Author: Cariad Hayes Thronson

Crunching the Adaptation Numbers – Not Peanuts

Regional agencies made splashy headlines when they released a joint study on the likely cost of protecting Bay Area shores from rising seas: $110 billion. But the top-line number didn’t offer much insight into the complexities. A new inventory and map from the same agencies is much more revealing.

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Big Plans for Big Problems

October brought more than just a very welcome rainstorm to parched and fire-scarred California—it also saw big advances for three major efforts to help the state and the Bay Area plan for a climate-altered future.

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Budget Bounty for Resilience

On September 23, as part of a historic $15 billion climate package, Governor Newsom signed two bills that together provide the blueprint for a landmark three-year, $3.7 billion climate resilience budget. The money represents a heretofore unthinkable commitment to addressing the impact of climate change on the state.

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Silicon Valley Reboots on Adaptation Work

With the aid of a $150,000 grant from the National Fish Wildlife Foundation, Santa Clara County embarked on a substantial new resilience planning effort this summer. In June the county’s Office of Sustainability convened the first meeting of the County Climate Collaborative, bringing together cities, CBOs and other key partners to identify adaptation and resilience priorities.

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Grants Underwrite Fire Resistance

Looking to get out ahead of what is quickly shaping up to be a long and brutal wildfire season, the State Coastal Conservancy wasted no time distributing $12 million in fire prevention money it received as part of the $536 million in wildfire resilience funds Governor Newsom announced in April. Following a lightning speed grant process that featured a two-week request for proposals period, 17 Bay Area governments, tribes, fire districts, parks, and other agencies are set to receive more than $6 million—to be spent before the official start of the 2021 fire season.

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