Portions of this blog e
xcerpted and edited from IECA website, www.ieca.com
Jim Cantore, world renowned meteorologist with the Weather Channel was the keynote speaker at the International Erosion Control Conference in Atlanta, Georgia this past February.
Cantore discussed changes in weather patterns, predictions for the future and how these changes will affect the methodology used to control erosion and sedimentation of the built environment and construction operations. Cantore urged attendees to consider what can we do today to prepare for the weather changes over the next 50 years?
At the conference, there was a general consensus that climate change is affecting our environment in significant ways, which can be clearly measured, and is already being addressed in the fields of construction; master planning, public safety. The questions posed at workshops and seminars in the conference focused on best management practices and considerations for changes in legislation to allow for better climate change adaptation.
Some panel sessions at the workshop discussed how reports of potential changes at the US EPA under the new US administration may impact US Federal laws such as the Clean Water Act. The Clean Water Act forms the basis from which many of the regulations regarding protection of natural land and water resources from damaging erosion and sedimentation are enforced. Many of these laws are intended not only for support of environmental protection, but ultimately for security of human health and safety.
