The National Adaptation Forum ended Thursday afternoon on much the same theme it had started with- equity, environmental justice, inclusion and the general message that you shouldn't make promises you can’t keep and you must always focus on ongoing engagement because that’s what relationship building is all about. The specifics of the type of generator or how many trees you plant are secondary to the importance of building trust in the communities with which you are working.

Day 2 of the National Adaptation Conference continued to focus on equity at the local level, with one speaker clearly stating, "We can't leave anyone behind in these circumstances. The solution is going to be at the community level. "City after city and Tribe after Tribe has similar comments, expanding the equity concept to include the need for "really clear, ongoing conversation with the community" and "open dialogues" to meet the challenges we all face. Again and again, 'Tr

One day into the National Adaptation Forum and it's clear that for many people, climate change resiliency starts with equity and justice. Yesterday's talks were about rain gardens and healthy eating and assessment tools and political action but, despite their varied subjects, they were also all about the need to listen to people, the need to 'share' rather than 'teach,' the need to create healthy communities in order to even start the discussion about creating a healthy clima

Today marked the start of the third National Adaptation Forum. People are here from all over the country to talk about sustainability and resiliency. Thus far, I've met people who work with faith-based organizations in Chicago to help build rain gardens and and develop solar farms, people who work with universities to research and develop resiliency practices and people who work with Native Nations to develop resilient and sustainable energy programs (the latter group got an