To Understand Climate Adaptation, don’t look up, look around.
adapting to the floods
6/1/24
There’s a lot of talk about climate adaptation these days. What is it and how do we actually apply it to our lives?
Photo by Bogdan Kupriets on Unsplash
Broadly speaking, the climate movement is being distilled into two categories: climate mitigation and climate adaptation.
Mitigation refers to lowering, reducing, ending our destructive ways on the planet. Much of this you have probably seen and encountered: companies and individuals calculating their carbon footprint in hopes of reducing it to zero. All of us individuals and all companies can and should try to reach a point where what we consume is equal to what we put back. At its simplest, if I ate 5 apples, I should grow 5 apples to create ecological balance. If I ate 5 apples and grew 10, ok I am putting back more than I took! Yet, clearly we as a species consume WAY more than we put back, to the tune of 1.5 earths worth or even more…
Practically speaking, as of 2024, companies work to reach net zero or become even carbon positive (putting back even more in terms of energy than you take) by implementing sustainable practices, using less raw material, implementing new practices and technologies, purchasing carbon offsets on the voluntary and mandatory markets, and now, purchasing DAC (direct air capture) credits which pays for companies to literally suck carbon out of the air and sequester it underground, into the ocean, into concrete, into rock etc.
On the mitigation front, this is where most of the time, energy, and resources have been going over the past two decades. I’m sure you either personally or professionally have engaged in a bit or quite a lot of this work.
Climate adaptation often refers to building the resiliency, solutions, infrastructure, governmental services, supportive services, etc to respond to life on a changed planet both in the short term and the future. It’s part disaster preparedness, disaster responsiveness, but also future proofing as best one can for the coming climate disruptions a local city, state, or country will be most subjected to.
If your city is prone to flooding, what is your city or what are the private companies doing now to reduce the impacts of flooding, build appropriately, understand the risks, now, and for the future when the flooding is anticipated to get much worse?
And as we know, the latest climate science and reports is harrowing. We are blowing past 1.5 degrees predicted warming (which remember, was the level we were warned to stay UNDER), and could be heading to 2 degrees warming or beyond.
That is not good. At 2 degrees and beyond, life on our planet looks quite different. And not in a ‘oh that’s cute we will just turn the AC down’ kind of way. People are living in different places and have been forced to move. It is estimated that by 2050, nearly 1 Billion (with a B) people will be forced from their current locations due to climate change. Increased flooding, increased rainfall, increased disasters, a hotter, much more hostile planet and people.
Within climate adaptation, it often causes us to look “up”. What’s the weather doing? Is it going to rain, and if so, how much? Is it going to storm, if so where? My house? My neighboring town? Is that Canadian wildfire smoke I see in the sky?
So much of how we interpret climate change is and pertains to the weather. But this is only a piece of the puzzle.
Yes, weather affects us dramatically — everything from where we live, and how we live, and our lifestyles. But it is important to remember the weather is a result of climate change, the weather is not climate change.
It’s Time to Start Looking Around
Instead, we all need to start looking around — and quickly.
This means looking at what your local government, state government, neighbors, contractors, developers, federal government is (or most likely is not) doing.
Does your city have a climate action plan? Does your city or state have a climate adaptation plan?
What are the biggest risks to your city, your state, your country? Looking around not just at your city but also to nearby cities, coastal cities, your countries largest or biggest contributor to economic vitality, your neighboring countries (see: refugees)
For example, if I were living in Orlando, FL, you bet your bottom I’d be concerned about what was happening (or more like NOT happening) in Miami — because there are domino effects to a community, to state or federal funding, businesses leaving the area, and so forth. See here.
Particularly in the US, some of the most vulnerable cities are absolute concrete jungles. “About 80% of the U.S. population lives in cities, where the urban heat island effect can worsen heat extremes,” according to Climate Central’s Urban Heat Island findings.
And this is why what your neighbors are (or are not doing) really matters. If commercial real estate developers, or architectural firms, continue to prioritize profit and concrete over sustainability and watersheds, it will only weaken your city’s ability to handle what comes next… unfortunately that is a very real reality the city of Houston (among others) is currently facing…
But there is a harsh reality unfolding when it comes to cities ability or interest in preparing for instability & risk caused by climate change: denial.
Take the city of Miami (again, sorry to pick on it but I mean, c’mon…).
The best thing the city and the state could actually do is to encourage folks to move away from coast lines, help them reestablish buildings, communities, towns, further inland, and in some instances, even help people leave the state.
But of course this will never happen. Due to economic incentivies, money, and deep pockets, the city or the state will never tell you to leave, even if that is in your best interest… (https://www.vox.com/climate/23872640/coastal-climate-ocean-rising-miami-florida-building)
Which at a fundamental level, reminds you that there will inevitably be quite a few organizations, politicians, leaders, etc trying to sell you an oar as the ship sinks…
So one of the most pressing questions we can ask ourselves as it pertains to climate adaptation, as we take a long, deep look around at our own communities is, “where am I, or my city, in the greatest denial?”
And we start there.
Read original article on Medium:
https://medium.com/@zachweismann/to-understand-climate-adaptation-dont-look-up-look-around-9e9a98428e5c
