Defending the Waterfront

New York City was tested when Hurricane Sandy hit last year–and the Big Apple failed. A record 14-ft. storm surge in lower Manhattan flooded subway tunnels and power plants, leaving millions stranded and without electricity. And Sandy is only the beginning. With sea levels potentially rising by more than 2.5 ft. by midcentury, New York and other cities will surely face more superstorms in the decades to come.

New York’s response: a new $20 billion storm-protection plan. The proposal includes the construction of an extensive network of flood walls meant to protect the city’s 520 miles of coastline. But it also calls for fortifying a rickety power grid, installing barrier dunes on vulnerable beaches and toughening building codes. “Hurricane Sandy made it all too clear that no matter how far we’ve come, we still face real, immediate threats,” New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a speech on June 11. “This is urgent work, and it must begin now.”

None of the recommendations are certain to be followed–especially with Bloomberg set to leave office soon–but the plan represents the world’s most extensive climate-adaptation strategy. The price tag will be a factor and a potential deterrent to other coastal cities. New York City has $10 billion in hand and believes it could get $5 billion more from Washington, and the total cost will surely rise. And adaptation is only one part of the campaign against climate change. We can build higher and higher seawalls, but unless there’s real progress in reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, unchecked global warming will win out. But comprehensive climate policy is the purview of the national government–and the issue has no champion in Washington with the clout of Bloomberg in New York.