CLEAR Newsletter, Fall 2014 Fall 2014 Page 4 …Cisneros at [email protected], 860-486-4917,...
4
By Linda Powers Tomasso, Center for Health and the Global Environment, Harvard School of Public Health Greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories estimate levels of emissions that are scientifically understood as the human-induced basis for climate change. GHG inventories resemble balance sheets indicating both emissions sources and carbon “sinks” that remove atmospheric CO 2 via long-term carbon storage in vegetation cover, soils, and forests. Like all New England states, Connecticut over the past decades has seen a loss of its beneficial carbon sinks due to land converted from forested and vegetated landscapes to areas of develop- ment, complicating state efforts to buffer its contribution to climate change. To date, carbon sinks have been omitted from GHG inventories due to insufficient accounting methods, leading to an under- valuation of Connecticut’s forests and open spaces as agents of regional climate stabilization. That situation, however, is changing. Linda Powers Tomasso explored By Bruce Hyde, Land Use Extension Educator Damage to the built and natural environ- ment caused by recent storm events has raised our collective awareness of the impacts of climate change and the need to adapt as sea levels rise and storm surge levels increase. While the impacts of Tropical Storm Irene and Superstorm Sandy grab the headlines with dramatic pictures of flooding, collapsed houses and eroded shorelines, there are many complex and equally important climate related issues that will challenge both coastal and inland communities in the next several decades. Identifying these issues in the near term will help advance the effort to fully determine the magnitude of each, and begin to develop an adaptive response. This will be a long-term process that requires partici- pation of a wide range of individuals, institutions and governmental agencies. Research CLEAR’s Land Cover Data Fuels Better Carbon Accounting In This Issue Contact CLEAR | Phone: 860-345-4511 | Email: [email protected] | Website: clear.uconn.edu Climate Adaptation Academy Takes Connecticut by Storm Participants of a climate change workshop tour a Connecticut beach effected by Storm Sandy. Fall 2014 . . . continued on pg 4 . . . continued on pg 4 Outreach
Transcript of CLEAR Newsletter, Fall 2014 Fall 2014 Page 4 …Cisneros at [email protected], 860-486-4917,...
the problem of carbon sink accounting inher graduate thesis research at Harvardusing CLEAR’s twenty-five years of satellitederived land cover data. The study providescompelling, quantitative evidence of theimportant role that our state’s forestlandsplay in the climate change arena. Usingthese data and financial records, she alsolooked at four open space preserves inFarmington, Connecticut to measure thecost-effectiveness of forest preservationas a carbon abatement tool. Here are justsome of her major findings and conclusions:• Lost forest cover from the 25 years
(1985 to 2010) would today yield 54 mil-
lion metric tons of CO2 (MMTCO2) inannual carbon capture.
• The ratio of lost forestland to lost carbonsequestration was estimated to be 4.6. Inother words, the 3.8% of the state’sacreage converted from forest to devel-opment during the 25-year study periodreduced levels of carbon sequestrationby an estimated 17.68%.
• Since about 2002, the amount of carbonsequestration lost through forest conver-sion has cumulatively totaled more thanConnecticut’s annual CO2 emissions(graph).
By Linda Powers Tomasso, Center for Healthand the Global Environment, Harvard Schoolof Public HealthGreenhouse gas (GHG) inventories estimatelevels of emissions that are scientificallyunderstood as the human-induced basisfor climate change. GHG inventoriesresemble balance sheets indicating bothemissions sources and carbon “sinks” thatremove atmospheric CO2 via long-termcarbon storage in vegetation cover, soils,and forests. Like all New England states,Connecticut over the past decades hasseen a loss of its beneficial carbon sinksdue to land converted from forested andvegetated landscapes to areas of develop-ment, complicating state efforts to bufferits contribution to climate change.
