Climate
“One of the least-known but most important rituals in New York takes place every night in the South Bronx at the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center. There, in striking abundance, delicacies from around the state, country, and the world are bought and sold—cabbage from New York, oranges from California, blueberries from Chile, bell peppers from the Netherlands, beef from Australia, and fish from Nova Scotia.” –– Opening description in the ‘Critical Networks’ Chapter of the NYC Special Initiative on Rebuilding and Resiliency report.
Food security and public health are at the heart of the issue of climate change. Johanna Goetzel follows the subject with a recent talk held at the CUNY Graduate Center.
Climate change impacts the food system, globally and locally. Tuesday morning, at the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center, a panel of academics and business leaders explored the impacts of food accessibility and delivery in NYC in a far reaching session called Climate Change, Food and Health: From Analysis to Action to Protect Our Futures.
Moderated by Nicholas Freudenberg, Distinguished Professor of Public Health, CUNY School of Public Health & Hunter College, and Faculty Director, NYC Food Policy Center at Hunter College, the distinguished panelists included Nevin Cohen, Asst. Professor, Environmental Studies, The New School; Mia MacDonald, Executive Director, Brighter Green; Mark Izeman, Director, New York Urban Program and Senior Attorney, Urban Program, National Resource Defense Council (NRDC)
Mia MacDonald began by speaking about the ecological and public health repercussions of the “global spread of US-style consumption.” One solution she offered was ‘cool foods,’ those that are less energy intensive to grow and transport.
Mark Izeman spoke about the dangers of sea level rise on the Hunts Point food distribution hub. As the largest food distribution center in the world, the increasing frequency and intensity of climate change events like Hurricane Sandy will have significant impacts on the population’s well being. Addressing these concerns and other resilience efforts, the Hunts Point Lifeline project proposal offers an avenue for sustainable future developments.
Panelists also discussed transportation strategy for the 5–7 million tonnes of food that enter NYC, 95% over the George Washington Bridge. Nevin Cohen emphasized the importance of interdepartmental coordination (transportation, sanitation, health) to address the entire ecosystem of food.
Since the benchmark recycling law of 1989, making New York the first state to enact a policy, only minimal progress has been made in state-wide composting programs. This provides an opportunity to elevate Mayor Bill de Blasio’s “Food Print” proposals to reduce waste at multiple points in the food system. Local efforts can be made in supporting farmers markets, the majority of which accept EBT/food stamps.
Attendance at the talk was high and the discussion was robust, offering numerous solutions for greater involvement. One message that resonated was the need to update methods of advocacy. All were invited to participate in the Peoples Climate March September 21. The next discussion in the Food Policy for Breakfast series will be held October 14, about food provided in New York universities and colleges. The ripple effects of local conservation efforts and personal commitments to eating better can have global impacts on the resources threatened by climate change.
Born out of exasperation at the slow pace of international progress on climate change, the French-based group CliMates provides participation and training to young people who want to help push forward for solutions.
This Friday, August 29th concluded the Second CliMates International Summit, hosted at Columbia University. Organized by volunteers and peer leaders, this gathering of students and young professionals from over 15 nations focused on building skills and training attendees to discuss the impacts of climate change in various sectors. Their mission is to inspire and empower youth all around the world to find answers together.
Co-founder Margot Le Guen shared how the network has evolved since 2011 from a “group of peers at Science Po, in France, where we were reaching out to our friends to join to what is now a group of over 150 actively involved.”
Last year, CliMates held a Latin American-focused gathering in Bogota, Columbia. This year’s events took the form of a ‘summer school’ in New York City, where participants attended seminars and engaged in discussions on everything from entrepreneurship for social innovation, to crafting performance art, to the impacts of heat on health. A special discussion lead by Ahmad Alhendawi, the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, emphasized the need to think about what motivates potential partners to engage. The team also met with French climate diplomat Adrien Pinelli, who spoke about the role of youth engagement in the upcoming COP 21 conference held in Paris in 2015.
