Kate Gordon, the Senior Vice President and Director of Energy and Climate at Next Generation, joined Rural Climate Network members for a call in March 2015. She serves as the Senior Advisor to the Risky Business Project, an initiative to quantify and publicize the economic risks of climate change. On the call, she spoke about the findings of the Risky Business report as they specifically pertain to the Midwest. Attached is her presentation.
Documents
WASHINGTON, Feb. 10, 2015
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that rural agricultural producers and small business owners can now apply for resources to purchase and install renewable energy systems or make energy efficiency improvements. These efforts help farmers, ranchers and other small business owners save money on their energy bills, reduce America's dependence on foreign oil, support America's clean energy economy, and cut carbon pollution. The resources... read more
Flickr: USDA
The Interior Department is making $8 million available for American Indian and Alaska Native communities to adapt to and plan for the expected effects of climate change. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced the funding on a trip to Alaska, where she toured some Alaska Native communities that are threatened by rising sea levels and coastal changes.
“Sea level rise, coastal erosion, drought and more frequent and severe weather events are impacting Alaska Native villages and... read more
Rural Climate Policy Meeting Notes
Monday December 15th and Tuesday December 16th 2014
Meeting goals:
1. Build a shared understanding of U.S. and international climate policy context.
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, under President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, has been working on a commonsense approach to cut carbon pollution from power plants. The science shows that climate change is already posing risks to our health and our economy. The Clean Power Plan for Existing Power Plants and the Carbon Pollution Standards for New Power Plants will maintain an affordable, reliable energy system, while cutting pollution and protecting our health and environment now and... read more
Flickr: André van Rooyen
A new study links the March 2014 earthquakes in Poland Township, Ohio to hydraulic fracturing that activated a previously unknown fault. The induced seismic sequence included a rare felt earthquake of magnitude 3.0, according to research published online by the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (BSSA). The full news release is linked above.
Flickr: Simon Fraser University
The President's State, Local, and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience was established in 2013 to provide the President with recommendations on how the Federal Government can respond to the needs of communities dealing with the impacts of climate change. The Task Force consists of 26 governors, mayors, county officials, and tribal leaders from across the United States. Read the Executive Summary below and click the above links to read the report in full.
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The IPCC released the 5th Assessment report in November 2014 with strong recommendations for swift climate action.
... read moreFlickr: Len Radin
This study from the Audubon Society outlines future climate impacts on North American bird populations. From the study's website:
"Audubon scientists have used hundreds of thousands of citizen-science observations and sophisticated climate models to predict how birds in the U.S. and Canada will react to climate change. Our work defines the climate conditions birds need to survive, then maps where those conditions will be found in the future... read more
Walter Nussbaumer, Audubon Photography Award