CRI Bay Area Climate News for May 2016

BAY AREA CLIMATE NEWS

The Big Picture

Bay Area Adaptation Calendar

Fabulous National Geographic story, about a new study in Nature Scientific Reports on monks near a mountain lake in central Japan who have kept a detailed record continuously since 1443 of lake freezing and thawing. You won’t be surprised at the detailed findings or those from a similar 400-year diary in Finland—but it is amazing to see such a record of our planet’s big changes.

A new World Bank report urges much better planning of cities, particularly in poorer countries, before it is too late. Without preventative action, climate-related natural disasters will hit 1.3 billion people and $158 trillion in assets by mid-century — double the total annual output of the global economy. A perfect storm of climate change, expanding populations, and the extreme vulnerability of humans in poor housing in low-lying, fast-growing cities that are already overcrowded.

Next time you’re facing someone (perhaps yourself) who claims “it’s over” or “it’s too late to do anything” try The Really Awful Truth About Climate Change, a detailed, referenced argument by Joe Romm (Think Progress). Romm makes no bones about how hard it will be to make the radical transition required SOON, but that it is certainly POSSIBLE. Or, for a quicker answer, ask a young person if they think it’s too late.

Tim Flannery Has a 3rd Way (the Australian scientist, not the ex-Giants 3rd base coach)

Perhaps you read The Weather Makers a decade ago. Now, Flannery is back, proposing major action to draw carbon out of the air using biological and chemical methods. Not dangerous geo-engineering, but “deploying technologies, methods, and approaches that recreate, enhance or restore the processes that maintained the balance of greenhouse gases prior to human interference.” Atmosphere of Hope shows how widespread deployment of natural and manmade strategies by 2050 could make a significant difference.

CRI Monthly Webinar June 2 (11 am) — Live Edge Adaptation Project (LEAP) an innovative sea level rise approach to the 21stcentury and beyond. Sign up:bruce@climatereadinessinstitute.org.

Resilience Planning – Engaging Communities in Effective Problem SolvingJune 6th in Oakland — Resilient Communities Initiative

Measure AA: Clean and Healthy Bay Parcel Tax — June 7th nine-county ballot

Northern California Regional Workshop #1, Association of Climate Change Officers, San Francisco, June 14-15 —two-day training academy for climate professionals

California Climate Change Symposium (science) September 6th in Long Beach and the 2nd California Adaptation Forum at the same venue September 7-8.

May Spotlight:

3 Cool Bay Area Projects

Bay Area adaptation-goers should always be concerned about changes in The Range of Light, source of much of our water for drinking and ecosystems, playground for much tourism, and home to most of our remaining wild areas. Here’s the latest: Newstudy by state researchers shows that some (not all) key tree species, as expected, are moving up to higher elevations in search of cooler temperatures. The Bay Area News Group has an excellentsummary of the study.

Last week, the Bay Conservation Development Commission voted to take a set of 7 new climate adaptation actions including the development of a regional sea level rise adaptation plan. You can see the staff memo here and John King’s Chron report here. Final action on the recommendations will take place at a future Commission meeting.

Excellent new 50-page report focused on 50 priority strategies and 28 additional strategies to help coastal and marine resource managers “respond to, plan, and manage for the impacts of climate change.” The report was prepared by…take a breath…the Climate-Smart Working Group of the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council. Key strategies were discussed at last week’s 4th Oceans Climate Summit in San Francisco hosted by GFNMS.

Cool, new 42-page report by the North Bay Climate Adaptation Initiative that lays out a set of goals and priority actions for the county. The report includes a Climate Response Pyramid showing how we should balance reducing GHG emissions with building resilience. Strategies near the bottom of the pyramid reduce the size of the GHG challenge through emissions cuts or sequestration (strong investment needed) while the strategies near the top help cope with the results of a changing climate (need investment but not to the exclusion of the lower pyramid strategies). Check it out!

Bonus Project (it’s a long month): Youth Exploring Sea Level Rise Science (YESS) empowers Bay Area young people to engage directly in climate change solutions. YESS just finished its first year, working with 350 youth through hands-on science, digital storytelling and more. A Spanish language documentary on environmental justice and sea level rise planning will be completed this summer. Want to get involved? Click here or email marina@coravai.com.

Photo of the Month

CRI has just finished working with a small group of academic and practitioner advisors to fashion a new CRI vision, mission and key activities document. This one-pager will guide our development of new initiatives in the coming year. See ATTACHED.

CRI, with funding from the Berkeley Energy and Climate Institute (CRI’s parent) is starting The Big Project in mid-June that will (a) identify top Bay Area research needs on various adaptation topics and (b) draft a Bay Area Climate Narrative to engage regional leaders with a compelling, science-based story. We will be contacting you for input on both of these products.

New York Times: A 10-year old boy in Delhi finds respite from India’s hottest day EVER — May 20, 2016 – 123.8˚ — Roberto Schmidt, Getty Images