 Coastlines
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Scientists Warn of Rebuilding on NC Coast
Hurricane Florence has passed the Carolinas but it will take weeks, months, and even years to rebuild from the damage of her water and winds. So far it’s estimated that the hurricane caused $22 billion in damages and that figure is likely to rise as further damage is assessed. As people start to rebuild their homes and clean up the destruction, scientists are warning the North Carolina state government that some residents along the coast should consider building inland to avoid damages from future hurricanes.
In fact, as the CSM reported, North Carolina made headlines in 2012 for passing a bill instructing its Coastal Resources Commission to redo a 2010 report that predicted a 39-inch sea level rise by the year 2100. That report was targeted by the Legislature and NC-20, an economic development group for North Carolina’s 20 coastal counties that sought “responsible science concerning sea level rise.” When the commission redid the report five years later, it looked 30 years ahead instead of 90, warning legislators the state needed to prepare for up to a 6-inch sea level rise based on existing gauge rates. The shortened timeline of the report could greenlight the rebuilding of new roads and buildings which would outlast the 30-year timespan but would be unlikely out outlast rising coastal waters.
Five years ago in response to influence from home builders and an anti-regulatory political climate, North Carolina regulators moved to weaken building codes in the state. As Bloomberg explained, The Legislature in 2013 increased the amount of time between updates to its building code from three years to six. This change means the state residential code will always be one or two cycles behind the latest national model codes and it passes the risk onto homebuyers. Additionally, in 2015, state regulators also eliminated a requirement that storm shutters be permanently anchored–something that could help protect homes in a hurricane’s path.
Why This Matters: When national and sub-national governments do not acknowledge climate change and don’t actively work to prepare their citizens for its impacts they are being negligent. Members of our federal and state governments have access to the best available science but often choose to ignore it in favor of granting certain industries business advantages. This underscores the need to vote for candidates that accept science and also are willing to do the hard work of enacting policies to not just reduce emissions but also help us adapt to the effects of climate change that are inevitable.
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 Land
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Superior Bathhouse Brewery in Hot Springs National Park
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Public-Private Partnerships One Way of Improving National Parks
As we have reported, one of the biggest problems facing our National Parks and Monuments is the ginormous (nearly $12B) maintenance backlog — for years Congress has not provided sufficient funding to take care of needed upkeep and improvements, even at the most popular parks. At the same time, visitorship is up at many of these same parks. The Trump Administration proposed a huge fee hike as one way to address the problem but backed down due to public outcry.
Another option being explored by several parks is creating new partnerships with the private sector to bring in private funding to help with some of the maintenance needs. For example, as the Pew Trusts explains, companies and organizations have leased NPS buildings and property, agreeing to restore aspects of those assets. Historic leasing brings private dollars to preserving NPS buildings that these groups then use as schools, hotels, and, in one case, a brewery. For example, a private organization leased 3.5 acres inside Pennsylvania’s Valley Forge National Historical Park and then renovated a farmhouse and barn to create an idyllic setting for a Montessori School and in doing so covered the property’s overhaul costs in exchange for a long-term lease. Similarly, through a lease to a private brewery in the Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas, an old bathhouse into Superior Bathhouse Brewery, was transformed and now is the only brewery in the world to make its beer with natural hot spring water.
Why This Matters: There is bipartisan legislation moving through Congress (yes indeed) to deal with the backlog. This legislation would allow for more private leases like the ones described above -which is good — we need to ensure parks are accessible and yet not overly commercialized. The bill would also provide $6.5B over the next five years to pay for half the maintenance projects that have been on hold. There is a catch — the funding would come from royalties that energy companies pay to the federal government for energy development on federal lands and offshore. Many were concerned about this providing an incentive to lease more public lands and ocean areas but the incentive was allegedly removed in the final version that passed the House. It should stay that way.
For Kids Only: The House also passed a bill to make permanent the program that allows every fourth grader and their family into the National Parks for free. That’s one great hall pass!
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This story was brought to you by the National Wildlife Federation. To learn more about how the National Wildlife Federation can help you connect your family with the outdoors, click here.
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 Animals
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Blue-winged Warbler. Photo: Glenn Bartley/Vireo
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Earlier Springs Harm Migratory Birds
A new study warns that warming temperatures associated with climate change can leave migratory birds hungry as they prepare to breed and begin their migrations. Climate change is causing spring to come earlier in 76% of all wildlife refuges in America and is coming extremely early in half of them especially on the Pacific coast and in the Mojave Desert, northern Great Plains and upper Midwest. Spring coming earlier means that the food birds rely on before or after their migration–like bugs and worms–may not be available. Inside Climate News explained that the differences in seasons increase the risk of nutritional mismatches and deficits that could affect the overall health of bird populations. For example, birds traveling to breeding grounds in the north might find the insect populations have passed their peak because spring came early and progressed rapidly, said Eric K. Waller, a USGS scientist and co-author of the study.
Some evidence has indicated that certain species of birds are shifting their migrations to adapt to spring coming earlier but for birds that migrate long distances, earlier seasons still put them at risk of low food availability. The metabolic demands of extensive flight journeys mean that the migratory and reproductive success of birds hinges on the availability of food and habitat conditions when birds arrive at their breeding grounds.
