New report and tool for coastal resilience

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) just launched a new crowdsourcing, citizen science application called “iCoast – Did the Coast Change?” that asks users to identify changes to the coast by comparing and tagging aerial photographs taken before and after storms. Your contributions help USGS scientists improve the accuracy of coastal erosion prediction models and vulnerability assessments that support pre-storm planning and post-storm rescue, recovery, and mitigation efforts. It is also a great educational tool for teaching students and even coastal residents about coastal hazards.

 

They are looking for online volunteers to classify photos taken before and after Hurricane Sandy, and particularly targeting people with different kinds of coastal expertise and interests. More background information on iCoast is available in this USGS Top Story article and on the iCoast website.

 

Sign up as a digital volunteer, classify a few photos for 5 minutes, and help spread the word to colleagues, students, friends, and family: http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/icoast  OR  http://icoast.us (short link for social media)

 

iCoast is also an open-source project available on GitHub at: https://github.com/usgs/icoast

The Georgetown Climate Center released 100 recommendations today to improve federal programs that could be used to prepare for climate change.  

 

The recommendations are included in a new report, Preparing Our Communities for Climate Impacts: Recommendations for Federal Action, which draws from a series of workshops with leading federal, state, and local officials and builds upon lessons learned post-disaster in New Orleans (following Hurricane Katrina), New York (following Hurricane Sandy), and Vermont (after Hurricane Irene). 

The report has been shared with the White House Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience and identifies more than 30 federal programs, initiatives, and laws that can be used to prepare for extreme events such as storms, floods, and heat waves as well as rising seas.

 

Although state and local governments will be the primary actors when it comes to preparing for climate change impacts, the federal government can boost ­- or impede - preparedness. The recommendations in the report explore how existing federal dollars, programs, regulations, and policies can be retooled, repurposed, and deployed to promote and remove barriers to adaptation.

 

To learn more about these recommendations or to download a copy of this report, please go to www.georgetownclimate.org/adaptation-recommendations-2014