Concerned Scientists: Climate Ties U.S. Wildfires and Water Together in Many Ways

June 9, 2022 by

A provider of predictive data and analytics for climate risk and resilience is partnering with global environmental organization The Nature Conservancy to protect sensitive natural areas and provide estimates of future heat and water stresses associated with climate change in Colombia.

In announcing the project, San Mateo, California-based Jupiter said climate change poses significant challenges to the country, with some of the most severe impacts related to water availability, agriculture, human health, coastal systems, development and flooding.

According to the announcement, Jupiter’s analytics will help TNC anticipate climate risk in Colombia’s Magdalena River Basin through 2100 using climate models and peril metrics to identify vulnerable ecosystems.

“Colombia is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, with ecosystems that include rainforests, savannas, steppes, wetlands and deserts,” Rich Sorkin, CEO of Jupiter, said in a statement.

He said their plan is to l help prioritize efforts to protect the area from the worst effects of climate change.

Jupiter has been growing. The firm in 2020 raised additional capital from insurers Liberty Mutual and MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, and SYSTEMIQ, a sustainable economic systems firm. That year it also got a $1 million grant from the Moore Foundation to accelerate deployment of its FireScore Operations service, a wildfire threat and intelligence platform to make it available for public safety entities throughout California, and Jupiter announced that it had completed a $23 million Series B funding round to expand its analytics services that can provide investors and companies with detailed short and long-term weather patterns for specific locations.

Wildfire and water

The Union of Concerned Scientists recently put out a brief explaining how wildfires are water are more tied together than just the drought that currently plagues the Western U.S., where forests are now roughly 50% drier due to climate change, according to the group.

The group cites statistics from the Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity program, a multi-group government agency collaborative, showing the number of acres burned in the U.S. on average has risen from below 2 million to 5 million in the 1980s to between 5 million to 10 million in the last few years.

Climate change cannot always be blamed for reducing the amount of water an area receives, the group acknowledges.

“But it’s changing how, when, and in what form the drought-prone western United States gets its water—with profound consequences for watersheds, wildfires, and the communities downstream,” the group states.

The group explains how wildfires affect watersheds, creating runoff hazards and reducing how much water is absorbed and stored in the group—exacerbating drought conditions.

The group is calling for better forest and fire management, post-wildfire treatments, such as salvage logging and replanting, and community investments in things like heat-resistant pipes or better filtering at municipal water treatment plants to help safeguard against contamination.

“But until we tackle the root causes of climate change, the relationship between wildfire and water will only worsen,” the group states.

Hawaiian Children

A group of Hawaii children and teenagers filed a lawsuit alleging the state is violating its constitution by operating a transportation system that harms the climate and infringes upon their right to a clean and healthy environment.

The 14 youths, ages 9 to 18, argue in their lawsuit that the Hawaii Department of Transportation has consistently prioritized building highways over other types of transportation, according to an Associated Press story on Insurance Journal.

“Because of this climate pollution, children in Hawaii are experiencing grave threats to their ability to live healthful lives in the Islands now and into the future,” the lawsuit states.

One plaintiff, a 14-year-old Native Hawaiian from a family that has farmed taro for more than 10 generations, has seen extreme droughts and heavy rains caused by climate change reduce crop yields and threaten her ability to continue this cultural practice, the complaint said. Rising sea levels also threaten to put their lands underwater, the story states.

The plaintiffs want the court to declare that the state has a constitutional obligation to protect the climate for the benefit of present and future generations.

Law firms Earthjustice and Our Children’s Trust are representing the youths.

British Coastal Residents

Climate change will force some residents of British coastal communities from their homes as sea level rise eats away at shores, the head of England’s Environment Agency is warning.

This means “some of our communities cannot stay where they are,” Sir James Bevan, chief executive of the agency said.

Beban was speaking at the Flood and Coast Conference in Telford on Tuesday, and his remarks were covered in an article by Sky News this week.

“While we can come back safely and build back better after most river flooding, there is no coming back for land that coastal erosion has taken away or which a rising sea level has put permanently or frequently under water,” he stated.

He offered examples occurring now to back up is assertions: the Welsh village Fairbourne was told it will have to relocate because Gywnedd Council cannot maintain flood defenses indefinitely, agriculturally rich Fens in eastern England already lies partly below sea level due to drainage.

He said that no one should be forced from their homes against their will, but “we need to start the conversation about all this now,” Sky News reported.

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