Climate Change Impacts in Texas

Mona Wells is an interdisciplinary environmental scientist specialized in Environmental Impact Assessment, Environmental Risk Assessment, and Environmental Management. Her roles have included posts in different locales internationally as an academic and as an environmental practitioner, on projects spanning a broad portfolio including technical project work, research, commercialization, program development, policy advisement, science communication, public consultation, pedagogical development, and continuous improvement. She recently served as Director of Climate Science for one of the Meadows Foundation Research Institutes in Texas.Ryan McManamay is an Associate Professor of Environmental Science at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where he teaches classes on energy and environment, water management, and ecology. His research explores past and future anthropogenic pressures, from land use change to infrastructure development, on ecosystems with the goal of balancing ecological and societal needs. Previously, he was a research scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, (ORNL), serving in both administrative and technical leadership roles and working in numerous multi-institutional research projects across several Department of Energy (DOE) programs. His research has influenced natural resource management along several dimensions, including informing environmental flow management for several state and federal agencies, decision-support and training for hydropower mitigation and basin planning, and long-term integrative planning for renewable energy and urban infrastructure. He has held several editorial roles, currently serving as Associate Editor of Earth’s Future (American Geophysical Union). He has published over 100 journal articles and book chapters, in addition to dozens of technical reports and proceedings, and mentored over 65 students, postdocs, and staff in research projects.

• Part I: Introduction. I.1 Why Texas? I.2 The Changing Climate of Texas. I.3 Alarming Sea Level Rise Along Texas Coast: Causes, Impacts, and Mitigation Strategies. I.4 Extremities - Drought, Dust, and Wildfire. I .5 Beyond the Banks – Urbanization, Infrastructure, and the Fight Against Flooding. Part II: Impacts of Climate Change on Natural Ecosystems. II.1 Extending the Planetary Boundaries Framework to Texas: Are We Beyond the Safe Operating Space? II.2 Climate Change and the Living Planet - Impacts on the Biosphere and Consequences to Ecosystem Services. II.3 Climate Change Impacts on Freshwaters: Recent Trends and Future Predictions for Biodiversity, Ecosystem Function, and Human Wellbeing. II.4 Texas Gulf Coast Ecosystems and Climate Change: Coral Reefs, Barrier Islands, Bays, and Blue Carbon. II.5 Climate Change Impacts on the Terrestrial Ecosystems of Texas. Part III: Impacts of Climate Change on Human-Environmental Systems. III.1 Impacts of a Warming and Drying Climate on Agriculture and Food Production. III.2 Extreme Temperatures, Air Quality, and Public Health. III.3 Water Supply and Wastewater Infrastructure System Challenges Under Climate Uncertainty. III.4 Impact of Climate Change on Transportation: Opportunities to Leverage Crowdsourced Data to Understand Impacts on Traffic. III.5 The Economic Impacts of Climate Change in Texas: Lessons for the US Economy. Part IV: Adaptation and Mitigation – Considerations for Environmental Management. IV.1 Future Water Use in Texas. IV.2 Strategies for Land Management, Conservation, and Nature-based Solution Support of Climate Action. IV.3 The Great Texas Energy Experiment: The Uncertain Road to Electricity Decarbonization in the Lone Star State. IV.4 Texan Energopolitics. IV.5 Adaptation and Mitigation to Climate Change and Resource Use in the Texas Transportation Sector. IV.6 Climate Adaptation from the Regional Planning Perspective: Notes on Institutional Reality, Anthropogenic Responses, Phronesis, and Incremental Pragmatism. IV.7 Texas Climate Policy Considerations. Part V: The Future of Texas in a Changing Climate. V.1 The Future of a Changing Climate in Texas.