New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg spoke today about the very real impending consequences of global warming on the city.
In his address, he released a 430-page report, Renderings for a New Tomorrow, (see below) revealing his ideas on how to protect the city from extreme weather like Hurricane Sandy and most importantly global warming, according to the Gothamist. Perhaps most labor heaving of his visions is the construction of Seaport City.
From the report, the city is described, “Construction of ‘Seaport City’: By installing a multi-purpose levee with raised edge elevations, the City could both protect much of the East River shoreline south of the Brooklyn Bridge from inundation and create a new area for both residential and commercial development. Using the model of Battery Park City, which was designed to withstand major flooding, the City will work with local communities, businesses and property owners to explore opportunities for a new neighborhood.” Additional ideas include flood barriers such as dune systems and bulkheads.
Bloomberg’s projections for the impact of global warming on the city are serious and extremely dangerous. According to Wunderground.com, by the 2050s, 800,000 inhabitants could be living in a flood zone covering a fourth of the city and harboring 90-degree days as frequently as in Birmingham, Alabama. The recommendations to come will be based on his studies, overseen by Seth Pinksky, Deputy Mayor Caswell Holloway, and drawn from predictions of the New York City Panel on Climate Change.
The scientific community has mostly reached a consensus on the reality of global warming, but dispute the severity of the effects. Based on Bloomberg’s talks today, they could be as real as flooding effects from simple high tides. If no protective measures are taken, incidents like Sandy could potentially send 14 or more feet of storm tide flowing into Manhattan.
The predictions are the only thing scary about Bloomberg’s talk. Estimates for the implantation of these recommendations are as high as $20 billion. "The City can rely on $10 billion provided through a combination of City capital funding already allocated and Federal relief, as well as $5 billion from additional, expected Federal relief already appropriated by Congress," according to the report. This leaves the problem of a $4.5 billion gap in funds needed which he provides a series of recommendations for, including, utilizing $2 billion worth of unredeemed 9/11 federal tax benefits, requesting financial help from the future developers of Seaport City, and potentially adding a small surcharge to insurance policies.
Expansion on these recommendations and specifics are to be released soon now that city is revealed to be so highly susceptible to significant damage from inclement weather and global warming.
201-13 (SIRR Report Recommendations) by Christopher Robbins
Photo Courtesy of Tumblr
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