Mark Lubell, an Associate Professor at the Dept. of Environmental Science and Policy at UC Davis, is visiting Western Australia and writing on his department's blog about that country's water management lessons for California. Read his latest post: "Dispatch: Climate Adaptation in Southern California...oops...I mean Perth, Western Australia."
According to his departmental bio, Mark studies human behavior and the role of governance institutions in solving collective action problems and facilitating cooperation. His bottom line in this latest post:
Australia appears to have a far more centralized set of environmental management institutions than California, with centralization at the level of state agencies. This is a nuanced statement because in another way natural resource management is decentralized like in California--the national government gives all the responsibility to the states (for example, the states manage the national parks). But in terms of regional adaptation, the state agencies have a lot of centralized control. The chief example is the Water Corporation, which manages all of the water infrastructure and delivers water to households. The local governments don't provide the water themselves, and in fact the local governments have far less control over their resources than cities and counties in the US. So the number of actors and policy games involved with climate adaptation is smaller and more centralized in [Western Australia], which makes for an interesting comparison and possibly a better ability to actually get things done.
I wonder-- what conditions could lead to the creation of a state "Water Corporation" like this in California? Would people cede control at the prospect of trucking in bottled water in a severe drought? Adelaide, Australia, faced this prospect in 2009.
I also wonder how the Australian Water Corporation handles water rates, and if they have anything like a "universal lifeline" rate for low-income households to provide the poor access to water in a drought. It appears from the Water Corporation's website that seniors and pensioners can get "a substantial rebate or concession" on their water bills. Otherwise, it seems water users can negotiate a payment plan, but not for a reduced rate.
Some utility districts in California offer a low-income water rate, but from what I know most don't. Again, I wonder what it would take for California to mandate a water rate for the poor.
--- An aside:
The idea of a universal lifeline rate for water isn't my own idea, incidentally. The Pacific Institute's Peter Gleick, speaking at a UNESCO conference in 1998:
Water is a social good-- we all agree on that. People should pay for its use, to encourage efficiency and as a recognition of its value. But perhaps a universal 'lifeline rate' should be established, and anything above that should be priced much higher. To water a lawn, for example, should be truly expensive.
(As quoted in Water: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource by Marq De Villiers, 2001.)
Friday, February 25, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
San Luis Obispo County Climate Plan: "We've never been here before."
Only two counties in the State of California have detailed climate change adaptation plans in the works: San Luis Obispo is one. Last Thursday they held a community workshop on the plan. It is primarily a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but I know researchers focused on climate adaptation have been involved in this planning process, including one of California's leading lights on adaptation Susanne Moser.
From the article "County to Fight Against Climate Change" (David Sneed, Feb. 13, 2011, SanLuisObispo.com - The Tribune):
The county is ...one of only two in California to have had a detailed climate adaptation study done. It looked at the various impacts climate change will have on the county and how to prepare for them.
The study was headed by the Local Government Commission, an organization that advocates centralized community and economic planning based on Ahwahnee Indian principles.
“San Luis Obispo County will be setting the marker for other communities,” [Michael] Boswell [a Cal Poly city planning professor] said.
Environmentalist and government watchdog Eric Greening of Atascadero urged county planners to concentrate on reducing emissions rather than adaptation.
“We’ve got to stop being so full of ourselves,” he said. “We haven’t the faintest idea what we are going to have to do to adapt to climate change. We’ve never been here before.”
It sounds like a good reason why you should focus on BOTH adaptation and reducing emissions (and, personally, I believe reducing emissions is a long-term adaptation strategy).
The article doesn't state which is the other California state county creating a detailed adaptation plan, but here is a November 2010 list (PDF) compiled by the Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) with links to 63 different California city and county, and 36 relevant non-Californian climate planning efforts. Most of these are concerning greenhouse gas reductions, but those are the plans where you can find most U.S. adaptation efforts.
Susanne Moser is working with both Fresno and San Luis Obispo counties on their adaptation plans, so this article might be referring to Fresno as the other county with a plan.
Read more about Fresno's adaptation plan here.
Read more about the San Luis Obispo adaptation plan here.
Read more about Susanne Moser's work supporting climate adaptation in California here.
