Local planning for sea level rise and climate change

CONA Sarasota forum 10.11.19 with representatives of North Port, Sarasota County, the city of Sarasota, and Longboat Key addressing adaptation and preparation for coming changes to sea level and climate.

Full video here. (A few minutes were lost due to equipment malfunction).

CONA Sarasota Resource page

l. to r. Kafi Benz, Stevie Freeman Montes, Lee Hayes Byron, Darcy Young, Molly Holland, Elizabeth Wong, Carolyn Brown, Jerry Traverso

National Audubon President Speaking in Sarasota March 12

February 15, 2018 National Audubon President  David Yarnold  to Speak  at March Meeting   “Sea Level Rise, Climate Change and Audubon’s Opportunity  for Bipartisan Leadership in Florida and Beyond” Monday, March 12, 6:30-9pm.  First Congregational Church Fellowship Hall 1031 South Euclid Avenue, Sarasota About David Yarnold: David Yarnold was the recipient of many journalism awards before becoming National Audubon president in 2010. Under his leadership, Audubon's distributed network is becoming a coordinated, collaborative force for hemispheric conservation. David's talk will include comments on the importance of green spaces like the Celery Fields in climate change. Find out more about David on Wikipedia and the National Audubon website.  Three Things to Know Did you know that 2018 is the Year of the Bird?  National Geographic and National Audubon have formed an alliance to promote the importance of the bird in our ecosystem. You can find out more on the Year of the Bird website.  Wild About Art, our SAS members art exhibition, will be on display through February at the Nature Center, 9-1, DAILY. Many are available for purchase.  Image credit:  Artist: Diane Wallace Bird Naturalists are on the boardwalks daily (8:30am – 10:30am) with binoculars and telescope. Come and learn more about birds and wildlife at the Celery Fields, boasting more than 440 acres of natural Florida habitat... Sarasota Audubon Society  www.SarasotaAudubon.org Sarasota Audubon Nature Center 999 Center Road l (941) 312-6533 Open Daily: 9am-1pm, Oct.-Jun STAY CONNECTED

Sea Level Rise: Our local concerns - CONA May 8th

Sarasota County Council of Neighborhood Associations - CONA

- monthly meeting -              Monday, May 8, 2017 at 7 p.m.      sea level rise - our local concerns -   On Monday, May 8, please join CONA for a discussion of sea level rise, its anticipated effects on our community, and local efforts to address how, as a waterfront region, we adapt. Local professionals actively working on these issues will be led by Lorrie Muldowney, a historic preservation consultant practicing out of Sarasota and a director of the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation.       David Shafer, executive director of the Science and Environmental Council, will discuss the recently launched Sarasota-Manatee Climate Council, an independent regional work group that aims to advance understandings of climate change, translate them into projects, planning, and policies that will connect agencies, organizations, and community groups in information sharing, collaboration, and action.        Jack Merriam, a natural scientist with extensive governmental experience in water management, currently a director on the boards of the Sarasota Bay Foundation and the Suncoast Waterkeeper, will discuss effects on our community. Tim Rumage, co-founder of This Spaceship Earth, co-author of the recent book bearing the same title, and the coordinator and professor of environmental studies at Ringling College of Art and Design, will round out our discussion of local efforts.        Lorrie Muldowney will end our discussion with information about efforts by local governments in Florida to address protecting historic resources and the application of community planning and building documentation tools. Q&A will follow.         See www.conasarasota.org/meetings.html for more about CONA.              social 6:30 p.m. -  meeting 7:00 p.m. at the Sarasota Garden Club neighbors helping neighbors since 1961

Panel on Florida Climate Change Feb. 11 at UU

On February 11, an expert panel will be convening at the Unitarian Church to discuss climate change and its impact on Florida.

Link to the event:   http://www.climatechange.uusarasota.org/

Telling the best stories: The Future Bristol Project

On the Sarasota 2050 Comp Plan page, Alex Coe posted a link to an interesting project a colleague of hers is working on. It sets out visually two distinct scenarios for the future of the British city of Bristol. Each scenario has benefits and perhaps some drawbacks, but very different emphases. The visual images incorporate information and even opportunities for ideas to be voted up or down:

Future Bristol Scenario X

Future Bristol Scenario Y

The key goal of the exercise is to imagine what Bristol could be like in 2050 if it managed to achieve an 80% reduction in carbon emissions. (More about that here.)

THE PROJECT

This project seeks to engage the public in what it means for Bristol to be a "low carbon city", enabling everyone to have their say and help shape the future that we want to see. The aims are to:

• Engage the public and raise awareness about what a low carbon future means
• Find out how people feel about two different potential futures, which features are desirable and which we want to avoid
• Start a public discussion about how Bristol can become a low carbon city, and gather opinions, thoughts and new ideas 

Part of the value of the exercise is how it renders the problem accessible and communicates it visually. On Future Bristol's Twitter feed one finds:

"Those who tell the best stories own the future."