May 2021
The Resilience Roundup highlights announcements, events, and funding opportunities along with links to the previous month's local, state, and national resilience news. 
Learn more about CIRCA at circa.uconn.edu
and the Resilient Connecticut Project at resilientconnecticut.uconn.edu
Resilient Connecticut Project Updates

May Workshops: Regional Vulnerabilities and Resilience Opportunities

Following on recent winter workshops, join the Resilient Connecticut team for our spring workshop series to be held with four Councils of Governments (COGs) in New Haven and Fairfield Counties. These May events will focus on the regional vulnerability results that emerged from our outreach, research, and technical analysis. Each workshop will present highly vulnerable areas and potential resilience opportunity areas in the four COGs. The workshops will also include small group collaborative exercises to explore select resilience opportunity areas.
Go to the May workshop website to learn more and REGISTER today!
June Research Webinar Series

Throughout the month of June, hear about innovative Resilient Connecticut climate change research in this CIRCA "brown bag" webinar series. Focused on specific topics and condensed on time, enjoy one or all nine of these free webinars by clicking on the Register link above. Each event will be held for 30 minutes during the lunch hour with ~ 20 minutes of presentation and 10 minutes of Q&A. More information and registration is on the Research Webinar website. If you can't attend these live events, please feel free to watch them on our YouTube channel later. Register today!
Launching Resilient Connecticut Information Series

As part of Resilient Connecticut's engagement effort, CIRCA is embarking on a new information series designed to package fact sheets, case studies, and white papers over the next year. To launch this effort, we are releasing a new fact sheet describing our Institute and the project, formatted in both English and Spanish. Along with this general fact sheet is a more detailed case study of Branford's Coastal Resiliency Reserve Fund (also see the "Resources" section below for a Resilient Cities! webinar recording on this topic). Check out these new CIRCA products as "Information for a More Resilient Connecticut" - and keep your eye out for additional releases in future Resilience Roundup editions!
Announcements

CIRCA Hiring Physical Oceanography & Coastal Engineering Postdoctoral Research Associate to Support CT Resilience Planning

The University of Connecticut and CIRCA seek applicants for a Postdoctoral Research Associate to provide support for activities associated with the development of the Resilient Connecticut project. This position will work in a team developing science that includes developing, testing and executing simulations of wave impacts and flooding in coastal areas. Among other duties, they will also participate in workshops and meetings for municipalities and regional councils of government on climate resilience and adaptation. Applications are due May 30, 2021. Check out the newly posted announcement for more information and to apply...
The Long Island Sound Futures Fund RFP

The Long Island Sound Futures Fund (LISFF) is seeking proposals to restore the health and living resources of Long Island Sound (Sound) with potential funding of $5 million or more for grants in 2021. The program is managed by National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Long Island Sound Study (LISS), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The application deadline is Thursday May 27, 2021
Events
NOAA - Three Steps to Better Risk Communication

May 12, May 26, June 9
2:00 to 4:00 pm
 
This NOAA workshop is for local government staff and community partners working to engage various audiences in planning for natural hazards. The virtual workshop will start May 12, 2021, with live sessions every other week. The workshop includes interactive, instructor-led sessions, discussion with peers, as well as individual and small group work on your specific project. Teams or pairs are encouraged to participate and work together on their strategy. This workshop focuses on improving risk communication skills for coastal hazards planning and preparedness, not crisis communication when a disaster is imminent. Registration closes May 7.
UMass Sustainable Solutions Lab 


The interconnected crises of climate change, ecological collapse, institutional racism and economic inequality are expanding. When facing these challenges, the focus is often placed on immediate crisis response and the built environment without accounting for the underlying cultural causes. Join SSL on May 18th from 4:00 - 5:30 pm for a conversation that will explore the wisdom and beauty of different cultures, cultural organizing and artistic expression in the development of resilient and sustainable communities.

 
For the fourth event in SSL's Climate Justice Partnerships series, participants will hear from representatives from the team that organized the Chelsea and East Boston Heat (C-HEAT) Study. The goal of the project is to build the capacity for these communities to respond to extreme heat events with engagement of multiple stakeholders including the cities and other organizations concerned with heat in vulnerable populations. The event will be on May 26th from 12 – 1 p.m.

