2018 WILL APPEAR in retrospect as the year when climate change became a daily reality and not some debatable future possibility. Jurisdictions across the globe are now struggling with planning for extreme weather, greater human health hazards, uncertain economic consequences, and potential social instability. Coastal regions are anticipating costs of property and business losses due […]
A. Vernon Woodworth
Posted inOpinion
Harbor barrier study undermined by assumptions
A PUBLIC UNIVERSITY releases a report advising on the course of action that a major urban center should pursue to prepare for predicted sea-level rise and increased frequency and severity of storm events. What is the public reaction? How is the report evaluated? Does a single study based on numerous unexamined assumptions set the course […]
Posted inEnvironment
14-mile dike could protect Greater Boston from sea level rise
A RECENT story in the Boston Globe, with the headline “Floods seen as warning of Boston’s future,” described how sea level rise and storm surge effects predicted for later in the century made their appearance during last week’s bomb cyclone. The article also mentioned various studies on what to do about sea level rise planned or […]
Posted inOpinion, Transportation
Driving in the breakdown lane
US investment in the preservation and development of transportation infrastructure lags so far behind that of China, Russia and European nations that it will lead to “a steady erosion of the social and economic foundations of American prosperity in the long run.” That was the conclusion of a recent report issued by 89 transportation experts, […]