SUFFOLK CLOSEUP: With Climate Change "Resilience" Is Not Enough

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

“We know this is the result of climate change,” said New York Governor Kathy Hochul after Tropical Storm Ophelia struck this region in September with eight inches of rain in Suffolk County and more than nine in New York City where cars floated in streets and rail and subway service was crippled. “This event was historic. In some areas, it was recording-shattering.”

Late October provided an encore of hot weather. On October 28 in Suffolk the temperature hit 83. In many U.S. cities during the summer, temperatures exceeded 100 degrees. It was 110 in Phoenix for 54 days, a record.

The summer of 2023 was the Earth’s hottest since global records began in 1880, according to scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute. 

And then last week, the temperature in Suffolk dived into the lower 30s—a reminder of how climate change delivers extreme weather.

In Canada, the opposite of torrential rain and flooding occurred in 2023. Drought fueled intense wildfires—the worst in Canada’s history—sending smoke south, impacting the air here.

Meanwhile, in Mexico there was a happening last month that represented an especially ominous trend for Suffolk and many coastal areas. In 12 hours wind speeds in what had been a mild storm increased by 115 mph. And Category 5 hurricane named Otis, with winds of 165 mph, struck and wrecked Acapulco with its million people. It was the first Category 5 hurricane ever to hit the Pacific coasts of North or South America. 

“In a single day, Hurricane Otis went from a nuisance to a monster,” reported NBC News, noting how the U.S. National Hurricane Center described it as having “explosively intensified” in a “nightmare scenario.” 

The cause: warmer waters all over the planet for hurricanes and typhoons to feed on, a result of climate change. 

What does this portend for this area with ocean waters off Suffolk increasingly warmer—and forecast to become yet warmer if climate change isn’t stopped? A recent study in the journal Science Reports concluded that “rapid intensification” of storms is becoming more common and, said Dr. Andra J. Garner, a climate scientist who directed it, “increased chances of storms intensifying most quickly in regions that include,” yes, “a region along the U.S. East Coast.”

What’s to be done? What can be done?

In Suffolk, the big word these days regarding climate change is “resilience.” Indeed, there are steps that need to be taken such as restoring and expanding wetlands along our shores to soften the impact of storms. 

Still, the causes of climate change or global warming must be tackled—and widely—not just trying to deal with effects. The main cause: the burning of fossil fuels.

Pope Francis thoroughly understands this as do virtually all scientists. Last month he issued a 28-page statement addressed “To All People of Good Will on the Climate Crisis.”

“Despite all attempts to deny, conceal, gloss over or relativize the issue, the signs of climate change are here and increasingly evident,” wrote the leader of the Catholic Church. “No one can ignore the fact that in recent years we have witnessed extreme weather phenomena, frequent periods of unusual heat, drought and other cries of protest on the part of the earth that are only a few palpable expressions of a silent disease that affects everyone.”

He detailed the series of international conferences seeking to limit greenhouse gas emissions. But, “Despite the many negotiations and agreements, global emissions continue to increase” and “the necessary transition towards clean energy sources such as wind and solar energy, and the abandonment of fossil fuels, is not progressing at the necessary speed.”

Pope Francis protested that “gas and oil companies are planning new projects.”

Indeed, in October—as The New York Times reported—“Exxon Mobil and Chevron, the two largest U.S. oil companies, this month committed to spending more than $50 billion each to buy smaller companies in deals that would let them produce more oil and natural gas for decades to come. But a day after Chevron announced its acquisition, the International Energy Agency released an exhaustive report concluding that demand for oil, gas and other fossil fuels would peak by 2030 as sales of electric cars and use of renewable energy surged. The disconnect between what oil companies and many energy experts think will happen in the coming years has never been quite this stark. But oil companies are doubling down on drilling for oil and gas and processing it into fuels for use in engines, power plants and industrial machinery.”

As for government leaders, Governor Hochul just announced new New York green energy initiatives in a statement headed: “Nation’s Largest-Ever State Investment in Renewable Energy.”

But the new speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, flatly denies climate change is caused by burning fossil fuels. He’s from Louisiana, a top state in the nation for drilling and processing oil and gas. 

Karl Grossman is a veteran investigative reporter and columnist, the winner of numerous awards for his work and a member of the L.I. Journalism Hall of Fame. He is a professor of journalism at SUNY/College at Old Westbury and the author of six books.