Climate, energy, and sustainability professionals across sectors and from around the globe collaborate to explore solutions and opportunities, engage peers and build new connections, and showcase climate leadership to address climate change through policy, innovation, and business solutions. Presented by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) and Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Exchange supports the prestigious Climate Leadership Awards, bringing national attention to organizations leading the way on climate. The event will be held virtually on May 25th - check registration link for details.
Resources

Connecticut Green Bank Offers $1,000 Bonds

On April 21 the Connecticut Green Bank began its 2021 issuance of Green Liberty Bonds. Proceeds from the sale will finance infrastructure projects with climate and environmental benefits. Green Liberty Bonds are issued in $1,000 increments, "making it easier for individual investors to consider an investment," according to Bryan Garcia, president and Green Bank CEO.
Resilient Cities! Webinar:
Looking For a New Way to Fund Resilience? - video available

One of Governor Lamont's key legislative initiatives (and currently being considered by the full General Assembly) was the focus of an April 13 Resilient Cities! webinar. Watch the webinar to hear from a panel of three speakers:
  • State Senator Christine Cohen described a bill that, among other innovations, would authorize municipalities to establish a municipal reserve fund for climate-resilience projects. The reserve funds would be funded by a fee on the transfer of real estate.
  • Bryan Garcia President and CEO of Connecticut Green Bank described how the bill, HB 6441, would also establish an environmental infrastructure fund with the Connecticut Green Bank. 
  • James Finch, Branford's finance director, outlined the potential revenue from a transfer fee. He also described ways in which towns could use that new revenue to attract additional funding for projects to protect towns from flood damage. Also see Branford's resilience fund case study mentioned above in the Resilient Connecticut project update.
Watch Climate Change Happen

Google Earth now shows decades of climate change in seconds. Google Earth has partnered with NASA, the U.S. Geological Survey, the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, and Carnegie Mellon University to create a new tool that lets users see time lapses of changes on our planet's surface in a unique opportunity to see climate change in action. The new tool, Timelapse, adds 24 million satellite images taken over 37 years.
Fact Sheet: President Biden’s Summit on Climate

On day one in office, President Biden fulfilled his commitment to rejoin the Paris Agreement. In April, he held a historic summit with 40 world leaders over the course of two days to rally the world in tackling the climate crisis, demonstrate the economic opportunities of the future, and affirm the need for unprecedented global cooperation. More information on the initiatives and commitments discussed at the Summit are available in an online fact sheet.
State and Regional News Clips
Massachusetts Gov. Baker Signs Sweeping Climate Change Bill
AP News - March 26, 2021

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed a sweeping climate change bill into law, ending months of negotiations as the legislation shuttled back and forth between the Democratic-controlled Legislature and the Republican governor. Baker and lawmakers have both hailed a key goal of the new law — creating a net-zero greenhouse gas emission limit by 2050. “This bill puts us on an ambitious path to achieving a cleaner and more livable commonwealth while also creating economic development opportunities,” Baker said moments after signing the legislation into law.
Rhode Island Governor Signs Climate Change Bill Into Law
AP News - April 10, 2021

NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — A wide-ranging climate bill that requires Rhode Island to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 was signed into law by Gov. Daniel McKee. “With four hundred miles of coastline, urban and rural coastal communities, fishing and agricultural industries, the Ocean State is on the front lines of the climate crisis,” the Democrat said in a statement after the bill signing ceremony in Newport. “The Act on Climate represents a commitment that not only addresses a moral imperative, but also presents a platform to enhance our economy, public health, environmental equity, and natural environment.”
Costs and Benefits Debated as Connecticut Moves Toward
Carbon Caps for Gas and Diesel
CT Examiner - April 11, 2021

The Transportation and Climate Initiative will almost certainly cost owners of gasoline - and diesel-powered vehicles more at the pump if lawmakers sign onto the multistate agreement. The program will require fuel suppliers to purchase emissions allowances for the fuels they sell in participating states. The Office of the Governor estimates that the program will generate annual revenues of up to $89 million by 2023, and as much as $117 million by 2032.
Can the Mayoral Candidates Bring a Sea Change to NYC’s
Climate Resilience Fight?
The City - April 13, 2021

The effects of climate change put New York City’s 520 miles of coastline and the approximately 1.4 million people who live near it at risk. The next mayor will shoulder the responsibility of planning for the present and future of waterfront communities, ensuring they can withstand frequent flooding and rising sea levels. Meanwhile, most properties in coastal areas the federal government deems extremely vulnerable to the next disaster are without flood insurance.
Climate Action Now to Insure Connecticut’s Future
CT Mirror - April 19, 2021