To date, carbon sinks have been omittedfrom GHG inventories due to insufficientaccounting methods, leading to an under-valuation of Connecticut’s forests andopen spaces as agents of regional climatestabilization. That situation, however, ischanging. Linda Powers Tomasso explored
By Bruce Hyde, Land Use ExtensionEducatorDamage to the built and natural environ-ment caused by recent storm events hasraised our collective awareness of theimpacts of climate change and the need toadapt as sea levels rise and storm surgelevels increase. While the impacts ofTropical Storm Irene and SuperstormSandy grab the headlines with dramaticpictures of flooding, collapsed houses and
eroded shorelines, there are many complexand equally important climate related issuesthat will challenge both coastal and inlandcommunities in the next several decades.Identifying these issues in the near term willhelp advance the effort to fully determinethe magnitude of each, and begin todevelop an adaptive response. This will bea long-term process that requires partici-pation of a wide range of individuals,institutions and governmental agencies.
Contact CLEAR at: UConn, CES, 1066 SaybrookRoad, P.O. Box 70, Haddam, CT 06438 • Phone:(860) 345-4511 • Email: [email protected] • Web: clear.uconn.edu • Editor: Chet Arnold • Designer: Kara Bonsack
The UConn Center for Land Use Education and Research(CLEAR) provides information, education and assistanceto land use decision makers, in support of balancinggrowth and natural resource protection. CLEAR is a part-nership of the Dept. of Extension and the Dept. ofNatural Resources and the Environment at the Collegeof Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, and theConnecticut Sea Grant College Program. Support forCLEAR comes from UConn and from state and federalgrants.
© 2014 University of Connecticut. The University ofConnecticut supports all state and federal laws thatpromote equal opportunity and prohibit discrimination.11-14 200
CLEAR Newsletter, Fall 2014
Page 4
ResearchCLEAR’s Land Cover DataFuels Better CarbonAccounting
In This Issue
Contact CLEAR | Phone: 860-345-4511 | Email: [email protected] | Website: clear.uconn.edu
Climate Adaptation Academy Takes Connecticutby Storm
Participants of a climate change workshop tour a Connecticut beach effected by Storm Sandy.
Outreach continued...
UConn’s ClimateAdaptation Academy isdedicated to facilitating this critical process.
The Climate AdaptationAcademy, a partnershipbetween Connecticut SeaGrant and CLEAR, is a sis-ter program of CLEAR’shighly successful Land UseAcademy. However, whilethe Land Use Academy isbuilt on the foundation of a regular cur-riculum, the Climate Adaptation Academyis seen as a constantly evolving discussion.Thus the Academy is designed to be acontinuous process by which the complexand emerging climate adaptation issuesfacing municipalities are identified andinnovative solutions are shared. An impor-tant component of all Academy sessionsis an opportunity for participants to sharethe challenges they face and ways they have
developed to adapt to theimpacts of climate change.
After a kick-off sessionlast spring devoted to bigpicture issues, Academy ses-sions to date have focusedon stormwater flooding andthe use of geospatial tech-nology in municipal adapta-tion planning and stormresponse. Future sessionsbeing planned will focus on
a wide range of issues, including: shoreprotection and living shorelines; climateimpacts on the real estate community;adaptation issues for businesses; legalissues; and climate impacts on the naturalenvironment. Contact Bruce Hyde [email protected] or 860-345-5229; orJuliana Barrett at [email protected] or860-405-9106. Visit the Climate AdaptationAcademy website at clear.uconn.edu/climate.
Fall 2014
CLEAR’s Land Cover Data Fuels Better Carbon Accounting continued from pg 1...
. . . continued on pg 4
Climate Adaptation Academy Takes Connecticut by Storm continued from pg 1...
The amount of carbon sequestration lost through forestconversion since 1985 now exceeds Connecticut’sannual CO2 emissions.
. . . continued on pg 4
Outreach
Research continued...
• Financial analysis showed that permanentprotection of forestland compares favor-ably to many other carbon abatementalternatives in a dollars per metric ton ofCO2 removed.
Contact Linda Powers Tomasso [email protected]. Also check out the C-sequestration webinar on CLEAR’s webinar pageclear.uconn.edu/webinars. Learn more online atcteco.uconn.edu/energy/carbon.
