Northwest Climate Science Digest: Science and Learning Opportunities Combined
September 2015 Issue
The Northwest Climate Science Digest is a monthly newsletter jointly produced by the
Northwest Climate Science Center and the North Pacific Landscape Conservation
Cooperative aimed at helping you stay informed about climate change science and upcoming
events and training opportunities relevant to your conservation work. Feel free to share this
information within your organization and networks, and please note the role the NW CSC
and NPLCC played in providing this service. Do you have a published article or upcoming
opportunity that you would like to share? Please send it our way to nwcsc@uw.edu. Many
thanks to those who have provided material for this edition, particularly the Pacific
Northwest Climate Impacts Research Consortium, the Climate Impacts Group and the
Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Change and Water News. The contents of the
Climate Digest are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent
the views of the NPLCC or the Northwest Climate Science Center.
Subscribe to the NW CSC’s e-mail update list to receive periodic updates on Northwest
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SCIENCE: Recent climate change-relevant publications, special reports and science
resources.
UPCOMING EVENTS: Upcoming climate change-relevant webinars, workshops,
conferences, list servers and other learning opportunities.
PREVIOUS ISSUES: An archive of previous Northwest Climate Change Digest issues
developed by Region 1 of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Biodiversity/ Species and Ecosystem Response
Improving vulnerability assessments by understanding species adaptive capacity
Anticipating effects of climate change on biodiversity
Climate change alters plant biogeography in Mediterranean prairies along the West Coast,
USA
Coastal/Marine Ecosystems/ Ocean Acidification/ Sea Level Rise
Climate Change Effects Along a Latitudinal Gradient in the Pacific Northwest
Record-setting bloom of toxic algae in North Pacific
When dams come down, salmon and sand can prosper
Flood protection plans by wealthy nations may work poorly in the long run
Flooding’s impact on wetlands measurable via low-cost approach
Aquatic Resources/ Stream Flow/ Hydrology in the Western U.S.
Scientists say that climate change is intensifying drought in California
Understanding the California drought as an extreme value
Understanding the hydroclimatic conditions that preceded the 2014 Oso Landslide
Selecting climate change scenarios for specific impacts
Arid Ecosystems
Climate change impacts on rangelands and sage-grouse habitat in southeastern Oregon
Land Use
Wind blowing China’s air pollution to US West Coast
Forests
Forest health in a changing world
Fire
Climate change presents increased potential for very large fires in the contiguous United
States
WA Experiences Worst Fire Year On Record
Tribal and Indigenous Peoples Matters
Ethics of Traditional Knowledge Exchange in Climate Change Initiatives
Taking Action
Obama Administration and the EPA Announce Clean Power Plan for Existing Power Plants
Clean energy from water pipes comes to Portland
Obama Makes Climate Change Central Message during Recent Visit to Alaska
Climate and Weather Reports and Services
Understanding ENSO Diversity
Natural Defenses from Hurricanes and Floods
Groundwater depletion in California Causing Valley Land to Sink
Report on Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies
Special Reports/ Announcements
MacArthur Foundation vows to push climate solutions
Biodiversity/ Species and Ecosystem Response
Improving vulnerability assessments by understanding species adaptive capacity: A
new study has been published in Conservation Letters that examines the ability for species to
adapt to climate change. The study was a collaborative effort between the USGS,
Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, the National Research Council, EPA, Fish
and Wildlife Service, NOAA, NPS and various universities and nonprofits. Characterizing
the vulnerability of a given species to climate change depends on the sensitivity of the
species and the ability of the species to accommodate climate-induced changes through
adaptive capacity. This includes various coping mechanisms, such as changes in behavior,
shifting geographical range and distribution, and genetic evolution. The study found that
adaptive capacity is often omitted in vulnerability assessments or confused with sensitivity,
yet it is critical to understand how species will respond to climate change to improve
decision-making on natural resources and conservation. By not including adaptive capacity,
studies do not sufficiently differentiate between which species are most at risk due to climate
change.
https://nccwsc.usgs.gov/content/new-study-encourages-inclusion-adaptive-capacity-whenassessing-vulnerability
Beever EA, O’Leary J, Mengelt C, West JM, Julius S, Green N, Magness D, Petes L, Stein B,
Nicotra AB, Hellmann JJ, Robertson AL, Staudinger MD, Rosenberg AA, Babij E, Brennan
J, Schuurman GW, Hofmann GE (2015). Improving conservation outcomes with a new
paradigm for understanding species’ fundamental and realized adaptive capacity.
