As the Adirondack Park experiences unprecedented flooding, tornadoes and warmer winters, local governments are racing to repair and plan for extreme weather. To lend help, a newly formed group plans to centralize funding opportunities for infrastructure and climate mitigation. The Adirondack Climate Outreach and Resilience Network (ACORN), formed officially in May, is made up of representatives from Paul Smith’s College, The Wild Center, and the Adirondack Research Consortium.
Sunita Halasz, project coordinator for ACORN, said the group will produce a roadmap and a database with grants and other opportunities. The Adirondacks can be forgotten for project funding in the state, she said, necessitating a stronger network of help from neighbors and local organizations.
“It takes individuals caring about communities in the Adirondacks and wanting to see them thrive to really pull us all up by our shared bootstraps,” Halasz said.
Some leaves in the Adirondacks have changed from green to red, marking the beginning of fall foliage (Here’s what early fall color can mean for trees). The Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism next week will start to monitor foliage around the Adirondack Park for others to view. The organization this year will also send email updates throughout the season.
Witnessing the gradual shift into autumn is celebrated in the North Country, though one climate scientist said the trees this year could be less vibrant than normal.
A tree in my neighborhood on Aug. 29. Photo by Chloe Bennett.
Lengthening nights with cold temperatures trigger processes needed for colorful leaves. With warmer temperatures and increased rainfall, autumn shades could appear more dull, said Mike Wysocki, who recently retired as the New York state climatologist.
“They will tend to chemically change very rapidly, lose their leaves, and not have the brilliant colors that you like to see — reds and yellows,” said Wysocki. “They will be more towards the browns, and the leaves will tend to fall even before they’re able to turn.”
Still, there doesn’t seem to be a consensus on how climate change is impacting fall foliage. The contrast between night and day temperatures could be changing the colors, shortening the foliage season or delaying its start, a report from the University of Vermont states.
“Last week’s landmark ruling by South Korea’s constitutional court marked a significant victory for climate action in Asia. In a unanimous decision, it found parts of South Korea’s climate law unconstitutional for failing to protect the rights of future generations and passing an excessive burden to them.”
“In recent years, advocates have touted the carbon credit market as the best hope to address an insidious aspect of poverty: how people cook. Though health and environmental experts had long warned about the risks posed by cooking over open fire — it leads to millions of premature deaths and is responsible for 2 percent of global emissions — funding to address the problem had been meager until the past decade, when carbon credits started to take off.”
“Fossil fuel companies have embedded themselves in universities across the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and beyond,” according to the research paper published Thursday in the peer-reviewed journal WIREs Climate Change. “Archival documents show that the fossil fuel industry deliberately uses university partnerships to further its own interests.”
“From salamanders and salmon to bears and mountain lions, (David Herasimtschuk’s) images illustrate not only the beauty of the forests and their creatures but the symbiotic relationships which are vital to the forests’ health and the planet’s welfare.”
Finding the money for storm repairs
As the Adirondack Park experiences unprecedented flooding, tornadoes and warmer winters, local governments are racing to repair and plan for extreme weather. To lend help, a newly formed group plans to centralize funding opportunities for infrastructure and climate mitigation. The Adirondack Climate Outreach and Resilience Network (ACORN), formed officially in May, is made up of representatives from Paul Smith’s College, The Wild Center, and the Adirondack Research Consortium.
Sunita Halasz, project coordinator for ACORN, said the group will produce a roadmap and a database with grants and other opportunities. The Adirondacks can be forgotten for project funding in the state, she said, necessitating a stronger network of help from neighbors and local organizations.
“It takes individuals caring about communities in the Adirondacks and wanting to see them thrive to really pull us all up by our shared bootstraps,” Halasz said.
Read more here.
Watching for color
Some leaves in the Adirondacks have changed from green to red, marking the beginning of fall foliage (Here’s what early fall color can mean for trees). The Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism next week will start to monitor foliage around the Adirondack Park for others to view. The organization this year will also send email updates throughout the season.
Witnessing the gradual shift into autumn is celebrated in the North Country, though one climate scientist said the trees this year could be less vibrant than normal.
Lengthening nights with cold temperatures trigger processes needed for colorful leaves. With warmer temperatures and increased rainfall, autumn shades could appear more dull, said Mike Wysocki, who recently retired as the New York state climatologist.
“They will tend to chemically change very rapidly, lose their leaves, and not have the brilliant colors that you like to see — reds and yellows,” said Wysocki. “They will be more towards the browns, and the leaves will tend to fall even before they’re able to turn.”
Still, there doesn’t seem to be a consensus on how climate change is impacting fall foliage. The contrast between night and day temperatures could be changing the colors, shortening the foliage season or delaying its start, a report from the University of Vermont states.
Here are some stories I’m following:
‘Typhoons have prevented me going to school’: The children behind South Korea’s landmark climate win (The Guardian)
“Last week’s landmark ruling by South Korea’s constitutional court marked a significant victory for climate action in Asia. In a unanimous decision, it found parts of South Korea’s climate law unconstitutional for failing to protect the rights of future generations and passing an excessive burden to them.”
How one company’s plan to help the planet went off the rails (Washington Post)
“In recent years, advocates have touted the carbon credit market as the best hope to address an insidious aspect of poverty: how people cook. Though health and environmental experts had long warned about the risks posed by cooking over open fire — it leads to millions of premature deaths and is responsible for 2 percent of global emissions — funding to address the problem had been meager until the past decade, when carbon credits started to take off.”
Study: Colleges with fossil fuel funding can become ‘vehicle of climate obstruction’ (Floodlight)
“Fossil fuel companies have embedded themselves in universities across the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and beyond,” according to the research paper published Thursday in the peer-reviewed journal WIREs Climate Change. “Archival documents show that the fossil fuel industry deliberately uses university partnerships to further its own interests.”
A photographer captures life in America’s last remaining old-growth forests (NPR)
“From salamanders and salmon to bears and mountain lions, (David Herasimtschuk’s) images illustrate not only the beauty of the forests and their creatures but the symbiotic relationships which are vital to the forests’ health and the planet’s welfare.”
Grist 50 list: Leaders fighting climate change (Grist)
“…50 people across the U.S. who are tackling some of the most pressing problems of today in innovative and exciting ways.”