Connecticut has had nine weather-related federal disaster declarations in the past 11 years, totaling more than $362 million in damages. For Storms Irene, Sandy, and the 2011 October Nor’easter, insurers paid out more than $1 billion to cover insured damages in Connecticut. The damage caused by these events are devastating to those directly affected, and they have countless ripple effects on communities, too. After Superstorm Sandy, the town of Milford lost more than $1 million from its grand list due to the homes that were destroyed. What if thousands of homes were lost along the entire coast?
Infrastructure Investments Move Us Toward an Equitable Climate Resilient Future
Boston Globe - April 19, 2021

In a stark reversal from both the Trump era and prior Democratic presidencies, the Biden administration has made clear it understands the urgent and unequivocal — but also unequal — threat that climate disruption poses to life on Earth. Among other injustices, our pernicious histories of white supremacy and systemic racism have long caused low-income communities and communities of color to suffer more toxic pollution, failing infrastructure and increased exposure to climate risks.
State Rolls Out New Tool To Support 'Climate Smart' Construction
Wbur - April 21, 2021

Hoping to better prepare for the climate and environmental hazards of the future, the Baker administration launched a tool Wednesday to help cities and towns assess the climate change risk of planned projects and get recommendations to make the designs more resilient. The Resilient MA Action Team Climate Resilience Design Standards Tool aims to get municipal leaders thinking about how climate change over the coming decades might affect developments that are still in the planning stages and for the state to share mitigation recommendations.
How to Prepare Your Coastal Property for Sea-level Rise
and Weather Extremes
Yale Climate Connections - April 22, 2021

People who live along the Atlantic seaboard are accustomed to dealing with environmental extremes. But rising sea levels and increasingly extreme weather, both driven in part by the changing climate, can make caring for a coastal property even more difficult. The challenges may seem like more than a shoreline dweller can tackle. But residents not only can take actions to adapt to the conditions brought on by climate change: they can also take actions that, even on a small individual scale, can help slow climate change itself.
Connecticut Climate Change Grant Program Encourages
Nature-Based Infrastructure
Wshu - April 23, 2021

A new state grant program is available to help fund tree planting and other projects that combat climate change in Connecticut. Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz announced the $1 million urban forestry grant program earlier this week alongside environmentalists and lawmakers. She also urged Connecticut residents to support the governor's bill HB6441 on climate adaptation. The bill outlines state investment to build resilience to future storms and other infrastructure projects to safeguard against rising sea levels and climate-warming industry.
GZA’s Third New England “Living Shoreline” Project Nears
Completion in Connecticut
Business Wire - May 4, 2021

OLD SAYBROOK, CT - Final construction and habitat planting are expected to be completed within the next month for the Hepburn Preserve Living Shoreline project in the Borough of Fenwick, an innovative and nature-based solution to protecting a Long Island Sound property formerly owned by the estate of actress Katharine Hepburn as well as a neighboring salt marsh and pond. Only the third living shoreline initiative in Connecticut, the project was supported by a CIRCA Municipal Resilience Grant and designed for site owner Lynde Point Land Trust by GZA GeoEnvironmental Inc.
National News Clips
To Fight Climate Change: Grow a Floating Forest, Then Sink It
Scientific American - April 12, 2021

A fast-growing front in the battle against climate change is focused on developing green technologies aimed at reducing humankind’s carbon footprint, but many scientists say simply reducing emissions is no longer enough. We have to find new ways to suck carbon out of the atmosphere. A Maine start-up is looking to raise a sinkable carbon-capturing forest in the open ocean.
Why the Market for ‘Blue Carbon’ Credits May Be Poised to Take Off
Yale 360 - April 13, 2021

Off the shores of Virginia, vast meadows of seagrass sway in the shallow waters. Over the past two decades, conservation scientists have spread more than 70 million seeds in the bays there, restoring 3,600 hectares (9,000 acres) of an ecosystem devastated by disease in the 1930s. This has brought back eelgrass -
a keystone species that supports crustacea, fish, and scallops, and is now absorbing the equivalent of nearly half a metric ton of CO2 per hectare per year.
Floods Are Increasing in Supposedly Low-Risk Areas
E&E News - April 13, 2021

