Category Archives: climate

Scientists: Existing regulations could help solve localized acidification

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CORVALLIS, Ore. – Ocean acidification is a complex global problem because of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide, but there also are a number of local acidification “hotspots” plaguing coastal communities that don’t require international attention – and which can be addressed now.

A regulatory framework already is in place to begin mitigating these local hotspots, according to a team of scientists who outline their case in a forum article in the journal Science.

“Certainly, ocean acidification on a global level continues to be a challenge, but for local, non-fossil fuel-related events, community leaders don’t have to sit back and wait for a solution,” said George Waldbusser, an Oregon State University ecologist and co-author of the paper. “Many of these local contributions to acidity can be addressed through existing regulations.”

A number of existing federal environmental laws – including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Coastal Zone Management Act – provide different layers of protection for local marine waters and offer officials avenues for mitigating the causes of local acidity. …

Oregon Sea Grant video wins Gold Award

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Oregon Sea Grant’s video Preparing for Coastal Climate Change: What Oregonians Are Asking has won a Gold Award in the Video/Educational category of the 2011 Hermes Creative Awards.

According to Hermes, there were about 4,400 entries from throughout the U.S. and several other countries in this year’s competition, with about 19 percent receiving Gold Awards. The Gold Award is presented to “those entries judged to exceed the high standards of the industry norm.”

Preparing for Coastal Climate Change was produced by Joe Cone, assistant director of Oregon Sea Grant, and edited by Stevon Roberts; the jacket and label were designed by Patricia Andersson. The video was supported in part by a grant from the NOAA Climate Program Office.

Copies of the video are available for $3 each plus shipping and handling from Oregon Sea Grant, 541-737-4849; or through Oregon Sea Grant’s e-commerce site at marketplace.oregonstate.edu. You may also view excerpts of the video on Sea Grant’s Web site.

Here’s the introduction:

A report to the Port Orford community on the potential effects of climate change

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The following publication is available from Oregon Sea Grant.

Working Group Considers Effects of a Changing Climate: A Report to the Port Orford Community

This report summarizes the activities to plan for climate change undertaken cooperatively by Oregon Sea Grant and a working group of Port Orford (Ore.) citizens from January 2009 to August 2010. The working group had no official capacity; they simply had a shared interest in how the community might adapt to a changing climate.

The Oregon Sea Grant communications and Extension faculty involved considered this a pilot project and tested methods and tools, including the development of concept maps (to make group thinking visible) and pre- and post-project participant surveys. This short report is intended for distribution in Port Orford, but the methods and tools are discussed in other publications linked at http://seagrant.oregonstate.edu.

Some local results: After hearing the working group’s presentation on the potential effects of a changing climate, the Port Orford Planning Commission agreed unanimously that climate change must be considered when reviewing city ordinances, the Port Orford Comprehensive Plan, and land-development proposals.

New publication looks at helping coastal communities prepare for greater resilience in the face of climate change

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The following publication is available as a free download from Oregon Sea Grant.

It may also be purchased from Oregon Sea Grant.

Coastal Resilience: Assisting Communities in the Face of Climate Change

Community resilience is the ability of a community to respond to or recover from systemic disturbances, including climate-related effects on the environment, economy, and society. In coastal areas, where communities are particularly vulnerable (as Hurricanes Katrina and Ivan demonstrated), this topic has sparked considerable interest among academics and agencies, though examples of communities working toward resilience in any systematic way appear to be few. Nevertheless, preparing coastal communities for greater resilience in the context of a changing climate is a critical activity for many U.S. coastal professionals.

To address a need for greater interchange between researchers and community practitioners, Oregon Sea Grant facilitated a teleconference among 13 diverse national experts. This dynamic discussion, which includes first-hand accounts of participant experiences as well as discussions about how to define, approach, and “achieve” resilience, is transcribed here.

This exchange of information, experience, and ideas will be of interest to other researchers and practitioners and may, over time, contribute to coastal community resilience.

OSU, partners to lauch regional climate consortium

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CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University has received a five-year grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to establish and coordinate a regional consortium of climate variability assessment, research and outreach.

The funding, which could surpass $3.5 million, will establish the Pacific Northwest Climate Decision Support Consortium – one of six new regional integrated sciences and assessments (RISA) programs funded by NOAA.

OSU researchers will work with colleagues from the University of Oregon, Boise State University, University of Idaho, and University of Washington – as well as the extension programs from Oregon, Washington and Idaho – to address climate assessment needs for businesses, state and federal agencies, municipalities, tribal leaders and non-governmental organizations in the Pacific Northwest.

