How will climate change impact Cranston? Researchers say hotter days will become more frequent, as will extreme precipitation events. Sea levels will rise, and flooding will continue to be a significant issue.
They say the extent of the shift, however, is still to be determined – and that steps can be taken to both mitigate and prepare for what’s on the horizon.
“This is really about doing better planning today,” said Danya Rumore, a doctoral candidate and project manager with the New England Climate Adaptation Project, during a recent climate change presentation and workshop at City Hall. “You’re going to feel impacts. It’s a global issue with local effects … We don’t know exactly what’s coming, so let’s plan to be adaptable.”
The climate adaptation project – a combined effort of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Science Impact Collaborative and the Consensus Building Institute that was funded through the National Estuarine Research Reserve System’s Science Collaborative – has focused on Cranston and the communities of Wells, Maine; Dover, N.H.; and Barnstable, Mass.
“Our intent is on helping communities move forward on difficult problems that require a lot of voices to come together,” said Carri Hulet of the Consensus Building Institute.