Hurricane Irene and Sandy left theirmark on Connecticut communities,as seen in this Connecticut coastalcommunity. Photos courtesy of theCT National Guard.
The Natural ResourcesConservation Academy(NRCA) is a programthat brings high schoolstudents from throughout
Connecticut to the UConn campus for aweek-long field experience that includesclassroom instruction, field work andteam exercises in a wide range of naturalresource topics. NRCA is a program of theUConn Department of Natural Resourcesand the Environment, one of CLEAR’sparent departments, and many of themodules are taught by CLEAR-relatedfaculty. After three successful summers,the NRCA has “graduated” 68 studentsfrom 38 towns. Students are then taskedwith going back to their communities and
working with a local group(s) to conduct aconservation project. To date, 52 suchprojects are either completed or underway.We think it’s safe to say that the NRCA isa huge success! Base funding for the NRCAcomes from a private foundation. For moreinformation, contact NRCA Coordinator LauraCisneros at [email protected], 860-486-4917, or visit the NRCA website atnrca.uconn.edu.
A partnership consisting of CLEAR’s NEMO Program,the UConn Natural Resources ConservationAcademy (article left), Michael Singer Studio andthe City of Bridgeport Office of Sustainability hasembarked on a new project focused on buildingsupport for green infrastructure in Bridgeport’sneighborhoods through implementing on-the-ground green infrastructure practices. The kick-offeffort took place on November 8th, 2014 atCentral High School, where community residents
and Central High students participated in a half-day workshop that culminated in the constructionof a 1,000 square foot rain garden at the school.More such workshops/installations are beingplanned for Spring of 2015.
For information contact Michael Dietz [email protected] or 860-345-5225.
Green Infrastructure Bridgeport Green Infrastructure Project Gets Underway
CLEAR Newsletter, Fall 2014Page 2
Page 3
Contact CLEAR | Phone: 860-345-4511 | Email: [email protected] | Website: clear.uconn.edu
Program Updates
u Education: The Natural Resources Conservation Academy, Three Years In
Two recent additions to the rankshave appeared in the hallowedhallways of CLEAR.
Andrew Kinlock is a recentgraduate of The GeorgeWashington University whocomes to the Center from aposition with the CT DEEP.Andrew is working with CaryChadwick and Emily Wilson ona project to update Connecticut’s piece of theUSGS hydrography National Hydrography Dataset,which contains detailed geospatial information onthe state’s waterways and waterbodies. The brightand shiny new NHD will be posted on the CTECO mapping website. Andrew is reportedly
already seeing squiggly blue linesin his sleep.
Manon LeFevre is a recentgraduate of Wesleyan University,and is working part-time forCLEAR on a variety of projects.After spending her first week trying(in vain) to get us to pronounceher name with the correct Frenchaccent, she has moved on to
updating the information in the Connecticut LIDAtlas, working with Dave Dickson and Mike Dietz.Manon will also be working with Juliana Barrettand Bruce Hyde on organizing upcoming ClimateAdaptation Academy programs. For additional infor-mation on CLEAR faculty and staff, visitclear.uconn.edu/staff.htm.
u People: New Faces at CLEAR
The ConnecticutElevation Viewer,which is much coolerthan it sounds, is nowup and running on the
CT ECO website (CLEAR/CT DEEP).We are going to go out on a limb and saythat the Viewer is the first web tool in thecountry that makes Lidar data visually andinteractively accessible in so many formats.Lidar, high resolution elevation data col-lected by a remote sensing technique thatuses lasers, has a wide range of uses forresearch, engineering and management(many of which no doubt have yet to bediscovered). Contact Emily Wilson at [email protected] or 860-345-5226 formore information, or visit the CT ECO website atcteco.uconn.edu.
uMapping: Not Your Grandmother’s Topo Map
(Clockwise from top left) aspect, hillshade, shaded relief, and slope maps of Sleeping Giant State Park in Hamden.Elevation (not shown) is also available on the Viewer.
