Headline News Archive
On Wednesday, January 24, the University of Florida Center for Landscape Conservation Planning and 1000 Friends of Florida released a new statewide GIS-based report, Agriculture 2040/2070. This report, downloadable maps, webinar broadcast, and more are available at 1000fof.org/ag2040-2070.
This study explores possible impacts of development and sea level rise on Florida’s agricultural lands and their conservation values. Building on the earlier Sea Level 2040/2070 study, it incorporates more comprehensive data on agriculture.
Florida’s agricultural lands provide essential ecosystem services including protecting water supply and quality, providing flood control, supporting climate resilience, sequestering carbon, harboring wildlife, promoting outdoor recreation, and more.
Agriculture is also a cornerstone of Florida’s economy. According to the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Science (IFAS), the direct economic contributions of the agriculture, natural resource, and food industries in 2019 included $106 billion in sales and 1,279,638 jobs.
Agriculture 2040/2070 sheds light on the significant threats facing these lands, and what can be done to lessen impacts over the coming decades.
We hope you'll take a few minutes to check out the website and read the report to learn more about this critical issue.
Ben Kirtman, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences and the William R. Middelthon, III Endowed Chair of Earth Sciences at the Rosenstiel School has been elected a 2023 Fellow of the American Geophysical Union for his fundamental work on tropical climate dynamics and climate prediction on timescales from days to decades.
Special thanks to David Zierden (FSU), Emily Powell (FSU), Cori Matyas (UF), Kati Serafin (UF), Amy Clement (U Miami), David Keelings (UF), and Marshall Shepherd (UGA). Really an all-star line up to help attendees understand the data, changes and trends, and how it all connects to climate change. Watch here if you could not attend.
This annual event is a partnership between the FCI and CJC. Looking forward to #10!
Coverage in Invading Sea here.
Results offer a glimmer of hope as climate change impacts coral reefs worldwide
Researchers studying South Florida’s coral reefs found that the region’s nearshore reefs and more sheltered inshore areas are less vulnerable to ocean acidification than previously thought – a major climate-related threat to coral reefs as ocean waters absorb more atmospheric CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels.
This new study, led by scientists at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML), offers a glimmer of hope for Florida’s iconic coral reefs as ocean acidification, along with marine heat waves and other climate-related threats are impacting coral reefs worldwide.
This project will serve the 72 communities in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina that have recently received Community Disaster Resilience Zone (CDRZ) designations from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Dr. Emily Powell from FSU and Carolyn Cox from UF will co-lead the Florida region along with several partners from UF-IFAS Extension and Sea Grant within the CDRZ communities.
Our partner organizations Georgia Conservancy, the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency, the Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities at Furman University, and the Florida Climate Institute will establish Navigators to serve as trusted partners for CDRZ communities in their state. These Navigators will work directly with CDRZ communities to help them identify and take advantage of funding sources and capacity building opportunities, and secure technical support necessary to develop strategies that lead to tangible resilience benefits. Additionally, Project IN-CORE and Resilient Cities Catalyst will offer direct technical support to communities across the four states.
In addition to supporting CDRZ communities, this project serves as a Climate Ready America demonstration project and supports planning for the Georgia Climate Innovation Center. This project also serves a larger role within the climate resilience field by developing a measurement and evaluation framework, led by EcoAdapt, that can be used by organizations helping CDRZ communities nationwide.
We are continuing to work with federal agencies, philanthropies, and the corporate sector to build a national network of Navigators to support CDRZ communities in all states and territories. Our goal is to have this network of climate services for CDRZ communities serve as the foundation for the Climate Ready America initiative.
The effects of a rapidly warming climate are being felt in every corner of the US and will worsen over the next 10 years with continued fossil fuel use, according to a stark new report from federal agencies. The Assessment evaluates climate impacts across 10 U.S. regions and a wide range of interests, including water, forests and ecosystems, coasts and oceans, agriculture and rural communities, the built environment, energy and transportation, health and air quality, and economic and social systems.
