Although changes in climate are seen across the nation, planning to adapt to rising sea levels, changes in precipitation and rising temperature is occurring more and more at the state and local level. States’ long-term adaptation planning often focuses on getting needed scientific findings and statistical projections to agencies and cities.
Only 13 states have completed adaptation plans, according to the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, and another two states are in the process of completing their plans. States with completed plans are Alaska, California, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. States with plans in progress are Connecticut and Minnesota.
Whether attention goes to infrastructure change, coastal protection or human health is frequently determined by the climate effects judged most imminent, funding available outside the state budget process, politics, geography, scientific research, vulnerability assessments and cooperation among government agencies or with private industry.
While many states are still in the assessment phase, some states with similar geography and concerns are sharing resources and research and collaborating on projects, according to a recent article in the BNA Daily Environment Report. Maryland does not share the state of Washington’s worries about glacier melt, but both states are studying the effects of sea-level rise. Sea-level rise is not a concern in Indiana, but university researchers there are sharing a grant with researchers in Washington to study the effect of climate change on wheat. Other states are addressing preparations for less precipitation and ensuing drought or shifting precipitation patterns, which may change which crops are agriculturally sustainable.
The Pew Center on Global Climate Change tracks state adaptation action plans atwww.pewclimate.org/what_s_being_done/in_the_states/adaptation_map.cfm.