Last week, we penned an op-ed on Hurricane Sandy for the Hartford Courant, which ran in Sunday’s edition. In the op-ed, our Executive Director Don Strait talks about the storm that ravaged our shoreline and the need to address climate change through adaptation and mitigation:
Based on this trend, the Long Island Sound region needs to do two things at once: adapt and mitigate. Whether people are convinced by the scientific evidence for climate change or not, we are living with a changing landscape that requires adaptation to minimize — to the degree we can — future loss of life, property and environmental quality. With that dose of reality comes an obligation to future generations to mitigate and minimize the consequences of climate change for the decades and centuries to come.
Adaptation is just that — creating and implementing policies that provide neighborhoods the space to adjust with the changing tide. Instead of shutting down sewage treatment plants and causing damage to our marine and tourism industries, adaptation requires moving these facilities or protecting them with natural buffer systems.
You can read our full op-ed here.
Posted by Rebecca Kaplan, director of communications for CFE/Save the Sound