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Resilient Success Stories: Leaders meet to honor examples of climate resiliency
December 22, 2022December 22, 2022
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Resilient Success Stories: Leaders meet to honor examples of climate resiliency

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On December 9, a group of energized individuals gathered at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to take part in the Resilient Success Stories Event. With a packed house, participants heard 12 stories from around the region: The Merriam Residential Sustainability Grant, Kompas Kapital’s refurbished headquarters building, Kansas City Public Library Climate Action Dashboard, Lee’s Summit Green Infrastructure improvement program, The HCA Nature Action Crew, Big Shoal Farm, Mission Conservation Improvement program, Johnson County Watershed Master Plan, Johnson County Park & Recreation Districts Forest Restoration, The Tomahawk Creek Water Treatment Facility, The KCMO Neighborhood Clean Up Program and KCMO's Climate Resiliency Protection Plan.

Ozone pollution: How did we do in 2022?
November 10, 2022November 10, 2022
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Ozone pollution: How did we do in 2022?

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What is ozone and why do we care about it? Though chemically identical, there is “good ozone”—the kind that is naturally present in the stratosphere (as the Ozone Layer) and keeps Spaceship Earth comfortable—and there is “bad ozone.” Bad ozone is man-made ozone that hangs out at ground level and is a hazard to public...

Climate & Environment Council meets to discuss work plan priorities
October 25, 2022October 25, 2022
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Climate & Environment Council meets to discuss work plan priorities

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The newly formed Climate and Environment Council held its first meeting last month to begin the important task of determining its work plan for the year. Each council member will provide input on their top five priority activities that align with the strategies in the Regional Kansas City Climate Action Plan. At the second meeting...

More than one hundred volunteers show up around the metro for KC Plogtober
October 25, 2022October 25, 2022
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More than one hundred volunteers show up around the metro for KC Plogtober

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KC Plogtober celebrated its second-ever event last weekend with over one hundred "ploggers" turning out at 13 sites across eight municipalities to pick up litter at their favorite parks and trails.

Congratulations to Team Clay County (pictured), who brought home the "Top Plogger" award, providing almost half of the total cleanup volunteers! Another noteworthy accomplishment was the team from Raytown, MO, who had the largest single-site turnout on the Rock Island Trail.

Commuter Stories: Sean McCue
October 19, 2022October 19, 2022
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Commuter Stories: Sean McCue

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RideshareKC is a publicly funded program that provides commuter resources to individuals and employers in the Kansas City metropolitan area — helping to create transportation options for area workers. Established in 1980, the program serves commuters from five counties in Missouri and four counties in Kansas. Learn more at RideshareKC.org.

Commuter Stories: Nash High
October 19, 2022October 19, 2022
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Commuter Stories: Nash High

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RideshareKC is a publicly funded program that provides commuter resources to individuals and employers in the Kansas City metropolitan area — helping to create transportation options for area workers. Established in 1980, the program serves commuters from five counties in Missouri and four counties in Kansas. Learn more at RideshareKC.org.

Preparing for climate-related disasters
September 29, 2022September 29, 2022
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Preparing for climate-related disasters

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September is Disaster Preparedness Month. And even though we’re a little late to the game, don’t worry! We’ll be peppering readers with disaster preparedness and community resilience tips and resources all year long.

As I’m writing this, Hurricane Ian is working it’s way across Florida. Some Floridians have chosen to follow evacuation mandates and advisories, some have not. Hopefully, all will have prepared adequately and will come out unscathed. I’ve seen Florida friends post to social media about their preparations, whether it’s installing the hurricane shutters, stocking up on food or digging out the solar phone chargers. Of course, this brings to mind the question: what prepares us for disaster in the Kansas City region? And what does disaster-preparedness mean in the face of climate change?

Climate change will exacerbate those natural hazards we are all familiar with here in the metro: flooding, heat, drought, winter weather, tornadoes and thunderstorms. The full impact of more extreme versions of these hazards leaves a lot of uncertainty. But one thing is for sure, the impacts could be broad and wide-reaching. We need to think expansively about our risks and vulnerabilities. Disasters in a different area of the country could impact our region — mass migration, food shortages or economic disruptions, as examples. Read on for a few ways you, your household and your city can build climate resilience by being prepared when we are faced with disaster.

Get outside for the 2022 KC Plogtober clean-up
September 28, 2022September 29, 2022
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Get outside for the 2022 KC Plogtober clean-up

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MARC Water Quality, and a host of partner organizations will hold this year’s KC Plogtober on Sunday, October 16. The program’s goal is to get local volunteers to appreciate their local watersheds more by realizing that the litter on the heavily-trafficked public-use ground eventually winds up in our streams and rivers. "Plogging" is a Swedish concept that translates to picking up litter while jogging.

Registration for volunteers is open now. Be sure to visit KCPlogtober.com for more information and to sign up. Each county will have multiple streamside trails and public greenspaces to choose from, or volunteers can go solo and pick a location close by for a "virtual plog".

Area municipalities and organizations adopt Climate Action Plan
September 27, 2022September 28, 2022
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Area municipalities and organizations adopt Climate Action Plan

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Since the Kansas City Regional Climate Action Plan was adopted two years ago, cities, counties and area agencies have adopted the plan to signal support and commitment to take action. The cities and counties who have adopted the plan account for 83% of the total 9-county population! Thank you to the following organizations who have...

Commuter Stories: Tresa Carter
September 27, 2022September 27, 2022
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Commuter Stories: Tresa Carter

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“My experience level prior to bike commuting was [that] I knew how to ride a bike, and that was about it.” Tresa Carter, director of community planning at BikeWalkKC, started riding her bike to work in Kansas City in April 2022. Despite some rough first experiences, Tresa stuck with it and now bikes to work...