P.S. If you don't know what the Ahwahnee Principles are, you are probably not a city planner. This author incorrectly refers to them as the Ahwahnee Indian Principles. They are a modern (1991) invention of some California city planners at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite. Read more about their invention here.
The principles basically emphasize developing neighborhoods so that homes are located within walking distance of retail shops, schools, and public transit, and other social and economic efficiency principles. No "Ahwahnee Indians" were involved in the drafting of the principles, from what I can discern.
Read the “Ahwahnee Principles for Climate Change" here (PDF), published in 2008 by the Local Government Commission. Sacramento, CA.
From the article "County to Fight Against Climate Change" (David Sneed, Feb. 13, 2011, SanLuisObispo.com - The Tribune):
The county is ...one of only two in California to have had a detailed climate adaptation study done. It looked at the various impacts climate change will have on the county and how to prepare for them.
The study was headed by the Local Government Commission, an organization that advocates centralized community and economic planning based on Ahwahnee Indian principles.
“San Luis Obispo County will be setting the marker for other communities,” [Michael] Boswell [a Cal Poly city planning professor] said.
Environmentalist and government watchdog Eric Greening of Atascadero urged county planners to concentrate on reducing emissions rather than adaptation.
“We’ve got to stop being so full of ourselves,” he said. “We haven’t the faintest idea what we are going to have to do to adapt to climate change. We’ve never been here before.”
It sounds like a good reason why you should focus on BOTH adaptation and reducing emissions (and, personally, I believe reducing emissions is a long-term adaptation strategy).
The article doesn't state which is the other California state county creating a detailed adaptation plan, but here is a November 2010 list (PDF) compiled by the Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) with links to 63 different California city and county, and 36 relevant non-Californian climate planning efforts. Most of these are concerning greenhouse gas reductions, but those are the plans where you can find most U.S. adaptation efforts.
Susanne Moser is working with both Fresno and San Luis Obispo counties on their adaptation plans, so this article might be referring to Fresno as the other county with a plan.
Read more about Fresno's adaptation plan here.
Read more about the San Luis Obispo adaptation plan here.
Read more about Susanne Moser's work supporting climate adaptation in California here.
P.S. If you don't know what the Ahwahnee Principles are, you are probably not a city planner. This author incorrectly refers to them as the Ahwahnee Indian Principles. They are a modern (1991) invention of some California city planners at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite. Read more about their invention here.
The principles basically emphasize developing neighborhoods so that homes are located within walking distance of retail shops, schools, and public transit, and other social and economic efficiency principles. No "Ahwahnee Indians" were involved in the drafting of the principles, from what I can discern.
Read the “Ahwahnee Principles for Climate Change" here (PDF), published in 2008 by the Local Government Commission. Sacramento, CA.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Lessons from the Developing World Come to Chicago
This morning on NPR I heard a story about the sale of snow derivatives by the Chicago Weather Brokerage on the CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange). This is the first I've heard of what amounts to weather-indexed insurance in the U.S. It's apparently been around 2 years, and -- as of Feb. 2, 2011-- they are now selling rain derivatives. Payouts are triggered by measurements at pre-set weather stations (Chicago's O'Hare Airport; Minneapolis/St. Paul; Detroit; Boston; and New York's LaGuardia Airport and Central Park). The pay-out amount is set in advance, and depends on what kind of policy you get (i.e., betting on the snow being above average or below average). This is generally how weather-indexed insurance works.
Listen to another NPR story from "Marketplace" on snow derivatives.
Weather-indexed insurance is usually designed to issue quick, pre-set payouts in the case of severe drought using the banks where farmers already have loans. They were rolled out most systematically first in India, and then spread to Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond. It's historically a developing-world mechanism designed to quickly smooth things out for farmers who would otherwise have to sell their hard assets in the case of drought.
The benefit of weather-indexed insurance? It pays quickly-- and speed is key when you are trying to survive a total crop loss.
The drawback? The payout might not be sufficient to cover your losses. And, from the insurer's point of view, your weather-indexed policy holder might not live anywhere near the weather station being used to trigger the pay-out, so the drought might not have affected them at all, leading to overpayment.
