In Canada, construction companies are facing disruptions to their operations due to bad or extreme weather conditions such as thunderstorms, heavy precipitation, flooding, heatwaves and snowstorms, which cause project delays, loss of productivity and increased financial costs. This sector is prone to more disruptions due to increase in the frequency, duration and intensity of extreme weather events due to future climate change. This study examined the impacts of extreme weather events on infrastructure development companies and investigated their current practices and actions to alleviate these impacts. A survey questionnaire was developed and administrated to owners, managers, engineers, supervisors and planners of construction companies. Apart from descriptive evaluations, the survey responses were quantitatively analyzed to determine the impact of bad weather conditions on the construction companies. The findings of this study suggested that most construction companies’ operations were delayed due to bad or extreme weather events. However, construction industry is not adopting proactive measures to avoid or minimize these impacts. The main environmental factors impacting construction companies, included flooding, high winds or thunderstorms, warm/cold temperatures, heatwaves and snow/ice storms. These bad weather impacts were more significant for non-government construction companies as compared to those working in the government sector. Indirect impacts of bad weather included disruptions to their supply chain networks and changes in customer behaviors; however, these impacts were minor compared to direct environmental impacts. The study found that both government and non-government sector construction companies granted accommodations to the workers during bad weather conditions; however, government sector companies were more accommodating as compared to non-government companies. The study results also provided insight into the financial impacts of extreme weather events on construction companies. Weighted average losses for government sector companies were $2,200 per day of bad weather as compared to $8,155 per day for non-government companies. This suggested that non-government construction companies may experience serious financial consequences due to bad or extreme weather events. Study results further showed that there were no adequate guidelines, protocols or standards available to construction companies to adapt their operations and planning for extreme weather events. The study also highlighted the lack of adequate insurance products available for the construction sector to deal with bad weather. There was little tendency shown by the construction companies to use new technologies to deal with bad weather conditions. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop guidelines, protocols or standards for construction companies by involving all levels of the government and relevant private sector organizations. This study helps to determine the nature and scale of extreme weather impacts on construction industry and explores what strategies may be developed to alleviate these impacts and risks. Such knowledge will help companies better plan and manage their operations and effectively use their human resources. It will help in timely delivery of services and savings in costs by the infrastructure development companies, which are a major contributor to the Canadian economy. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Climate disasters are on the rise, with devastating effects on communities around the globe. Scientists have provided evidence that severe weather events due to climate change will continue to increase in frequency and severity. Extreme weather events are often referred to as the great equalizers, disregarding the socioeconomic status and race of those affected during widespread destruction. However, the literature suggests that people of color are disproportionately exposed to and affected by climate change and extreme weather events. In this study, I examine how exposure to extreme weather events will influence climate change policy support amongst different races. I argue that people of color will support climate change policy more than white people. I run regression models using data from Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Survey and National Centers for Environmental Information. I do not find support for my hypothesis, but I do find that among the Black population, climate change policy support increases as respondents get older.

O crescimento desordenado das grandes cidades brasileiras, com a ocupação de várzeas, canalização de córregos e impermeabilização do solo, tem afetado o micro clima urbano, aumentando a incidência de fortes chuvas, que causam desastres, associados à chuvas extremas. Este trabalho apresenta um índice de vulnerabilidade urbana a alagamentos e deslizamentos de terra, em função de eventos extremos de precipitação, como instrumento de gestão urbana a estes desastres. / The unruly growth of large Brazilian cities resulting from the occupation of floodplains, channeling of rivers, and impermeabilization of the soil, has affected the urban microclimate, increasing heavy rains, which cause disasters associated to extreme weather events. This thesis presents a index of urban vulnerability to floods and landslides, according to extreme precipitation events, as an instrument of urban management to these disasters.

