Post-Sandy, NYC Will Lead in Climate Change Battle, Mayor Says
Jeanna Bryner, LiveScience Managing Editor
Date: 06 December 2012 Time: 10:43 AM ET
... warmer sea-surface temperatures, which fuel storms like Sandy, along with higher sea levels likely only magnified Hurricane Sandy, according to climate scientist Michael Mann, of Pennsylvania State University.
And as Bloomberg pointed out this morning, there was less than a 1 percent chance of Sandy's coastal storm surge that reached 13-14 feet (4 meters), which included storm surge and a high tide, in New York City's Battery Park. It was the highest in at least two centuries, and something that can be attributed to climate change ...
Bloomberg first noted some projects that are already in the works, including restoring 127 acres (51 hectares) of wetlands, which act as natural barriers to storm surge. (Related, 15-foot-high sand dunes built along some of Long Island, proved their worth during Hurricane Sandy, protecting those communities from catastrophic damage that was evident in places on the island without the man-made dunes, reported the New York Times.)
By 2030, Bloomberg said the goal is to reduce the city's carbon footprint, or ultimately the amount of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, by 30 percent ...
http://www.livescience.com/25283-hurricane-sandy-nyc-climate.html