11 Central Mass. communities receive grants to prepare for climate change (Worcester Telegram Gazette 5/30/18)

To people standing on Nauset Beach in Orleans near the spot where Liam’s restaurant stood for many years, until a series of recent storms eroded 60 feet of sandy bluff, the reason for climate change preparedness grants announced Tuesday by state environmental officials was clear. Coastal communities may be the most visible face of climate change’s impact.
But Central Massachusetts communities also need to prepare for impacts from extreme weather, even if rising seas aren’t lapping at their borders.
Eleven area cities and towns received a total of $315,000, from more than $2 million in state grant funding awarded to 82 towns and cities statewide, through the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness program. The grants provide communities with technical support, climate change data and planning tools to identify hazards and develop strategies to improve resilience, according to a news release from the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.
The communities are Auburn, Brookfield, Clinton, Harvard, Hudson, Leicester, Marlboro, Sutton, Uxbridge, West Boylston and Worcester. (read more)