68 students graduating
from the Natural Resources
Conservation Academy
38towns represented by NRCA students
52 local conservation projects completed
or underway by NRCA students
1,000 square feet of
new Central HighSchool rain garden
in Bridgeport
1,033 million metric tons ofCO2 sequestered by
Connecticut’s forestsin 2010
7 separate Lidar
datasets stitchedtogether to create the new statewide elevation viewer
7,622 individual image “tiles”
making up the stateLidar data layer
1 new CLEAR offspring.Welcome Sullivan, son
of Cary Chadwick &husband James
By the Numbers
Students, community members and the project team install a large rain garden. The garden will treat runoff from a large portion (5,500square feet) of Central High’s back driveway and service area.
(Top) Members of the NRCA Water Team, the WaterWarriors, refurbish a rain garden on campus under thetutelage of CLEAR's Mike Dietz (not shown).
(Bottom) Emily Wilson of CLEAR (standing) helps stu-dents get their geospatial bearings on the first day ofNRCA, July 2014.
The Natural ResourcesConservation Academy(NRCA) is a programthat brings high schoolstudents from throughout
Connecticut to the UConn campus for aweek-long field experience that includesclassroom instruction, field work andteam exercises in a wide range of naturalresource topics. NRCA is a program of theUConn Department of Natural Resourcesand the Environment, one of CLEAR’sparent departments, and many of themodules are taught by CLEAR-relatedfaculty. After three successful summers,the NRCA has “graduated” 68 studentsfrom 38 towns. Students are then taskedwith going back to their communities and
working with a local group(s) to conduct aconservation project. To date, 52 suchprojects are either completed or underway.We think it’s safe to say that the NRCA isa huge success! Base funding for the NRCAcomes from a private foundation. For moreinformation, contact NRCA Coordinator LauraCisneros at [email protected], 860-486-4917, or visit the NRCA website atnrca.uconn.edu.
A partnership consisting of CLEAR’s NEMO Program,the UConn Natural Resources ConservationAcademy (article left), Michael Singer Studio andthe City of Bridgeport Office of Sustainability hasembarked on a new project focused on buildingsupport for green infrastructure in Bridgeport’sneighborhoods through implementing on-the-ground green infrastructure practices. The kick-offeffort took place on November 8th, 2014 atCentral High School, where community residents
and Central High students participated in a half-day workshop that culminated in the constructionof a 1,000 square foot rain garden at the school.More such workshops/installations are beingplanned for Spring of 2015.
For information contact Michael Dietz [email protected] or 860-345-5225.
Green Infrastructure Bridgeport Green Infrastructure Project Gets Underway
CLEAR Newsletter, Fall 2014Page 2
Page 3
Contact CLEAR | Phone: 860-345-4511 | Email: [email protected] | Website: clear.uconn.edu
Program Updates
u Education: The Natural Resources Conservation Academy, Three Years In
Two recent additions to the rankshave appeared in the hallowedhallways of CLEAR.
Andrew Kinlock is a recentgraduate of The GeorgeWashington University whocomes to the Center from aposition with the CT DEEP.Andrew is working with CaryChadwick and Emily Wilson ona project to update Connecticut’s piece of theUSGS hydrography National Hydrography Dataset,which contains detailed geospatial information onthe state’s waterways and waterbodies. The brightand shiny new NHD will be posted on the CTECO mapping website. Andrew is reportedly
already seeing squiggly blue linesin his sleep.
