Climate Leadership Initiative Publications

Permanent URI for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/1794/13132

The Global Warming and Society program is focused on developing public education and communication strategies as well as promoting the Climate Change Resource Center, an initiative aimed at providing GHG quantifications for local governments and communities, municipal and regional assessments of socio-economic consequences of global warming and abrupt climate change, mitigation and adaptation policy analysis and program development and water and watershed management policy.

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Open Access
Abrupt Climate Change and the Economy: A survey with application to Oregon
(Resource Innovations, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2006) Climate Leadership Initiative; Goodstein, Eban S., 1960-; Doppelt, Bob
The general warming of the Earth that is expected over the next century will have serious economic consequences for humans and natural ecosystems across the world. The Pacific Northwest is already experiencing adverse affects and more are likely the warmer it gets. [Resource Innovations (2005)] This will be true even if warming proceeds gradually. Globally, temperatures are expected to rise between 1◦ and 5◦ c (2◦-10◦ F) over the next hundred years. [IPCC (2001)] Regional warming is expected to be 5.4 ◦ F by mid-century. [Institute of Natural Resources (2004)] To put these numbers in perspective, during the last Ice Age, global temperatures averaged 9◦ F cooler than today, so a mid-range warming will approach a swing in global temperatures of Ice Age magnitude, only in the opposite direction. In Oregon, the most visible short run impacts will be felt through loss of snowpack and dramatic reductions in summer water supply for agriculture, and municipal and in-stream uses, as well as through sea level rise, and forest impacts. [Resource Innovations (2005)] This paper sketches the possibilities for more abrupt changes in the climate system, which would have potentially catastrophic impacts for the Oregon’s economy, and evaluates insurance motives for reducing global warming emissions in the state.
Open Access
Climate change communications
(Community Planning Workshop, Community Service Center, University of Oregon, 2005-05) Potasnik, Rebeca; Almquist, Bill; Bodane, Kate; Johnson, Bethany; White, Linda; Bowles, Greg
In winter 2005, Resource Innovations initiated a project designed to identify the most effective means to communicate with local populations about climate change. The project is intended to identify speakers and messages that will resonate with Lane County residents as well as business, civic, and government leaders to help them understand what climate change is, what the impacts may be, and what can be done about it. Specifically, the project aims to identify effective language and communication styles as well as who should carry them. Resource Innovations contracted with Community Planning Workshop (CPW) at the University of Oregon to conduct four focus groups in Lane County, Oregon as part of the first phase of this project. Focus group populations included: residents of South Eugene, residents of Cottage Grove, business leaders from Eugene, and business leaders from Springfield and rural Lane County. The focus group discussions centered on four communication issues related to climate change: (1) Issue Framing; (2) Communications Channels; (3) Motivation and Behavior Modification; and (4) Local Government Roles. Focus groups were held in a casual environment, and participants were encouraged to speak their minds openly on the various issues and questions presented.
Open Access
Climate Change Preparedness of Oregon Municipal Water Providers in Snow-Transient Basins
(Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2007-11-30) Climate Leadership Initiative; Bartleson, Becca; Doppelt, Bob
In summer of 2007 the Climate Leadership Initiative (CLI) at the University of Oregon surveyed municipal water providers serving populations of over 4,500 people located within snow-transient basins in Oregon about their preparedness for the potential effects of climate change. Prior to the survey, maps were produced for CLI identifying low elevation watersheds in the state where slight temperature increases were likely to turn snow into rain, thus reducing snowpack and causing earlier snowmelt.1 Municipal water supplies in these "snow-transient basins" could experience changes to their water supply regimes if storage systems were not situated in locations capable of capturing rain runoff or if snowmelt occurring earlier in the year. The goals of the CLI survey were threefold: 1) to determine which water supply systems could potentially be at risk; 2) to determine the extent to which local providers were aware of the potential risks to their systems posed by rising temperatures; and 3) to ascertain how many providers had developed climate preparation plans or policies.
