We'd like to congratulate Capital Region Climate Readiness Collaborative members SACOG, City of Sacramento, Valley Vision, and Community Resource Project, as well as the Historic Monterey Trails District, for winning a Transformative Climate Communities Planning Grant for the Franklin community! The $170,000 grant from the Strategic Growth Council will help South Sacramento's Franklin community - one of California's most disadvantaged communities, ranked in the top 25th percentile of CalEnviroScreen 3.0 - to develop implementation strategies for infrastructure, zero-emissions transportation and mobility, climate adaptation, economic development, and infill housing development projects and strategies. Together, these plans will support economic growth, social equity, and greenhouse gas emissions reductions, while also protecting against displacement. This is an exciting opportunity for an under-served community in Sacramento to build social and economic resilience, as well as the second grant that CRC members have won in two months!

Photo: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg

Federal programs to protect Americans against extreme weather and other natural disasters save even more money than previously thought, according to a report funded by the same agencies that have proposed cutting many of those programs. Every $1 the federal government spends on risk mitigation projects (such as elevating homes at risk of flooding or improving stormwater management systems) reduces future costs by an average of $6. That's higher than the 4-to-1 savings last estimated in 2005; the increase reflects the growing effects of climate change as well as better data and measurement. 2017 was the US's most expensive year for natural disasters at $306 billion, easily exceeding the previous high of $206 billion in 2005. In 2017, the US was hit by 16 weather events costing more than $1 billion each. Western wildfires reached $18 billion in damages, total the price tag of the previous worst wildfire year, 1991. The data demonstrates that federal spending on mitigation is "an even more powerful investment" than people knew. ( Link)

Unless countries urgently boost their flood defenses, millions more people will be at risk from river flooding in the next 20 years as global warming increases the likelihood of severe rainfall. More than half the US must at least double their protection level within the next two decades if they want to avoid a dramatic increase in river flood risks, according to the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. In the US and parts of Canada, the affected population could rise from 100,000 people to a million, a tenfold increase. In Asia, the numbers at risk will more than double to 156 million. The actual number of people at risk is likely to be even higher than the predictions, which do not account for population growth or more people moving to flood-risk areas. The report focuses on the amount of action that must be taken simply to keep flood risks at their current levels. ( Reuters)

A project in the Clear Lake neighborhood of southeast Houston, called Exploration Green, is being heralded as a solution: living with water rather than constantly fighting off floods. Started last year, the project is using a $28 million bond approved by voters to transform a former golf course into a sprawling 178-acre greenway that when completed will include bikeways, bird habitats, wetlands, and a series of detention ponds with the capacity of holding 500 million gallons of rainwater. Though only the first phase, out of five total, was about 80% finished when Harvey hit, it was enough to protect about 150 homes. ( USA Today)

	Photo: AP Photo/Matt Rourke

There are over 2 million people living within a mile of 327 Superfund sites in areas prone to flooding or vulnerable to sea-level rise. This year's historic hurricane season exposed a little-known threat: Highly polluted sites can be inundated by floodwaters, potentially spreading toxic contamination into homes and drinking water supplies. Across the nation, more than 800,000 homes are located near flood-prone toxic sites. The vulnerable sites are scattered across the nation, but Florida, New Jersey and California have the most, and the most people living near them. They are in largely low-income, heavily minority neighborhoods. ( AP)

As the state's fiscal watchdog, California State Controller Betty Yee has a finger on the pulse of the world's sixth largest economy. But her influence reaches far beyond just paying the State's bills. Here she discusses her work on climate change, which she says is now a bottom-line calculation for businesses that should be addressed now, rather than later, when the costs may be overwhelming. Through her board positions at Ceres, CalPERS, and CalSTRS, she works to influence how businesses can improve their business practices, particularly with respect to energy and water use, all the way throughout their supply chain. ( Link)

EPA maintains a Community Actions Database for heat island activities, searchable by state, initiative, or strategy. In addition, archived information on the five cities that participated in EPA's Urban Heat Island Pilot Project (UHIPP) is accessible from the UHIPP page. ( Link)

The County of Sacramento is developing a new Environmental Justice Element for its General Plan, as required by SB 1000, and welcomes your participation, particularly to address climate change and climate adaptation for vulnerable communities. If you'd like to keep up-to-date with the County's environmental justice work, please be sure to update your email subscription and add environmental justice as a topic, and visit the County's website for information on upcoming workshops and initiatives. If you have any questions or concern, please contact EJ Project Manager, Tim Kohaya, at 916.874.5982 or kohayat@saccounty.net .

There is bipartisan interest across the US in repairing and modernizing infrastructure. Infrastructure projects can create jobs and present an opportunity to make the US more resilient to climate impacts. The costly natural disasters of 2017 highlight the necessity for building resilient infrastructure to extend project service lives and avoid future damages in a changing and uncertain climate. In this webinar, experts will discuss the opportunity for resilient infrastructure and the criteria to guide resilient infrastructure legislation and future projects. ( Register)

The California Air Resources Board's (CARB) Research program sponsors fundamental air pollution and climate studies, supports the development of new and innovative pollution reduction strategies, and evaluates ongoing programs and regulatory efforts. CARB staff are currently developing a Triennial Strategic Research Plan for 2018-2021 to provide a longer-term vision than their typical annual research plan. Rather than identifying individual projects, the Triennial Plan will identify broad research initiatives that will be the focus of funding for the next three years. These draft research initiatives will be presented at this public workshop to guide the development of the draft Plan, which will be presented at the Board meeting on April 26, 2018.

Hispanics represent 39% of the California population yet have been underserved by energy efficiency programs. This webinar presents the results of two pioneering Energy Commission-funded studies that explore social, cultural and behavioral factors that affect Hispanic household energy use and home improvement decisions-with the goal of helping energy efficiency programs better serve this important audience. The webinar will present ten recommendations for how to improve energy efficiency programs for Hispanic households, including effective use of language and imagery, partnerships with community-based organizations, facilitating do-it-yourself work and approaches for overcoming financial constraints. ( Register)

Join the Climate Action Team's Public Health workgroup to learn about how soil health and soil carbon are important components in advancing community health and addressing climate change. Also available via webcast. ( Link)

As part of the California Urban Forest Council's "Learn at Lunch" series, Dr. Bill Sullivan will present a discussion of how the built environment impacts human health and wellbeing, and how we can create settings that promote health and wellness for individuals, families, and our community. Bring your lunch and enjoy an intimate talk as we explore how we can create spaces that inspire, invigorate, and improve our lives. ( Link)