I had the pleasure of speaking on a panel about climate and health with Kim Knowlton, Senior Scientist, Health & Environment Program and Co-Deputy Director of the Natural Resources Defense Council. Dr. Knowlton and I presented on how rising temperatures will impact poorest populationsmost dramatically and explored economic and social solutions for prevention.
The overall tone of the summit was one of excitement and collaboration. Attendees shared ideas for research collaboration, expanding partnerships and planning for next year, when the summit will be held in France, gearing up for the world’s critical test: the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris. The announced aims of the 2015 UN conference are nothing less than a binding, worldwide agreement to limit greenhouse gases.
In the next month, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon will host a prelude to the 2015 conference, at the United Nations in New York City on September 23rd. This preliminary meeting of world leaders is the focus of the People’s Climate March, scheduled for September 21st, which is drawing an increasing amount of media and institutional attention.
For more information on CliMates and their social media presence, follow them on Twitter and see their YouTube channel. Below, watch Austin Morton of the New Climate Economy project in his video for the CliMates summit.
Reviewed by Johanna Goetzel, Lead Researcher for Environmental Debt.
Environmental Debt: The Hidden Costs of a Changing Global Economy connects the financial and environmental crises – both causes and solutions. Author Amy Larkin shows how the costs of climate change, extreme weather and pollution combine to wreak havoc on the economy, as well as the earth, creating what she calls, “environmental debt”. Larkin proposes a new framework for 21st century commerce to empower profitable business that coexists with the environment. As she succinctly states: “No nature, no business.”
Intended for business leaders as well as those who acknowledge that ’business as usual’ cannot continue, Environmental Debt presents complex and provocative ideas in easy-to-read prose and includes numerous cultural touchstones to help ground the reader. Larkin artistically combines her expertise as an entrepreneur, producer and environmental activist, to deliver an approach for business to succeed without compromising nature.
Larkin introduces the “The Nature Means Business Framework”, comprised of three tenants: (1) Pollution can no longer be free and can no longer be subsidized; (2) The long view must guide all decision-making and accounting and (3) Government plays a vital role in catalyzing clean technology and growth while preventing environmental destruction.
Pollution can no longer be free and can no longer be subsidized.
In this first section, Larkin focuses on the example of externalities from coal production. A study developed by Greenpeace and researchers at Harvard showed that in just the United States, the full cost of coal extraction and combustion to society on top of the coal companies’ costs is $350 – 500 billion a year. These hundreds of billions of dollars, called externalities in economics, represent actual bills paid by fisheries, businesses, schools, municipal water systems, and unwitting families and their healthcare providers. Despite conventional wisdom, coal is not a cheap energy. Its price is cheap only because it is subsidized by its own victims. Larkin included two similar studies that estimate the externalities of oil in the United States at over $800 billion annually. In total the external costs of coal and oil is well over $1.1 trillion, the annual 2012 United States deficit. The section concludes that environmental debt is a serious contributor to fiscal instability. Larkin and her team at Greenpeace, where she worked as the Solutions Campaign director for six years, decided to take their names off the Harvard report so that it would have more salience in the business community. As an environmental activist and businesswoman, Larkin and her book navigate this space expertly, drawing on personal anecdotes and peer-reviewed publications.
The long view must guide all decision-making and accounting.
This section recounts the catastrophic 2011 floods in Thailand and the historic land degradation that compounded the impact. These intense storms became catastrophic because of massive deforestation, much of which occurred in the 20th century. Without enough trees, the ground was unable to soak up the floodwater. Local Thai factories that produced car parts were closed for months. These closures caused shortages for Toyota and Honda, and both companies were forced to suspend manufacturing in Kentucky, Singapore and the Philippines. Toyota alone suspended production of 260,000 vehicles (3.4% of its previous annual output) and tens of thousands of workers lost their jobs. Larkin explains how the logging in 20th century Thailand caused financial havoc around the world in 2011 — a good 20 years after it occurred. The people of Thailand, several governments, numerous companies and shareholders from around the world all paid the logging’s environmental debt. This section stresses the importance of long term planning with regard to business decision-making. Larkin commends Unilever, the first multinational corporation to do away with quarterly earning reports. Taking the long view requires a more holistic view of business success, focusing on the means to justify the ends.