Conservation Letters. doi: 10.1111/conl.12190
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/conl.12190/abstract
Anticipating effects of climate change on biodiversity: A new study examines the
importance of anticipating the effects of climate change on biodiversity and particularly
community composition for natural resources management. The study uses climate velocity
trajectories, along with habitat preferences, to project global changes in marine species
richness and community composition for two climate change scenarios, RCP 4.5 and 8.5.
The authors find that climate change results in a net redistribution rather than a loss of
biodiversity. However, at a local level, high extirpation rates are expected, such as in the
Indo-Pacific, particularly under RCP 8.5.
Molinos JG, Halpern BS, Schoeman DS, Brown CJ, Kiessling W, Moore PJ, Pandolfi JM,
Poloczanska ES, Richardson AJ, Burrows MT (2015). Climate velocity and the future global
redistribution of marine biodiversity. Nature Climate Change. doi:
10.1038/NCLIMATE2769
http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate2769.html
Climate change alters plant biogeography in Mediterranean prairies along the West
Coast, USA: In this study, the authors examine the effects of warming and increased
precipitation on plant functional groups and diversity across a climate gradient of prairies in
the Pacific Northwest. They find that declining soil moisture that arises from warming
temperatures would decrease native plant diversity, alter plant composition and result in
northern plant communities looking more like plant communities located farther south.
They conclude that projected increases in drought in the Pacific Northwest will lead to an
increased number of annual plants and a loss of forbs (herbaceous flowering plants). This
will cause a shift in functional plant groups, in turn possibly altering ecosystem functioning
in prairies of the Pacific Northwest.
Pfeifer-Meister L, Bridgham SD, Reynolds LL, Goklany ME, Wilson HE, Little CJ,
Ferguson A, Johnson BR (2015). Climate change alters plant biogeography in Mediterranean
prairies along the West Coast, USA. Global Change Biology. doi: 10.1111/gcb.13052.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.13052/abstract
Coastal/Marine Ecosystems/ Ocean Acidification/ Sea Level Rise
Climate Change Effects Along a Latitudinal Gradient in the Pacific Northwest: The
USGS National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center has completed a three-year long
study investigating the effects of sea-level rise on nine tidal marshes in Washington and
Oregon. With the goal of providing scientific data to support future coastal planning and
conservation, the investigators compiled physical and biological data to assess and model
how sea level rise may alter these ecosystems in the future. The project concludes that
multiple factors, including initial elevation, marsh productivity, sediment availability, and
rates of sea-level rise, affected marsh persistence. Under a low sea-level rise scenario, all
marshes remained vegetated with little change in the present configuration of marsh plant
communities or gradually increased proportions of mid, high, or transition marsh vegetation
zones. However at most sites, mid sea level rise projections led to loss of middle and high
marsh and gain of low marsh habitat. Under a high sea level rise scenario, marshes at most
sites eventually converted to intertidal mudflats. Two sites (Grays Harbor, and Willapa)
appeared to have the most resilience to a high sea-level rise rate, persisting as low marsh
until at least 2110. Their main model finding is that most tidal marsh study sites have
resiliency to sea-level rise over the next 50-70 years, but that sea-level rise will eventually
outpace marsh accretion and drown most high and mid marsh habitats by 2110.
https://nccwsc.usgs.gov/displayproject/4f8c64d2e4b0546c0c397b46/5006e99ee4b0abf7ce733f58
http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=4287#.VeDHZ7R4jlJ
To download report:
https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/file/get/55bfb5ede4b033ef52103cef?f=__disk__6f%
2F52%2Fb3%2F6f52b3279ab9d46a16ba79cfd64321264fc13db1
Record-setting bloom of toxic algae in North Pacific: Algal blooms are the rapid
accumulation of phytoplankton, or microscopic marine plants, and can be toxic depending
on the presence of certain toxin-producing species. The North Pacific has been experiencing
a record-breaking algal bloom along its coastal waters. The bloom has spread from the
Aleutian Islands all the way to the coasts of southern California and continues to expand.