Impacts from climate change already pose major challenges for organizations and industrial systems, and vulnerabilities are expected to increase in the future, particularly in vulnerable sectors and locations. Findings by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggest that climate change related vulnerabilities of organizations and industries, but also of settlement and society as a whole, are mainly related to changes in the intensity and/or frequency of extreme weather, rather than to gradual climate change impacts. Organization researchers and managers, however, have not yet systematically considered the organizational implications of changes in trends of weather extremes, such as changes to the intensity and/or frequency of storms, floods, and droughts. While companies in the reinsurance industry (e.g., Munich Re, Swiss Re) have begun to undertake research into changes in trends of extremes, most current debates on climate change and corporate response are mainly focused on adaptation – that is, longer-term adjustments that organizations can take in response to policy and legislative changes and the observed gradual warming trend. The question of how organizations can cope with more frequent and/or intense weather extremes has largely remained outside of these debates. The thesis advances the notion that the resilience concept which originated in disciplines such as ecology and engineering may provide insights into dealing with new types of environmental change arising from changes in patterns of weather extremes. It emphasizes that organizational adaptation and resilience potentials are context-specific and related to the characteristics of particular climate change impacts. While organizations may be able to undergo steady adaptations to gradual climate change (such as gradual increases in mean temperatures), they might not be able to handle disruptions that go beyond this gradual trend and are related to changes in extremes. Included in this thesis are five papers that seek to provide a foundation for understanding, assessing and evaluating organizational responses to more frequent and/or intense weather extremes. The first paper serves as an introduction to the thesis, assesses the literatures on organizational adaptation and resilience, and proposes an initial model that draws together the different streams of literature on climate change, adaptation and resilience. The second paper extends on the themes of the first paper and provides a discussion of the concepts of adaptation and resilience, as well as their applicability to different types of climate change impacts. The third paper serves as a method paper and discusses assessment methods and pathway to study organizational resilience. The key difficulties identified in this paper are the uncertainties about future climate change outcomes across temporal and spatial scales and a lack of insight into what leads to organizational resilience, or which variables should be measured in a given study. The fourth paper is an empirical study about the 2009 Victorian Bushfires. While individual extreme events cannot be directly linked to climate change impacts, this study highlights that part of the problem in drawing out the resilience of organizations to an unprecedented and ‘more-severe-than-expected’ extreme event is that a range of contingent variables across organizational and societal and ecological levels are potentially relevant. The last paper discusses the potential inability of organization to adjust to changes in climate and weather, and implications in terms of a necessity of a geographical shift of organizational and industrial activities. The thesis highlights gaps in our understanding of organizational challenges and suggests avenues for future research.

O crescimento desordenado das grandes cidades brasileiras, com a ocupação de várzeas, canalização de córregos e impermeabilização do solo, tem afetado o micro clima urbano, aumentando a incidência de fortes chuvas, que causam desastres, associados à chuvas extremas. Este trabalho apresenta um índice de vulnerabilidade urbana a alagamentos e deslizamentos de terra, em função de eventos extremos de precipitação, como instrumento de gestão urbana a estes desastres. / The unruly growth of large Brazilian cities resulting from the occupation of floodplains, channeling of rivers, and impermeabilization of the soil, has affected the urban microclimate, increasing heavy rains, which cause disasters associated to extreme weather events. This thesis presents a index of urban vulnerability to floods and landslides, according to extreme precipitation events, as an instrument of urban management to these disasters.

Worsening climate changes effects are predicted to increase the severity and frequency of extreme weather events (EWE), which can disrupt food systems, from the local to global level, and compromise community food security. In the rural U.S., food insecurity, poverty, low economic growth, and population loss are prevalent, and rural communities often lack the physical capital to bolster community resiliency to climate change adaptation. In 2011, Tropical Storm Irene (TS Irene) in Vermont was the most damaging EWE the state’s history. Severely damaged roads, infrastructure, homes, and land, rendered many rural towns isolated for up to several days. The levels and types of social capital (bridging and/or bonding) affect social cohesion, which in turn influences how the community responds to an EWE. Rural Vermont communities isolated by TS Irene had to respond to a disruption of basic needs, including food security, without the ability to depend on outside resources. We investigate how social capital influenced these community responses to TS Irene, and how the community actions affected community food security. To better understand how social capital influences community response to food insecurity following an EWE, we created a social capital framework on food security. We then conducted thirty-three semi-structured interviews in three Vermont communities known to have been severely affected by TS Irene, and isolated for several days. Using grounded theory, analysis resulted in social capital having a profound influence on community responses to food security following an EWE. Additionally, the type of social capital – bonding and/or bridging – affected both how the community mitigated food insecurity in the short-term, and upheld food security in the weeks following TS Irene. We found that not only do high degrees of social capital affect community response to acute food security needs after an EWE, but also that a community’s sense of place is different depending on the level of community social capital present prior to an EWE. The community response also shaped the community’s perception of, and ability to creating social capital five years after the event. Previous research indicates social capital is important in both community food security and climate shock responses. We discuss the need for rural development and community social capital to build rural resilience and adaptation for future EWE. As such, we suggest that promoting the development of social capital within rural communities through community development - creation of public events, investment in public infrastructure and schools, and the promotion of locally owned and operated businesses - can build resiliency and adaptation to future EWE by promoting the growth of community social capital, both bonding and bridging, within rural communities.

