New York. A torrential downpour. Suddenly, the edges of pavements are gushing rivers. Did you ever stop to think – where does this stormwater go? Alice Cowman has some answers and a look at innovative solutions to ensure cities aren’t swamped.
Seasonal climate forecasts can be integral pieces in natural resource management decisions for Tajikistan, considering its lack of climatic data and vulnerability to climate change.
Can science and social capital go hand in hand? How do we approach climate change without seeming preachy? Is there a way to integrate science into daily social interactions, and if so, how far can it go?
Cities all over the world are getting hotter and more polluted as a result of climate change and urban heat island effect. Is this phenomenon irremediable? Certainly not in view of the burgeoning of innovative adaptation measures across the world.
Creating forecasts and working on climate science in the confines of the lab can sometimes lead to a narrow perspective. C+S student Jack Poberezny takes pause for thought about the other perspectives that might be out there after an article about the issues he’s working on for his summer internship show up on Reddit.
Island systems are on the forefront of global change. Through his internship at the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, C+S student Nadav Gazit is learning how islands adapt to these changes in a fast-track world.
While the solutions to climate adaptation might seem obvious, figuring out how to successfully implement them is anything but.
Climate change is threating the lives of human beings, wildlife and the ecosystem and its impacts are being felt, expected to get worse and affect the most vulnerable especially children, women and the elderly. Regions with less adaptive capacity such as Africa, Small Island States and also Least Developed Countries will be the hardest hit. Climate finance is needed in order to cope with, adapt and also mitigate changes.
Few countries have saved enough pennies for “a rainy day” and even less of those have considered saving for “extreme precipitation” and other impacts associated with climate change. Oftentimes, the bottleneck of building climate resilient communities is financing.
Extreme events often prompt questions that begin with “why?” Why now? Why me? Why here? There is no simple answer to these questions due to the chaotic nature of the climate system. However, part of the answer can be found by examining past climate trends and projections for the future. Events such as Hurricane Sandy cause huge impacts on individuals and the environment. From catastrophes such as these and the questions that follow, an opportunity for conversation is created. One organization that is committed to facilitating that conversation is City Atlas.