201512paris agreementDecember 14, 2015 - More than 190 countries came together to #ActOnClimate by adopting the most ambitious climate change agreement in history! The Paris Agreement establishes a long term, durable global framework to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.  For the first time, all countries commit to putting forward successive and ambitious, nationally determined climate targets and reporting on their progress towards them using a rigorous, standardized process of review.

Fact Sheet:  U.S. Leadership and the Historic Paris Agreement to Combat Climate Change

Shareable GIF: https://pbs.twimg.com/tweet_video/CWDBdvQVEAAz9Bl.mp4

Video of the President’s Remarks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgj5MW3PsGM

Blog Posts from FIU: http://slsc.fiu.edu/category/news/cop21/
201512fiu artistDecember 10, 2015 - With climate change conversations under way at the COP21 Paris Talks, the discussion on global climate change may seem distant to many communities – but not Hialeah. There, in the Milander Center for Arts and Entertainment, Xavier Cortada has brought the conversation home to South Florida with CLIMA, his solo art exhibit on climate change and sea-level rise. Cortada currently serves as artist-in-residence for FIU’s College of Arts & Sciences (CAS), School of Environment, Arts and Society (SEAS), and College of Architecture + The Arts (CARTA). Each day of the CLIMA exhibit included a special climate-inspired performance, display, or video by Cortada, as well as a panel discussion to cover topics related to the causes and/or effects of climate change and sea level rise. The panels were well-represented by FIU faculty, including Tiffany Troxler, Director of the FIU Sea Level Solutions Center (SLSC). The exhibit will continue to display a wide range of environmental art pieces until January 29, 2016. 

FIU Alumni Association Article

Source: FIU News Release
201512fiu focus sflDecember 7, 2015 - CBS Miami’s Focus on South Florida segment recently featured FIU’s Tiffany Troxler, Director of the FIU Sea Level Solutions Center, and Henry Briceño, Associate Researcher at FIU’s Southeastern Environmental Research. The discussion occurred during the middle of the COP21 climate change talks in Paris, after President Obama recently cited Miami Beach as a specific example of why the US should commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Drs. Troxler and Briceño each described what is currently being done to address the issues related to sea level rise in South Florida, and expressed their optimism going forward after the start of COP21. Watch the full video here >>
December 4, 2015 - On November 23, Florida state climatologist David Zierden was one of four scientists invited to a congressional briefing in Washington, DC where he provided background and explained the implications of the 2015-16 El Niño event. The four panelists discussed how El Niño forms, what impacts can be anticipated from the current event, as well as the opportunities and challenges in understanding, monitoring, and predicting the El Niño. Zierden stressed the importance of increasing the prediction accuracy for El Niño to better plan global and regional responses. In Florida, where the 1997-98 El Niño had severe impacts, water planners and farmers are preparing responses to expected impacts of this year's El Niño. The briefing highlighted the importance of continued investment in data assimilation, model improvement, and communication to stakeholders and decision makers to better predict and prepare for future El Niño events.

Consortium for Ocean Leadership News Release
201511ancientfl slNovember 28, 2015 - A Tampa Bay Times article by Craig Pittman highlights research conducted by University of Florida archaeologist Ken Sassaman on how Florida's early inhabitants adapted to sea level changes:

"The 2012 emergency call sent archaeologists scrambling. Rising seas were washing away an ancient Indian burial ground near Cedar Key. They had to dig up the remaining graves and collect the bones before the whole thing disappeared into the Gulf of Mexico. But while digging, University of Florida archaeologist Ken Sassaman discovered something that surprised him. The burial ground of some 1,300 graves was actually a re-burial ground. The skeletons had been buried somewhere else, then moved to this spot. Florida's early inhabitants had done that, Sassaman said, because they were dealing with the same problem that's facing the low-lying Sunshine State now: waves that creep higher and higher, crumbling the coastline and forcing the inhabitants to make tough choices about the future. Their solution was to move everything important to them, including their ancestors, he explained."

