By Tim Folger1 September 2013 (National Geographic) – By the time Hurricane Sandy veered toward the Northeast coast of the United States last October 29, it had mauled several countries in the Caribbean and left dozens dead. Faced with the largest storm ever spawned over the Atlantic, New York and other cities ordered mandatory evacuations […]
By Michael Bloomberg, Special to CNN21 August 2013 (CNN) – For the first time in human history, more than half the world’s population is living in cities, which now produce approximately 70 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. That puts cities on the frontlines of the battle against climate change — and more and […]
Contact: Aaron Jacobs, Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, Aaron.F.Jacobs@hud.gov 19 August 2013 WASHINGTON – President Obama’s Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, chaired by Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, today released a rebuilding strategy to serve as a model for communities across the nation facing greater risks from extreme weather and to continue […]
By John Roach 19 August 2013 (NBC News) – Flood damage in the world’s major coastal cities may top $1 trillion a year by 2050 due to rising seas and subsiding land, according to a new study. The startling figure is “not a forecast or a prediction,” but rather a means to “show that not […]
By Dan Vergano6 August 2013 GRAND ISLE, Louisiana (USA TODAY) – Pelicans and pickups roam the beach, where the waves roll in and return, lapping over the open water of the Gulf of Mexico. The water covers land that was once beach, and it has devoured land that was once marsh tucked behind this 6-square-mile […]
By Evan J. Berkowitz18 July 2013 (Boston Globe) – Rising sea levels brought on by climate change are threatening some of New England’s signature coastal birds, according to a new study. The National Wildlife Federation recently released Shifting Skies, a large study accompanied by a more local report by the Natural Resources Council of Maine, […]
By Neal Ungerleider19 July 2013 (Fast Company) – Before he passed away, British futurist James Martin predicted a massive real estate boom in fortified “Climate Change Cities,” where the global elite go to escape the ravages of rising sea levels and unstable weather patterns. Fabulously wealthy British futurist James Martin spoke about climate change at […]
By Emilio Godoy12 July 2013 PROGRESO, Mexico (IPS) – Towns on Mexico’s Caribbean coast are behind schedule on the design and implementation of plans to face the challenges of climate change, in spite of the urgency of measures to reduce vulnerability. The country’s 2012 General Law on Climate Change requires state and municipal governments to […]
By Claire Thompson9 Jul 2013 (Grist) – Having trouble beating the heat this summer? Imagine how your infrastructure feels. Last summer, we told you about extreme heat leading to buckling roads, melting runways, and kinky railroad tracks. Now we’re also hearing about droopy power lines and grounded airplanes. NPR’s Science Friday hosted a discussion last […]
KEY WEST, Florida, 2 July 2013 (Associated Press) – Hurricane storm surge can inundate the narrow, low-lying Florida Keys, but that is far from the only water worry for officials. A tidal gauge operating since before the Civil War has documented a sea level rise of 9 inches in the last century, and officials expect […]