Some species of phytoplankton produce neurotoxins that get passed up the food chain and
become harmful toward marine mammals and humans. Along these impacted coasts a large
number of marine mammal deaths have been reported. The cause of deaths is currently
being investigated. Additionally, extremely high levels of domoic acid, a type of toxin
produced by a group of phytoplankton called Pseudo-nitzschia, have been detected along
Washington and Oregon causing shellfish and some fisheries industries to close. Due to the
potential damage such major algal blooms can have on marine wildlife and the economies
that rely on them, NOAA has awarded funding to further monitor and study the bloom and
its impacts.
https://www.climate.gov/news-features/event-tracker/record-setting-bloom-toxic-algaenorth-pacific
When dams come down, salmon and sand can prosper: The decision to undam a river is
usually based in the desire to bring back migratory species, like salmon, to the river’s
ecosystem. However, the removal of dams on the Elwha River in northern Washington is
demonstrating that the release of formerly dammed-up sediment can be equally desirable.
Scientists from the USGS, National Park Service, and the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe have
observed the rebuilding of an estuary and coast that had been gradually eroding since the
dams were built in the early 20th Century. Millions of cubic yards of sediment that would
have armored the Washington coast was instead accumulating behind the dams. Once these
dams were removed, this sediment began to travel toward the river’s mouth, and its delta has
since extended hundreds of meters toward the sea. This project has demonstrated the
benefit of dam removals to other regions along the western coast of North America,
particularly the California coast, which is suffering from large amounts of erosion. Many
environmental lawyers and legal scholars are proponents of expanding this project to other
dammed rivers, arguing that beaches have “sand rights,” or the right to sand that would
naturally flow to them without human obstruction. Yet some are wary of the effects that the
recent drought may have on river flow – the ability for sediment to move down a river may
decrease with drought. While some are concerned, the consequence of removing dams in
these other regions remains to be seen.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/11/science/elwha-river-dam-removal-projectwashington.html?smid=pl-share&_r=0
Flood protection plans by wealthy nations may work poorly in the long run: Deltas are
highly sensitive to increasing risks arising from local human activities, land subsidence,
regional water management, global sea-level rise, and climate extremes. Tessler et al.
quantified changing flood risk due to extreme events using an integrated set of global
environmental, geophysical, and social indicators. Although risks are distributed across all
levels of economic development, wealthy countries effectively limit their present-day threat
by gross domestic product-enabled infrastructure and coastal defense investments. In an
energy-constrained future, such protections will probably prove to be unsustainable, raising
relative risks by four to eight times in the Mississippi and Rhine deltas and by one-and-half
to four times in the Chao Phraya and Yangtze deltas. The current emphasis on short-term
solutions for the world’s deltas will greatly constrain options for designing sustainable
solutions in the long term.
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/349/6248/638.short
Flooding’s impact on wetlands measurable via low-cost approach: A new method for
studying the impacts of sea-level rise on wetlands was recently published in Methods in Ecology
and Evolution. Scientists designed an in situ, low-cost enclosure called a weir that can
realistically simulate low, intermediate, and high level flooding on coastal wetlands. The
particular design of weirs enables scientists to manipulate its water level and drainage rate,
making it functional under both high and low tides. The lead author, Dr. Julia Cherry, is
interested in combining this design with another approach that involves replicating the
natural environment (the mesocosm approach). Dr. Cherry sees this combination as a
potentially powerful tool for understanding the impacts of a rising sea level on wetlands.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150817090135.htm
Aquatic Resources/ Stream Flow/ Hydrology in the Western U.S.
Scientists say that climate change is intensifying drought in California: The debate on
the causes of the California drought continues. A research team concluded that global
warming has intensified the drought in California by 15 to 20 percent and warned that future
dry spells are likely to be as bad or worse than the current one. The team shows how climate
change was responsible for between 8 to 27 percent of the soil moisture deficit that occurred
in California between 2012 to 2014. However, Columbia University climate scientist A. Park
Williams noted in an interview that the method used in the study did not take into account
accelerated global warming trends since the 1970s. Taking this into account, climate change
is most likely responsible for about 15 to 20% of the moisture deficit. The remainder of the
moisture deficit can be explained by interannual variability in precipitation. The study also
found that California drought conditions were record breaking in 2014, but most likely not
in 2012 and 2013, except in the southern Central Valley and highly populated coastal areas.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/08/21/science/climate-change-intensifies-californiadrought-scientists-say.html?referrer=&_r=0
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2015GL064924/full
Williams AP, Seager R, Abatzoglou JT, Cook BI, Smerdon JE, Cook ER. Contribution of
anthropogenic warming to California drought during 2012-2014. Geophys Res Lett. 42,
10.1002/2015GL064924.
