Wetlands can be powerhouses for climate adaptation and resilience. This World Wetlands Day, we are highlighting one type of wetland that impacts people the most – coastal urban wetlands. Read More
Growing Returns
Three ways to take bold action to protect urban coastal wetlands
Posted in Climate Resilience Tagged climate resilience, Coasts, Coasts and Watersheds, natural infrastructure, wetlands Comments are closed
A new way of partnering with the Corps leads to innovative wetland mitigation solutions and increased flood resilience.
Today marks the release of the Record of Decision (ROD) from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on a restoration project known as the River Reintroduction into Maurepas Swamp (or Maurepas Diversion) that will serve as mitigation for the West Shore Lake Pontchartrain hurricane risk reduction levee project (WSLP). Read More
Posted in Climate Resilience Tagged Coasts, Coasts and Watersheds, resilience, wetlands Comments are closed
Biden’s roadmap to nature-based solutions could be the key to future resilience planning.
In early December 2022, the Biden-Harris administration announced the release of a Roadmap to Accelerate Nature-Based Solutions to address climate change, inequity, and nature loss. This roadmap outlines five strategic recommendations for federal agencies designed to put the U.S. on a path to maximizing the use of nature-based solutions.
Chesterfield Heights – Historic neighborhood with living shoreline construction project comprised of a raised berm (a mound of ground), grass plantings, wetland restoration, oyster reefs, and storm drains.
Posted in Climate Resilience Tagged climate resilience, Coasts, Coasts and Watersheds Comments are closed
Building climate resilience requires a whole-of-government approach. Here’s how Louisiana is making it happen.
As communities in southwest Florida, Puerto Rico and elsewhere in the Caribbean struggle to recover from the damages of an active hurricane season, efficient, proactive resilience solutions have never been more important.
Louisiana continues to be a world leader in the planning and implementation of coastal resilience. Louisiana will release the fourth iteration of its Coastal Master Plan in early 2023, which provides the most science-based and publicly informed plan in the nation. Since the first plan, $21.4 billion has been invested in flood resilience infrastructure – focused on restoration of coastal ecosystems that provide essential flood risk benefits and grey infrastructure such as levees and seawalls. Other state agencies have also invested billions in rebuilding their infrastructure, such as schools, hospitals and prisons.
Flooded hospital in Louisiana after a storm.
However, flood resilience is not just about infrastructure but also the ability of government agencies to maintain programs and services their constituents rely upon, from trash collection to food assistance to healthcare. Louisiana is the first to take a step toward a whole-of-government approach to ensure communities have access to the essential services they need to rebuild and thrive in the face of future flood risks.
Posted in Climate Resilience Tagged coastal louisana, Coasts, flooding, hurricanes, Louisiana, sea level rise Comments are closed
Five ways U.S. agriculture can adapt to climate change
Farmers have a long history of steadily increasing crop yields through technological innovation and improvements in management practices. However, as climate change makes weather more extreme and variable than ever before, productivity progress will likely stall by 2030 — even if the U.S. maintains past rates of R&D investment and innovation. Adaptation efforts must begin now to protect food supplies and farmer livelihoods.
Adaptation options can be deployed at various scales to combat the unknown challenges ahead.
Posted in Climate Resilience Tagged adaptation, agriculture, climate change, cover crops, food, sustainable agriculture Comments are closed
How will climate change affect U.S. crop yields?
As the UN climate conference kicks off in Egypt, food and agriculture are central to negotiations for the first time. More severe droughts, warmer temperatures and heavier rainfall fueled by climate change are making it harder than ever for the world’s one billion farmers to grow food and fiber. While some farms and regions are more vulnerable than others, climate change will affect farmers everywhere.
Here in the U.S., where farmers have a long history of steadily increasing yields, climate change will likely cause crop productivity gains to stall — or even reverse — as soon as 2030.
Posted in Climate Resilience Tagged adaptation, agriculture, climate change, corn, cover crops, farmers, food, iowa, kansas, Minnesota, soybeans, sustainable agriculture, wheat Comments are closed
EDF Celebrates the Passing of the NY Bond Act.
In the climate policy world, states and localities are often laboratories of innovation and progress. However, with the devastating impacts of hurricanes, wildfires and heat waves, residents are already experiencing the costly impacts of climate change. To mitigate these costs, EDF supports innovative funding and financing strategies — especially in areas that are most vulnerable to climate impacts. One example of this is EDF’s work on a ballot measure in New York State.
This week, voters passed the historic Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act ballot measure. This comes on the heels of the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, ushering in a variety of new flood resilience projects aimed at mitigating these risks to communities.
Posted in Climate Resilience Tagged clean water, climate resilience, Coast, coastal resilience, Coasts, ecosystems, environmental justice, green jobs, New York, NY Bond Act Comments are closed
New report provides a science roadmap for natural climate solutions
Natural climate solutions, such as reforestation and wetland restoration, can help slow climate change and increase resilience in the face of climate impacts we can’t avoid.
These approaches have substantial and growing support from bipartisan lawmakers, the private sector and environmental nonprofits. However, big questions remain: Where are these strategies most effective? To what extent can they meaningfully remove and reduce greenhouse gases? How will increased drought, fire and pest outbreaks impact their ability to stave off climate change?
Posted in Climate Resilience Tagged climate change, climate mitigation, climate res, ecosystems, natural climate solutions Comments are closed
My perspectives on how we can inspire the next generation of Black climate leaders.
By Arianna Mackey, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) Summer 2022 Intern
I became aware of my community’s lack of environmental awareness at a very young age. Growing up in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, my family and I visited the Nauticus museum often. One afternoon, after spending time in the flooding exhibit, I explained to my mom that due to increased flooding, Virginia Beach would be inhabitable in the future, with standing water reaching the front door following a storm. She brushed me off by saying it was an “over-exaggeration” and our community was fine. That encounter piqued my interest in environmentalism. Read More
Posted in Climate Resilience Tagged climate change, coastal, coastal communities, Coasts, ecosystems, environmental justice, flood risk, resilience, virginia coast, virginia flooding, water quality Comments are closed
A conservation win and groundwater loss: Arizona ends 2022 session with mixed water record
The Verde River, one of the last free-flowing rivers in the Southwest, remains unprotected after another year of in action to address rural groundwater pumping in Arizona.
After months of negotiations, the Arizona Legislature passed a major water spending plan last month with funding for new conservation efforts to address deteriorating water supplies. However, for the fourth year in a row, state leaders failed to pass legislation to address unlimited groundwater pumping, missing an opportunity to enable a water secure future for 1.5 million rural residents and the state as a whole.
Posted in Climate Resilience Tagged agriculture, Arizona, colorado river, drought, ecosystems, farmers, groundwater, sustainability, sustainable agriculture, water use, western water Comments are closed