You can find a report overview, figures, and the full report itself on the NCA 2023 website.
A new video shares the most up-to-date sea level rise projections for the United States, and encourages viewers to take some initial steps. The video highlights key takeaways from the 2022 Sea Level Rise Technical Report, with a focus on the impacts on coastal communities. Viewers are encouraged to consider actions they can take within their communities, and directed to existing web tools for assessing the timing and severity of local impacts from sea level rise.
A team of scientists found that carbon dioxide becomes a more potent greenhouse gas as more is released into the atmosphere.
The new study, led by scientists at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, Science, was published in Science and comes as world leaders meet in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, this week for the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP28.
The Climate Innovation Challenge (CIC) cultivates student leaders who can think innovatively and communicate effectively about adapting to our changing climate. CIC is a free international STEAM program for grades 3-12 that guides students through the creation of climate change solutions while developing storytelling and video production skills. The program was developed by CAVU to challenge students to create unique ideas on adapting to increasing climate impacts like floods, fires, drought, rising temperatures, and sea-level rise. We encourage students to “think globally and adapt locally,” creating solutions to implement themselves in their communities. Learn more at ClimateInnovationChallenge.org!
Congratulations to Dr. Brett Scheffers, Assistant Professor in the UF Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, who has been named Florida Climate Institute Co-Director! Along with Dr. Sadie Ryan, Brett will co-lead the Florida Climate Institute at UF starting November 1. Many thanks to Dr. Rachata Muneepeerakul for his leadership over the past 3 years as the FCI has continued to grow and add programs.
Read more about Dr. Scheffers here
A new report from the Commission on Accelerating Climate Action at the American Academy of Arts & Sciences calls for a coordinated, cross-sector effort to combat climate change with five strategies and 21 recommendations rooted in justice, pragmatism, and accountability.
The report, Forging Climate Solutions: How to Accelerate Action Across America, was developed over a two-year period by a diverse commission of leaders sharing their expertise and priorities. The Commission’s report recommends how corporations, frontline communities, government, and environmental groups can work together to mobilize investments, build infrastructure, reduce emissions, and prepare for the impacts of climate change.
Led by Mustafa Santiago Ali (National Wildlife Federation), Christopher Field (Stanford), David G. Victor (University of California, San Diego, and the Brookings Institution), and Patricia Vincent-Collawn (PNM Resources), the commission’s expertise spans the arts, faith communities, environmental justice, youth activism, the natural and social sciences, Indigenous people and Indigenous Knowledge, public health, and urban design.
“Climate change is an existential challenge and addressing it will require us to build and sustain new kinds of coalitions,” said David Oxtoby, President of the American Academy. “The work is challenging but our Commission modeled how to connect across sectors and divides to take action. Our hope is that their work provides a roadmap for transcending ideological divisions to achieve tangible climate progress.”
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) announced that the South Florida Climate Resilience Tech Hub, led by Miami-Dade County, has been designated as one of 31 Tech Hubs in the country, selected from a competitive pool of nearly 200 applicants across the United States and its territories. This designation will elevate and accelerate South Florida’s advances in climate action and resiliency, and unlocks access to tens of millions of dollars in potential funding. The Tech Hubs Program is a federal economic development initiative designed to drive regional technology and innovation-led growth by strengthening capacity to manufacture, commercialize, and deploy key climate technologies.
Read the full press release
The Taskforce on Nature Markets, the initiative of NatureFinance (previously: Finance for Biodiversity Initiative – F4B), recently published this report with the objective of shaping a new generation of purposeful nature markets. Building on the Taskforce’s "The Future of Nature Markets" white paper, this document:
- responds to a rise in “nature markets” that explicitly monetize & trade nature,
- explores the developments in #environmental law & their implications, and
- aims to support the Taskforce in delivering its mandate: ensuring the global economy interfaces with nature in ways that deliver nature positive, equitable & #netzero outcomes.