Open Access
Climate Communications and Behavior Change: A Guide for Practitioners
(2010) Climate Leadership Initiative; Pike, Cara; Doppelt, Bob; Herr, Meredith
Addressing global warming calls for changes in beliefs, assumptions and thinking about the environment, economy and our well-being. If you close your eyes and think about global warming, it is hard to picture. We can’t see carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases building up in the atmosphere. Carbon comes from endless sources, not just the obvious places that come to mind when we think about pollution such as smoke stacks. We hear the term global warming yet there are freak snowstorms and record low temperatures in places not expected. How can we get our head around a problem that we can’t see, touch or feel yet involves major risks to life on Earth as we know it?
Open Access
Climate Master Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Help People Curb Their Household Climate Impact
(2009) Climate Leadership Initiative
Global warming is the most pressing issue facing the world today. The latest report from the largest group of scientists ever to study an issue, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), states that greenhouse-gas emissions must peak by 2015 and decrease by 80 percent or more by 2050 in order to avoid dramatic temperature increases and the severe economic, social, and environmental impact that would accompany such increases. According to the IPCC, making this shift requires action within the next two to three years at all levels of society.
Open Access
Climate protection in Eugene, Springfield, and Lane County: an assessment of potential consequences, emission trends, and strategy options
(Dept. of Planning, Public Policy and Management, University of Oregon, 2005-04-15) Davis, Ethan; Bollig, Shaun R.; Vasepalli, Renuka; Sanghavi, Swati; Onsgaard, Greta; Melton, Bart; Luke, Nicole; Doppelt, Bob; LeVan, Shanda
This document is the outcome of an applied research project conducted by a graduate research seminar in global warming and abrupt climate change at the University of Oregon. The report begins by explaining global warming and abrupt climate change and the elements of local climate protection action plans. It then outlines the potential ecological and socio-economic consequences of climate change for the Northwest and Lane County, Oregon. The quantity and types of greenhouse gas emissions produced by the internal operations of the City of Eugene are then analyzed. The report closes with preliminary recommendations for ways the City of Eugene could enhance its greenhouse gas emission reduction efforts and provides examples of how other communities as well as private companies are approaching this task and the benefits they are finding from these efforts.
Open Access
The economic impacts of climate change in Oregon: a preliminary assessment
(Resource Innovations, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2005-10) University of Oregon. Institute for a Sustainable Environment. Resource Innovations
This report is based on analysis and information presented by the scientists, resource specialists, and economists that participated at the May 3, 2005, workshop as well as research from the peer-reviewed literature. It was drafted by a subcommittee of participants and circulated to other participants for review and sign-on. It was then circulated to other noted economists for their review and sign-on. Faced with the large but uncertain ecological and economic risks associated with global warming, the economists urge policymakers in the public and private sectors to take steps now to insure society against the impacts. Specifically, the economists urge that prudent steps be taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, the economists urged policymakers to plan now to adapt to ecological and economic changes driven by warming that now seem inevitable. Oregon’s leaders can respond, in part, by directing public and private investment toward economic development opportunities that reduce greenhouse gas emissions such as energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. These investments may also enhance income and job opportunities for Oregonians. Finally, the economists outline a suite of urgent priorities for future economic research including water management, sector-specific impacts, mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, risk management, and resource conflict resolution. Above all, the economists believe that Oregon’s leaders and citizens will need exceptional resourcefulness and flexibility to meet the unprecedented economic challenges posed by climate change.
Open Access
Economic Impacts Of Climate Change On Forest Resources in Oregon A Preliminary Analysis
(Resource Innovations, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2007-05) Climate Leadership Initiative; Bauman, Yoram
This report offers a preliminary assessment of the economic effects of global climate change on Oregon’s forest resources during the first half of the twenty-first century.
