Mantoloking, NJ (1/17/15)
As Hurricane Joaquin approaches, I was getting frustrated by the lack of media’s substantive coverage and all lathered up to write a lengthy and detailed post about all the bad things the Christie Administration had done – climate denial and rebuild madness and all that jive – but will abandon the wasted words.
NJ Spotlight did it a lot better and simpler in their weekly poll question:
Of course, the right answer is (a response that had 64% when I voted this morning):
Not by any means. We’ve had a hodgepodge of responses to Sandy and are still struggling with basic issues such as home buyouts, moving people away from the coast, and rebuilding with new expectations. Meanwhile, the state has rolled back flood regulations, water-quality rules and climate-change policies. Whatever has been rebuilt has not taken into account future sea-level rise. No one should be surprised if we have another severely damaging storm in the next few years.
Not by any means, indeed!
I’d add that the “hodgepodge of responses” actually makes the underlying problems worse.
Here is the statement I send around yesterday to press corps to avoid a repetition of the Sandy non-coverage and cheerleading:
Gov. Christie has been allowed to play Russian roulette with people’s lives, homes, and BILLIONS of federal taxpayer dollars dedicated to Sandy redevelopment.
Instead of considering climate change, sea level rise and more severe coastal storms and flooding/rain events, he has promoted reconstruction in hazardous locations and rolled back coastal and flood protections.
His dunes are fake and vulnerable to erosion.
His sea walls make the problem worse.
His beach replenishment will be washed away. If not by Joquin, then the next storm.
Mark my words.
over and out.