2019 Coastal Annual Plan dedicates over $600 million to coastal projects across the state (BATON ROUGE, La. – May 11, 2018) Today, the Fiscal Year 2019 Coastal Annual Plan passed unanimously on the Louisiana Senate floor—its last stop during this 2018 regular session.  This plan is the annual funding vehicle that supports the implementation of the 2017 Coastal Master Plan, the 50-year vision for priority coastal restoration and risk-reduction projects to restore and protect Louisiana’s coast.  National and local conservation ...

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The post Louisiana Legislature Unanimously Approves Plan Funding Coastal Restoration & Protection appeared first on Restore the Mississippi River Delta.

A weekly round-up of what’s new in Louisiana coastal restoration   1) Bald Eagles. “It’s one of the best conservation stories of any animal that was on the endangered species list,” said Michael Seymour, non-game ornithologist for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. John Snell reports on the comeback of our national emblem in Fox 8’s report, “Bald eagles attempting to raise chicks in Louisiana succeed close to 100 percent of the time.”   2) Barrier Islands. In John ...

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The post Coastal Latest & Greatest: Bald Eagles, Barrier Islands, and a Disappearing Boot. 3 Stories You Should Read this Weekend. appeared first on Restore the Mississippi River Delta.

A weekly round-up of what’s new in Louisiana coastal restoration   1) Bald Eagles. “It’s one of the best conservation stories of any animal that was on the endangered species list,” said Michael Seymour, non-game ornithologist for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. John Snell reports on the comeback of our national emblem in Fox 8’s report, “Bald eagles attempting to raise chicks in Louisiana succeed close to 100 percent of the time.”   2) Barrier Islands. In John ...

Read The Full Story

The post Coastal Latest & Greatest: Bald Eagles, Barrier Islands, and a Disappearing Boot. 3 Stories You Should Read this Weekend. appeared first on Restore the Mississippi River Delta.

In my 20 years working with fishery stakeholders in the United States, I saw time and again that good things happen when we band together to solve difficult problems. I’m seeing it again now, in Indonesia, where I’ve been working as part of a team with local stakeholders to reshape their community fisheries. In Indonesia’s […]

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist.  Ryan O’Connell, EDF High Meadows Fellow, and Stephanie Schwarz, EDF Legal Fellow, assisted in the research informing this post. [UPDATED 5-15-18:  See clarifications and a correction added in brackets below.] As noted in a previous blog post, EDF recently filed a request for an extension of the public comment […]

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist.  Ryan O’Connell, EDF High Meadows Fellow, and Stephanie Schwarz, EDF Legal Fellow, assisted in the research informing this post. [UPDATED 5-15-18:  See clarifications and a correction added in brackets below.] As noted in a previous blog post, EDF recently filed a request for an extension of the public comment […]

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Lead Senior Scientist.  Ryan O’Connell, EDF High Meadows Fellow, and Stephanie Schwarz, EDF Legal Fellow, assisted in the research informing this post. [UPDATED 5-15-18:  See clarifications and a correction added in brackets below.] As noted in a previous blog post, EDF recently filed a request for an extension of the public comment […]

Today the Louisiana Legislature unanimously passed the FY19 Coastal Annual Plan, which will fund coastal restoration and protection projects in the state over the next fiscal year.

Agrochemical companies contributed to the demise Monarch butterflies. Now they are joining forces to save them.

Agrochemical companies contributed to the demise Monarch butterflies. Now they are joining forces to save them.

Will your property flood next year? These tech startups have answers.

For a long time, coastal resilience was about building sea walls, elevating homes and renourishing beaches to protect people and property against storm surge. Then came satellites, the cloud and a new generation of tech entrepreneurs with bold ideas for tackling a new and urgent challenge: rapidly rising sea levels and increasingly destructive storms.

By using data and technology, these trailblazers are helping us better understand risks and solutions – saving coastal communities money, resources and even lives.

Why send people into the field to monitor the functions of storm-buffering wetlands if a “neural network” can process satellite images for less money and in a fraction of the time – on a user-friendly online dashboard?

Why gamble with development in flood-prone coastal cities when there’s now a startup that can predict such risks from one block to the next, showing where it’ll flood in the next few hours or decades?

They’re turning adaptation into a high-tech affair 

What we’re getting is a new level of prediction and precision that will help people, industry, and governments make smarter decisions going forward. This new crop of entrepreneurs is lowering barriers to scientific data and technology, helping their customers monitor the effectiveness of coastal adaptation projects and to minimize risks.

It’s a new and very interesting sector of our economy emerging at just the right time.

Here are some startups and innovative projects in the coastal resilience space you’ll want to keep an eye on.

