David Helvarg
November 27, 2012
The state isn’t waiting to plan for rising sea levels. In Superstorm Sandy’s wake, other states should look west for inspiration on how to prepare.
Governors Andrew Cuomo of New York and Chris Christie of New Jersey don’t need to wait on gridlocked Washington to confront future risks from climate-change intensified storms. They can instead look at how California is already moving forward on common-sense adaptations, and do it themselves. With 3.5 million Californians living within three feet of sea level, and the best available science projecting a 3- to 5-foot rise in sea level for the state by 2100, doing nothing would be irresponsible.