Manon Lefevre is a recentgraduate of Wesleyan University,and is working part-time forCLEAR on a variety of projects.After spending her first week trying(in vain) to get us to pronounceher name with the correct Frenchaccent, she has moved on to
updating the information in the Connecticut LIDAtlas, working with Dave Dickson and Mike Dietz.Manon will also be working with Juliana Barrettand Bruce Hyde on organizing upcoming ClimateAdaptation Academy programs. For additionalinformation on CLEAR faculty and staff, visitclear.uconn.edu/staff.htm.
u People: New Faces at CLEAR
The ConnecticutElevation Viewer,which is much coolerthan it sounds, is nowup and running on the
CT ECO website (CLEAR/CT DEEP).We are going to go out on a limb and saythat the Viewer is the first web tool in thecountry that makes Lidar data visually andinteractively accessible in so many formats.Lidar, high resolution elevation data col-lected by a remote sensing technique thatuses lasers, has a wide range of uses forresearch, engineering and management(many of which no doubt have yet to bediscovered). Contact Emily Wilson at [email protected] or 860-345-5226 formore information, or visit the CT ECO website atcteco.uconn.edu.
u Mapping: Not Your Grandmother’s Topo Map
(Clockwise from top left) aspect, hillshade, shaded relief, and slope maps of Sleeping Giant State Park in Hamden.Elevation (not shown) is also available on the Viewer.
68 students graduating
from the Natural Resources
Conservation Academy
38towns represented by NRCA students
52 local conservation projects completed or underway by NRCA students
1,000 square feet of new Central HighSchool rain garden in Bridgeport
1,033 million metric tons ofCO2 sequestered byConnecticut’s forests
in 2010
7 separate Lidardatasets stitchedtogether to create the new statewide elevation viewer
7,622 individual image “tiles”making up the stateLidar data layer
1 new CLEAR offspring.Welcome Sullivan, sonof Cary Chadwick &husband James
By the Numbers
Students, community members and the project team install a large rain garden. The garden will treat runoff from a large portion (5,500square feet) of Central High’s back driveway and service area.
(Top) Members of the NRCA Water Team, the WaterWarriors, refurbish a rain garden on campus under thetutelage of CLEAR's Mike Dietz (not shown).
(Bottom) Emily Wilson of CLEAR (standing) helps stu-dents get their geospatial bearings on the first day ofNRCA, July 2014.
the problem of carbon sink accounting inher graduate thesis research at Harvardusing CLEAR’s twenty-five years of satellitederived land cover data. The study providescompelling, quantitative evidence of theimportant role that our state’s forestlandsplay in the climate change arena. Usingthese data and financial records, she alsolooked at four open space preserves inFarmington, Connecticut to measure thecost-effectiveness of forest preservationas a carbon abatement tool. Here are justsome of her major findings and conclusions:• Lost forest cover from the 25 years
(1985 to 2010) would today yield 54 mil-
lion metric tons of CO2 (MMTCO2) inannual carbon capture.
• The ratio of lost forestland to lost carbonsequestration was estimated to be 4.6. Inother words, the 3.8% of the state’sacreage converted from forest to devel-opment during the 25-year study periodreduced levels of carbon sequestrationby an estimated 17.68%.
• Since about 2002, the amount of carbonsequestration lost through forest conver-sion has cumulatively totaled more thanConnecticut’s annual CO2 emissions(graph).
By Linda Powers Tomasso, Center for Healthand the Global Environment, Harvard Schoolof Public HealthGreenhouse gas (GHG) inventories estimatelevels of emissions that are scientificallyunderstood as the human-induced basisfor climate change. GHG inventoriesresemble balance sheets indicating bothemissions sources and carbon “sinks” thatremove atmospheric CO2 via long-termcarbon storage in vegetation cover, soils,and forests. Like all New England states,Connecticut over the past decades hasseen a loss of its beneficial carbon sinksdue to land converted from forested andvegetated landscapes to areas of develop-ment, complicating state efforts to bufferits contribution to climate change.
