New York report predicts rising sea level

A disclosure alert – Carbon Based participated in an earlier stage of this project… from the Chronicle (New York): A new state environmental report predicts sea levels could rise more than four feet in some coastal areas of New York state over the next 70 years with dramatic implications for New York City, Long Island and the lower Hudson Valley. The draft report from the Sea Level Rise Task Force notes New York Harbor’s waters have risen 15 inches in 150 years. Harbor gauges show they rose four to six inches since 1960.

Sea level rise affecting the Lower Hudson Valley and Long Island is projected to be 2 to 5 inches by the 2020s and 12 to 23 inches by the end of this century, according to the report. Regular or profound flooding could threaten rail movement throughout the Hudson Valley, including plans for high-speed rail development, the report says. The sea level rise will also push the Hudson River salt front upriver, threatening water supplies of several Hudson Valley communities and businesses.

The Rising Waters project brought together private and public stakeholders in transportation, health care, utilities, emergency preparedness, planning and environmental advocacy. Several stakeholders are now developing a climate change speakers bureau in the Hudson Valley to promote a sustainable shoreline initiative and restore marshes. Rising Waters was spearheaded by The Nature Conservancy’s eastern New York chapter and partners such as the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Hudson River Estuary Program and National Estuarine Research Reserve, Cornell University, the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, and Sustainable Hudson Valley….

Albert Bierstadt's 1886 painting, "Autumn Woods"