Polar bears can't adapt - we can

The idea that we should "adapt" to climate change sounds weird, doesn't it? Why would we "adapt" to something we don't think should be happening in the first placet? Isn't adaptation the equivalent of enablement -  in this case, indulging negative behavior, thereby allowing it to continue?

Not so, say the people at the Nature Conservancy, which is holding a forum to discuss why we must adapt to climate change; if we don't do so now, we'll never actually reverse the environmental changes that are negatively affecting our world.

Called "Building Resilience to Climate Change in Pennsylvania," the forum will take place Feb. 10, from 3:30pm-4:40 pm at Drexel University's  Mitchell Auditorium / Bossone Research Enterprise Center, located at 33rd and market Sts.

Admission is free and open to the public.

Speakers are Nels Johnson, The Nature Conservancy's Director of Conservation Programs in Pennsylvania; and Wayne Klockner, head of the Conservancy's global climate strategies team.

Here's how The Conservancy describes the issue of climate-change adaptation:

"While most people now recognize that climate change is a frightening problem, the topic of how we will adapt to the already-inevitable impacts of climate change are rarely discussed.  A good short statement of this is at  http://blog.nature.org/2009/01/climate-change-adapt-adaptation/,  writtten by The Nature Conservancy's lead scientist, Peter Kareiva.

"The Nature Conservancy is leading efforts to develop and implement strategies to help nature be more resilient to climate change.  We think that by helping nature adapt today, we both preserve our natural heritage and mitigate the potentially devastating economic and social effects that climate change will bring.

"For example, we are creating resilient networks of marine protected areas that provide food security for local people, and restoration projects that protect native landscapes—like oyster reefs and wetlands that reduce storm surge, hardwood forests in natural floodplains that absorb floodwaters and native vegetation that will better survive droughts and hold on to soils.

"Follow these links for a couple of examples of this kind of work:  protecting and restoring coastal wetlands and bolstering the resilience of Florida's coral reefs.

"In Pennsylvania, global warming is likely to result in precipitation that increases overall, but is concentrated during certain seasons. This means greatly increased seasonal flooding - a serious prospect on the already floodprone Susquehanna and Delaware Rivers.  Working to help water managers adjust the volume and flow of rivers in ways that are in tune with ecological processes, and restoring hardwood forests to floodplains, are two ways to mitigate the damage from increased flooding.

"Temperature changes are also likely to alter the makeup of Northeast forests, including Pennsylvania's state tree – the hemlock (projected to decrease by as much as 50 percent in parts of the state) and badly affect our timber industry.

"The Conservancy is identifying Pennsylvania forests most likely to adapt and working to protect those areas, and developing a broad suite of tools and strateggies to that encourage landowners to maintain forests for sustainable harvest and carbon sequestration.  Sustainably managed forests are healthy forests, better able to adapt to climate variations and maintain the functions and diversity necessary for wildlife habitat, economic value, and the important roles they play in protecting water quality and soils."

You can read more information about Tuesday's forum here.