CLIMATE CHANGE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “On a sunny summer’s day at historic Christopher Columbus Park on Boston’s waterfront, it’s hard to picture the dormant fury of the Atlantic Ocean as it laps softly at the creaking docks. But one day, according to the city’s climate projections,a massive storm driven by unusually high winds and high tides will pour water over the park’s grassy rise and inundate the arbors where grape vines trail and newlyweds pose for photos. The waters will rush across the brick pavers onto Atlantic Avenue and flow toward historic Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, where generations of tourists have learned about the Boston Tea Party. The floodwaters will threaten nearby Old North Church, where Paul Revere’s ride kicked off, and lap at the edges of Bunker Hill…Frustrated by what they see as the Trump administration’s decision to de-emphasize the danger posed by climate change, local government officials, nonprofit leaders and university researchers are busily forging ahead with limited resources in a piecemeal approach they say is better than nothing. They’re hardening buildings, digging bigger storm drains and changing zoning laws to keep homes from being built in low-lying areas prone to flooding. While many cities and states are also trying to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to slow global warming, these more concrete efforts are aimed at mitigating the actual impacts of climate change, which many elected officials say is politically easier to tackle.”
–Trevor Hughes, “Without Trump, local governments spend millions to protect against climate change,” USA Today, January 8, 2019 5:25 pm