Atlantic hurricane season is upon us, and the forecast is for storm activity 65% above normal. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Prediction Center’s 2022 Atlantic Hurricane Season forecast predicts 14 to 21 named storms with winds of 39 mph or higher, with six to 10 of those possibly becoming hurricanes with winds of 74 mph or higher, and three to six possibly becoming major hurricanes with winds of 111 mph or higher. It’s also a La Niña year, the weather pattern that contributed to the 2010-2012 hurricane season that produced Irene and Sandy (map shows Sandy hitting the East Coast on October 29, 2012).
It should come as no surprise that climate change plays a role in weather patterns, including hurricanes. And while there doesn’t seem to be much evidence as yet that excessive emissions and global warming are causing more frequent storms, there is research suggesting that these are factors in storm intensity and therefore destructiveness.
When we consider how best to address climate change, we tend to focus on the everyday actions we can do at the local level, whether that happens at the scale of personal habits like recycling, composting or bicycling or the citywide effort to retrofit our aging building stock. But some climate effects begin far, far away- notably 8,000 miles away in Antarctica.
A new study predicts that coastal flooding could become a regular event- as much as three times a week, according to new study published in the journal PLOS One- by 2045, or before the mortgages on houses bought this year would even come due.
Solar One, 
Stuyvesant Cove Park has just completed a massive replanting to replace plants lost due to Hurricane Sandy. Sandy’s storm surge devastated Stuy Cove, by knocking over trees, washing away topsoil and mulch, and soaking the soil with salt water.