Understanding the California drought as an extreme value: This study uses the
statistical technique of extreme value theory to understand the probability of how often a
drought as severe as California’s is expected to occur. The author, Scott Robeson of the
University of Indiana at Bloomington, draws upon the method of Griffin and Anchukaitis
(2014) but shows how their method had an error because it did not account for the
respective areas (in square kilometers) of Central and Southern California. He uses
observational data from 1895 – 2014 on the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) from
tree rings to estimate the occurrence of droughts beginning in the year 800. Robeson finds
that the 2014 drought in California had a return period of 140-180 years, e.g. a probability of
occurring every 140 – 180 years. However, if the drought from 2012 through 2014 is
included, rather than just the year 2012, the probability decreases to a 10,000 year event, or
occurring every 10,000 years. If this year is also included, the probability of the drought
occurring decreases to zero. Hence they conclude that the drought is completely without
precedent.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2015GL064593/abstract?campaign=aguperson
alchoice
Robeson, SM. Revising the recent California drought as an extreme value. Geophys Res Lett
42, doi: 10.1002/2015GL064593
Understanding the hydroclimatic conditions that preceded the 2014 Oso Landslide:
A team of UW and UCLA researchers, along with USGS and NOAA scientists, have studied
the hydroclimatic conditions that preceded the March 2014 Oso landslide, also called the SR
530 landslide by the State of Washington, in an effort to understand how and why it
occurred. It was one of the deadliest landslides in U.S. history, resulting in 43 deaths and
significant destruction of infrastructure. The authors examine regional weather information,
precipitation records, and soil moisture leading up to the event. They found that there was
anomalously high precipitation in the weeks leading up to the landslide, along with strong
moisture transport to the Pacific Northwest. Soil moisture was also higher than usual. These
combined factors likely contributed to the severity of the landslide.
Henn B, Cao Q, Lettenmaier DP, Magirl CS, Mass C, Bower JB, St. Laurent M, Mao Y,
Perica S (2015) Hydroclimatic Conditions Preceding the March 2014 Oso Landslide. J.
Hydrometeor 16: 1243-1249.
http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/JHM-D-15-0008.1
Selecting climate change scenarios for specific impacts: Climate change studies
oftentimes involve the selection of a small number of climate scenarios, with varied methods
for how to select which climate models and scenarios should be chosen. Vano et al. develop
a method that characterizes climate projections on an impacts spectrum that uses a
sensitivity analysis technique described in Vano and Lettenmaier (2014). Performance of the
climate models is specific to the Pacific Northwest region. Rather than selecting climate
models based on which models best approximate climate in the Pacific Northwest, this
method shows how climate models (and scenarios) are chosen for particular impacts. This is
a “bottom-up meets top-down” approach that makes the climate impact in question of
primary importance in the climate model and scenario selection process. Once the climate
models and scenarios are selected, simple sensitivity analysis was used to understand how a
particular variable responds to incremental temperature and precipitation changes. Examples
highlighted in the study include changes in streamflow and annual vegetation carbon in the
Pacific Northwest.
Vano JA, Kim JB, Rupp DE, Mote, PW (2015). Selecting climate change scenarios using
impact-relevant sensitivities. Geophys Res. Lett 42(13), 5516-5525. Doi:
10.1002/2015GL063208
http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/56844/VanoJulie%20CEO
ASSelectingClimateChange.pdf?sequence=1
Arid Ecosystems
Climate change impacts on rangelands and sage-grouse habitat in southeastern
Oregon: A new study integrates a number of different modeling efforts to project
vegetation dynamics and sage-grouse habitat across 23.5 million acres in southeastern
Oregon. The sage-grouse was once widespread but has recently declined to 56% of its
original numbers due to declining habitat quality. The species was considered for inclusion as
an endangered species but was excluded due to the existence of higher priority species. To
understand future climate impacts on the sage-grouse, four climate scenarios were evaluated,
along with three management scenarios: no management, current management and sagegrouse habitat restoration. Climate change scenarios projected an expansion of moist shrub
steppe and decrease of dry shrub steppe, but varied in projections of the extent of xeric
shrub steppe, which is the environment unfavorable for sage-grouse. The authors found that
wildfires increased by 26% over the course of the 21st century as a result of the expansion of
exotic grasses (and likely due to warming temperatures as well). Early in the 2000s, the
average area burned in wildfires was around 200,000 acres, and by the end of the century,
this increased to over 1.5 million acres. The increase in wildfires has complicated impacts on
habitat, as it can control juniper expansion, but also remove shrubs that are crucial for
nesting and brooding sage-grouse habitat. In sum, the authors found that rangeland
conditions are expected to decline, and that current management options are not sufficient
to counteract the projected impacts of climate change in the eastern Oregon rangelands.
