Cost-Efficient Climate Change Adaptation in the North Atlantic Report

December 5, 2014

Maine Sea Grant

This report from a year-long study from Sea Grant and the NOAA North Atlantic Regional Team (NART) identifies some best practices that communities can use locally for adapting to climate change. “Cost-Efficient Climate Change Adaptation in the North Atlantic” is a compilation of best practices shared by 34 towns and cities (ME to VA) willing to share the steps that they have taken towards successful adaptation. The report also contains an interactive map.

Systematic incorporation of climate change concerns into formal community planning, management, and infrastructure design is in a nascent stage. Yet innovative climate change and flood management practices are being implemented in every state in the region (North Atlantic U.S.A, Virginia to Maine), and in diverse municipalities with varying demographic and geographic characteristics. The devastation wrought by Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Irene indicate that communities are still highly vulnerable to coastal hazards and flooding, yet the storms have also created a potential watershed moment regarding willingness to adopt innovative adaptations.
This study was undertaken to raise awareness of the best practices in leading North Atlantic communities. We hope that the results will inspire discussion and action in communities that are now considering how to better protect themselves. This project was sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration North Atlantic Regional Team and Sea Grant.

Four people install substrate for an oyster reef.

Alaska

Biden-Harris Administration invests $60 million to build a climate-ready workforce through Investing in America agenda

Today, the Department of Commerce and NOAA announced $60 million in funding to help train and place people in jobs that advance a climate-ready workforce for coastal and Great Lakes states, Tribes and Territories as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda under the Inflation Reduction Act. To date, awards like these from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda have created more than 270,000 jobs across the country.

The funding will support nine projects around the nation, with $50 million going directly to the projects and $10 million for technical assistance to support the grantees.

Sea Grant Aquaculture Academy in New Hampshire

Sea Grant aquaculture professionals from across the country convened in Portsmouth, NH in early April for a 4-day intensive “Sea Grant Aquaculture Academy” hosted by New Hampshire Sea Grant with support from North Carolina Sea Grant.

Sea Grant takes center stage in Oceanography special issue

NOAA Sea Grant-funded research and work with coastal and Great Lakes communities across the nation are being highlighted in a special issue of “Oceanography,” the official journal of The Oceanography Society.

This special issue, published in April 2024, features 36 articles contributed by Sea Grant authors across 29 programs and the NOAA National Sea Grant Office.