• California-based Upstream Tech uses satellite data and machine learning to show if a conservation project is delivering results. Environmental Defense Fund is exploring whether this tool can be used to validate the performance of wetland restoration in Louisiana, work that is now done by people in the field. Such independent validation is a key aspect of an environmental impact bond we’re designing; it will ultimately determine the interest rate paid to investors.
• Jupiter Intel’s models, satellite data and sensors help community planners, developers and city officials anticipate challenges such as sea level rise, erosion and impermeable pavement. The company, which has raised $10 million in venture capital funding so far, can predict flood risks down to specific properties, for the near future and years out.
• Coastal Risk Consulting is now providing Florida property owners with actionable intelligence about flood risks. The company predicts tidal flooding, storm surge and heavy rainfall events now and 30 years out, and offers guidance on how to protect properties.
• A small Virginia company, Green Stream, is specializing in low-cost flood sensor networks that use ultrasound to track water levels in real time. A dashboard that is free and open to the public shows where flooding is occurring, how deep the water is and when it recedes.

And more are on the horizon as organizations and investors are seeing the value in attracting and nurturing tech startups that help coastal communities create a more sustainable future. An annual pitch competition in New Orleans, for example, awards $10,000 in start-up funding to businesses and nonprofits with ideas for improving water management.

As we seek to build smarter and stronger coasts, look for more tech entrepreneurs like these to provide a significant lift. By democratizing data and adding emerging technology to the mix, they’re helping individuals and communities plan ahead and stay safe.

Get innovation updates

We’ll send regular updates about developments in technology, science and the environment.

Thank you for subscribing to the Climate Tech Brief.

krives May 10, 2018 - 08:15

Will your property flood next year? These tech startups have answers.

For a long time, coastal resilience was about building sea walls, elevating homes and renourishing beaches to protect people and property against storm surge. Then came satellites, the cloud and a new generation of tech entrepreneurs with bold ideas for tackling a new and urgent challenge: rapidly rising sea levels and increasingly destructive storms.

By using data and technology, these trailblazers are helping us better understand risks and solutions – saving coastal communities money, resources and even lives.

Why send people into the field to monitor the functions of storm-buffering wetlands if a “neural network” can process satellite images for less money and in a fraction of the time – on a user-friendly online dashboard?

Why gamble with development in flood-prone coastal cities when there’s now a startup that can predict such risks from one block to the next, showing where it’ll flood in the next few hours or decades?

They’re turning adaptation into a high-tech affair 

What we’re getting is a new level of prediction and precision that will help people, industry, and governments make smarter decisions going forward. This new crop of entrepreneurs is lowering barriers to scientific data and technology, helping their customers monitor the effectiveness of coastal adaptation projects and to minimize risks.

It’s a new and very interesting sector of our economy emerging at just the right time.

Here are some startups and innovative projects in the coastal resilience space you’ll want to keep an eye on.

• California-based Upstream Tech uses satellite data and machine learning to show if a conservation project is delivering results. Environmental Defense Fund is exploring whether this tool can be used to validate the performance of wetland restoration in Louisiana, work that is now done by people in the field. Such independent validation is a key aspect of an environmental impact bond we’re designing; it will ultimately determine the interest rate paid to investors.
• Jupiter Intel’s models, satellite data and sensors help community planners, developers and city officials anticipate challenges such as sea level rise, erosion and impermeable pavement. The company, which has raised $10 million in venture capital funding so far, can predict flood risks down to specific properties, for the near future and years out.
• Coastal Risk Consulting is now providing Florida property owners with actionable intelligence about flood risks. The company predicts tidal flooding, storm surge and heavy rainfall events now and 30 years out, and offers guidance on how to protect properties.
• A small Virginia company, Green Stream, is specializing in low-cost flood sensor networks that use ultrasound to track water levels in real time. A dashboard that is free and open to the public shows where flooding is occurring, how deep the water is and when it recedes.

And more are on the horizon as organizations and investors are seeing the value in attracting and nurturing tech startups that help coastal communities create a more sustainable future. An annual pitch competition in New Orleans, for example, awards $10,000 in start-up funding to businesses and nonprofits with ideas for improving water management.

As we seek to build smarter and stronger coasts, look for more tech entrepreneurs like these to provide a significant lift. By democratizing data and adding emerging technology to the mix, they’re helping individuals and communities plan ahead and stay safe.

Get innovation updates

We’ll send regular updates about developments in technology, science and the environment.

Thank you for subscribing to the Climate Tech Brief.

krives May 10, 2018 - 08:15

Hundreds of companies have committed to eliminating deforestation from their supply chains by 2020, but the political landscape and market conditions are shifting as the deadline draws nearer. Here are four emerging trends that these companies – as well as the governments and civil society organizations engaging with them to zero out deforestation – should […]

Written by Ronnie Citron-Fink

If you or someone in your family suffers from allergies, the burning, itchy eyes and runny noses could last as much as 27 days longer than in the past. Warmer, wetter winters are changing worldwide weather patterns and increasing airborne pollen levels for a longer...

EPA’s announcement that it will move forward on its proposed rule to ban the use of methylene chloride in paint and coating removal products, while encouraging, left critical details unanswered.  We look forward to EPA filling in the blanks. EDF posted a statement earlier on the announcement here.  In addition, here are five things the final […]