Creutzburg MK, Henderson EB, Conklin DR (2015). Climate change and land management
impact rangeland condition and sage-grouse habitat in southeastern Oregon. AIMS Env Sci
2 (2): 203-236. doi: 10.3934/environsci.2015.2.203.
http://www.aimspress.com/article/10.3934/environsci.2015.2.203
Land Use
Wind is blowing China’s air pollution to US West Coast: A team of researchers from the
US and the Netherlands has rising ozone concentrations over China between 2005 to 2010
have traveled through the air and reached the western part of the US. The US has attempted
to reduce nitrogen oxide production through a combination of federal, state and local air
quality policies, which resulted in a 20% decrease in ozone-forming nitrogen oxides.
However, air quality has not improved as was expected. The researchers used data on ozone
levels from the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) and Microwave Limb Sounder
(MLS) sensors and on nitrogen oxides from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), all
from NASA’s Aura satellite. They found that roughly 43% of the expected reduction in
ozone over the western US has been offset by ozone transport from China.
Verstraeten WW, Neu JL, Williams JE, Bowman KW, Worden JR, Boersma KF (2015).
Rapid increases in tropospheric ozone production and export from China. Nature
Geoscience 8: 690-695. doi: 10.1038/ngeo2493
http://www.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/Wind-is-blowing-China-s-airpollution-straight-6438145.php
Forests
Forest health in a changing world: A new issue of the journal Science focuses on climate
change impacts on forests and how forest health is already in the process of changing.
According to Nathan Stephenson, USGS ecologist and co-author of the study, temperate
forests are already showing signs of warming temperatures, such as increases in tree deaths.
The papers in this issue explore changes in tropical, temperate, boreal and managed forests
and describe processes of shifting land use, climate change, biodiversity, changes in the
frequency and intensity of extreme events, and disturbance regimes. The issue asks broadly
how forest health is and should be defined, and how to identify forest stresses that make
forests particularly vulnerable to climate change. The authors state that the challenge in
identifying these stressors is recognizing when they exceed natural variability and “affect the
trajectory of vegetation recovery at the landscape to regional scale.” Even more difficult is
understanding how this decline takes place, and whether it is a slower, linear decline or an
abrupt threshold below (or above) which declines become irreversible. One of the sections
of the issue – titled “The New North” – discusses changes in the boreal forest, a type of
forest that includes spruce, pine and other conifers and spans northern Canada, Alaska,
Russia and Scandinavia. The boreal forest in particular is already feeling the effects of climate
change, warming at twice the rate of the rest of the earth. Satellite observations show that
the boreal forest is “browning”, meaning that trees are experiencing difficulties with growth
due to rising temperatures. Forest fires have become increasingly severe, and warming
temperatures and drought are resulting in thunderstorms that bring lightning, a positive
feedback that results in more fires.
http://www.ibtimes.com/climate-change-temperate-forests-threatened-hotter-droughtsbigger-wildfires-2074014?rel=rel1
Sugden A, Fahrenkamp-Uppenbring J, Malakoff D, Vigniere S (2015). Forest health in a
changing world. Science 349 no 6250, 800-801. doi: 10.1126/science.349.6250.800
Trubmore S, Brando P, Hartmann H (2015). Forest health and global change. Science 349
no 6250, 814-818. doi: 10.1126/science.aac6759.
Appenzeller T (2015). The New North: Stoked by climate change, fire and insects are
remaking the planet’s vast boreal forest. Science 349 no 6250, 806-809.