But farmers might prefer a weather-indexed payout in any case, because the traditional claim-based insurance policy requires a time-intensive assessment process, and pay-outs might be late or gradual, requiring negotiation-- a problem, like climate change impacts, not restricted to the developing world.
Listen to another NPR story from "Marketplace" on snow derivatives.
Weather-indexed insurance is usually designed to issue quick, pre-set payouts in the case of severe drought using the banks where farmers already have loans. They were rolled out most systematically first in India, and then spread to Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond. It's historically a developing-world mechanism designed to quickly smooth things out for farmers who would otherwise have to sell their hard assets in the case of drought.
The benefit of weather-indexed insurance? It pays quickly-- and speed is key when you are trying to survive a total crop loss.
The drawback? The payout might not be sufficient to cover your losses. And, from the insurer's point of view, your weather-indexed policy holder might not live anywhere near the weather station being used to trigger the pay-out, so the drought might not have affected them at all, leading to overpayment.
But farmers might prefer a weather-indexed payout in any case, because the traditional claim-based insurance policy requires a time-intensive assessment process, and pay-outs might be late or gradual, requiring negotiation-- a problem, like climate change impacts, not restricted to the developing world.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Climate Change, Russia's Fires and the Present Uprising in Egypt
When Russia's fires last year led to the curtailing of wheat exports, it was predicted that world food prices would spike and inflame political conflict.
Climate events inflating food prices is just one example of how climate change is going to drive political conflict. Water and energy are also going to see price spikes that drive conflict.
Right now as we watch Egyptians struggle to transition from totalitarianism to democracy, remember that one of the main sparks behind this revolution was not some new societal level of enlightenment, but a new level of desperation driven by food prices.
On Feb. 3, 2011, PRI's Peter Thomson wrote about the Russia fire/ wheat scarcity/ revolution connection.
From "High food prices in Egypt and climate change":
Food price inflation in Egypt was over 20 percent last year. In particular, there’s been a big squeeze from the rising global price of wheat. New York global investment manager Vincent Truglia says depending on how you measure it, the price of wheat went up between 50 and 70 percent in 2010.
[...]
Egypt is among the world’s largest importers of wheat, and the global wheat market received a number of nasty shocks recently. The worst came last summer, when Russia was hit by an unprecedented drought and heat wave that destroyed 40 percent of its wheat harvest.
Russia abruptly banned exports, and Egypt, which had just signed a big wheat deal with Russia, was left scrambling.
The Egyptian government has tried to keep a lid on wheat prices through subsidies and rationing. But Truglia says anxiety over food prices is the key problem facing Egypt today.
And some look further up the chain of events, and trace the problem at least in part to climate change.
“I think we are seeing some of the early effects of climate change on food security,” says veteran environmental analyst Lester Brown, of the Earth Policy Institute. In particular, Brown says the heat wave that led to the collapse of Russia’s wheat harvest was no ordinary weather event.
“If someone had told me that there was likely to be a heat wave in Russia in which the average temperature would be 14 degrees Fahrenheit above the norm — that’s pushing the envelope. I mean FOUR degrees would be a lot.”
[...]
Vicken Checherian, writing for Opendemocracy.net, wrote on Jan. 26, 2011 (The Arab Crisis: Food, Energy, Water, Justice), about other nearby countries taking measures to try to prevent food price-driven revolution: "Even Saudi Arabia is taking precautions; the kingdom aims to double its wheat reserves to 1.4 million tons, enough to satisfy demand for a year." He also points out that food price-driven revolution hasn't historically led to democracy in the region:
The rise of food and energy prices sparked popular demonstrations in Algeria in 1988 and Jordan in 1989. When the authorities could not suppress the demonstrations by pure repression, and could not reduce the prices for lack of means, they chose to open up a closed political system: single-party rule was ended in Algeria in 1989, and in Jordan restrictions on the media and the work of political parties were lifted. In neither case did this political opening lead to sustainable institutions and democratisation: Algeria eventually degenerated into a fratricidal war, Jordan recalled the old habits once the wave of contestation died down.
Let's hope for a better outcome for Egypt.
