NOAA AWARDS $71M for Climate Change Risk Reduction Projects in the greater Monterey Bay area

Here are two articles describing the NOAA Climate Resilience Regional Challenge program, which recently announced a $71.1M grant award to the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation for projects throughout Santa Cruz County and the greater Monterey Bay area. This region has been impacted by flooding and coastal erosion due to storm surges in the last few years. The grant award will fund various climate risk reduction projects as well as engagement efforts with tribes and underserved communities.

OPINION: California isn’t prepared for turbocharged storms like the ones we’re getting this week

Peter Gleick, hydroclimatologist, author, and senior fellow at the Pacific Institute in Oakland, opines that recent mega-storms show the immediate need to dramatically scale-up efforts to prepare California for both flooding and drought. We must adapt California’s water infrastructure to a current and projected climate regime rather than the hydrology of its past.

BARC Releases Regional System Assessment for Adapting to Climate Change report

BARC is proud to release our Regional System Assessment for Adapting to Climate Change report. This work captures how our regional agencies are responding to a wide array of climate hazards including sea level rise, inland flooding, water quality, drought, extreme heat, and wildfire and air quality.

Get a Sneak Peek at San Francisco’s Next Huge New Park

India Basin Waterfront Park, planned to open in 2026, will open 1.7 miles of contiguous open space along the waterfront to the public. Located at 900 Innes Avenue in India Basin, this park will include a new boathouse, recreational dock for fishing and kayaking, a bikeway and two public piers. The planning approach recognizes the legacy of environmental injustice in this part of San Francisco by actively engaging the community in the design process.

SR37 Planning and Environmental Linkages (PEL) Public Input Meeting on Jan. 25th

Join Caltrans and community members for a public meeting to learn about a study being conducted to improve State Route 37. This meeting will provide an update on the development of the PEL (Planning and Environmental Linkages) Study, answer questions, and allow for public input on alignments to be evaluated in the study.

The meeting will be taking place on Zoom on: 

Tuesday, Jan. 25th from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm (PST).

BARC Adopts Joint Resolution to Address Climate Change

On September 17th, 2021, the BARC Governing Board unanimously approved a Joint Resolution to Address Climate Change, through which its member agencies committed to working with BARC staff to develop a Shared Work Plan that will advance coordinated implementation of some of the highest-priority actions identified in the key regional agency plans and platforms over the next one to five years.

What Will Happen to Your Next Home if Builders Get Their Way?

An article in the New York Times today highlights the building industry's efforts to influence building codes, which are typically adopted by states and local governments every three years, often relying on influential models set by the International Code Council. These building codes protect homeowners from sustaining damage in extreme weather events, and reduce energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions from buildings.