Welcome Bob Bunting to the Ei Advisory Council!

On August 20, 2025, Climate Adaptation Center (CAC) CEO & Chairman Bob Bunting joined the Earth Impact (Ei) Advisory Council!

Bob Bunting
photo courtesy of Janet Combs
via the CAC

Bob is known as a serial entrepreneur, high-technology-startup expert, and educator; additional details on Bob's impressive professional experience are available in Bob's Ei Advisor page. 

Founded by Bob in 2019, CAC is an independent, non-profit organization headquartered in Sarasota, Florida. CAC bridges the gap between state-of-the-art scientific research and public sector understanding of our changing climate. Serving the Southeastern U.S., the Sarasota center is the first of six planned regional centers focused on climate adaptation specific to each area's unique challenges.

Bob will serve as an invaluable Ei Advisor within the Nature Prevails and Water Security Ei platforms as well as a participant in Ei Educates endeavors. 

LAI Global Webinar
In early September Bob served as the lead speaker on the Lambda Alpha International (LAI) Resiliency around the Globe: Local Responses to Hurricanes, Sea Rise and Sudden Flooding global webinar in his capacity as an Ei Advisor and LAI FL Suncoast Chapter member. 

Ei Founder & CEO Holly Elmore serves as the LAI Global Water-Land Series Group (Group) Co-Chair, and recruited Bob to speak on the impressive webinar. Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley and Enrique Cabrera, Professor of Fluid Mechanics, Universitat Politècnica de València joined Bob as webinar presenters.

At Holly's request, the first part of Bob's presentation explained how rising global temperatures are the catalyst for the extreme weather scenario. Bob finished his session with the Florida’s Trifecta & The Path to Adaptation presentation.

The Regeneration in ACTION article, Extreme Weather is HERE: important to align with nature for climate adaptation and resiliency, provides an overview of the webinar. The article emphasized that aligning with Nature's perfected systems is inherent within climate adaptation and resilient planning and development.

About LAI

LAI is the honorary global network for thought leaders 

in all fields related to the preservation and sustainable development of land.

LAI is a growing network of chapters in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Asia. Each chapter offers a wide variety of programs with industry leaders, discussion forums, community service projects and networking events.

Membership is highly selective through a nomination process initiated by a LAI member. Nominees for LAI membership must demonstrate ten or more years of experience in their fields, professional distinction, and outstanding contributions to the community in their field of endeavor.

LAI is committed to excellence and high professional standards to make a difference. A value to members is knowing you are someone who helped make that difference.

Nature Prevails
Extreme weather is a new normal, and urban environments must adapt with resilient structures, infrastructure, and protocol in order to minimize catastrophic damage. Climate mitigation (reducing greenhouse gas release into the atmosphere) does not change the current scenario; the catalyst for extreme weather events is warmer global temperature, and mitigation will not lower temperatures in the near future.

2024 hurricane flooding one
mile from Holly's Sarasota home

Insurance is not the answer to extreme weather damages; no company or government can continue to fund the monumental costs of rebuilding a community after a storm. As we live in a "new" scenario, one never experienced by humans, communities must commit to rebuilding with resiliency as the primary foundation. Engineering techniques and practices must evolve to support resilient, adaptive urban infrastructure.

Bob concurs that adaptation responsibility resides with the local municipality and individuals. It is time to stop approving building permits in flood plains and wetlands that are Nature's protection of coastal and inland areas from flooding. The municipality must educate its residents on the risks of living on barrier islands, in flood plains, and other high-risk properties and how to adapt to the consequences of extreme weather. 

Then decisions can be made that prevent catastrophic damage to one's residence or other lifestyle choices. Communities must support residences, buildings, and infrastructure with resiliency as the catalyst, not short-term profits and human-oriented benefits.

Nature has the upper hand, and humans must align with Nature to survive and thrive. Much of climate resiliency and adaptation is simply aligning with Nature.

In his webinar commentary, Bob gave the example of the 52-acre The Bay park on Sarasota Bay as an adaptation example of aligning urban development with Nature. In Phase I, The Bay converted the extensive parking lots and some buildings on the bayside property into a lovely park. In addition to an appreciated public amenity, the park protects the nearby downtown Sarasota from storm surges and other flooding.

Ei is enthusiastic to collaborate with the CAC on the creation of educational tools for municipalities to incorporate climate-adaptation protocol into daily practices. 

The February 24, 2026 Water Challenges, Economics, and Nature-Based Solutions LED (Land Economics Dialogues) is a one-day event that serves as a catalyst for a three-year program that showcases nature-based solutions for local challenging scenarios. Bob is one of four speakers in the LED morning session.

CAC Annual Florida Forecast Conference

For the 2024 Annual Florida Forecast Conference hosted in mid-November, the CAC prepared an excellent nearly five-minute video on the cumulative hurricane damage. Bob ended the video with "The goal of the CAC is to speed climate adaptation because it will lower the risk and pay dividends for our future."

The CAC hosts the 5th Annual Florida Climate Forecast Conference: Climate and Biodiversity on Thursday, November 13, 2025 from 8 am – 4:45 pm at the University of South Florida, Sarasota-Manatee campus. Per the CAC event page:

From Florida’s coral reefs to its coastlines, wetlands, and wildlife, ecosystems across the state, and the planet, are under pressure. As species shift, vanish, or adapt, so must we. This conference will equip attendees with the science, strategies, and partnerships needed to protect biodiversity and the critical services it provides to people, economies, and future generations.

Registration is open at this LINK.

Ei is honored to welcome Bob Bunting to the Advisory Council and work with him on a variety of endeavors.