Plants and wildlife are being affected by climate change and human activities. We need to understand the patterns in these impacts to develop management strategies and policy solutions that will help us conserve ecosystems. Climate change is shifting the timing of key life stages in plants, but we do not fully understand the extent and implications of phenological shifts – or changes in the timing of seasonal events – for understudied stages like fruiting or for potential mismatches between plants in different canopy levels. Human activities and climate change impact and harm wildlife in many ways, from wildlife-vehicle collisions and lead poisoning to hurricanes and infectious diseases, but it has been difficult to form a comprehensive picture of these threats across many species and regions, and to discern which factors pose the greatest threat to at-risk species. Here, I collected and curated data from herbarium specimens and wildlife rehabilitation records to advance our understanding of the effects of climate change and human activities on plants and wildlife in North America. First, I found that metrics of first, peak, and last fruiting dates were strongly correlated between two historical datasets, suggesting that field observations and herbarium collections capture similar orders of fruiting times among plant species in New England. However, I found differences in the exact timing of first and last fruiting dates, indicating that researchers should match methodology when selecting historical records of phenology for present-day comparisons, especially when the exact timing is important. Next, I found that native trees, native shrubs, and non-native shrubs advanced their leaf-out or flowering times faster than native wildflowers advanced their flowering times with warming temperatures. As climate warming progresses, some native wildflower species, especially in warmer regions, are likely to be affected by phenological mismatch and lose access to early-season sunlight. Last, I found that human disturbances accounted for the largest proportion of wildlife injury and sickness in animals admitted to wildlife rehabilitation centers, and I identified the predominant reason for admittance for many species; these reasons included vehicle collisions, fishing incidents, and window or building collisions. I recommended possible interventions to help conserve wildlife, including using or changing wildlife road crossings, fishing and hunting regulations, lead and pesticide regulations, and disaster management plans. In this research, I compiled and analyzed innovative, newly-digitized data sources to provide new insights into the effects of climate change and human activities on plants and wildlife in North America. / 2024-09-18T00:00:00Z

