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Climate Change - SFL

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This working group focuses on the impact that climate change has on South Florida as well as factors that influence climate change.

To identify and manage factors that impact climate change as well as identifying and managing the impact that climate change is having on South Florida.

Members

admin Albert Gomez ibague Kathy Gilbeaux mdmcdonald MDMcDonald_me_com
Miles Marcotte Shari Holbert

Email address for group

climate-change-sfl@m.resiliencesystem.org

Serious Game Community Priority Gaps & Solutions

                                                                               

The first Climate-resilient South Florida Serious Game exercise was held on June 30, 2018 to elevate the voices of the most vulnerable communities in South Florida. The exercise brought together all of the FL DRI communities to experience a simulated set of disasters to reveal the current baseline state of decision-making and simulated actions taken by community members to address collective vulnerabilities using current assets available to them within their communities. Clear lists of mission-critical gaps were developed from each community discussion table at the Serious Game.

A total of 130 community members participated in this event. Community members in groups of 10 in round table discussion format. Each table represented a community or region of Miami-Dade or Broward counties. Communities like Little Haiti had close to 20 members present. In this case, they were split in two groups, Little Haiti #1 and Little Haiti #2. Communities with few members were grouped with neighboring communities. The tables below are the findings from each community discussion table.

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Atlantic Hurricanes Are Strengthening Faster, Partially Because of Climate Change, Study Finds

           

A neighbor takes photographs of a boat smashed against a car garage, deposited there by the high winds and storm surge from Hurricane Florence, along the Neuse River, Sept. 15, 2018 in New Bern, North Carolina. - (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Recent increases in tropical cyclone intensification rates

weather.com - by Sean Breslin - February 8, 2019

Hurricanes in the Atlantic Basin are exploding into monster storms at a rapid pace more and more often, and climate change is one reason why, a new study has found.

Published Thursday in the journal Nature Communications, the findings compiled by a team of hurricane experts – several of whom work for NOAA – concluded that rapid intensification is happening more often than it should.

The result can be a hurricane that grows from a relatively tame Category 1 to a massive Category 4 or 5 storm, the most recent example being Hurricane Michael, which ravaged the Florida Panhandle last October (the Gulf of Mexico is included as part of the Atlantic Basin).

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Corporate America Is Getting Ready to Monetize Climate Change

           

A highway stands immersed in floodwaters from Hurricane Harvey in West Columbia, Texas, on Aug. 30.  Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg

CLICK HERE - CDP - Company Scores

bloomberg.com - by Christopher Flavelle - January 22, 2019

Bank of America Corp. worries flooded homeowners will default on their mortgages. The Walt Disney Co. is concerned its theme parks will get too hot for vacationers, while AT&T Inc. fears hurricanes and wildfires may knock out its cell towers.

The Coca-Cola Co. wonders if there will still be enough water to make Coke.

As the Trump administration rolls back rules meant to curb global warming, new disclosures show that the country’s largest companies are already bracing for its effects. The documents reveal how widely climate change is expected to cascade through the economy -- disrupting supply chains, disabling operations and driving away customers, but also offering new ways to make money.

(CLICK HERE - READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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Study of Antarctic Sea Ice Collapse Warns of Potential 10-Foot Sea Rise

           

PACK ICE MELTING IN SPRING IN ANTARCTICA'S WEDDEL SEA. CREDIT: PLANET OBSERVER/UNIVERSAL IMAGES GROUP VIA GETTY IMAGES

The faster the ocean warms, the faster key Antarctic glaciers will disintegrate.

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Four decades of Antarctic Ice Sheet mass balance from 1979–2017

thinkprogress.org - by Joe Romm - January 15, 2019

A stunning new study on Antarctic sea ice collapse greatly raises the risk of a 10-foot sea level rise this century if President Donald Trump’s climate policies aren’t quickly reversed.

Warming ocean waters drove a 6-fold increase in annual ice mass loss from the Antarctic ice sheet between 1979 and 2017, according to a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

It’s been known for a while that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) was unstable and collapsing at an accelerating rate due to global warming. But the new study finds that parts of the vastly larger East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) are also disintegrating.

