We all know that the best way to keep buildings out of flood waters is to keep them out of areas that flood. The reality for most communities, though, is that homes and other structures are already in areas that flood. What to do then? There are many options, of course. You could somehow acquire […]
Author Archive | Wesley Shaw
“Not everything we love can be saved’’
Posted on April 4, 2011
Hard truths from a local official facing sea level rise in his community. “Fighting a losing battle with the sea” The Boston Globe
Four New Case Studies on Climate Change Adaptation for Water Utilities
Posted on March 29, 2011
Tying in with their Climate Ready Water Utilities program, the EPA has released four case studies looking at specific adaptation steps communities are taking. The communities are East Bay (CA), New York City, Seattle (WA), and Spartanburg (SC). You can download the case study from EPA’s website.
What Has the OCRM Done for You Lately?
Posted on March 15, 2011
Heard of NOAA’s Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM), but not quite sure what they’re all about? Have a look at their new site The OCRM in Your State, and use some fancy GIS’esq tools to navigate around the country and your state. The OCRM in Your State
Amazing Tsunami Photos (Japan)
Posted on March 14, 2011
Incredible collection of tsunami/quake/nuclear reactor photos gathered by the Boston Globe. Perhaps the most troubling part of this? That a massive wall of water dropping large ships into neighborhoods and houses into the sea might not be the worst of it. Hope those nuclear engineers are lucky and we’re all fortunate. The Big Picture, Japan: […]
Horrible and Terrifying (Japanese Tsunami)
Posted on March 11, 2011
Wow. If you live anywhere near the ocean and this doesn’t scare you, it probably should.
EPA Launches Climate Ready Water Utilities
Posted on March 10, 2011
EPA has released another set of tools to help communities adapt to climate change: this time they’re focusing on water and wastewater utilities. If you only have a moment, start with the Climate Ready Water Utilities Toolbox. I know—another toolkit. But the EPA has taken an interesting strategy to address the primary challenge of toolkits: […]
FEMA Releases Wind Retrofiting Guide
Posted on March 7, 2011
FEMA has released a new publication on how to best retrofit existing residential buildings. While it was designed with the Gulf of Mexico in mind, it should be applicable for coastal areas around the country (or at least those subject to major wind). You can download the (large) PDF directly from FEMA’s website.
Sea Level Rise and Beaches: Not a Pretty Combination
Posted on March 7, 2011
Orrin Pilkey, always a lightening-rod for coastal climate change issues, has written a gloomy forecast for the world’s beaches, and has the photos to justify his positions. He acknowledges that predicting the effects of sea level rise on beaches is complex, and that results will vary greatly depending on many factors. But overall, the picture […]
New Research on the Benefits and Detriments of Coastal Armoring
Posted on March 4, 2011
A new paper looking at structural shore protection in Massachusetts and Hawaii finds a few things to like, and a lot to cause consternation. Among the benefits: Stabilizes the upland Protects infrastructure Maintains property values for some . . . And the detriments: Source sediment impoundment resulting in increased erosion of the fronting and adjacent […]