Continue Reading Tampa Bay Times Article

Photo credit: Ken Sassaman
201511fiu king tideNovember 25, 2015 - On Tuesday, November 24, Tiffany Troxler, Director of FIU's Sea Level Solutions Center, gathered faculty and students at Little River Pocket Park in Miami, for a hands-on event during King Tide flooding. The event focused on a low-lying community where significant tidal flooding has been observed, but received little attention, in order to conduct a citizen science activity and emphasize that sea level rise is not just a Miami Beach issue. Faculty and students organized to take video and help attendees with data collection. Attendees also had the opportunity to view storm water pump activity and conduct water quality sampling.

The event comes less than a week before world leaders will convene in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21), to address climate change issues and formalize agreements to lower carbon emissions. Dr. Juliet Pinto, of FIU’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication, will attend the conference in Paris and stream daily updates.

Source: http://slsc.fiu.edu/citizens-engage-in-sea-level-solutions-with-eyes-on-the-rise/
November 25, 2015 - The following update was submitted by Jillian Drabik, an Ecosystem Science and Policy doctoral student at the University of Miami, on the status of a project on the South Florida Water, Sustainability and Climate Project funded by NSF and USDA and led by FIU:

Over the past twelve months we have made steady progress toward our project objectives. In addition to working toward individual and task group goals, we are also working within the context of the larger project goals. These goals are to develop: 1) a hydro-economic model for South Florida, 2) new information on the economic value of ecosystem services that can be used in modeling exercises, 3) management schemes to increase the resilience of the system to climate change and sea level rise, 4) our understanding of cognitive and perceptual biases in risk assessment and decision-making, and 5) adaptive management plans that optimize economic productivity, the value of ecosystem services, and which foster sustained public support in South Florida. Significant progress has been made on these objectives, including the release of the downscaled climate data for South Florida, further refinement of the penalty functions, and early discussion of selecting scenarios to examine with the hydro-economic model.

Over the next several months, the primary goal is to fully develop the different penalty functions and further engage with stakeholder groups for model input and feedback. Research in other areas including ecosystem service valuation, fisheries evaluation, and the decision and behavioral sciences continues to progress.
201511uf malaria2November 24, 2015 - A larger portion of Africa is currently at high risk for malaria transmission than previously predicted, according to a new University of Florida mapping study. Under future climate regimes, the area where the disease can be transmitted most easily will shrink, but the total transmission zone will expand and move into new territory, according to the study, which appears in the current issue of the journal Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases. By 2080, the study shows, the year-round, highest-risk transmission zone will move from coastal West Africa, east to the Albertine Rift, between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. The area suitable for seasonal, lower-risk transmission will shift north into coastal sub-Saharan Africa. Most striking, some parts of Africa will become too hot for malaria. The overall expansion of malaria-vulnerable areas will challenge management of the deadly disease, said lead author Sadie Ryan, an assistant professor of geography at the University of Florida who also is affiliated with UF’s Emerging Pathogens Institute.

UF News Release

Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases Journal Article
201511uf mountainsNovember 23, 2015 - Researchers for the first time have attempted to measure all the material leaving and entering a mountain range over more than a million years and discovered that erosion caused by glaciation during ice ages can, in the right circumstances, wear down mountains faster than plate tectonics can build them. The international study conducted by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program and led by scientists from the University of Florida, The University of Texas at Austin and Oregon State University, adds insight into a longstanding debate about the balance of climate and tectonic forces that influence mountain building. It is published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers studied the St. Elias Mountains on the Alaskan coast and found that erosion accelerated sharply about 1 million years ago when global climate cooling triggered stronger and more persistent ice ages than times past.

"Humans often see mountain ranges as static, unyielding parts of the landscape,” said co-chief scientist John Jaeger, an associate professor of geology at the University of Florida. “But our work has shown that they are actively evolving along with, and responding to, Earth's climate, which just shows how truly dynamic and coupled this planet is."

