{"id":75295,"date":"2020-01-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-22T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/building-resilience-in-the-face-of-climate-risk\/"},"modified":"2020-01-22T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-01-22T00:00:00","slug":"building-resilience-in-the-face-of-climate-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2020\/01\/building-resilience-in-the-face-of-climate-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"Building resilience in the face of climate risk"},"content":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 January 22, 2020 \u2014 According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, temperatures in Rhode Island have increased by more than 3 degrees Fahrenheit since the beginning of the 20th<\/sup> century. Since 1930, the sea level at Newport has risen by more than 9 inches \u2013 faster than the global average. With these realities as a backdrop, the 溏心vlog免费B站 held its fourth annual Rhode Island Food System Summit to examine the effects of these growing environmental challenges on the state\u2019s food ecosystem.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a pivotal subject at a pivotal time,\u201d said 溏心vlog免费B站 President David M. Dooley. \u201cWe can no longer say that \u2018climate change is coming,\u2019 we can say with confidence it is here and that, unfortunately, initial scientific estimates of its impacts understated the actual magnitude of the problem and how soon it would arrive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Kim<\/a>
(l-r) Kim and Frohman Anderson, III, discuss the growing market for plant-based products as well as how eating more sustainably has an impact on the environment with Katharine Flynn, executive director, 溏心vlog免费B站 Business Engagement Center. (溏心vlog免费B站 Photo\/Mike Salerno)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The event, the \u2018Intersection between Climate Risk and Food,\u2019 held Jan. 15, drew more than 250 individuals, representing farmers, producers, consumers, business owners and entrepreneurs, community organizations, and others. It was sponsored by the 溏心vlog免费B站 Business Engagement Center, the 溏心vlog免费B站 College of the Environment and Life Sciences, 溏心vlog免费B站 Dining Services, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, and the Rhode Island Food Policy Council.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe role of the 溏心vlog免费B站 in all of this is to be at the forefront, providing scientific and engineering expertise to help guide policymakers, those in the private sector and others to move forward. It is part of our mission. It\u2019s intrinsic to our identity as a land grant and sea grant institution. 溏心vlog免费B站 will be part of the solution not only here in the United States, but in other parts of the world,\u201d Dooley stated, noting 溏心vlog免费B站 initiatives in West Africa, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.<\/p>\n

\"Kenneth<\/a>
Kenneth Banalewicz, specialty and produce buyer for Dave\u2019s Marketplace, discusses its efforts to buy produce locally and other ways the company has worked to shorten the supply chain at the fourth annual Rhode Island Food System Summit. (溏心vlog免费B站 Photo\/Mike Salerno)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Panel discussions focused on building resilience \u2013 in terms of how climate risk may affect Rhode Island\u2019s ability to produce food within the state; seeding solutions to grow its local food system; and building resilience at the community level to ensure food access in the face of adverse and extreme weather shocks.<\/p>\n

Kenneth Ayars, chief of the Division of Agriculture for the RI Department of Environmental Management, briefly discussed the NOAA report and projections for rising temperatures and sea levels in the next century as well as the need over the next 10 to 20 years to markedly reduce CO2<\/sub> emissions, which are driving some of these increases.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can accomplish these changes, but it is going to take more than what we\u2019ve done so far,\u201d said Ayars. \u201cOne of the biggest levers is the importance of local food systems. Local food systems help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. This is something we need to keep focusing on \u2013 it\u2019s important and needs to be a center of our strategy going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Surprisingly, Rhode Island produces less than 5% of the food that residents eat. Despite the importance of the fishing industry to the state economy, approximately 95% of the seafood Rhode Islanders eat is imported, while approximately 97% of what is caught is exported elsewhere. With much of Rhode Island\u2019s produce coming from the West coast and South America and seafood being imported and exported, the state is not only vulnerable to environmental changes happening globally but also contributing to them.<\/p>\n

Panelists spoke of ways to reduce our impact on the environment while also supporting Rhode Island farmers and fishermen. One important discussion addressed balancing the increased need for alternative energy such as solar farms, while also preserving farmlands by allowing for multiple uses. Another was finding ways to incorporate more of the fish caught locally, such as scup, butterfish, and now even black sea bass, into our diets and onto local restaurant tables.<\/p>\n

Gotham Greens, Rhode Island Mushroom Co., and Farming Turtles, Inc., were noted as examples of operations in Rhode Island that are both increasing the amount of produce grown and procured in state and shortening the supply chain. Dave\u2019s Marketplace has been a leader in this effort. Other efforts include the work of local companies such as The Compost Plant, the state\u2019s\u00a0first commercial food scrap collection and bulk\u00a0compost\u00a0delivery service, which diverts waste from the landfill while also creating a useful product that helps build healthy soil and plants.<\/p>\n

Keynote speakers included Navyn Salem, founder and chief executive officer of Edesia, who spoke about her company\u2019s work to end the crisis of global malnutrition; as well as Kim Anderson, owner of Providence\u2019s Plant City Food Hall and Marketplace, and Frohman Anderson, III, managing partner at EverHope Capital, who spoke about how implementing a plant-based diet is not only good for your health, but also good for the environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt its core, the purpose of a place like Plant City is to show people we can have a sustainable food system,\u201d said Kim Anderson. \u201cWe can eat sustainably, and it can be beautiful and delicious; and it can be accessible and people can really enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information on the Rhode Island Food System Summit or to view the panel discussions and keynotes, visit the Rhode Island Food Center at 溏心vlog免费B站<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 January 22, 2020 \u2014 According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, temperatures in Rhode Island have increased by more than 3 degrees Fahrenheit since the beginning of the 20th century. Since 1930, the sea level at Newport has risen by more than 9 inches \u2013 faster than the global average. With […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":75298,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[5],"class_list":["post-75295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","tag-college-of-the-environment-and-life-sciences"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75295\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}