Open Access
The Governor’s Climate Change Integration Group Final Report to the Governor : A Framework for Addressing Rapid Climate Change
(Oregon Dept. of Energy, 2008-01) Climate Leadership Initiative; Governor’s Climate Change Integration Group (Or.)
Governor Ted Kulongoski appointed the Climate Change Integration Group (CCIG) to develop a framework for making these intelligent and well-informed choices. The Governor charged the CCIG to create a preparation and adaptation strategy for Oregon, implement and monitor mitigation measures from the 2004 Oregon Strategy for Greenhouse Gas Reductions (and devise new ones if appropriate), serve as a clearinghouse for Oregon climate change information, and explore new research possibilities related to climate change for Oregon’s universities. In this report, the CCIG proposes that Oregon takes steps toward developing a framework that will assist individuals, businesses, and governments to incorporate climate change into their planning processes.
Open Access
Impacts of Climate Change on Washington’s Economy : A Preliminary Assessment of Risks and Opportunities
(Department of Ecology and Department of Community, Trade, and Economic Development, State of Washington, 2006-11) Bauman, Yoram; Doppelt, Bob; Mazze, Sarah, 1977-; Wolf, Edward C.; Climate Leadership Initiative; Washington Economic Steering Committee
In early 2006, Washington’s Department of Community, Trade, and Economic Development and Department of Ecology commissioned the Climate Leadership Initiative (CLI) at the University of Oregon to analyze the current and likely future effects of global climate change on Washington’s economy. The assessment was launched at a symposium at SeaTac airport on May 4, 2006 at which scientists, economists, and stakeholders shared and discussed current research on the topic. With oversight from a steering committee comprising economists and scientists from Washington universities, the private sector, and government, a CLI research team spent six months evaluating research and information about the economic effects of climate change in Washington and the Pacific Northwest. The team reached three conclusions about the effects of climate change on Washington’s economy: 1. Climate change impacts are visible in Washington State and their economic effects are becoming apparent. 2. The economic effects of climate change in Washington will grow over time as temperatures and sea levels rise. 3. Although climate change will mean increasing economic effects, it also opens the door to new economic opportunities. Scientists expect the Pacific Northwest climate to warm approximately 0.5ºF every ten years over the next several decades, a rate more than three times faster than the warming experienced during the twentieth century.
Open Access
Leading By Example : Emission Reductions in Public Health Agencies
(2010-05) Climate Leadership Initiative; Oregon Coalition of Local Health Officials
Climate change poses a significant and emerging threat to public health.1 Drought, heat waves, flooding, and disease are all exacerbated by climate change. Across the globe, hundreds of thousands of deaths annually have been directly linked to a changing climate, while also indirectly affecting the health of a comparable number of people each year. In 1995, for example, a six-day heat wave in Chicago resulted in 525 heat-related fatalities, 208 deaths from health problems further complicated by heat exposure, and thousands of hospitalizations from heat-related symptoms.2 Public health agencies and organizations can play a vital role in helping to prepare the public for these kinds of impacts, as well as reducing emissions that lead to further changes in our global climate. They are particularly well equipped to serve the most vulnerable populations in our communities such as low-income families who face disproportionate impacts of climate change, while having fewer resources to respond to these changes. In addition to the physical changes that will result from a changing climate, climate change and rising energy prices also have the potential to exacerbate social and health inequities. This manual is a response to those concerns. It provides guidance on how to prioritize and implement the operational changes that allow public agencies to shrink their climate impact, and it also provides guidance about how to demonstrate a commitment to a healthy future.
