In This Issue:
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News from Resilient Virginia
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National and International News
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2023 Conference: Economic Growth for Community Resilience |
Registration Opens May 3rd!
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Please join us August 1st and 2nd for our 5th statewide conference on resiliency - Economic Opportunities for Community Resilience! This year's conference will highlight how businesses and communities can work together to:
- Grow investments that support a low-carbon economy;
- Provide examples from urban and rural communities on approaches to resilience that include climate risk assessments that lead to economic, health, & equity considerations; and
- Increase resilience in the face of disruption from extreme weather disasters and on-going climate concerns that impact community health and vitality.
The conference will also address the significant catalyst, provided by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), that is bringing business and workforce development to communities while providing extensive investments in the resilience of infrastructure and clean energy systems. |
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Lynchburg Rising Project Culminates at Race and Social Justice Conference |
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For almost a year, Resilient Virginia has been part of a collaborative group engaging historically disinvested communities in Lynchburg to better understand their risks and develop community capacity to address them. Lynchburg Rising built on existing sustainability and resilience work being conducted in Lynchburg, with a focus on 4 vulnerable neighborhoods. At neighborhood meetings, the Lynchburg Rising team openly recognized the systemic inequities (such as redlining) that put the neighborhoods at higher risk of experiencing greater impacts of climate change and worked to create a safe space for community members to discuss their issues and concerns.
In addition to neighborhood meetings, Lynchburg Rising spent time reaching out to the community as a whole, educating residents about climate risks and hazards. This was done in various places around the City and helped gather information on the citizens’ attitudes toward resilience planning.
The Lynchburg Rising project concluded with the 7th Annual Race and Social Justice Conference. Resilient Virginia partnered with Many Voices One Community and the University of Lynchburg to host the conference and kicked off the conference with a Lynchburg Rising Roundtable Discussion. |
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Website Relaunch + The Resilient Virginia Resource Hub |
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We decided that our website needed a spring cleaning. We are making it easier to navigate, learn about resilience, find resources and tools, and learn more about the on-the-ground work Resilient Virginia is doing. Along with our newly cleaned and organized website, we are excited to announce the launch of the Resilient Virginia Resource Hub. With the addition of hundreds of additional resources, this will become an invaluable tool for those who are working on resilience initiatives. The Resilient Virginia Resource Hub will launch at the same time as our website relaunch. We are in the final stages of this reorganization and the new website design should be live soon. |
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Resilient Virginia Joins MARISA Year 8 Advisory Committee |
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Resilient Virginia is pleased to announce that we have joined MARISA's Year 8 Advisory Committee. As advisory committee members, we will provide detailed feedback on things the MARISA team is working on throughout the year. We are excited to help them plan and implement their important climate data and education programs. |
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Virginia Legislature Continues Clean Energy Leadership |
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The Southern Environmental Law Center has highlighted parts of Virginia's 2023 General Assembly session that had positive impacts on clean energy, including the passage of the affordable energy act; defending clean cars standards; staying in RGGI; and environmental justice.
Passage of the Affordable Energy Act: This act removed restrictions preventing the State Corporation Commission (SCC) from lowering electric utility rates when they determine customers will be overcharged.
Defending Clean Cars Standards: Seven bills that would have repealed Virginia's Clean Cars Standards were defeated.
Staying in RGGI: The one bill to pull Virginia out of RGGI was defeated. "While the law remains safe for now, RGGI remains in danger as the Air Pollution Control Board has proposed to repeal the regulation that underlies Virginia’s participation in RGGI." Environmental Justice: An effort to bring solar to low-income Virginians (SB1333) picked up momentum and passed out of the Senate but died in the House Appropriations committee. Though the bill did not ultimately pass, they will continue to fight for protections and development opportunities in environmental justice communities.
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Virginia Issues Annual Report on Chemical Releases
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According to the latest annual Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) report prepared by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), the amount of chemicals released into Virginia’s environment continues to drop. “This year, we’ve seen significant reductions of chemical releases from Virginia’s industries,” said Director Mike Rolband. “While business activity is up, our industries are focusing their efforts on recycling and reduced the amount of chemicals released into our environment. Thanks to that effort, our air, water and lands are cleaner and the quality of life for all Virginians is improved.” |
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VPM News Focal Point: Climate Change |
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Aired April 20, 2023, this episode of VPM News Focal Point focused on climate change and its impact on Virginia. Highlights included:
- A new center works closely with Virginia communities to lessen the harmful effects of climate change;
- Rising waters flood both sides of the state; and
- A church cuts its carbon footprint.
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Critical Observations Reveal Sinking Coasts
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Research and data analysis being conducted through Virginia Tech's Earth Observation and Innovation Lab has been mapping sinking land (land subsidence) around the U.S. which, when combined with other observations such as sea-level rise, can provide a more clear projection of the potential impact of floods and natural disasters during the next 100 years. One graduate student recently mapped the entire east coast to demonstrate how the inclusion of sinking land reveals many areas to be more vulnerable to floods and erosion than previously thought. His findings were published in Nature Communications.