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California Utility Firm Suspected of Starting Deadly Wildfires Goes Bankrupt

           

A firefighter battling the Camp fire, which became California’s deadliest in history. Photograph: Noah Berger/AP

Pacific Gas and Electric, which supplies 16 million residents, is under investigation for its role in the Camp fire and others

theguardian.com - by Vivian Ho - January 14, 2019

The utility company that services more than a third of California announced on Monday it plans to file for bankruptcy by the end of the month. Several deadly wildfires believed to have been caused by the company left it with potential liabilities of at least $30bn.

The board of directors of Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) has determined that the move “is ultimately the only viable option to restore PG&E’s financial stability to fund ongoing operations and provide safe service to customers”, the San Francisco-based company stated in a filing at the Security and Exchange Commission.

(CLICK HERE - READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

 

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'Climate Grief': The Growing Emotional Toll of Climate Change

           

The Delta Fire rages in Shasta-Trinity National Forest in California on Sept. 6.  Noah Berger / AP file

nbcnews.com - by Avichai Scher - December 24, 2018

 . . . The increasing visibility of climate change, combined with bleak scientific reports and rising carbon dioxide emissions, is taking a toll on mental health, especially among young people, who are increasingly losing hope for their future. Experts call it “climate grief,” depression, anxiety and mourning over climate change.

(CLICK HERE - READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

 

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Kiribati: a Drowning Paradise in the South Pacific

DW Documentary - November 8, 2017

Climate change and rising sea levels mean the island nation of Kiribati in the South Pacific is at risk of disappearing into the sea.

But the island’s inhabitants aren’t giving up. They are doing what they can to save their island from inundation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ0j6kr4ZJ0

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Federal Report Says U.S. Impacts of Climate Change are Intensifying and Will Batter Economy

           

weather.com

CLICK HERE - FOURTH NATIONAL CLIMATE ASSESSMENT

bbc.com - November 23, 2018

Unchecked climate change will cost the US hundreds of billions of dollars and damage human health and quality of life, a US government report warns.

"Future risks from climate change depend... on decisions made today," the 4th National Climate Assessment says . . .

. . . But it says that projections of future catastrophe could change if society works to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and "to adapt to the changes that will occur".

CLICK HERE - READ COMPLETE ARTICLE - Climate change: Report warns of growing impact on US life

ALSO SEE RELATED ARTICLES WITHIN THE LINKS BELOW . . .

CLICK HERE - U.S. Should Expect Worsening Weather Disasters, New Government Climate Report Warns

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New Report Strengthens Economic Case for Flood-Prepared Infrastructure

           

Hurricane Floyd submerged the Greenville, North Carolina, water treatment plant in 1999. Following that event, the city used a federal grant to construct a berm and pumping station to protect the plant.  Dave Gatley/Federal Emergency Management Agency

Mitigation projects yield positive return on investment in coastal, inland states

CLICK HERE - REPORT - Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves: Utilities and Transportation Infrastructure (122 page .PDF report)

pewtrusts.org - by Forbes Tompkins - November 20, 2018

From elevating roadways in Nebraska to moving wastewater treatment plants away from flood plains in Iowa, proactive measures before flooding can provide a major return on investment, according to a new report from the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS). The report, “Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves: Utilities and Transportation Infrastructure,” provides analysis and key examples that underscore the benefits of investing in mitigation measures.

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Calculating the Cost of Weather and Climate Disasters

           

Pixabay.com

ncei.noaa.gov - October 12, 2018

7 things to know about NCEI’s U.S. billion-dollar disasters data

Drought, floods, freezing temperatures, severe storms, tropical cyclones, wildfires, winter storms—every year since 1980, these weather and climate disasters have claimed countless lives and caused billions of dollars in damages in the United States. And, it is NCEI's job to chronicle these disasters and document their impacts to the Nation.

(CLICK HERE - READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

 

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