Oregon Sea Grant expects to play a significant role in the new consortium’s research and public outreach efforts.

Read more …

Climate consortium seeks two for outreach effort

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The Climate Decision Support Consortium, a Northwest partnership led by the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute at Oregon State University, is seeking applicants for two positions: one to act as a Program Manager and one a Regional Extension Climate Specialist. The consortium is the designated Pacific Northwest Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments program under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Program Office.

The program manager will coordinate the project’s task teams, internal and external communications, and meetings fostering team integration, and has primary responsibility for carrying out the mission and goals of the project. Qualifications include MS (PhD preferred) in a relevant area of social or physical science, basic knowledge of climate science, and evidence of ability to manage a multidisciplinary multi-investigator project. Read more at the OSU Jobs site.

The Regional Climate Extension Specialist will work with CDSC researchers to develop and evaluate collaborative outreach and engagement pilot programs designed to help communities better prepare for, and adapt to, a changing climate. Qualifications include MS (PhD preferred) in a relevant area of social or physical science, demonstrated ability to communicate science to non-scientists, and experience with outreach/extension. Read more at the OSU Jobs site.

Both positions are fixed-term, 12-month appointments with faculty research assistant status in OSU’s College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences.

Oregon State University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer.

Symposium at UO: Ocean impacts of climate change

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EUGENE – Leading Oregon scientists and scholars will discuss Ocean Impacts of Climate Change: Science, People and Policy, in a one-day symposium at the University of Oregon’s Knight Law Center on Sept. 10. The symposium, which is free and open to the public, runs from 8:30 am to 4:30 p.m.

Organized by 2010-11 Resident Scholar Richard Hildreth, the symposium is co-sponsored by the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO) and the UO School of Law.

The earth’s oceans buffer us from climate change by absorbing heat and dissolving CO2 initially discharged into the atmosphere. The resulting thermal expansion of the ocean contributes to sea level rise along with melting ice caps and glaciers. Further, the ocean’s increasing acidity is adversely affecting important ocean ecosystems and species. Accelerated sea level rise adversely affects low-lying island and coastal communities as well as the ecosystem. This conference highlights the relevant science, the impacts on people, and potential policy and legal responses to these impacts of climate change.

Scientists and scholars taking part in the symposium include Oregon State University oceanographer Jack Barth, Dr. Mary Ruckleshouse of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center, and Meg Caldwell of Stanford University’s Center for Ocean Solutions. Topics range from marine ecology, biology, and physical science to social consequences, including the disparate impact of climate change on poor communities, international ocean law and environmental justices.

Read more …

New video: Preparing for Coastal Climate Change

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Climate change carries with it both risk and uncertainty, which makes it a challenge to discuss and an even greater challenge to prepare for. Oregon Sea Grant has joined the climate conversation by listening to coastal residents and trying to address their most pressing questions, with the assistance of topical experts.

Questions addressed by Preparing for Coastal Climate Change include:
• What’s the difference between weather and climate?
• What tools are used?
• How can scientists make claims about what the climate will be like 100 years from now if they can’t always reliably predict the weather just a few days from now?
• How is climate change related to storms, El Niño, and rising sea levels?
• What are some likely erosion effects we can expect to see as a result of these changes?
• What do “dead zones” have to do with climate change?
• How might increased levels of carbon dioxide affect sea life?
• How will storms and flooding affect the landscape in the coming years?
• What is government’s role in helping coastal communities prepare for and respond to climate change?
• What provisions are there for shoreline protective structures?

For additional resources about the changing climate, its local effects, and other coastal issues, visit seagrant.oregonstate.edu

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National Geographic editor to speak on climate at OSU Earth Day observance

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Dennis DimickAn editor who has been called  “the Al Gore of National Geographic” will deliver the annual Tom McCall lecture on the environment at Oregon State University on April 22, the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.

Dennis Dimick,  National Geographic‘s award-winning environmental editor, takes the theme “Changing Planet: Where Energy and Climate Collide” for his Earth Day talk, which will take place at 7 p.m. at OSU’s LaSells Stewart Center. The lecture series,  honoring the memory of the legendary Oregon governor and his commitment to public service, journalism and environmental protection,  was established in 1985 and remains free and open to the public.

Dimick – a 1973 graduate of OSU – will lead the audience on a sweeping visual journey, based on his magazine’s reporting and recent scientific evidence,  documenting the effects of climate change. He’ll also talk about what people can do to reverse some of those troubling trends.  National Geographic has been among the world’s leading media outlets in documenting effects of climate change on the natural world. Dimick has shaped much of that coverage in concert with Editor-in-Chief Chris Johns, also an OSU graduate.