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
Selected tag(s): climate resilience
Three ways to take bold action to protect urban coastal wetlands
Posted in Climate Resilience Also tagged Coasts, Coasts and Watersheds, natural infrastructure, 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.
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 Also tagged clean water, Coast, coastal resilience, Coasts, ecosystems, environmental justice, green jobs, New York, NY Bond Act Comments are closed
Six reasons why wetlands are vital every month of the year.
The Environmental Protection Agency has designated May as American Wetlands Month, a “time to celebrate the vital importance of wetlands to our Nation’s ecological, economic, and social health.”
Scientists and coastal planners increasingly recognize the important role wetlands play in everything from flood protection to water quality to wildlife habitat to economic impact. At the same time, climate change and other stressors threaten wetlands, and in turn, the people and wildlife that rely on them.
As we close out American Wetlands Month, here are six reasons why one of nature’s richest ecosystems provide value to our lives every month of the year. Read More
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged coastal resilience, Coasts, Louisiana, wetlands Comments are closed
50 years is too long! Now is our time to go bold or go home.
Dr. Robert Bullard and Dr. Beverly Wright, Photo provided by Joseph Video Production and TJ Images.
“50 Years is Enough!”
That was the theme at this year’s 8th Annual Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Climate Change Conference in New Orleans. 50 years of indiscriminate toxic dumping, 50 years of hazardous waste sites in frontline communities, 50 years of land-use decisions that harm communities of color – enough! It’s a searing message for attendees and a reminder that shines a light on the emergence of the movement from the 1960s and 1970s, in reaction to discriminatory environmental practices.
The conference began with a painful trip down memory lane, focused on the trials of environmental racism that befell Black communities in the 1960s. Event organizers discussed how imperative it is for policymakers to act in a way that helps ensure that communities have agency and ownership of their own future. The conference highlighted the long history of systemic racism that lies behind the environmental injustices that communities have faced for so many years. It also fueled a fire inside the movement’s trailblazers who spoke at the conference, forcing them to declare that enough is enough. We are fighting back! Read More
Posted in Climate Resilience Also tagged environmental justice, flood risk reduction, natural infrastructure Comments are closed
Small North Carolina farms find profitability in climate resilience
Farms across North Carolina are experiencing more variable and extreme weather associated with climate change, including hotter nights and more frequent and severe rainfall. Small farms are adapting to these changes by adopting climate-resilient practices that help buffer weather extremes and improve soil health.
Measuring and communicating the financial costs and benefits of these practices is important to help more farmers adopt them profitably and find financial support for the transition. Cooperative extension agents — small farms’ closest technical advisers — will increasingly need to inform farmers about climate-resilient practices and their financial impacts.
Environmental Defense Fund and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Cooperative Extension collaborated with three small North Carolina farms to measure the financial impacts of adopting reduced tillage, high tunnels and cover crops. The results are summarized in a new report and set of case studies. Read More
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged agriculture finance, cover crop, farm finance, North Carolina, sustainable agriculture Comments are closed
How a diversity of crops, geographies and farms makes North Carolina’s agriculture sector uniquely resilient
Climate change and extreme weather pose serious threats to North Carolina agriculture as both temperatures and precipitation totals are expected to rise. However, North Carolina’s diverse agricultural production system provides a strong foundation for building climate resilience.
Environmental Defense Fund partnered with Cooperative Extension at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University to study the financial impacts of climate resilience on farms in North Carolina.
As an NC A&T student and EDF summer intern, I had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Mark Blevins, assistant administrator for agriculture and natural resources with the Cooperative Extension, about the current state and future of North Carolina agriculture.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged crop diversity, North Carolina, sustainable agriculture Read 1 Response
How Congress can ensure voluntary carbon markets work for farmers and the environment
Voluntary agricultural carbon markets, although currently in their infancy, have the potential to increase adoption of climate-smart agriculture practices by generating new revenue streams for producers who cut emissions or sequester carbon, while also increasing climate resilience.
Voluntary carbon markets, however, currently involve multiple carbon registries and protocols for different types of emissions reduction and carbon removal practices, with variable measurement and accounting approaches. This variation means that farmers, other credit developers and purchasers risk investing in poorly quantified and potentially reversible climate benefits.
Congress and the U.S. Department of Agriculture must act now to help ensure voluntary agricultural carbon markets work for farmers and the environment. Today, I testified before the House Agriculture Committee about three ways that they can best do this. Read More
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged carbon markets, climate-smart agriculture, sustainable agriculture Comments are closed
Quick action needed to achieve full mitigation potential of soil carbon credits
The potential for agricultural climate solutions has led to surging interest in credits for soil carbon sequestration. The stakes for climate change and farmers are high, and there is a pressing need to evaluate emerging protocols for measuring, reporting and verifying soil carbon sequestration and net greenhouse gas removals.
With that in mind, Environmental Defense Fund and the Woodwell Climate Research Center reviewed 12 published protocols for soil carbon credits from cropland and rangeland, and published the results in a new report — Agricultural Soil Carbon Credits: Making sense of protocols for carbon sequestration and net greenhouse gas removals.
Here are the challenges the report found with current soil carbon credits and recommendations for overcoming them to build confidence in soil carbon markets. Read More
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged carbon credits, climate mitigation, Soil carbon, sustainable agriculture Comments are closed
3 must-haves for USDA to cut agriculture’s environmental footprint in half
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new Agriculture Innovation Agenda sets a promising and necessary goal: Cut the environmental footprint of U.S. agriculture in half by 2050. The agency aims to achieve this in part through lower greenhouse gas emissions, improved water quality and increased soil health.
Meeting this objective will not only benefit the people who rely on American farmers and the natural resources they steward. It will also make agriculture part of the solution and build climate resilience on the front lines – America’s farms.
Farmers are coming off one of the most difficult growing seasons on record, and more extreme and variable weather is becoming the norm. Boosting climate resilience to reduce production risk has never been more essential.
But for USDA to effectively deliver on this goal, it will need to arm itself – and farmers – with robust data, science and economics. Here are three ways that USDA can boost its climate roadmap to put U.S. agriculture on the path to success. Read More
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Agriculture Innovation Agenda, Department of Agriculture, sustainable agriculture, USDA Comments are closed