Meanwhile here in Massachusetts, about 70 cities and towns have just completed and sent in their final reports for a new state program called the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program. Through the MVP process, cities and towns are engaging key stakeholders and the public to identify four key hazards, the assets that will be impacted by these hazards, and the solutions that can enhance their resilience to these hazards.
And right now one of those hazards is hard to escape: the heat.
While conversations and news coverage of climate change impacts often focus on sea level rise or flooding due to more intense storm events, it is the sustained temperature increases that is our biggest enemy at this moment in time.
But it isn't just our bodies -- the electricity grid suffers, too. As people and businesses crank up the AC to escape the heat, it taxes the power supply.
Will Life Without AC Still Work?
Depending on where you live and how old your home is, air conditioning is not necessarily a given. The historic building stock that gives Massachusetts its quaint town centers and connects us to our country’s birth does not often come with air conditioning. Growing up here, I did not have central A/C in my house until my husband and I bought our first condo in Medford in 2003 -- it was newly renovated and came with all the bells and whistles. Growing up, we would have one A/C window unit- always in my parent’s room -- and if it was REALLY hot at night, we could sleep on their floor. Otherwise window fans would get us by. Think that sounds crazy? Check out this Boston Globe story about life without AC. But that was some time ago.
There are some spots like the Cape and Islands (Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket for you out of towners) and some coastal communities (like KLA client New Bedford) that, due to their coastal location and the cool winds off the ocean, still tend to stay quite cool. In fact, over the 30 years leading up to 2000, New Bedford averaged just 4 days over 90 degrees per year. That’s about half of what Boston has averaged in that same time. But that could change dramatically.
Utilizing the Nature Conservancy’s Community Resilience Building Framework, MVP provides MA communities tools and resources to start the conversation about being preparing for these changes. The state also provides funds to implement resilience projects.
We've worked with a number of MA communities to implement their MVP community workshops -- including Holyoke, New Bedford and Northampton. Three common themes:
A Hotter Future
I believe we have made it even more complicated over the last 15 years for people to understand what climate change really is, how it impacts us as individuals and collectively as a species, and why we need to take action now to address it. As a Scientist, I appreciate all the new data and research that is telling us that this is all happening faster than we hoped. As an Individual, I do not need to know every single detail down to the 0.03% chance.
Here's what we know -- and can actually feel: many of us live in communities where there are already more days of more intense heat. Often (including this week) those hot stretches are followed by thunderstorms and the threat of flash floods. And it's projected to get much worse. So as we struggle to stay cool amidst this week's heat wave, let's use the opportunity here in MA and beyond to get our homes and communities prepared for a hotter tomorrow.
If you are a Massachusetts MVP community looking for support to meet your community workshop requirements, contact KLA. We have a special offer available through mid-August. Learn more.