Growing Returns

Selected tag(s): coastal resilience

This new technology allows you to visit coastal Louisiana from your couch

By Steve Cochran / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: July 3, 2018

There is nothing like a boat ride through Louisiana’s Wax Lake Delta. This lush landscape, teeming with birds and wildlife, is an example of what Louisiana’s coast can look like if we use the Mississippi River to build land and increase the state’s resilience to storms and rising seas. It’s truly a beautiful place.

In stark contrast, a short plane ride over the region from New Orleans shows the true reality: Much of Louisiana’s coast is disappearing, as coastal wetlands cut off from the Mississippi River turn into open water. This Swiss cheese effect is startling when seen from the air. Read More »

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged 360 video, coastal restoration, Coasts, ecosystems, land loss, Louisiana, resilience, restoration, solutions, technology, virtual reality, wildlife | Comments are closed

Coastal resilience is getting high-tech, but there are still information gaps to fill

By Shannon Cunniff / Bio / Twitter profile / Published: June 20, 2018

Coastal communities are struggling to accurately understand their flooding risks and identify appropriate solutions for mitigating the effects of rising seas and increased storm surges.

Fortunately, new technologies are emerging that facilitate more rapid acquisition of more accurate data and improve data visualization to support efforts to build coastal resilience.

[Tweet “New technologies are emerging that can help communities understand risk and build coastal resilience. https://www.edf.org/Ejp”]

Leaders in the private sector have already developed bold new technologies – from satellites and sensors to machine learning – to help understand risks and develop solutions. But this fourth wave ingenuity is not limited to the private sector. Several public sector entities offer innovative and readily usable resources to help build more resilient and safer coastal communities.

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged Census Bureau, coastal protection, coastal restoration, Coasts, department of energy, department of interior, department of transportation, FEMA, flood, flood protection, flooding map, inundation risk, NASA, NOAA, resilience planning, sea level rise, storm surges, UCS, USGS, water use | Comments are closed

4 ways to strengthen coastal communities’ resilience before the next storm

By EDF Staff / Published: April 12, 2018

This blog was authored by Shannon Cunniff, with contributions from Kate Zerrenner.

The 2017 hurricane season sounded the alarm for coastal communities across the country and across the world that are facing increased exposure to powerful storms.

Nearly 40 percent of the U.S. population lives in coastal counties, where hurricanes are often the most destructive weather phenomena bringing rain, wind, waves and storm surge that too often result in significant loss of life. With a changing climate, we can expect more extreme weather. But we don’t have to expect the same levels of devastation.

There are steps we can take to decrease coastal communities’ vulnerability to storms, lower the risk of damaging floodwaters, and reduce the impacts associated with these disasters. Read More »

Posted in Uncategorized / Also tagged adaptation, building codes, buyouts, Coastal Master Plan, coastal protection, Coasts, flood insurance, Harvey, hurricane, Matthew, mitigation, natural infrastructure, wetlands | Read 1 Response