input is important and will be used to develop plans and programs to improve the quality of life in Placer County. All information provided is anonymous and will be kept confidential. If you live, work, or regularly spend time in Placer County you are encouraged to complete the survey.

Take the survey here.

Sacramento County Public Health (SCPH) Community Themes and Strengths Assessment

Sacramento County Public Health (SCPH) wants to hear from you. The Community Themes and Strengths Assessment is a vital part of a community health improvement process. this survey aims to collect community thoughts, opinions, concerns and solutions - anything that provides insight into the issues the community feels are important. This survey also provides an opportunity to provide feedback about the quality of life and community assets in Sacramento County. Responses will inform a SCPH Community Health Improvement Plan.

Take this survey here.

Wildfire Updates: Foresthill Ordered to Evacuate as Mosquito Fire Surges in Tahoe National Forest

The Sacramento Bee

A wildfire that sparked earlier this month in the Tahoe National Forest just north of the border between Placer and El Dorado counties is displaying “extreme” fire behavior Wednesday, prompting mandatory evacuations including Foresthill, a town of about 1,500 people, and sending up a large smoke plume visible across the greater Sacramento area. Read the full article here.

California's Wildfire Activity is Running Below Average this Year. But Experts Warn it's Not Over

CNN

Wildfire activity in California has been notably low this year, experts tell CNN, particularly compared to 2020 and 2021 when devastating wildfires erupted across the state and burned millions of acres by the time summer ended. California has had several severe fires this year, including the Mosquito Fire, which continues to burn east of Sacramento. However, after damp spring weather and cool temperatures delayed the onset of peak fire activity, the state’s overall wildfire activity has been “surprisingly benign,” said Craig Clements, director of San Jose State University’s Fire Weather Lab. Read the full article here.

Water Use Drops 10% in July as California Deals with Drought KPBS

Californians stepped up their water conservation in July, using 10.4% less than two years ago as the state struggles with a years-long drought, state water officials said early September. July marks the first full month that new conservation rules like a ban on watering decorative grass were in effect, which state water officials said helped make a difference. Water use started to trend down in June after a bump in April and May. Read the full article here.

The Fight Against Drought in California Has a New Tool:

The Restrictor 

CNN

The pretty, cloudless blue skies over perfectly manicured lawns represent an ugly reality for California’s Las Virgenes Municipal Water District as it grapples with the historic megadrought ravaging the American West. Despite a lack of any measurable rain in months, the carpet of lush, green grass likely means homeowners are either not getting the message about the dire need for water conservation, or they are ignoring the warnings. Read the full article here.

How to Stay Safe During Extreme Heat

Office of Governor Gavin Newsom 

The western United States experienced extreme heat throughout early September. Across the state, temperatures were 10 to 20 degrees hotter than normal.. Extreme heat endangers vulnerable Californians, including our elderly and those with health concerns. This report includes resources and tips to help keep our communities sage. Read the full report here.

No September on Record in the West has seen a Heat Wave

Like This

The Washington Post

The data supporting the assertion is overwhelming. Records began falling on Aug. 30 when Seattle and Portland set calendar day records of 90 and 100. While the region’s heat wave peaked early in the month it carried on throughout September. Read the full article here.

Driest, Wettest, Hottest: Sacramento's Troubling

Trifecta of Extremes 

The Washington Post

California’s capital experienced its hottest day ever observed in early September — hitting an unprecedented 116 degrees and exceeding previous September records by a landslide of seven degrees. This latest peak, amid a historic heat wave torching the state, follows a year of significant extremes in Sacramento: In the past 12 months, before this record hot day, the state capital experienced its wettest day on record last October, an event bookended by a record-long dry stretch that wreaked havoc on agriculture throughout California’s Central Valley. Read the full article here.

With Sacramento Cooling Centers Near-empty, Volunteers Step in to Help Unhoused Amid Record-setting Heatwave

CapRadio

A half dozen tents and RVs lined Front Street south of downtown Sacramento earlier this month, with Sacramento hitting a record-breaking 116 degrees. Residents at the small homeless encampment had no nearby option to seek relief at a cooling center and most remained out of sight during the scorching heat of the midday sun. But they received something just as critical: Bottles of water distributed by volunteers. Read the full article here.

California Just Banned Gas-Powered Cars. Here's Everything You Need to Know

Inside Climate News

On Aug. 25, California regulators adopted rules that would ban the sale of new gasoline-powered cars and light trucks by 2035. Responding to news reports of California’s action, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said his state would follow suit and “adopt California’s regs by end of this year.” Massachusetts and Virginia also are poised to also adopt bans on gasoline vehicles by 2035 because of trigger laws that automatically follow California’s lead on clean transportation. Read the full article here.

California Passes Suite of New Climate Bills Aimed at Reducing Emissions, Stimulating Carbon Capture, and Implementing Buffers

The National Law Review

On August 31, 2022—the last day of the 2022 legislative session—California legislators passed a package of climate bills aimed at reducing statewide emissions, stimulating the carbon capture industry, and implementing buffers between communities and oil and gas developments. The bills include $54 billion in climate-related spending and come on the heels of other state and federal efforts to reduce carbon emissions across many sectors of the economy. Read this full article here.

America's Aging Infrastructure Sags under the Pressure of Climate Change

Phys.org

The 1960s and 1970s were a golden age of infrastructure development in the U.S., with the expansion of the interstate system and widespread construction of new water treatment, wastewater and flood control systems reflecting national priorities in public health and national defense. But infrastructure requires maintenance, and, eventually, it has to be replaced. Read the full article here.

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Historic Investment in Partnerships for 70 Climate-Smart Commodities and Rural Projects

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced that the Biden-Harris Administration, through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is investing up to $2.8 billion in 70 selected projects under the first pool of the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities funding opportunity, with projects from the second funding pool to be announced later this year. Ultimately, USDA’s anticipated investment will triple to more than $3 billion in pilots that will create market opportunities for American commodities produced using climate-smart production practices. Read the full article here.

Pakistan Floods Pose Urgent Questions Over Preparedness and Climate Reparations

The New Humanitarian

'A Climate for Conflict' is a project Nichole Sobecki undertook with her reporting partner, Laura Heaton, that explores the relationship between the environment and security in Somalia, one of the countries that's been hardest hit by climate change. Sobecki says she feels a sense of responsibility to highlight one of the places that has contributed the least to global carbon dioxide emissions, and yet its environment is among the most severely impacted, in irreversible ways. Read the full article here.

New Resources Presented to Help Build Resilience

to Climate Change

UNFCCC

Ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh in November, the Adaptation Committee has approved key resources that can help guide governments in assessing their needs and communicating their actions to build resilience to the unavoidable impacts of climate change. Such impacts include ever more frequent and severe storms, droughts and floods. Read the full article here.