Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Conservatives at the national level can debate about the merits of climate change, but local government officials are not waiting around for the possible impact on their communities.
Having been told by scientists that their city’s weather may more closely resemble that of Baton Rouge’s by the end of this century, city planners in Chicago are already at work on preparations for a wetter, more humid future. They’ve ordered alleyways to be repaved to better handle storm runoff, while the state tree of Illinois, the white oak, has been ditched from city planting lists and replaced with swamp oaks and sweet gum trees from the South. Also, Chicago plans to install air-conditioning units in all public schools in anticipation of hotter, more difficult summers.
In New York City, planners are contemplating what higher ocean levels may mean for the Big Apple.
Cities in coastal areas that don’t prepare for climate change could endure considerable economic costs. Insurer Swiss Re estimates communities in four Gulf Coast states could experience a 65% rise in annual climate-change related damages, upwards of $23 billion worth, by 2030, if actions aren’t taken in the coming years.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
A City Prepares for a Warm Long-Term Forecast (by Leslie Kaufman, New York Times)
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