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/349/6250/800.short?rss=1&ssource=mfr
Fire
Climate change presents increased potential for very large fires in the contiguous
United States: Very large fires, which are typically defined as the top 5% or 10% of the
largest fires, account for the majority of burned area in many parts of the US. Since the
1980s, the number of very large fires has increased. According to the National Interagency
Fire Center, federal expenses on fire suppression in the US have more than doubled in
recent decades, and the vast majority of these costs are spent on the suppression of very
large fires, or VLFs. A new study by a team of researchers from the University of Idaho, US
Forest Service and the Canadian Forest Service links VLFs to meteorological and
climatological variability. Although this result is not new on its own, the study uses a large
ensemble of global climate models (17) to estimate potential changes in VLF occurrence in
the contiguous US. They find large increases projected in VLFs, with the largest increases
occurring in the Great Basin, Northern Rockies, Sierra Nevada and the Klamath mountains
in Northern California. They conclude that this is due to a combination of an increase in
frequency of the climatological conditions that are conducive to VLFs as well as an
expansion of the seasonal window in which fuels and weather are conducive to the
development of VLFs. The largest increases in VLFs are in areas where fire risk and
warming temperatures increase, while precipitation and relative humidity decrease during the
fire season.
Barbero R, Abatzoglou JT, Larkin NK, Kolden CA, Stocks B (2015). Climate change
presents increased potential for very large fires in the contiguous United States. International
Journal of Wildland Fire. doi: 10.1071/WF15083.
http://www.publish.csiro.au/?paper=WF15083
WA Experiences Worst Fire Year On Record: Washington has been experiencing its
worse fire year on record, and the year is not yet completed. Approximately 732,608 acres
have burned, and the Okanogan Complex fire has been the largest wildfire that the state has
every seen. Prior to 2015, 2014 was considered to be the worst year yet. Washington
Department of Natural Resources director Peter Goldmark stated “It’s been a wildfire
season of enormous proportion and consequence and impact on people.” Goldmark further
stated that the DNR’s staff and resources are stretched thin, despite the overwhelming
number of volunteers they have had.
http://www.columbian.com/news/2015/aug/26/washington-worst-wildfire-season/
Tribal and Indigenous Peoples Matters
Ethics of Traditional Knowledge Exchange in Climate Change Initiatives: A new
essay from the Climate and Traditional Knowledges Workgroup (CTKW) explores the ethics
behind considering traditional knowledges (TK) in climate change initiatives in an effort to
protect the rights and interests of indigenous peoples and to increase indigenous
representation in climate change initiatives such as those of the US federal government. The
CTKW was created in 2013 to address ethics pertaining to information exchange of TK. The
guidelines in this essay were developed to inform the Department of Interior’s Advisory
Committee on Climate Change and Natural Resource Science in May 2014, and currently are
in the process of informing the North Pacific Landscape Conservation Cooperative. The
CTKW recognizes the diversity of TK and does not seek to define it, but to protect TK and
TK holders. It recognizes the value of TK in understanding how climate change has affected
the environment and in mitigating the effects of climate change in moving forward with
adaptation plans. The guiding principles are twofold: 1) Cause No Harm, and 2) Free, Prior
and Informed Consent. The goal is for these to establish a foundation for equitable
relationships between TK holders and scientists and government officials.
http://earthzine.org/2015/07/31/the-ethics-of-traditional-knowledge-exchange-in-climatechange-initiatives/
Taking Action
Obama Administration and the EPA Announce Clean Power Plan for Existing Power
Plants: On August 3, 2015, President Obama and the EPA announced the Clean Power
Plan, which is an historical and significant step in reducing carbon emissions from power
plants. The plan is designed to move the US toward cleaner and lower-emissions forms of
energy production. The EPA finalized the Clean Power Plan Rule for cutting pollution from
existing power plants. The plan sets standards to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 32%
by 2030 (relative to 2005 levels).
