U23A: Climate Science Special Report: An Assessment of the Science Focusing on the United States Tuesday, 12 December 2017 13:40 – 15:40 Donald J Wuebbles, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Patrick C Taylor, NASA Langley Research Center David R Easterling, NOAA Asheville Robert E Kopp, Rutgers University, Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences Michael F Wehner, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Benjamin Joseph DeAngelo, US Global Change Research Program
To become more climate resilient, cities must restore natural functions of the land by weaving green elements into the built environment. The Trust for Public Land helps cities meet the climate challenge through conservation and design — from protecting waterfront parks and wetlands to creating green alleys and “water smart” playgrounds. Learn more: http://www.tpl.org/services/climate-s…
Cities are on the front line of climate change. They can be an important part of the solution by offering energy-efficient living for our growing population—but they must also face the growing threat of heat waves and flooding. Our Climate-Smart Cities program helps cities nationwide create parks and conserve land to meet the climate challenge.
We help cities use parks and natural lands as “green infrastructure” serving four objectives:
Connect: Trails and transit lines provide carbon-free transportation and link residents to popular destinations and each other.
Cool: Shady green spaces reduce the urban “heat island” effect, protect people from heat waves, and reduce summer energy use.
Absorb: Water-smart parks, playgrounds, and green alleys absorb rainfall, reduce flooding, and recharge drinking wa-ter supplies while saving energy for water management.
Protect: Shoreline parks and natural lands buffer cities from rising seas, coastal storms, and flooding.
Climate-Smart Cities in action
We’re working in cities across the country, including:
We are working with the City of Los Angeles, UCLA, and Arizona State University to develop “green alleys” in South Los Angeles that will restore natural cooling and stormwater absorption to the city’s hard-paved urban core.
In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, we are working with the City of New York, Columbia University, and Drexel University to target new waterfront parks and restore wetlands to protect low-lying neighborhoods.
We are using GIS mapping to help King County redevelop the 42-mile Eastside Rail Corridor as the anchor for a new regional alternative transportation network
The City of Boston is tackling the challenges associated with climate change head on. In a city where a densely populated highly urbanized meets the sea, the city is doing the hard work to prepare for sea level rise, increasing urban temperatures, greater precipitation, and other risks through their robust and comprehensive climate analysis and action plan, Climate Ready Boston. The Trust for Public Land’s national Climate-Smart Cities™ program is providing key planning and decision-making support to help the city achieve the goals laid out in Climate Ready Boston. Together with city and community partners, we’re bringing cutting-edge science, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) planning, and innovative design to prepare the entire region for a climate-resilient future with a particular emphasis on underserved populations and critical at-risk infrastructure.
WGBHForum
Published on Dec 13, 2017
Since 1991, Boston has experienced 21 events that triggered federal or state disaster declarations. For example, in 2011, Hurricane Irene caused downed trees and power outages across the city. In 2012, while Boston was spared the most devastating effects of Hurricane Sandy due to the storm missing Boston’s high tide by five hours, the city still experienced high winds and coastal flooding. As the climate changes, the likelihood of coastal and riverine flooding—as well as other hazards, like stormwater flooding and extreme heat—will increase.
The challenges from climate change are substantial and complex but can be addressed through bold and creative actions that support the city’s vitality and livability.
Boston can thrive in the coming decades if it takes action to adapt its people, its neighborhoods, and its economic and cultural assets, starting now. This work will be difficult, contentious, and complex. But if done well, it will not only create a resilient, climate-ready Boston, it will also dramatically improve the city and quality of life for all its residents.
Streamed live on Jun 22, 2017
Greenovate Boston and The Trust for Public Land teamed up to host a training webinar on the Climate-Smart Boston decision support tool.
Greenovate Boston and The Trust for Public Land teamed up to host a training webinar on the Climate-Smart Boston decision support tool.
During this video viewers will understand the process behind the creation of this tool, become familiar with how it can be used, and practice visualizing different scenarios. http://web.tplgis.org/boston_climate/https://web.tplgis.org/Boston_CSC/sec…
Presenter: Chris David, GIS Program Manager, Climate-Smart Cities chris.david
Greenovate Boston’s recap blog: http://greenovateboston.org/climate_s…
Welcome to Transition Studies. To prosper for very much longer on the changing Earth humankind will need to move beyond its current fossil-fueled civilization toward one that is sustained on recycled materials and renewable energy. This is not a trivial shift. It will require a major transition in all aspects of our lives.
This weblog explores the transition to a sustainable future on our finite planet. It provides links to current news, key documents from government sources and non-governmental organizations, as well as video documentaries about climate change, environmental ethics and environmental justice concerns.
The links are listed here to be used in whatever manner they may be helpful in public information campaigns, course preparation, teaching, letter-writing, lectures, class presentations, policy discussions, article writing, civic or Congressional hearings and citizen action campaigns, etc. For further information on this blog see: About this weblog. and How to use this weblog.
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