Preparing for Climate Change

On Earth Day last Monday, the state legislature’s Joint Committee on Environment voted to send on to the Senate a bill to assess the long-term risks from sea level rise. Climate change is expected to result in as much as 2 meters of sea level rise over the next century. At the same time, with …

Continue reading “Storm Preparedness Legislation Advances”

Preparation for storm surge is a key area of concern for me in this legislative session. See this early post on the issue and this update.

Between sea level rise and greater storm intensity, we can expect higher storm surges in coming decades. We need to start a planning process now to protect our valuable infrastructure and real estate.

The risk of enhanced storm surge due to sea level rise is an issue that I am taking seriously as a state senator representing low-lying areas in the Charles and Mystic watersheds. I’ve been talking with a lot of people in the region about how to develop some consensus about the risk levels and move the necessary conversations about infrastructure investments.

There is an increasing amount of attention being paid to climate change adaptation — the changes that communities in high-risk areas need to adopt in order to protect themselves from the expected impacts of climate change and minimize damage.  We took a look at existing information and efforts and have put together a few highlights …

Continue reading “How Are We Adapting to Climate Change?”