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Geography/Environmental Studies 339

New WI chapter

Learning Objectives

By completing this chapter, you will:

  1. Be able to describe the changes in precipitation and temperature in Wisconsin that have occurred over the past 75 years;
  2. Be able to describe the predicted changes in precipitation and temperature in Wisconsin to the mid century;
  3. Investigate the effect of these changes on one of four issues important to the state:  agriculture, human health, water resources/infrastructure or natural communities; and
  4. Outline the strategies that can be taken by state government, local government, and civil society to reduce negative impacts on the issue assigned to you.

So far, you have learned how climate change will affect distant places like Bangladesh. But what are the specific impacts expected in Wisconsin?  In this chapter, we turn to the effect of climate change on Wisconsin and strategies to adapt to the changes that we have experienced and are likely to experience over the next 40 years.  We will start by first reviewing changes in precipitation and temperature that we have experienced and what is predicted we will experience over the next forty years. We then turn to how these changes are expected to affect both the state’s and Dane County’s  agriculture, human health, water resources/infrastructure, and natural communities.  In section, each of you have been assigned to investigate one of these important issue areas by using the links supplied in this chapter. These links will also provide ideas of how we can reduce climate impacts on these sectors and increase our adaptive capacity to respond to climate changes.  Using the resources we provide, you will be expected to fully investigate your topic area prior to class when you will be tasked in small groups to share your sector knowledge and to discuss a common case that will be provided to your in section. You will be the only member of your group to have investigated your assigned sector so come prepared because your group will depend on you!

Changes in Wisconsin’s Climate

Three key climate parameters affecting ecology, economy and human health in Wisconsin are temperature, precipitation, and season length.  A great resource is the website of the Wisconsin Initiative for Climate Change Impacts (WICCI) that was developed by a range of climate change experts here in Wisconsin with many of them faculty or staff here at University of Wisconsin-Madison.  Start with this overview video, considering the following questions as you watch:

  1. How have climate factors like temperature, precipitation and season-length changed in Wisconsin?
  2. How are they predicted to change into the future?

You now have a good general idea of the trends Wisconsin has already experienced and will undergo in the future.  More detailed information is provided in a series of maps on the WICCI site.  To access these maps, first open the WICCI webpage and then scroll down the bottom portion of the webpage to look at the historical trend maps (1950-2024).  If you like, you can enlarge a map by clicking on it. Please note that “DJF” refers to December, January, February (Winter months), “JJA” refers to June, July, August (Summer months), “SON” refers to September, October November (Fall months) and “MAM” refers to March, April May (Spring months).  Please review these maps and answer the following questions.

Scroll down further to look at climate projections out to the 2041-2060 period. Please review these maps and answer the following questions:

 

 

To provide you a better sense of what such changes in temperature and precipitation will mean please access this Fitzlab interactive map that shows proxies for cities’ future climate (in 60 years) based on different climate model predictions. Follow this link.

A new tab should open resembling the image to the right. Please explore the map by typing the name of the closest city to where you grew up.  A line will be drawn to a city that currently has a climate most similar to the projected climate to the city you chose.  This is the projection under a continued high GHG emissions trajectory. Now, click on the Settings and choose the “What if we reduced emissions Scenario” which is similar to the reductions stemming from achieving all of the NDCs of the Paris Agreement. Explore the map by choosing  other towns of importance to you.  For each, toggle between the emissions levels to see how changes in GHG emissions will affect the projected future climate of the city chosen.  Complete your journey by choosing Madison, WI to answer the following two questions:

Impacts of Climate Change in Wisconsin

Given the predicted changes in Wisconsin’s climate, it is not hard to imagine how it may influence the state’s biodiversity, agriculture, human health, and water resources. Given what you now know about climate change trends in Wisconsin, answer the following questions about climate change impacts.

Now we are ready to investigate Wisconsin’s climate vulnerabilities and possible actions to reduce these vulnerabilities in more detail.  In this regard, we will focus on four areas: agriculture, water and infrastructure, human health and natural communities.  In section, you have been assigned one of these four sectors. Below, you will find links to materials that you will need to provide a good understanding of your sector. These materials come from different sources (government reports, journalism, websites) and provide more than enough information to complete the Climate Resilience in Wisconsin assignment that you will complete after finishing this chapter. Please make sure to explore fully the relevant material made available on websites. Take notes while reading your assigned material. The assignment is a series of essay questions in a  Canvas Quiz format that you will complete after reading this material:

  1. How is the changing climate affecting your sector in Wisconsin and more specifically in the Dane County   Please provide comprehensive outline changes to your sector and identify what you feel is the most important  (100-200 words)
  2. What specific places/areas (ecosystems, low-lying, soil types, urban/rural etc.) that  are most affected by these sector-specific changes and why? Which do you feel are most important and why?  (100-200 words)
  3. How are certain social groups (e.g. elderly, racial minorites, unhoused people, children, workers) more vulnerable to  specific changes for your sector and why? (200-300 words)
  4. What are various adaptation strategies that address the ecological and human impacts of these changes? Be sure to distinguish strategies that reduce climate impact from those that address harms caused by climate change. Please provide detail about at least two strategies that you feel show most promise and explain why they show the most promise. (300-400 words).

Please make sure to bring your notes and responses as well as your responses to these questions to the discussion section meeting when climate resilience in Wisconsin will be discussed.  At this meeting you will meet in groups of four with the three other members of your group assigned to a different sector. Our learning objective is that you will need to know about the climate vulnerabilities and resilience strategies of not just your sector but the other three as well.  Therefore, there will be time in section to allow you to share what you have learned in your group – so come prepared!  After sharing, you are asked to discuss a Dane County  adaptation initiative to consider how it might or might not address each of the four sectors reviewed by your group.

Please access your sector’s materials by following the links supplied below:

Once you have completed your review (taking notes!) of the resources, you are finished with this chapter.  Please bring your notes and responses to the assignment questions with you to your discussion section!

(c) Dennis Franke

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Climate Change: Vulnerability, Mitigation, and Adaptation Copyright © by Matt Turner. All Rights Reserved.

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