All Resources Authored by the Georgetown Climate Center

This page includes all resources developed and authored by the Georgetown Climate Center.  For more information about the Georgetown Climate Center's adaptation work, visit our webpage by clicking here.

 

 

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Lessons Learned From Irene: Climate Change, Federal Disaster Relief and Barriers to Adaptive Reconstruction

December 2013

From the Georgetown Climate Center, this case study examines the challenges encountered by Vermont localities in trying to use federal disaster relief funds to rebuild their transportation system to be more resilient to future impacts in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene.

Authors or Affiliated Users: Justin Clancy, Jessica Grannis

Resource Category: Law and Governance

 

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Federal Funding Compendium for Urban Heat Adaptation

December 2013

From the Georgetown Climate Center, this compendium collects and analyzes federal programs with potential to pay for state and local government adaptation to urban heat islands.  This report analyzes federal funding programs providing funding for economic development, energy, environmental protection, public health and transportation to determine whether these purposes can be used to implement measures to reduce the the urban heat island effect in cities.  For each program, the report includes information on who can apply for the funds, what activities the funds can be used to fund, amount of money in the program and average size of grant, as well as potential for use in adaptation.

Author or Affiliated User: Sara Hoverter

Resource Category: Law and Governance

 

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Vermont Culvert Rebuilding after Tropical Storm Irene

December 2013

Vermont experienced significant barriers to using disaster relief funding to install larger culverts after Tropical Storm Irene.   The storm caused massive damage to the state’s transportation infrastructure and warranted a presidential disaster declaration.   In the aftermath of the event, the Vermont Transportation agency (VTrans) and localities followed state regulations that required the installation of larger culverts to address increased stream flow and to allow for fish passage.   Localities, however, were denied reimbursement for these “improvements” by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the agency that administers disaster relief funding for rebuilding local roads and bridges.

Resource Category: Law and Governance

 

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Case Studies in Floodplain Regulation

May 2013

This Georgetown Law student report highlights the efforts of two communities to strengthen regulations after catastrophic flood events: Cedar Falls, Iowa, and Waveland, Mississippi. These case studies discuss the regulatory reforms the communities implemented and the lessons that can be learned from their experience.

Author or Affiliated User: Emily Maus

Resource Category: Law and Governance

 

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Understanding the Adaptation Provisions of the Sandy Disaster Relief Appropriations Act

May 24, 2013

Disaster relief funding presents an opportunity for state and local governments to rebuild in a manner that anticipates and responds to future changes in the climate. In most cases, programs funded through disaster relief appropriations, such as the Sandy Relief Act, provide administering agencies with enough authority to prepare for climate changes during the rebuilding process. 

Authors or Affiliated Users: Jessica Grannis, Nicole Smith

Resource Category: Law and Governance

 

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The State of Adaptation in the United States: An Overview

April 2013

'The State of Adaptation in the United States' surveys activities underway to help communities prepare for climate change and identifies needs, challenges, and potential actions that communities can now pursue.

Authors or Affiliated Users: Vicki Arroyo, Lara Hansen, Rachel M. Gregg, Susan Ellsworth, Louise Jackson, Amy Snover

Resource Category: Assessments

 

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Adapting to Urban Heat: A Tool Kit for Local Governments

August 2012

This tool kit is designed to help local governments reduce the effects of increased heat on their communities and citizens. It provides an analytic tool for policy makers to consider a combination of four built-environment changes (cool roofs, green roofs, cool pavements, and urban forestry), providing clear criteria for selecting among these approaches. 

Author or Affiliated User: Sara Hoverter

Resource Category: Law and Governance

 

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Analysis of the Flood Insurance Reauthorization and Reform Law (2012)

August 14, 2012

The Georgetown Climate Center's Jessica Grannis released a summary and analysis of Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, which includes several reforms that could assist state and local governments looking to implement policies to adapt to sea-level rise and other flood impacts from climate changes.

Author or Affiliated User: Jessica Grannis

Resource Category: Solutions

 

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Coastal Management in the Face of Rising Seas: Legal Strategies for Connecticut

July 2012

This article published in the Sea Grant Law and Policy Journal examines two sea-level rise adaptation approaches that could be applied in Connecticut: a local-level approach using zoning and floodplain regulations, and state-level approach modeled after cutting-edge sea level rise regulations adopted by neighboring Rhode Island. For each method, the authors examine what measures can be implemented now given existing legal authorities delegated to state agencies and municipalities; what measures will require additional delegations or amendments to existing statutes or regulations; and what level of government is best suited to implement different measures (state or local).

Authors or Affiliated Users: Jessica Grannis, Julia Wyman

Resource Category: Law and Governance

 

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Adaptation Case Studies in the Western United States

October 31, 2011

From the Georgetown Climate Center, this report contains two case studies from the Western United States that explore water shortages in the West, water rights along the Colorado River, and the protection of an endangered ground-dwelling bird: the greater sage grouse.  In doing so, the report also examines the role of states in adaptation planning and the intersection between state and federal authority.

Authors or Affiliated Users: Joel B. Smith, Jason Vogel, Karen Carney, Colleen Donovan

Resource Category: Solutions

 

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