Climate events inflating food prices is just one example of how climate change is going to drive political conflict. Water and energy are also going to see price spikes that drive conflict.
Right now as we watch Egyptians struggle to transition from totalitarianism to democracy, remember that one of the main sparks behind this revolution was not some new societal level of enlightenment, but a new level of desperation driven by food prices.
On Feb. 3, 2011, PRI's Peter Thomson wrote about the Russia fire/ wheat scarcity/ revolution connection.
From "High food prices in Egypt and climate change":
Food price inflation in Egypt was over 20 percent last year. In particular, there’s been a big squeeze from the rising global price of wheat. New York global investment manager Vincent Truglia says depending on how you measure it, the price of wheat went up between 50 and 70 percent in 2010.
[...]
Egypt is among the world’s largest importers of wheat, and the global wheat market received a number of nasty shocks recently. The worst came last summer, when Russia was hit by an unprecedented drought and heat wave that destroyed 40 percent of its wheat harvest.
Russia abruptly banned exports, and Egypt, which had just signed a big wheat deal with Russia, was left scrambling.
The Egyptian government has tried to keep a lid on wheat prices through subsidies and rationing. But Truglia says anxiety over food prices is the key problem facing Egypt today.
And some look further up the chain of events, and trace the problem at least in part to climate change.
“I think we are seeing some of the early effects of climate change on food security,” says veteran environmental analyst Lester Brown, of the Earth Policy Institute. In particular, Brown says the heat wave that led to the collapse of Russia’s wheat harvest was no ordinary weather event.
“If someone had told me that there was likely to be a heat wave in Russia in which the average temperature would be 14 degrees Fahrenheit above the norm — that’s pushing the envelope. I mean FOUR degrees would be a lot.”
[...]
Vicken Checherian, writing for Opendemocracy.net, wrote on Jan. 26, 2011 (The Arab Crisis: Food, Energy, Water, Justice), about other nearby countries taking measures to try to prevent food price-driven revolution: "Even Saudi Arabia is taking precautions; the kingdom aims to double its wheat reserves to 1.4 million tons, enough to satisfy demand for a year." He also points out that food price-driven revolution hasn't historically led to democracy in the region:
The rise of food and energy prices sparked popular demonstrations in Algeria in 1988 and Jordan in 1989. When the authorities could not suppress the demonstrations by pure repression, and could not reduce the prices for lack of means, they chose to open up a closed political system: single-party rule was ended in Algeria in 1989, and in Jordan restrictions on the media and the work of political parties were lifted. In neither case did this political opening lead to sustainable institutions and democratisation: Algeria eventually degenerated into a fratricidal war, Jordan recalled the old habits once the wave of contestation died down.
Let's hope for a better outcome for Egypt.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Russia Burning
Opposition Says Putin Law Cripples Russian Fire-Fighting - Reuters, Aug 3, 2010
Here's the Moscow Times article on the claim by Greenpeace Russia and other groups that the 2007 Forest Code is at fault for the summer wildfires (Aug. 3, 2010, in English, written in Russia by a local journalist)
One way a government can maladapt is to pass laws that impede climate change impact management (like fighting wildfires).
Now this wildfire is costing lives and homes, plus emitting CO2 and destroying forests which act as carbon sinks.
See video of the fires here. The article accompanying is about the destruction of a navy air base. Click on the upper left video still to see more video of the fire.
My thoughts go out to the families in Southwestern Russia.
Here's the Moscow Times article on the claim by Greenpeace Russia and other groups that the 2007 Forest Code is at fault for the summer wildfires (Aug. 3, 2010, in English, written in Russia by a local journalist)
One way a government can maladapt is to pass laws that impede climate change impact management (like fighting wildfires).
Now this wildfire is costing lives and homes, plus emitting CO2 and destroying forests which act as carbon sinks.
See video of the fires here. The article accompanying is about the destruction of a navy air base. Click on the upper left video still to see more video of the fire.
My thoughts go out to the families in Southwestern Russia.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
The Western Governors' Association: "it is the states that will be on the front lines of climate change response..."
The Western Governors' Association has officially asked the Feds to step up to the plate on supporting state-level climate change adaptation.