UF News Release

PNAS Journal Article

Photo credit: Ken Ridgway, Purdue University
201511 whitehouseNovember 19, 2015 - The FCI joined more than 200 university and college campuses, including FAMU and FIU, in signing the White Houses's American Campuses Act on Climate Pledge to demonstrating support for strong climate action by world leaders in Paris next month. The pledge reads:

"As institutions of higher education, we applaud the progress already made to promote clean energy and climate action as we seek a comprehensive, ambitious agreement at the upcoming United Nations Climate Negotiations in Paris. We recognize the urgent need to act now to avoid irreversible costs to our global community’s economic prosperity and public health and are optimistic that world leaders will reach an agreement to secure a transition to a low carbon future. Today our school pledges to accelerate the transition to low-carbon energy while enhancing sustainable and resilient practices across our campus."

White House Fact Sheet
201511uf sealevelNovember 16, 2015 - Sea level research conducted by Andrea Dutton (UF Geology) is featured in a recent news article in the journal Science. Dr. Dutton's studies of fossil coral reefs exposed at an amusement park in Mexico suggest a rapid rise in sea level some 120,000 years ago, during a warm spell in Earth's history.

Science Article

Photo Credit: Juan Carlos Garcia, CC
201511mbuya201511kirtmanNovember 2, 2015 - Drs. O.S. Mbuya (Florida A&M University) and Ben Kirtman (University of Miami) will represent the Florida Climate Institute (FCI) at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (NFCCC), Conference of the Parties 21st (COP21) in Paris, France (http://www.cop21.gouv.fr/en/cop21-cmp11/what-cop21-cmp11) from November 30 through December 11, 2015. At the Conference, FCI will partner with India’s National Council for Climate, Sustainable Development and Public Leadership (NCCSD). The FCI representatives will showcase the scientific milestones achieved by the nine participating institutions on climate research and echo our commitment to address issues related to climate at national and global levels.
201511fau-cestechNovember 2, 2015 - On October 20 & 21 at the FAU Boca Campus Alumni Center, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Florida Center for Environmental Studies (CES) hosted a technical meeting to address issues relating to invasive species in the Florida Everglades. About 50 researchers and managers participated in a series of presentations and working sessions.

On Day One Shannon Estenoz, Director of Everglades Restoration Initiatives at the U.S. Department of the Interior, challenged the group to examine the framework used in the State of Florida—the Early Detection Rapid Response (EDRR) decision framework for nonindigenous species--and improve it for use as a screening tool. Experts from Florida Fish & Wildlife, USGS, the Universities of Florida and Georgia, and the National Park Service presented the tools they currently use in their work. Florida plant and wildlife managers also learned from the procedures and methods presented by authorities from the States of Hawai’i and Vermont. On the second day, three working groups evaluated the EDRR frameworks and provided recommendations and feedback. As a next step, the feedback will be compiled and work will begin on the development of a screening tool. Updates will be posted on the meeting’s website: www.ces.fau.edu/usgs/edrr-technical-meeting/index.php
201511-NRLI Logo VerticalNovember 2, 2015 - The Florida Natural Resources Leadership Institute (NRLI) is now accepting applications for Class XVI (2016-2017). NRLI is an eight-month professional development program that seeks to impact decision making in Florida by creating a network of professionals with members in every county and across all natural resource sectors who can effectively address natural resource issues through conflict management and collaborative leadership. For more information (including the 2016-2017 schedule and application process), please visit http://nrli.ifas.ufl.edu/NRLI_classXVI.shtml.
November 2, 2015 - Ricardo A. Alvarez (Research Affiliate at FAU's Florida Center for Environmental Studies) has developed an online course titled, "Beyond Single Building Toward a Community and Regional Resilience Approach" that is now available online on The American Institute of Architects website: https://aiau.aia.org/courses/beyond-single-building-toward-community-and-regional-resilience-approach 

Course Description:

