Waking up in Brooklyn early enough to make the 6:41 train from Grand Central to Poughkeepsie wasn’t easy, but my efforts paid off. I joined over 400 people from city and county governments up and down the Hudson Valley, who came out in hopes of learning “the latest scientific findings on (the) existing and future impacts of climate change� for their communities. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Hudson River Environmental Society teamed up on Monday, December 4th to present Climate Change in New York’s Hudson Valley: How can local government and community leaders prepare?
Morning presentations were filled with all the bad global warming news we’ve been increasingly barraged with over the last two decades. Is it true? (Yes.) How did it happen? (Greenhouse gases.) Can it be helped? (If we act soon.) After some brief introductions, Dr. Art DeGaetano of the Northeast Regional Climate Center gave an overview of the causes and future models for climate change on a global scale, summarizing some of the most recent climate data and global projections available.
Dr. Cameron Wake, a researcher at the University of New Hampshire, followed up with the results of a more specific study done on climate change in our region called the Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment (NECIA), which looked at the Northeast from Pennsylvania and New Jersey north to Maine. Everybody’s ears perked up as Dr. Wake showed the group how our region has warmed on average 2.3 degrees over the last 103 years, and 4.3 degrees over the last 33 years [Note: all on the Fahrenheit scale - Ed.]; "the temperature equivalent of moving New York City south of Washington DC," according to Dr. Wake. With droughts punctuated by more extreme rainfall events on the rise, spring coming sooner and fall later, and less snow less often, his presentation included all the scary predictions that none of us wanted to hear.
That wasn't all we'd have to bear, as Dr. Douglas Burns, a hydrologist at the US Geological Survey, detailed the potential impacts on Hudson Valley water supplies. Dr. Gary Kleppel of the University of Albany, discussed on impacts on landscape and land use. Dr. David Wolfe of Cornell University went into the present and projected impacts on forests, agriculture and invasive species. Dr. Klaus Jacob of Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory presented on the sewage treatment and transportation infrastructure, and Dr. Betsy Blair of the DEC presented some her research on the impacts climate change could weigh on our river shorelines and wetlands.
If you’re a glutton for bad news (and these were really intriguing presentations), all of the talks were recorded and will be posted on the web.
So why am I so excited about this conference?
There was a free lunch. We were ushered into the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel's large dining hall, fed a wonderful meal, and for dessert, treated to a presentation by Chris Walker, US Director of The Climate Group. Mr. Walker, on loan to the Climate Group from the Swiss Reinsurance Company (SwissRe), made the case for why businesses should be (and in some cases, are) acting on climate change. Mr. Walker gave example after example of the world's largest companies changing course to embrace one of the biggest challenges of our times as one of the biggest business opportunities. His lunchtime address set the tone for a new direction in our day, one of solutions and possibilities.
From there we moved back into our large hall, which suddenly felt more like a war room (or maybe it was just the coffee). We were braced to hear the plans and ideas that were going to save our communities, and in spite of the gravity of our morning presentations, our afternoon was filled with hope.
Arielle Rosenberg, Senior Policy Advisor on Energy for the New York City Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability, gave us an overview of New York City's actions. She discussed the furious pace of workgroup meetings, the office structure, and the organization’s goals, all of which impressed city and county officials in the audience. Ms. Rosenburg warned us to keep our ears perked for news from her office in the coming weeks.
Robert Funicello, Director of Environmental Projects for Westchester County, discussed planning at the county level; Nikki Coddington, Energy Conservation Coordinator for the town of Greenburgh, looked at the smaller city infrastructures; and Sidney Gale of Integrated Management Controls gave the consultant’s perspective, using a recent, abnormally high tide to inspire forward-looking shifts in policy in his coastal New England town. Each speaker told their own story of how they pioneered new ideas to mitigate and adapt to climate change at the community scale.
The last presentation I caught before catching the train home was by Kim Lundgren, Director of the Northeast Regional Capacity Center of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability. Ms. Lundgren brought her tool box and was more than willing to share. She offered past successes like "Cities for Climate Protection", unprecedented networking opportunities to brainstorm with other communities around the world, and even software to help cities track their greenhouse gas emissions.
It was heartening to see so many local decision makers seek out the best information on what challenges the future holds, and on how they can be part of the solution. Smiling, and late for my train home, I ran down Poughkeepsie's Main Street towards the station. I missed it by a minute and caught the next one, but I did make it home - like action on climate change, better late than never.
Image by Broken Piggy Bank