Read the April 28, 2010, letter from the WGA to the heads of the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Agriculture, and the Interior, signed by Governors Schwarzenegger and Richardson.
Download WGA Policy Resolution 09-2, "Supporting the Integration of Climate Change Adaptation Science in the West" (June 2009), which establishes a Climate Adaptation Work Group for the western states.
"The Work Group is currently comprised of representatives from WGA projects related to water, wildlife, forests and air."
Read the April 28, 2010, letter from the WGA to the heads of the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Agriculture, and the Interior, signed by Governors Schwarzenegger and Richardson.
Download WGA Policy Resolution 09-2, "Supporting the Integration of Climate Change Adaptation Science in the West" (June 2009), which establishes a Climate Adaptation Work Group for the western states.
"The Work Group is currently comprised of representatives from WGA projects related to water, wildlife, forests and air."
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
The policies I'm analyzing in my thesis, at this point...
At this point I'm examining and analyzing fourteen government policy documents for my thesis on climate change adaptation policies in the North Pacific.
Et voila, links (mostly to PDFs):
• Canada: From Impacts to Adaptation: Canada in a Changing Climate 2007 (2008).
- British Columbia: Preparing for Climate Change: British Columbia’s Adaptation Strategy (February 2010).
- Yukon: Yukon Government Climate Change Action Plan (February 2009).
• Japan: Wise Adaptation to Climate Change (June 2008).
• The People’s Republic of China: China’s National Climate Change Programme (June 2007).
• The Russian Federation: Climate Doctrine of the Russian Federation (December 2009).
• The United States of America: Progress Report of the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force (March 2010).
- Alaska: Alaska’s Climate Change Strategy: Addressing Impacts in Alaska (January 2010).
- California: 2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy (December 2009).
---Oakland, California: City of Oakland Draft Energy and Climate Action Plan (April 2010).
- Hawaii: A Framework for Climate Change Adaptation in Hawaii (November 2009).
- Oregon: Final Report to the Governor: A Framework for Addressing Rapid Climate Change (January 2008).
- Washington: Leading the Way on Climate Change: The Challenge of Our Time (February 2008).
---King County, Washington: King County 2009 Climate Report (February 2010).
These are all policy documents produced by advisory groups or environmental ministries/ departments, except for the Russian "Climate Doctrine," which came directly out of the office of the president, signed only by Medvedev. I'm not sure what that means, but it's not at all a bad document in terms of laying out a vision for climate change adaptation. For mitigation of climate change... now, that's another matter. Oil producing nations seem keener on adaptation than on mitigation, I'm realizing. But that's another post for another day.
Et voila, links (mostly to PDFs):
• Canada: From Impacts to Adaptation: Canada in a Changing Climate 2007 (2008).
- British Columbia: Preparing for Climate Change: British Columbia’s Adaptation Strategy (February 2010).
- Yukon: Yukon Government Climate Change Action Plan (February 2009).
• Japan: Wise Adaptation to Climate Change (June 2008).
• The People’s Republic of China: China’s National Climate Change Programme (June 2007).
• The Russian Federation: Climate Doctrine of the Russian Federation (December 2009).
• The United States of America: Progress Report of the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force (March 2010).
- Alaska: Alaska’s Climate Change Strategy: Addressing Impacts in Alaska (January 2010).
- California: 2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy (December 2009).
---Oakland, California: City of Oakland Draft Energy and Climate Action Plan (April 2010).
- Hawaii: A Framework for Climate Change Adaptation in Hawaii (November 2009).
- Oregon: Final Report to the Governor: A Framework for Addressing Rapid Climate Change (January 2008).
- Washington: Leading the Way on Climate Change: The Challenge of Our Time (February 2008).
---King County, Washington: King County 2009 Climate Report (February 2010).
These are all policy documents produced by advisory groups or environmental ministries/ departments, except for the Russian "Climate Doctrine," which came directly out of the office of the president, signed only by Medvedev. I'm not sure what that means, but it's not at all a bad document in terms of laying out a vision for climate change adaptation. For mitigation of climate change... now, that's another matter. Oil producing nations seem keener on adaptation than on mitigation, I'm realizing. But that's another post for another day.
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