Chicago is taking strong steps to plan its infrastructure, thinking ahead for the next 50 years. They're trying everything from flood-proof streets to heat-tolerant trees.

The city predicts in the next century, it will resemble Baton Rouge, Louisiana. No more planting the Illinois state tree, the white oak - instead, they're going with a swamp oak and bald cypress. No joke. The swamp oak will now be seen on the sidewalks of the Windy City.

The city is expected to still gets its share of snow but also more extreme winter precipitation which can lead to larger flooding events. Now, the city is replacing bike lanes and parking spots with permeable pavement that allows 80 percent of rainwater to seep into the ground instead of running off into storm sewers or basements.

Unfortunately, the city is not shutting down coal-fired power plants, a strong contributer to climate change and damging to citizens. The public health consequences have been $1 billion since 2002.

From the NYT:

“Cities adapt or they go away,” said Aaron N. Durnbaugh, deputy commissioner of Chicago’s Department of Environment. “Climate change is happening in both real and dramatic ways, but also in slow, pervasive ways. We can handle it, but we do need to acknowledge it. We are on a 50-year cycle, but we need to get going.”

Across America and in Congress, the very existence of climate change continues to be challenged — especially by conservatives. The skeptics are supported by constituents wary of science and concerned about the economic impacts of stronger regulation. Yet even as the debate rages on, city and state planners are beginning to prepare.

The precise consequences of the increase of man-made greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are hard to determine, but scientists are predicting significant sea level rise; more extreme weather events like storms, tornadoes and blizzards; and, of course, much more heat. New York City, which is doing its own adaptation planning, is worried about flooding from the rising ocean. The Navy has a task force on climate change that says it should be preparing to police the equivalent of an extra sea as the Arctic ice melts.

Some of these events will occur in the near-enough term that local governments are under pressure to act. Insurance companies are applying pressure in high-risk areas, essentially saying adapt or pay higher premiums — especially in urban and commercial areas.

Full story HERE.

 

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