Government plays a vital role in catalyzing clean technology and growth while preventing environmental destruction.
Calling on government to help support changes to the business world, Larkin focuses on how funding infrastructure has benefits for businesses and individuals. She provides the example of the Internet, one of the pieces of government-funded infrastructure we most take for granted today. The Department of Defense began work in the 1960s and 70s, and it was later catapulted to its full potential by the High Performance Computing Act of 1991, and is now used by everyone, thanks to government support. With regard to the role the government can play for energy transformation, Larkin suggests that it will inevitably end up spending billions of dollars to keep the lights on, as “this is government’s job.” The choice is whether to pay now for clean technology or pay later with environmental debt. Larkin re-frames the current energy debate with this in mind.
Conclusion
Environmental Debt is Not Doom and Gloom
One of the book’s surprising revelations is that large numbers of multinational corporations are pushing for smart regulation in concert with activist non-profits and are implementing environmental changes in their own operations ahead of regulation. Environmental Debt showcases the courageous work of Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Tiffany’s, Unilever, Walmart and others as well as the frontier of innovation in design, financial reporting, and biomimicry to name a few. The emphasis on leaders within corporations helping to transform the Consumer Goods sector (a consortium of 400 of the world’s leading consumer brands and retailers) is inspiring. Larkin’s personal experience with these senior leaders allows her to draw on numerous examples of ‘revolutionaries in suits’ changing the world of business practice.
The book resonates with readers of all ages and no mater where they are in their professional careers by localizing examples of how transformations are possible. She concludes, “Today, wherever you are, there is a sense that the ground is moving, both financially and environmentally. We need to reboot a crashing system. There is a real hunger to build a foundation so that the twenty-first century doesn’t feel so bloody scary. Look around your office, your home, your school, your government. We are all facing very difficult choices. It is time to work together.”
Johanna Goetzel worked with Amy Larkin developing the content for the book, providing editorial support and guidance. Previously Goetzel and Larkin worked together on the Greenpeace Solutions campaign, helping transforming the business sector in the US and abroad. Goetzel now works on environmental health policy, focusing on the ROI for population and planetary health. She eared her Masters in Climate and Society at Columbia University and a Bachelors of Arts from Wesleyan University. She can be reached at jgoetzel@gmail.com
Prezi on drought and deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon:
Prezi discussing the storm surge risks in Redhook and Bushwick:
http://prezi.com/ds_thjyup5hp/red-hook-or-bushwick/
coauthored with Jody Dean–
[Over coming weeks, the staff of City Atlas will be presenting summaries, analysis, and public feedback on the city’s monumentalSIRR report about rebuilding and resilience, which includes lessons learned from Hurricane Sandy and plans for the city in the face of new challenges from a changing climate.]
The climate analysis section includes this photo, a reminder that NYC has flooded in the past. (Photo NYT)
Extreme events often prompt questions that begin with “why?” Why now? Why me? Why here? Due to the chaotic nature of the climate system, there is no simple answer to these questions. Part of the answer, though, can be found by examining past climate trends and projections for the future. Extreme events like Sandy cause huge impacts, the most jarring being the loss of lives and the displacement of people from their homes. There are also massive monetary costs associated with rebuilding. We will all bear the burden of these costs, through taxes and resource reallocation.
The Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency (SIRR) report offers targeted suggestions for policymakers regarding the development of more resilient systems for New York, in order to make the impacts of extreme events and climate change manageable rather than catastrophic.
In time and with the increased political gravitas delivered by this extensive report and ongoing discussion around it, the conversation can shift from “why did this happen to us?” to “how can we adapt and rebuild responsibly”? This refocused question allows us to move forward and is made possible by understanding the chronic hazards faced by the city and the potential impacts of extreme events, whose frequency and severity are likely to increase with the changing climate.
