[GWSG] Coral Gables pub on slr adaptation; trees & farms in India; Sweden on track for 100% renewables in 2040

[Tilley, Al]

1.  Coral Gables, FL, has published a guide "Legal Considerations Surrounding Adaptation to the Threat of Sea Level Rise."  Some problems are specific to the region, such as dealing with Florida's current government and laws; others, such as the legal issues involved with retreat from the coast, are general to coastal areas.  While providing special detail on legal matters, the white paper is a general guide to Coral Gable's adaptation process.  The city is the only one in Florida to be part of the White House's group of five cities in the Climate Resilience Dialogues and has access to an unusual battery of support sources (page 3).  https://handouts-live.s3.amazonaws.com/57f60f318ba145c4b2f393f443f7f45c?sessionId=7370454529270339087&participantId=100020

Some things I learned from the white paper: cities have no legal duty to notify citizens of risks from sea level rise (11), but such notice may protect the city if property is taken by the city in the future (12).  Broadly, a city is not liable if it does not provide services to citizens (14)-for example road access and water drainage (15).  Still, it is prudent for a city to include in building permits notices where the area is hazardous and might be subject to cessation of services (37).  Key West is already requiring cisterns for most new residential construction (42).  Rolling conservation easements could allow coastal habitats to migrate naturally as the sea rises and obviate a city's need to acquire inundated property (51).  Transferable development rights allow a developer to sell development arrangements from one tract to another one deemed by the city to be more desirable for development (because, I guess, the original tract was at hazard) (52).  Governments might consider requiring residential property sellers to inform buyers of risks from climate change (54).  Local governments might establish sea level rise thresholds at which services would no longer be provided to designated neighborhoods (59).  A methodical and gradual retreat is preferable to a catastrophic one.  No government agency has the responsibility or the funding to organize a retreat (61).   It is not clear who would organize or fund a cleanup of those sites which would become sources of toxic pollution were they to be submerged (63).

Coral Gable's Mayor Jim Cason mentioned on a webinar that while few of his citizens had asked for adaptation planning, none had opposed it.  All of us coastal dwellers are going to be deeply engaged in the issues his study identifies.



2.  India is increasing tree cover on farms, recovering damaged land, sustaining farmers, and sequestering carbon.  https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2016/oct/29/indian-farmers-fight-against-climate-change-using-trees-as-a-weapon



3.  Sweden is on track to generate 100% of their energy renewably by 2040, replacing nuclear power with wind.  https://cleantechnica.com/2016/10/28/sweden-reach-100-renewables-2040-reuters/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IM-cleantechnica+%28CleanTechnica%29  ?

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.unf.edu/pipermail/gwsg/attachments/20161029/0837e6f5/attachment.html