Open Access
Literature review of the socioeconomic consequences of global warming and abrupt climate change in the Pacific Northwest
(Resource Innovations, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2004-02) Vasepalli, Renuka; Onsgaard, Greta; LeVan, Shanda; Doppelt, Bob
This document examines some of the major research that has been conducted on the socio-economic consequences of global warming and abrupt climate change in the Pacific Northwest. The purpose is to: 1) identify and describe the research topics, methods, and conclusions that have been developed; and 2) to identify the gaps and future research needs related to understanding the potential range of socio-economic consequences of climate change in the Pacific Northwest. A majority of scientists and leading scientific organizations believe that human generated greenhouse gas emissions have contributed to a general warming trend of the earth’s climate. The environmental consequences of global warming in the Pacific Northwest may include, among other changes, reduced snowpack and thus less runoff from snow melt and reduced spring and summer streamflows; an increase in the intensity of storms and flooding concentrated in mid-winter months, drier and hotter summers, and sea level increase. The socio-economic studies reviewed in this document seek to understand and outline a range of possible socio-economic consequences resulting from these environmental changes. The study assess the potential consequences of climate change on agriculture, forests, estuaries and tidal marshes, salmon, the ocean and coastal communities, storm water and flooding, municipal and industrial water supplies, energy supplies, recreation, flooding, landslides, and human health impacts.
Open Access
An Overview of Potential Economic Costs to New Mexico of a Business-As-Usual Approach to Climate Change
(2009-02-17) Climate Leadership Initiative; Niemi, Ernest G.; Buckley, Mark; Neculae, Cleo; Reich, Sarah
Extensive research shows that New Mexico and other western states already have experienced noticeable changes in climate and predicts that more change will occur in the future.1 Much of this change is having and will continue to have negative economic consequences. Some negative effects are readily recognized: warmer stream temperatures during summer stressing fish populations, prolonged drought destroying farmers’ crops, and rapidly growing insect populations attacking trees. In response, families, businesses, and communities are considering actions that would reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) that contribute to climate change. Amid all this activity, many have concluded that such actions should not be undertaken because their costs are too great. They reach this conclusion, however, without first seeing what the costs would be of not taking these actions and allowing climate change to continue unabated.
Open Access
An Overview of Potential Economic Costs to Oregon of a Business-As-Usual Approach to Climate Change
(2009-02-17) Climate Leadership Initiative; Niemi, Ernest G.; Buckley, Mark; Neculae, Cleo; Reich, Sarah
Extensive research shows that Oregon and other western states already have experienced noticeable changes in climate and predicts that more change will occur in the future.1 Much of this change is having and will continue to have negative economic consequences. Some negative effects are readily recognized: warmer stream temperatures during summer stressing salmon and trout populations, prolonged drought destroying farmers’ crops, and rapidly growing insect populations attacking trees. In response, families, businesses, and communities are considering actions that would reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) that contribute to climate change. Amid all this activity, many have concluded that such actions should not be undertaken because their costs are too great. They reach this conclusion, however, without first seeing what the costs would be of not taking these actions and allowing climate change to continue unabated.
Open Access
An Overview of Potential Economic Costs to Washington of a Business-As-Usual Approach to Climate Change
(2009-02-17) Climate Leadership Initiative; Niemi, Ernest G.; Buckley, Mark; Neculae, Cleo; Reich, Sarah
Extensive research shows that Washington and other western states already have experienced noticeable changes in climate and predicts that more change will occur in the future.1 Much of this change is having and will continue to have negative economic consequences. Some negative effects are readily recognized: warmer stream temperatures during summer stressing salmon and trout populations, prolonged drought destroying farmers’ crops, and rapidly growing insect populations attacking trees. In response, families, businesses, and communities are considering actions that would reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) that contribute to climate change. Amid all this activity, many have concluded that such actions should not be undertaken because their costs are too great. They reach this conclusion, however, without first seeing what the costs would be of not taking these actions and allowing climate change to continue unabated.