The full report includes a climate analysis section (hi res pdf) that documents the impact of historic extreme weather events and provides a context for future climate scenarios, along with the projected costs. The SIRR utilizes climate models developed for the forthcoming Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report (IPCC AR5). The AR5 concludes that “long-term changes in climate mean that when extreme weather events strike, they are likely to be increasingly severe and damaging.” Despite the extreme and historic nature of the event, Sandy was not the first storm to cause significant damage. The timeline below illustrates other coastal storm events with major impacts on New York City. As with Sandy, the effects of these storms were experienced all along the Eastern Seaboard.
The vulnerability of the city to coastal storms is nothing new, but as previously noted, climate change will exacerbate the situation by worsening extreme events and chronic conditions. As indicated in the IPCC AR5, over the past century sea levels in New York City have risen over a foot, while simultaneously temperatures are increasing. The scientific consensus is that these trends will accelerate and this is highlighted in the New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC) 2013 climate projections, which were included in the SIRR report.
Source: NPCC
In addition to these chronic hazards, another vulnerability highlighted in the SIRR is the city’s use of outdated Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM’s), which show the percentage of land that lies within the so-called “100-year” and “500-year” floodplains. At the time that Sandy hit, the FIRM’s had not been updated since 1983, though in 2007 the City formally requested that FEMA update the maps to include the last 30 years of data. The lack of updated maps left the city with an inaccurate view of the percentage of land at risk for flooding and the areas that flooded during Sandy were several times larger than the floodplains outlined in the 1983 FIRM’s. The SIRR emphasized the importance of regularly updated maps to assist with adaptation and mitigation strategies for coastal flooding.
The climate analysis section also explained the frequently misunderstood classification of a “100-year” or “500-year” event. Classifying an area as part of a “100-year floodplain” indicates that there is a 1 percent chance of a flood occurring in the area in a given year and that experiencing a 100-year flood does not decrease the chance of a second 100-year flood occurring that same year or any year that follows. Following these calculations, Klaus Jacob writes in the June issue of Scientific American that, “the chance of what had been a one-in-100-year storm surge occurring in New York City will be one in 50 during any year in the 2020s, one in 15 during the 2050s and one in two by the 2080s.” The city is now working again with the NPCC to develop more accurate “future flood maps” to assist with the rebuilding, planning and adaptation efforts.
The climate analysis section concludes with specific, forward-looking initiatives for planning along New York City’s 520 miles of coastline, including a network of floodwalls, levees and bulkheads to protect buildings and inhabitants. More than encouraging “emergency preparedness,” longer-term scenario planning will be necessary in order to adequately safeguard New York and its growing population. Further, climate projects need to be regularly updated in order to adequately inform decision making.
Advocating that we “plan ambitiously,” the SIRR report suggests that mitigation efforts require buy-in from policy makers, planners and insurers and civil society. Cynthia Rosenzweig, NPCC co-chair, makes the salient point that adaptation plans cannot succeed “without taking the voices of neighborhoods into account.” In order to best address questions of “why me,” vulnerability must be analyzed at multiple levels and the resulting plans backed by financial investment for addressing the continued threat of climate change. Above all, the SIRR report emphasizes that building capacity for resilience requires accurate data to assess the potential impacts and the tools and financial resources available to implement solutions.
The full report can be found here, and is a marvel of lucid explanation: it’s a self-contained, benchmark work that integrates climate and urban planning for the most populous city in the world’s largest economy.
Additional Reading:
–Coastal subsidence also plays a role in NYC coastal vulnerability. Providing historical analysis and vivid maps, Mark Fischetti’s Scientific American article explains how North American glacier retreat began over 20,000 years ago and little by little, has resulted in the eastern U.S. landmass sinking as the crust adjusts to the unloading.
–The question of whether or not rebuilding after natural disaster has been hotly debated since Sandy. Tom Ashbrook tackled this question in a February 2013 On Point Podcast.
– Our interview with Klaus Jacob, who also raises the question of rebuilding in areas that will become increasingly endangered over time.
