Resilience Education - NY

An aerial view shows a tract of Amazon rain forest that has been cleared by loggers and farmers for agriculture near the city of Santarem, Para State, April 20, 2013. (Nacho Doce/Reuters)

CLICK HERE - STUDY - Science - Has land use pushed terrestrial biodiversity beyond the planetary boundary? A global assessment

washingtonpost.com - by Chris Mooney - July 14, 2016

In an ambitious study that represents the latest merger between big data approaches and the quest to conserve the planet, scientists have found that across a majority of the Earth’s land surface — including some of its most important types of terrain and its most populous regions — the abundance or overall number of animals and plants of different species has fallen below a “safe” level identified by biologists.

The reason is not exactly a surprise — from grasslands to tropical forests, humans are using more and more land for agriculture, to live on, to build roads and infrastructure upon. When we take over, we clear the land or otherwise convert it for our purposes.

                         (TO VIEW PHOTOS FROM THIS WORKSHOP - CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW)

On April 11, 2015 a climate change planning workshop was held for East Harlem and Central Harlem. The workshop brought local stakeholders together to develop community-based responses to climate related events including heat waves and hurricanes, among others.

The "Northern Manhattan Climate Change Resilience Project" is a collaborative planning process for ensuring that New York City's response to climate change meets the needs of low-income and other marginalized communities in Northern Manhattan and beyond. In additon to advocating for public policies that reverse the city's legacy and trajectory of socio-economic inequality, participants will work to develop systems of local cooperation that can support social resilience in the face of climate change.

(FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SEE THE LINKS BELOW)

http://climateresil-weact.nationbuilder.com/about

CLICK HERE - Newsletter - August 2014

PlaNYC is the sustainability and resiliency blueprint for New York City. Together with our collaborators – the agencies, organizations, and New Yorkers who make this plan a reality – we have made significant progress in just a few years:

• The cleanest air in 50 years
• 865,000 trees and five million square feet of reflective rooftop added to our urban landscape
• Building codes upgraded to prepare for floods, wind, and extreme weather
• 19% reduction in carbon emissions since 2005, well ahead of our goal to reach 30% reduction by 2030

A changing climate, a growing population, aging infrastructure, and an evolving economy with increasing inequality pose challenges to our city’s success and quality of life. Recognizing that we determine New York's future by how we shape our response to these challenges, PlaNYC includes actions to mitigate climate change while also preparing for the risks it presents, ensuring quality of life for generations of New Yorkers to come.

Prepared by the Homeland Security Studies and Analysis Institute (HSSAI) for the Department of Homeland Security Science & Technology Directorate, September 30, 2013
homelandsecurity.org

CLICK HERE - The Resilient Social Network: @OccupySandy #SuperstormSandy (103 page .PDF report)

Acknowledgements

The Homeland Security Studies and Analysis Institute (HSSAI) would like to acknowledge the numerous individuals from government, the private sector, the not-for-profit sector, and the Occupy Sandy volunteers who generously granted time for interviews.

Particularly, HSSAI would like to thank Dr. Michael McDonald, Megan Fliegelman, Meghan Dunn, and Jill Cornell for providing points of contact and documentation. They greatly assisted the task team in the development of its research and analysis.

HSSAI would further like to acknowledge COL Terry Ebbert, USMC (Ret.), the former director of homeland security for the City of New Orleans and currently a distinguished visiting fellow at HSSAI, for providing a critical review of this case study.