In coastal communities, the impacts of hurricanes and earthquakes are exacerbated by sea-level rise and aging infrastructures. This course looks at community actions designed to visualize future impacts, identify critical weaknesses, and identify mitigation measures. We'll explore solutions for building resilient communities.  In reviewing case studies, you'll learn: The pros and cons of hazard mitigation approaches in coastal communities; What qualifies a building or community as "resilient"; and Best practices for critical decision-making on development, retrofits, and relocation by incorporating emerging knowledge into project planning. The end result from the strategies presented? Resilient buildings and better protected coastal communities. 
November 2, 2015 - The Pine Integrated Network: Education, Mitigation, and Adaptation project (PINEMAP) (based at UF) recently hosted a virtual meeting with special guest Dr. Andrew Hoffman, author of the insightful book “How Culture Shapes the Climate Change Debate” (available here). After PINEMAP researchers presented a brief overview of PINEMAP's different stakeholder groups, Dr. Hoffman spoke with the PINEMAP team about how to build trust to improve climate science communication. A recording of the meeting is available here. If you are interested in better understanding the barriers to communicating with diverse audiences about controversial science issues, PINEMAP encourages you to check out Hoffman's book and his engaging talk.
201510fsu-alaskan-soilOctober 27, 2015 - Samples of permafrost soil from deep below the ground in an Alaskan tunnel are providing new clues in the quest to understand what exactly happens as northern regions of the world warm and begin to thaw. FSU doctoral student Travis Drake and Florida State University Assistant Professor in Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences Robert Spencer write in a new paper that permafrost organic material is so biodegradable that as soon as it thaws, the carbon is almost immediately consumed by single-cell organisms called microbes and then released back into the air as carbon dioxide, feeding the global climate cycle. Their findings are laid out in an article published today by the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences. This is the first time scientists were able to quantify exactly how fast organic carbon from Alaskan permafrost is converted into carbon dioxide.

"This study really shows what makes permafrost so biodegradable," said Drake, who completed the work while still an employee at the U.S. Geological Survey and master’s degree student at University of Colorado. "Immediately upon thaw, microbes start using the carbon and then it is sent back into the atmosphere."

FSU News Release

PNAS Journal Article
October 29, 2015 - From the Tampa Bay Climate Science Advisory Panel:

Coastal communities surrounding Tampa Bay are low-lying, densely-populated and therefore vulnerable to sea-level rise. In response to requests from local governments in the Tampa Bay region, Florida Sea Grant (FSG) and the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council (TBRPC) are facilitating coordinated efforts to guide sea-level rise adaptation planning in the region. The FSG Agent is facilitating the Climate Science Advisory Panel (CSAP), an ad hoc group of experts, including a representative and affiliates of the Florida Climate Institute, whose goal is to provide scientific counsel to local governments planning for a changing climate. The TBRPC is convening a network of planners, developers, emergency managers and policy makers through the ONE BAY: Resilient Communities Working Group (OBRCWG) (http://www.tbrpc.org/onebay/working_group.shtml) improve the regional capacity of the area to withstand uncertainty and adverse impacts associated with sea level rise and other coastal hazards. Together, these groups are working to promote the pragmatic application of scientific data in public policy.

After a careful review of scientific research and associated literature, the CSAP has drafted a "Recommended Projection of Sea Level Rise in the Tampa Bay Region" (http://www.tbrpc.org/council_members/councilagendas/2015/101215/8c.pdf). The recommendation provides guidance on what sea level rise projections should be incorporated into local planning efforts. On October 9th, the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council (TBRPC) voted unanimously to accept the Recommendation for distribution to local governments. The TBRPC One Bay Resilient Communities Working Group will continue to facilitate the discussion of adaptation planning with planners, emergency managers and government leaders to identify practical and incremental solutions to address sea level rise. Members of the CSAP are available to present the recommendation of the guidance document to local governments and partners.

For more information about these efforts contact Libby Carnahan, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Maya Burke, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
logo-usf-patelcollegeOctober 27, 2015 - The USF Patel College of Global Sustainability is excited to announce the launch of four new 12 credit hour graduate certificates starting Spring 2016. The application deadline is December 4, 2016 for the Spring semester. The certificates will be in Sustainable Tourism; Energy Sustainability; Water Sustainability; and Global Sustainability.

More Information