Taking Climate Change Seriously
The people of New Jersey have come
through a hard time; Hurricane Sandy devastated our communities,
businesses and homes. I want to thank the Governor for his strong leadership
through it all. His swift action in ordering a mandatory evacuation saved
lives, and his bipartisanship resulted in a comprehensive, coordinated state
and federal response.
However, I am disappointed in the
Governor's failure, so far, to lead us in preparing for the dangers ahead.
The Atlantic Ocean continues to rise and warm, making hurricanes stronger and
every storm surge more harmful. Irene and Sandy were back-to-back warnings.
Now is the time to prepare for the fiercer weather of the very near future.
Now is the time to launch an
innovative NJ Coastal Commission to address climate change and oversee the
rebuilding effort. This body would assure the future safety of our
communities, and the protection of our coasts against intensifying storms.
The NJ Coastal Commission would
use the best science and technical knowledge to implement climate change
adaptation strategies. It would help us rebuild smarter, strengthening
building codes, and generating strategies for flood-proofing homes, towns,
and vital but vulnerable buildings, such as hospitals, police and fire
stations.
The Commission would make sure our
nuclear plants and other energy infrastructure; harbors, roads, railways, and
airports; drinking water supplies; and wastewater treatment plants were built
to withstand more violent storms.
It would oversee the re-mapping of
our coasts to anticipate new trouble spots, suggesting
"hard infrastructure," such as sea walls, and "soft infrastructure," like
expanded coastal Islands, oyster reefs, dunes and greenbelts to reduce storm
surges. It would help us to make the hard choices, retreating from the coast
where necessary. The NJ Coastal
Commission would create coastal resiliency and establish thorough storm
emergency preparedness measures, anticipating and preventing future harm.
I also encourage the Governor to
re-engage with other Northeastern state governors in the Regional Green
House Gas Initiative to address Irene, Sandy and the "new normal" which
threatens us with more extreme storms. It is high time that our state took
responsibility for our carbon contribution to climate change and made efforts
to curb it.
We live in dangerous time, when
"business as usual" will not suffice.That way leads to certain pain, peril
and economic ruin. The more visionary path, to A Bright Green Future for our
state is far more challenging. It is a road we must build as we walk it.
The most recent storms to impact
New Jersey harshly pointed out flaws in our current development patterns.
Hurricane Sandy, for all its devastation, was just a Category 1 storm, while
last year's Hurricane Irene was "only" a tropical storm. The landfall of far
more ferocious, future storms is not only possible, but likely.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
1
1
1
