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Assessing the Vulnerability of Watersheds to Climate Change
July 2013
The US Forest Service (USFS) Watershed Vulnerability Assessment (WVA) project developed an approach to assessing the vulnerability of water resources in a watershed to projected climate-hydrologic changes. The WVA project was conducted by watershed and aquatic specialists from 11 National Forests across the country representing all nine Forest Service regions. Based on the lessons learned from the pilot projects, this summary report provides guidance on the process of conducting such an assessment, with supporting information for all the key stages of the process.
Resource Category: Assessments
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Climate Change Preparedness and the Small Business Sector
July 2013
Small businesses can suffer lasting economic damage from a single extreme weather event. Unlike larger businesses, they lack access to capital, often operate from a single storefront, and are heavily dependent on the local community for business activity. Prepared by the Small Business Majority and the American Sustainable Business Council, this report includes case studies on how small businesses across a range of sectors have incorporated climate change resilience into their business planning and management.
Author or Affiliated User: Lea Reynolds
Resource Category: Solutions
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Chicago DOT - Sustainable Urban Infrastructure Policies and Guidelines
July 2013
The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) issued these guidelines (“Guidelines”) to require the implementation of sustainability best practices (environmental and social) into all transportation infrastructure projects, with metrics to ensure that projects are designed to be resilient to the long-term impacts of climate change. The Guidelines include two components: Volume I outlines the city’s sustainability goals and the process for integrating those goals into urban infrastructure design, construction, and maintenance; Volume 2 provides specific strategies, references, and resources to help project managers and engineers incorporate sustainability principles into specific projects.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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Homeowners' Insurance Changes in Coastal Virginia: Causes and consequences for shoreline communities
July 2013
This study reviews the extent to which the private insurance industry may influence adaptation to climate change along Virginia’s tidal shoreline through homeowners insurance. Homeowners insurance is becoming more costly along the Atlantic Coast and coverage is changing, especially for wind damage. This year-long study by Wetlands Watch explored the private sector perceptions on sea level rise and climate adaptation, examines the specific drivers behind increasing insurance rates, and provides plausible adaptive actions in response to these increasing rates.
Authors or Affiliated Users: Skip Stiles, Shannon Hulst
Resource Category: Assessments
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Connecticut Climate Change Preparedness Plan
2013
Connecticut's state adaptation plan presents strategies to address the climate change vulnerabilities for the built and natural environment, agriculture and public health in Connecticut - as identified in the 2010 report entitled “The Impacts of Climate Change on Connecticut Agriculture, Infrastructure, Natural Resources and Public Health.” The Connecticut Climate Change Preparedness Plan was published in 2011 and finalized in 2013.
Resource Category: Planning
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Updating Maryland's Sea-Level Rise Projections
June 26, 2013
Led by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, the report was prepared by a panel of scientific experts in response to Governor Martin O’Malley’s Executive Order on Climate Change and “Coast Smart” Construction. The 21-member panel reviewed projections from Maryland’s 2008 Climate Action Plan and provided updated recommendations based on new scientific results that can better inform projections of sea level rise for the state.
Authors or Affiliated Users: Donald F. Boesch, Larry P. Atkinson, William C. Boicourt, John D. Boon, Donald R. Cahoon, Robert A. Dalrymple, Tal Ezer, Benjamin P. Horton, Zoe P. Johnson, Robert E. Kopp, Ming Li, Richard H. Moss, Adam Parris, Christopher K. Sommerfield
Resource Category: Assessments
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The White House Blog: State-by-State Reports on Climate Impacts
June 26, 2013
As of 2013, the White House website provided detailed updates on President Obama's climate change action plan. Along with an informal review of the plan, links are provided for state-by-state reports, in which each state is represented by a briefing on current and anticipated climate impacts (as of 2011-2013). Each state report details the impacts of extreme weather and pollution, the anticipated climate impacts of the related region, and examples of reducing carbon pollution and increasing climate resilience within each state.
Resource Category: Monitoring and Reporting
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President Obama's Climate Action Plan
June 25, 2013
"We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires and crippling drought and more powerful storms." - President Obama, 2nd Inaugural Address, January 2013
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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Durham, New Hampshire HMP Climate Adaptation Chapter: Developing Strategies to Protect Areas at Risk from Flooding due to Climate Change and Sea Level Rise
June 25, 2013
Developed for the Town of Durham, New Hampshire, this report provides adaptation strategies to protect areas of the Town that are at risk of flooding due to sea level rise and other impacts from climate change. This chapter will be adopted as a subset of Durham’s existing Hazard Mitigation Plan, and will be recommended to be incorporated into the Master Plan.
Resource Category: Planning
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Sea-Level Rise Tool for Hurricane Sandy Recovery
June 20, 2013
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) developed a tool that can assist communities affected by Hurricane Sandy in reducing vulnerability of transportation and other infrastructure to future sea-level rise and flood risk. The tool, which involves a set of maps showing floodplains under sea-level rise scenarios and an updated USACE Sea-Level Change calculator showing site-specific flood elevation data, helps communities understand the effects of sea-level rise on future flood risk and incorporate this information into planning and decision-making.
Resource Category: Data and tools
