Bethany Bradley and Colleagues Call for a Renewed Focus on Climate Adaptation Science
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The U.S. is currently leaning harder into fossil fuel development and pushing to reduce or eliminate funding for climate adaptation science, even as climate-driven risks—like wildfires, floods, invasive species, and sea-level rise—threaten communities across the country. The result is a widening gap in adaptation, in which communities will struggle to implement the measures needed to cope with worsening climate impacts.
In a recent article in The Conversation, Bethany Bradley, professor of environmental conservation in the College of Natural Sciences's Department of Environmental Conservation, joined Jia Hu of the University of Arizona and Meade Krosby of the University of Washington to share “examples of the ways federally funded climate adaptation science conducted by university and federal researchers helps the nation weather the effects of climate change.” These include protecting communities against wildfire risk, maintaining shorelines and fisheries, and managing invasive species, to name a few.
The authors conclude with a call for a renewed focus on climate adaptation science:
“With climate extremes likely to increase in the coming years, losing adaptation science will leave the United States even more vulnerable to future climate hazards.”
— Bethany Bradley, Jia Hu, and Meade Krosby
Read the full article in The Conversation.