Climate change poses a serious threat to Florida. As Governor Charlie Crist stated recently, "I am persuaded that global climate change is one of the most important issues that we will face this century. With almost 1,200 miles of coastline and the majority of our citizens living near that coastline, Florida is more vulnerable to rising ocean levels and violent weather patterns than any other state.” Governor Crist recently signed three executive orders with goals to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions similar to the California’s landmark Global Warming Solutions Act. He also called for strategies for increasing the amount of renewable transportation fuels and for reducing the carbon content of fuels, modeled after California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard. See www.dep.state.fl.us/climatechange for more information on the Governor’s current efforts.

FAU President Frank Brogan also took leadership towards becoming a more sustainable institution by signing the University & College Presidents Climate Commitment. He has established a working committee to move forward measures that will address global warming by through improved practices relative to water and waste recycling, alternative fuel vehicles and increasing transportation options, using renewable energy sources, and retrofitting and constructing new buildings to be more energy efficient and environmentally sensitive. In addition to actively participating in FAU’s working group, CUES is working on a series of research and outreach projects that promote sustainability throughout the region, state, and nation. It is also with great sadness that we say an untimely goodbye to our cherished colleague, Nick Bollman, someone who promoted sustainable development and transportation policy at the national level.

FAU’s sustainability working committee has established a campaign entitled Mission Green to help FAU meet the Climate Commitment and to take leadership towards developing a culture of sustainability at FAU through education, operations, and community engagement. The kickoff event for the campaign was participation in the national Campus Sustainability Day on Wednesday, October 24th. The event on the Boca Raton campus included presentations, displays, posters and a national webcast all aimed at creating a sustainable future for FAU’s campus community and the world. All who are interested in participating in FAU’s sustainability efforts should contact committee co-chair Shannon Clounts at sclounts@fau.edu.

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In July, CAUPA hired its first Director of Development. Dan Morris, who was previously employed by the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration, is charged with securing financial support for CAUPA initiatives and planning College-sponsored events. Welcome Dan!

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Congratulations to Leslie Leip for being awarded the Faculty Talon Award by FAU’s Alumni Relations Department. Leslie, a member of the Public Administration faculty since1995, serves as advisor to all of the PA master’s degree students, as well as the advisor of the FAU chapter of the Pi Alpha Alpha Honor Society.

One the first CAUPA faculty members to incorporate technology into the classroom, she now teaches her courses via the Internet and uses two-way audio and video across three campuses to allow all students in her classes to have the chance to work with one another. And she consistently receives high marks from students. According to one student, “I had to work hard in all her classes, but I learned more than I could have imagined. Her devotion to the MPA program, to teaching and to her students is unmatched.” Congratulations, Leslie!

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This project is collaboration between CUES and the project funder, the National Commission on Energy Policy, a bipartisan group of top energy experts from industry, government, labor, academia, and environmental and consumer groups whose work is focused on oil security, climate change, and energy infrastructure adequacy and siting. It is funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and its partners. (see www.energycommission.org)

The project was inspired in large part by very important developments in Florida’s commitment to address climate change that have gathered significant momentum this year. In addition to the Governor’s commitment, the Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida’s 2007 report includes a recommendation that states, “Develop an initial state strategy to address climate change, which will include recommendations for priority action steps to both mitigate impacts and to plan for its potential effects, including sea level rise.” Plus, the Florida Energy Commission (FEC), a nine member panel charged with recommending to the Florida Legislature the best ways to secure Florida’s energy future, adopted a recommendation to create a Florida Climate and Energy Commission (to replace the FEC), among whose responsibilities would be “….to make recommendations to the Legislature and Executive Branch on…climate change adaptation strategies….”

The final report will present a comprehensive policy framework which – it is hoped – will assist Florida state government 1) to assess the likely impacts of climate change on its coastal regions and communities and then 2) develop and adopt policies and programs that will enable the state, its communities and its residents to adapt to and adaptively manage those impacts over the near- and long-term. We hope the critical questions raised in the report and the policy options presented for consideration will be useful to the Governor and Legislature, state agencies, and a broad array of interested parties – local governments and regional planning agencies; business, environmental and social justice organizations; the media and public affairs educators; and the general public. Because the report is among the first attempts across the country to develop such a comprehensive policy framework, we hope it will also be useful to other states and national authorities, particularly those with a particular interest in the impact of climate change on our nation’s coastal regions and communities.