The federal flood insurance program paid $1.2 billion in claims in 2020, breaking the $1 billion threshold for a record sixth consecutive year, according to an E&E News analysis of federal records. Eight counties in Alabama, Florida and Louisiana accounted for half of the claims payments, which arose from a series of storms that caused major but not catastrophic damage during last year’s record-breaking hurricane season. There were a record 30 named storms from June to December including 13 hurricanes and six major hurricanes reaching Category 3 or higher.
Sea Level Rise Tax Break Gets Fl. Senate Backing
My Panhandle - April 14, 2021

TALLAHASSEE, FL — With less than three weeks left in the legislative session, a key Senate panel Wednesday supported providing a tax break to property owners who elevate homes to address potential flooding, part of a House plan to combat rising sea levels. The Senate Finance and Tax Committee unanimously approved a proposal, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, that would ask voters in 2022 to approve a constitutional amendment to provide a property-tax break.
Largest Ecosystem Restoration Project in U.S. History Provides Model for Climate Adaptation
EDF - April 14, 2021

In the wake of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, President Biden’s administration has turned its sights from rescue to resilience in the newly announced American Jobs Plan that would invest $650 billion in rebuilding infrastructure nationwide. This proposed legislation is intended not only to mitigate significant and structural economic challenges, but also to repair and strengthen the systems on which we depend. This includes natural infrastructure to make our communities and ecosystems more climate resilient. 
Managers of Assateague Island Prepare for More Sea-level Rise, Worsening Storms
Yale Climate Connections - April 15, 2021

Assateague Island is known for its beaches, hiking, birdwatching, and wild horses. The uninhabited island, off of Maryland and Virginia’s coast, drew almost 2.5 million visitors last year. But Assateague Island’s sands are shifting underfoot. When a storm hits, strong winds and waves can carve inlets into the island and change the shape of beaches. And storm surges can wash sand from the oceanside beach farther inland. So over time, the island shifts. Some movement is normal, but as seas rise and storms get more intense, the rate of change is speeding up so the Park Service is working to adapt its facilities.
Federal Keys Coastal Resilience Plan Enters Final Stage
Keysweekly - April 16, 2021

A study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers nears completion as various governments confront coastal storm and flood vulnerability in the Florida Keys. With recommendations for shoreline stabilization along U.S. 1, voluntary home raising and structure flood proofing, fortifying the Keys from future storms and flooding is estimated at $2.6 billion. Monroe County Board of County Commissioners recently gave the go-ahead to sign a letter of support to accept the $3 million, federally-funded feasibility study, which started in 2018. 
China and US Pledge Climate Change Commitment
BBC News - April 19, 2021

China and the US say they are committed to working together and with other countries on tackling climate change. It comes after several meetings between Chinese climate envoy Xie Zhenhua and his US counterpart John Kerry in Shanghai last week. They both agreed on further specific actions to reduce emissions, as a joint statement confirmed.
Biden’s Intelligence Director Vows to Put Climate at ‘Center’
of Foreign Policy
New York Times - April 23, 2021

Avril Haines, President Biden’s director of national intelligence, told world leaders on Thursday that climate change was no longer a peripheral issue but now “at the center” of U.S. foreign policy, with far-reaching impacts on force deployments and the stability of hard-hit regions. Ms. Haines, speaking at this week’s virtual global climate conference, struck a tone of urgency about the role of rising sea levels, droughts, crop failures, fires, and more frequent severe weather events.
Biden’s Big Bet: Tackling Climate Change will Create Jobs,
Not Kill Them
Reuters - April 24, 2021

U.S. President Joe Biden called on nations to work together on a transition to clean energy on Friday, the second and final day of a climate summit he hosted to rally world ambition to reduce global warming. "Nations that work together to invest in a cleaner economy will reap the rewards for their citizens," the Democratic president, who took office in January, told the virtual summit.
The Resilience Roundup highlights CIRCA's presence in the news, provides links to recent local/state/national news articles related to resilience and adaptation, and announces upcoming events and seminars.
 
The Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation's (CIRCA) mission is to increase the resilience and sustainability of vulnerable communities along Connecticut's coast and inland waterways to the growing impacts of climate change and extreme weather on the natural, built, and human environment. The institute is located at the University of Connecticut's Avery Point campus and includes faculty from across the university. CIRCA is a partnership between UConn and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP). 
State and Regional News Clips