Category Archives: Uncategorized

Climate videos for your information

Dear Participants in the Regional Framework climate project:

Oregon Sea Grant recently posted three short videos which highlight some critical issues related to climate change at the Oregon coast. Those issues are flagged by the video titles (YouTube linked below):

How Soon Do We Have to Think Differently?

. . . How Should We Adapt?

. .  and the overarching goal of having Community Resilience.

The videos, intended primarily for those involved in or concerned about potential climate change effects in coastal areas, were produced with the cooperation of a range of climate researchers and coastal professionals who are interviewed on camera. Among them are Phil Mote and Peter Ruggiero of OSU, Jeff Weber of OCMP, and Mark Labhart, Tillamook County Commissioner. The themes of the videos emerged from surveys, interviews, and workshops conducted by Sea Grant and partners in the last few years.

I think you may find the perspectives and insights of these videos useful or provocative. And if you do, I invite you to forward the links to your peers.

In addition to these recent videos linked above, two older and short ones may be of interest to professionals:

Decision Making about Climate Change  – Tony Leiserowitz,  Yale Project on Climate Change

Effectively Communicating Climate ChangeSusanne Moser, consultant

These latter two videos come from a blog featuring social scientists, called Communicating Climate Change.

Regards,

Joe Cone

Assistant Director, Oregon Sea Grant, and Framework project co-lead

Management Objectives for Adaptation from Workgroups – Mtg #2 on 10/16/2014

Thanks to everyone who was able to participate in the second meeting for the ‘adaptation alignment’ project in Astoria on September 16. We think it was a good meeting; we achieved what we intended to do, which was to develop some preliminary ‘management objectives for adaptation.’

We have transcribed and compiled the preliminary objectives for each of the four workgroups and posted the objectives for each workshop here. Please take a look at the objectives – in particular those from your work group – and see if you think any objectives are missing that should be included in the list for your management sector/work group. If you feel any are missing, please post them to the comments section of this blog post by October 9,2014 or email them to Monty (you should have his email, already).

After this opportunity to comment, the project team will be doing some initial synthesis of all the management objectives, and expects to post the result of that synthesis in early November. We will send out another message when that synthesis is available for your review, in preparation for the November 18 meeting.

Thanks again for your contribution and effort! – Project Team

Workgroup #1: Infrastructure Mgmt Obj.

Workgroup #2: Public Health and Safety Mgmt Obj.

Workgroup #3: Natural Systems Mgmt Obj.

Workgroup #4: Working Lands and Economy Mgmt Obj.

Handout and information: 2nd Climate Adaptation Meeting to be held on September 16, 2014

Attached please find the Agenda for the 2nd Climate Adaptation Meeting to be held on September 16, 2014. Included in the Agenda pdf is: the Framework Elements as noted at the first meeting, and in follow up emails; the North Coast Regional Climate Adaptation Framework Discussion Outline; and, the guidelines for the workgroups that will be held in the afternoon.

Climate-Change-Adaptation-9-16-2014-Mtg-2-handouts

Climate Assessment Reports for Oregon and the Pacific Northwest (link)

The ‘Adaptation Alignment’ project  is a multiparty effort to coordinate the climate adaptation work of state and federal agencies, communities, and non-government organizations in Clatsop and Tillamook counties, Oregon. This ‘proof of concept’ project is designed to foster a coordinated approach to climate change adaptation in a specific geographic area, based on the available scientific literature on the likely effects of climate change on resources, residents, communities and infrastructure.

The link below goes to a page at the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute that provides links to two climate assessment reports that provide a foundation and background for adaptation planning efforts in Oregon. These reports are extensive; it is neither likely nor expected that all participants in the proof of concept will have either the ability or need to utilize them in their entirety.

  • In late 2010, the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute (OCCRI) completed the first-ever Oregon Climate Assessment Report (OCAR). The Oregon Climate Change Adaptation Framework, which is the foundation for this proof of concept, was developed in parallel with the OCAR. Both the OCAR and the Framework were the topic of several presentations to legislative committees in December 2010, and were delivered to the Oregon Legislature in early 2011.
  • The OCCRI led the development of the Pacific Northwest chapter of the National Climate Assessment, which was published in 2013.

These reports are available at this link: http://occri.net/reports

“State of the Climate 2013” report available

Just last week NOAA and the American Meteorological Society released the most recent annual report on The State of the Climate.
This report is the “24th edition in a peer-reviewed series published annually as a special supplement to the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.”
You can find information about the report, and download a copy of the full report (26 Mb; 280 pages) at
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2014/20140717_stateoftheclimate.html
Many thanks to Rob Walton for forwarding this link to me.

The PNW Climate Science Conference draft agenda is now posted!

This Just In from the Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington:

The draft PNW Climate Science Conference agenda is now posted!

Washington Governor Jay Inslee giving the Keynote Address

http://pnwclimateconference.org/

September 9-10, 2014
Seattle, WA

The draft program for the Pacific Northwest Climate Science Conference is now available at http://pnwclimateconference.org/program.html. This year’s conference will be held on September 9-10 at the University of Washington in Seattle.

The Pacific Northwest Climate Science conference will include invited speakers, plenary sessions of broad interest, and more targeted concurrent sessions exploring the impacts of climate variability and change on the people, natural resources, and infrastructure of the Pacific Northwest. Talks are geared for a range of audiences, including policy- and decision-makers, resource managers, and scientists from academia, public agencies, sovereign tribal nations, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector.

The Planning Committee is pleased to announce that Washington State Governor Jay Inslee will be delivering the conference Keynote Address on Wednesday, September 10 from 1:30-1:50 pm.

 Registration Reminder – Early bird registration available until August 20, 2014. A limited number of student/tribal registrations are available. See the registration page for more information.

http://pnwclimateconference.org/registration.html

Lodging Reminder – The University District offers several options for lodging that are within walking distance of the University of Washington campus or provide a free shuttle to campus. Rooms can fill quickly (and room rates will rise accordingly) so you are encouraged to make your reservations early. A limited number of rooms have been set aside at a block rate of $149/night at Hotel Decca. This rate is only available until August 7, 2014 or until all block rate rooms are taken, whichever comes first. See the conference website for more information on lodging: http://pnwclimateconference.org/lodging.html.

Stay tuned for further updates, including the draft program for the conference poster session. We look forward to seeing you in September!