For Obama’s speech announcing the plan, see: https://www.whitehouse.gov/climatechange
http://www2.epa.gov/cleanpowerplan/clean-power-plan-existing-power-plants
Clean energy from water pipes comes to Portland: A start-up in Portland, Oregon is
trying to use water pipes to create energy. LucidEnergy, which launched in 2007, is
harnessing energy from running water in city water pipes. The company started with a pilot
project in Riverside, California funded by the Department of Energy and now has a full-scale
project in Portland. The system generating electricity is installed in sections of the water
pipes where water flows downward due to gravity. There are four sections of pipe, and each
has a generator and turbine that moves as water flows. The technology can be installed in
cities like Riverside and Portland by replacing a section of existing pipe with Lucid’s pipe. As
cities around the world deal with aging infrastructure, part of the replacement process could
be installing LucidEnergy’s piping system. Portland’s project cost the city about 1.7 million,
but will produce greater than that amount of energy in about 20 years. Although the system
is less energy efficient than a large solar farm, it takes advantage of existing infrastructure, so
the start-up costs are much lower for implementing the technology.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/08/13/3661575/portland-water-pipes-energy/
Obama Makes Climate Change Central Message during Recent Visit to Alaska: In a
recent visit to Alaska along with Department of Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and White
House Director of Science and Technology John P. Holdren, President Obama issued a
global call for action on climate change and called climate change the “defining challenge of
the century”. According to President Obama, “’Climate change is no longer some far-off
problem; it is happening here, it is happening now.’” The President warned that effects of
global warming would soon be felt globally, submerging entire countries and annihilating
cities – unless emissions are reduced. He emphasized repeatedly “’we’re not acting fast
enough.’” As part of his trip, the President traveled to Kotzebue, above the Arctic Circle,
where coastal erosion has been a serious problem for villages. At one point, the President
compared climate change to World War II, stating that world leaders need to come together
and address it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/01/us/us-makes-urgent-appeal-for-climate-changeaction-at-alaska-conference.html?_r=0
Climate and Weather Reports and Services
Understanding ENSO Diversity: A new article in the Bulletin of the American
Meteorological Society (BAMS) discusses the diversity of behaviors that El Nino Southern
Oscillation (called ENSO or just El Nino) years produce. Since this year has been widely
discussed as being a large El Nino year, the article comes at a time when El Nino events are
on the minds of many people in the western US. A typical way of understanding ENSO
diversity is to compare sea surface temperature anomaly patterns at the peak of an El Nino
year. Although there is debate over what will occur with ENSO patterns under climate
change conditions, extreme El Nino events in terms of equatorial rainfall patterns are
expected to increase in frequency (similar to what occurred in 1982-1983 and 1997-98 cases).
Capotondi A, Wittenberg AT, Newman M, Di Lorenzo E, Yu J-Y, Braconnot P, Cole J,
Dewitte B, Giese B, Guilyardi E, Jin F-F, Karnauskas K, Kirtman B, Lee T, Schneider N,
Xue Y, Yeh S-W (2015). Understanding ENSO Diversity. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc. 96, 921938. doi: 10.1175/BAMS-D-13-00117.1.
http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/people/matt.newman/BAMS_article_submit.pdf
Natural Defenses from Hurricanes and Floods: A new report from the National Wildlife
Federation discusses how to protect communities and ecosystems as extreme weather
conditions increase. The report focuses on coastal regions of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
and regions surrounding streams and rivers. It suggests that millions of people are in danger
that live and work close to these areas and are at risk from floods and hurricanes. Policies
need to be put into place to make these regions safer by restoring natural infrastructure such
as wetlands, dunes, riparian zones, shorelines and natural open space. The report emphasizes
the five following principles to accomplish these goals in policymaking: 1) better evaluation
and articulation of risk may lead to more risk reduction; 2) proactively investing in certain
risk reduction measures may produce large savings over the long term; 3) investments in
natural infrastructure will maximize resilience to floods and hurricanes; 4) actuarially-sound
insurance provides a way to incentivize risk reduction; 5) consideration of social equity is an
important component of natural catastrophe policy.
Glick P, Kostyack J, Pittman J, Briceno T, Wahlund N (2015). Natural Defenses from
Hurricanes and Floods: Protecting America’s Communities and Ecosystems in an Era of
Extreme Weather. National Wildlife Federation.
http://www.nwf.org/~/media/PDFs/Global-Warming/2014/Natural-Defenses-FinalEmbargoed-Until-102114-10amET.pdf
Groundwater depletion in California Causing Valley Land to Sink: The California
Department of Water Resources released a new NASA report showing that the San Joaquin
Valley is sinking at a faster rate than ever before, even up to about two inches per month in
some locations. Due to the drought, groundwater is being pumped at a much higher rate,
leading to record low levels of groundwater, according to Department of Water Resources
Director Mark Cowin. Sinking land, which is referred to as subsidence, is not a new
phenomenon in California. However, it is occurring much faster than before, which puts
infrastructure at a significant risk. Land in the Tulare basin sank 13 inches in just 8 months,
and one part of the Sacramento Valley is sinking at about ½ inch per month. At one location
in the Delta-Mendota Canal, land sank so much that a bridge nearly touches the water there.
