ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE
The Navy conducted a tabletop exercise alongside Caribbean partner nations to explore ways to enhance climate readiness and resilience throughout the region
The Navy conducted a tabletop exercise alongside Caribbean partner nations to explore ways to enhance climate readiness and resilience throughout the region.
The two-day event in San Juan, Puerto Rico, marked the third in a series of exercises held in recent years designed to validate the Navy’s Climate Action 2030 strategy.
Participants addressed many scenarios reflecting the real-world impact climate change is having in the region, ranging from wildfires spurred by arid conditions, strains on power grids and crop production due to high temperatures, and damage to critical infrastructure caused by more frequent and intense hurricanes.
Vaughn Miller, minister for the environment and natural resources for the Bahamas, said the exercise captured the wide-ranging impacts climate change is having in the region and further underscored the importance of regional partnerships in addressing the threat.
“The Bahamas is facing several challenges in the face of climate change, and over the last few days we’ve explored opportunities for cooperation with the United States and our regional partners,” Miller said.
He also noted a range of emerging climate-related threats that are reshaping the Bahamas and neighboring countries. Those include forest fires due to extended droughts and extensive damage to coral reefs which provide the first line of defense against storm surges.
Sailors take in the view on the flight deck aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp as the ship pulls into port in Nassau, The Bahamas, June 28,…
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Exploring water solutions for a better future
Scientists at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Southwest Climate Hub and California Climate Hub have developed a browsable map-based tool that addresses water scarcity in the U.S. Southwest.
The Water Adaptation Techniques Atlas (WATA) consolidates over 200 case studies on research and practices that water managers and producers can use to find location-specific and topical information to make informed decisions regarding water management.
Over the years, urban areas and agriculture have expanded in the Southwest region. For the past century, water use in the Southwest has been sustained through the capture, storage, and distribution of surface water, aided by dams, canals, and associated infrastructure, while extraction of groundwater has also intensified. However, water scarcity has become a pressing issue with extremely hot temperatures and severe prolonged droughts in a region already challenged by its arid and semi-arid conditions. As reservoir and aquifer levels drop, information about strategies to adapt to this new reality is urgently needed.
WATA provides information based on research from USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) and other sources about practices for lessening the gap between water demand and available supply, with an emphasis on cropping and irrigation practices across the Southwest, including Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.
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Army Corps of Engineers Commanding General and 55th Chief of Engineers Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon said he sees progress in the recovery of communities on the island of Maui that were impacted by severe wildfires last year
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By Nicole Choquette / Assistant Managing EditorThe Biden-Harris Administration hosted the first swearing-in ceremony for members of President Biden’s landmark American Climate Corps – a groundbreaking initiative modeled after Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps that will put a new, diverse generation of young Americans to work fighting the impacts of climate change today while gaining the skills they need to join the growing clean energy and climate-resilience workforce of tomorrow. At the end of this month, AmeriCorps expects more than 9,000 American Climate Corps members – nearly halfway to President Biden’s goal of 20,000 members in year one – will serve across the country, going to work conserving and restoring our lands and waters, bolstering community resilience, deploying clean energy, implementing energy efficient technologies, advancing environmental justice and more.
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