The article highlights the crucial role of federally funded climate adaptation science in enhancing resilience against climate change impacts. With proposals to cut funding for climate adaptation programs, it questions if the nation is ready for the consequences. Climate Adaptation Science Centers have successfully developed strategies to mitigate wildfire risks through research, aiding communities in fire management. Such programs, established since 2011, have proven beneficial, yet face elimination, jeopardizing the progress made in protecting natural resources and guiding state and tribal actions against climate risks.
Knowing where and when fire risks are highest allows communities to take steps to protect themselves, whether by carrying out controlled burns to remove dry vegetation, creating fire breaks to protect homes, managing invasive species that can leave forests more prone to devastating fires, or other measures.
Researchers and directors of regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers, funded by the U.S. Geological Survey since 2011, have seen firsthand the work these programs do to protect the nation's natural resources and their successes in helping states and tribes build resilience to climate risks.
Here are a few examples of the ways federally funded climate adaptation science conducted by university and federal researchers helps the nation weather the effects of climate change:Wildfires have increasingly threatened communities and ecosystems across the U.S., exacerbated by worsening heat waves and drought.
The White House is proposing to eliminate funding for climate adaptation science in the next federal budget, and reports suggest that the firing of federal climate adaptation scientists may be imminent.
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