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Detailed in Virginia's 2025 Common Agenda are three key opportunities for lawmakers to continue progress on flood resilience initiatives.    The post Ahead of the 2025 General Assembly, here are 3 ways to build flood resilience in Virginia first appeared on Growing Returns.

These devastating disasters underscore the need and urgency to build resilience and ensure preparedness ahead of future storms. Florida leaders have made great progress this year to better protect residents, but there is still a lot of work to be done. Let’s look back at Florida’s 2024 progress and consider new initiatives to prepare for the next storm.  The post How Florida built resilience this hurricane season and what can be done to prepare for future storms first appeared on Growing Returns.

The Circuit Court of Floyd County ruled that the Youngkin administration acted unlawfully in its decision to withdraw Virginia from RGGI.

As the United Nations biodiversity summit, COP16, approaches, Environmental Defense Fund's Amanda Leland explains three vital steps to protecting nature while also helping the world tackle climate change.

New peer-reviewed analysis by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), published by Science, reveals that millions of acres of critical wetland habitat have lost vital protections in the wake of a 2023 Supreme Court of the United States majority opinion (Sackett v EPA) that drastically narrowed the scope of wetlands protected under the Clean Water Act.

Today a coalition including a local business and three conservation groups filed motion to intervene as defendants in Jurisich Oysters, LLC v. USACE to ensure the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project moves forward to provide critical community protection and vital ecosystem benefits.

Voluntary home buyouts,can facilitate the relocation of residents out of increasingly flood-prone communities. But unfortunately, existing federal programs are slow and require local governments to meet complex and challenging guidelines. Innovative approaches are needed to make buyouts more efficient. Here are three strategies that can help. The post Three ways to make home buyouts more efficient first appeared on Growing Returns.

EDF statement of Rachel Rhode, Manager, Climate Resilient Coasts and Watersheds, Florida

One year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision that significantly reduced federal wetlands protections, leaving America’s wetlands at greater risk of development and degradation. The case of Sackett v. EPA was decided 9-0 in favor of the Sacketts, a couple from Idaho that filled in wetlands to build on their property near Priest …

EDF statement of Emily Steinhilber, Director, Climate Resilient Coasts and Watersheds, Virginia

EDF Statement of Emily Steinhilber, Director, Climate Resilient Coasts and Watersheds, Virginia, Environmental Defense Fund

In 2023, a Supreme Court ruling (Sackett v EPA) quietly and significantly put our Nation’s wetlands at risk by drastically narrowing the scope of wetlands protected under the Clean Water Act. An analysis from EDF sheds light on potential impacts.

New report from EDF and RPA provides a set of indicators and metrics that can be used to measure a community’s resilience across a specific geography.

Co-authored by: Anushi Garg and Ravena Pernanand Anushi is the senior analyst for Environmental Defense Fund’s Climate Resilient Coasts & Watersheds program in New York-New Jersey. Ravena is a research analyst at Regional Plan Association. Across the globe, we are experiencing detrimental impacts from climate change, with low-wealth communities and communities of color hit the …

By Christopher Cusack (EDF) and Cooper Van Vranken (Ocean Data Network) In the early hours of October 25, 2023, Hurricane Otis made landfall near Acapulco, Mexico, with peak winds of 165 mph wreaking havoc on communities in its path. Normally, people would have had a chance to prepare but just the day before, the consensus …

By: Rachel Rhode, Manager, Climate Resilient Coasts and Watersheds and Eve Cooke, Fellow, Climate Resilient Coasts and Watersheds Buying a home is often one of the biggest financial decisions individuals and families will ever make. More than one-third of Florida properties are at risk of severe flooding in the next 30 years, and despite these …

Following the Sackett v. EPA Supreme Court decision in May 2023, millions of acres of wetlands across the U.S. lost critical federal protections they once had under the Clean Water Act The post Our Nation’s wetlands are at risk. So is our ability to manage flooding. first appeared on Growing Returns.

Wetlands are a vital part of our ecosystem. They provide critical flood protection, helping safeguard against damage from hurricanes. But they are in danger and need our help.

North Carolina's Flood Resiliency Blueprint is a big step forward, resulting in a massive statewide effort dedicated to building resilient communities equipped to reduce and manage flood risk and vulnerabilities.  The post Advancing North Carolina’s Flood Resiliency Blueprint to combat growing storm risks first appeared on Growing Returns.

Statement by Kate Boicourt, Director, Climate Resilient Coasts & Watersheds, New York-New Jersey, Environmental Defense Fund

Statement by Emily Steinhilber, Director, Climate Resilient Coasts and Watersheds Virginia, Environmental Defense Fund

RISDoC participants are building a more resilient future in Cuba. Check out a few of their key priorities in this blog post. The post Sharing innovative solutions to build climate resilience in Cuban coastal communities first appeared on Growing Returns.

Today, a broad group of environmental, civic, and environmental justice organizations celebrate New York State’s action requiring the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to better protect communities and the region from damaging and frequent flooding harms. In response to demands from the public as well as state and federal elected officials, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) last week sent a letter to overhaul the $52.6 billion storm surge protection plan proposed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). The State’s letter triggers a required process in federal law for the Corps to holistically study and provide solutions to address frequent tidal and river flooding, heavy rainfall, groundwater emergence, erosion, sea level rise, and storm surge as a part of the Corps’ New York- New Jersey Harbor and Tributaries Study. The state’s letter joins concerns raised by a group of 14 bipartisan Members of Congress and 38 New York State legislators.

Increasingly intense and more frequent severe weather events are impacting our marshlands, wetlands, and sounds, which in turn directly - and adversely - affects our coastal communities and our hunting, fishing and outdoor recreational history and traditions. The post North Carolina’s coastal wetlands and marshlands are a critical lifeforce for hunters and anglers first appeared on Growing Returns.

Mangroves are important for some communities in Ecuador who rely on the crabs that live among the roots to sustain their livelihoods, but the coastal wetland forests are also an important part in fighting climate change.