Originally aired September 28, 2011
Download the Infrastructure and Adaptation slides.
Around the globe, climate change impacts include changes in precipitation patterns, increased frequency of high-intensity storms and sea level rise, and can result in coastal erosion with associated damage to ports, roads, and other coastal infrastructure, flooding, and salinity intrusion into water supplies. Threats to water, energy, transportation and other infrastructure are often exacerbated by rapid urban development, population growth, and aging infrastructure.
Lynn Scarlett, Former Deputy Secretary of the Interior, and Co-Director of Resources for the Future’s Center for the Management of Ecological Wealth moderates this session, focusing on the role of adaptation to protect physical infrastructure in a changing climate. Lynn is an environmental analyst focusing on climate change adaptation, environmental risk management, green business and infrastructure, energy and water issues, landscape-scale conservation, and science and decision-making; hosting:
- Lindene Patton, Chief Climate Product Officer for Zurich Financial Services, presenting on the value of risk and adaptation in infrastructure investments.
- Paul Harrison, Senior Director for the Mississippi River at the Environmental Defense Fund talks about major river Deltas, and the difficulty of planning and economic valuation of ecosystem services.
- Kevin Shafer, Executive Director at the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD), talks about wateswater treatment, green roofs,and, increasingly, green energy.
