Sustainability Science
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Sustainability Science
How might we keep the lights on, water flowing, and natural world vaguely intact? It starts with grabbing innovative ideas/examples to help kick down our limits and inspire a more sustainable world. We implement with rigorous science backed by hard data.
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Coastal Flooding Is Erasing Billions in Property Value as Sea Level Rises. That's Bad News for Cities.

Coastal Flooding Is Erasing Billions in Property Value as Sea Level Rises. That's Bad News for Cities. | Sustainability Science | Scoop.it
High-tide flooding is eating away at the coastal property tax base just when communities need it most to adapt to climate change and repair the damage.
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Science's flood failings a 'scandal'

Science's flood failings a 'scandal' | Sustainability Science | Scoop.it

Questions about the link between flooding in the UK and climate change could be answered within two years, according to a leading scientist.  Prof Myles Allen from Oxford University said the only thing holding back the work was the lack of investment.

 

Around £10m a year would provide a real time attribution system on the role of humans in extreme weather.  He said it was a "scandal" that the public should be denied clarity on this issue.

Scientists are notoriously cautious about linking single weather events, such as the recent storms and flooding in the UK, to rising global temperatures.


The public is paying that money in the name of doing something about climate change, they deserve to know what climate change is doing to them”
Prof Myles AllenOxford University Researchers can discern a human fingerprint in extreme weather, but it has required huge amounts of computing power to calculate all the possible outcomes.
PIRatE Lab's insight:

We are now seeing a similar pattern; 1) following a significant natural disaster, folks are now primed to at least discuss a possible tie-in with  climate change, but they 2) take their cue from researchers who note that we can't definitively say if  event A is directly attributable to a changed climate, this leads some to then 3) get upset and say "how can you say that?  It is obvious..." and others to say "you can never tell: ask the scientists."

 

With the rising number of disasters (especially in the coastal zone) a separate way to investigate this is to look for a pattern in these extreme events themselves.  For example, NOAA now has a database of weather-related "billion dollar events."  This certainly seems an area worthy of spending some additional funds.  At the risk of a scientist asking for more money for science (a pox in some regions, I know), having a better understanding of the relationships to a changing climate is/would be a good thing.

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On defense: Cities get serious about climate resilience in 2013

On defense: Cities get serious about climate resilience in 2013 | Sustainability Science | Scoop.it
This is the year we realized that being "green" is more than a tired trend. For cities, coping with climate chaos is a matter of survival.
PIRatE Lab's insight:

Well...a few kind of started to get serious.

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In Study, a History Lesson on the Costs of Hurricanes - New York Times

Scientists said as wealth and property values increase, recovering from hurricanes could become more expensive in the future.
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Obama Orders Pentagon To Plan For Climate Change

Obama Orders Pentagon To Plan For Climate Change | Sustainability Science | Scoop.it
The Pentagon has been planning for climate change for years.
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Departing Bloomberg Says New York City's Air Cleaner and Greenhouse Gas Emissions 19% Lower

Departing Bloomberg Says New York City's Air Cleaner and Greenhouse Gas Emissions 19% Lower | Sustainability Science | Scoop.it
(Bloomberg NYC) Michael Bloomberg announcing the expansion of PlaNYC Carbon Challenge in April last year.New York City's greenhouse gas emissions have dropped by 19 percent since 2005, outgoing Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Monday, and the air in...
PIRatE Lab's insight:

A nice overview of Mr. Bloombergs focus on Climate Change during his just-ended tenure as Mayor of New York.

 

The one quibble I have here is the somewhat arbitrary comparative date of "reduced greenhouse gases by 19%" 2005.  He actually came into office in 2002.  Is that not a more sober look at what he has been able to acomplish?

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Measuring Fukushima's Impact: How Geeks and Hackers Got Geiger Counters to the Masses

Measuring Fukushima's Impact: How Geeks and Hackers Got Geiger Counters to the Masses | Sustainability Science | Scoop.it
Thousands of ordinary people have contributed to a crowd-sourced effort to measure Fukushima's impact.

Via Anita Woodruff
PIRatE Lab's insight:

My colleagues were originally trying to participate in this, but it fell through for some reason.

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