The octopus in the parking garage : a call for climate resilience / Rob Verchick.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"One cloudy day in Miami, an octopus was found in the parking garage of a fancy condominium complex. How it got there is a tale of quirky plumbing and climate breakdown. (In brief, sea-level rise caused a storm drain to reverse and burp out the cephalopod.) A funny Instagram meme, "the octopus in the parking garage" is also an eight-armed alarm bell, part of an urgent call to prepare ourselves for all the things that soaring heat, rising seas, and suped-up storms can do to us. It's a call for communities to develop climate resilience. That means "bouncing back better." Or as an expert might say, managing and recovering from a climate impact in a way that allows a community to learn, adapt, and thrive. This book explains, to non-experts, how we can manage current and future hazards of climate change that we can no longer avoid. How do we reach across party lines and get people to care more? How do we make plans that are flexible enough to handle surprises? How do we involve and address disadvantaged communities, which already bear the brunt of environmental risk? When do we resist? When do we adjust? When do we retreat? And by the way, who gets to decide? The book will take readers on a community-oriented journey, laying out the options and offering guidelines and insights to shape the conversation"-- Provided by publisher.