NASA is continuously monitoring subsidence with data from the European Space Agency’s
new Sentinel-1 mission. The Department of Water Resources is launching a $10 million
program to help counties in California that are experiencing high stress from groundwater
depletion.
http://mavensnotebook.com/2015/08/19/this-just-in-nasa-report-drought-causing-valleyland-to-sink/
Report on Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies: A
new report produced by a partnership between the Corvallis Forestry Sciences Laboratory,
the Northwest Climate Hub and the USDA Forest Service looks at climate change
vulnerabilities and adaptation strategies. The assessment discusses where scientists and
practitioners need to focus in the Northwest to deal with climate risks. The report cites
irrigation water loss, increases in wildfire frequency, and increases in diseases and insect pest
populations. Melting Arctic ice could lead to greater numbers of invasive species, as well as
more opportunities for regional trade and shipping. The report identifies risks specific to
areas west of the Cascades, east of the Cascades and in Alaska and explains expected climate
change impacts across the Northwest.
Creighton J, Strobel M, Hardegree S, Steele R, Van Horne B, Gravenmier B, Owen W,
Peterson D, Hoang L, Little N, Bochicchio J, Hall W, Cole M, Hestvik S, Olson J (2015).
Northwest Regional Climate Hub Assessment of Climate Change Vulnerability and
Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies. A. Perry, Ed., United States Department of
Agriculture, 52 pp.
http://climatehubs.oce.usda.gov/sites/default/files/Northwest%20Vulnerability%20Assess
ment%20Final.pdf
Special Reports/Announcements
MacArthur Foundation vows to push climate solutions: The MacArthur Foundation,
known for genius grants and support of the arts, has announced a new $50 million in initial
funding for nonprofit organizations working on climate policy and advocacy. The largest
first-round grant of $20 million will be shared by the Nature Conservancy and the
Environmental Defense Fund to foster political engagement around climate change. $15
million will go to the Sierra Club in an effort to reduce coal-fired power plant dependence
and shift to carbon-free sources such as wind and solar. Additional funding (about $3 million
each) went to the Natural Resources Defense Council, ClimateWorks, the Energy
Foundation and ecoAmerica. The Environmental Law & Policy Center received $1.5 million,
and $350,000 will go to the Carbon Disclosure Project, a U.K-based project that reports and
reduces carbon emissions from businesses and corporations.
http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060023643
UPCOMING EVENTS
*All times are Pacific time zone unless otherwise noted
9/10, 11-12pm – Webinar, Climate Change in America's National Parks - Assessing
Vulnerability to Climate Change: A Comparison of Approaches
9/15, 9-10am – Webinar, EBM Tools Live Online Chat: The Marine Planning
Concierge
9/16, 12-1pm – Webinar, EPA Climate Change Speaker Series Coastal Erosion in
Alaska: Causes, Impacts, and Barriers to Adaptation
9/23, 10-11am – Webinar, EBM Tools Webinar: Mapping Ocean Wealth by Rob
Brumbaugh of TNC
9/24, 9-10am – Webinar, OneNOAA Science Seminar: Keeping Tabs on HABs
9/30, 10-11am – Webinar, National Adaptation Forum: Evaluating and Monitoring
Adaptation
10/17-10/21 – Conference, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada – The Wildlife Society 22nd
Annual Conference
10/28-10/30 – Forum, Manning Park Resort, British Columbia – Wildlinks 2015
11/2-11/3 - Conference, Sacramento, CA. 2015 Southwest Climate Summit
11/4-11/5 – Conference, Coeur d'Alene, ID. Sixth Annual Pacific Northwest Climate
Science Conference
11/8-11/12 – Conference, Portland, OR. CERF 23rd Biennial Conference
11/12-11/13 – Conference, Cambridge, MA. 2015 Rising Seas Summit
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