The International Academy of the Digital Arts & Sciences has chosen the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit--an initiative led by NOAA's Climate Program Office--as one of five nominees for the annual Webby Awards for online excellence. We are nominated in the 'Green' category. If you're a fan of our site, please consider voting for us.
Voting is open from now until April 23. You do have to register/login, but you can use your Facebook, Google, or Twitter logins, or an email address with no additional personal info.
The Webby Awards are the Internet's most respected symbol of success (much like a Grammy or an Oscar), so it's an honor just to be nominated. Out of the millions of sites, videos, ads, and mobile apps in existence, and the tens of thousands that were submitted for consideration, only a handful of Nominees were selected by the Academy for The 19th Annual Webby Awards.
Using plain language and easy-to-use tools, the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit illustrates climate-related vulnerabilities that communities and businesses face, from national to local scales, and summarizes steps they can take to become more resilient. The site is designed to serve interested citizens, communities, businesses, resource managers, planners, and policy leaders at all levels of government.
The Toolkit was developed in 2014 by a partnership of federal agencies and organizations, hosted by NOAA’s Climate Program Office, in response to the President’s Climate Action Plan and Executive Order to help the nation prepare for climate-related changes and impacts. The impacts of climate change—including higher temperatures, heavier downpours, more frequent and intense droughts, wildfires, and floods, and sea level rise—are affecting communities, businesses, and natural resources across the nation.
Since the Toolkit's debut in November 2014, it has expanded to address a range of topics, including Human Health, Coastal Flood Risk, Food Resilience, Ecosystem Vulnerability, and Water Resource Risks.
We would appreciate your support, and hope you keep visiting us at http://toolkit.climate.gov!
Vote for the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit in the Green category.
MISSION: The Climate and Fisheries Adaptation Program (CAFA) supports targeted research to promote sustainable management, adaptation and resilience of the nation’s valuable fish stocks and fisheries-dependent communities in a changing climate. By bringing together NOAA scientists with the academic community, other federal agency scientists, non-governmental organizations and key fisheries stakeholders, CAFA addresses priority needs for information and tools identified in the 2015 NOAA Fisheries Climate Science Strategy, Fisheries Regional Action Plans, U.S. National Climate Assessment, and other sources.
ISSUE: Healthy and productive fisheries are a significant component of the U.S. economy. Commercial and recreational marine fisheries generate over $200 billion in economic activity and support more than 1.8 million jobs annually. (FEUS 2016) Reliant and sustainable fisheries also support working waterfronts and coastal communities, provide opportunities for commerce, are tied to rich cultures, and help meet the growing demand for seafood across the U.S. and the world.
Climate variability and change are having increasing impacts on fish stocks, fisheries, and marine ecosystems in the U.S., and the impacts are expected to significantly increase with continued climate change. The changing climate and ocean conditions (e.g. warming oceans, extreme events, changing currents and stratification, coastal precipitation, coastal inundation, etc.) directly and indirectly affect marine ecosystems including the abundance, distribution, and productivity of fish stocks that support economically important fisheries. Sustainable fisheries management requires an improved understanding of how climate, fishing, and other stressors interact to affect fish stocks (including their habitats and prey), fisheries and fishing‐dependent communities.
PROGRAM HISTORY: The Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) Climate Program Office, and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Office of Science and Technology launched a partnership in 2014 to advance understanding of climate‐related impacts on fish or other species that support economically important fisheries and fishing communities. The partnership originated through the former Coastal and Ocean Climate Applications (COCA) Program and in 2021 was renamed the Climate and Fisheries Adaptation (CAFA) Program as part of the OAR/CPO Adaptation Sciences Program.
Jennifer Dopkowski NOAA Research
Climate Program Office P: (301) 734-1261 E: jennifer.dopkowski@noaa.gov
Roger Griffis NOAA Fisheries Office of Science and Technology P: (301) 427-8134 E: roger.b.griffis@noaa.gov
Americans’ health, security and economic wellbeing are tied to climate and weather. Every day, we see communities grappling with environmental challenges due to unusual or extreme events related to climate and weather.