To date, carbon sinks have been omittedfrom GHG inventories due to insufficientaccounting methods, leading to an under-valuation of Connecticut’s forests andopen spaces as agents of regional climatestabilization. That situation, however, ischanging. Linda Powers Tomasso explored
By Bruce Hyde, Land Use ExtensionEducatorDamage to the built and natural environ-ment caused by recent storm events hasraised our collective awareness of theimpacts of climate change and the need toadapt as sea levels rise and storm surgelevels increase. While the impacts ofTropical Storm Irene and SuperstormSandy grab the headlines with dramaticpictures of flooding, collapsed houses and
eroded shorelines, there are many complexand equally important climate related issuesthat will challenge both coastal and inlandcommunities in the next several decades.Identifying these issues in the near term willhelp advance the effort to fully determinethe magnitude of each, and begin todevelop an adaptive response. This will bea long-term process that requires partici-pation of a wide range of individuals,institutions and governmental agencies.
Contact CLEAR at: UConn, CES, 1066 SaybrookRoad, P.O. Box 70, Haddam, CT 06438 • Phone:(860) 345-4511 • Email: [email protected] • Web: clear.uconn.edu • Editor: Chet Arnold • Designer: Kara Bonsack
The UConn Center for Land Use Education and Research(CLEAR) provides information, education and assistanceto land use decision makers, in support of balancinggrowth and natural resource protection. CLEAR is a part-nership of the Dept. of Extension and the Dept. ofNatural Resources and the Environment at the Collegeof Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, and theConnecticut Sea Grant College Program. Support forCLEAR comes from UConn and from state and federalgrants.
© 2014 University of Connecticut. The University ofConnecticut supports all state and federal laws thatpromote equal opportunity and prohibit discrimination.11-14 200
CLEAR Newsletter, Fall 2014
Page 4
ResearchCLEAR’s Land Cover DataFuels Better CarbonAccounting
In This Issue
Contact CLEAR | Phone: 860-345-4511 | Email: [email protected] | Website: clear.uconn.edu
Climate Adaptation Academy Takes Connecticutby Storm
Participants of a climate change workshop tour a Connecticut beach effected by Storm Sandy.
Outreach continued...
UConn’s ClimateAdaptation Academy isdedicated to facilitating this critical process.
The Climate AdaptationAcademy, a partnershipbetween Connecticut SeaGrant and CLEAR, is a sis-ter program of CLEAR’shighly successful Land UseAcademy. However, whilethe Land Use Academy isbuilt on the foundation of a regular cur-riculum, the Climate Adaptation Academyis seen as a constantly evolving discussion.Thus the Academy is designed to be acontinuous process by which the complexand emerging climate adaptation issuesfacing municipalities are identified andinnovative solutions are shared. An impor-tant component of all Academy sessionsis an opportunity for participants to sharethe challenges they face and ways they have
developed to adapt to theimpacts of climate change.
After a kick-off sessionlast spring devoted to bigpicture issues, Academy ses-sions to date have focusedon stormwater flooding andthe use of geospatial tech-nology in municipal adapta-tion planning and stormresponse. Future sessionsbeing planned will focus on
a wide range of issues, including: shoreprotection and living shorelines; climateimpacts on the real estate community;adaptation issues for businesses; legalissues; and climate impacts on the naturalenvironment. Contact Bruce Hyde [email protected] or 860-345-5229; orJuliana Barrett at [email protected] or860-405-9106. Visit the Climate AdaptationAcademy website at clear.uconn.edu/climate.
Fall 2014
CLEAR’s Land Cover Data Fuels Better Carbon Accounting continued from pg 1...
. . . continued on pg 4
Climate Adaptation Academy Takes Connecticut by Storm continued from pg 1...
The amount of carbon sequestration lost through forestconversion since 1985 now exceeds Connecticut’sannual CO2 emissions.
. . . continued on pg 4
Outreach
Research continued...
• Financial analysis showed that permanentprotection of forestland compares favor-ably to many other carbon abatementalternatives in a dollars per metric ton ofCO2 removed.
Contact Linda Powers Tomasso [email protected]. Also check out the C-sequestration webinar on CLEAR’s webinar pageclear.uconn.edu/webinars. Learn more online atcteco.uconn.edu/energy/carbon.
Hurricane Irene and Sandy left theirmark on Connecticut communities,as seen in this Connecticut coastalcommunity. Photos courtesy of theCT National Guard.
