Climate adaptation goes mainstream in Wisconsin

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http://grist.org/news/climate-adaptation-goes-mainstream-in-wisconsin/



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A summer storm over Wisconsin’s capital, Madison, which is in Dane County.


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But climate adaptation isn’t just for the big players. Today, Dane County, Wis., which has a population of 500,000, will propose a budget that includes nearly $1 million worth of climate-adaptation spending — aimed at everything from new storm water infrastructure to sand bags and other emergency equipment.

“We’re looking at warmer and wetter weather and preparing for the potential challenges,” Dane County Executive Joe Parisi told The Cap Times:

Dane County may have already experienced what a warmer Wisconsin could look like. Last year saw a summer drought, a winter of few but major snow events, a quick spring meltdown and then summer thunderstorms that brought flooding.

UW-Madison climate scientists are now predicting that by 2050, statewide annual average temperatures are likely to warm by 6 to 7 degrees Fahrenheit, with three or more weeks per summer where temperatures exceed 90 degrees.