Open Access
Preparing for Climate Change in the Klamath Basin
(2010-03) Climate Leadership Initiative; Barr, Brian R.; Koopman, Marni E.; Williams, Cindy Deacon; Vynne, Stacy, 1979-; Hamilton, Roger; Doppelt, Bob; National Center for Conservation Science and Policy
The Klamath Basin of southern Oregon and northern California is rich in history, culture, and natural resources. This report explores how the local communities and natural resources of the Klamath Basin are expected to be affected by climate change and identifies approaches to preparing for such changes. Many of the impacts from climate change are already becoming apparent, such as an increasing average global temperature, rising sea levels, earlier snow melt, loss of snow pack, and changing precipitation patterns and storm frequency. Without severe cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions, these impacts and others will continue to accelerate and negatively affect local communities and natural resources. While efforts to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases are essential to prevent the most severe impacts, we must also take steps to prepare for the impacts of climate change already inevitable due to emissions that have previously been released.
Open Access
Preparing for Climate Change in the Upper Willamette River Basin of Western Oregon : Co-Beneficial Planning for Communities and Ecosystems
(2009-03) Climate Leadership Initiative; Doppelt, Bob; Hamilton, Roger; Deacon, Cindy; Koopman, Marni E.; Vynne, Stacy, 1979-
In the fall of 2008, the University of Oregon’s Climate Leadership Initiative (CLI) and the National Center for Conservation Science & Policy (NCCSP), in partnership with the Mapped Atmosphere-Plant-Soil-System (MAPSS) Team at the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station, initiated a project to assess the likely consequences of climate change for the Upper Willamette River Basin. The Basin is defined as the region from the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers south and east to the headwaters of the South Fork Willamette, Middle Fork Willamette, and McKenzie rivers. This report outlines a framework for climate preparation activities in the Basin, but specific details, locations and issues will need to be addressed by other groups, community leaders, and scientists.
Open Access
Projected future conditions in the Mid Willamette River Subbasin of western Oregon: Marion, Polk, Yamhill, Linn and Benton counties
(2010-02) Climate Leadership Initiative; Hamilton, Roger; Doppelt, Bob; Vynne, Stacy, 1979-
This report is intended to provide an ecological overview of the Subbasin and localized projections of the consequences of climate change in the Mid Willamette Subbasin. It is provided to support climate preparedness and adaptation, planning and policy development in the Mid Willamette. The climate change models presented in this report were mapped by scientists at the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute. The Climate Leadership Initiative at the University of Oregon helped develop this summary of the assessment.
Open Access
Q & A For Climate Skeptics: Answers to the Most Frequently Stated Concerns
(Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2006) Climate Leadership Initiative
Open Access
Ready for Change : Preparing Public Health Agencies for the Impacts of Climate Change
(2010-05) Climate Leadership Initiative; Oregon Coalition of Local Health Officials
Global climate change poses a significant and emerging threat to public health.1 Drought, heat waves, flooding, storm damage and disease are all exacerbated by climate change. Across the globe, hundreds of thousands of deaths annually have been directly linked to the changing climate. It is also indirectly affecting the health of a comparable number of people each year. With programs that reach across a variety of sectors and populations, the public health community can play a pivotal role in preparing communities to cope with the serious and urgent health consequences of climate change. For instance, increased instances of heat illness, spread of vector- and water-borne disease, and heightened mental health stresses. Public health agencies can also set an example for their community by actively reducing the greenhouse gas emissions generated by their facilities and operations that contribute to changes in the global climate. In 2008, the University of Oregon’s Climate Leadership Initiative and the Oregon Coalition of Local Health Officials surveyed Oregon public health departments on their knowledge of climate change, the impacts on public health, actions being taken to prepare for these impacts, and resource needs to take action. Many respondents expressed an interest in taking action to prepare their departments and communities for climate change, but felt they did not have the knowledge, tools, financial or staffing capacity, or organizational commitment to do so. This manual is a response to those concerns. It provides guidance on how to prioritize and implement the operational changes that allow public agencies to prepare their employees and communities for climate change. Additionally, it provides guidance about how to demonstrate and communicate a commitment to reducing risks and building resilience.