This project was led by Senior Research Fellow, Nick Bollman, before his untimely death. A discussion draft of the report, authored by Nick, is available for review and comment. If you are interested in serving as a reviewer, please contact MaryBeth Burton at mburton@fau.edu or 954.762.5261.

www.sfclimatechange.com
CUES has developed and is supporting a website designed to serve as a clearinghouse for information related to climate change events, activities, and initiatives in South Florida. If you have additional articles, events or publications, please send them to MaryBeth Burton at mburton@fau.edu.

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The Florida Public Officials Design Institute at Abacoa promotes sustainability through design. On November 8th and 9th, elected officials from throughout the region will participate in the 10th Institute, a program that links volunteer design professionals with elected officials facing specific design challenges in their communities. Participants in the upcoming Institute include:

• Councilman Patrick Roff, City of Bradenton
• Commissioner Keith London, City of Hallandale Beach
• Councilmember Ken Daige, City of Vero Beach
• Vice Mayor Gail Serota, Village of Pinecrest

The two-day session will begin with teams of design experts visiting the communities for site tours by the officials and presentations by staff. Later that evening, at 7 PM on November 8th, there will be a keynote lecture by Phil Myrick of the Project for Public Spaces, at the Florida Atlantic University Jupiter Campus Auditorium, which is open to the public. This free event will begin with refreshments at 6:00 and the lecture at 7:00.

The second day of the Design Institute will consist of an all day workshop during which the design team will address the challenges of each project. Through brainstorming sessions, the team suggests ideas, develops alternative solutions and makes recommendations. For more information please visit www.floridadesigninstitute.org or contact Marie York, 561-799-8689, myork@fau.edu or Mary Beth Hartman, 561-799-8730, mhartman@fau.edu.

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Director Jim Murley and recently deceased Senior Fellow Nick Bollman have been serving on Miami-Dade County’s Climate Change Advisory Task Force (CCATF). The CCATF is comprised of seven subcommittees to make recommendations for actions that must be taken to make the community, its built environment, natural systems, its health and economy as “climate resilient” as possible. Under the leadership of former County Commissioner and now County Clerk Harvey Ruvin, Miami-Dade was at the forefront of climate change mitigation when the county adopted its Long Term Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Reduction Plan in 1993. This plan targeted four primary sectors and successfully reduced over 34 million metric tons of CO2 between 1993 and 2005. (For information on this plan, see www.miamidade.gov/derm/climate_change_urban_CO2_reduction_plan.asp) The county was recently selected to participate in a Pilot for Climate Resilient Communities, a program led by ICLEI, Local Governments for Sustainability, and funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is helping communities prepare for climate change impacts by employing adaptation strategies. Other communities that are part of this program include Keene, NH, King County, WA, Ft. Collins, CO, and Homer, AK. For more information on this program, see http://www.iclei.org/index.php?id=6687.

On a related note, a resolution to create a global warming advisory task force has been adopted by Broward County’s Water Advisory Board and will come before the Broward County Commission on November 6, 2007.

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FAU and CUES recognize the importance of the Everglades and protection of our water supply to the health of our region. CUES Director Jim Murley currently serves as designee on the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force (SFERTC) for Clarence Anthony, FAU graduate and Mayor of South Bay. The duties of the Task Force are to coordinate the development of consistent policies, strategies, plans, programs, projects, activities, and priorities addressing the restoration, preservation, and protection of the South Florida ecosystem; exchange information regarding programs, projects and activities of the agencies and entities represented on the Task Force to promote ecosystem restoration and maintenance; facilitate the resolution of interagency and intergovernmental conflicts associated with the restoration of the South Florida ecosystem among the agencies and entities represented on the Task Force; coordinate scientific and other research associated with the restoration of the South Florida ecosystem; and provide assistance and support to agencies and entities represented on the Task Force in their restoration activities. In addition, FAU Biology Associate Professor John D. Baldwin serves on the Task Force’s Science Coordination Group. For more information on this important organization, see http://www.sfrestore.org/tf/index.html.

