Briefing Series: Local Resilience Efforts Across the Country

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The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to view a briefing series on climate resilience. 

How Can the Federal Government Help Prepare Local Communities for Natural Disasters?

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) held a briefing examining the recommendations of the White House State, Local and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience. The bipartisan Task Force of 26 governors, mayors, tribal leaders, and other officials spent a year compiling recommendations on how the federal government could help local communities be more resilient to climate change impacts. From an initial 500 ideas, the Task Force produced a report of 35 concrete recommendations for tools, training, funding and services the Federal Government can provide to help the nation’s communities increase their resilience. Even without taking into account the effects of climate change, making communities more resilient saves lives—and saves money in the long run.

  • Sam Ricketts, Director of Federal & Inter-State Affairs, Washington DC Office of Governor Jay Inslee (D-WA)
  • Dr. Jennifer Jurado, Director, Environmental Planning & Community Resilience, Broward County, FL
  • Carolyn Berndt, Program Director for Sustainability, Federal Advocacy, National League of Cities

 

What If the Water Can’t be Stopped? Tribal Resilience Plans in an Age of Sea Level Rise

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) held a briefing during Earth Week examining the impacts of sea level rise and oil and gas extraction on Native American communities. Across the United States, in Alaska, the Mississippi delta, the Northern Plains and the Great Lakes, land degradation presents challenges to indigenous peoples’ homes and livelihoods. As many Native American communities contemplate their potential displacement, one tribe is already preparing to move – the Isle de Jean Charles Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Indians, who make their home in southern Louisiana. Our speakers discussed the tribe’s ambitious strategy to become one of the first coastal indigenous groups to relocate as a community in modern times, and why they feel it is necessary.

  • Rebecca Marshall Ferris, Director/Producer, "Can't Stop the Water"
  • JR Naquin, Standing in for Chief Albert Naquin of the Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw, Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana
  • Bob Gough, Secretary, Intertribal Council on Utility Policy
  • Dr. Julie Maldonado, Anthropologist and climate justice expert

 

For more information, contact Dan O'Brien at [email protected] or (202) 662-1880.