As more and more greenhouse gasses are sent into the atmosphere, the Earth’s climate will become more and more extreme. Dry areas such as California, Portugal, Palestine, Israel, and Punjab are becoming drier with each passing year. This will lead to a greater risk of not only fires breaking out but also makes them more difficult to control due to a lack of moisture. This is just a small example of How Climate Change Will Exacerbate Fires.
How Recontouring the Baylands can Make the Bay Area More Resilient
10/17/18
“How can making the sediment in the Baylands help protect the Bay Area against climate change?”
The Bay Area has a problem. Decades of infill developments in the Baylands have changed its sediment runoff cycle and left it exposed to flooding from rising sea levels. However, a consulting group has found that by reversing things to its natural order through softening its edges, tidal wave energy can be dissipated and upgradings the Bay’s safety by an order of magnitude. This is How Recontouring the Baylands can Make the Bay Area More Resilient!
[Image: Public Sediment/courtesy Resilient by Design]
“How can we deal with stormwater runoff using our infrastructure?”
Stormwater runoff poses a massive problem for communities all around the world. To solve this, these same groups can build Stormwater Infrastructure to equip them with the necessary resilience to deal with it. This can include rainwater collection, green roofs, and vegetation-rich areas.
Global warming is partially caused by having too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and turn it into breathable air. Therefore Planting Trees Helps Combat Global Warming.
Much of the debate around decarbonization centers around the energy sector. But in some areas such as California, the transportation sector have become the highest emitter of CO2 emissions. To combat this, governments can adopt Vehicle Emissions Standards which regulate how polluted vehicle emissions can be.
“How will Hurricane Florence serve as a test-case for solar resilience?”
Hurricane Florence is about to descend into the U.S State of North Carolina, which has the second highest amount of solar energy capacity in the nation. During this time we will be able to see firsthand how solar PV systems will respond to a hurricane and their level of resilience.
How Climate Change is Making Hurricanes More Dangerous
09/14/18
“How is Climate Change making Hurricanes more dangerous?”
With the advent of Hurricane Florence in the Eastern U.S, I think I should give a short explanation about how climate change exacerbates hurricanes. When the Earth’s temperatures become warmer than the air will hold more water vapor and the oceans will heat up and expand. When hurricane storms strike through the ocean, they will pick up more rain and move at a much faster pace. This ends up making hurricanes much more powerful and destructive. Reflecting, I think that this is just another reason we should invest in sustainable infrastructure and Climate Change Resilience.
Remember how we said that California might pass a law to go carbon-free by 2045? Well, it looks like it just did that. California Governor Jerry Brown signed bill SB 100 on Monday, effectively shifting the weight of the state to achieve a 60% renewable portfolio by 2030 and 100% by 2045! The state will also look at pathways to decarbonize other carbon-intensive sectors such as transportation. Although commendable, much work will be needed to make these goals a reality. Paramount is finding a way to solve the duck curve and reducing the state’s dependence on natural gas (which currently supplies a third of the state’s power). All in all, I am very excited yet cautious at these results and look forward to all of the future work to achieve this. If California can get this right, then other states and countries might follow suit with similar programs.
“Will the world’s 5th largest economy be carbon-free by 2045?”
States around the world are launching bolder and bolder Renewable Energy targets. But one place might be shattering the all-time record. California, the 5th largest economy in the world, has recently passed in its Assembly SB 100, which mandates that the state must achieve 60% renewables by 2030 and 100% by 2045! If this passes the Senate and gets the Governor’s signature then this idea will become reality!