Given the importance that legal frameworks, precedents, and measures play in the governance of nature markets, this paper covers three serious emerging environmental rights which sit at the intersection of nature, law, and human rights. This paper examines developments in environmental rights, with an overview of the right to a healthy environment and ecocide, and then delves deeper into the emergent rights of nature. This paper analyses the implications for nature markets and how they could be shaped by these rights.
WLRN 91.3 FM | By John Pacenti | Key Biscayne Independent
Published October 27, 2023 at 3:57 PM EDT
Scientists are looking at the latest advance in computer science — artificial intelligence to better predict mammoth hurricanes, raging wildfires and increased coastal flooding.
Professor Ben Kirtman at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel school is leading the AI effort with three new federal grants totaling more than $3 million.
The grants are from the National Science Foundation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and will be used to improve predictive analytics on three fronts.
A $750,000 grant will focus on coastal flooding in East Coast municipalities like Key Biscayne, aiming to give local communities long-term flood predictions that go beyond just anticipating hurricane storm surge
A new video shares the most up-to-date sea level rise projections for the United States, and encourages viewers to take some initial steps. The video highlights key takeaways from the 2022 Sea Level Rise Technical Report, with a focus on the impacts on coastal communities. Viewers are encouraged to consider actions they can take within their communities, and directed to existing web tools for assessing the timing and severity of local impacts from sea level rise.
In September, FEMA announced an initial 483 census tracts nationwide that will be eligible for increased federal support to become more resilient to natural hazards and extreme weather worsened by the climate crisis – known as Community Disaster Resilience Zones (CDRZ). FEMA will use the CDRZ designations to direct and manage financial and technical assistance for resilience projects in these areas. The CDRZ designations identify communities most at risk of the effects of natural hazards and climate change using a tailored version of the National Risk Index that takes into consideration socioeconomic vulnerability as well as physical exposure and risk. An initial 32 CDRZ designations have been identified in Florida.
Read FEMA’s press release here. View an interactive map of all CDRZ designations here.
The White House’s new National Climate Resilience Framework outlines more than a dozen essential measures that help prepare the nation to adjust to the accelerating impacts of climate change.
The impacts of a warming world are already being felt, and this year the United States has experienced a record number of billion-dollar climate and weather disasters, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The University of Florida's Scientist in Every Florida School program within the Thompson Earth Systems Institute (TESI) is looking for scientists to join our database for virtual and in-person K-12 classroom visits to talk about their fields. We are interested in all field areas, but have a great need for the following at this time:
Astronomy- all space related fields
Physics- forces, motion, energy related fields
Chemistry- physical and chemical properties and changes in matter
Meteorology- climate, weather related fields
Climate Change related fields
A new paper "Can Florida’s Coast Survive Its Reliance on Development?Fiscal Vulnerability and Funding Woes Under Sea Level Rise" is now out in JAPA, open access. How much will sea level rise will affect local government revenues in Florida? A LOT: 211 municipalities, $619 billion in assessed property values that currently contribute $2.36 billion. Some 64 municipalities have 50%+ of revenues sitting within 6.5 feet of current sea levels. We pair our spatial analysis with a statewide survey of coastal planners and show that there is no relationship between the level of fiscal risk & prioritization of adaptation planning.
Big picture takeaways:
- fiscal risk from climate change is real but ignored
- fiscal policy - including reliance on property tax - constrains creative solutions
- market responses will likely result in resilient upland enclaves and vulnerable, poorer coastal towns.
What to do?
- recognize fiscal risk and assess it like we do with physical infrastructure and social vulnerability. We need a national fiscal climate risk dataset!
- enable regional land and revenue sharing. NH's SB285 allowing coastal towns to merge due to SLR is a start
- promote cooperative strategies like community land trusts and limited equity cooperative housing to help lower-income groups avoid displacement and adapt
The Florida Climate Institute (FCI) is a multi-disciplinary network of national and international research and public organizations, scientists, and individuals concerned with achieving a better understanding of climate variability and change.