Page 17 - Mapping the Nation: Taking Climate Action

A Geographic Approach to Climate Action If there is anything we've learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, it's that people and events around the world are tightly connected, and even interconnected. Climate change incidents and disruptions do not exist in a vacuum. The environmental crises come in many forms and are often linked—from declining air quality, to rising sea levels, to more extreme storms, to shifting populations, to the collapse of biodiversity. Issues in one area can quickly put a strain on another, which results in compounding impacts. Climate change resistance has become passé; action is the new corporate prescription. Business executives with the power to shift industries are staking corporate identities on strategic and operational innovations that would have been anathema five years ago. You can use GIS and location intelligence to help manage the complexity of the situation, from understanding weather trends and incidents to offering accurate predictions and assessments of future effects. GIS users are building solutions that factor in the analysis of risk to craft strategies and create targeted responses where interventions can make the most difference. Although climate change is global, climate-related events are local. GIS users across all domains are working on strategies to harden against the impacts. Local expertise is rolled into regional and even national strategies. As a result, individuals and local organizations can have an outsize impact on problems as their solutions and results become templates for others to replicate elsewhere. To help all New Mexicans prepare for uncertain climate outcomes, a team of scientists, technologists, and resource specialists launched the New Mexico Climate Risk Map. Using GIS, researchers aggregated and analyzed data to create the interactive map that allows anyone to explore the worst outcomes of rising temperatures—drought, heat, flooding, degrading air quality, and wildfire—noting where and who will face heightened risks from these hardships. Communities can use the map to visualize climate pressures and see where they will have to make hard decisions to adapt. The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore has created GeoSpace-Sea, a national marine spatial data infrastructure of Singapore's coast and coastal waters. For scientists, GeoSpace- Sea is a way to understand how the world's oceans are changing. For planners, GeoSpace-Sea is a way to anticipate these changes and make predictive analyses about how they will affect Singapore. For port officials, the higher-resolution data from the project will underpin operations, allowing them to see and consider the consequences of decisions. In Chattanooga, Tennessee, Thrive Regional Partnership unites various partners, such as government officials, private- sector leaders, and academics across northeast Alabama, northwest Georgia, and southeast Tennessee, to ensure that as the region grows in population and industry, community and natural character are preserved. The resultant map of the Cradle of Southern Appalachia displays areas of highest conservation value to focus efforts and prioritize land purchases and conservation projects. Anticipatory action is ambitious because it's a completely different way of operating that requires a shift in mindset. Acting early can be transformative, saving lives and money, but it's not how agencies and governments usually approach pending emergencies. Climate change will continue to cause unpredictable events that can inconvenience or displace populations across the nation and the world. Instead of working to fix the problems of the past, it's time to shift to preparing ourselves for the future. You can accomplish world-changing goals through a multitude of actions. In the context of climate change and sustainable practices, many organizations and leaders have used a geographic approach to make meaningful progress with strategies that can be emulated. 16