New York City, also known as the capital of the world is about to face one of their largest climate change threats which is the rise in sea levels. The worlds glaciers are rapidly melting due to heating in earth’s temperature which is causing sea levels to rise at an abnormal rate. In turn the New York municipality will have to undergo many changes to its infrastructure to help against the rising sea levels.
Climate change is a very important topic regarding the global ecosystem in which ecological changes are contributed both by human nature and natural phenomenon. The change in climate will cause a disaster for many coastal regions around the nation, the city of New York in particular. The City of New York will have to undergo changes in infrastructure in lower Manhattan, according to Angela Chen a writer for the Verge, “Sea level rise due to climate change has long been a cause of concern for New York City. According to the lower Manhattan Coastal Resilience Survey, released today, 37 percent of lower Manhattan will be at risk for storm surges by 2050”. These storm surges will flood lower Manhattan removing many citizens from their homes. Furthermore, the plan to combat the rising sea levels due to climate change will be projects worth millions of dollars to change the natural setting of Manhattan to a more sustainable living environment. According to Chen, “The plan also includes more projects costing around $500 million, which would include resiliency measures like elevating parks and building removable barriers in lower Manhattan that can be used when a storm approach”. Ultimately this plan of action can work to stop the overflow of water from these storm surges, however it is a temporary measure to the cataclysmic natural flow of climate change and man-made climate change.
New York City is one of the largest cities in our northeast coastal region in danger of the rise in sea levels due to climate change. One of the best courses of actions is to create contingency plans to help stop and alleviate the stress upon the city due to climate change. Funding for projects to help the lower parts of Manhattan will give New York City the resources to protect citizens from becoming homeless or being displaced due to the destruction and loss of their homes by rising sea levels and floods. The proposed multi-million dollar project will help create barriers that will change the infrastructure of Manhattan and of New York City, making it sustainable for all future issues that could arise from climate change disaster.
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One Response
Hello Mary,
I am glad that you chose this topic because I have a fear of sea-level rise. I remember around the time I was looking for homes for me and my wife, I noticed that coastal homes were dirt cheap. It seems that sea-level rise is no longer hypothetical but imminent. I am interested in the mitigation solution you have provided. Is lowering the higher parts of Manhattan an attempt to reduce flooding along the pockets of the city?
I really found this article to be intriguing considering New York City barely faces any natural disasters. It is kind of scary to believe this may happen when this type of global warming surfaced hundreds of years ago. I do wish there would be a lot more preparation than what is mentioned, given you have said “37 percent of lower Manhattan will be at risk for storm surges by 2050”.Rebuilding would have had to start yesterday to even have that much coverage. The sad truth is we are no match for natural disasters due to climate change and many will suffer the impacts and be unfortunate casualties. Climate change, weather, differences in the ozone, all of it is brought upon us from the gods!