adaptation planning

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA recently announced the release of the first national strategy to help decision makers and resource managers prepare for the impacts of climate change on species and ecosystems.

A new study in Science identifies 14 key air pollution control measures that, if implemented, could slow mean global warming by 0.9 degrees F by 2050, as well as increase global crop yields and prevent premature deaths. The control measures target black carbon and methane emissions.

Posted by Melissa Lamberton | on January 19, 2012
In the Southwest, a plant's citizenship status often determines its fate. Conservationists work to keep invasive species at bay with chainsaws and chemicals even as climate change begins to turn ecosystems into jigsaw puzzles. As global temperatures rise and precipitation patterns shift, native and exotic species alike head for new locations. Bethany Bradley, a biogeographer at the University of Massachusetts, has a novel suggestion: Make climate change an ally in our efforts to restore the damage caused by invasive species.

Case studies of California farmers show an increasing number are adopting more sustainable water management practices.

A new study published in PLoS ONE by USGS scientists and other colleagues investigates the likely impacts of climate change on the biology, geography, and water supplies of California’s San Francisco Bay-Delta-River System.

A new study by the Pacific Institute examines the water requirements for current and projected electricity generation in the western U.S. in the area bounded by the Rocky Mountains to the east and the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains to the west.

Rising temperatures and variable rainfall due to climate change will likely pose a major challenge to agriculture, deeming adaptation necessary.

Four major western U.S. water districts—the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the San Diego County Water Authority, the Central Arizona Water Conservation District, and the Southern Nevada Water Authority—are proposing working with Mexico to build desalination plants south of the border, then bringing some of the water north to the U.S.

The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission proposed an amendment to its original climate change bay plan.

October 13, 2011 - December 29, 2011 | Web | Event Web site

With La Niña strengthening drought conditions will likely persist and intensify in some regions, combining with widespread extreme and exceptional drought to increase drought impacts.  To stay informed of drought, climate, and impacts information, you are invited to a join webinars (web-based seminar) every other week to di