Why This Matters: Scientific American explained that in general, biologists are increasingly concerned with the effects of climate change on plant and animal species—how it might affect their ranges and distributions, their feeding and reproduction habits and their movements and migrations. In migratory birds, it’s still unclear how changes in migration timing might affect whole populations or species but birds are facing a multitude of stresses and extinction risks are on the rise.
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 Cosmos
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NASA’s New Planet Hunting Satellite Shares First Images
Launched earlier this year, NASA’s satellite, The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite or “TESS” will discover thousands of exoplanets in orbit around the brightest stars in the sky through a 2-year survey of the solar neighborhood. On Monday, NASA released “first light” images that TESS beamed back to Earth (“first light” is the astronomical term used to describe the first time a telescope acquires images, as CNET explained) and while there were no planets the satellite shared images of beautiful bright stars and two nearby galaxies.
TESS’s cameras, designed and built by MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, Massachusetts, and the MIT Kavli Institute, monitor large swaths of the sky to look for transits. Transits occur when a planet passes in front of its star as viewed from the satellite’s perspective, causing a regular dip in the star’s brightness. TESS will spend its two years monitoring 26 such sectors for 27 days each, covering 85 percent of the sky. During its first year of operations, the satellite will study the 13 sectors making up the southern sky. Then TESS will turn to the 13 sectors of the northern sky to carry out a second year-long survey. A serious task!
Why This Matters: As Paul Hertz, astrophysics division director at NASA Headquarters in Washington explained in a statement: “In a sea of stars brimming with new worlds, TESS is casting a wide net and will haul in a bounty of promising planets for further study. This first light science image shows the capabilities of TESS’ cameras, and shows that the mission will realize its incredible potential in our search for another Earth.” While TESS has yet to find E.T. we’ll be monitoring its findings and will share updates.
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Go Deeper: The Harvest Moon returns in September this year and this fall will be a great one to catch meteor showers! Wave up at TESS as you watch the showers!
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 Sustainability
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New Year: Start Small and Maaaaake Change!
Pardon This Spiritual Interruption! This week marked the most holy of the “high holidays” in the Jewish faith, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement when Jews ask forgiveness for their individual and communal sins and repent in order to start the new year (celebrated last week) with a clean slate. I (Monica) observed the holiday with my family and friends, and I thought about all the ways I could have done more to lower my carbon footprint, use less plastic, and so on. Just as I resolved to do better this year, I saw this wonderful piece, by Sarah Lazarovic from Yes! Magazine (reprinted in Ecowatch), entitled “Small Works” that reminded me that if everyone does small things it can make a big difference for the planet. In her essay, Lazarovic gives five reasons why everyone can and should do more for the environment rather than just accept the status quo and “scapegoat” large institutions like corporations and the government.
1. Large Institutions Don’t Reform on Their Own — innovators drive change and eventually there is critical mass behind them and institutions reform.
2. Big Things Are Just Lots of Little Things Put Together — when lots of people push within a big interconnected system it creates a feedback loop that changes it.
3. The Small Acts of Many Create New Norms — e.g., if lots of people start riding their bikes to work then that becomes the norm as more and more people follow suit — that is what makes a movement.
4. Achieving A Goal Comes Through Many Small Victories — if we break our larger goals (like fixing climate change) into many small goals we will have a much better chance at success and we won’t just give up.
5. Doing Something Small Every Day Keeps The Ultimate Goal Top of Mind — If we make small changes but are religious about practicing these changes every day it makes the change permanent.
Why This Matters: It is easy to get overwhelmed by the severity and scope of the environmental problems facing the planet and succumb to the belief that what we do individually does not matter. And yet, the power of collective action — the millions and millions of little things that we collectively do every day to lower our impact on the natural environment and live more sustainably — can and will make a difference. And today is a great day to rededicate ourselves to doing what we can — even if it is small! Any and all of the things Lazarovic suggests below are great suggestions.
To Go Small: Just click here to read the full piece by Lazarovic, and enjoy the wonderful illustrations.
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 Air
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One “Completely Outrageous” Thing: U.S. Air Pollution
On Tuesday, the Trump Administration did it again — this time finalizing the rule rolling back protections against methane gas leaks from drilling operations on federal lands. When it comes to preventing illnesses and deaths caused by air pollution, the U.S. ranks a pathetic 23rd. According to a Natural Resources Defense Council blog that appeared in Ecowatch, “In 2016, the American population lost 516 years of disease- and disability-free life per 100,000 people. That’s more than double the rate found in top-ranked New Zealand, and only marginally better than countries like Honduras (#26) and Nicaragua (#28),” as ranked in a study by the World Health Organization. Christiana Figueres (who led the U.N.’s work on the Paris Agreement) was asked last week at the Global Climate and Health Forum, “How do you think the U.S. stacks up against other countries for protecting its citizens from the health threats of air pollution?” Her reply was simple — she said it’s “completely outrageous”
To Go Deeper: Read Ms. Figueres’ Washington Post Op/Ed on the “absolutely unacceptable” levels of global air pollution.
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