Climate change is impacting the intensity, duration, and frequency of climatic events. With climate change comes a multitude of adverse conditions, including extreme heat events, changes in disease patterns, and increased likelihood and frequency of natural disasters, including in places previously not exposed to such conditions. Human health has foundations in the environment; therefore, these adverse climatic conditions are directly linked to human health. Rural communities in Appalachia are likely to experience negative consequences of climate change more severely due to unique geomorphology and sociopolitical realities of the region. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) throughout the Appalachian region are currently working to build resilience and prepare for potential adverse effects from climate change. To aid in this process, projections of future climate scenarios are needed to understand possible situations and adequately prepare. In partnership with Ohio University and West Virginia University, this study aims to characterize potential future climatic scenarios from publicly-available global climate models (GCMs) and prepare information to share with Appalachian communities. Climate model information for this analysis was obtained from NASA's Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). All code for data processing and analysis was prepared using the open-source R programming language to support reproducibility. To confirm that models can accurately simulate Appalachian climatic conditions, CMIP6 hindcast simulations for precipitation and maximum temperature were compared to observed weather records from NOAA. Climate models over and underestimated average precipitation values depending on location, while models consistently underestimated extreme precipitation values, simulated by total five-day precipitation. For temperature, climate models consistently underestimated average and extreme high temperature indicators. For Appalachian region projections, three towns of interest (one for each state involved in the study: Virginia, West Virginia, and Ohio) were selected based on current community resilience efforts. In these locations, mid-century (2040 – 2064) and end-of-century (2075 – 2099) projections for precipitation and temperature were summarized under a low emissions scenario and a high emissions scenario. Increases in precipitation and temperature were observed under average and extreme scenarios; these increases were noticeably more extreme under higher emissions scenarios. These trends are consistent with other studies and climate science consensus. When compared to hindcast values, observed average precipitation values were overestimated and underestimated, while observed extreme precipitation indices, average temperatures, and heat wave indices were underestimated by GCMs. Context with observed data is important to understanding model accuracy for the Appalachian region. GCMs are a useful tool to project potential future climate scenarios at specific locations in the Appalachian region, though model data is best used to communicate general trends rather than as inputs for other physical models. / Master of Science / Climate change is driving previously unseen changes in many aspects of the environment. Among these aspects, and of particular concern, are increased precipitation and increased high temperatures, which have direct negative outcomes on human health. Climate change can impact human health in a variety of ways, such as increasing instances of heat-related illnesses like heatstroke, changing insect-carried diseases patterns (i.e. Lyme disease, malaria), worsening preexisting conditions like asthma, and increasing the likelihood of natural disasters like flooding. Climate change also impacts mental health, especially increasing instances of anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder from disasters. Rural communities like Appalachia are more likely to experience severe negative outcomes due to lack of resources, remote location, and economies historically based on resource extraction. Appalachia specifically also faces unique challenges with flooding, as many towns are situated in valleys with streams or rivers running through the center of town. To address and prepare for possible climate change outcomes, community-based planning is required to build resiliency. Throughout many areas, but specifically in Appalachia, many community-based organizations are already working to strengthen their communities by providing stable housing, addressing flooding, and preparing emergency response teams. To aid in these efforts, information about potential future climate is beneficial to these organizations to understand and prepare for potential conditions. This study aims to use publicly-available climate models to generate information about possible future climate conditions to be shared with community organizations. Additionally, this project's datasets and procedures are publicly available, so this analysis can be performed by communities anywhere in the world given they have adequate computing power. To check that models are a good indicator of previous climate conditions, and therefore would be useful for future projections, historic projected climate model outputs were compared to observed weather data. After confirming that the models used were fairly consistent with observed data, projected values for midcentury (2040 – 2064) and end-of-century (2075 – 2099) were gathered for Appalachian towns with interested community organizations. Projected values show increases in high temperatures and precipitation throughout the Appalachian region, including in short-term event scenarios, which is consistent with other climate science. Higher emissions scenarios result in greater increases in average and extreme temperature and precipitation values. Climate models can be a useful tool in understanding potential general climatic trends for a specific location and can support climate science communication.

The thesis aims at corporate adaptation to climate change impacts in the logistics and transportation industry, especially for the model region Dresden. The paper employs two analyses. The first part deals with a review of the current literature within the topic. 20 references are identified and analysed with a data extraction form. More general adaptation measures are identified in the current literature which can be implemented in the corporate strategy. Crucial effects on company’s operation and its profit have flooding and sea level rise. In comparison adaptation measures, which are identified within five interviews of transportation providers in the model region Dresden, are of technological nature. The interviewed companies adapted significantly to weather extremes in the past. It is identified that heavy precipitation like rain and snow lead to crucial negative impacts to their operations which cause lost profit and customer dissatisfaction in long periods of time. On the other hand these weather conditions may have positive effects in short periods of time. Region-specific analyses in climate change impacts and the implementation of potential adaptation measures for logistics and transportation companies is still in a stage of infancy. Further research is needed on more region-specific analyses and on logistics companies in the model region Dresden as only five of them analysed in this thesis.

The thesis aims at corporate adaptation to climate change impacts in the logistics and transportation industry, especially for the model region Dresden. The paper employs two analyses. The first part deals with a review of the current literature within the topic. 20 references are identified and analysed with a data extraction form. More general adaptation measures are identified in the current literature which can be implemented in the corporate strategy. Crucial effects on company’s operation and its profit have flooding and sea level rise. In comparison adaptation measures, which are identified within five interviews of transportation providers in the model region Dresden, are of technological nature. The interviewed companies adapted significantly to weather extremes in the past. It is identified that heavy precipitation like rain and snow lead to crucial negative impacts to their operations which cause lost profit and customer dissatisfaction in long periods of time. On the other hand these weather conditions may have positive effects in short periods of time. Region-specific analyses in climate change impacts and the implementation of potential adaptation measures for logistics and transportation companies is still in a stage of infancy. Further research is needed on more region-specific analyses and on logistics companies in the model region Dresden as only five of them analysed in this thesis.