In addition Director Murley is a member of the South Florida Water Management District’s Water Resources Advisory Commission (WRAC). The WRAC is an advisory body to the District’s Governing Board and the SFERTC, and is a forum for improving public participation and decision-making on water resource issues in south and central Florida. The Commission builds consensus in the public and private sectors regarding water resource activities impacting south Florida, including the further development and implementation of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan and Accelerate Projects, Regional Water Supply Plans, and Lake Okeechobee and Estuary Recovery; examines the effects of continued population growth, development and agriculture on south Florida's natural resources; assists in developing actions needed to restore, preserve, and protect the greater south Florida ecosystem while providing for other water-related needs of the region, including water supply and flood protection; and assists in promoting and monitoring the implementation of its recommendations to the Governing Board.

Other researchers at FAU are also working as part of the above groups and in providing research needed by the Water Management District. These include Jaap Vos, Chair of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Len Barry and Lakhdar Boukerrou of the Center for Environmental Studies.

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CUES assisted in organizing and convening the Public Orientation Meeting on October 17th of the Center of Excellence in Ocean Energy Technology (COET, http://coet.fau.edu) at FAU’s SeaTech Campus in Dania Beach. Late last year, FAU was selected by the Florida Technology, Research and Scholarship Board to receive a $5 million legislative appropriation to establish COET under the 21st Century Technology, Research and Enhancement Act.

As one of the fastest growing states, Florida’s electricity consumption is estimated to increase by nearly 30 percent over the next 10 years. In-state energy production is less than one percent of consumption, leaving the state heavily reliant upon imported energy sources. COET will address this energy crisis by looking at South Florida’s ocean currents, specifically the Gulf Stream (the most energy dense ocean current), as an abundant renewable energy supply to meet power needs. Ocean-generated electricity would have a significant economic impact for the state, creating a new industry and more than 26,500 new Florida-based jobs, changing Florida from an energy importer to a leader in energy exports.
           
“[COET] will be a synergistic partnership utilizing our combined ocean engineering expertise to foster the research, design, development, implementation, testing and commercialization of cutting-edge ocean energies that are cost-competitive with existing power technologies such as fossil-fuel-based power generation,” said Dr. Rick Driscoll, COET Director and Associate Professor in FAU’s Ocean Engineering Department. “This new industry will provide a clean, reliable, and renewable source of energy that can be used to generate electricity, unlimited hydrogen and potable water, as well as provide alternative methods for residential cooling or A/C.”

Approximately 50 participants attended the public orientation. Camille Coley, JD, FAU Assistant Vice President and COET Program Manager, convened the meeting and provided opening remarks. During his project overview, Dr. Manhar Dhanak, SeaTech Director and Ocean Engineering Department Chair, showed the Discovery’s Science Channel video, which highlighted COET and featured interviews with Dr. Driscoll and also Dr. Dhanak. A demo video animation produced by Fran McAfee of FAU’s Center for Electronic Communication was presented. Following a tour of the prototype equipment led by COET Staff, a Question & Answer session ensued, moderated by project partner Dr. Richard Dodge, Dean of the Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center and Executive Director of the National Coral Reef Institute. CUES Senior Research Associate MJ Matthews, JD, and Graduate Research Assistant Lauren Schild provided staff support, along with Laurie Bransdorf, Coordinator of Research Programs/Services at SeaTech.

In related news, Florida Governor Charlie Crist has named Ms. Coley to serve on his Action Team on Energy and Climate Change, a 21-member committee charged with developing a statewide plan on energy use and reducing effects on climate (see http://www.dep.state.fl.us/climatechange/team/default.htm). Meanwhile, Florida Senate President Ken Pruitt has appointed Dr. Driscoll to fill the Florida Energy Commission’s vacant ninth seat (see http://www.floridaenergycommission.gov).  

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CUES has recently been awarded several new contracts in their coastal program area. These include a $50,000 grant from Workforce One in Broward County to study the Marine Industry Workforce. The study will develop a regional workforce needs assessment for the tri-county area to help the marine industry expand its jobs and address its recruitment needs in the region. Dr. Lenore Alpert, Assistant Director of Research at CUES, will be Principal Investigator for this project.  Another project is a $23,000 grant from the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council to assist the Council in developing an Intracoastal Waterway Plan for Palm Beach County. M.J. Matthews, J.D., Senior Research Associate at CUES, will be Principal Investigator for this project. M.J. Matthews will also lead another project, the Keys Demographics Study, under a $15,000 contract from the Florida Department of Community Affairs.

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