The Lab also played a key role in recent USGS projections of future hazards on the Atlantic coast. Future coastal hazards along the U.S. Atlantic coast consists of several data sets that map future coastal flooding and erosion hazards due to sea level rise and storms for Florida, Georgia, and Virginia with a range of plausible scenarios through 2100. |
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Photo: Billy Schuerman/The Virginian-Pilot
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Natural Disasters in Virginia Increase by 140% over Past 20 Years, New Report Says
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In Virginia, 28 natural disasters occurred between 1983 and 2002. Between 2003 and 2022, that number increased to 67. According to a new report, "Severe storms are by far the most common type of natural disaster [in the US]. Over the last 20 years there have been 135 billion-dollar natural disasters caused by severe storms. That’s a 440% increase from the previous 20 years. Cyclones (hurricanes), floods and drought are the next most common natural disasters.” |
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NOAA, Communities to Map Heat Inequities in 14 States and 1 International City |
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This summer, NOAA and citizen scientists will map urban heat islands in 18 communities across the United States and 1 community in Chile. Communities chosen for the 2023 program are: Chicago, Salt Lake City, Dallas, Oklahoma City, Asheville, North Carolina; Framingham and Brockton, Massachusetts; Johnson County and Wyandotte County, Kansas (which includes the Kansas City suburbs); Wilmington, Delaware; Toledo, Ohio; Little Rock, Arkansas; Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania; Sedona, Arizona; Iowa City and Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Washington County, Oregon (outside of Portland). In addition, NOAA is working with local groups and the Pan-American Health Organization on an international heat island mapping campaign in Santiago, Chile.
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The Race to Decarbonize America Needs More Workers |
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The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) allocates $370 billion toward energy security and climate action. Based on analysis done by Energy Future Initiatives, this will create 1.5 million jobs by 2030 and according to the Solar Energy Industries Association's 2020 National Solar Jobs Census, the solar industry will need to exceed 900,000 employees by 2035 (currently expected to grow from 230,000 to 400,000 this decade) in order to reach the Biden Administration's goal of 100% clean electricity. At this time there are not enough trained electricians to meet this huge growth, however there are ways to solve this, including retraining workers, streamline the recruiting and training of workers, and preparing workers in historically marginalized communities to take advantage of this job growth opportunity.
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FACT SHEET: President Biden Signs Executive Order to Revitalize Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All |
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The Biden-Harris administration recently passed a new Executive Order, Revitalizing Our Nation's Commitment to Environmental Justice for All. This Executive Order:
- Makes clear that the pursuit of environmental justice is a duty of all executive branches and needs to be incorporated into their mission;
- Directs agencies to consider measures to address and prevent disproportionate and adverse environmental and health impacts on communities;
- Requires agencies to notify nearby communities in the event of a release of toxic substances from a federal facility and to hold a public meeting to share information on resulting health risks and necessary precautions;
- Directs agencies to actively facilitate meaningful public participation and just treatment of all people in agency decision-making;
- Directs agencies to identify and address gaps in science, data, and research related to environmental justice, to advance the analysis of cumulative impacts, and to make information on environmental and health concerns more publicly accessible to communities;
- Establishes a new Environmental Justice Subcommittee within the National Science and Technology Council, led by the Office of Science and Technology Policy;
- Adds agencies to the White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council to further a whole-of-government strategy to address current and historic environmental injustice;
- Establishes the White House Office of Environmental Justice, led by the Federal Chief Environmental Justice Officer, and tasks it with coordinating the implementation of environmental justice policy across the federal government, ensuring that federal efforts can evolve alongside our understanding of environmental justice; and
- Charges federal agencies with conducting new assessments of their environmental justice efforts and developing, implementing, and periodically updating an environmental justice strategic plan.
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EDA Announces Updates to its CEDS Content Guidelines |
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The Economic Development Administration recently announced an update to its Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) content guidelines. The newly released language includes recommendations focused on climate resilience, equity, workforce development, and broadband. “The CEDS Content Guidelines are a living template that evolves in response to the changing needs and priorities of the economy,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Y. Castillo. “The addition of the new content areas of climate resilience, equity, workforce development, and broadband are the culmination of a successful process of consultation and collaboration between EDA and its partners across government and the private sector.” |
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Climate Change and Displacement in U.S. Communities |
"Climate change poses significant threats to the physical, cultural, spiritual, social, and economic displacement of communities around the world. EcoAdapt partnered with the Strong, Prosperous, and Resilient Communities Challenge to determine if and how people working to address displacement pressures are considering climate change.
Use this guidebook to explore the survey results and learn: 1) to what degree anti-displacement practitioners are thinking about climate change in their work, 2) about emerging practices and policies that aim to reduce climate risks and displacement pressures, 3) about the needs, opportunities, and barriers in reducing those pressures, and 4) what urban communities are doing to address these challenges." |
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Building Community Resilience with Nature-Based Solutions: Strategies for Success |
"This guide gives community leaders five main strategies to carry out NBS projects:
∙ Building Strong Partnerships.
∙ Engaging the Whole Community.
∙ Matching Project Size With Desired Goals and Benefits.
∙ Maximizing Benefits.
∙ Designing for the Future.
This is not a technical guide for planning, constructing, or funding NBS. It covers the value of each strategy and suggests how to move forward with NBS projects." |
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Community Climate Outlooks Tool |
If we want our communities to prepare for whatever the future may hold, it is important that we have an idea of what we need to address. The Community Climate Outlooks tool from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (MARISA) group highlights climate change and its associated impacts for communities in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, DC. Communities can use this tool to see how shifting seasons, changing rainfall patterns, rising sea level, and changing temperature patterns will affect them and plan appropriately. |
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Funding for Economic Development |
Looking for economic development funding? Head over to the U.S. Economic Development Administration's website and see if any of their funding programs would work for you. Programs include: - American Rescue Plan
- Assistance to Coal Communities (ACC)
- Build to Scale
- Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act
- Economic Adjustment
- Economic Recovery Corps
- Equity Impact Investments
- Local Technical Assistance
- Planning
- Public Works
- Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs and Recompetes
- Research and National Technical Assistance (RNTA)
- Revolving Loan Fund (RLF)
- Scaling Pandemic Resilience Through Innovation and Technology (SPRINT) Challenge
- STEM Talent Challenge
- Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms
- University Centers
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Resilient Events Calendar |
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Thank you to our Annual Sponsors |
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