41N Article- Oakland Beach-Building a New Reputation

Photo: Michael Cevoli
Photo: Michael Cevoli

Great climate change article featuring our own Pam Rubinoff and the work that she and Teresa Crean are doing in Warwick’s Oakland Beach! Excerpted from Forty-One Degrees North Magazine, a publication of Rhode Island Sea Grant & The Coastal Institute at the University of Rhode Island. Written by Jerry O’Brien, Photographs by Michael Cevoli.

Oakland Beach-Building a New Reputation

 

Registration for FORTIFIED-Wise Training Ends May 3

fortifiedtrainingHeard about FORTIFIED homes in the Providence Journal or on RI Public Radio and how they can help your clients and communities be more resilient? You too can become FORTIFIED Wise. A training session on May 10 will provide participants with a solid understanding of the FORTIFIED Home building principles, construction practices and verification requirements. The FORTIFIED-Wise accreditation is ideal for anyone who wants to learn more about FORTIFIED Home and its sponsor, the non-profit Insurance Institute for Building and Home Safety (IBHS), whether they are new to the program or not,”including architects, engineers, builders, contractors, insurance professionals, product manufacturers, building officials, students and real estate professionals.

To register, go to fortified.archtest.com

The FORTIFIED-Wise course is approved for International Code Council Education Units (CEUs) and American Institute of Architects CES.

Climate Change Expert to Speak at Beach SAMP Meeting May 3

Dr. Michael Oppenheimer, a longtime participant in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, will share his insights on emerging climate science and trends at the next Beach SAMP stakeholder meeting, Tuesday, May 3, from 6 to 8 p.m. in Corless Auditorium on URI’s Narragansett Bay Campus.

He recently served as a  coordinating lead author of both the IPCC’s special report on extreme climate events and disasters (called SREX) and the Fifth Assessment Report. Dr. Oppenheimer has been a member of several panels of the National Academy of Sciences and is now a member of the National Academies’ Board on Energy and Environmental Studies. He is also a winner of the 2010 Heinz Award and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

His interests include science and policy of the atmosphere, particularly climate change and its impacts. Much of his research aims to understand the potential for “dangerous” outcomes of increasing levels of greenhouse gases by exploring the effects of global warming on the ice sheets and sea level, on the risk from coastal storms and on patterns of human migration.

Pizza will be served in the auditorium library at 5:30. RSVP to beachsamp@etal.uri.edu

CRC Working to Help Save Historic Structures from Rising Tides

Read the latest on how CRC’s coastal team has participated in the effort to save historic structures in Newport from flood water and sea level rise. Dawn Kotowicz, Teresa Crean and Pam Rubinoff have been working with the Newport Restoration Foundation, and the team will participate in the History Above Water conference in April.

Get Fresh Ideas on Green Infrastructure and Parking March 17

WICKFORD FLYER spring 2016-1-1On Thursday, March 17, URI Landscape Architecture students will share their vision for re-imagining waterfront parking areas in Wickford, R.I., using green and resilient infrastructure techniques to address rising seas and storm impact.

They will present their design ideas for Town Dock, Brown Street Parking Lot and an auxiliary parking site adjacent to the Wickford Village center. The program runs from 2:30-5:30 pm. at the North Kingstown Free Library, 100 Boone St., North Kingstown, R.I.

This project is supported with funding from the RI Green and Resilient Infrastructure Project, led by CRC with funding from the U.S. Department of Interior and National Fish and Wildlife Federation and the Rhode Island Sea Grant College Program.

To learn more contact CRC Coastal Manager Teresa Crean at tcrean@crc.uri.edu.
or 874-6626.

CRC’s Climate Workshop Experience Informs Journal Piece

CRC and partners led climate change workshops in Tanzania and West Africa in 2013 that took a fresh, national–or regional–approach to addressing climate change at the development planning stage. This work and the lessons learned from it are included in the article “A Perspective on Climate-Resilient Development and National Adaptation Planning Based on USAID’s Experience” recently published in the peer-reviewed journal “Climate and Development.”

CRC Leads Effort to Bring Resilience Tool to R.I. Homeowners

Tree damage to a South Kingstown, R.I., home from a “microburst” in August 2015 . (credit: Pam Rubinoff/CRC)

Thanks to the work of CRC and its colleagues at R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council, R.I. State Building Commission and R.I. Sea Grant, the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety is bringing its national Fortified Home program to Rhode Island. The building and remodel certification program requires upgraded standards to make structures more resilient to natural hazards, such as storm damage.

CRC’s Pam Rubinoff has been on the frontlines of this work, not only as a coastal management professional but as a homeowner, and she is sharing her story to help get the word out about the Fortified Home program.

The topic of designing and building coastal homes that can withstand impacts from climate change, increased storminess and sea level rise is a timely one in Rhode Island.  Learn more about a Charlestown, R.I., architectural firm’s approach to the issue.

URI Students Work on Green Infrastructure Project

Read more about CRC’s efforts to help local communities such as Warwick, RI., make science-informed choices about how best to use green infrastructure — vegetation and other natural elements — to stem flooding and erosion. URI landscape architecture students also gained experience in green infrastructure work through through this project. Read more about the Oakland Beach seawall work.

Beach SAMP Pilot Study to Use Coastal Risk Index Tool

At the recent Beach SAMP stakeholders meeting Rhode Island’s Coastal Resources Management Council introduced a pilot study that will use the GIS-based Coastal Environmental Risk Index (CERI) tool to determine risks to buildings and infrastructure from climate change and sea level rise impacts. The cities of Warwick and Charlestown were chosen as pilot sites as part of this Beach SAMP activity. Read more in this Westerly Sun article.

Beach SAMP Stakeholder Meeting is Feb. 4

The next stakeholder meeting of the R.I. Shoreline Change Special Area Management Plan (Beach SAMP) is Thursday, Feb.4, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Coastal Institute Auditorium, Narragansett Bay Campus. The meeting will serve to update the public on project activities.
Presentations include:

  1. The Beach SAMP document, Introduction chapter.
  2. Municipal outreach in Washington County – overview of worksessions completed for five towns.
  3. Shoreline erosion mapping update.
  4. STORMTOOLS update.
  5. Introduction to the Coastal Environmental Risk Index (CERI), a pilot project for 2016.

Pizza will be served at 5:30 p.m. RSVP to beachSAMP@etal.uri.edu.